A person who emphasizes or practices confession as a core part of religious life; someone committed to the principle of formal religious confessions.
From confession + -ist (Greek -istes, marking a follower of a doctrine or practice). This suffix creates agent nouns emphasizing dedication to an idea: communist, feminist, realist.
Confessionists believed confession had near-magical power—that speaking guilt aloud to a priest could literally change your soul—which is why they resisted Protestant reformers' claim that private confession to God alone was sufficient.
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