During confession. Preparation for confession. List of sins for confession. How to dress for confession
Few know how to properly confess and what to say to the priest. I will tell you and give you an example of a speech for repentance, so that the rite goes as comfortably as possible for you, and you can receive a blessing. It is scary to take this step only for the first time. After you experience all the sacred power of the ritual, doubts will go away, and faith in God will increase.
What is confession?
Almost all people have heard about confession, but only a few know how to properly confess in church and what to say to the priest, as well as what deep meaning lies in this sacred rite.
The meaning of confession is in the purification of the soul, but at the same time it is a test for it. It helps a person to remove the burden of his sins, receive forgiveness and appear before God perfectly clean: thoughts, deeds, soul. Confession is also a wonderful religious tool for those who want to overcome inner doubts, learn to listen to their intuition and repent of committed misdeeds.
It is important to know that if a person has committed serious sins, the priest can assign him a punishment - penance. It may consist of long tedious prayers, strict aftercare, or abstaining from all worldly things. Punishment should be accepted humbly, understanding that it helps your soul to be cleansed.
It is known that any violation of God's commandments negatively affects both the physical health of a person and the state of his soul. That is why repentance is needed - in order to gain the strength necessary to resist temptations and temptations, to stop sinning.
Before confession, it is advisable to make a list of your sins in advance, describe them according to church canons and prepare for a conversation with the priest.
What to say in confession to a priest: an example
You should know that pouring out your soul to the priest and repenting of your sins in every detail is not at all necessary, even undesirable. Just take a look at this list of sins and write down the ones that are yours.
There are seven mortal sins in which it is necessary to repent:
- Envy of success and achievements, the benefits of other people.
- Vanity, which manifests itself to selfishness, narcissism, inflated self-esteem and narcissism.
- Despondency, which is also identified with such concepts as depression, apathy, laziness and despair, lack of faith in one's own strengths.
- Love of money, which in modern language we call greed, stinginess, fixation only on material goods. When a person sets himself goals aimed only at enrichment, but does not devote a single minute of time to spiritual development.
- Anger directed at people. This also includes any manifestations of irascibility, irritation, vindictiveness and vindictiveness.
- Fornication - betrayal of your partner, frequent change of sexual partners, infidelity to your beloved in thoughts, words or actions (not just a physical act).
- Gluttony, gluttony, excessive love of food and the absence of any restrictions in food.
These sins are not in vain called "mortal" - they lead, if not to the death of the physical body of a person, then to the death of his soul. Constantly, day after day, committing these sins, a person moves further and further away from God. He ceases to feel his protection, support.
Only sincere repentance at confession will help to be cleansed of all this. We must understand that we are all not without sin. And there is no need to reproach yourself if you recognize yourself in this list. Only God does not make mistakes, and an ordinary person is not always able to resist temptations and temptations, not to let evil into his body and soul. Especially if some difficult period occurs in his life.
An example of what to say: "Oh God, I have sinned against you." And then list the sins according to a pre-prepared list. For example: “I committed adultery, I was greedy with my mother, I am constantly angry with my wife.” Complete the repentance with the phrase: "I repent, God, save and have mercy on me a sinner."
After the priest listens to you, he can give advice and help you understand how you should act in this or that situation in accordance with God's commandments
It can be very difficult for you to confess your sins. A feeling of heaviness, depression, a lump in the throat, a tear - any reaction is completely normal. Try to overcome yourself and tell everything. Batiushka will never judge you, because he is a guide from you to God and simply does not have the right to give value judgments.
Watch an instructional video on how to start confession before a priest:
How to Prepare for Confession
It is better to prepare for the sacred rite in advance so that everything goes smoothly. In a few days, choose the church you will go to, study its opening hours, see what time confessions are held. Most often, the schedule for this indicates weekends or holidays.
Often at this time there are a lot of people in the temple, and not everyone can open their hearts in public. In this case, you should contact the priest directly and ask him to set a time for you when you can be alone.
Before confession, read the Penitential Canon, which will set you in the right state and free your thoughts from all that is superfluous. Also, write out a list of sins in advance on a separate piece of paper, so that on the day of confession you don’t forget anything from excitement.
