Repentance or confession is a sacrament in which a person confessing his sins to a priest, through his forgiveness, is absolved from sins by the Lord Himself. This question, Father, is asked by many people who join church life. Preliminary confession prepares the soul of the penitent for the Great Meal - the Sacrament of Communion.
The essence of confession
The Holy Fathers call the Sacrament of Repentance the second baptism. In the first case, at Baptism, a person receives cleansing from the original sin of the ancestors Adam and Eve, and in the second, the repentant is washed from his sins committed after baptism. However, due to the weakness of their human nature, people continue to sin, and these sins separate them from God, standing between them as a barrier. They are unable to overcome this barrier on their own. But the Sacrament of Repentance helps to be saved and to acquire that unity with God acquired at Baptism.
The Gospel says about repentance that it is a necessary condition for the salvation of the soul. A person must continuously struggle with his sins throughout his life. And, despite any defeats and falls, he should not become discouraged, despair and grumble, but repent all the time and continue to carry his life’s cross, which the Lord Jesus Christ laid on him.
Awareness of your sins
In this matter, the main thing is to understand that in the Sacrament of Confession, a repentant person is forgiven all his sins, and the soul is freed from sinful bonds. The ten commandments received by Moses from God, and the nine received from the Lord Jesus Christ, contain the entire moral and spiritual law of life.
Therefore, before confessing, you need to turn to your conscience and remember all your sins since childhood in order to prepare a real confession. Not everyone knows how it goes, and even rejects it, but a true Orthodox Christian, overcoming his pride and false shame, begins to spiritually crucify himself, honestly and sincerely admit his spiritual imperfection. And here it is important to understand that unconfessed sins will lead to eternal condemnation for a person, and repentance means victory over oneself.
What is real confession? How does this sacrament work?
Before confessing to a priest, you need to seriously prepare and understand the necessity of cleansing your soul from sins. To do this, you need to reconcile with all the offenders and with those who were offended, refrain from gossip and condemnation, any indecent thoughts, watching numerous entertainment programs and reading lightweight literature. Better free time devote to reading Holy Scripture and other spiritual literature. It is advisable to confess a little in advance at the evening service, so that during the morning Liturgy you will no longer be distracted from the service and devote time to prayerful preparation for Holy Communion. But, as a last resort, you can confess in the morning (mostly everyone does this).
For the first time, not everyone knows how to confess correctly, what to say to the priest, etc. In this case, you need to warn the priest about this, and he will direct everything to the right direction. Confession, first of all, presupposes the ability to see and realize one’s sins; at the moment of expressing them, the priest should not justify himself and shift the blame onto another.
Children under 7 years of age and all newly baptized people receive communion on this day without confession; only women who are in purification (when they are menstruating or after childbirth until the 40th day) cannot do this. The text of the confession can be written on a piece of paper so that you don’t get lost later and remember everything.
Confession procedure
In church, a lot of people usually gather for confession, and before approaching the priest, you need to turn your face to the people and say out loud: “Forgive me, a sinner,” and they will answer: “God will forgive, and we forgive.” And then it is necessary to go to the confessor. Having approached the lectern (a high stand for a book), crossed yourself and bowed at the waist, without kissing the Cross and the Gospel, bowing your head, you can begin confession.
There is no need to repeat previously confessed sins, because, as the Church teaches, they have already been forgiven, but if they were repeated again, then they must be repented of again. At the end of your confession, you must listen to the words of the priest and when he finishes, cross yourself twice, bow at the waist, kiss the Cross and the Gospel, and then, having crossed yourself and bowed again, accept the blessing of your priest and go to your place.
What do you need to repent about?
Summing up the topic “Confession. How does this sacrament work?” it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the most common sins in our modern world.
Sins against God - pride, lack of faith or unbelief, renunciation of God and the Church, careless performance sign of the cross, not wearing pectoral cross, violation of God's commandments, taking the name of the Lord in vain, careless execution, not attending church, praying without diligence, talking and walking in church during services, belief in superstitions, turning to psychics and fortune-tellers, thoughts of suicide, etc.
Sins against one's neighbor - grief of parents, robbery and extortion, stinginess in alms, hard-heartedness, slander, bribery, insults, barbs and evil jokes, irritation, anger, gossip, gossip, greed, scandals, hysteria, resentment, betrayal, treason, etc. d.
Sins against oneself - vanity, arrogance, anxiety, envy, vindictiveness, desire for earthly glory and honors, addiction to money, gluttony, smoking, drunkenness, gambling, masturbation, fornication, excessive attention to one's flesh, despondency, melancholy, sadness etc.
God will forgive any sin, nothing is impossible for him, a person only needs to truly realize his sinful deeds and sincerely repent of them.
Communion
They usually confess in order to receive communion, and for this they need to say a prayer for several days, which means prayer and fasting, attending evening services and reading at home, in addition to evening and morning prayers, the canons: Theotokos, Guardian Angel, Repentant, for Communion, and, if possible , or rather, at will - Akathist to the Sweetest Jesus. After midnight they no longer eat or drink; they begin the sacrament on an empty stomach. After receiving the Sacrament of Communion, you must read prayers for Holy Communion.
Don't be afraid to go to confession. How is it going? You can read accurate information about this in special brochures that are sold in every church; everything is described in great detail in them. And then the main thing is to tune in to this true and saving work, because an Orthodox Christian always needs to think about death so that it does not take him by surprise - without even communion.
Confession is not a conversation about one’s shortcomings, doubts, it is not simply informing the confessor about oneself.
Confession is a sacrament, and not just a pious custom. Confession is an ardent repentance of the heart, a thirst for purification that comes from a sense of holiness, this is the second Baptism, and, therefore, in repentance we die to sin and are resurrected to holiness. Repentance is the first degree of holiness, and insensibility is being outside of holiness, outside of God.
Often, instead of confessing one’s sins, there is self-praise, denunciation of loved ones and complaints about the difficulties of life.
Some confessors strive to go through confession painlessly for themselves - they say general phrases: “I am a sinner in everything” or talk about little things, keeping silent about what should really weigh on the conscience. The reason for this is false shame in front of the confessor, and indecision, but especially the cowardly fear of seriously starting to understand one’s life, which is full of small, habitual weaknesses and sins.
Sin is a violation of the Christian moral law. Therefore, the holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian gives the following definition of sin: “Everyone who commits sin also commits lawlessness” (1 John 3:4).
There are sins against God and His Church. This group includes numerous spiritual states connected in a continuous network, which include, along with the simple and obvious, a large number of hidden, seemingly innocent, but in fact the most dangerous phenomena for the soul. In general, these sins can be reduced to the following:
1) lack of faith,
2) superstition,
3) blasphemy and idolatry,
4) lack of prayer and disdain for church services,
5) lovely,
6) gluttony,
7) love of money,
8) anger, irritability,
9) condemnation of one's neighbor,
10) despondency,
11) lie,
12) idle talk,
13) murder, suicide and abortion,
14) theft (theft),
15) covetousness,
16) lustful thoughts,
17) seductive conversations,
18) fornication,
19) adultery,
20) incest,
21) unnatural sexual relations.
Lack of faith
This sin is perhaps the most common, and literally every Christian has to struggle with it continuously. Lack of faith often imperceptibly turns into complete unbelief, and the person suffering from it often continues to attend divine services and resort to confession. He does not consciously deny the existence of God, however, he doubts His omnipotence, mercy or Providence. With his actions, affections, and his entire way of life, he contradicts the faith he professes in words. Such a person never delved into even the simplest dogmatic issues, fearing to lose those naive ideas about Christianity, often incorrect and primitive, that he once acquired. By turning Orthodoxy into a national, home tradition, a set of external rituals, gestures, or reducing it to the enjoyment of beautiful choral singing, the flickering of candles, that is, to external splendor, people of little faith lose the most important thing in the Church - our Lord Jesus Christ. For a person of little faith, religiosity is closely connected with aesthetic, passionate, and sentimental emotions; she easily gets along with egoism, vanity, and sensuality. People of this type seek praise and good opinion confessor about them. They come to the lectern to complain about others, they are full of themselves and strive to demonstrate their “righteousness” in every possible way. The superficiality of their religious enthusiasm is best demonstrated by their easy transition from cloyingly ostentatious “piety” to irritability and anger at their neighbors.
Such a person does not admit any sins, does not even bother trying to understand his life and sincerely believes that he does not see anything sinful in it.
In fact, such “righteous people” often show callousness towards others, are selfish and hypocritical; They live only for themselves, considering abstinence from sins sufficient for salvation. It is useful to remind yourself of the contents of chapter 25 of the Gospel of Matthew (the parables of the ten virgins, the talents and, especially, the description Last Judgment). In general, religious complacency and complacency are the main signs of alienation from God and the Church, and this is most clearly shown in another gospel parable - about the publican and the Pharisee.
Superstition
Often all kinds of superstitions, belief in omens, divination, fortune telling on cards, and various heretical ideas about sacraments and rituals penetrate and spread among believers.
Such superstitions are contrary to the teachings of the Orthodox Church and serve to corrupt souls and extinguish faith.
Particular attention should be paid to such a fairly widespread and destructive doctrine for the soul as occultism, magic, etc. On the faces of people who have been engaged in the so-called occult sciences for a long time, initiated into the “secret spiritual teaching,” a heavy imprint remains - a sign of unconfessed sin, and in souls there is a painfully distorted view of Christianity as one of the lower stages of knowledge of the truth, painfully distorted by satanic rationalistic pride. Suppressing the childishly sincere faith in the paternal love of God, the hope for the Resurrection and Eternal Life, occultists preach the doctrine of “karma”, the transmigration of souls, extra-church and, therefore, graceless asceticism. Such unfortunates, if they have found the strength to repent, should be explained that, in addition to direct harm to mental health, involvement in the occult is caused by a curious desire to look beyond closed door. We must humbly acknowledge the existence of the Mystery without trying to penetrate into it through non-church ways. We have been given the supreme law of life, we have been shown the path that directly leads us to God - love. And we must follow this path, bearing our cross, without turning to detours. Occultism is never able to reveal the secrets of existence, as their adherents claim.
Blasphemy and desecration
These sins often coexist with churchliness and sincere faith. This primarily includes blasphemous grumbling against God for His supposedly unmerciful attitude towards man, for suffering that seems excessive and undeserved to him. Sometimes it even comes to blasphemy against God, church shrines, and sacraments. This often manifests itself in the telling of irreverent or directly offensive stories from the lives of clergy and monks, in mocking, ironic quoting of individual expressions from the Holy Scriptures or from prayer books.
The custom of deification and commemoration in vain of the Name of God or Holy Mother of God. It is very difficult to get rid of the habit of using these sacred names in everyday conversations as interjections, which are used to give the phrase greater emotional expressiveness: “God be with him!”, “Oh, Lord!” etc. It is even worse to pronounce the Name of God in jokes, and an absolutely terrible sin is committed by the one who uses sacred words in anger, during a quarrel, that is, along with curses and insults. The one who threatens his enemies with the wrath of God or even in “prayer” asks God to punish another person also blasphemes. A great sin is committed by parents who curse their children in their hearts and threaten them with heavenly punishment. Invoking evil spirits (cursing) in anger or in a simple conversation is also sinful. The use of any swear words is also blasphemy and a grave sin.
Neglect of church services
This sin most often manifests itself in the lack of desire to participate in the sacrament of the Eucharist, that is, long-term deprivation of oneself from the Communion of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the absence of any circumstances preventing this; in addition, this is a general lack of church discipline, a dislike for worship. The excuses usually given are being busy with official and domestic affairs, the distance of the church from home, the length of the service, the incomprehensibility of the liturgical Church Slavonic language. Some attend divine services quite carefully, but at the same time they only attend the liturgy, do not receive communion and do not even pray during the service. Sometimes you have to deal with such sad facts as ignorance of the basic prayers and the Creed, misunderstanding of the meaning of the sacraments performed, and most importantly, a lack of interest in this.
Prayerlessness
Lack of prayer, as a special case of unchurchism, is a common sin. Fervent prayer distinguishes sincere believers from “lukewarm” believers. We must strive not to scold the prayer rule, not to defend the divine services, we must acquire the gift of prayer from the Lord, fall in love with prayer, and look forward to the hour of prayer. Gradually entering the element of prayer under the guidance of a confessor, a person learns to love and understand the music of Church Slavonic chants, their incomparable beauty and depth; the colorfulness and mystical imagery of liturgical symbols - all that is called church splendor.
The gift of prayer is the ability to control oneself, one’s attention, to repeat the words of prayer not only with lips and tongue, but also to participate in prayer with all one’s heart and all one’s thoughts. An excellent means for this is the “Jesus Prayer,” which consists of uniform, repeated, leisurely repetition of the words: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” There is extensive ascetic literature about this prayer exercise, collected mainly in the Philokalia and other paternal works.
The “Jesus Prayer” is especially good because it does not require the creation of a special external environment; it can be read while walking down the street, while working, in the kitchen, on the train, etc. In these cases, it especially helps to divert our attention from everything seductive, vain, vulgar, empty and concentrate the mind and heart on the sweetest Name of God. True, one should not begin “spiritual work” without the blessing and guidance of an experienced confessor, since such self-inflicted work can lead to a false mystical state of delusion.
