Confession

Heard in the wild

The longer version

What it means

In the Catholic sacrament of confession, a person tells a priest the sins they've committed since their last confession, expresses sorrow, receives counsel and a "penance" (a prayer or act to perform afterward), and hears the words of absolution — the priest, acting in Christ's name, declares their sins forgiven. It happens in a confessional (a small booth or room, sometimes with a screen for anonymity), takes a few minutes, and is bound by absolute secrecy. Catholics are required to confess serious sins at least once a year and encouraged to go more often; before Christmas and Easter, the lines are long.

Orthodox confession is similar, usually face to face with the priest, often standing before an icon. Anglicans and Lutherans offer private confession without requiring it — "all may, none must, some should."

Why people say it

Catholics believe Jesus gave His apostles the authority to forgive sins in His name (John 20:23) and that the priest continues that ministry. But the reason people go is simpler: saying your sins out loud to another person, and hearing forgiveness spoken back, does something that private prayer often doesn't. Many Catholics describe leaving confession feeling physically lighter.

How to respond

If a Catholic friend mentions going to confession, they've done something ordinary and a little brave; no comment needed beyond, perhaps, "how was it?" If they seem anxious about not having gone, that's a common Catholic feeling and they'd probably like encouragement to go. If you're curious, you can attend a Catholic church and watch the confessional line, but you can't receive the sacrament unless you're Catholic. Protestants who want the same thing often find it in confessing to a trusted friend or pastor, which James 5:16 commends.

If you hear it in different churches

Catholic: a sacrament, required at least yearly for serious sin. Orthodox: a mystery, usually before receiving communion, face to face. Anglican: available, optional, and in high-church parishes common. Lutheran: retained by Luther, available, little used. Reformed, Baptist, evangelical, and Pentecostal: no priestly confession; sins are confessed to God directly, and to one another informally — accountability partners and small groups serve some of the same purpose.

Where does “Confession” come from?

Jesus tells the apostles, "If you forgive anyone's sins, their sins are forgiven" (John 20:23). Early Christian confession was public and once-in-a-lifetime, for grave sins; Irish monks in the 500s developed private, repeatable confession with a penance, which spread across Europe. The Fourth Lateran Council (1215) required annual confession. The confessional booth with a screen was introduced in the 1500s. The Reformers rejected mandatory priestly confession, though Luther kept it as valuable. The Second Vatican Council renamed the sacrament "Reconciliation" and allowed face-to-face confession (1973), though the booth survives and most Catholics still say "confession."

Good to know

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Go deeper on the network

• ConfessionsOfFaith.com — the other kind of confession: historic statements of belief ↗

Common questions