Springfield, Virginia, July 29, 2025
Photo: n-do.by
The Orthodox Church in America expressed gratitude Friday for a federal court decision that blocks enforcement of a Washington state law requiring clergy to break the seal of Confession in suspected child abuse cases, calling the ruling a victory for religious freedom and Orthodox Tradition.
U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca L. Pennell entered an order July 25 granting a preliminary injunction against Senate Bill 5375, which would have taken effect July 27. The injunction prevents Washington state from enforcing the law until a final judgment is reached in the ongoing federal lawsuit.
“The Orthodox Church in America is grateful for the Court’s ruling granting this injunction to protect the confidentiality of the Holy Mystery of Confession in the State of Washington,” the Church said in a statement. “The injunction affirms what Orthodox Christians hold as inviolable: that the seal of confession cannot be broken.”
The Church emphasized that confession confidentiality represents a core religious belief rather than merely administrative policy. “Orthodox Tradition teaches that the Mystery of Confession is a sacred encounter between Christ and the penitent, and that nothing revealed in confession may be disclosed to others,” the statement explained. “This teaching is not a legal or administrative policy, but our belief rooted in the Gospel and sustained by the conscience of the Orthodox Church throughout her history.”
However, the Orthodox Church in America simultaneously stressed its commitment to child protection, seeking to address concerns that Confession confidentiality could shield abusers from accountability. “The Orthodox Church in America affirms the Church’s deep and unwavering commitment to the protection of children and the vulnerable,” the statement declared. “The Mystery of Confession is not a shelter for abuse, but a place of repentance, healing, and accountability before Christ for our sins.”
The Church argued these dual commitments to Gospel tradition and child safeguarding are complementary rather than contradictory. “We believe these commitments—to the [G]ospel, and to the safeguarding of every human person—are not in conflict with one another,” the statement said. “On the contrary, the [G]ospel requires of us the highest standard of care for others, especially children.”
The Washington law, passed in May, would have criminalized priests for maintaining Confession confidentiality while preserving similar privileges for attorneys, peer supporters, sexual assault advocates, and substance abuse recovery sponsors. Violating clergy would have faced up to 364 days in jail, $5,000 fines, and civil liability.
Four major Orthodox jurisdictions filed a federal lawsuit challenging the legislation: the Orthodox Church in America, the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, the Romanian Orthodox Metropolia of the Americas, and the Western American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.
All 50 states have traditionally recognized clergy-penitent privilege as part of common law. The preliminary injunction allows the underlying constitutional challenge to proceed through federal court while preventing the law’s enforcement against Orthodox and other clergy.
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