Spiritual beauty
Spiritual delusion is significantly different from all the listed sins against God and the Church. Unlike them, this sin is not rooted in a lack of faith, religiosity, or churchliness, but, on the contrary, in a false sense of excess of personal spiritual gifts. A person in a state of seduction imagines himself as having achieved special fruits of spiritual perfection, which is confirmed by all sorts of “signs” for him: dreams, voices, waking visions. Such a person may be very gifted mystically, but in the absence of church culture and theological education, and most importantly, due to the absence of a good, strict confessor and the presence of an environment inclined to gullibly perceive his tales as revelations, such a person often acquires many supporters, as a result of which Most sectarian anti-church movements arose.
This usually begins with a story about a mysterious dream, unusually chaotic and with a claim to a mystical revelation or prophecy. In the next stage, someone in a similar state, according to him, already hears voices in reality or sees shining visions in which he recognizes an angel or some saint, or even the Mother of God and the Savior Himself. They tell him the most incredible revelations, often completely meaningless. This happens to people who are both poorly educated and those who are very well-read in the Holy Scriptures, patristic works, as well as those who devote themselves to “smart work” without pastoral guidance.
Gluttony
Gluttony is one of a number of sins against neighbors, family and society. It manifests itself in the habit of immoderate, excessive consumption of food, that is, overeating or in an addiction to refined taste sensations, enjoying oneself with food. Certainly, different people You need different amounts of food to maintain your physical strength - this depends on age, physique, state of health, as well as the severity of the work the person performs. There is no sin in the food itself, for it is a gift from God. Sin lies in treating it as a desired goal, in worshiping it, in the voluptuous experience of taste sensations, in conversations on this topic, in the desire to spend as much as possible. more money for new, even more refined products. Every piece of food eaten beyond satisfying hunger, every sip of moisture after quenching thirst, simply for pleasure, is already gluttony. Sitting at the table, a Christian must not allow himself to be carried away by this passion. “The more wood, the stronger the flame; the more food, the more violent the lust” (Abba Leontius). “Gluttony is the mother of fornication,” says one ancient patericon. And St. John Climacus directly warns: “Control your womb before it dominates you.”
Obstacles to prayer come from weak, incorrect, insufficient faith, from over-concern, vanity, preoccupation with worldly affairs, from sinful, unclean, evil feelings and thoughts. Fasting helps overcome these obstacles.
Love of money
The love of money manifests itself in the form of extravagance or its opposite, stinginess. Secondary at first glance, this is a sin of extreme importance - it involves the simultaneous rejection of faith in God, love for people and addiction to lower feelings. It gives rise to anger, petrification, over-concern, and envy. Overcoming the love of money is a partial overcoming of these sins. From the words of the Savior Himself, we know that it is difficult for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God. Christ teaches: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where is the treasure? yours, there your heart will also be" (Matthew 6:19-2!).
Anger, irritability
“The wrath of man does not bring about the righteousness of God” (James 1:20). Anger, irritability - many penitents tend to justify the manifestation of this passion with physiological reasons, the so-called “nervousness” due to the suffering and hardships that befell them, tension modern life, difficult character of relatives and friends. Although these reasons are partly true, they cannot justify this, as a rule, deep-rooted habit of taking out one’s irritation, anger, and bad mood on loved ones. Irritability, temper, and rudeness primarily destroy family life, leading to quarrels over trifles, causing retaliatory hatred, desire for revenge, rancor, harden the hearts of generally good and loving friend people's friend. And how destructively the manifestation of anger affects young souls, destroying in them the God-given tenderness and love for their parents! “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, lest they become discouraged” (Col. 3:21).
The ascetic works of the Church Fathers contain a lot of advice for combating the passion of anger. One of the most effective is “righteous anger,” in other words, turning our capacity for irritation and anger to the very passion of anger. “It is not only permissible, but truly salutary to be angry at one’s own sins and shortcomings” (St. Demetrius of Rostov). St. Nile of Sinai advises to be “meek with people,” but loving with our enemies, since this is the natural use of anger to hostilely confront the ancient serpent" (Philokalia, vol. II). The same ascetic writer says : “Whoever bears a grudge against demons does not hold a grudge against people.”
You should show meekness and patience towards your neighbors. “Be wise, and stop the lips of those who speak evil about you with silence, and not with anger and abuse” (St. Anthony the Great). “When they slander you, see if you have done anything worthy of slander. If you have not done it, then consider the slander as flying away as smoke” (St. Nilus of Sinai). “When you feel a strong influx of anger within yourself, try to remain silent. And so that silence itself will bring you more benefit, turn mentally to God and mentally read to yourself at this time some short prayers, for example, the “Jesus Prayer,” advises St. Philaret Moskovsky Even argue without bitterness and without anger, since irritation is immediately transferred to the other, infecting him, but in no case convincing him of the rightness.
Very often the cause of anger is arrogance, pride, the desire to show one’s power over others, to expose one’s vices, forgetting about one’s sins. “Eliminate two thoughts in yourself: do not recognize yourself as worthy of anything great and do not think that another person is much lower in dignity than you. In this case, the insults inflicted on us will never irritate us” (St. Basil the Great).
In confession, we must tell whether we harbor anger towards our neighbor and whether we have reconciled with the one with whom we quarreled, and if we cannot see someone in person, have we reconciled with him in our hearts? On Athos, confessors not only do not allow monks who have anger towards their neighbors to serve in the church and partake of the Holy Mysteries, but when reading the prayer rule, they must omit the words in the Lord’s Prayer: “and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” so as not to be liars before God. With this prohibition, the monk is temporarily excommunicated from prayerful and Eucharistic communion with the Church, until reconciliation with his brother.
The one who prays for those who often lead him into the temptation of anger receives significant help. Thanks to such prayer, a feeling of meekness and love for people who were recently hated is instilled in the heart. But in the first place there should be a prayer for the granting of meekness and driving away the spirit of anger, revenge, resentment, and rancor.
Condemnation of one's neighbor
One of the most common sins is, undoubtedly, judging one’s neighbor. Many do not even realize that they have sinned countless times, and if they do, they believe that this phenomenon is so widespread and ordinary that it does not even deserve mention in confession. In fact, this sin is the beginning and root of many other sinful habits.
First of all, this sin is in close connection with the passion of pride. Condemning other people's shortcomings (real or apparent), a person imagines himself better, purer, more pious, more honest or smarter than another. The words of Abba Isaiah are addressed to such people: “Whoever has a pure heart considers all people pure, but whoever has a heart defiled by passions does not consider anyone pure, but thinks that everyone is like him” (“The Spiritual Flower Garden”).
Those who condemn forget that the Savior Himself commanded: “Judge not, lest ye be judged, for with the judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but the beam Can’t you feel it in your eye?” (Matt. 7:1-3). There is no sin committed by one person that anyone else could not commit. And if you see someone else’s uncleanness, then it means that it has already penetrated into you, for innocent babies do not notice the depravity of adults and thereby maintain their chastity. Therefore, the condemner, even if he is right, must honestly admit to himself: has he not committed the same sin?
Our judgment is never impartial, because most often it is based on a random impression or is carried out under the influence of personal resentment, irritation, anger, or a random “mood.”
If a Christian has heard about the unseemly act of his loved one, then, before becoming indignant and condemning him, he must act according to the word of Jesus son of Sirach: “He who bridles the tongue will live peacefully, and he who hates talkativeness will reduce evil. Never repeat a word, and you will have nothing.” will disappear... Ask your friend, maybe he didn’t do that, and if he did, then let him not do it in advance. slander often occurs. Do not believe every word. Someone sins with his word, but not with his heart; and who has not sinned with his tongue? Question your neighbor before threatening him, and give place to the law of the Most High" (Sir. 19: 6-8; 13). -19).
Sin of despondency
The sin of despondency most often occurs from excessive preoccupation with oneself, one’s experiences, failures and, as a result, the fading of love for others, indifference to other people’s suffering, inability to rejoice in other people’s joys, envy. The basis and root of our spiritual life and strength is love for Christ, and we need to grow and cultivate it in ourselves. To peer into His image, to clarify and deepen it in oneself, to live in thought of Him, and not about one’s small, vain blows and failures, to give Him one’s heart—this is the life of a Christian. And then the silence and peace that St. speaks about will reign in our hearts. Isaac the Syrian: “Make peace with yourself, and heaven and earth will make peace with you.”
Lie
There is, perhaps, no sin more common than lying. This category of vices should also include failure to fulfill promises, gossip and idle talk. This sin has entered so deeply into the consciousness modern man, is so deeply rooted in their souls that people don’t even think about the fact that any form of untruth, insincerity, hypocrisy, exaggeration, or boasting is a manifestation of grave sin, serving Satan, the father of lies. According to the Apostle John, “no one devoted to abomination and lies will enter the Heavenly Jerusalem” (Rev. 21:27). Our Lord said about Himself: “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6), and therefore you can come to Him only by walking along the path of righteousness. Only truth makes people free.
A lie can manifest itself completely shamelessly, openly, in all its satanic abomination, becoming in such cases a person’s second nature, a permanent mask attached to his face. He gets so used to lying that he cannot express his thoughts otherwise than by putting them into words that obviously do not correspond to them, thereby not clarifying, but obscuring the truth. Lies imperceptibly creep into a person’s soul from childhood: often, not wanting to see anyone, we ask our loved ones to tell the person who comes that we are not at home; Instead of directly refusing to participate in any activity that is unpleasant for us, we pretend to be sick and busy with something else. Such “everyday” lies, seemingly innocent exaggerations, jokes based on deception, gradually corrupt a person, allowing him subsequently to make deals with his conscience for his own benefit.
Just as nothing can come from the devil except evil and destruction for the soul, so nothing can come from lies - his brainchild - except the corrupting, satanic, anti-Christian spirit of evil. There is no “saving lie” or “justified”; these phrases themselves are blasphemous, for only the Truth, our Lord Jesus Christ, saves and justifies us.
Sin of idle talk
No less common than lies is the sin of idle talk, that is, the empty, unspiritual use of the Divine gift of speech. This also includes gossip and retelling of rumors.
Often people spend time in empty, useless conversations, the content of which is immediately forgotten, instead of talking about faith with someone who suffers without it, seeking God, visiting the sick, helping the lonely, praying, comforting the offended, talking with children or grandchildren , instruct them with words and personal example on the spiritual path.
In the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian says: "...Do not give me the spirit of idleness, despondency, covetousness and idle talk." During Lent and fasting, one must be especially focused on the spiritual, give up entertainment (cinema, theater, television), be careful in words, truthful. It is appropriate to once again recall the words of the Lord: “For every idle word that people speak, they will give an answer on the day of judgment: for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12: 36-37).
We must carefully and chastely handle the priceless gifts of speech and reason, for they unite us with the Divine Logos Himself, the Incarnate Word - with our Lord Jesus Christ.
Murder, suicide and abortion
The most terrible sin at all times was considered to be the violation of the sixth commandment - murder - the deprivation of another greatest gift of the Lord - life. The same terrible sins are suicide and murder in the womb - abortion.
Those who, in anger at their neighbor, commit assault, inflicting beatings, wounds, and mutilations, are very close to committing murder. Parents are guilty of this sin, cruelly treating their children, beating them for the slightest offense, or even without any reason. Those who, through gossip, slander, and slander, aroused anger in a person against someone else and, even more so, incited him to physically deal with him, are also guilty of this sin. This is often the sin of mothers-in-law towards their daughters-in-law, and neighbors who make false accusations against a woman who is temporarily separated from her husband, deliberately causing scenes of jealousy that end in beatings.
Timely failure to provide assistance to a sick person, a dying person—in general, indifference to the suffering of others should also be considered as passive murder. This kind of attitude towards elderly sick parents on the part of children is especially terrible.
This also includes failure to provide assistance to a person in trouble: homeless, hungry, drowning before your eyes, beaten or robbed, victim of a fire or flood.
But we kill our neighbor not only with our hands or weapons, but also with cruel words, abuse, mockery, and mockery of the grief of others. Everyone has experienced how an evil, cruel, caustic word hurts and kills the soul.
No less sin is committed by those who deprive young souls of honor and innocence, corrupting them physically or morally, pushing them onto the path of depravity and sin. Inviting a young man or girl to a drunken gathering, inciting to avenge grievances, seducing with depraved sights or stories, dissuading people from fasting, engaging in pimping, providing one’s home for drunkenness and depraved gatherings - all this is complicity in the moral murder of one’s neighbor.
Killing animals without the need for food, torturing them is also a violation of the sixth commandment.
By indulging in excessive sadness, driving ourselves to despair, we sin against the same commandment. Suicide is the greatest sin, for life is a gift from God, and only He has the power to deprive us of it. Refusal of treatment, deliberate failure to comply with doctor's orders, deliberate harm to one's health by excessive drinking of wine, smoking tobacco is also slow suicide. Some kill themselves by working too hard to get rich - this is also a sin.
The Holy Church, her holy fathers and teachers, condemning abortion and considering it a sin, proceed from the idea that people should not thoughtlessly neglect the sacred gift of life. This is the meaning of all church prohibitions on the issue of abortion. At the same time, the Church recalls the words of the Apostle Paul that “a woman... will be saved through childbearing if she continues in faith and love and in holiness with chastity” (1 Tim. 2:14.15).
A woman who is outside the Church is warned against this act by medical workers, explaining the danger and moral impurity of this operation. For a woman who recognizes her involvement in the Orthodox Church (and, apparently, every baptized woman who comes to church for confession should be considered such), artificial termination of pregnancy is unacceptable.
