What they say in confession. Confession for an Orthodox person - what is it? Example, contrition for sins

The desire to confess appears not only among people who bow before the law of God. Even a sinner is not lost to the Lord.

He is given the opportunity to change through a revision of his own views and recognition of the sins he has committed and proper repentance for them. Having been cleansed of sins and taken the path of correction, a person will not be able to fall again.

The need to confess arises in someone who:

• committed a grave sin;
• terminally ill;
• wants to change the sinful past;
• decided to get married;
• preparing for communion.

Children up to the age of seven, and parishioners who were baptized on this day, can receive communion for the first time without confession.

Note! You are allowed to go to confession when you reach seven years of age.

It often happens that the need to confess arose for the first time in a mature person. In this case, you need to remember your sins committed since the age of seven.

There is no need to rush, we remember everything, write down the list of sins on a piece of paper. The priest is a witness to the Sacrament; you should not be embarrassed or ashamed of him, just like the all-forgiving God himself.

God, in the person of the holy fathers, also forgives grave sins. But in order to receive God's forgiveness, you need to seriously work on yourself.

To atone for sins, a repentant person performs the penance imposed on him by the priest. And only after its completion is the repentant parishioner forgiven with the help of the “permissive prayer” of the clergyman.

Important! When preparing yourself for confession, forgive those who offended you and ask for forgiveness from the one you offended.

You can go to confession if only you are able to drive away obscene thoughts from yourself. No entertainment or frivolous literature, better remember the Holy Scriptures.

Confession takes place in the following order:

• wait your turn for confession;
• turn to those present with the words: “Forgive me, a sinner,” hearing in response that God will forgive, and we forgive, and only then approach the priest;
• in front of the high stand - lectern, bow your head, cross yourself and bow, begin to confess correctly;
• after listing the sins, listen to the clergyman;
• then, having crossed ourselves and bowed twice, we kiss the Cross and the holy book of the Gospel.

Think in advance about how to confess correctly, what to say to the priest. An example, the definition of sins, can be taken from the biblical Commandments. We begin each phrase with the words that we sinned and exactly what.

We speak without details, we formulate only the sin itself, unless the priest himself asks for details. If you need God's forgiveness, you must sincerely repent of your actions.

It is stupid to hide anything from a priest; he is an assistant to the all-seeing God.

The goal of a spiritual healer is to help you repent of your sins. And if you have tears, the priest has achieved his goal.

What is considered a sin?

The well-known biblical commandments will help you determine what sins to name to the priest during confession:

Types of sins	Sinful actions	The Essence of Sin
Relationship to the Almighty	Doesn't wear a cross. Confidence that God is in the soul and there is no need to go to church. Celebrating pagan traditions, including Halloween. Attending sectarian meetings, worshiping incorrect spirituality. Appeal to psychics, fortune tellers, horoscopes and signs. He pays little attention to reading the Holy Scriptures, does not teach prayer, and neglects observing Fasts and attending church services.	Unbelief, departure from faith. Feeling of pride. A mockery of the Orthodox faith. Lack of belief in the unity of God. Communication with evil spirits. Violation of the commandment to spend a day off.
Attitude towards loved ones	Disrespect for parents. Inconsiderateness and interference in the personal and intimate lives of adult children. Deprivation of life of living beings and humans, humiliating and violent actions. Engaging in extortion and illegal activities.	Violation of the commandment to honor parents. Violation of the commandment to respect loved ones. Violation of the commandment “Thou shalt not kill.” Sin associated with the corruption of teenagers and children. Violation of biblical commandments related to theft, envy and lies.
Attitude towards yourself	Cohabitation without marriage, sexual perversion, interest in erotic films. Using obscene words and vulgar jokes in speech. Abuse of smoking, alcoholic beverages, drugs. Passion for gluttony and gluttony. The desire to flatter, chat, brag about good deeds, admire oneself.	Carnal sin - adultery, fornication. The sin of profanity. Neglect of what God has given - health. The sin of arrogance.

Important! The primary sins, on the basis of which others arise, include arrogance, pride and arrogance in communication.

