Faith Q&A › Catechism › 5. The Church: House of Salvation

Does the Church have the authority to forgive sins?

The answer

The early Church considered herself a “congregation of saints” and attributed the authority to forgive the sin to God alone.¹⁰⁶² Origen says, “Moreover, just as the sun and the moon enlighten our bodies so also our minds are enlightened by Christ and the Church.”¹⁰⁶³

Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty

Notes

¹⁰⁶² A. Harnack, Lehrbuch der Dogmengeschichte (4 ed. rev.) (Tubingen: J. Mohr, 1909): p. 439ff; and Ernest Latko, Origen’s Concept of penance (Laval,1949): p. 69.

¹⁰⁶³ Origen, Homilies on Genesis 1.7 (FOTC 71:55).

Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty, Catechism of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Volume 1, Books 1–3. First English Edition, 2023. Published by St. George Coptic Orthodox Church, Sporting, Alexandria, and Queen St. Mary & Prince Tadros Coptic Orthodox Church, South Brunswick, NJ. Copyright © 2023. Translation and Editing: Youth of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, Arabian Gulf, and Egypt.