Theft (theft)
Some consider violation of the commandment “thou shalt not steal” only obvious theft and robbery with the use of violence, when large sums of money or other material assets, and therefore, without hesitation, they deny their guilt in the sin of theft. However, theft is any illegal appropriation of someone else's property, both one's own and public. Theft (theft) should be considered non-repayment of monetary debts or things given for a time.
Sin of covetousness
No less reprehensible is parasitism, begging unless absolutely necessary, when it is possible to earn your own food. If a person, taking advantage of the misfortune of another, takes more from him than he should, then he commits the sin of extortion. The concept of extortion also includes the resale of food and industrial products at inflated prices (speculation). Ticketless travel to public transport- this is also an act that should be considered a violation of the eighth commandment.
Sins against the seventh commandment
Sins against the seventh commandment, by their very nature, are especially widespread, tenacious, and therefore the most dangerous. They are associated with one of the strongest human instincts - sexual. Sensuality has deeply penetrated the fallen nature of man and can manifest itself in the most varied and sophisticated forms. Patristic asceticism teaches us to fight against all sin from its very smallest appearance, not only with the already obvious manifestations of carnal sin, but with lustful thoughts, dreams, fantasies, for “everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matt. 5:28). Here is an approximate diagram of the development of this sin in us.
Prodigal thoughts
Prodigal thoughts that develop from memories of what was previously seen, heard, or even experienced in a dream. In solitude, often at night, they overwhelm a person especially strongly. Here the best medicine is ascetic exercises: fasting in food, not lying in bed after waking up, regular reading of the morning and evening prayer rules.
Seductive talk
Seductive conversations in society, obscene stories, jokes told with the desire to please others and be the center of their attention. Many young people, in order not to show their “backwardness” and not be ridiculed by their comrades, fall into this sin. This also includes singing immoral songs, writing obscene words, as well as using them in conversation. All this leads to vicious self-indulgence, which is all the more dangerous because, firstly, it is associated with intense work of the imagination, and secondly, it haunts the unfortunate person so relentlessly that he gradually becomes a slave to this sin, which destroys his physical health and paralyzes his will. to overcome vice.
Fornication
Fornication is the intercourse of a single man and an unmarried woman unsanctified by the grace-filled power of the sacrament of Marriage (or violation of the chastity of a young man and a girl before marriage).
Adultery
Adultery is a violation of marital fidelity by one of the spouses.
Incest
Incest is a carnal relationship between close relatives.
Unnatural sexual relations
Unnatural sexual relations: sodomy, lesbianism, bestiality.
It is hardly necessary to dwell in detail on the disgustingness of the listed sins. Their inadmissibility is obvious to every Christian: they lead to spiritual death even before the physical death of a person.
All men and women who repent, if they are in a relationship not sanctified by the Church, should be strongly recommended to sanctify their union with the sacrament of Marriage, no matter what age they are. In addition, in marriage one should observe chastity, not indulge in excess in carnal pleasures, and refrain from cohabitation during fasting, on the eve of Sundays and holidays.
Don't be afraid, even if you fall every day
Our repentance will not be complete if, while repenting, we do not internally confirm ourselves in the determination not to return to our confessed sin. But they ask how this is possible, how can I promise myself and my confessor that I will not repeat my sin? Wouldn't the opposite be closer to the truth—the conviction that sin is repeated? After all, everyone knows from experience that after a while you inevitably return to the same sins; observing yourself from year to year, you do not notice any improvement.
It would be terrible if that were the case. But fortunately, this is not so. There is no case when, in the presence of sincere repentance and a good desire to improve, Holy Communion received with faith does not produce good changes in the soul. The point is that, first of all, we are not our own judges. A person cannot correctly judge himself whether he has become worse or better, since both he himself and what he judges are changing quantities. Increased severity towards oneself, increased spiritual vision can give the illusion that sins have multiplied and intensified. In fact, they remained the same, maybe even weakened, but we didn’t notice them that much before. In addition, God, in His special Providence, often closes our eyes to our successes in order to protect us from the worst sin - vanity and pride. It often happens that sin still remains, but frequent confession and communion of the Holy Mysteries have shaken and weakened its roots. Yes, the very struggle with sin, suffering about your sins - isn’t this an acquisition?! “Do not be afraid, even if you fall every day and depart from the ways of God, stand courageously, and the angel guarding you will honor your patience,” said St. John Climacus.
And even if there is no this feeling of relief, rebirth, one must have the strength to return again to confession, to completely free one’s soul from impurity, to wash it with tears from blackness and filth. Those who strive for this will always achieve what they are looking for.
On the attitude towards priests and confession
According to the rules of the Orthodox Church, its members must resort to confession starting from the age of seven. In other words, already from the age of seven, the Church considers a person capable of answering before God for his actions, fighting evil within himself and receiving grace-filled forgiveness in the sacrament of Repentance. Children and adolescents raised by their parents in the Christian faith, according to Orthodox tradition after seven years they come to confession, the rite of which is no different from the usual.
How often should you go to confession? We must confess as often as possible, at least on each of the four fasts. We, who are inexperienced in repentance, need to learn to repent again and again. It is necessary to strive to ensure that the intervals between confessions are filled with spiritual struggle, efforts fueled by the fruits of the last fast and excited by the anticipation of the approaching new confession.
Although it is advisable to have your own confessor, this is not at all a necessary condition for true repentance. For a person truly suffering from his sin, it makes no difference to whom he confesses it; just to repent of it as soon as possible and receive remission. Repentance must be completely free, in no way forced by the person confessing.
But those spiritual connections that are formed between the confessor and the confessor, although they are not formal in any way, cannot be considered anything. Genuine church life requires the constancy and strength of such connections - the “shepherd” with his own, for only on such a basis is spiritual life possible.
Communication with a priest at confession is a leisurely listing of your sins and listening to prayers. Priests and shepherds cannot be treated only as fulfillers of demands.
Unfortunately, the consumerist attitude towards the Church remains one of the most widespread vices of our church life.
“Consumerism” has many faces, it grows not only from laziness and indifference to the Church, but sometimes from “jealousy beyond reason,” hence the abuse of pastoral attention, a kind of confession-performance performed in front of the priest, hence the “pilgrimage” from monastery to monastery , from confessor to confessor, accompanied by all kinds of parachurch gossip, essentially replacing spiritual life.
The most dangerous and very widespread type of church “consumerism” is an irresponsible attitude towards the Holy Mysteries of Christ. The universally accepted general confession gradually accustoms the laity to receive communion without confession at all, not to mention the preparation prescribed by the charter.
Anyone approaching confession should know: confession is not an indulgence in which the feeling of embarrassment, shame and even repentance serves as a payment for sin and allows one to live on as if nothing had happened. Confession is a deeply personal act, and together with preparation for confession, a process in which a person reveals himself not only to God, but also to himself. Confession, without exaggeration, can be called the process of the birth of personality, a sometimes painful process, because a person has to cut something off from himself, tear something out of himself by the roots, but also a saving process and, in the end, always joyful.
There is one more point that you need to pay attention to - respect for confession.
Often, due to the crowd in church, people stand almost close to the priest and the confessor, so that they can even hear them. No crowd can serve as an excuse here, and no one should come so close to the priest and confessor.
The secret of confession must be protected from everything, including crowding.
Confession is considered a Christian rite in which the person confessing repents and repents of his sins in the hope of forgiveness by God Christ. The Savior himself established this sacrament and told the disciples the words that are written in the Gospel of Matthew, ch. 18, verse 18. This is also spoken of in the Gospel of John, ch. 20, verses 22 – 23.
Sacrament of Confession
According to the holy fathers, repentance is also considered a second baptism. Man during baptism cleansed from sin the firstborn, who was passed on to everyone from the first ancestors Adam and Eve. And after the rite of baptism, during repentance, personal thoughts are washed away. When a person performs the sacrament of repentance, he must be honest and aware of his sins, sincerely repenting of them, and not repeat the sin, believing in the hope of salvation by Jesus Christ and His mercy. The priest reads a prayer and cleansing from sins occurs.
Many who do not want to repent of their sins often say that they have no sins: “I didn’t kill, I didn’t steal, I didn’t commit adultery, so I have nothing to repent of?” This is stated in the first Epistle of John in the first chapter, verse 17 - “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” This means that sinful events happen every day if you understand the essence of God's commandments. There are three categories of sin: sin against the Lord God, sin against loved ones and sin against oneself.
List of sins against Jesus Christ
List of sins against loved ones
List of sins against yourself
All listed sins are divided into three categories, in the final analysis, all this is against the Lord God. After all, a violation of the commandments He created is carried out, therefore, a direct insult to God occurs. All these sins do not produce positive fruits, but on the contrary, the soul will not be saved from this.
Proper preparation for confession
It is necessary to prepare for the sacrament of confession with all seriousness; for this purpose, one should engage in early preparation. Enough remember and write down on a piece of paper all the sins you have committed, and also read detailed information about the sacrament of confession. You should take a piece of paper for the ceremony and read everything again before the process. The same sheet can be given to the confessor, but grave sins must be spoken out loud. It is enough to talk about the sin itself, and not list long stories, for example, if there is enmity in the family, and with neighbors, one should repent of the main sin - condemnation of neighbors and loved ones.
In this ritual, the confessor and God are not interested in numerous sins, the meaning itself is important - sincere repentance for sins committed, a sincere feeling of a person, a contrite heart. Confession is not just awareness of one’s sinful past deeds, but also desire to wash them away. Justifying oneself for sins is not cleansing, it is unacceptable. Elder Silouan of Athos said that if a person hates sin, then God also asks for these sins.
It will be great if a person draws conclusions from each passing day, and each time truly repents of his sins, writing them down on paper, and for serious sins it is necessary to confess to a confessor in the church. You should immediately ask for forgiveness from people who have been offended by word or deed. There is a rule in the Orthodox prayer book - the Penitential Canon, which must be read intensively in the evenings before the sacrament of confession itself.
It is important to find out the church schedule and what day you can go to confession. There are many churches in which daily services are held, and the daily sacrament of confession also takes place there. And in the rest you should find out about the schedule of church services.
How to Confess to Children
Children under seven years of age are considered infants and can receive communion without prior confession. But it is important to accustom them from childhood to a sense of reverence. Without the necessary preparation, frequent communion causes reluctance to engage in this matter. Preferably prepare children for the sacrament in a few days, example - reading the Holy Scriptures and children's Orthodox literature. Reduce TV viewing time. Observe the morning and evening prayers. If a child has done bad things over the past few days, then you should talk to him and make him feel ashamed for what he has done. But you always need to know: the child follows the example of his parents.
After the age of seven, you can begin confession on the same basis as adults, but without the preliminary sacrament. The sins listed above are committed in large numbers by children, so children's communion has its own nuances.
To help children sincerely confess, it is necessary to give a list of sins:
This is a superficial list of possible sins. There are many personal sins for each child based on their thoughts and actions. An important goal of parents is to prepare the child for repentance. Need a child he wrote down all his sins without the participation of his parents- you shouldn’t write him down. He must understand that it is necessary to sincerely admit and repent of bad deeds.
How to confess in church
Confession falls on morning and evening time days. It is considered unacceptable to be late for such an event. A group of repentants begins the process by reading the rites. When the priest begins to ask the names of the participants who came to confession, you need to answer neither loudly nor quietly. Latecomers are not accepted for confession. At the end of confession, the priest reads the rite again, receiving the sacrament. Women during natural monthly cleansing are not allowed to participate in such an event.
You need to behave with dignity in church and not disturb other confessors and the priest. It is not allowed to embarrass the people who came to this event. There is no need to confess one category of sins and leave another later. Those sins that were named last time are not re-read. It is advisable to perform the sacrament from the same confessor. In the sacrament, a person repents not before his confessor, but before the Lord God.
IN big churches many penitents gather and in this case it is used "general confession". The point is that the priest pronounces common sins, and those confessing repent. Next, everyone must come to the prayer of permission. When confession takes place for the first time, you should not come to such a general procedure.
First time visit private confession, if there is none, then at general confession you need to take the last place in line and listen to what they say to the priest during confession. It is advisable to explain the whole situation to the priest; he will tell you how to confess for the first time. Next comes true repentance. If during the process of repentance a person kept silent about a serious sin, then he will not be forgiven. At the end of the sacrament, a person is obliged, after reading the prayer of permission, to kiss the Gospel and the cross, which lie on the lectern.
Proper preparation for communion
On the days of fasting, which last seven days, fasting is established. The diet should not include fish, dairy, meat and egg products. On such days, sexual intercourse should not be performed. It is necessary to attend church frequently. Read the Penitential Canon and follow the prayer rules. On the eve of the sacrament, you must arrive for the service in the evening. Before going to bed, you should read the canons of the Archangel Michael, our Lord Jesus Christ and the Mother of God. If this is not possible, such prayer rules can be shifted by several days during the fast.
Children have a hard time remembering and perceiving prayer rules, so you should choose the number that is within your power, but you need to discuss this with your confessor. To prepare gradually you need 
increase the number of prayer rules. Most people confuse the rules of confession and communion. Here you need to prepare step by step. To do this, you should ask for advice from a priest, who will advise you on more precise preparation.
