A mortal sin () is, in Christian theology, a gravely sinful act that leads to damnation if a person does not repent before death. It is also referred to as a deadly, grave, or serious sin. The concept is found in both Catholicism and Lutheranism. In Catholic theology, a mortal sin separates a person from God's saving grace. Three conditions must be met for a sin to be considered mortal: the act must involve "grave matter", be committed with "full knowledge", and be performed with "full and deliberate consent".

Examples of grave matter often relate to violations of the Ten Commandments. Common pastoral examples include getting drunk, engaging in unlawful sexual activity, stealing a substantial amount of property, or deliberately missing mass on Sunday or Holy Days of Obligation. The "sin against the Holy Spirit" and the "sins that cry to Heaven for vengeance" are also regarded as especially serious. According to Denis O'Callaghan, a Catholic priest, mortal sin can be understood not only as an action but as a state of separation from God. Bill Cosgrove, another priest, similarly notes that sin involves a person's goals and priorities, not only individual acts.

Mortal sins differ from venial sins, which weaken a person's relationship with God rather than sever it. According to James MacLoughlin, venial sins can reduce spiritual readiness, lessen the fruitfulness of the Mass and the sacraments, lengthen purgatory, and potentially dispose a person toward committing mortal sin. Despite the seriousness of a mortal sin, repentance is possible through the sacrament of Confession, which is the primary means for forgiveness and absolution. The Council of Trent affirmed Confession and the Act of Contrition for absolution as part of Catholic doctrine. Confession is practiced in Lutheran churches as well. Confession is historically observed on Saturdays in preparation for Sunday worship.

Origin

Since some baptized members denied Christ to avoid persecutions, the Church fathers realized it was "possible to lose the grace of salvation after baptism", requiring repentance to be saved from eternal punishment. In this case, those predestined with God's grace were not "predestined to remain with him until glory". Many of the earlier leaders of the Church believed in the concept of mortal sin with this reasoning. The Catholic Church believes that "mortal sin destroys charity in the heart of man by a grave violation of God's law", dividing between mortal and venial sins:When the will sets itself upon something that is of its nature incompatible with the charity that orients man toward his ultimate end, then the sin is mortal by its very object . . . whether it contradicts the love of God, such as blasphemy or perjury, or the love of neighbor, such as homicide or adultery.... But when the sinner's will is set upon something that of its nature involves a disorder, but is not opposed to the love of God and neighbor, such as thoughtless chatter or immoderate laughter and the like, such sins are venial.The concept of mortal sin is hinted at in some works of the early Fathers of the Church and explicit in others. In AD 385, Pacian of Barcelona, in his Sermon Exhorting to Penance, gives contempt of God, murder, and fornication as examples of "mortal" or "capital sins". In AD 393, St. Jerome writes:

New Testament

The term mortal sin is thought to be derived from the New Testament of the Bible. Specifically, it has been suggested by Jimmy Buehler from Theocast that the term comes from 1 John 5:16–17. In this particular verse, the author of the epistle writes "There is a sin that leads to death."

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are fornication, uncleanness, immodesty, luxury, Idolatry, witchcrafts, enmities, contentions, emulations, wraths, quarrels, dissensions, sects, Envies, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like. Of the which I foretell you, as I have foretold to you, that they who do such things shall not obtain the kingdom of God. -Galatians 5:19-21 in the public domain Douai-Rheims Bible

Catholicism

In the moral theology of Catholicism, a mortal sin requires that all of the following conditions are met:

1. Its subject matter must be grave. (The term grave sin is used at times to indicate grave matter, and at times to indicate mortal sin. But it always remains true that the following two conditions are requisite for mortal sin.)

2. It must be committed with full knowledge (and awareness) of the sinful action and the gravity of the offense.

3. It must be committed with deliberate and complete consent.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines grave matter:

Although the Church itself does not provide a precise list of grave sins or divide actions into grave and venial categories, Church documents do name certain "grave sins" as well as "offenses" and "actions" whose subject-matter is considered to be grave. For example, in the area of human sexuality, the Catechism of the Catholic Church notes that the following actions can involve increased gravity: extramarital sex, divorce (but not legitimate separation), and masturbation. The sins against the Holy Spirit and the sins that cry to Heaven for vengeance are considered especially serious. Further, Pope Francis and many bishops privately regarded certain sins as mortal, for example child abuse or neglect of one's parents.

With respect to a person's full knowledge of a certain act being a grave sin, the Catholic Church teaches that "unintentional ignorance can diminish or even remove the imputability of a grave offense. But no one is deemed to be ignorant of the principles of the moral law, which are written in the conscience of every man. The promptings of feelings and passions can also diminish the voluntary and free character of the offense, as can external pressures or pathological disorders (mental illness). Sin committed through malice, by deliberate choice of evil, is the gravest." Furthermore, Catholic teaching also holds that "imputability and responsibility for an action can be diminished or even nullified by ignorance, inadvertence, duress, fear, habit, inordinate attachments, and other psychological or social factors."

Mortal sins must be confessed by naming the specific offence along with how many times it was committed.

