We have sinned against you": Christian collective apology in the context of repentance

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Recent years have seen a proliferation of studies on Christian forgiveness. Nevertheless, the notion of 'forgiveness' has often been abused by offenders in a way that victimizes the victim for their 'sin' of being unable to forgive. One of the causes of this 'cheap forgiveness' is the conspicuous absence of theological treatment of 'apology.' This research aims to fill the conceptual lacuna by locating apology within the Christian doctrine of repentance, accounting for individual and collective apologies by considering issues of collective identity and moral agency, and establishing theological foundations for churches and Christian institutions to enable collective apologies.