Term
Penance
Ecclesiastical disciplines or works performed to facilitate repentance and reconversion, whether as an inner turning to God or a public return to the church.
Filed underHistorical TheologyEcclesiology
Definition
Derives from the Latin paenitentia, meaning penitence or repentance. In Christian history it has variously designated an inner turning to God or a public returning to the church, any of a series of ecclesiastical disciplines designed to facilitate such inward or outward reconversion, and the various works that had to be performed as part of such discipline.
Connections
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- Narrower than
- Related to
- repentanceTerm
- Part of
Last revised August 14, 2026