confessional
The confessional was a compulsory part of the establishment of Roman Catholic churches. It is the usual place for the personal confession of sins ( "ear confession ") of the faithful, the absolution ( Latin absolutio ) by the priest follows. Confession ( Latin confessio ) and absolution are components of the sacrament of penance . There is also a confessional tradition in the Evangelical Lutheran churches.
history
The current shape of the confessional comes from the Baroque period . It is an almost closed, cabinet-like, wooden piece of furniture, often decorated with elaborate carving, which is divided into two or (mostly) three compartments: one for the priest and another (or two) for the confessors (two for alternating, but not simultaneous use). The part of the priest contains a seat facing the door, the part of the believer a kneeling bench, aligned with the barred opening in the partition through which the confession is spoken. There are also half-open and completely open confessionals, where both the confessor and the priest can be seen from outside; the latter forms are closer to the historical original form.
The oldest form of the confessional is that of an actual chair for the priest, before or later next to which the confessor kneeled on the floor or a step. Since then, starting from the monasteries , sacramental individual confession was increasingly practiced in pastoral care in the High Middle Ages as well , a chair was erected for it as a separate liturgical place, mostly near the altar . In the armchair (at that time a piece of furniture that distinguished the seated person as an official) symbolized the sovereign, representative character of the act of confession and the act of absolution (cf. cathedra ). In the variant of a throne-like seat with a knee bench attached to the side, this type has been materially handed down with an oldest copy from 1607 in the church of St. Lorenzen ob Murau in Styria . This variant, set up in the sacristy , remained common until the 20th century. This solution was recommended above all for the confession of the hard of hearing, since the necessary loud speaking of the priest would have been audible to third parties in a confessional in the church.
Introduced by the Synod of Fritzlar (1244), the (double) lattice window developed as a partition between the priest and the confessor. The grilles should prevent contact in both directions and thus also prevent possible sexual abuse. Nevertheless, there were frequent verbal attacks on the part of the confessor, which could continue outside the confessional, such as the confessional affair in Linz in 1871/72. The previously common absolution by the laying on of hands has since been replaced by the blessing sign of the cross. Since the Middle Ages , the carving of many confessionals has also contained roses as a symbol of secrecy: the confessional secrets were communicated to the priest in the form of pink ("under the rose"), i.e. in strict confidence . All later forms of the confessional meet the need to maintain confessional secrecy vis-à-vis third parties and a certain anonymity vis-à-vis the priest.
Against the background of the resolutions of the Council of Trent , the Archbishop of Milan, Charles Borromeo, only dealt with the two-part confessional in his practical provisions. The more general definition of the Rituale Romanum from 1614, however, allowed several formal design options.
Evangelical Lutheran confessional tradition
Even in Lutheran churches some splendid confessionals were built up into the 18th century, many of which have been preserved. This is where they differ from evangelical reformed churches. According to the Confessio Augustana (1530), which was fundamental for Lutheranism , ear confession was abolished, but individual confession was retained. For this purpose, a separate confession form was created that emphasized Martin Luther's theological approach that the focus is not on the confession of sins, but on absolution as the goal of penance. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , who comes from a Lutheran family, described the process of such an individual confession as follows:
- "But when I stepped into the barefoot choir , approached the strange barred cupboards in which the clergymen used to appear for this act, when the bell ringer opened the door for me and I saw myself locked in the narrow room against my clerical grandfather and when he welcomed me in his weak, nodding voice, all the light of my spirit suddenly died out in my heart, the memorized confessional would not come out of my lips, in my embarrassment I opened the book I had in hand and read the first of it best short formula that was so general that anyone could have said it calmly. I received absolution and went away neither warm nor cold, the next day I went with my parents to the Lord's table and chatted for a few days, as befits such a sacred act. "
After the destruction in the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), many Lutheran churches received new interiors, which also included a confessional. Leonhard Christoph Sturm (1669–1719) assumed confessionals in 1712 as typical of the Evangelical Lutheran church building. In contrast to the Roman Catholic tradition, these were positioned near the sanctuary. A special feature of the Lutheran confessional tradition is that the confessional was connected to the pulpit in such a way that the pastor could go from the pulpit directly into the confessional. A few well-preserved specimens can be found in this form in the former estate of Breuberg ( Odenwald ). What is remarkable about these confessional and parish chairs is that they have sliding grilles that could indicate that the confessors were standing or kneeling in front of the confessional while making confession. A new development of piety and class is also conceivable, which favored this form of the confessional.
