The Sacrament of Penance (Abashkharootiun) – Part 5 of 6

Objections

The following are various objections to the sacrament of Penance as it is practiced in the Armenian Orthodox Church:

Objection 1) Private confession to a priest is not biblical, and was not historically practiced in the early Church.

Reply:

• It should be noted that the Armenian Orthodox Church practices both public and private forms of confession to a priest.
• It is true that confession in the early Church was an open and public act, but it has developed into a more private expression for specific reasons, such as:
  
1. Growth in Church membership, where open and public confession may not have been conducive or efficient.
2. Abuse of the practice of open and public confession, in that some sins should be kept private in order to protect the penitents and maintain fellowship within the Body.

Objection 2) Is forgiveness from God only found through the Church and the priesthood? What about traditions that do not practice confession to a priest, but practice private and personal confession directly to God? Are they not truly forgiven? Is there forgiveness apart from the Church and priesthood; apart from the sacrament of Penance?

Reply:

• It should be agreed by all Christians that there is no forgiveness without Christ, but where is Christ found? That is, what/who is the representation of Christ on earth, or what/who is called to carry on the mission of Christ on earth? The answer is the Church. Therefore, by nature, the Church is involved in repentance and forgiveness, and historically and theologically this has been done through the sacrament of Penance. If forgiveness is not attained through the sacrament of Penance, one would have to claim that the Church is not necessary for at least that one interaction with God, and thus, if the Church is not necessary for forgiveness, then confession becomes strictly individual. If one wants to avoid confession becoming strictly individual, then one needs to ask how the Church should be involved with repentance and forgiveness, and then further define what is even meant by 'Church'? (This response is meant to leave the debate open between how the Church is defined by Holy Tradition vs. Sola Scriptura.)
• If one desires biblical support over or alongside historical or traditional support, it should be noted that there is very little biblical basis for the practice of private and individual confession to God. In fact, there is very little, if not any, biblical support for any spiritual activity to be done in isolation, or as an individual apart from the Church. (Even solitude and monasticism is a communal act of the Church.) On the other hand, there is biblical support for a corporate approach to the addressing of sin, as seen in Matthew 18:15-17 and James 5:16, as well as authority being given to the Church for the forgiveness of sins, as seen in John 20:23 and Matthew 16:19.
• The practice of confession to a priest within the realm of the Church seems to make more practical sense as well. According to an article in the Orthodox Study Bible, it is easy to pray in isolation yet never come clean, and it is much more effective to confess aloud to God and before a priest.¹ If one takes the practice of confession seriously, there is a profound sense of accountability by confessing to someone who can be trusted, and has been called by Christ to give spiritual direction, as well as absolve our sins.
• For the Armenian Orthodox Christian, Penance serves as a continuation of Baptism. Baptism, among other things, cleanses us from our sins, and the sins committed after Baptism are forgiven during the sacrament of Penance. Therefore, to say that the sacrament of Penance is unnecessary, and that private confession directly to God is the only valid form of confession, is to falsify the significance, practice, and theology surrounding Armenian Orthodox Baptism.
• Can God forgive sins outside the sacrament of Penance? The Armenian Orthodox Church would most likely affirm this. God is not limited to one Church tradition or one expression of the sacraments. The Armenian Orthodox Church does not claim that forgiveness and salvation can only be found within the walls of her Church. Like any sacrament, and any act of God, there is always a mysterious element, and we are not in any position to limit God in what He can do, or how He grants salvation.
• In support of private confession directly to God, there are numerous examples of this form of confession throughout Armenian Church history. St. Nerses Shnorhali, St. Gregory of Narek, and Hovhannes of Garni have all used ‘forgiveness’ language within their private prayers. We also cannot ignore the fact that the Lord’s Prayer (Hayr Mer) contains the supplication “and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” With this said, it should be clearly understood that for Orthodox Christians, based on their understanding of the Church, “personal prayer is possible only in the catalyst of the community of the Church. Even in solitude, a Christian prays as a member of the Church.”² So, even the prayers of the Armenian Orthodox Church fathers, and the Lord’s Prayer, which starts with the word ‘Our’, were never meant to be prayed in isolation, privately, and merely between the penitent and God. For the Orthodox Christian, private prayer and confession to God is never done apart from the Church. This does not mean that prayer or confession cannot be done while 'alone' or 'in privacy', or that there is no personal aspect to our faith and communion with God. Rather, there is no place for individualism or isolation in Christianity. According to Orthodox ecclesiology, which is not separated from Orthodox soteriology, all works of the believer are performed within the Church, as members of the Church, as a result of the unity of the Church.
• As far as Armenian Orthodox Christians are concerned, if at all possible, private confession to God, although valid and still indirectly communal, should be supplemented with the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist.
  

But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. "And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this:
Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
And forgive us our debts,
As we also have forgiven our debtors;
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

- Jesus Christ, Matthew 6:6-15

Sources
¹ Orthodox Study Bible, 1698.
² Timothy Ware, The Orthodox Church, 303, quoting George Florovsky, Prayer Private and Corporate, 3.