In addition to the seven deadly sins, the list may include:
- "Women's sins": refusal to communicate with God, reading prayers "on the machine" without turning on the soul, sex with men before marriage, negative emotions in thoughts, turning to magicians, fortune-tellers and psychics, belief in signs and superstitions, fear of old age, abortion , defiant clothing, addiction to alcohol or drugs, refusal to help those in need.
- “Male sins”: angry words against God, lack of faith in God, oneself, others, a sense of superiority over the weak, sarcasm and ridicule, evasion of military service, violence (moral and physical) against other people, lies and slander, succumbed temptations and temptations, theft of other people's property, rudeness, rudeness, greed, a feeling of contempt.
Why is confession so important? We regularly clean our body of dirt, but we completely forget that it sticks to the soul every day. Having cleansed the soul, we receive not only the forgiveness of God, but also become more pure, calm, relaxed, full of strength and energy.
How to Communion or Confess in Church...
Church life is filled with different rules and rituals. But there is one most important - this is the Sacrament of Communion. However, it is necessary to know exactly how to take communion in church. Otherwise, you can violate the strict church orders. It is believed that this offends God, one should not allow such a sin. Therefore, this issue should be taken seriously.
What is Communion
Before you take communion in church, you need to devote several days to preparation. This is the most important Sacrament of the seven that are in Orthodoxy. Catholics have similar sacraments. Protestant churches have different views on this issue.
During the Last Supper, Christ for the first time communed his disciples, we will offer them bread and wine. Until the moment of the Savior's death on the cross, people sacrificed animals as a prototype of the future trials of the Son of God. After He was resurrected, there was no need for other offerings. Therefore, now prayers are read over bread and wine. They also take Communion.
Why does the church demand that parishioners take communion and confess? How to do it right? It is a symbol of the unity of God with man. Christ Himself commanded people to do this. The sacrament turns bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus. By accepting them, the believer receives the Lord into himself. He maintains his spiritual strength at the proper level.
Communion gives a great "charge" of spirituality. It is especially important that this Sacrament be performed over the sick and dying. The living must come to it regularly. At least once a fast, preferably on every big holiday.
How to Prepare for Communion
Everyone is not allowed to the sacrament in the Orthodox Church. A number of conditions must be met:
- be an Orthodox Christian;
- maintain a strict fast (at least 3 days);
- read all the necessary prayers;
- go to confession after the All-Night Vigil;
- come to Liturgy in the morning.
Only if all these conditions are fulfilled, the parishioner will be able to properly take communion in the Church. In some churches, confession is not received the night before, but in the morning during the service. But then it turns out that during the Divine service people are distracted by standing in lines. Still, it is better to confess when there is no need to rush and there is no pandemonium around.
Without confession, the following are allowed to the Sacrament:
- infants (children under 6 years old) - however, it is undesirable to feed them before the service;
- those who received Baptism the day before - but they also need to fast and also read prayers.
Fasting must be strict - it is required to give up all animal food (meat, fish, all dairy, eggs). The church calendar will help you navigate. It indicates which products are allowed. On some days, vegetable oil may be banned. For the sick and the elderly, the priest can make an exception, but in general it is not customary to relax the fast. Also, you can not drink after 12 at night and until the very moment of Communion.
Many are also concerned about the question of how to properly confess in church - embarrassment and inexperience interfere. But in order to prove to God your firm desire to improve, you will have to overcome your fears. The priest is only a witness, he has seen and heard a lot, so it is unlikely that he will be very surprised. But before you approach the confessor, you need to prepare.
Since many are overwhelmed at confession, there is a tradition to write down their sins on a piece of paper. At the end of the confession, the priest takes this “list” and tears it up, as a sign that the Lord forgives everything. To compose a confession, you can use a special brochure, or simply take 10 commandments and think about what you have sinned against each.
- Do not blame others in confession, thereby justifying your negative behavior. Example: the wife yelled at her husband and says that he is “to blame” because he came drunk. So be it, but in any situation one must restrain oneself, act with love, without insults. As well as confessing in the church, it is necessary, talking only about yourself, and not about others.
- There is also no need to boast that there are no sins against some commandments. Yes, and is it? Adultery is considered not only physical adultery, but even the thought of it. Smoking is a slow form of suicide, and it is the gravest sin. In addition, the smoker harms others, exacerbating guilt. It is necessary to repent of this sin, because a Christian must maintain order not only in the soul, but also monitor the health of the body.