According to the Catholic Church, no person can receive the Eucharist when in a state of mortal sin:

Some mortal sins cause automatic excommunication by the very deed itself, for example renunciation of faith and religion, known as apostasy, desecration of the Eucharistic species, and "a completed abortion". These mortal sins are so serious that the church through law has made them crimes. The church forbids the excommunicated from receiving any sacrament (not just the Eucharist) and also severely restricts the person's participation in other church liturgical acts and offices. A repentant excommunicated person may talk to a priest, usually in a confessional, about their excommunication to arrange for the remission. Remission cannot be denied to someone who has truly repented their actions and has also made suitable reparation for damages and scandal or at least has seriously promised to do so. However, even if excommunicated, a Catholic who has not been juridically absolved is still, due to the irrevocable nature of baptism, a member of the Catholic Church and therefore must still carry out their obligations of fulfilling their duties of attending Mass, Divine Liturgy, etc. on a Holy Day of Obligation, abstaining from meat on the Fridays of Lent, etc., albeit their communion with the Christ and the church is gravely impaired. "Perpetual penalties cannot be imposed or declared by decree." However, "the following are expiatory penalties which can affect an offender either perpetually".

Since the mid-20th century, some theologians have taught that a person who lives by a constant attitude of charity is unlikely to fall in and out of God's graces without being profoundly aware of the change. The term "fundamental option" arose and is used in a variety of senses.

Pope John Paul II reaffirmed traditional teaching going back to the Council of Trent in his encyclical , as does the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which states: "The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, 'eternal fire'." The Catechism then adds: "The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs." However, the Catechism does not by name say a specific person is in Hell, but it does say that "our freedom has the power to make choices for ever, with no turning back." Most significantly, the Catechism also proclaims that "There are no limits to the mercy of God". and that "although we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offence, we must entrust judgment of persons to the justice and mercy of God." One cannot see into their mind to know if it was deliberate or committed in full knowledge. Also, like the father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, God forgives those who repent sincerely. The Second Vatican Council, in its Dogmatic Constitution , reflects the traditional teaching of the church on punishment, and on merit or reward for good deeds.

Mortal sin is ordinarily remitted by the priestly absolution in the Sacrament of Penance. However, the effectiveness of the absolution is dependent of the acts of the penitent starting with sorrow for sin or contrition. Perfect contrition, coupled with the firm resolution to sin no more and to make recourse to the sacrament of Penance as soon as possible, can restore a person's relationship with God, as well as God's saving grace, that is, sanctifying grace. This teaching on perfect contrition is a reminder that God's mercy and forgiveness is available outside the Sacrament of Penance, yet also indicates that Catholics who know about Christ's institution of the sacrament of Penance must intend to use it. Any human act that arises from a person's love of God, is inspired by God's prevenient action and is directed to doing as God requires. When perfect contrition is the means by which one seeks to restore one's relationship with God, there must also be a resolution to confess all mortal sins (that have not been confessed and absolved previously) in the Sacrament of Penance.

Eastern Catholic churches

Autonomous, self-governing (), Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, the Pope, that accept the dogmas of Papal Supremacy and Infallibility, are known as the Eastern Catholic churches. They derive their theology and spirituality from some of the same sources as the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, yet use the Latin Catholic distinction between mortal and venial sin. However, names other than mortal and venial are often used.

Examples

The following is a partial alphabetical list of actions that are defined as constituting grave matter, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church or like sources (such as declarations by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Apostolic Letters, or other sources printed by Church authorities).

Lutheranism

In Lutheranism, sins are of two classes:

The Smalcald Articles of Lutheranism teach that apostasy from the Christian faith can occur through loss of faith or through falling into a lifestyle characterized by mortal sin:

The Lutheran divine Martin Chemnitz, who contributed to the development of Lutheran systematic theology, delineated what are considered mortal sins:

With respect to the examination of conscience, Chemnitz implored Lutheran clergy to remind the faithful of what sins are mortal (especially the seven deadly sins) and those that are venial.

Eastern Orthodoxy

According to Father Allyne Smith: "While the Roman Catholic tradition has identified particular acts as 'mortal' sins, in the Eastern Orthodox tradition we see that only a sin for which we don't repent is 'mortal.

According to the Mission of The Orthodox Church in America, in answer to a parishioner's query:

Though not part of the dogma of the Orthodox Church, the mortal–venial distinction is assumed by some Orthodox authors and saints as a theologoumenon. For example, Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov (1807–1867), who wrote primarily for monks, says in his book A Word on Death, in a chapter entitled "Mortal sin":

Similarly, the Exomologetarion of Nicodemus the Hagiorite (1749–1809) distinguishes seven classes of sin:

1. Pardonable

2. Near the pardonable

3. Non-mortal

4. Near the non-mortal

5. Between the mortal and the non-mortal

6. Near the mortal

7. Mortal

Nicodemus gives the following example for the seven classes of sin. "The initial movement of anger is pardonable; near to the pardonable is for someone to say harsh words and get hot-tempered. A non-mortal sin is to swear; near the non-mortal is for someone to strike with the hand. Between the non-mortal and the mortal is to strike with a small stick; near the mortal is to strike with a large stick, or with a knife, but not in the area of the head. A mortal sin is to murder. A similar pattern applies to the other sins. Wherefore, those sins nearer to the pardonable end are penanced lighter, while those nearer to the mortal end are more severely penanced."

He also stipulates seven conditions of sin:

1. Who is the doer of the sin

2. What sin was committed

3. Why was it committed

4. In what manner was it committed

5. At what time/age was it committed

6. Where was it committed

7. How many times was it committed

See also

• Ancestral sin

• Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost

• Blood atonement

• Original sin

• Seven deadly sins

• Sins that cry to heaven

• Jewish views on sin

• Islamic views on sin

• Catholic hamartiology

Notes

References

Further reading

• The Council of Trent - Session XIV - The fourth under the Supreme Pontiff, Julius III, celebrated on November 25, 1551 - The Most Holy Sacraments Of Penance And Extreme Unction