An example of confession in church: what sins should I say?

Let's look at how to confess correctly, what to say to the priest, an example of confession.

A confession written on paper can be used if a parishioner is very shy. Even the priests allow this, but you don’t need to give the sample to the priest, we list it in our own words.

Orthodoxy welcomes the example of confession:

1. When approaching the priest, do not think about earthly affairs, try to listen to your soul;
2. turning to the Lord, I must say that I have sinned before You;
3. list the sins, saying: “I sinned... (by adultery or lying or something else)”;
4. we tell sins without details, but not very briefly;
5. Having finished listing our sins, we repent and ask for salvation and alms from the Lord.

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Discussion: 3 comments

And if there are still few sins, but it’s as if my conscience is not very clear, and I promised my MC that I would definitely join the church. His first demand is to go to confession and repent of all the serious things. Which, fortunately, I don’t have a lot of. And this is a real problem for me now. What if you confess on the Internet? Who thinks about this topic? Well, as I understand it, you post your website and there the priest prays for you and absolves you of sin. Not?

Answer

1. Forgive me, in my opinion there is no need to go to church at the request of the MCH. What is this for? This is done for GOD, for the purification of the soul, and not because someone “demands” it. As far as I understand, you do not have this need. You cannot deceive God - neither through the Internet, nor in church.

   Answer

I answer Christina. Christina, no, you cannot confess via the Internet. I understand that you are afraid of the priest, but think about it, the priest is only a witness of your repentance (after your death, he will intercede with God for you and say that you repented if this happened, in turn, the demons will talk about what you did not repent of ) do not complicate the future for either your father or yourself. There is no need to hide sins, there is no need to conceal them, otherwise in this way you will increase their number. We must honestly tell the whole truth about our evil deeds, not justifying ourselves, but condemning ourselves for them. Repentance is the correction of thoughts and life. After confession, you kiss the cross and the Gospel as a promise to God to fight the sins you confessed. Seek God! Guardian Angel!

Answer

How to prepare for confession and communion? Preparing for confession and communion, especially for the first time, raises many, many questions. I remember my first communion. How difficult it was for me to figure everything out. In this article you will get answers to the questions: what to say in confession to a priest - an example? How to take communion and confession correctly? rules for communion in church? How to confess for the first time? how to prepare for communion? The answer to these questions is given by the modern Greek preacher Archimandrite Andrei (Konanos) and other priests.

Other useful articles:

Communion was instituted by Jesus Christ Himself at his last meal with the Apostles. The modern Greek preacher and theologian Archimandrite Andrei (Konanos) says, if people realized what a gift of unity with God they receive during communion, because now the blood of Christ flows in their veins... if they realized this fully, their lives would change a lot!

But, unfortunately, most people during communion are like children playing with precious stones and not understanding their value.

Rules for communion can be found in any Temple. They are usually presented in a small book called “HOW TO PREPARATE FOR HOLY COMMUNION.” These are the simple rules:

• Before communion you need Fast for 3 days- eat only plant foods (no meat, dairy products and eggs).
• Need to be at the evening service the day before communion.
• Need to confess either at the evening service or on the day of communion at the very beginning of the liturgy (the morning service, during which communion takes place).
• Need a few more days pray hard- for this, read morning and evening prayers and read the canons: Canon of repentance to our Lord Jesus Christ ,
  Canon of prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos,
  Canon to the Guardian Angel,
  Follow-up to Holy Communion *. * If you have never read the Canons (in Church Slavonic), you can listen to the audio (available on prayer book sites at the links provided).
• You need to take communion on an empty stomach (do not eat or drink anything in the morning). An exception is made for sick people, such as diabetics, for whom food and medicine are vital.

If you begin to receive communion at every liturgy, every Sunday, your confessor will be able to allow you to fast less and not read all the indicated prayers. Don’t be afraid to ask the priest and consult with him.

How is communion celebrated in church?