- No need to argue with the priest. This is a pure sin, for which they can generally be excommunicated from communion. Most likely, there are things that you still do not understand. You should reflect on what has been said.
There are no strict rules governing what to say in church during confession. It is important to show a sincere desire to improve. Confessors usually help those who are having difficulty by asking questions. There is no need to enumerate every sin whose name is read in the books. Many have a common root - pride, greed, unwillingness to work on themselves, dislike for others.
Prayers and worship
After the sins are named, the priest will cover his head with an epitrachelion (part of the vestment, a long embroidered strip), and read a special prayer. During it, you will need to give your name. After that, take a blessing from the priest, listen to instructions, if any. Then you need to go home to prepare further.
Before taking communion, one should read the daily prayer rule and special sacramental canons. They are published in all prayer books. The canon is a kind of church poetry that sets the soul in the right mood. You can read them in church before going to confession.
After the canons, prayers follow, they can be read in the morning, if there is time, only not during the Liturgy, but before it. The sacramental rule is sometimes broken into several parts to be read over the course of three days. But then the necessary mood is not reached. In case of doubt, you should ask the priest for advice - he will tell you how best to proceed.
We must try to maintain peace of mind during fasting days, not to quarrel with anyone, or all preparation will be lost. Many holy fathers teach that abstaining from certain foods is not as important as abstaining from anger, bad deeds.
- You must come to the Liturgy without delay.
- Small children are usually brought to Communion later - the priest will tell you what time to come.
- Women should not put on much perfume and make up - the Church is not a secular party, but the Temple of God.
- If a remark was made in the church, it is better not to be offended, but to thank and step aside.
- If after confession they committed some kind of sin, you should try to find your confessor and tell him about it. Usually, before Communion, one of the clergy leaves the altar to maintain order.
- Before you go to the Cup, you need to fold your hands on your chest so that the right one is on top. Make earthly bows in advance!
If a person has just accepted Baptism, he is obliged to come to the next Liturgy. He will be admitted to Communion without confession. Otherwise, the "Christian" demonstrates a complete disregard for everything on which the spiritual life is built. Baptism as a ritual does not guarantee salvation, for this it is necessary to constantly improve.
Now you know how to take communion and confess in church. Over time, most questions disappear by themselves, yesterday's newcomer becomes an experienced parishioner. May there be the acceptance of the Holy Mysteries of Christ for the salvation of soul and body!
How to Confess for the First Time
priest Dimitri Galkin
Preparation for Confession- a test of conscience before.
Unlike the magical rite of purification, which allows the blind execution of the instructions of a "clergy" sorcerer or magician, the Sacrament of Penance implies the presence of faith, the awareness of personal guilt before God and neighbors, a sincere and conscious desire to be freed from the power of sin.
The Sacrament of Penance cannot be approached mechanically. The forgiveness and absolution of sins is not a legal act of declaring the sinner innocent. Everyone who has confessed at least once in his life could pay attention to what kind of prayer is read over him: "reconcile and unite the saints of your Church." Through the Sacrament of Penance, a person is reconciled with, restores himself as a member.
Repentance for sin consists of 3 stages: Repent of sin as soon as it is committed; remember him at the end of the day and again ask God for forgiveness for him; confess it in the Sacrament of Repentance (Confession) and receive permission from this sin.
From the Sacrament of Penance should be distinguished:
— a confidential spiritual conversation with a priest;
- a repentant conversation before (optional).
Where and when can you confess?
You can confess anywhere on any day of the year, but confession is generally accepted at a scheduled time or by agreement with. The confessor must be baptized.
It is better not to come to the first confession or confession after a long break on Sundays or the days of great church holidays, when the churches are full of prayers and the line for confession is long. It is also advisable to come to the Sacrament in advance.
The First Confession should not be combined with the First Communion in order to fully experience the impressions of this great event in our lives. However, this is just advice.
How to prepare for Confession?
In preparation for confession, in contrast to preparation for the Sacrament of Communion, the church charter does not require any special or special prayer rule.
Before going to confession it is appropriate:
- Focus on prayers of repentance.
