absolution
.jpg)
The word absolution ( lat. Absolvere "detach", "acquit") means absolution , meaning the forgiveness of sins after confession .
Roman Catholic understanding
In the Roman Catholic Church , absolution in individual confession is the sacramental absolution from sins by a priest who speaks the formula: “God, the merciful Father, has reconciled the world with himself through the death and resurrection of his Son the Holy Spirit sent for the forgiveness of sins. May he give you forgiveness and peace through the service of the Church. So I absolve you of your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. ”In doing so, the priest lays his hand on the person who confesses or extends his hand in blessing . The celebration of the sacrament of penance comes to an end with absolution . Before that, the sinner must repent of what he has done and have the serious intention of improving ( “good intentions” ). In danger of death, the priest can grant a general absolution to all those who confess without prior individual confession of sins . The individual confession of grave sins forgiven therein must be made up as soon as possible if the believer survives the emergency situation (Can. 962 CIC ).
A priest complicit in a sin against the sixth commandment (adultery) cannot absolve the person who has committed adultery with him from that sin. Absolution is - except in cases of death - invalid (can. 977) and entails excommunication as a punishment for the priest (can. 1378 § 1).
Evangelical-Lutheran understanding
In the Evangelical Lutheran Church , absolution is the conclusion and climax of confession. Sins are forgiven with the laying on of hands in the name of God the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit exclusively by the ordained clergyman after previous repentance and penitential prayer of the penitent (confessor) (at least applies to the Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church ). Absolution can either take place as a private or individual confession before a pastor, for example in the sacristy, or in general confession in a penance service. In principle, confession is only given by an ordained minister. In the member churches of the VELKD, however, confession can be made by any baptized Christian, with legal protection only being granted to authorized persons.
The Lutheran churches (based on the Great Catechism ) understand confession or absolution as a return to - or "creeping back into" - baptism ( reditus ad baptismum ). Baptism is therefore the indispensable prerequisite for receiving absolution. Absolution cannot be donated to an unbaptized person. In addition to the Confessio Augustana of 1530 and its apology from 1530/1531, the Small Catechism Dr. Martin Luther's explanation of confession and the course of a confessional process. Luther respected confession all his life and practiced it to the end. (Quote: “I don't want to let anyone take my secret confession from me and I didn't want to give it to the whole world in treasures, because I know what strength and consolation it has given me. I would have long been overcome by the devil and strangled if me would not have received this confession. ”) From the confession with the climax of the forgiveness of sins follows, according to Lutheran understanding, to forsake sin and to improve life.
Individual evidence
- ↑ CIC can. 977: The absolution of the complicit in a sin against the sixth commandment of the Decalogue is invalid, except in danger of death. (Lat .: Absolutio complicis in peccato contra sextum Decalogi praeceptum invalida est, praeterquam in periculo mortis. )