Suppose you decide to take communion on Sunday. This means that the night before (Saturday) you need to come to the evening service. Usually the evening service in Temples begins at 17:00. Find out what time the liturgy (morning service) begins on Sunday, at which the communion itself will take place. Usually, the morning service in Temples begins at 9:00. If there was no confession at the evening service, then you confess at the beginning of the morning service.

About halfway through the service, the Priest will remove the Chalice from the altar. Everyone who was preparing for communion gathers near the chalice and folds their hands on their chest, right over left. They approach the bowl carefully so as not to tip it over. The priest gives the communicants the Holy Gifts with a spoon - a piece of the body and blood of Christ under the guise of bread and wine.

After this, you need to go to the end of the Temple, where you will be given a drink. This is water diluted with wine. You need to drink it down so that not a single drop or crumb of the Eucharist is wasted. Only after this can you cross yourself. At the end of the service, prayers of thanksgiving should be heard.

How to prepare for confession? What to say to a priest in confession - an example? List of sins

The main rule in confession, which priests always remind us of, is not to recount sins. Because if you start retelling the story of how you committed a sin, then you will unwittingly begin to justify yourself and blame others. Therefore, in confession, sins are simply named. For example: pride, envy, foul language, etc. And so as not to forget anything, use a list of sins against God, against neighbors, against oneself(usually such a list is in the book “HOW TO PREPARE FOR HOLY COMMUNION.”

Write down your sins on a piece of paper so you don’t forget anything. Come to the Temple early in the morning so as not to be late for confession and the general prayer before confession. Before confession, go to the priest, cross yourself, venerate the Gospel and the cross, and begin listing your pre-recorded sins. After confession, the priest will read a prayer of permission and tell you whether you are allowed to receive communion.

It very rarely happens when a priest, for your correction, does not allow you to take communion. This is also a test of your pride.

It is important during confession, naming a sin, to promise yourself not to repeat it. It is very important on the eve of communion to reconcile with your enemies and forgive your offenders.

How to confess for the first time?

The first confession is often called the general confession. As a rule, a piece of paper with a list of sins includes almost all the sins from the list of sins against God, one’s neighbor and oneself. The priest will probably understand that you have come to confession for the first time and will help you with advice on how to try not to repeat sins and mistakes.

I hope the article “How to prepare for confession and communion?” will help you decide and go to confession and communion. This is important for your soul, because confession is the cleansing of the soul. We wash our bodies every day, but we don’t care about the purity of our souls!

If you have never confessed or received communion and it seems to you that it is very difficult to prepare, I recommend that you still perform this feat. The reward will be great. I assure you that you have never experienced anything like this before. After communion, you will feel an extraordinary and incomparable spiritual joy.

The most difficult thing usually seems to be reading the canons and following to Holy Communion. Indeed, it is difficult to read the first time. Use the audio recording and listen to all these prayers over 2-3 evenings.

Listen in this video to the story of priest Andrei Tkachev about how much time (usually several years) separates a person from the desire to go to the first confession until the moment of the first confession.

I wish everyone to enjoy life and thank God for everything!

Alena Kraeva

Confession is an important event in the life of every believer. An honest and sincere sacrament is a way for a churched layperson to communicate with the Lord through a confessor. The rules of repentance consist not only in what words to start with, when you can undergo the ritual and what you need to do, but also in the obligation of humility and a conscientious approach to the preparation and procedure of confession.

Preparation

A person who decides to go to confession must be baptized. An important condition is to sacredly and unquestioningly believe in God and accept His Revelation. You need to know the Bible and understand the Faith, which is where visiting the church library can help.

You should remember and keep in mind, or better yet, write down on a piece of paper all the sins committed by the confessor from the age of seven or from the moment when the person accepted Orthodoxy. You should not hide or remember other people’s misdeeds, or blame other people for your own.

A person needs to give his word to the Lord that with His help he will eradicate sinfulness in himself and make amends for his base deeds.

Afterwards you need to prepare for confession. Before serving, you need to behave like an exemplary Christian:

• the day before, pray diligently and re-read the Bible;
• refuse entertainment and entertainment;
• read the Penitential Canon.