Sacrament of Communion carried out on an empty stomach, you should not consume food and water after 12 o’clock, and you should also not smoke. This does not apply to children under seven years of age. But they need to be accustomed to this a year before the adult sacrament. Morning prayers should also be read for Holy Communion. During morning confession, you must arrive at the right time without being late.
Communion
The Lord God established the sacrament during the hours of the Last Supper, when Christ broke bread with his disciples and drank wine with them. Communion helps you enter the Kingdom of Heaven, therefore incomprehensible to the human mind. Women are not allowed to attend communion wearing makeup, and on ordinary Sundays they should wipe off anything from their lips. On menstrual days, women are not allowed to participate in the Sacrament., as well as those who have recently given birth, for the latter you need to read the prayer for the fortieth day.
When the priest comes out with the Holy Gifts, participants are required to bow. Next, you need to listen carefully to the prayers, repeating to yourself. Then you should cross your arms across your chest and approach the bowl. Children should go first, then men, and then women. Near the cup one’s name is pronounced and thereby the communicant receives the Gifts of the Lord. After communion, the deacon treats his lips with a plate, then you need to kiss the edge of the cup and approach the table. Here the person takes a drink and consumes the prosphora portion.
At the end, participants listen to prayers and pray until the end of the service. Then you should go to the cross and listen carefully to the prayer of thanks. At the end, everyone goes home, but in church you cannot say empty words and disturb each other. On this day you need to behave with dignity and not defile your purity with sinful deeds.
Confession is one of the most important church sacraments, during which Christians repent of their sins. Confession takes place in the presence of a priest, however, all sins are resolved by God himself.
Confession is of great importance for anyone Orthodox Christian, since repentance and atonement for sins are the work of his whole life. Without it, the laity are not allowed to the Sacrament of the Eucharist (communion) and cannot partake of the Holy Gifts.
What is confession and why is it needed?
The Holy Fathers teach that sin is the main barrier between man and God. And this barrier is so huge that people are not able to overcome it on their own. You can deal with it only with God's help, but for this a person must first admit his sin and repent of it.
It is for deliverance from sin and there is the Sacrament of Confession. When our body is infected dangerous virus, we usually go to the hospital to get medicine. However, sin is the same deadly virus, only it affects not the body, but the soul. And to recover from it, a person needs the help of the church.
The sacrament of repentance is often compared to baptism. During the baptism of new converts, a Christian gets rid of original sin inherited from our first parents - Adam and Eve. Confession helps to resolve those sins that were committed after baptism and by the person himself personally.
Typically, for a Christian, repentance consists of three stages:
- Repent immediately after a sin.
- Ask God for forgiveness in the evening, before going to bed.
- Go to confession, during which the Lord will finally resolve this sin.
You can also confess if your soul is heavy or your conscience is tormenting you. And here the Sacrament of Repentance plays the role of an ambulance, since it helps to get rid of the suffering caused by sin and restore lost mental health.
It is very important to learn to ask for forgiveness from those we have offended. But even more important is repentance before God, since we have much more sins before Him than before any other people.
Many people ask why it is necessary to go to church and confess in the presence of a priest. Isn’t it enough that we ask God for forgiveness, that our conscience torments us, and that we repent of what we have done?
No, not enough. Usually priests give the following explanation: if a person, for example, gets dirty, he will not become clean only because he is aware of his dirt and is ashamed of it. To cleanse himself, he needs some external source of water in which he can wash himself. The Holy Church plays the role of such a source for a Christian.
However, it is important to remember that confession is not only repentance and liberation from sin. It is also a firm determination not to repeat sinful acts and to bring one’s life into real compliance with Christian teaching.
How does the sacrament work?
Unlike other sacraments, confession does not require the observance of a large number of rituals. It does not require long fasts, any special conditions, or specific days. The sacrament of repentance can be performed always and everywhere: it only requires complete repentance and the presence of a priest. Any member of the Orthodox Church aged 7 years and older can confess.
In the temple itself, this sacrament can be performed at different times:
- After the evening service.
- In the morning, immediately before the liturgy.
- During the liturgy itself, before communion.
If there are too many people in the church, you can agree with the priest for another time. Confession begins with a priestly prayer and an appeal to the penitent (“Behold, child, Christ...”). Then the priest covers the head of the penitent with an epitrachelion (optional), asks what his name is and what he wants to confess.
During confession, the priest can ask clarifying questions, give instructions or advice. In some cases he imposes penance, that is, it orders to do certain actions aimed at atonement for sin. For example, if a penitent stole something, he may be asked to return what was stolen or to compensate for the damage. However, penance is prescribed quite rarely.
When the confession ends, the priest places the edge of the stole on the person’s head and says a prayer of permission. After this, the parishioner kisses the Gospel and the cross, which lie on the analogue, and asks the priest for a blessing.
You need to confess at least before each communion. A church-going Christian should receive communion from once a day to once every three weeks. There is no maximum for the number of confessions.
How to prepare for the Sacrament of Penance
Preparing for confession comes down to a thorough analysis of all your actions, words and thoughts. However, they must be considered not from the point of view of man, but from the point of view of God's commandments.
Such self-analysis requires a person to be extremely honest with himself. In truthfully assessing his deeds, a Christian must put aside pride and false shame, since these shortcomings cause us to remain silent about our sins and even justify them.
Preparing for repentance requires the right attitude. You need to not just mechanically remember everyday sins, but strive with all your soul to ensure that they are left behind. It is also advisable to first make peace with those against whom we have sinned and ask for their forgiveness.
In order not to forget about your sins, you can write them down on a piece of paper. There is no need to create a detailed bureaucratic report - just a rough “cheat sheet” will be enough. It will help you quickly refresh your memory before confession and not forget anything.
If you are afraid of missing something important, use special lists of sins for confession. In Orthodoxy, they play the role of a kind of “check list” and allow us to notice what we, for some reason, did not pay attention to. This is the Pochaev Leaf, which helps to remember sins in confession, lists for women, men, children and adolescents.
However, during confession itself you should not use any lists or texts. It’s better to speak in your own words and from the heart , and reading from a piece of paper can turn into a sacrament into an empty formality.
Another way to remember forgotten sins - This is to look at them by type:
- Sins against God: unbelief, lack of faith, pride, breaking the commandments, mentioning the Lord in vain, turning to psychics, not attending church, and the like.
- Sins against one's neighbor: theft, slander, gossip, insults and betrayal.
- Sins against oneself: gluttony, drunkenness, prodigal sin, smoking, despondency and other acts that destroy the body and soul.
Often Christians remember only what happened after the last confession. But to this we must add those actions that we kept silent about last time because of shame or forgetfulness. Also, during confession, you can talk about those sins that last time we confessed without proper repentance.
Some ask: is it permissible to confess the same sin repeatedly? In principle, this is allowed, since the memory of past sins strengthens a person in humility. However, it is not necessary to do this, if the repentance was truly sincere.
It is better to find out about the time of the Sacrament of Repentance in advance. If there are many people wishing to confess on this day, it is better to arrange a separate meeting with the priest.
How to prepare for your very first confession
The very first confession in the life of a Christian is called general. We need to prepare for it especially carefully, since it is precisely this that washes away the most ancient and ingrained dirt from our soul. It is customary to remember all your sins, and not only adults, but also children (starting from the age of six).
Before such a confession, it is advisable to familiarize yourself with Christian literature on this topic. But before buying books or downloading them from the Internet, you should definitely consult with your confessor. The fact is that some books on repentance may be too complex for a layman, and some are of dubious origin and written by sectarians.
If your church is large and a lot of people gather for Sunday services, general confession may be held there. In this case, the priest simply lists the main sins, and the parishioners repeat after him. But such a short form of confession is not suitable for the first time, so it is better to visit the temple on a weekday, when there are usually few people there.
Immediately before the sacrament, you must tell the priest that this is your first time at confession. In this case, he will prompt you and direct your confession in the “right direction,” and then tell you what to do next.
How to confess correctly
The main rule of confession is this: all actions must be as sincere as possible. During the sacrament, formalism must be avoided at all costs so as not to turn it into a ritual “for show.” Here, sincerity is more important than following external instructions.
You need to dress for confession in the same way as for a regular visit to church. Men should wear long pants and a shirt that covers their elbows. For a woman - a long skirt and clothing that covers the shoulders and décolleté. When going to church, you should not wear cosmetics, especially lipstick. A woman must have a scarf on her head.
Arriving at the temple, you need to stand in line for confession. At the same time, it is necessary to keep a certain distance from others so as not to disturb anyone and not to hear other people’s words of repentance.
Having waited your turn, you need to go to the lectern (the table where the cross and the Gospel lie) and bow your head. You can also kneel, but this is not at all necessary. Remember that kneeling prayer is canceled on Sundays, great holidays and during the period from Easter to Trinity.
At confession, it is customary to talk not only about individual sinful acts, but also about the destructive passions inherent in a person. For example, if a penitent is characterized by the love of money, then his sins will be specific manifestations of greed or stinginess.
If you are unfamiliar with the church names of sins and passions, then simply retell everything in your own words. You only need to name the sin itself, briefly and without unnecessary details. If necessary, the priest himself will clarify everything.
If the Lord sees sincere repentance, he will forgive all sins, even those that we ourselves have forgotten. However, it is impossible to deliberately conceal sins, because in this case there will be no forgiveness.
How exactly to talk about your sins? Here are some recommendations that priests usually give:
- Do not approach confession formally. This is not a ritual of “listing sins”: sincere repentance is more important here.
- Avoid “blanks”, that is, pre-memorized phrases and expressions. The best words are those that come from the heart.
- Do not make excuses and do not shift your sins onto others, because in this case the meaning of repentance itself disappears.
- Don't just talk about your life. The purpose of confession is not to pour out the soul, but to get rid of the burden of sin.
- It’s normal to cry during confession, but you don’t need to do it on purpose and for show.
And most importantly: it is necessary to remember that in fact all sins are confessed to God. The priest only fulfills the duty of a witness and intercessor before Him.
During confession, the priest may sometimes ask or clarify something. In this case, you just need to calmly answer all the questions. And vice versa, if something from the priest’s instructions remains unclear, then ask him to explain.
After the priest has listened to the confession and is convinced of the person’s sincerity, he covers his head with the edge of the stole and reads a prayer of permission. After it you need to cross yourself and kiss the cross and the Gospel.
Immediately after confession, a blessing is taken from the priest. To do this, fold your hands with your palms up and right palm put on the left. Then you need to bow your head and say: “Bless, father.” The priest will make a blessing sign and place his palm on his folded hands. The priest should touch his hand with his lips as an image of the blessing right hand of the Lord.
If you are planning to take communion, you should take a blessing for this too. You can simply ask: “Father, do you bless me to receive communion?” In this case, the priest can clarify the observance of fasting and prayers necessary for the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
What to do after confession
The very first thing to do is to thank the Lord for the forgiveness of sins. Unfortunately, some people forget about this. But this is His great gift, thanks to which the human soul is cleansed of filth.
You also need to make a firm decision to change your life. It is not enough to simply confess a sin to God: you must try to never repeat such a thing again in the future. It is important to remember that for a Christian, repentance and the fight against sin is the work of a lifetime that never ends.
With sincere repentance in confession, all sins are forgiven. But this does not mean that you can immediately forget about them. No, we should always remember the sins committed earlier, for we need this for humility and for protection from possible falls in the future.
If you confess regularly enough, over time it becomes difficult to remember your sins. But this does not mean that they do not exist: they simply begin to “hide” from us. In this case, we can ask the Lord to grant us a vision of our own sins.
Before communion, you must undergo the Sacrament of Confession.
In Ioanno-Predtechenskoe cathedral Confession begins with the beginning of the evening service at 17:00. If the priest is alone, then he makes confession at the end of the evening service.
Attendance at the evening service on the eve of communion is mandatory.
Before communion, you must fast, limiting yourself (at least three days) to meat, dairy and egg products.
CONFESSION AND HOLY COMMUNION
EXPLANATIONS
Based on the book by N. E. Pestov “Modern practice of Orthodox piety”
Every time the Divine Liturgy is celebrated in the church, a priest comes out of the altar before the service begins. He heads to the vestibule of the temple, where the people of God are already waiting for him. In his hands, the Cross is a sign of the sacrificial love of the Son of God for the human race, and the Gospel is the good news of salvation. The priest places the Cross and the Gospel on the lectern and, reverently bowing, proclaims: “Blessed is our God always, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.”
This is how the Sacrament of Confession begins. The name itself indicates that in this Sacrament something deeply hidden is accomplished, revealing layers of a person’s life that in ordinary times a person prefers not to touch. This is probably why the fear of confession is so strong among those who have never started it before. How long they have to overcome themselves to approach the confessional lectern!
Vain fear!
It comes from ignorance of what actually happens in this Sacrament. Confession is not a forcible “picking” of sins from the conscience, not an interrogation, and, especially, not a “guilty” verdict on the sinner. Confession is the great Sacrament of reconciliation between God and man; this is the joy of forgiveness of sin; This is a tear-touching manifestation of God’s love for man.
We all sin a lot before God. Vanity, hostility, idle talk, ridicule, intransigence, irritability, anger are constant companions of our lives. On the conscience of almost each of us lie more serious crimes: infanticide (abortion), adultery, turning to sorcerers and psychics, theft, enmity, revenge and much more, making us guilty of the wrath of God.
