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The '''Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation''' (also known colloquially as '''Confession''', '''Reconciliation''', and '''Penance''') is one of the seven [[sacraments]] of the [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]], [[Eastern Orthodox Churches|Orthodox]], and Old Catholic churches. Among [[Protestant]]s, it is not considered a sacrament but is practiced in one fashion or another, often as a general confession recited by the entire congregation prior to receiving [[Communion]]. The admission of guilt usually is coupled with a request for forgiveness from sin.

The '''Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation''' (also known colloquially as '''Confession''', '''Reconciliation''', and '''Penance''') is one of the seven [[sacrament]]s of the [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]], and Old Catholic churches. Among [[Protestant]]s, it is not considered a sacrament but is practiced in one fashion or another, often as a general confession recited by the entire congregation prior to receiving [[Communion]]. The admission of guilt usually is coupled with a request for forgiveness from sin.

One may confess privately to God, but the [[Bible]] calls on believers to confess to each other, and many denominations--especially the ones named above--expect member to confess their sins to a priest so that he can absolve the penitent of his sins or reassure him of God's forgiveness. In the Catholic Church, the penitent is customarily given a penance (certain prayers) to be performed so that there will be a sense of reparation for sin and to remove some of the temporal punishment consequent to sin.

One may confess privately to God, but the [[Bible]] calls on believers to confess to each other, and many denominations--especially the ones named above--expect member to confess their sins to a priest so that he can absolve the penitent of his sins or reassure him of God's forgiveness. In the Catholic Church, the penitent is customarily given a penance (certain prayers) to be performed so that there will be a sense of reparation for sin and to remove some of the temporal punishment consequent to sin.