Origins of the BCP favouring/opting for general absolution.

Evening all.

Hope all are well who read this post.

My question is:

The BCP has within it the general absolution as the main source of absolution (I understand auricular confession is within the BCP). Within the CofE auricular confession has to be sought as opposed to general confession.

What was the theology for opting for general absolution as the main source of such liturgy?

Kind regards

David.
Hull.

 

From my understanding they wanted to get away from abuses that took place from private confession and they also wanted to get back to the early churches use is a public confession

 

This is true for the most part. A general confession and some form of absolution (within the liturgy) were the norm for the average layperson. Personal confession was always present within the Church but initially consisted of confessing major sins (apostasy, murder, etc.) to the Bishop in front of a gathering of the faithful. Private confession also existed from the beginning but was made to a spiritual father in an early form of spiritual direction.

Private confession as we know it today was started by the Irish monks through the Irish Penitential system. It didn't become standard or mandated practice within the Western Church until the mid-1200s.

As a Roman Catholic, I think private confession is extremely important and I gladly accept my Church's teaching on the matter but I can understand the Anglican position. If I'm not mistaken some of the Oriental Orthodox hold a similar practice of general confession with optional private confession.

 

Basically the further East you go outside of Egypt, auricular confession becomes less common. The Armenians and Assyrians are like us Anglicans in how they do confessoin

 

I knew I'd heard that before but I could never remember which Church it was. Thanks!

 

Auricular confession developed independently in the Coptic Church also. You saw it develop from the Irish in the West and the Copts in the East

 

Did the Copts also develop it in the course of their monasticism? Monasticism is mostly derived from Egyptian models isn't it?

 

Don't hold me to that but I do believe that was so

 

It sprang up in the region that was to become the ambit of the Coptic Church, however, it is before we could specifically identify them as Copts, in that clear separation occurred around 451 AD and the Council of Chalcedon.

 

If thieves broke into a Coptic building and they made a movie about it, would it be a Copts and Robbers story? (you may groan now.)

 

• Milad Makeen Zaky
• Abanub Ayad Atiya
• Maged Soliman Shehata
• Youssef Shukry Younan
• Kirollos Boshra Fawzy
• Bishoy Astafanous Kamel
• Samuel Astafanous Kamel
• Malak Ibrahim Sinyout
• Tawadros Youssef Tawadros
• Gerges Milad Sinyout
• Mina Fayez Aziz
• Hany Abdel Mesih Salib
• Samuel Alham Wilson
• Ezzat Boshra Naseef
• Luka Nagaty Anis
• Gaber Mounir Adly
• Essam Baddar Samir
• Malak Farag Abrahim
• Sameh Salah Farouk
• Gerges Samir Megally
• Mathew Ayairga (from Ghana)

† Rest eternal grant to them, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon them!

 

@Botolph , not sure why you quoted my pun to post the names of deceased individuals?? Sort of weird. (Do you Aussies ever refer to policeman-type shows as "cops and robbers"?)

 

Perhaps if you did a Google search for the people on the list you would then understand why I posted it. They are not simply deceased persons, but Holy Martyrs of the Coptic Orthodox Church. They may be a smallish Church, only about as big as the Anglican Church, however, they face inordinate challenges, and they deserve our respect and prayers. They are not an object of amusement.

​

 

Some people have zero sense of humor, and that's fine, but no need to be critical toward those who do. In no way is a little wordplay disrespectful of martyrs.

Do you get all upset when you hear someone make a joke about Anglicans, too?

 

I probably would have been pretty happy with it on a Coptic Forum, where people were displaying there their own self-deprecating humour, however, I don't think it belongs in Anglican Forums, and I probably simply wanted to assure any passing reader that some Anglicans do get it. But then again there have always those who Anglican and those who Anglicant.

 

Sincere thanks for your reply Sir.