Absolution is a theological term for the forgiveness imparted by ordained Christian priests and experienced by Christian penitents. It is a universal feature of the historic churches of Christendom, although the theology and the practice of absolution vary between denominations. Some traditions see absolution as a sacrament — the Sacrament of Penance. This concept is found in the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches, Assyrian Church of the East and the Lutheran Church. In other traditions, including the Anglican Communion and Methodism, absolution is seen as part of the sacramental life of the church, although both traditions are theologically predicated upon the Book of Common Prayer, which counts absolution amongst the five rites described as "Commonly called Sacraments, but not to be counted for Sacraments of the Gospel". Confession and Absolution is practiced in the Irvingian Churches, though it is not a sacrament. The concept of private absolution within the life of the Church is largely rejected by the Reformed Protestant tradition, because Calvinist theology holds that the elect have no need for absolution, and the reprobate cannot benefit from it. Catholic Church Theology of Absolution The Catholic Church teaches both that only God forgives sin and that Jesus Christ, who is God incarnate, willed his ministry of forgiveness of sins to continue through the ministry of his Church. "In imparting to his apostles his own power to forgive sins the Lord also gives them the authority to reconcile sinners with the Church.". Thus, the Catholic Church teaches that absolution is one of the acts of the Church's ordained minister in the sacrament of Penance wherein a baptized penitent with the proper dispositions can be assured of being forgiven. Over the centuries the concrete sequence and manner in which the Church imparted the absolution of sins varied. In the first centuries, Christians who had committed particular public mortal sins after their Baptism (namely, idolatry, murder, or adultery) seem to have had to confess their sins publicly and do lengthy public penance before they could receive absolution. St. Augustine of Hippo indicates that for non-public sins, there was a private celebration of the sacrament called correptio. Over time, the public confession, penance, and absolution declined such that by the seventh century Irish missionaries spread the practice of privately granted immediate absolution after private confession of sins and before the completion of penance. This manner of receiving absolution became predominant