The title confessor is used in the Christian Church in several ways. Confessor of the faith Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith, but not to the point of death. The term is still used in this way in the East. In Latin Christianity it has come to signify any saint who cannot be categorized by another title: martyr, apostle, or evangelist. As Christianity emerged as the dominant religion in Europe, persecutions became rare, and the title was given to saints who lived a holy life and died in peace. Perhaps the most well known example is the English king Edward the Confessor. Confession of sins During the Great Persecution, a number of Christians had, under torture or threat of torture, weakened in their profession of the faith. When the persecutions ceased under Constantine the Great, they desired to be reunited with the Church. It became the practice of these

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z # TAGS