- Carefully examine thoughts, thoughts, deeds; note, if possible, all your sinful traits (as an auxiliary tool, cite those accusations that came from relatives, friends, and other people).
- If possible, seek forgiveness from those who were offended by sin, offended by inattention, indifference.
- Consider the plan of confession, and, if necessary, prepare questions for the priest.
- In case of serious sins or rare confession, an additional fast may be recommended.
- Sins are confessed from the moment of the last confession, if they have never been confessed, then from the moment of Baptism.
- In the Sacrament, all sins are forgiven, with the exception of those deliberately hidden. If you forgot to name some minor sin, then don't worry. The sacrament is called the sacrament repentance, but not " The sacrament of listing all the sins committed ".
- First of all, you need to confess what you are ashamed of! Tactically, confession should always be very substantive and specific. You can not repent that you are "proud" - it is meaningless. Because after such your repentance nothing changes in our life. We can repent of having arrogantly looked at or said some words of condemnation to a particular person. Because, having repented of this, the next time we will think about whether it is worth doing this. It is impossible to repent "in general", abstractly. Subject confession allows you to simultaneously draw up a plan to combat certain passions. At the same time, pettiness should be avoided; there is no need to list a large number of sins of the same type.
Don't use sly generalizations. For example, under the phrase dealt unjustly with one's neighbor can be understood as involuntary grief, and murder.
- It is not necessary to describe sexual sins in detail, it is enough to name them. For example: sinned ( , ).
In preparation for and at Confession, self-justification should be avoided.
- If you do not feel your sins, it is recommended to turn to God with " Lord, grant me to see my sins».
Is it possible to write down sins so as not to forget them at confession?
What to do if you do not consider yourself a sinful person? Or if the sins are ordinary, like everyone else.
You should compare yourself first of all with, then your own spiritual health will not look so rosy.
A clear conscience is a sign of a short memory...
Is it worth confessing if you will surely sin again with some sins?
Is it worth it to wash if you know for sure that you will get dirty again? Repentance is the desire to be reborn, it does not begin with confession and does not end with it, it is the work of a lifetime. Repentance is not only a listing of sins before the testimony of a priest, it is a state that hates sin and avoids it.
Repentance should not be just an emotional release, it is a systematic, meaningful work on oneself, with the goal of approaching God in one’s qualities, becoming like Him in. Orthodoxy has an inexhaustible ascetic heritage compiled by holy ascetics, which must be studied for proper organization.
Our goal is not just to be cleansed of sins and passions, but to acquire. It is not enough, for example, to stop stealing, it is necessary to learn mercy.
Gross sins have already been overcome, and at every confession one has to repeat practically the same sins. How to get out of this vicious circle?
Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov): “For people who have been churched for a long time, the “list” of sins, as a rule, is approximately the same from confession to confession. There may be a sense of some formal spiritual life. But at home we often sweep the floor, and, thank God, not every time we have to rake the Augean stables. It's just not a problem. The trouble is that you begin to notice how the life of some Christians becomes duller and duller over the years. But it should be the opposite: it should become more and more saturated and more and more joyful.
However, you don't need to be complacent that you can't conquer all sins, you just need to realize that not all sins and passions can be conquered instantly. This is a system task, the solution of which is.
I have very difficult life circumstances, I am afraid that a simple priest will not understand me.
The Lord will understand anyway. There is a good story about this: .
God wished that we repent not before sinless angels, but before people. We should be ashamed of committing sin, not repentance. If a person sincerely hates his sins, then he will not hesitate to confess them to the priest.
Sometimes you can see that some parishioners, with amazing pedantry and scrupulousness, confessing to the slightest violations of church rules or disrespect for shrines, with the same amazing constancy, remain rather tough and unpeaceful in relations with people around them.
Priest Philip
Why is it necessary to confess in the presence of a priest, and not just ask for forgiveness from God?
