Early History of Confession

[BigBlueCane]

Hello,

I had a question concerning one of the reasons confession began to be practiced in the early church. Without getting into the biblical rationale for it, my understanding was that one of the reasons the early church began to implement the sacrament of confession was first because in those days penance was extremely public and could take several years to complete and expulsion was possible depending on the sin. Primarily though, in the early church since baptism was beleived to be the only way to wipe all of your sins many people would wait until they were very near death to get baptized so that they may die with a pretty clean slate or without any mortal sins whic is a custom that was practiced famously by Emperor Constantine.

I’ve googled different catholic sites but they focus more on the sacrament aspect whereas I’m looking to the historical aspect.

So does this have validity that in the early church some or many people waited to be near death to get baptized and for that reason and others confession came to be used as a way to allow people to do penance without putting off baptism?

I

 

[Dorothy]

Hello,

I had a question concerning one of the reasons confession began to be practiced in the early church. Without getting into the biblical rationale for it, my understanding was that one of the reasons the early church began to implement the sacrament of confession was first because in those days penance was extremely public and could take several years to complete and expulsion was possible depending on the sin. Primarily though, in the early church since baptism was beleived to be the only way to wipe all of your sins many people would wait until they were very near death to get baptized so that they may die with a pretty clean slate or without any mortal sins whic is a custom that was practiced famously by Emperor Constantine.

I’ve googled different catholic sites but they focus more on the sacrament aspect whereas I’m looking to the historical aspect.

So does this have validity that in the early church some or many people waited to be near death to get baptized and for that reason and others confession came to be used as a way to allow people to do penance without putting off baptism?

I

If the attitude of wanting to be baptized when near death so they may die with a “clean slate” was prevalent, then that was the wrong attitude.

That is like someone saying now “I will go out Saturday night, do what I want, and then go to confession on Saturday night”. That does not make a valid confession. A serious attitude change is needed.

Confession is for those who are truly sorry for their sins, and desire to be sanctified in the Lord’s grace.

 

[mellowcalico]

Primarily though, in the early church since baptism was beleived to be the only way to wipe all of your sins many people would wait until they were very near death to get baptized so that they may die with a pretty clean slate or without any mortal sins whic is a custom that was practiced famously by Emperor Constantine.

I heard the same thing, years ago in a homily–that the reason confession was started was because people were putting off baptism for that very reason. I am curious to see what answers you get.

 

[Joe_5859]

Have you looked at what the Old Catholic Encyclopedia says about the Sacrament of Penance? That goes in to the history a little bit.

Confession has been around since Christ instituted it and told the Apostles “How sins you forgive are forgiven, whose sins you hold bound are held bound.” Of course, the form has developed over the centuries. In the beginning, some weren’t sure whether the sacrament could be repeated, so you would get many people putting it off. The Irish monks are the ones who popularized frequent, repeatable Confession in the 7th century or so.

 

[Joannm]

The reason most people put off baptism was because in the ancient Church it was expected that after you were baptised you would not sin. If you sinned you were basically excommunicated for life. Now, granted, this was only for certain major sins. There was no understanding of mortal or venial sins. Eventually, the Church decided that you could be forgiven but only once. They establised the Order of Penitents, which was like the catechumenate, only for those who were baptized but excommunicated. One confessed their sin to the bishop and they entered a process of, what you could call, reindoctrination into the faith. It could take years of penance, prayer and instruction before the sinner would be reconciled and allowed back into the Church (usually on Holy Thursday). But this was only allowed once, so with this too, people held off being reconciled until their death bed because, once the sinner was reconciled, there were severe restrictions imposed upon them for life.

If you want to read further there is a book, The Order of Penitents: Historical and Pastoral Future by Joseph A. Favazza that is a very good explaination of the process. It is written for academica so can be a bit dry at times, but it is interesting. The history of penance was one of the topics I chose for my MA comps so I have a great interest in it.