What not to do before repentance

Before repentance, fasting is optional and is performed only at the request of the person. In any case, it should not be administered to small children, pregnant women and sick people.

Before the sacrament, a Christian abstains from physical and spiritual temptations. There is a ban on watching entertainment programs and reading entertainment literature. It is forbidden to spend time at the computer, play sports or be lazy. It is better not to attend noisy meetings and not to be in crowded companies, to spend the days before confession in humility and prayer.

How does the ceremony take place?

What time confession begins depends on the chosen church; it usually takes place in the morning or evening. The procedure begins before the Divine Liturgy, during and immediately after the evening service. Provided that he is under the auspices of his own confessor, the believer is allowed to agree with him individually when he will confess the person.

Before parishioners line up to see the priest, a general general prayer is read. There is a moment in its text at which the worshipers call their own name. This is followed by waiting for your turn.

There is no need to use the brochures issued in churches listing sins as a model for building your own confession. You should not thoughtlessly rewrite advice from there on what to repent of; it is important to take this as an approximate and generalized plan.

You need to repent honestly and sincerely, talking about a specific situation in which there was a place for sin. When reading out a standard list, the procedure becomes a formality and does not carry any value.

The confession ends with the confessor reading out the closing prayer. At the end of the speech, they bow their heads under the priest’s stole, and then kiss the Gospel and the cross. It is advisable to complete the procedure by asking for a blessing from the priest.

How to confess correctly

When performing the sacrament, it is important to adhere to the following recommendations:

• Mention without concealment and repent of any evil committed. There is no point in attending communion if a person is not ready to humbly get rid of sins. Even if the meanness was committed many years ago, it is worth confessing to the Lord.
• Do not be afraid of condemnation from the priest, since the communicant conducts a dialogue not with the minister of the church, but with God. The clergyman is obliged to keep the secret of the sacrament, so what is said during the service will remain hidden from prying ears. Over the years of church service, priests have forgiven all imaginable sins and they can only be upset by insincerity and the desire to hide evil deeds.
• Keep feelings under control and expose sins with words.“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). But tears, behind which there is no clear awareness of one’s accomplishments, are not blissful. Feelings alone are not enough; most often those receiving communion cry out of self-pity and resentment.

  The confession to which a person came to release emotions is useless, because such actions are aimed only at forgetting, but not at correction.

• Do not hide your reluctance to admit your evil behind memory diseases. Confession “I repent that I have sinned in thought, word and deed” is usually not allowed into the procedure. You can receive forgiveness if it was complete and sincere. A passionate desire to undergo the procedure of repentance is required.
• After remission of the most serious sins, do not forget about the rest. Having confessed his most evil deeds, a person goes through the very beginning of the real path to calming the soul. Mortal sins are rarely committed and are often greatly regretted, unlike minor offenses. By paying attention to the feelings of envy, pride or condemnation in his soul, a Christian becomes purer and more pleasing to the Lord. The work to eradicate small manifestations of cowardice is more difficult and longer than to atone for great evil. Therefore, you need to carefully prepare for each confession, especially for the one before which you cannot remember your sins.
• To talk at the beginning of confession about what is more difficult to say than the rest. Living with the awareness of an act for which a person torments his soul every day, it can be difficult to admit it out loud. In this case, it is important to remember that the Lord sees and knows about everything and only expects repentance for what he has done. This means that at the very beginning of the dialogue with God, it is important to overcome yourself and state your terrible sin and sincerely ask for forgiveness for it.
• The more meaningful and concise the confession, the better.. You need to state your sins briefly but succinctly. It is advisable to immediately get to the point. It is necessary that the priest immediately understand what the person who comes wants to repent of. You should not mention names, places and dates - this is unnecessary. It is best to prepare your story at home by writing it down, and then cross out everything that is unnecessary and interferes with understanding the essence.
• Never resort to self-justification. Self-pity makes the soul languish and does not help the sinner in any way. Concealing perfect evil in one confession is not the worst thing a Christian can do. It is much worse if a similar situation is repeated. It is important to remember that by attending a sacrament, a person seeks liberation from sins. But he will not achieve this if he leaves them to himself, each time ending the confession with words about the insignificance of some offenses or about their necessity. It is better to state the situation in your own words without excuses.
• Make an effort. Repentance is hard work that requires effort and time. Confession involves daily overcoming your own being on the path to a better personality. The sacrament is not an easy way to calm the senses. This is not a constant opportunity to seek help in a particularly difficult hour, to talk about painful things, to go out into the world as a different person with a pure soul. It is important to draw conclusions about your own life and actions.