Sin is filth, and so, confession is a bath that cleanses the soul from this spiritual filth. Sin is a poison for the soul - and so, confession is the treatment of a poisoned soul, its cleansing from the poison of sin. A person will not take a bath in the middle of the street, he will not be cured of poisoning on the go: for this, appropriate institutions are needed. In this case, such a God-established institution is the Holy. They will ask: “But why is it necessary to confess precisely in the presence of a priest, in the atmosphere of precisely the church sacrament? Doesn't God see my heart? If I did wrong, I sinned, but I see it, I am ashamed of it, I ask God for forgiveness - is this not enough? But, my friend, if, for example, a person fell into a swamp and, having climbed ashore, is ashamed of being covered in mud, is that enough to become clean? Has he already washed himself with a feeling of disgust? To wash away the dirt, you need an external source of clean water, and clean washing water for the soul is the grace of God, the source from which the water pours out is Christ's, the process of washing is the Sacrament of Confession.
A similar analogy can be drawn if we look at sin as a disease. Then the Church is a hospital, and confession is a cure for a disease. Moreover, confession itself in this example can be considered as an operation to remove a tumor (sin), and the subsequent communion of the Holy Gifts - the Body and Blood of Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist - as a postoperative therapy for healing and restoration of the body (soul).
How easy it is for us to forgive a penitent, how necessary it is for us to repent before those we have offended! Such a sea of sins, as before Him, we do not have before a single person.
How does the Sacrament of Penance take place, how to prepare for it and how to proceed?
The rite of confession : the beginning is usual, priestly prayers and an appeal to the penitents " Behold, child, Christ stands invisibly, accepting your confession...”, actually a confession. At the end of confession, the priest lays the edge on the head of the penitent and reads a permissive prayer. The penitent kisses the Gospel and the cross lying on the lectern.
It is customary to make confession after the evening or in the morning, immediately before, since the laity are traditionally allowed to receive communion after confession.
Preparation for confession is not outwardly formal. Unlike the other great Sacrament of the Church - confession can be performed always and everywhere (if there is a legitimate sacramental performer - an Orthodox priest). In preparing for confession, the church charter does not require either a special fast or a special prayer rule, but only faith and repentance are needed. That is, the confessing person must be a baptized member of the Orthodox Church, a conscious believer (recognizing all the foundations of the Orthodox dogma and recognizing himself as a child of the Orthodox Church) and repenting of his sins.
Sins must be understood both in a broad sense - as passions inherent in fallen human nature, and in a more concrete sense - as actual cases of transgression of God's commandments. The Slavic word “repentance” means not so much “apology” as “change” – the determination not to allow the same sins to be committed in the future. Thus, repentance is a state of uncompromising self-condemnation for one's past sins and the desire to continue to fight stubbornly with passions.
So, to prepare for confession means to take a look at your life with a repentant look, analyze your deeds and thoughts from the point of view of the commandments of God (if necessary, write it down for memory), pray to the Lord for the forgiveness of sins and the granting of true repentance. As a rule, for the period after the last confession. But you can also confess past sins - either previously, due to forgetfulness or false shame, not confessed, or confessed without due repentance, mechanically. At the same time, you need to know that sincerely confessed sins are always and irreversibly forgiven by the Lord (the dirt is washed away, the disease is healed, the curse is removed), this immutability is the meaning of the Sacrament. However, this does not mean that sin should be forgotten - no, it remains in memory for humility and protection from future falls; it can disturb the soul for a long time, just as a healed wound can disturb a person - no longer fatal, but still palpable. In this case, it is possible to confess the sin again (for the pacification of the soul), but not necessarily, since it has already been forgiven.
And - go to the temple of God to confess.
Although, as already mentioned, confession can be made in any setting, confession in a church is generally accepted - before or at a time specially appointed by the priest (in special cases, for example, for confessing a sick person at home, you need to individually agree with the priest).
The usual time for confession is before. They usually confess at the evening service, sometimes they set a special time. It is advisable to find out about the time of confession in advance.
As a rule, the priest confesses in front of the lectern (Analoe is a table for church books or icons with an inclined upper surface). Those who come to confession stand one after another in front of the lectern, where the priest confesses, but at some distance from the lectern, so as not to interfere with someone else's confession; stand quietly, listening to church prayers, lamenting in their hearts about their sins. When their turn comes, they come to confession.