It should be remembered that sin is not a fact in biography that can be frivolously forgotten. Sin is a “black seal” that remains on the conscience until the end of days and is not washed away by anything other than the Sacrament of Repentance. Sin has a corrupting power that can cause a chain of subsequent, more serious sins.
One ascetic of piety figuratively likened sins... to bricks. He said this: the more unrepentant sins a person has on his conscience, the thicker the wall between him and God, made up of these bricks - sins. The wall can become so thick that a person becomes insensitive to the influence of God's grace, and then he experiences the mental and physical consequences of sins. Mental consequences include dislike for certain people or irritability, anger and nervousness, fears, attacks of anger, depression, the development of addictions in the individual, despondency, melancholy and despair, in extreme forms sometimes turning into a desire for suicide. This is not neurosis at all. This is how sin works.
Bodily consequences include illness. Almost all diseases of an adult, explicitly or implicitly, are associated with previously committed sins.
So, in the Sacrament of Confession, a great miracle of God’s mercy is performed towards the sinner. After sincere repentance of sins before God in the presence of a clergyman as a witness of repentance, when the priest reads a prayer of permission, the Lord himself, with His all-powerful right hand, breaks the wall of sin-bricks into dust, and the barrier between God and man collapses.”
When we come to confession, we repent in the presence of the priest, but not in front of the priest. The priest, being a man himself, is only a witness, a mediator in the Sacrament, and the true celebrant is the Lord God. Then why confess in church? Isn’t it easier to repent at home, alone before the Lord, because He hears us everywhere?
Yes, indeed, personal repentance before confession, leading to awareness of sin, heartfelt contrition and rejection of the crime committed, is necessary. But in itself it is not exhaustive. Final reconciliation with God, cleansing from sin is accomplished within the framework of the Sacrament of Confession, certainly through the mediation of a priest; this form of the Sacrament was established by the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Appearing to the apostles after his glorious resurrection. He blew and said to them: “...receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive, they will be forgiven; those whose sins you retain, will be retained” (John 20:22-23). Apostles, pillars ancient Church, the power was given to remove the veil of sin from the hearts of people; from them, this power was transferred to their successors - church leaders - bishops and priests.
In addition, the moral aspect of the Sacrament is important. It is not difficult to list your sins in private before the All-Knowing and Invisible God. But, discovering them in the presence of a third party - a priest, requires considerable effort to overcome shame, requires the crucifixion of one’s sinfulness, which leads to an incomparably deeper and more serious awareness of personal wrong.
The sacrament of confession and repentance is the great mercy of God towards weak and prone humanity; it is a means available to everyone, leading to the salvation of the soul, which constantly falls into sin.
Throughout our lives, our spiritual clothing is continually stained with sin. They can only be noticed when clothes are our problem, i.e. purified by repentance. On the clothes of an unrepentant sinner, dark with sinful dirt, stains of new and separate sins cannot be noticeable.
Therefore, we must not put off our repentance and allow our spiritual clothes to become completely soiled: this leads to dulling of conscience and to spiritual death.
And only an attentive life and timely cleansing of sinful stains in the Sacrament of Confession can preserve the purity of our soul and the presence of the Holy Spirit of God in it.
Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt
writes:
“You need to confess your sins more often in order to amaze and scourge sins by openly recognizing them and in order to feel more disgust for them.”
As Fr. writes. Alexander Elchaninov, “insensibility, stonyness, deadness of the soul - from neglected and unconfessed sins in time. How the soul is relieved when you immediately, while it hurts, confess the sin you have committed. Delayed confession can cause insensibility.
A person who often confesses and has no deposits of sins in his soul cannot help but be healthy. Confession is a blessed discharge of the soul. In this sense, the significance of confession and, in general, of life in general, is enormous, in connection with the grace-filled help of the Church. So don't put it off. Weak faith and doubts are not an obstacle. Be sure to confess, repent of weak faith and doubts, as of your own weakness and sin. “So it is: complete faith only of the strong in spirit and the righteous; where can we, the unclean and the cowardly, have their faith? If she were, we would be holy, strong, divine and would not need the help of the Church that She offers us. Don’t shy away from this help either.”
Hence, participation in the Sacrament of Confession should not be rare - once in a long period, as those who go to confession once a year or a little more may think.
The process of repentance is a continuous work to heal mental ulcers and cleanse every newly emerging sinful spot. Only in this case will the Christian not lose his “royal dignity” and will remain among the “holy nation” (1 Pet. 2:9).
If the Sacrament of Confession is neglected, sin will oppress the soul and at the same time, after it is abandoned by the Holy Spirit, the doors will be open for the entry of dark power and the development of passions and addictions.
There may also come a period of hostility, enmity, quarrels, and even hatred towards others, which will poison the life of both the sinner and his neighbors.
Obsessive bad thoughts (“psychasthenia”) may appear, from which the sinner is unable to free himself and which will poison his life.
This will also include the so-called “persecution mania,” a strong wavering in faith, and such completely opposite feelings, but equally dangerous and painful: for some, an insurmountable fear of death, and for others, a desire for suicide.
Finally, mental and physical unhealthy manifestations may occur that are usually called “damage”: seizures of an epileptic nature and that series of ugly mental manifestations that are characterized as obsession and demonic possession.
Holy Scripture and the history of the Church testify that such severe consequences of unrepentant sins are healed by the power of God’s grace through the Sacrament of Confession and subsequent communion of the Holy Mysteries.
Spiritual experience is indicative in this regard. Elder Hilarion
from Optina Pustyn.
Hilarion, in his senile service, proceeded from the position stated above, that every mental illness is a consequence of the presence of unrepentant sin in the soul.
Therefore, among such patients, the elder first of all tried, through questioning, to find out all the significant and serious sins that they committed after the age of seven and were not expressed at the time in confession, either out of modesty, or out of ignorance, or out of oblivion.
After discovering such a sin (or sins), the elder tried to convince those who came to him for help of the need for deep and sincere repentance of sin.
If such repentance appeared, then the elder, like a priest, after confession, absolved sins. With the subsequent communion of the Holy Mysteries, complete deliverance usually occurred from the mental illness that tormented the sinful soul.
In those cases where the visitor was found to have severe and long-term enmity towards his neighbors, the elder commanded to immediately reconcile with them and ask them for forgiveness for all previously inflicted insults, insults and injustices.
Such conversations and confessions sometimes required great patience, endurance and perseverance from the elder. So, for a long time he persuaded one possessed woman to first cross herself, then drink holy water, then tell him her life and her sins.
At first he had to endure many insults and manifestations of anger from her. However, he released her only when the patient humbled herself, became obedient and brought complete repentance in confession for the sins she had committed. This is how she received complete healing.
One patient came to the elder, suffering from a desire for suicide. The elder found out that he had previously made two attempts at suicide - at the age of 12 and in his youth.
At confession, the patient had not previously brought repentance to them. The elder achieved complete repentance from him - he confessed and gave him communion. Since then, the thoughts of suicide have stopped.
As can be seen from the above, sincere repentance and confession of sins brought to a Christian not only their forgiveness, but also the fullness of spiritual health only when grace returns to the sinner and the presence of the Holy Spirit with the Christian.
Since only through the permission of the priest is sin finally erased from our “book of life,” so that our memory does not fail us in this most important of our lives, it is necessary to write down our sins. The same note can be used in confession.
This is what the elder suggested to his spiritual children O. Alexy Mechev
. Regarding confession, he gave the following instructions:
“When approaching confession, we must remember everything and consider every sin from all sides, bring all the little things to memory, so that everything in our hearts burns out with shame. Then our sin will become disgusting and the confidence will be created that we will never return to it.
At the same time, we must feel all the goodness of God: the Lord shed His Blood for me, takes care of me, loves me, is ready to accept me like a mother, hugs me, comforts me, but I keep sinning and sinning.
And immediately, when you come to confession, you repent to the Lord crucified on the cross, like a child when he says with tears: “Mom, forgive me, I won’t do it again.”
And whether there is anyone here or not, it won’t matter, because the priest is only a witness, and the Lord knows all our sins, sees all our thoughts. He only needs our consciousness of being guilty.
Thus, in the Gospel, He asked the father of the demon-possessed youth since when did this happen to him (Mark 9:21). He didn't need it. He knew everything, but he did it so that the father would acknowledge his guilt in his son’s illness.”
At confession, Fr. Alexy Mechev did not allow the confessor to speak in detail about sins of the flesh and touch on other persons and their actions.
He could only consider himself guilty. When talking about quarrels, you could only say what you said yourself (without softening or justifying) and not touch on what they answered you. He demanded that others be justified and that they blame themselves, even if it was not your fault. If you quarrel, it means you are to blame.
Once said in confession, sins are no longer repeated in confession; they have already been forgiven.
But this does not mean that a Christian can completely erase from his memory the most serious sins of his life. The sinful wound on the body of the soul is healed, but the scar from sin remains forever, and a Christian must remember this and deeply humble himself, mourning his sinful falls.
As he writes Rev. Anthony the Great:
“The Lord is good and forgives the sins of all who turn to Him, no matter who they are, so that He will not remember them anymore.
However, He wants those (those who have been pardoned) to remember the forgiveness of their sins that they have committed so far, so that, having forgotten about this, they would not allow anything in their behavior that would force them to give an account of those sins that have already been committed. were forgiven - as happened with that slave to whom the master renewed the entire debt that had previously been remitted to him (Matthew 18:24-25).
Thus, when the Lord forgives us our sins, we must not forgive them to ourselves, but always remember them through (continuous) renewal of repentance for them.”
This is what he talks about Elder Silouan:
“Although sins are forgiven, you must remember and grieve about them all your life in order to maintain contrition.”
Here, however, we should warn that remembering one’s sins can be different and in some cases (for carnal sins) can even harm a Christian.
He writes about it like this Rev. Barsanuphius the Great . “I don’t mean remembering sins individually, so that sometimes even through their remembering the enemy does not lead us into the same captivity, but it is enough just to remember that we are guilty of sins.”
It should be mentioned at the same time that Elder Fr. Alexey Zosimovsky believed that although after confession there was remission of some sin, if it continues to torment and confuse the conscience, then it is necessary to confess it again.
For someone who sincerely repents of sins, the dignity of the priest accepting his confession does not matter. Fr. writes about it this way. Alexander Elchaninov:
“For a person who truly suffers from the ulcer of his sin, it makes no difference through whom he confesses this tormenting sin; as long as he confesses it as soon as possible and receives relief.
In confession, the most important state of the soul of the penitent, whatever the confessor may be. Our repentance is important. In our country, the personality of the confessor is often given primacy.”
When confessing your sins or asking your confessor for advice, it is very important to catch his first word. Elder Silouan gives the following instructions on this matter.
“In a few words, the confessor speaks his thoughts or the most essential things about his condition and then leaves the confessor free.
The confessor, praying from the first moment of the conversation, waits for admonition from God, and if he feels a “notification” in his soul, then he gives such an answer, which should be stopped at, because when the “first word” of the confessor is missed, then at the same time the effectiveness of the Sacrament is weakened , and confession can turn into a simple human discussion."
Perhaps some who repent of serious sins when confessing to a priest think that the latter will treat them with hostility after learning their sins. But that's not true.
As Archbishop Arseny (Chudovskoy) writes: “When a sinner sincerely, with tears, repents to his confessor, the latter involuntarily has a feeling of joy and consolation in his heart, and at the same time a feeling of love and respect for the penitent.
To the one who reveals sins, it may perhaps seem that the shepherd will not even look at him now, since he knows his filth and will treat him with contempt. Oh no! A sincerely repentant sinner becomes dear, dear, and as if dear to the shepherd.”
O. Alexander Elchaninov writes about the same thing:
“Why is the confessor not disgusted with the sinner, no matter how disgusting his sins are? - Because in the Sacrament of Repentance the priest contemplates the complete separation of the sinner and his sin.”
CONFESSION
(based on the works of Father Alexander Elchaninov)
Usually people inexperienced in spiritual life do not see the multiplicity of their sins.
“Nothing special”, “like everyone else”, “only minor sins - didn’t steal, didn’t kill” - this is usually the beginning of confession for many.
But self-love, intolerance of reproaches, callousness, people-pleasing, weakness of faith and love, cowardice, spiritual laziness - aren’t these important sins? How can we claim that we love God enough, that our faith is active and ardent? That we love every person as a brother in Christ? That we have achieved meekness, freedom from anger, humility?
If not, then what is our Christianity? How can we explain our self-confidence in confession if not by “petrified insensibility”, if not by “deadness”, the heart and soul death that precedes the body?
Why St. the fathers who left us prayers of repentance considered themselves to be the first of sinners and with sincere conviction cried out to the Sweetest Jesus: “No one on earth has sinned as I have sinned, the accursed and prodigal one,” and we are convinced that everything is fine with us?
The brighter the light of Christ illuminates the hearts, the more clearly all shortcomings, ulcers and wounds are created. And, on the contrary, people immersed in the darkness of sin do not see anything in their hearts: and if they do, they are not horrified, since they have nothing to compare with.
Therefore, the direct path to the knowledge of one’s sins is to approach the Light and pray for this Light, which is the judgment of the world and everything “worldly” in ourselves (John 3:19). In the meantime, there is no such closeness to Christ in which a feeling of repentance is our usual state, we must, when preparing for confession, examine our conscience - according to the commandments, according to some prayers (for example, the 3rd Vespers, the 4th before Holy Communion), in some places of the Gospel and Epistles (for example, Matt. 5, Rom. 12, Eph. 4, James 3).