List of sins

All sins committed by a person are conventionally divided into groups, depending on their content.

In relation to God

• Doubt about one's own faith, the existence of God, and the truthfulness of the Holy Scriptures.
• Long-term non-attendance to holy churches, confessions and communions.
• Lack of diligence when reading prayers and canons, absent-mindedness and forgetfulness in relation to them.
• Failure to keep promises made to God.
• Blasphemy.
• Suicidal intentions.
• Mention of evil spirits in swearing.
• Consumption of food and liquid before communion.
• Failure to fast.
• Work during church holidays.

In relation to one's neighbor

• Reluctance to believe and help save someone else's soul.
• Disrespect and disrespect for parents and elders.
• Lack of action and motivation to help the poor, the weak, the grieving, the disadvantaged.
• Suspicion of people, jealousy, selfishness or suspiciousness.
• Raising children outside of the Orthodox Christian faith.
• Committing murder, including abortion, or self-mutilation.
• Cruelty or passionate love for animals.
• Inflicting a curse.
• Envy, slander or lies.
• Grudge or insult to someone else's dignity.
• Condemning other people's actions or thoughts.
• Seduction.

In relation to yourself

• Ingratitude and carelessness towards one's own talents and abilities, expressed in wasting time, laziness and empty dreams.
• Shirking or completely ignoring one's own routine obligations.
• Self-interest, stinginess, the desire for the strictest economy in order to accumulate money, or wasteful spending of the budget.
• Theft or begging.
• Fornication or adultery.
• Incest, homosexuality, bestiality and the like.
• Masturbation (it’s better to call the sin of masturbation) and viewing depraved images, recordings and other things.
• All kinds of flirtations and flirtations with the purpose of seduction or seduction, immodesty and disregard for meekness.
• Drug addiction, drinking alcohol and smoking.
• Gluttony or deliberate torture of oneself by hunger.
• Eating animal blood.
• Negligence towards one's health or excessive concern about it.

For women

• Violation of church rules.
• Neglect of reading prayers.
• Eating, smoking, drinking in order to drown out resentment or anger.
• Fear of old age or death.
• Immodest behavior, debauchery.
• Addiction to fortune telling.

Sacrament of repentance and communion

In the Russian Orthodox Church, the processes of confession and communion are inextricably linked. Although this approach is not canonical, it is nevertheless practiced in all corners of the country. Before a Christian can receive communion, he goes through the procedure of confession. This is required for the priest to understand that communion is served to an adequate believer who has fasted before the sacrament, who has stood the test of will and conscience, and who has not committed serious sins.

When a person is released from his evil deeds, an emptiness appears in his soul that needs to be filled with God, this can be done at communion.

How to Confess to a Child

There are no special rules for confession of children, except when they reach the age of seven. When leading your child to the sacrament for the first time, it is important to remember some nuances of your own behavior:

• Do not tell the child about his main sins or write a list of what must be told to the priest. It is important that he prepares for repentance himself.
• It is forbidden to interfere with church secrets. That is, ask the offspring questions: “how do you confess,” “what did the priest say,” and the like.
• You cannot ask your confessor for special treatment of your child, or ask about the successes or delicate moments of the church life of your son or daughter.
• It is necessary to take children to confession less often before they are of conscious age, since there is a high probability that confession will turn from a sacrament into a routine habit. This will result in memorizing a list of your minor sins and reading them to the priest every Sunday.