 

[BigBlueCane]

The reason most people put off baptism was because in the ancient Church it was expected that after you were baptised you would not sin. If you sinned you were basically excommunicated for life. Now, granted, this was only for certain major sins. There was no understanding of mortal or venial sins. Eventually, the Church decided that you could be forgiven but only once. They establised the Order of Penitents, which was like the catechumenate, only for those who were baptized but excommunicated. One confessed their sin to the bishop and they entered a process of, what you could call, reindoctrination into the faith. It could take years of penance, prayer and instruction before the sinner would be reconciled and allowed back into the Church (usually on Holy Thursday). But this was only allowed once, so with this too, people held off being reconciled until their death bed because, once the sinner was reconciled, there were severe restrictions imposed upon them for life.

If you want to read further there is a book, The Order of Penitents: Historical and Pastoral Future by Joseph A. Favazza that is a very good explaination of the process. It is written for academica so can be a bit dry at times, but it is interesting. The history of penance was one of the topics I chose for my MA comps so I have a great interest in it.

Awesome information and yes I think I will look that up. I’m really interested in the historical aspect of the development of the church and sacraments such as these. I understand the theological reason and basis for confession but find historical background, such as this, interesting in how the Church formed and developed over years. I had remembered being taught this in catholic school but was fuzzy on the details and any internet search I did explained the theological basis for confession and not the historical background.

Interestingly enough as I was searching for answers on this I read that the reason why we baptize by just blessing the forehead and not a complete dunk in a pool or body of water was because Emperor Constantine was one of those who put off baptism until near death. By the time he was baptized he was so old that they couldn’t complete submerge him so they just poured water over his forehead. Not sure if thats true but interesting if it is.

It must’ve been something else being part of the church back then with no confession and possibly putting off baptism because of how improbable it is not to ever sin again and risk being excommunicated. Its almost like the other story I remember of how they debated circumcision for new converts. To do or not to do?

Interesting stuff thanks again for the info!

 

[Lincoln7]

The form of the Sacrament has always been there from the beginning, that is generally clear from a cursory glance at church history. The fine points of its theology took more time though, such as how often? for all sins (e.g. apostacy, which the donatists protested)?.. etc But this in no way affects the fact it has always been practiced.

As to your baptism question; check out the baptismal section of the didache, it shows some of the ways it was performed very early on.

We should all remember ofc our Church’s continuity in doctrine from the Apostolic age, fine points and forms of things devlop. But the essential teaching has always been practiced.

Lincs

sources: CAF, wikipedia

 

[john_aurelius]

You can see the penances of the early church from the canons of the ecumenical councils, whoever said that the form of repeatable confession came from the Irish monks was correct.

They were also the first to have a kind of prescribed penances for different sins. For example a person caught drunk was to only drink water for a week and similar.

This was the exact problem for Cyprian and the Donatists, and its Cyprian who notes that the church has power in its priestly nature to forgive penitent sinners. For a while it was thought that the martyrs could forgive penitents (based on an example of the martyrs of Lyons who forgave apostates who were thrown into prison alongside them) so after the Diocletian persecution many North Africans could obtain a piece of paper signed by a confessor that they were repentant but unfortunately this was forged in lots of cases and fell out of use.

If someone comes up with a link I’ll be interested as well

 

[puzzleannie]

Hello,I’ve googled different catholic sites but they focus more on the sacrament aspect whereas I’m looking to the historical aspect.

So does this have validity that in the early church some or many people waited to be near death to get baptized and for that reason and others confession came to be used as a way to allow people to do penance without putting off baptism?

I

a brief history of the sacrament of penance and reconciliation is contained in the Catechism of the Catholic Church section on the sacrament. I don’t have it and can’t link it here but it is in the 1400s.
sorry when I go hunting for links for some reason I get knocked of the internet.
part II Celebration of the Christian Mystery, Article 4, Sacrament of Penance and reconciliation
1446 Christ instituted the sacrament of Penance for all sinful members of his Church: above all for those who, since Baptism, have fallen into grave sin, and have thus lost their baptismal grace and wounded ecclesial communion. It is to them that the sacrament of Penance offers a new possibility to convert and to recover the grace of justification. The Fathers of the Church present this sacrament as "the second plank [of salvation] after the shipwreck which is the loss of grace."47

