During the Diocletianic Persecution, a number of Christians had, under torture or threat thereof, weakened in their profession of the faith. When persecutions ceased under Constantine the Great, they wanted to be reunited with the church. It became the practice of the penitents to go to the Confessors, who had willingly suffered for the faith and survived, to plead their case and effect their restoration to communion.
Over time, the word came to denote any priest who had been granted the authority to hear confessions. Historically, priests were sometimes tested by officers of the church called examiners, before being granted this authority.[2][3]
As spiritual advisorEdit
An individual may have a regular confessor, sometimes called a "spiritual advisor" or "spiritual father", to whom they turn for confidential and disinterested advice, especially on spiritual matters. Historically, this has been a common practice for Christian monarchs.
It is standard practice for a religious community of women, whether enclosed or just very large, to have one or several priests serving their spiritual needs, including being their confessor.
^Martin, Benjamin (1749). Lingua Britannica Reformata. Hodges.
^ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Synodal Examiners". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
^Meehan, Andrew B. (1909). "Apostolic Examiners" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Confessor". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
External linksEdit
Catholic Encyclopedia: Confessor, regarding the title "Confessor."
Catholic Encyclopedia: Sacrament of Penance, regarding the ordinary minister of the Sacrament of Confession, the "confessor."
October 19, 2023
confessor, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, june, 2018, lear. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Confessor news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message For other uses see Confessor disambiguation In a number of Christian traditions including Orthodoxy Catholicism Lutheranism and Anglicanism a confessor is a priest who hears the confessions of penitents and pronounces absolution 1 Contents 1 History 2 As spiritual advisor 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksHistory EditDuring the Diocletianic Persecution a number of Christians had under torture or threat thereof weakened in their profession of the faith When persecutions ceased under Constantine the Great they wanted to be reunited with the church It became the practice of the penitents to go to the Confessors who had willingly suffered for the faith and survived to plead their case and effect their restoration to communion Over time the word came to denote any priest who had been granted the authority to hear confessions Historically priests were sometimes tested by officers of the church called examiners before being granted this authority 2 3 As spiritual advisor EditAn individual may have a regular confessor sometimes called a spiritual advisor or spiritual father to whom they turn for confidential and disinterested advice especially on spiritual matters Historically this has been a common practice for Christian monarchs It is standard practice for a religious community of women whether enclosed or just very large to have one or several priests serving their spiritual needs including being their confessor See also EditConfession religion Elder Christianity Priesthood Catholic Church StaretsReferences Edit Martin Benjamin 1749 Lingua Britannica Reformata Hodges nbsp Herbermann Charles ed 1913 Synodal Examiners Catholic Encyclopedia New York Robert Appleton Company Meehan Andrew B 1909 Apostolic Examiners In Herbermann Charles ed Catholic Encyclopedia Vol 5 New York Robert Appleton Company nbsp This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Herbermann Charles ed 1913 Confessor Catholic Encyclopedia New York Robert Appleton Company External links EditCatholic Encyclopedia Confessor regarding the title Confessor Catholic Encyclopedia Sacrament of Penance regarding the ordinary minister of the Sacrament of Confession the confessor Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Confessor amp oldid 1177497191, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