When understanding your soul, you must try to distinguish between basic sins and derivative ones, symptoms from deeper-lying causes.
For example, absent-mindedness during prayer, dozing and inattention in church, and lack of interest in reading the Holy Scriptures are very important. But don’t these sins stem from lack of faith and weak love for God? It is necessary to note in yourself self-will, disobedience, self-justification, impatience of reproaches, intransigence, stubbornness; but it is even more important to discover their connection with self-love and pride.
If we notice in ourselves a desire for society, talkativeness, laughter, increased concern for our appearance and not only our own, but our loved ones, then we must carefully examine whether this is not a form of “various vanity.”
If we take everyday failures too much to heart, endure separation hard, grieve inconsolably for those who have passed away, then in addition to the strength and depth of our feelings, doesn’t all this also testify to a lack of faith in God’s Providence?
There is another auxiliary means leading to the knowledge of our sins - to remember what other people, our enemies, and especially those who live side by side with us and loved ones usually accuse us of: almost always their accusations, reproaches, attacks are justified. You can even, having conquered your pride, ask them directly about it - you know better from the outside.
Before confession, it is necessary to ask for forgiveness from everyone to whom you are guilty, and to go to confession with an unburdened conscience.
During such a test of the heart, one must be careful not to fall into excessive suspiciousness and petty suspicion of every movement of the heart; Having taken this path, you can lose your sense of what is important and unimportant, and get confused in the little things.
In such cases, you must temporarily abandon the testing of your soul and, with prayer and good deeds, simplify and clarify your soul.
The point is to be able to fully remember and even write down our sins, and to achieve a state of concentration, seriousness and prayer in which our sins become clear as if by light.
But knowing your sins does not mean repenting of them. True, the Lord accepts confession - sincere, conscientious, when it is not accompanied by a strong feeling of repentance.
Still, “contrition of heart”—sorrow for our sins—is the most important thing we can bring to confession.
But what to do if “we have no tears, less than repentance, less than tenderness?” “What should we do if our heart, dried up by the flame of sin, is not watered by the life-giving waters of tears? What if “weakness of soul and weakness of the flesh are so great that we are not capable of sincere repentance?
This is still not a reason to postpone confession - God can touch our heart during confession itself: confession itself, the naming of our sins can soften our repentant heart, refine our spiritual vision, sharpen our feelings. Most of all, preparation for confession serves to overcome our spiritual lethargy - fasting, which, exhausting our body, disrupts our bodily well-being, which is disastrous for spiritual life. Prayer, night thoughts about death, reading the Gospel, the lives of saints, and the works of St. serve the same purpose. fathers, increased struggle with oneself, exercise in good deeds.
Our insensibility in confession is mostly rooted in a lack of fear of God and hidden unbelief. This is where our efforts should be directed.
The third point in confession is the verbal confession of sins. There is no need to wait for questions, you need to make the effort yourself; Confession is a feat and self-compulsion. It is necessary to speak precisely, without obscuring the ugliness of sin with general expressions (for example, “I have sinned against the 7th commandment”). When confessing, it is very difficult to avoid the temptation of self-justification, attempts to explain “mitigating circumstances” to the confessor, and references to third parties who led us into sin. All these are signs of pride, lack of deep repentance, and continued stalemate in sin.
Confession is not a conversation about one’s shortcomings, it is not a confessor’s knowledge of you, and least of all a “pious custom.” Confession is an ardent repentance of the heart, a thirst for purification that comes from a sense of holiness, dying to sin and reviving for holiness...
I often notice in those confessing a desire to go through confession painlessly for themselves - either they get off with general phrases, or talk about little things, keeping silent about what should really weigh on their conscience. There is also false shame before the confessor and general indecision, as before every important action, and especially - a cowardly fear of seriously starting to stir up one’s life, full of small and habitual weaknesses. A real confession, like a good shock to the soul, is terrifying in its decisiveness, the need to change something, or even just to at least think about oneself.
Sometimes in confession they refer to a weak memory, which does not seem to give the opportunity to remember sins. Indeed, it often happens that you easily forget your sins, but does this only happen because of a weak memory?
In confession, a weak memory is not an excuse; forgetfulness - from inattention, frivolity, callousness, insensitivity to sin. Sin that burdens the conscience will not be forgotten. After all, for example, cases that especially hurt our pride or, on the contrary, flattered our vanity, we remember praise addressed to us for many years. We remember everything that makes a strong impression on us for a long time and clearly, and if we forget our sins, doesn’t this mean that we simply do not attach serious importance to them?
A sign of completed repentance is a feeling of lightness, purity, inexplicable joy, when sin seems as difficult and impossible as this joy was just far away.
Our repentance will not be complete if, while repenting, we do not internally confirm ourselves in the determination not to return to our confessed sin.
But, they say, how is this possible? How can I promise myself and my confessor that I will not repeat my sin? Wouldn't the opposite be closer to the truth - the certainty that the sin will be repeated? After all, everyone knows from their experience that after a while you inevitably return to the same sins. Observing yourself from year to year, you do not notice any improvement, “you jump and again remain in the same place.”
It would be terrible if that were the case. Fortunately, this is not the case. There is no case when, if there is a good desire to improve, successive confessions and Holy Communion do not produce beneficial changes in the soul.
But the fact is that, first of all, we are not our own judges. A person cannot correctly judge himself whether he has become worse or better, since both he, the judge, and what he judges are changing quantities.
Increased severity towards oneself, increased spiritual clarity, heightened fear of sin can give the illusion that sins have multiplied: they remained the same, maybe even weakened, but we did not notice them like that before.
Besides. God, in His special providence, often closes our eyes to our successes in order to protect us from worst enemy- vanity and pride. It often happens that sin remains, but frequent confession and Communion of the Holy Mysteries have shaken and weakened its roots. And the very struggle with sin, suffering about one’s sins - isn’t it an acquisition?
“Do not be afraid,” says John Climacus
, - even if you fall every day, and do not depart from the ways of God. Stand courageously and the angel protecting you will honor your patience."
If there is no this feeling of relief, rebirth, you must have the strength to return again to confession, to completely free your soul from impurity, to wash it with tears from blackness and filth. Those who strive for this will always achieve what they are looking for.
Just let us not take credit for our successes, count on our own strengths, rely on our own efforts - this would mean ruining everything we have acquired.
“Gather my scattered mind. Lord, cleanse my frozen heart: like Peter, give me repentance, like a publican - sighs, and like a harlot - tears.”
And here is the advice of Archbishop Arseny / Chudovsky / on preparing for confession:
“We come to confession with the intention of receiving forgiveness of sins from the Lord God through a priest. So know that your confession is empty, idle, invalid and even offensive to the Lord if you go to confession without any preparation, without testing your conscience, according to out of shame or for some other reason, you hide your sins, you confess without contrition and tenderness, formally, coldly, mechanically, without having a firm intention to correct yourself in the future.
They often approach confession unprepared. What does it mean to prepare? Diligently test your conscience, recall and feel your sins in your heart, decide to tell all of them, without any concealment, to your confessor, repent of them, but avoid them in the future. And since our memory often fails us, those who write down remembered sins on paper do well. And about those sins that you, no matter how much you want, cannot remember, do not worry that they will not be forgiven you. Just have a sincere determination to repent of everything and with tears ask the Lord to forgive you all your sins, which you remember and which you do not remember.
In confession, say everything that bothers you, that hurts you, so don’t be shy to once again talk about your previous sins. This is good, it will testify that you constantly walk with a feeling of your damnation and overcome any shame from discovering your sinful ulcers.
There are so-called unconfessed sins that many live with for many years, and perhaps their entire lives. Sometimes I want to reveal them to my confessor, but it’s too embarrassing to talk about them, and so it goes by year after year; and yet they constantly burden the soul and prepare for it eternal condemnation. Some of these people are happy, the time comes. The Lord sends them a confessor, opens the mouths and hearts of these unrepentant sinners, and they confess all their sins. The abscess thus breaks through, and these people receive spiritual relief and, as it were, recovery. However, how one must be afraid of unrepentant sins!
Unconfessed sins are like our debt, which we constantly feel and constantly burden us. And what better way than to pay off the debt - then your soul will be at peace; It’s the same with sins - these spiritual debts of ours: you confess them to your confessor, and your heart will feel light, easy.
Repentance before confession is a victory over oneself, it is a victorious trophy, so that the one who has repented is worthy of all respect and honor.”
Preparing for Confession
As a sample for determining one’s inner spiritual state and for discovering one’s sins, the “Confession”, slightly modified in relation to modern conditions, can be taken. Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov
.
* * *
I confess that I am a great sinner (name of rivers) to the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ and to you, honorable father, all my sins and all my evil deeds, which I have done in all the days of my life, which I have thought even to this day.
I sinned: I did not keep the vows of Holy Baptism, I did not keep my monastic promise, but I lied about everything and created indecent things for myself before the Face of God.
Forgive us, Merciful Lord (for the people). Forgive me, honest father (for singles). I sinned: before the Lord by lack of faith and sluggishness in thoughts, all from the enemy against faith and the Holy. Churches; ingratitude for all His great and unceasing benefits, calling on the name of God without need - in vain.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: lack of love for the Lord, lower than fear, failure to fulfill the holy. His will and St. commandments, careless depiction of the sign of the cross, irreverent veneration of St. icons; did not wear a cross, was ashamed to be baptized and confess the Lord.
Forgive me, honest father.
He sinned: he did not preserve love for his neighbor, did not feed the hungry and thirsty, did not clothe the naked, did not visit the sick and prisoners in prison; the law of God and St. I did not learn the traditions of my fathers out of laziness and negligence.
Forgive me, honest father.
Sinned: church and cell rule failure to fulfill, going to the temple of God without diligence, with laziness and negligence; leaving morning, evening and other prayers; during a church service - he sinned by idle talk, laughter, dozing, inattention to reading and singing, absent-mindedness, leaving the temple during the service and not going to the temple of God due to laziness and negligence.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: by daring to go to the temple of God in uncleanness and touch all holy things.
Forgive me, honest father.
Sinned: by not honoring the feasts of God; violation of St. fasting and non-keeping of fast days - Wednesday and Friday; intemperance in food and drink, polyeating, secret eating, disordered eating, drunkenness, dissatisfaction with food and drink, clothing, parasitism; one’s own will and reason through fulfillment, self-righteousness, self-indulgence and self-justification; not properly honoring parents, not raising children in Orthodox faith, cursing their children and neighbors.
Forgive me, honest father.
Sinned by: unbelief, superstition, doubt, despair, despondency, blasphemy, false worship, dancing, smoking, playing cards, gossip, remembering the living for their repose, eating the blood of animals (VI Ecumenical Council, 67th rule. Acts of the Holy Apostles, Chapter 15).
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: by seeking help from intermediaries of demonic power - occultists: psychics, bioenergeticists, non-contact massage therapists, hypnotists, “folk” healers, sorcerers, sorcerers, healers, fortune tellers, astrologers, parapsychologists; participation in coding sessions, removal of “damage and evil eye”, spiritualism; contacting UFOs and “higher intelligence”; connection to "cosmic energies".
Forgive me, honest father.
Sinned: by watching and listening to television and radio programs with the participation of psychics, healers, astrologers, fortune-tellers, healers.
Forgive me, honest father.
Sinned: by studying various occult teachings, theosophy, eastern cults, the teaching of “living ethics”; doing yoga, meditation, dousing according to Porfiry Ivanov’s system.
Forgive me, honest father.
Sinned: by reading and storing occult literature.
Forgive me, honest father.
Sinned: by attending speeches by Protestant preachers, participating in meetings of Baptists, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Adventists, the "Virgin Center", "white brotherhood" and other sects, accepting heretical baptism, deviating into heresy and sectarian teaching.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: pride, conceit, envy, conceit, suspicion, irritability.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: by judging all people - living and dead, by slander and anger, by malicious malice, by hatred, by retribution of evil for evil, by slander, by reproach, by deceit, laziness, by deception, by hypocrisy, by gossip, by disputes, by stubbornness, by unwillingness to give in and serve one's neighbor; sinned with gloating, malice, slander, insult, ridicule, reproach and man-pleasing.
Forgive me, honest father.
Sinned: incontinence of mental and physical feelings; spiritual and physical impurity, pleasure and procrastination in unclean thoughts, addiction, voluptuousness, immodest views of wives and young men; in a dream, prodigal desecration at night, intemperance in married life.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: by impatience with illnesses and sorrows, by loving the comforts of this life, by captivity of the mind and hardening of the heart, by not forcing myself to do any good deed.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: by inattention to the promptings of my conscience, negligence, laziness in reading the word of God and negligence in acquiring the Jesus Prayer. I sinned through covetousness, love of money, unrighteous acquisition, embezzlement, theft, stinginess, attachment to various kinds things and people.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: by condemning bishops and priests, by disobeying spiritual fathers, by murmuring and resenting them and by not confessing my sins to them out of oblivion, negligence out of false shame.
Sinned: by unmercifulness, contempt and condemnation of the poor; going to the temple of God without fear and reverence.
Forgive me, honest father.
