Byzantine formula of absolution?

[ag_28]

Good day and God bless.

Some time ago I had the opportunity to confess to a priest of the Byzantine Church (in communion with Rome). As I tried to listen to the words of absolution, which I normally do for obvious reasons, I thought I detected something wrong… He said something to the effect of "May Our Lord Jesus Christ grant you pardon and absolution of your sins in the name of the Father, etc. He did not use the first person imperative as in “I absolve you etc,” but the subjunctive, “May He etc.” I spoke with him about it on a different occasion, and I was correct; he did use the subjunctive. I told him that it was always my understanding that a priest must actively use his God given authority to absolve:“I absolve you,” acting in the Person of Christ. If he uses the subjunctive, then he’s only praying for you and expressing a wish for something to happen. I do understand that there are certain formulae approved for use which use the passive voice, such as “thou art absolved” etc, but even in this it is clearly shows an action or event taking place, rather than a wish.
This priest, a good man, did not seem like he was intending to do anything wrong, but he replied to me that it’s simply the difference between the east and the west. I left it at that as I didn’t feel comfortable taking it any further. I did re-confess to another priest afterwards.
Is my understanding on this matter correct? In the past when I confessed to eastern rite priests, the formula was a bit different, but I heard “and I, as priest, though unworthy, forgive and absolve you of your sins in this life and the next, in the name of etc.”

Thank you.

 

[Fr.Charles_Grondin]

Catechism (emphasis added):

1481 The Byzantine Liturgy recognizes several formulas of absolution, in the form of invocation, which admirably express the mystery of forgiveness: “May the same God, who through the Prophet Nathan forgave David when he confessed his sins, who forgave Peter when he wept bitterly, the prostitute when she washed his feet with her tears, the publican, and the prodigal son, through me, a sinner, forgive you both in this life and in the next and enable you to appear before his awe-inspiring tribunal without condemnation, he who is blessed for ever and ever. Amen.”

It has also been noted:

Thus, the absolution formulas in the East are often called “deprecative,” that is, “formulas which beg the Lord to give pardon, but which make no express mention of the ministerial action of the priest” (Chapungco, p. 106). Nevertheless, these formulas do absolve the penitent from sins and have always been considered to do so (Chapungco, p. 107).

Given that there are several approved prayers of absolution in the Byzantine Churches and that they tend to differ in their theological emphasis from the Latin Church I would suggest trusting the priest is giving valid and licit absolution unless proven otherwise…