PENANCE
633
PENANCE
scrifl spraec; and the ].):irisli itself was the scriflscir,
i. e., "confession district" — a term which shows
plainly the close relation between confession and the
work of religion in general. The practice in Eng-
land can be traced back to the times immediately
following the country's conversion. Ven. Bede (H. E.,
IV, 23 [25]) gives the story of Adamnan, an Irish monk
of the seventh century, who belonged to the monas-
tery of Coldingham, England. In his youth, having
committed some sin, he went to a priest, confessed,
and was given a penance to be performed until the
priest should return. But the priest went to Ireland
and died there, and Adanman continued his penance
to the end of his days. When St. Cuthbcrt (635-87)
on his missionary tours preached to the people, "they
all confessed openly what they had done, . . . and
what they confessed they expiated, as he commanded
them, by worthy fruits of penance " (Bede, op. cit.,lV,
25). Alcuin (735-804) declares that "without confes-
sion there is no pardon" (P. L., C, 337);. that "he who
accuses himself of his sins will not have the devil for
an accuser in the day of judgment" (P. L., CI, 021);
that "he who conceals his sins and is ashamed to make
wholesome confession, has God as witness now and will
have him again as avenger" (ibid., 622). Lanfranc
(1005-89) has a treatise, "De celanda confessione",
i. e., on keeping confession secret, in which he rebukes
those who give the slightest intimation of what they
have heard in confession (P. L., CL, 626).
The jienitentials were known as scrift hoes. The one attributed to Archbishop Theodore (602-90) says: "The deacon is not allowed to impose penance on a layman; this should be done by the bishops or priests" (bk. II, 2): and further; "According to the canons, penitents should not receive communion until their penance is completed; but we, for mercy's sake, allow tlicm to receive at the end of a year or six months" (I, 12). An important statement is that "public reconciliation is not established in this prov- ince, for the reason that there is no public penance" — which shows that the minute prescriptions contained in the Penitential were meant for the guidance of the priest in giving penance privately, i. e., in confession. Among the excerptiones, or extracts, from the canons which bear the name of Archbishop Egbert of York (d. 766), canon xlvi says that the bishop shall hear no cause without the presence of his clergy, except in case of confession (Wilkins, "Concilia", I, 10-1). His Peni- tential prescribes (IX) that "a bishop orpriest shall not refuse confession to those who desire it, though they be guilty of many sins" (ibid., 126). The Council of Chalcuth (a. d. 787) : "If any one depart this life with- out penance or confession, he shall not be prayed for" (can. xx). The canons published under King Edgar (960) have a special section "On Confession" which begins: "When one wishes to confess his sins, let him act manfully, and not be ashamed to confess his mis- deeds and crimes, accusing himself; because hence comes pardon, and because without confession there is no pardon; confession heals; confession justifies" (ibid., 229). The Council of Eanham (1009): "Let every Christian do as behooves him, strictlj' keep his Christianity, accustom himself to frequent confession, fearlessly confess his sins, and carefully make amends according as he is directed" (can. xvii, Wilkins, ibid., 289). Among the ecclesiastical laws enacted (1033) by King Canute, we find this exhortation: "Let us with all diligence turn back from our sins, and let us each confess our sins to our confessor, and ever [after] refrain from evil-doing and mend our ways" (XVIII, Wilkins, ibid., 303).
The Council of Durham (c. 1220): "How necessary is the sacrament of penance, those words of the Gospel prove: Who.se sins, etc. . . . But since we obtain the pardon of our sins by true confession, we prescribe in accordance with the canonical statutes that the priest in giving penance shall carefully con-
sider the amount of thi' penance, the quality of the
sin, the place, time, cause, duration and other circum-
stances of the sin; and especially the devotion of the
penitent and the signs of contrition." Similar direc-
tions are given by the Council of Oxford (1222), which
adds after various admonitions: "Let no priest dare,
either out of anger or e\'en through fear of death, to
reveal the confession of anyone by word or sign . . .
and should he be con\icted of doing this he ought
deservedly to be degraded without hope of relaxation"
(Wilkins, ibid., 595). The Scottish Council (o. 1227)
repeats these injunctions and prescribes "that once a
year the faithful shall confess all their sins either to
their own [parish] priest or, w^ith his permission, to
some other priest" (can. Ivii). Explicit instructions for
the confessor are found in the statutes of Alexander,
Bishop of Coventry (1237), especially in regard to the
manner of questioning the penitent and enjoining
penance. The Council of Lambeth (1261) declares:
"Since the sacrament of confession and penance, the
second plank after shipwreck, the last part of man's sea-
faring, the final refuge, is for every sinner most neces-
sary unto salvation, we strictly forbid, under pain of
excommunication, that anyone should presume to
hinder the free administration of this sacrament to
each who asks for it" (Wilkins, ibid., 754).
To give some idea of the ancient discipline, the penalties attached to graver crimes are cited here from the English and Irish Penitentials. For stealing, Cummian prescribes that a layman shall do one year of penance; a cleric, two; a subdeacon, three; a deacon, four; a priest, five; a bishop, six. For mur- der or perjury, the penance lasted three, five, six, seven, ten, or twelve years according to the criminal's rank. Theodore commands that if any one leave the Catholic Church, join the heretics, and induce others to do the same, he shall, in case he repent, do penance for twelve years. For the perjurer who swears by the Church, the Gospel, or the relics of the saints, Egbert prescribes seven or eleven years of penance. Usury entailed three years; infanticide, fifteen; idolatry or demon-worship, ten. Violationsof the sixth command- ment were punished with great severitj'; the penance varied, according to the nature of the sin, from three to fifteen years, the extreme penalty being prescribed for incest, i. e., fifteen to twenty-five years. Whatever its duration, the penance included fasting on bread and water, either for the whole period or for a specified portion. Those who could not fast were obliged in- stead to recite daily a certain number of psalms, to give alms, take the discipline (scourging) or perform some other penitential exercise as determined by the confessor. (See Lingard, "Hist, and Antiq. of the Anglo-Saxon Church", London, 1845; Thurston, "Confession in England before the Conquest" in "The Tablet", Feb. and March, 1905.)
Confession in the Anglican Church. — In the Anglican Church, according to the rule laid down in the "Prayer Book", there is a general confession pre- scribed for morning and evening Service, also for Holy Communion; this confession is followed by a general absolution like the one in use in the Catholic Church. Also in the "Prayer Book" confession is counselled for the quieting of conscience and for the good that comes from absolution and the peace that arises from the fatherly direction of the minister of God. There is also mention of private confession in the office for the sick: "Here shall the sick person be moved to make a special confession of his sins if he feel his conscience troubled with any weighty matter. After which the priest shall absolve him (if he humbly and heartily desire it) after this sort: 'Our Lord Jesus Christ, who has left the power to his Church' etc." Since the beginning of the Oxford Movement confes- sion after the manner |ir:irli>('-l in t lie Catholic Church has become more friM|ii.nl miulmk tho.se of the High Church party. In 1,S73 a ijctilion was sent to the