Sinned: laziness, relaxation, love of bodily rest, excessive sleeping, voluptuous dreams, biased views, shameless body movements, touching, fornication, adultery, corruption, fornication, unmarried marriages; (those who performed abortions on themselves or others, or inclined someone to this great sin - infanticide, sinned gravely).
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: by spending time in empty and idle activities, in empty conversations, in excessive watching of television.
I sinned: despondency, cowardice, impatience, murmuring, despair of salvation, lack of hope in God’s mercy, insensibility, ignorance, arrogance, shamelessness.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: by slandering my neighbor, anger, insult, irritation and ridicule, non-reconciliation, enmity and hatred, dissent, spying on other people's sins and eavesdropping on other people's conversations.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: by coldness and insensitivity in confession, by belittling sins, by blaming others rather than by condemning myself.
Forgive me, honest father.
Sinned: against the Life-giving and Holy Mysteries of Christ, approaching Them without proper preparation, without contrition and the fear of God.
Forgive me, honest father.
I have sinned: in word, in thought and with all my senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch - voluntarily or involuntarily, knowledge or ignorance, in reason or foolishness, and it is not possible to list all my sins according to their multitude. But in all of these, as well as in those unspeakable through oblivion, I repent and regret, and henceforth, with the help of God, I promise to take care.
You, honest father, forgive me and release me from all of this and pray for me, a sinner, and on that Day of Judgment testify before God about the sins I have confessed. Amen.
General Confession
As you know, the church practices not only separate, but also the so-called “general confession”, in which the priest absolves sins without hearing them from the penitents.
The replacement of a separate confession with a general one is due to the fact that now the priest often does not have the opportunity to accept confession from everyone. However, such a replacement is, of course, extremely undesirable and not everyone and not always can participate in general confession and after it go to Communion.
During general confession, the penitent does not have to reveal the dirt of his spiritual vestments, does not have to be ashamed of them in front of the priest, and his pride, pride and vanity will not be hurt. Thus, there will not be that punishment for sin, which, in addition to our repentance, would gain us God's mercy.
Secondly, general confession is fraught with the danger that such a sinner will approach Holy Communion who, during a separate confession, would not be allowed to come to Him by the priest.
Many serious sins require serious and lengthy repentance. And then the priest prohibits communion for a certain period and imposes penance (prayers of repentance, bows, abstinence in something). In other cases, the priest must receive a promise from the repentant not to repeat the sin again and only then be allowed to receive communion.
Therefore, general confession cannot be started in the following cases:
1) those who have not been to a separate confession for a long time - several years or many months;
2) those who have either a mortal sin or a sin that greatly hurts and torments his conscience.
In such cases, the confessor must, after all other participants in the confession, approach the priest and tell him the sins that lie on his conscience.
Participation in general confession can be considered acceptable (due to need) only for those who confess and receive communion quite often, check themselves from time to time in separate confession and are confident that the sins that they say in confession will not serve as a reason for prohibition for them Participles.
At the same time, it is also necessary that we participate in general confession either with our spiritual father or with a priest who knows us well.
Confession from Elder Zosima
The possibility in some cases of silent (i.e., without words) confession, and how one must prepare for it, is indicated by the following story from the biography of Elder Zosima from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.
“There was a case with two ladies. They go to the elder’s cell, and one repents of her sins all the way - “Lord, how sinful I am, I did this and that wrong, I condemned this and that, etc..” forgive me. Lord".... And the heart and mind seem to fall at the feet of the Lord.
“Forgive me, Lord, and give me strength not to insult You like this again.”
She tried to remember all her sins and repented and repented along the way.
The other one calmly walked towards the elder. “I’ll come, I’ll confess, I’m a sinner in everything, I’ll tell you, I’ll take communion tomorrow.” And then she thinks: “What kind of material should I buy for my daughter’s dress, and what style should I choose for her to suit her face...” and similar worldly thoughts occupied the heart and mind of the second lady.
Both of them entered Father Zosima’s cell together. Addressing the first one, the elder said:
- Get on your knees, I will now forgive you your sins.
- Why, father, I haven’t told you yet?..
“No need to say, you told the Lord all the time, you prayed to God all the way, so now I will allow you, and tomorrow I will bless you to take communion... And you,” he turned to another lady, “you go buy a dress for your daughter.” material, choose a style, sew what you have in mind.
And when your soul comes to repentance, come to confession. And now I won’t confess to you.”
About penances
In some cases, the priest may impose penance on the penitent - spiritual exercises prescribed with the aim of eradicating the habits of sin. In accordance with this goal, feats of prayer and good deeds are assigned, which must be directly opposite to the sin for which they are assigned: for example, works of mercy are assigned to the lover of money, fasting to the unchaste, kneeling prayers to those weakening in faith, etc. Sometimes, due to the persistent unrepentance of a person confessing to some sin, the confessor may excommunicate him for some period of time from participating in the Sacrament of Communion. Penance must be treated as the will of God, spoken through the priest about the penitent, and must be accepted for obligatory fulfillment. If it is impossible for one reason or another to perform penance, you should contact the priest who imposed it to resolve the difficulties that have arisen.
About the time of the Sacrament of Confession
According to existing church practice, the Sacrament of Confession is performed in churches in the morning on the day of the Divine Liturgy. In some churches, confession also happens the night before. In churches where the Liturgy is served every day, confession is daily. Under no circumstances should you be late for the beginning of Confession, since the Sacrament begins with the reading of the rite, in which everyone who wishes to confess must prayerfully participate.
Final actions at confession: after confessing sins and reading the prayer of absolution by the priest, the penitent kisses the Cross and Gospel lying on the lectern and takes a blessing from the confessor.
The connection of the Sacrament of Anointing with the forgiveness of sins
“The prayer of faith will heal the sick... and if he has committed sins, they will forgive him” (James 5:15)
No matter how carefully we try to remember and write down our sins, it may happen that a significant part of them will not be told in confession, some will be forgotten, and some will simply not be realized and not noticed due to spiritual blindness.
In this case, the church comes to the aid of the repentant with the Sacrament of Unction or, as it is often called, “unction.” This sacrament is based on the instructions of the Apostle James, the head of the Jerusalem Church.
“If any of you is sick, let him call the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will heal the sick man, and the Lord will restore him; and if he has committed sins, they will forgive him” (James 5:14 -15).
Thus, in the Sacrament of the Blessing of Anointing, we are forgiven of sins that were not said in confession due to ignorance or forgetfulness. And since illness is a consequence of our sinful state, liberation from sin often leads to healing of the body.
Some of the careless Christians neglect the Sacraments of the church, do not attend confession for several or even many years. And when they realize its necessity and come to confession, then, of course, it is difficult for them to remember all the sins they have committed over many years. In these cases, the Optina elders always recommended that such repentant Christians take part in three Sacraments at once: confession, Blessing of Anointing and Communion of the Holy Mysteries.
Some of the elders believe that in a few years not only the seriously ill, but also all those who are zealous for the salvation of their souls can participate in the Sacrament of Anointing.
At the same time, it should be pointed out that those Christians who do not neglect the fairly frequent Sacrament of Confession were not advised by the Optina elders to undergo unction without a serious illness.
In modern church practice, the Sacrament of Anointing is performed in churches annually during Great Lent.
Those Christians who, for some reason, will not have the opportunity to take part in the Sacrament of Anointing, need to remember the instructions of the elders Barsanuphius and John, which were given to the disciple in response to the question - “oblivion destroys the remembrance of many sins - what should I do?” The answer was:
“What kind of lender can you find more faithful than God, who knows what has not yet happened?
So, lay the account of the sins you have forgotten on Him and tell him:
“Master, since forgetting one’s sins is a sin, then I have sinned in everything to You, the One Knower of the Heart. You forgive me for everything according to Your love for mankind, for there the splendor of Your glory is manifested, when You do not repay sinners for their sins, for You are blessed forever and ever."
COMMUNION OF THE HOLY MYSTERIES OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST
The meaning of the Sacrament
“Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you will not have life in you” (John 6:53)
“He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him” (John 6:56)
With these words, the Lord pointed out the absolute necessity for all Christians to participate in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. The Sacrament itself was established by the Lord at the Last Supper.
“Jesus took the bread and, having blessed it, broke it and, giving it to the disciples, said: Take, eat: this is My Body. And taking the cup and giving thanks, he gave it to them and said: Drink from it, all of you, for this is My Blood of the New Testament, poured out for many for the remission of sins" (Matthew 26:26-28).
As the Holy Church teaches, a Christian, receiving Holy Communion, is mysteriously united with Christ, for in every particle of the fragmented Lamb the whole Christ is contained.
The significance of the Sacrament of the Eucharist is immeasurable, the comprehension of which exceeds the capabilities of our mind.
This Sacrament ignites Christ's love in us, lifts the heart to God, gives rise to virtues in it, restrains the attack of dark forces on us, gives strength against temptations, revives the soul and body, heals them, gives them strength, returns virtues - restores that purity in us the soul that the first-born Adam had before the Fall.
Reflections on the Divine Liturgy Ep. Seraphim Zvezdinsky
There is a description of the vision of one ascetic elder, which clearly characterizes the meaning for a Christian of the Communion of the Holy Mysteries.
The ascetic saw: “a fiery sea, the waves rose and seethed, presenting a terrible sight. On the opposite shore stood beautiful garden. From there you could hear the singing of birds and the scent of flowers.
The ascetic hears a voice: “Cross this sea.” But there was no way to go. He stood for a long time, wondering how to cross, and heard the voice again.
“Take the two wings that the Divine Eucharist gave: one wing is the Divine Flesh of Christ, the second wing is His Life-giving Blood. Without them, no matter how great the feat, it is impossible to achieve the Kingdom of Heaven.”
O. Valentin Svenitsky writes:
“The Eucharist is the basis of that real unity that is expected in the general resurrection, for both in the transubstantiation of the Gifts and in our communion is the guarantee of our salvation and resurrection, not only spiritual, but also physical.”
Elder Parthenius of Kyiv
Once, in a reverent feeling of fiery love for the Lord, I repeated the prayer for a long time: “Lord Jesus, live in me and give me life in You,” and I heard a quiet, sweet voice: “He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me and I in him ".
In some spiritual illnesses, the sacrament of Communion is the most effective healing: for example, when a person is attacked by so-called “blasphemous thoughts,” the spiritual fathers propose to fight them with frequent communion of the Holy Mysteries.
Holy Righteous Fr. John of Kronstadt writes about the significance of the Sacrament of the Eucharist in the fight against strong temptations:
"If you feel the weight of the struggle and see that you cannot cope with evil alone, run to spiritual father to yours and ask him to introduce you to the Holy Mysteries. This is a great and all-powerful weapon in the fight."
For one mentally ill person, Father John recommended, as a means of recovery, to live at home and partake of the Holy Mysteries more often.
Repentance alone is not enough to preserve the purity of our hearts and strengthen our spirit in piety and virtues. The Lord said: “When the unclean spirit leaves a person, he walks through waterless places, looking for rest and, not finding it, says: I will return to my house from where I came. And when he comes, he finds it swept and tidied up. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more evil than themselves, and having entered, they live there, and the last thing for that person is worse than the first (Luke 11:24-26).
So, if repentance cleanses us from the defilement of our soul, then the communion of the Body and Blood of the Lord will fill us with grace and block the return into our soul of the evil spirit expelled by repentance.
Therefore, according to the custom of the church, the Sacraments of Repentance (confession) and Communion follow directly one after the other. And Rev. Seraphim of Sarov says that the rebirth of the soul is accomplished through two sacraments: “through repentance and complete cleansing from all sinful filth by the Most Pure and Life-Giving Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ.”
At the same time, no matter how necessary the communion of the Body and Blood of Christ is for us, it cannot take place if repentance does not precede it.
As Archbishop Arseny (Chudovskoy) writes:
“It is a great thing to receive the Holy Mysteries and great are the fruits from this: the renewal of our hearts by the Holy Spirit, the blissful mood of the spirit. And this is such a great thing, it requires such careful preparation from us. And therefore you want to receive the grace of God from Holy Communion,” try your best to correct your heart."
How often should you partake of the Holy Mysteries?
To the question: “how often should one partake of the Holy Mysteries?” St. John answers: “the more often, the better.” However, he sets an indispensable condition: to approach Holy Communion with sincere repentance of one’s sins and a clear conscience.
In the biography of Rev. Macarius the Great has his words to one woman who suffered cruelly from the spell of a sorcerer:
“You have come under attack because you have not received the Holy Mysteries for five weeks.”
Holy Righteous Fr. John of Kronstadt pointed to the forgotten apostolic rule - to excommunicate those who have not been to Holy Communion for three weeks.
Rev. Seraphim of Sarov commanded the Diveyevo sisters to unforgettably confess and receive communion on all fasts and, in addition, on the twelfth holidays, without tormenting themselves with the thought that they are unworthy, “since one should not miss the opportunity to use the grace bestowed by the communion of the holy Mysteries of Christ as often as possible. Trying “, if possible, to concentrate in the humble consciousness of one’s complete sinfulness, with hope and firm faith in God’s ineffable mercy, one should proceed to the Holy Sacrament that redeems everything and everyone.”
Of course, it is very saving to receive communion on your name day and birthday, and for spouses on their wedding day.
Fr. Alexey Zosimovsky recommended that his spiritual children begin Communion also on memorable days of death and name days of deceased loved ones; this connects the souls of the living with the dead.
