Anamchara – “Soul Friend”

Anamchara, pronounced: an-m-ha-ra, is Irish Gaelic for “Soul Friend”. This ancient distinction originated with the druids. Later on it gained notoriety with priests and the ordained after Christianity came to Ireland. While Ecclesiastics (as Christian clergy were often called in the Middle Ages) considered an Anamchara essential for confession, the ideal transcended the mere act….