1447 Over the centuries the concrete form in which the Church has exercised this power received from the Lord has varied considerably. During the first centuries the reconciliation of Christians who had committed particularly grave sins after their Baptism (for example, idolatry, murder, or adultery) was tied to a very rigorous discipline, according to which penitents had to do public penance for their sins, often for years, before receiving reconciliation. To this “order of penitents” (which concerned only certain grave sins), one was only rarely admitted and in certain regions only once in a lifetime. During the seventh century Irish missionaries, inspired by the Eastern monastic tradition, took to continental Europe the “private” practice of penance, which does not require public and prolonged completion of penitential works before reconciliation with the Church. From that time on, the sacrament has been performed in secret between penitent and priest. This new practice envisioned the possibility of repetition and so opened the way to a regular frequenting of this sacrament. It allowed the forgiveness of grave sins and venial sins to be integrated into one sacramental celebration. In its main lines this is the form of penance that the Church has practiced down to our day.

1448 Beneath the changes in discipline and celebration that this sacrament has undergone over the centuries, the same fundamental structure is to be discerned. It comprises two equally essential elements: on the one hand, the acts of the man who undergoes conversion through the action of the Holy Spirit: namely, contrition, confession, and satisfaction; on the other, God’s action through the intervention of the Church. The Church, who through the bishop and his priests forgives sins in the name of Jesus Christ and determines the manner of satisfaction, also prays for the sinner and does penance with him. Thus the sinner is healed and re-established in ecclesial communion.

1449 The formula of absolution used in the Latin Church expresses the essential elements of this sacrament: the Father of mercies is the source of all forgiveness. He effects the reconciliation of sinners through the Passover of his Son and the gift of his Spirit, through the prayer and ministry of the Church:

God, the Father of mercies,
through the death and the resurrection of his Son
has reconciled the world to himself
and sent the Holy Spirit among us
for the forgiveness of sins;
through the ministry of the Church
may God give you pardon and peace,
and I absolve you from your sins
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.48

 

[BigBlueCane]

You can see the penances of the early church from the canons of the ecumenical councils, whoever said that the form of repeatable confession came from the Irish monks was correct.

They were also the first to have a kind of prescribed penances for different sins. For example a person caught drunk was to only drink water for a week and similar.

This was the exact problem for Cyprian and the Donatists, and its Cyprian who notes that the church has power in its priestly nature to forgive penitent sinners. For a while it was thought that the martyrs could forgive penitents (based on an example of the martyrs of Lyons who forgave apostates who were thrown into prison alongside them) so after the Diocletian persecution many North Africans could obtain a piece of paper signed by a confessor that they were repentant but unfortunately this was forged in lots of cases and fell out of use.

If someone comes up with a link I’ll be interested as well

Interesting stuff. Getting a note that you were repentant.

 

[BigBlueCane]

The form of the Sacrament has always been there from the beginning, that is generally clear from a cursory glance at church history. The fine points of its theology took more time though, such as how often? for all sins (e.g. apostacy, which the donatists protested)?.. etc But this in no way affects the fact it has always been practiced.

As to your baptism question; check out the baptismal section of the didache, it shows some of the ways it was performed very early on.

We should all remember ofc our Church’s continuity in doctrine from the Apostolic age, fine points and forms of things devlop. But the essential teaching has always been practiced.

Lincs

sources: CAF, wikipedia

Yeah that is a good point. Sometimes its very difficult to bring up these topics with some ardent Catholics because for seem reason they get offended at the thought that the Church didn’t have everything figured out as soon as Jesus ascended. For example bringing up the fact that in the early church there were dozens of different gospels and no technical bible. Or that there were several groups of Christians who had their own take on Christianity. Or that Constantine and the Roman empire played a big part in the spread of Christianity.

The history behind confession/baptism here is a good example. While they didn’t perform confessions back in the early church and thus people put off baptism, the teaching and authority of confession was always there it just hadn’t been developed and put into practice yet. It doesn’t take anything away from its validity.