  Confession for a child should be comparable to a holiday, so that he goes there with an understanding of the sacredness of what is happening. It is important to explain to him that repentance is not a report to an adult, but a voluntary recognition of evil in oneself and a sincere desire to eradicate it.

• You should not deny your offspring the opportunity to independently choose a confessor. In a situation in which he liked another priest, it is important to allow him to confess to this particular minister. Selecting a spiritual mentor is a delicate and intimate matter that should not be interfered with.
• It is better for an adult and a child to attend different parishes. This will give the child the freedom to grow up independent and conscious, not tolerating the oppression of excessive parental care. When the family does not stand in the same line, the temptation to overhear the child’s confession disappears. The moment when the offspring becomes capable of voluntary and sincere confession becomes the beginning of the path of parents moving away from him.

Examples of Confession

Women's

I, the churched Mary, repent of my sins. I was superstitious, which is why I visited fortune tellers and believed in horoscopes. She held resentment and anger towards her loved one. She exposed her body too much when going out in order to get someone else's attention. I hoped to seduce men I didn’t know, I thought about the carnal and obscene.

I felt sorry for myself and thought about stopping living on my own. She was lazy and idly spent her time doing stupid entertainment activities. I couldn't stand the fast. She prayed and attended church less often than expected. Reading the canons, I thought about the worldly, and not about God. Allowed sexual intercourse before marriage. I thought about dirty things and spread rumors and gossip. I thought about the uselessness of church services, prayers and repentance in life. Forgive me, Lord, for all the sins of which I am guilty and accept the word of further correction and chastity.

Men's

Servant of God Alexander, I confess to my God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, my evil deeds from youth to this day, committed consciously and unconsciously. I repent of sinful thoughts about someone else’s wife, inducing others to use intoxicating substances and leading an idle lifestyle.

Five years ago, I zealously deviated from military service and participated in the beating of innocent people. He ridiculed church foundations, the laws of holy fasts and divine services. I was cruel and rude, which I regret and ask the Lord to forgive me.

Children's

I, Vanya, sinned and came to ask for forgiveness for it. Sometimes I was rude to my parents, didn’t keep my promises, and got irritated. I played on the computer for a long time and walked with friends instead of reading the Gospel and praying. I recently drew it on my hand and snapped when my godfather asked me to wash off what I had done.

Once I was late for service on Sunday, and after that I didn’t go to church for a month. Once I tried to smoke, which caused me to quarrel with my parents. I did not attach the necessary importance to the advice of my father and elders, and deliberately acted contrary to their words. I offended people close to me and rejoiced in grief. Forgive me, God, for my sins, I will try not to allow this to happen.

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. 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, 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, 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 of the sign of the cross, failure to wear a cross, violation of the commandments of God, taking the name of the Lord in vain, careless performance, failure to attend church, prayer without zeal, talking and going to church on time 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.

Participle

They usually confess in order to receive communion, and for this they 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: 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.