Approaching the lectern, bow your head; at the same time, you can kneel (optional; but on Sundays and great holidays, as well as from Easter to the day of the Holy Trinity, kneeling is canceled). Sometimes the priest covers the head of the penitent with epitrachelion (Epitrachelion is a detail of the priest's vestment - a vertical strip of fabric on the chest), prays, asks the name of the confessor and what he wants to confess before God. Here the penitent must confess, on the one hand, a general awareness of his sinfulness, specifically naming the passions and weaknesses most characteristic of him (for example: lack of faith, avarice, anger, etc.), and on the other hand, name those specific sins that he is for he sees himself, and especially those that lie like a stone on his conscience, for example: abortion, insulting parents or loved ones, theft, fornication, the habit of cursing and blasphemy, non-observance of God's commandments and church institutions, etc., etc. n. The “General Confession” section will help you sort out your sins.
The priest, having listened to the confession, as a witness and intercessor before God, asks (if he considers it necessary) questions and says instructions, prays for the forgiveness of the sins of the penitent sinner, and when he sees sincere repentance and the desire for correction, he reads a “permissive” prayer.
The Sacrament of forgiveness of sins itself is performed not at the moment of reading the “permissive” prayer, but by the entirety of the rites of confession, however, the “permissive” prayer is, as it were, a seal certifying the performance of the Sacrament.
So - confession is made, with sincere repentance, sin is forgiven by God.
The forgiven sinner, crossing himself, kisses the cross, the Gospel and takes the blessing from the priest.
To take a blessing is to ask the priest by his priestly authority to send down the strengthening and sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit on himself and on his deeds. To do this, you need to fold your hands with your palms up (right to left), bow your head and say: “Bless, father.” The priest baptizes a person with the sign of a priestly blessing and places his palm on the folded palms of the one being blessed. One should kiss the priest's hand with one's mouth - not as a human hand, but as an image of the blessing right hand of the Giver of all the blessings of the Lord.
If he was preparing for communion, he asks: “Bless me to take communion?” - and with a positive answer, he goes to prepare for the reception of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.
Are all sins forgiven in the Sacrament of Repentance, or only those that have been named?
How often should you go to confession?
Minimum - before each Communion (according to church canons, the faithful receive communion no more than once a day and at least once every 3 weeks), the maximum number of confessions is not established and is left to the discretion of the Christian himself.
At the same time, it should be remembered that repentance is a desire to be reborn, it does not begin with confession and does not end with it, it is the work of a lifetime. Therefore, the Sacrament is called the Sacrament of Repentance, and not the "Sacrament of enumeration of sins." Repentance for sin consists of three stages: Repent of sin as soon as it is committed; remember him at the end of the day and again ask God for forgiveness for him (see the last prayer in Vespers); confess it and receive permission from sins in the Sacrament of Confession.
How to see your sins?
At first it is not difficult, but with regular Communion, and, accordingly, confession, it becomes more and more difficult. You need to ask God for this, because the vision of your sins is a gift from God. But we must be ready for temptations if the Lord fulfills our prayer. At the same time, it is useful to read the lives of the saints and study.
Can a priest refuse confession?
Apostolic Canons (52nd Canon)" If anyone, a bishop or a presbyter, does not accept the one who turns from sin, let him be deposed from the holy order. For [he] grieves Christ, who said: There is joy in heaven over one repentant sinner ()».
You can refuse confession if, in fact, there is none. If a person does not repent, does not consider himself guilty of his sins, does not want to be reconciled with his neighbors. Also, those who are not baptized and excommunicated from church fellowship cannot receive permission from sins.
Can I confess by phone or in writing?
In Orthodoxy, there is no tradition of confessing sins by phone or via the Internet, especially since this violates the secrecy of confession.
It should also be borne in mind that the sick may invite a priest to their home or hospital.
Those who have left for distant lands cannot justify themselves by this, because falling away from the Holy Sacraments of the Church is their choice, and it is inappropriate to profane the Sacrament for this.
What rights does a priest have in imposing penance on a penitent?
They say to a person: “Go to confession,” and he replies: “Why go, I will still sin. What's the point…?
This is no longer the norm, it is a spiritual anomaly when a person sits in sin and does not want to leave it. This is a very pernicious state of a person's soul, a dislocation in his outlook on life.
It is possible that the sinner thus justifies his attachment to sin. Living in sin suits such a person, therefore, from an intellectual point of view, he justifies his sinful acts.
