confession chair

A confe ional. con-fes-sion-äire', s. [O. Fr.] A penitent; one who has made confe ion. "Like an absolved confe ion a ire , wipes off as he goes along one score, to begin another."- Richardson : Clari a, con-fes'-sion-al, a & s. [Fr., from Low Lat. & ii. 153. IMG:content-0545.png:[blocks in formation] following: (1) The Confe ion of Augsburg : [AUGSBURG CONFESSION.] (2) The Westminster Confe ion : A confe ion of faith drawn up by what was called an A embly of Divines, but which had also some laymen among its members, sitting by authority of the Parliament between A. D. 1643 and 1647. Ninety-seven were English and nine, with two "scribes," Scotch commi ioners. The place of meeting was Henry VII.'s Chapel at Westminster. The confe ion of faith was agreed to in 1643, and was designed to be the standard of belief for the whole kingdom, England as well as Scotland. In the former country, how ever, it was never cordially accepted by the nation; in the latter it was so received. It was ratified by the Scottish General A embly on August 27, 1647, and by the Parliament of the Scottish kingdom on February 7, 1649, as it was once more under William and Mary on June 7, 1690. Its tenets were e entially those of the Reformed Churches in general. It is still the chief symbolic book of the Evangelical Presbyterian Churches throughout the world, though explanations or qualifications of the teaching on one or two points are permitted in some of the churches. The Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England are a confe ion of faith in all but the name. [ARTICLES.] 5. Confe ion of indictment: Law: A confe ion by an accused person that he is guilty of the offense with which he is charged. ( Black stone .) 6. Sacramental Confe ion: Theology and Church History: (1) Def .: "The habitual and detailed, confe ion of sins to a priest, with a view of receiving priestly absolution, and of so becoming better prepared for a faithful and true partaking of the Holy Communion, and of attaining to a higher standard of true spiritual life." ( Bp . of Gloucester and Bristol, quoted in London Times , Oct. 27, 1877.) (2) Hist .: Originally notorious offenders were required to confe their sins publicly before the confiteor.] IMG:content-0546.png:[blocks in formation]