During the time of the early church, penance implied the readmission into the fellowship of the church of those who had fallen into open sin after baptism. This was a public act, which could take place but one time. There were various opinions about the extent of application. It was thought originally that such grave sins as adultery or murder or apostasy were excluded, but eventually its validity was extended to cover such sins as well. This form of penance was maintained up to the end of the sixth century. In Spain, for example, the idea of repeated acts of penance with priestly absolution was long rejected. But as time went on, the public act of penance gradually lost its meaning. In its place, other forms began to take shape, and thus it was that the foundation of the far-reaching medieval practice of penance was laid. The roots of this development can be traced back to the Celtic and Anglo-Saxon churches.
Within the Celtic Church, which in many respects preserved a unique character, the public form of penance was not known. On the other hand, a private form, consisting of confession to the priest, satisfaction, and readmission into the fellowship of the church, came into being. Church manuals dating from the sixth century, which carefully describe the manner of doing penance for various kinds of sin and also set the time factor involved in each case, have been preserved. One such manual is entitled Poenitentiale. Doing penance could involve fasting and prayer, giving alms, living a life of abstinence, and so on. The strictest form was permanent exile (peregrinatio perennis). Some of the protracted forms of doing penance could be reduced if the penitent would keep a vigil, recite the Psalms endlessly, or do something else of a difficult nature. The possibility of “redemption” was also recognized: one form of punishment could be exchanged for another, or one person could even purchase the services of another who would do penance for him.
In this context, penance did not only concern mortal sins; lesser offenses were also involved. Private confession was a combination of public penance in church and the pastoral penance practiced in cloisters and among pious laymen. It came to fulfill the same function as public penance did in the early church, viz., to reinstate individuals into the fellowship of the congregation. In the early Middle Ages, however, it was extended to cover also secret sins.
Celtic and Anglo-Saxon missionaries brought this form of penance over to the continent, where it was gradually accepted without any opposition. French confessional manuals dating from the later part of the eighth century have adopted the Celtic regulations.
At the beginning of the ninth century, the so-called Carolingian reform of penance sought to reestablish the old public form of penance and to abolish the confessional manuals. But this effort did not succeed; the newer forms continued to be used.
By the year 800 the public form of penance had virtually disappeared. It remained, in vestigial form, in the following tradition (the poenitentia solemnis): in the case of gross, public sin, an act of reconciliation in church was prescribed. Thomas Aquinas wrote: “Sometimes those who have become contaminated by and have become guilty of gross and public sins ought to have public and solemn penance imposed on them, for their own good and as an example to others.” (Summa theologica, suppl., qu. 28, art. 1)
The Celtic form of penance kept growing in popularity, and it came to form the basis of the practice of penance in the Roman Catholic Church. This new form was different from the older in that it recognized that penance could be and ought to be repeated, and also because it was concerned with lesser, private sins. This new form was not public, but neither was it purely private, inasmuch as confession was made to a priest and prescribed forms of making satisfaction were involved.
Penance in this new form implied contritio cordis, confessio oris, and satisfactio operis. Contrition was always emphasized, but confession before a priest also became necessary—in part so that the proper form of satisfaction could be levied on the individual. The public act of reconciliation was replaced in the confessional by the priestly absolution, which was given even before the completion of the satisfactions. The regular confession of even the lesser (venial) sins gradually became a universal obligation in the church. The Fourth Lateran Council of 1215 prescribed that confession must be made at least once a year.
From the very outset, the use of the confessional was related to the office of the priest and its power to bind and to loose. The priest could “bind” a person either by excommunicating him or by prescribing another kind of penance; the priest “loosed” a person by granting absolution. As a result of this, the confessional became the church’s primary means of exercising discipline, and the strongest tie between priest and people. A general absolution, given to the entire congregation without prior auricular confession, was used on certain occasions, but it never replaced the regular practice of confession.
