in a civil sense, a declaration or acknowledgment of some truth, though against the interest of the party who makes it; whether it be in a court of justice or out of it. It is a maxim, that in civil matters, the confession is never to be divided, but always taken entire. A criminal is never condemned on his simple confession, without other collateral proofs; nor is a voluntary extrajudicial confession admitted as any proof. A person is not admitted to accuse himself, according to that rule in law, Non auditur perire volent. See ARRRAIGNMENT.

among divines, the verbal acknowledgment which a Christian makes of his sins.

Among the Jews it was the custom, on the annual feast of expiation, for the high-priest to make confession of sins to God in the name of the whole people: besides this general confession, the Jews were enjoined, if their sins were a breach of the first table of the law, to make confession of them to God; but violations of the second table were to be acknowledged to their brethren. The confessions of the primitive Christians were all voluntary, and not imposed on them by any laws of the church; yet private confession was not only allowed, but encouraged.

The Roman church requires confession not only as a duty, but has advanced it to the dignity of a sacrament: this confession is made to the priest, and is private and auricular; and the priest is not to reveal them under pain of the highest punishment.

CONFESSION of Faith, a list of the several articles of belief in any church.

CONFESIONAL, or CONFESIONARY, a place in churches under the great altar, where the bodies of deceased saints, martyrs, and confessors, were deposited.

This word is also used by the Romanists for a desk in the church where the confessor takes the confessions of the penitents.