In the canon law of the Catholic Church, excommunication is a form of censure. In the formal sense of the term, excommunication includes being barred not only from the sacraments but also from the fel
In some cases, excommunication would be announced with a ceremony involving a bell, book, and candle.
The Excommunication of Robert the Pious (1875) by Jean-Paul Laurens. Robert was able to get his excommunication reversed following the election of the next pope.
Titelkupfer Index librorum prohibitorum
Absolution
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Absolution is a theological term for the forgiveness imparted by ordained Christian priests and experienced by Christian penitents. It is a universal feature of the historic churches of Christendom, a
The Confession by Giuseppe Molteni, 1838
A depiction of the general absolution given to the Royal Munster Fusiliers by Father Francis Gleeson on the eve of the Battle of Aubers Ridge.
Traditional confessional from Sicily.
An Evangelical Lutheran confessional in Luther Church (Helsinki, Finland); the Augsburg Confession 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."