Confessional
In some modern Catholic church buildings, instead of the confessional, there is sometimes a confessional room, in which confession can be given kneeling behind a lattice-like partition wall or sitting across from the priest.
literature
- Edmund W. Braun, Otto Schmitt: Beichtstuhl (confessionale) (A. In the Catholic Church). In: Real Lexicon on German Art History. Vol. 2 (1938), col. 183-194; in: RDK Labor, URL: [1] (from February 5, 2015).
- Alfred Wiesenhütter: Confessional (B. In the Protestant Church). In: Real Lexicon on German Art History. Vol. 2 (1938), col. 194-199; in: RDK Labor, URL: [2] (from February 5, 2015)
- Ralf van Bühren : Church building in Renaissance and Baroque. Liturgical reforms and their consequences for spatial planning, liturgical disposition and image decoration after the Council of Trent . In: Stefan Heid (Ed.): Operation on a living object. Rome's liturgical reforms from Trento to Vaticanum II. Be.bra-Wissenschaftsverlag, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-95410-032-3 , pp. 93–119 ( full text online ).
Regional investigations:
- Hildegard Heidelmann, Helmuth Meißner: Evangelical confessionals in Franconia. Franconian Open Air Museum , Bad Windsheim 2002, ISBN 3-926834-46-3 .
- Jutta Reisinger-Weber: Evangelical confessionals in the reign of Breuberg . In: Der Odenwald 63, Heft 4, 2016, pp. 131–147.
- Wilhelm Schlombs : The development of the confessional in the Catholic Church. Basics and special features in the old Archdiocese of Cologne. Düsseldorf 1965.
- Alexander Wieckowski: Evangelical confessionals in Saxony. Sax-Verlag, Beucha 2005, ISBN 3-934544-74-6 .
- Alexander Wieckowski: Evangelical confessional practice in Saxony and in the Dresden Frauenkirche. In: The Dresden Frauenkirche. Yearbook on their past and present , vol. 12 (2008), Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg, pp. 43–56, ISBN 978-3-7954-2084-0 .
- Helmut Ottenjann : The oldest confessional in the Oldenburger Münsterland in the St. Marienkirche in Sevelt . In: Yearbook for the Oldenburger Münsterland 2005, pp. 102–111.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Can. 964 CIC - § 1. The proper place for receiving sacramental confessions is a church or chapel. § 2. As regards the confessional, norms are to be issued by the conference of bishops; However, it must be ensured that there are always confessionals in an openly accessible place, which are provided with a solid grid between the penitent and confessor, so that the believers who wish to do so can freely use them. § 3. Outside the confessional, confessions may only be accepted for a just cause.
- ^ Robert B. Witte: The Catholic house of God. Its construction, its equipment, its maintenance. Mainz 1939, p. 168.
- ^ Claus Arnold , interviewed by Philipp Bovermann: Sexual abuse: When the confessionals got bars. In: www.sueddeutsche.de. February 23, 2019, accessed February 23, 2019 .
- ↑ Chapter 23 of his instructions
- ↑ See Bühren 2014, p. 113 f.
- ↑ Ernst Bezzel: Free to admit. History and practice of individual evangelical confessions (= Calw Theological Monographs. Volume 10). Stuttgart 1982, p. 28.
- ^ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Goethe's poetic works. Complete edition . In: Autobiographical Writings. Second part. Seventh book . tape 8 . Phaidon, 1988, ISBN 3-88851-001-5 , pp. 190 f .
- ^ Leonhard Chr. Sturm: Architectural Covering of Protestant Small Churches Figure and Furnishings. Hamburg 1712.
- ^ Jutta Reisinger-Weber: Evangelical confessionals in the Breuberg rule . In: Winfried Wackerfuß (Ed.): The Odenwald . 63rd volume / issue 4. Breuberg-Bund eV, Neustadt 2016, p. 131-147 .
- ^ Jutta Reisinger-Weber: Evangelical confessionals in the Breuberg rule . 2016, p. 139 ff .
- ↑ Alexander Wieckowski: Evangelical confessionals in Saxony . Sax, Beucha 2005, p. 44 f .