The demand to make satisfaction and to “do penance” was strictly enforced at this time. One could do penance either by giving alms or by fasting. Other common satisfactions were going on a pilgrimage, scourging oneself, or entering a cloister. The stricter forms of obligations could in many cases be replaced by assuming milder or briefer but more intensive penalties. This was called redemptio, the same method already noted in the Celtic confessional manuals. Fasting could be replaced by the giving of alms, for example, or a long fast could be shortened by scourging or by continuous reading of the Psalms.
Within the Celtic Church, which in many respects preserved a unique character, the public form of penance was not known. On the other hand, a private form, consisting of confession to the priest, satisfaction, and readmission into the fellowship of the church, came into being. Church manuals dating from the sixth century, which carefully describe the manner of doing penance for various kinds of sin and also set the time factor involved in each case, have been preserved. One such manual is entitled Poenitentiale. Doing penance could involve fasting and prayer, giving alms, living a life of abstinence, and so on. The strictest form was permanent exile (peregrinatio perennis). Some of the protracted forms of doing penance could be reduced if the penitent would keep a vigil, recite the Psalms endlessly, or do something else of a difficult nature. The possibility of “redemption” was also recognized: one form of punishment could be exchanged for another, or one person could even purchase the services of another who would do penance for him.
In this context, penance did not only concern mortal sins; lesser offenses were also involved. Private confession was a combination of public penance in church and the pastoral penance practiced in cloisters and among pious laymen. It came to fulfill the same function as public penance did in the early church, viz., to reinstate individuals into the fellowship of the congregation. In the early Middle Ages, however, it was extended to cover also secret sins.
Celtic and Anglo-Saxon missionaries brought this form of penance over to the continent, where it was gradually accepted without any opposition. French confessional manuals dating from the later part of the eighth century have adopted the Celtic regulations.
At the beginning of the ninth century, the so-called Carolingian reform of penance sought to reestablish the old public form of penance and to abolish the confessional manuals. But this effort did not succeed; the newer forms continued to be used.
By the year 800 the public form of penance had virtually disappeared. It remained, in vestigial form, in the following tradition (the poenitentia solemnis): in the case of gross, public sin, an act of reconciliation in church was prescribed. Thomas Aquinas wrote: “Sometimes those who have become contaminated by and have become guilty of gross and public sins ought to have public and solemn penance imposed on them, for their own good and as an example to others.” (Summa theologica, suppl., qu. 28, art. 1)
The Celtic form of penance kept growing in popularity, and it came to form the basis of the practice of penance in the Roman Catholic Church. This new form was different from the older in that it recognized that penance could be and ought to be repeated, and also because it was concerned with lesser, private sins. This new form was not public, but neither was it purely private, inasmuch as confession was made to a priest and prescribed forms of making satisfaction were involved.
Penance in this new form implied contritio cordis, confessio oris, and satisfactio operis. Contrition was always emphasized, but confession before a priest also became necessary—in part so that the proper form of satisfaction could be levied on the individual. The public act of reconciliation was replaced in the confessional by the priestly absolution, which was given even before the completion of the satisfactions. The regular confession of even the lesser (venial) sins gradually became a universal obligation in the church. The Fourth Lateran Council of 1215 prescribed that confession must be made at least once a year.
From the very outset, the use of the confessional was related to the office of the priest and its power to bind and to loose. The priest could “bind” a person either by excommunicating him or by prescribing another kind of penance; the priest “loosed” a person by granting absolution. As a result of this, the confessional became the church’s primary means of exercising discipline, and the strongest tie between priest and people. A general absolution, given to the entire congregation without prior auricular confession, was used on certain occasions, but it never replaced the regular practice of confession.
The demand to make satisfaction and to “do penance” was strictly enforced at this time. One could do penance either by giving alms or by fasting. Other common satisfactions were going on a pilgrimage, scourging oneself, or entering a cloister. The stricter forms of obligations could in many cases be replaced by assuming milder or briefer but more intensive penalties. This was called redemptio, the same method already noted in the Celtic confessional manuals. Fasting could be replaced by the giving of alms, for example, or a long fast could be shortened by scourging or by continuous reading of the Psalms.
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