CONFESSION

confession

(noun) (Roman Catholic Church) the act of a penitent disclosing his sinfulness before a priest in the sacrament of penance in the hope of absolution

confession

(noun) a written document acknowledging an offense and signed by the guilty party

confession

(noun) the document that spells out the belief system of a given church (especially the Reformation churches of the 16th century)

confession

(noun) a public declaration of your faith

confession

(noun) an admission of misdeeds or faults

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

confession (countable and uncountable, plural confessions)

The open admittance of having done something (especially something bad).

A formal document providing such an admission.

(Christianity) The disclosure of one's sins to a priest for absolution. In the Roman Catholic Church, it is now termed the sacrament of reconciliation.

• (First Folio ed.)

Acknowledgment of belief; profession of one's faith.

A formula in which the articles of faith are comprised; a creed to be assented to or signed, as a preliminary to admission to membership of a church; a confession of faith.

Source: Wiktionary


Con*fes"sion, n. Etym: [F. confession, L. confessio.]

1. Acknowledgment; avowal, especially in a matter pertaining to one's self; the admission of a debt, obligation, or crime. With a crafty madness keeps aloof, When we would bring him on to some confession Of his true state. Shak.

2. Acknowledgment of belief; profession of one's faith. With the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Rom. x. 10.

3. (Eccl.)

Definition: The act of disclosing sins or faults to a priest in order to obtain sacramental absolution. Auricular confession . . . or the private and special confession of sins to a priest for the purpose of obtaining his absolution. Hallam.

4. A formulary in which the articles of faith are comprised; a creed to be assented to or signed, as a preliminary to admission to membership of a church; a confession of faith.

5. (Law)

Definition: An admission by a party to whom an act is imputed, in relation to such act. A judicial confession settles the issue to which it applies; an extrajudical confession may be explained or rebutted. Wharton. Confession and avoidance (Law), a mode of pleading in which the party confesses the facts as stated by his adversary, but alleges some new matter by way of avoiding the legal effect claimed for them. Mozley & W. Confession of faith, a formulary containing the articles of faith; a creed.

– General confession, the confession of sins made by a number of persons in common, as in public prayer.

– Westminster Confession. See Westminster Assembly, under Assembly.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

17 January 2025

OBSERVE

(verb) conform one’s action or practice to; “keep appointments”; “she never keeps her promises”; “We kept to the original conditions of the contract”


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Coffee Trivia

Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be “satanic.” However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.

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