What does it mean to confess ?

These last few days I have been on a short visit to Cairo for a number of meetings including ones with both the retired Anglican Archbishop of Alexandria Dr Mouneer Anis and his successor, Archbishop Samy Shehata, as well as with the Revd Dr Mathew Anderson the Academic Director of the Centre for Christian Muslim Understanding at All Saints’ Cathedral and Rector of St John’s Maadi (and head of the Dialogue Across Borders initiative in conjunction with Brill). 

Dr. Mouneer has just published a history of the Global South movement within the Anglican Communion, a book which comes at an important moment, given that the unity and indeed very existence of the Communion in any deep sense  is clearly facing major challenges. These are issues which have much engaged His Grace Archbishop Samy also, who serves on the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity Faith and Order, of which my good friend from Yale days Dr Christopher Wells is the staff lead as Director of Unity Faith and Order in the Anglican Communion Office. Both Drs Wells and Anderson have visited and given presentations here in the Parish. 

All of this gave a particular edge to the question of just what it means “to confess” as a Christian, for the word itself has several distinct usages as its etymology explains. The word confession comes to us, via old French, from Latin with a root meaning that is thought to reflect the conjunction of con,  “together” with fateri, “to admit” and the cognate fari “speak”. 

Thus, in the context of Christian history, we may first think of the great Confessors of the early church who confessed, or declared, their faith no matter the cost –  if need be to the point of martyrdom.  Secondly however, we will likely think of confession in the sense of recalling and repenting of our sins before God (a concept that relates well to the purely legal meaning of a confession as a statement acknowledging wrongdoing)  Confessing sins has a robust biblical basis extending back to the Old Testament (see Leviticus 5:5 for example) where it was understood as deeply important to make a verbal acknowledgement and to repent,  because these actions were prerequisites if there was ever to be atonement.  In the New Testament, 1 John 1:9 for example, reassures us that if we confess our sins God is faithful and just to forgive and will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Moreover, Jesus is recorded as giving the apostles express authority to forgive or retain sins (John 20:22-23; Matthew 16:19; 18:18). 

All of this is foundational to the practice of confession as a spiritual discipline. And in this sense confession means more than merely admitting wrongdoing, it involves – and indeed – requires sincere contrition, repentance, and a desire for amendment of life. It is in this way that we can restore our relationship with God and mature in our path towards spiritual growth, healing, and renewal, as well as accountability within the Church body. Though in the light of Reformation controversies, it is important to be clear that we are not in any sense understanding ourselves as effecting our own salvation here, rather we are clearing the path for the work of grace, by accepting, not only the justification achieved for us by the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for us at Calvary, but also, our commitment to that life time work of sanctification to which each of us is called.

All this is timely terrain to consider,  because we are about to hold our Annual Anglo-Catholic Conference next week, FOR  WHICH YOU CAN STILL SIGN UP HERE, which is being organized in conjunction with our Grafton House initiative led by Fr Ian, as well as the Anglican Way magazine of the Prayer Book Society USA  And Fr Ian expressly chose this year to explore Anglican perspectives on Confession – where he had foremost in mind precisely the concept of confession as a spiritual discipline and the ways that Anglican divines over the centuries have reflected upon and understood this. 

However, that coming felicity next week still leaves time to recognize this week the important anniversary of Nostra aetate the profoundly groundbreaking declaration made by the Roman Catholic Church in 1965.  

Pope John XXIII is widely recognized as the initial driving force. He saw this as a key part of the work he launched in the Second Vatican Council. The main authors and advisors behind Nostra aetate were Cardinal Augustin Bea, who oversaw the drafting process assisted by a team of theologians that included John M. Oesterreicher, Gregory Baum, Leo Rudloff, and Georges Tavard. Among these, Oesterreicher is important to note was a convert from Judaism as he played a particularly prominent role in penning the initial drafts and shaping the document’s statements on Jewish-Christian relations for which it is especially noted. (And the Jewish historian Jules Isaac along with Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and other Jewish thinkers were also of influence, in conversation with Cardinal Bea and the final document was formally promulgated by Pope Paul VI.

The document has been widely credited with helping to transform relations not only with Jews, however, but more widely for faiths other than Christian. This reflects the breadth of input which its drafting involved. 

Arab and Middle Eastern bishops played a pivotal role in shaping the final wording. They voiced political, pastoral, and theological concerns for balance regarding its treatment of Judaism and by noting its potential impact upon Christians in the predominantly Muslim Arab world. They specifically requested that any material about Judaism should be paired with a positive references to Islam. The drafting committee accordingly expanded the document to include statements about Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, aiming for the careful balance which the final text displays. All of this led to Nostra aetate becoming a declaration on relations with all non-Christian religions, rather than just Jews which is why its legacy has been so far reaching.

The document was the first major Catholic statement explicitly recognizing Muslims with esteem and to highlight elements of shared belief in respect of one God, reverence for Jesus as a prophet (while this does not assert equivalence as recognizing him as Divine it should be noted, since this is clearly established as not something Muslims feel able usually to do), as well as devotion to Mary, the value of prayer, almsgiving, fasting, and anticipation of the resurrection – as well as recognition of Islam as a fellow Abrahamic faith, fostering both mutual respect and an opening for dialogue and collaboration.

Muslim responses have increasingly included participation in formal dialogues, joint conferences, and collaborative humanitarian projects with Christians. 

I have myself been much engaged in interfaith matters over the last twenty five years.

Accordingly, I note that many Islamic and organizations of other faith traditions have celebrated the anniversary of Nostra aetate and publicly honored the commitment it reflected to religious respect, dialogue, and public advocacy.

In the light of all this, I do hope that amidst our plethora of activities in the parish, we shall find an opportunity to reflect upon the statement and the wider opportunities for interfaith dialogue it later helped to make possible.