That is why the Holy Fathers called our mind a pseudo-name mind. Those. he is called to see the truth, he is called to strive for it, but he is so entangled in the spiritual sense with passions that he is led by vice, sin, which lives in the spirit. And he justifies his sins even with theological reasoning.
Archbishop of Polotsk and Glubokoe Theodosius
Repentance or confession is a sacrament in which a person who confesses his sins to a priest, through his forgiveness, is resolved from sins by the Lord Himself. The question of whether, father, is asked by many people who join church life. The 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 forefathers Adam and Eve, and in the second, the penitent is washed away from his sins committed after baptism. However, because of the weakness of their human nature, people continue to sin, and these sins separate them from God, standing between them as a barrier. They cannot overcome this barrier on their own. But the Sacrament of Penance helps to be saved and 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 throughout his life must continuously struggle with his sins. And, despite all sorts of defeats and falls, he should not lose heart, despair and grumble, but repent all the time and continue to carry his life's cross, which the Lord Jesus Christ laid on him.
Consciousness of one's sins
In this matter, the main thing is to learn that in the Sacrament of Confession, a penitent 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 commandments received from the Lord Jesus Christ contain the entire moral and spiritual law of life.
Therefore, before confessing, it is necessary to turn to your conscience and remember all your sins from childhood in order to prepare a real confession. How it passes, not everyone knows, and even rejects, 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 be defined for a person in eternal condemnation, and repentance will mean victory over oneself.
What is real confession? How does this sacrament work?
Before confessing to a priest, it is necessary to seriously prepare and realize the necessity of cleansing the soul from sins. To do this, you need to reconcile with all the offenders and those who were offended, refrain from gossip and condemnation, all kinds of obscene thoughts, watching numerous entertainment programs and reading lightweight literature. It is better to devote your free time to reading the Holy Scriptures 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 already, 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 in the right direction. Confession, first of all, involves the ability to see and realize one's sins; at the moment of uttering them, the priest should not justify himself and shift the blame onto another.
Children under 7 years of age and all newly baptized communion on this day without confession, this should not be done only by women who are in purification (when they have their period or after childbirth until the 40th day). The text of the confession can be written on a piece of paper so as not to stray later and remember everything.
Confession order
A lot of people usually gather in the church 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. Approaching the lectern (high book stand), crossing yourself and bowing at the waist, without kissing the Cross and the Gospel, bowing your head, you can proceed to confession.
Previously confessed sins do not need to be repeated, because, as the Church teaches, they have already been forgiven, but if they are 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 himself twice, bow at the waist, kiss the Cross and the Gospel, and then, again crossing and bowing, accept the blessing of his father and go to your place.
What to repent about
Summing up the topic “Confession. How does this sacrament go”, you need 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 execution of the sign of the cross, not wearing a pectoral cross, violation of the commandments of God, mentioning the name of the Lord in vain, careless performance not attending church, prayer without diligence, talking and walking in the temple during services, belief in superstitions, turning to psychics and fortune tellers, thoughts of suicide, etc.
Sins against one's neighbor - upsetting parents, robbery and extortion, stinginess in almsgiving, hardness of heart, slander, bribery, resentment, barbs and cruel jokes, irritation, anger, gossip, gossip, greed, scandals, hysteria, resentment, betrayal, treason, etc. d.
Sins against oneself - vanity, arrogance, anxiety, envy, vindictiveness, striving for earthly glory and honors, addiction to money, gluttony, smoking, drunkenness, gambling, masturbation, fornication, excessive attention to one's flesh, despondency, longing, 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.
Participle
They usually confess in order to take communion, and for this you need to pray for several days, which means prayer and fasting, attending evening services and reading at home, in addition to evening and morning prayers, the canons: the Mother of God, the Guardian Angel, the Penitent One, for Communion, and, if possible, , or rather, at will - Akathist to Jesus the Sweetest. After midnight they no longer eat or drink, they proceed to the sacrament on an empty stomach. After acceptance, one must read the prayers for Holy Communion.
Don't be afraid to go to confession. How is she going? You can read about this exact information in special brochures that are sold in every church, they describe everything in great detail. And then the main thing is to tune in to this true and saving deed, because an Orthodox Christian must always think about death so that it does not take him by surprise - without even taking communion.
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