Confessor

Confessor is a title used within Christianity in several ways.

Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith but not to the point of death. The term is still used in this way in the East. In Latin Christianity it has come to signify any saint, as well as those who have been declared blessed, who cannot be categorized by another title: martyr, apostle, evangelist, or virgin. As Christianity emerged as the dominant religion in Europe, persecutions became rare, and the title was given to saints who lived a holy life and died in peace. Perhaps the most well known example is the English king St. Edward the Confessor.