Archbishop Arseny (Chudovskoy) writes: “Continuous Communion should be the ideal of all Christians. But the enemy of the human race... immediately realized what power the Lord had given us in the Holy Mysteries. And he began the work of rejecting Christians from Holy Communion. From the history of Christianity we know that at first Christians received communion daily, then 4 times a week, then on Sundays and holidays, and then during all fasts, i.e. 4 times a year, finally, barely once a year, and now even less often.” .
“A Christian must always be ready for death and for Communion,” said one of the spirit-bearing fathers.
So, it is up to us to frequently participate in the Last Supper of Christ and to receive at it the great grace of the Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ.
One of the spiritual daughters of the elder Fr. Alexia Mecheva once told him:
- Sometimes your soul longs to unite with the Lord through Communion, but the thought that you recently received Communion holds you back.
“This means the Lord touches the heart,” the elder answered her, “so all these cold reasonings are no longer necessary and appropriate... I give you communion often, I proceed from the purpose of introducing you to the Lord, so that you feel how it feels.” It’s good to be with Christ.
One of the wise shepherds of the twentieth century, Fr. Valentin Svenitsky writes:
“Without frequent communion, spiritual life in the world is impossible. After all, your body dries out and becomes powerless when you do not give it food. And your soul requires its heavenly food. Otherwise, it will dry out and become weak.
Without communion, the spiritual fire in you will die out. It will be filled with worldly rubbish. To free ourselves from this rubbish we need a fire that burns the thorns of our sins.
Spiritual life is not abstract theology, but real and most undoubted life in Christ. But how can it begin if you do not accept the fullness of the Spirit of Christ in this terrible and great sacrament? How can you live in Him without accepting the Flesh and Blood of Christ?
And here, as in repentance, the enemy will not leave you without attacks. And here he will plot all sorts of intrigues for you. He will erect many external and internal barriers.
Either you will have no time, then you will feel unwell, or you will want to put it off for a while, “to better prepare.” Don't listen. Go. Confess, take communion. You don’t know when the Lord will call you.”
Let every soul listen sensitively to its heart and be afraid to listen to the hand of the Distinguished Guest knocking on its door; let her be afraid that her hearing will become coarse from the vanity of the world and will not be able to hear quiet and gentle calls coming from the kingdom of Light.
Let the soul be afraid of replacing the experience of heavenly joy of unity with the Lord with the muddy entertainments of the world or the base consolations of bodily nature.
And when she is able to tear herself away from the world and everything sensory, when she yearns for the light of the Heavenly world and reaches out to the Lord, let her dare to unite with Him in the great Sacrament, while dressing herself in the spiritual clothes of sincere repentance and the deepest humility and the unchanging fullness of spiritual poverty.
Let also not the soul be embarrassed by the fact that, despite all its repentance, it is still unworthy of Communion.
This is what the elder Fr. Alexy Mechev:
“Take communion more often and don’t say that you are unworthy. If you say that, you will never receive communion, because you will never be worthy. Do you think that there is at least one person on Earth worthy of communion of the Holy Mysteries?
No one is worthy of this, and if we do receive communion, it is only by the special mercy of God.
We are not created for communion, but communion is for us. It is we, the sinners, the unworthy, the weak, who need this saving source more than anyone else.”
And here is what the famous Moscow pastor Fr. said about frequent communion of the Holy Mysteries. Valentin Amfitheatrov:
"... You need to be ready every day for communion, as if you were ready for death... Ancient Christians took communion every day.
We must approach the Holy Chalice and think that we are unworthy and cry out with humility: everything is here, in You, Lord - mother, father, husband - you are all, Lord, joy and consolation.”
Famous throughout Orthodox Russia, the elder of the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery schema-abbot Savva (1898-1980) in his book “On the Divine Liturgy” wrote this:
“The most pleasant confirmation of how much our Lord Jesus Christ Himself desires for us to begin the Lord’s Table is his appeal to the apostles: “I desire to eat this Passover with you, before I will not even accept torment” (Luke 22:15) .
He did not speak to them about the Old Testament Passover: it took place annually and was ordinary, but from now on it must stop completely. He ardently desired the Passover of the New Testament, that Passover in which He sacrifices Himself, offers Himself as food.
The words of Jesus Christ can be expressed this way: with the desire of love and mercy, “I longed to eat this Passover with you,” because it embodies all of My love for you, and all of your true life and bliss.
If the Lord, out of His ineffable love, so ardently desires her not for His own sake, but for his sake, then how ardently we should desire her, out of love and gratitude to Him, and for our own good and bliss!
Christ said: “Take, eat...” (Mark 14:22). He offered us His Body not for a one-time, or infrequent and occasional use, as medicine, but for constant and everlasting nourishment: eat, not taste. But if the Body of Christ were offered to us only as medicine, then even then we would have to ask permission to receive communion as often as possible, because We are weak in soul and body, and spiritual weaknesses especially affect us.
The Lord gave us the Holy Mysteries as our daily bread, according to His word: “The bread I will give, this is my flesh” (John 6:51).
From this it is clear that Christ not only allowed, but also commanded that we often begin to eat His meal. We do not leave ourselves for a long time without ordinary bread, knowing that otherwise our strength will weaken and bodily life will cease. How can we not be afraid to leave ourselves for a long time without heavenly, divine bread, without the Bread of Life?
Those who rarely approach the Holy Chalice usually say in their own defense: “We are unworthy, we are not ready.” And whoever is not ready, let him not be lazy and get ready.
Not a single person is worthy of communion with the all-holy Lord, because God alone is sinless, but we are given the right to believe, repent, correct, be forgiven and trust in the grace of the Savior of sinners and the Discoverer of the lost.
Whoever carelessly leaves himself unworthy of communion with Christ on earth will remain unworthy of communion with Him in Heaven. Is it wise to remove yourself from the source of life, power, light and grace? He is wise who, to the best of his ability, correcting his unworthiness, resorts to Jesus Christ in His Most Pure Mysteries, otherwise the humble consciousness of his unworthiness can turn into coldness towards faith and the work of his salvation. Deliver, Lord!"
In conclusion, we present the opinion of the official publication of the Russian Orthodox Church - the Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate (JMP No. 12, 1989, p. 76) regarding the frequency of communion:
“Following the example of Christians of the first centuries, when not only monks, but also ordinary laymen, at every opportunity, resorted to the Sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion, realizing the great significance they have, and we should, as often as possible, cleanse our conscience with repentance, strengthen our lives with confession faith in God and proceed to the Sacrament of Holy Communion, in order to thereby receive mercy and forgiveness of sins from God and unite more closely with Christ...
In modern practice, it is customary for all believers to receive communion at least once a month, and more often during fasting, two or three times per fast. They also receive communion on Angel's Day and birthdays. Believers clarify the order and frequency of communion of the Holy Mysteries with their confessor and, with his blessing, try to maintain the timing of communion and confession.”
How to prepare for Holy Communion
The basis of preparation for the Sacrament of Communion is repentance. Awareness of one's sinfulness reveals personal weaknesses and arouses the desire to become better through unity with Christ in His Most Pure Mysteries. Prayer and fasting set the soul in a repentant mood.
The “Orthodox Prayer Book” (ed. Moscow Patriarchate, 1980) indicates that “... preparation for Holy Communion (in church practice it is called persecution) lasts several days and concerns both the physical and spiritual life of a person. The body is prescribed abstinence , i.e. bodily cleanliness and restriction in food (fasting). On days of fasting, food of animal origin is excluded - meat, milk, butter, eggs and, during strict fasting, bread, vegetables, and fruits are not consumed in moderation. should be distracted by the little things of life and have fun.
On the days of fasting, one should attend divine services in the temple, if circumstances permit, and more diligently follow the home prayer rule: whoever usually does not read all the morning and evening prayers, let him read everything in full. On the eve of communion, you must be at the evening service and read at home, in addition to the usual prayers for the future, the canon of repentance, the canon to the Mother of God and the Guardian Angel. The canons are read either one after the other in full, or combined in this way: the Irmos of the first canto is read penitential canon(“Like on dry ground...”) and troparia, then the troparia of the first song of the canon to the Theotokos (“By many will we contain...”), omitting the irmos “The water has passed,” and the troparia of the canon to the Guardian Angel, also without the irmos “Let us drink to the Lord.” The following songs are read in the same way. The troparia before the canon to the Mother of God and the Guardian Angel are omitted in this case.
The canon for communion is also read and, for those who wish, an akathist to the Sweetest Jesus. After midnight they no longer eat or drink, for it is customary to begin the Sacrament of Communion on an empty stomach. In the morning, the morning prayers and the entire sequence for Holy Communion are read, except for the canon read the day before.
Before communion, confession is necessary - either in the evening or in the morning, before the liturgy."
It should be noted that many believers rarely receive communion, since they cannot find the time and energy for long fasting, which thereby turns into an end in itself. In addition, a significant, if not the majority of the modern flock consists of Christians who have recently entered the Church, and therefore have not yet acquired the proper prayer skills. As such, the specified preparation may be overwhelming.
The Church leaves the question of the frequency of Communion and the scope of preparation for It to priests and spiritual fathers to decide. It is with the spiritual father that one must agree on how often to take communion, how long to fast and what prayer rule to perform before this. Different priests bless differently depending on the co-. the state of health, age, degree of church membership and prayer experience of the fasting person.
Those who come to the Sacraments of Confession and Communion for the first time can be recommended to focus all their attention on preparing for the first confession in their lives.
It is very important to forgive all your offenders before Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. In a state of anger or hostility towards someone, you should under no circumstances take communion.
According to the custom of the Church, infants after their baptism up to the age of seven can receive communion often, every Sunday, moreover, without prior confession, and starting from 5-6 years old, and if possible - from more early age, it is useful to teach children to take communion on an empty stomach.
Customs of the Church for the Day of Communion of the Holy Mysteries
Having gotten up in the morning, those preparing for Communion must brush their teeth so that they do not feel any unpleasant odor, insulting in some way the very shrine of the Gifts.
You need to come to the temple at the beginning of the Liturgy without delay. When carrying out the Holy Gifts, all communicants bow to the ground. The prostration is repeated when the priest finishes reading the pre-communion prayer, “I believe, Lord, and I confess...”.
The communicants should approach the Holy Chalice gradually, without crowding, pushing, or trying to get ahead of each other. It is best to read the Jesus Prayer while approaching the Chalice: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner”; or prayerfully sing with everyone in the temple: “Receive the Body of Christ, taste the immortal source.”
When approaching the Holy Chalice, you do not need to cross yourself, but have your hands folded crosswise on your chest (right to left) for fear of touching the Chalice or the spoon.
Having received the Body and Blood of the Lord from the spoon into the mouth, the communicant must kiss the edge of the Holy Chalice, as if the very rib of the Savior, from which blood and water flowed. Women should not receive Communion with painted lips.
Moving away from the Holy Chalice, you need to make a bow in front of the icon of the Savior and go to the table with “warmth”, and while drinking it, wash your mouth so that no small particle remains in your mouth.
The day of communion is a special day for the Christian soul, when it is united with Christ in a special, mysterious way. Just as for the reception of the most honored guests the whole house is cleaned and put in order and all ordinary affairs are abandoned, so the day of communion should be celebrated as a great holiday, devoting them, as far as possible, to solitude, prayer, concentration and spiritual reading.
Elder Hieromonk Nilus of Sorsky, after communion of the Holy Mysteries, used to spend some time in deep silence “concentrating within himself and advised others the same, saying that “we need to give silence and silence the convenience of the Holy Mysteries to have a salutary effect on the soul that is sick with sins.”
Elder Fr. Alexy Zosimovsky, in addition, points out the need to especially protect oneself in the first two hours after communion; At this time, the human enemy is trying in every possible way so that a person insults the shrine, and it would cease to sanctify a person. She can be offended by sight, by careless words, by hearing, by verbosity, and by condemnation. He recommends on the day of Communion, be silent more.
“Therefore, it is necessary for those who want to begin Holy Communion to judge who is starting what, and for those who have received communion to understand what they have received. And before Communion, one needs reasoning about oneself and the great Gift, and after Communion, one needs reasoning and memory about the Heavenly Gift. Before Communion, one needs a heartfelt repentance, humility, putting aside malice, anger, the whims of the flesh, reconciliation with one’s neighbor, a firm proposal and will for a new and pious life in Christ Jesus. After Communion, correction, evidence of love for God and neighbor, thanksgiving, and diligent striving for the new, holy and immaculate are needed. In a word, before Communion, true repentance and heartfelt contrition are needed; after repentance, the fruits of repentance and good deeds are needed, without which there can be no true repentance. They received Communion" (St. Tikhon of Zadonsk).
May the Lord help us all in this matter.
List of used literature
1) Ep. Ignatius Brianchaninov. "To help the penitent." St. Petersburg, "Satis" 1994.
2) St. rights. John of Kronstadt. "Thoughts of a Christian about Repentance and Holy Communion." M., Synodal Library. 1990.
3) Prot. Grigory Dyachenko. "Questions for children's confession." M., "Pilgrim". 1994.
4) Schema-abbot Savva. "On the Divine Liturgy". Manuscript.
5) Schema-abbot Parthenius. “The path to the only thing needed - Communion with God” Manuscript.
6) ZhMP. 1989, 12. p. 76.
7) N.E. Pestov. "Modern practice of Orthodox piety." T. 2. St. Petersburg, "Satis". 1994.
