Confession, in many religions, is the acknowledgment of sinful thoughts and actions. This may occur directly to a deity or to fellow people.
In Roman Catholic settings, the traditional style of confessional allows the priest, seated in the center, to hear from penitents on alternating sides.
A confessional in Colombia
Pilgrims queueing to confess at Međugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Modern confessional in the Church of the Holy Name, Dunedin, New Zealand. The penitent may kneel on the kneeler or sit in a chair facing the priest (not shown)
Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of repentance for sins committed, as well as an alternate name for the Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. It also plays a part in confession among Anglicans and Methodists, in which it is a rite, as well as among other Protestants.
La Penitente by Pietro Rotari
A 17th-century depiction of one of the 28 articles of the Augsburg Confession by Wenceslas Hollar, which divides repentance into two parts: "One is contrition, that is, terrors smiting the conscience through the knowledge of sin; the other is faith, which is born of the Gospel, or of absolution, and believes that for Christ's sake, sins are forgiven, comforts the conscience, and delivers it from terrors."
The reproach of Nathan and the penance of King David (Paris Psalter, folio 136v, 10th century).
Russian Orthodox priest hearing confessions before Divine Liturgy
