The Godly Discipline of the Primitive Church

Introduction The twentieth century saw remarkable flourishing of ecumenical dialogue between Anglicans and Roman Catholics on international level, and agreement on many matters long held to be disputed. In midst of agreement, however, differing practices in regard to private confession continued to be described as of special significance, where Church of England and Roman Catholic Church had moved in different directions in sixteenth century.1 This matter was most recently described as one of number of present disagreements between Anglicans and Roman Catholics in regard to discipleship and holiness.2 Both communions practice private confession. What is at issue is nature of practice. In Roman Catholic Church, private confession to priest is part of the sacrament of and is obligatory those conscious of serious sin.3 For their part, Anglican reformers rejected obligatory nature of private confession. For Anglicans, private confession is a wholesome means of grace that can offer assurance to troubled conscience, but which is set in greater context of believer's direct access to Word of God for assurance of forgiveness, and linked as well to practice of general confession and absolution within liturgy.4 It is difficult to gauge weight given in these two documents to differing practice. Life in Christ speaks of divergence as one of differences that in new light when we consider them in their origin and context.5 This is on different order of magnitude from two areas of official disagreement that are dealt with elsewhere: the marriage of divorced person during life-time of former partner; and permissible methods of controlling conception, and different as well from points where Anglican and Roman Catholic attitudes and opinions appear to conflict on abortion and homosexual relations.6 For its part, later statement Growing Together in Unity and Mission simply lists differing practice on private confession as one of series of divergences that includes remarriage after divorce, abortion, contraception, and homosexual relations.7 What these two ecumenical documents do not provide is any account of origin of private confession in practice of public penance, common history that points toward greater understanding and possible theological convergence. For Anglicans, consideration of our own particular history also leads us to reclaim part of our own tradition that has been eclipsed. In this way deeper consideration of private confession could function as an example of how ecumenical dialogue can lead to understanding and reclaiming of gifts that have been forgotten. Reclaiming Common History The story of how early church's practice of public penance for major sins (adultery, homicide, apostasy, schism, as well as others) became medieval church's system of private confession of all mortal sins (deliberate, conscious sins) has been recounted before.8 A common thread is idea of reconciliation with church. Baptism into church, celebrated by community, was sign of reconciliation with God. Any sin after baptism alienated person both from God and from community. Whether any reconciliation was possible in these circumstances was roundly debated in early Christianity, but by period of fourth century public penitential discipline administered by bishops that led to reconciliation had developed on widespread basis.9 By its prayer and by Christ's authorization church reconciled sinners to community and to God and restored them to communion. The communal dimension of sin and forgiveness, authoritative role of church, and public nature of reconciliation were all emphasized by practice. This practice continued to evolve in period from fourth to eighth centuries. …