Short answers, pulled from the story.
In the Latin Church, a priest sits in the center of a confessional box while penitents approach from alternating sides to confess their sins. This physical arrangement has remained largely unchanged for centuries.
Public confession was once the standard practice before private confession became the norm over time. The Council of Trent cited John 20:22 and 23 as the primary Scriptural proof for the doctrine concerning the sacrament during Session Fourteen Chapter I.
Orthodox Christians choose an individual to trust as their earthly guide who may be a parish priest or a starets. Confession does not take place inside a confessional booth but normally occurs in the main part of the church itself before an analogion set up near the iconostasion.
Private confession has historically been scheduled on Saturdays after vespers in preparation for Mass on the Lord's Day though many churches make it available prior to Sunday Mass. Lutherans practice Holy Absolution privately to the pastor who acts in persona Christi to announce absolution using the formula from the Lutheran Service Book.
Catholic Church teaching considers it the duty of priests not to reveal anything learned during the Sacrament of Penance known as the Seal of Confession. Any confessor who divulges information revealed in confession is subject to deposition and removal from office in Anglicanism or defrocked in accordance with canon law in Methodism.