“Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.” — James 5:16 (BSB)
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” — 1 John 1:9 (BSB)
“He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.” — Proverbs 28:13 (BSB)
In this rite, the penitent confesses sins before God, often in the presence of a priest, and hears the declaration of absolution spoken aloud. As Article XXV makes clear, this is not a separate sacrament but a gospel ordinance, “commonly called a sacrament,” and is useful for strengthening faith and conscience.
The 1662 Book of Common Prayer offers confession corporately in the Daily Offices and the Holy Communion liturgy. It also provides a form for private confession in the Visitation of the Sick, where the minister is directed: “Here shall the sick person be moved to make a special confession of his sins… and the Priest shall absolve him.”
Canon Dr. John Yates III (Falls Church Anglican, ACNA) teaches, “Private confession is not required, but it is a gift. Sometimes we need to hear with our own ears the words: ‘You are forgiven.’ That word spoken by a faithful priest echoes the mercy of Christ.”
Archbishop Foley Beach (ACNA) has said, “The ministry of absolution is not magical—it’s pastoral. Christ is the one who forgives. The priest simply speaks His promise on earth.”
Bishop Ray Sutton (Reformed Episcopal Church) notes, “Absolution is not the priest’s power to forgive. It is Christ’s power, announced through the Church. When done rightly, it brings relief to the conscience and renewal of the will.”
Older Anglicans also recognized its value. J.C. Ryle wrote, “God alone forgives, but it is good for the soul to kneel, to confess, and to hear the words of peace. The heart is often more truly broken in humble confession than in a thousand silent prayers.” (Practical Religion, 1878)
Though not mandatory, Confession and Absolution is a precious ministry of healing. In humility, truthfulness, and faith, the believer receives not only the forgiveness of sins, but grace to walk in freedom.
St. John Chrysostom (c. 347–407 AD): “Confess your sins before God and before the priest, that you may be loosed here and now and not be bound in the world to come.” — Homilies on Matthew, 75.3
St. Ambrose of Milan (c. 339–397 AD): “Christ gave the apostles power to bind and loose. He meant that sin confessed should be loosed through their ministry, and that which is not confessed should be bound.” — On Repentance, 1.15
St. Augustine of Hippo (354–430 AD): “Let no one say, ‘I do penance privately before God.’ Is it in vain that Christ said, ‘What you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven’?” — Sermon 392
An Anglican Catechism (Expanded) offers over 350+ Scripture-based answers to the core truths of the Christian faith. Each entry includes biblical texts, theological insight, and reflections from historic and contemporary Anglican voices. Rooted in the classical tradition, it is designed for teaching, discipleship, and spiritual formation.
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