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TriuneUnity
Guest
That is certainly true. We define a sacrament as that which was instituted by Christ (through His Word), with a visible element that gives forgiveness of sins.Yes. I remember wondering why we were skipping the section on “the Office of the Keys” in our cathechism when I was preparing for confirmation.
At the time I thought that surely, Confession had no sacramental sign (like water, bread, wine). Only after I embraced Orthodoxy that I realized that “that divine word spoken to the Apostles” (John 20:23), as it is called in the office of confession, was as much part of the created universe as water, bread and wine.
We do see Holy Absolution as a means of grace, that is, that it gives the forgiveness of sins and it was most certainly instituted by Christ.