How to repent correctly

You need to repent - in the past tense. Nine out of ten who come to confession do not know how to confess... Indeed, this is so. Even people who regularly go to church do not know how to do many things in it, but the worst thing is with confession. Very rarely does a parishioner confess correctly. You have to learn to confess. Let's talk about the most common misconceptions, misconceptions and mistakes. A person goes to confession for the first time; he heard that before receiving communion, one must confess. And that in confession you need to tell your sins. He immediately has a question: for what period should he “report”? Over your entire life, starting from childhood? But can you retell all this? Or do you not need to retell everything, but just say: “In childhood and youth I showed selfishness many times” or “In my youth I was very proud and vain, and even now, in fact, I remain the same”? If a person comes to confession for the first time, it is quite obvious that he needs to confess for his entire past life. Starting from the age when he could already distinguish good from evil - and until the moment he finally decided to confess. How can you tell your whole life in a short time? In confession, we do not tell our whole life, but what is sin. Sins are specific events. However, there is no need to recount all the times when you sinned with anger, for example, or with lies. You must say that you committed this sin, and cite some of the brightest, most terrible manifestations of this sin - those that truly hurt your soul. There is one more pointer: what do you least want to tell about yourself? This is exactly what needs to be said first. If you are going to confession for the first time, it is best for you to set yourself the task of confessing your heaviest, most painful sins. Then the confession will become more complete, deeper. The first confession cannot be like this - for several reasons: this is a psychological barrier (coming for the first time in front of a priest, that is, in front of a witness, telling God about your sins is not easy) and other obstacles. A person does not always understand what sin is. Unfortunately, not even all people living church life know and understand the Gospel well. And except in the Gospel, the answer to the question of what is sin and what is virtue, perhaps, will not be found anywhere. In the life around us, many sins have become commonplace... But even when reading the Gospel to a person, his sins are not immediately revealed, they are gradually revealed by the grace of God. St. Peter of Damascus says that the beginning of the health of the soul is seeing one’s sins as countless as the sand of the sea. If the Lord had immediately revealed to a person his sinfulness in all its horror, not a single person could have endured it. That is why the Lord reveals his sins to a person gradually. This can be compared to peeling an onion - first they removed one skin, then the second - and finally they got to the onion itself. That is why it very often happens: a person goes to church, regularly confesses, takes communion - and finally realizes the need for the so-called general confession. It very rarely happens that a person is ready for it right away. “When reading the Gospel, do not seek pleasure, do not seek delight, do not seek brilliant thoughts: seek to see the infallibly holy Truth.” Do not be content with just fruitless reading of the Gospel; try to fulfill its commandments, read it by deeds "This is the book of life, and one must read it with one's life." (St. Ignatius Brianchaninov). How does general confession differ from ordinary confession? General confession, as a rule, is called confession for the entire life lived, and in a certain sense this is true. But a confession that is not so comprehensive can also be called general. We repent of our sins from week to week, from month to month, this is a simple confession. But from time to time you need to give yourself a general confession - a review of your entire life. Not the one that was lived, but the one that is now. We see that we repeat the same sins, and we cannot get rid of them - that’s why we need to understand ourselves. Review your entire life as it is now. There are almost no sins left that modern man does not know about. It is necessary to clarify what we mean by the word “sin.” Sin is the manifestation of passion in action. We must repent of specific sins. Not in passions as such, because passions are always the same, you can write one confession to yourself for the rest of your life, but in those sins that were committed from confession to confession. Confession is the Sacrament that gives us the opportunity to start a new life. We repented of our sins, and from that moment our life began anew. This is the miracle that takes place in the Sacrament of Confession. That is why you always need to repent - in the past tense. You shouldn’t say: “I offend my neighbors,” I should say: “I offended my neighbors.” Because I have the intention, having said this, not to offend people in the future. Each sin in confession should be named so that it is clear what exactly it is. If we repent of idle talk, we do not need to retell all the episodes of our idle talk and repeat all our idle words. But if in some case there was so much idle talk that we tired someone with it or said something completely unnecessary, we probably need to talk about this in confession in a little more detail, more definitely. There are such words from the Gospel: For every idle word that people speak, they will give an answer on the day of judgment (Matthew 12:36). You need to look at your confession in advance from this point of view - whether there will be idle talk in it. If a person, experiencing a sinful passion, turns to God and says: “Lord, I don’t want this and I don’t want it, help me get rid of it,” there is practically no sin on the person. There is sin - to the extent that our heart participated in these tempting desires. And how much we allowed him to participate in this. Confession should not contain unnecessary details. There shouldn't be any other people with their actions. Because when we talk about other people, we most often justify ourselves at the expense of these people. We also make excuses due to some of our circumstances. On the other hand, sometimes the extent of the sin depends on the circumstances of the sin. If a person who knows how to confess confesses in detail, it is easier for the priest to see what is happening to this person and why. Thus, the circumstances of the sin need to be reported only if the sin you committed is not clear without these circumstances. This is also learned from experience. Excessive telling in confession may also have another reason: a person’s need for participation, spiritual help and warmth. Here, perhaps, a conversation with a priest is appropriate, but it should be at a different time, certainly not at the time of confession. Confession is a Sacrament, not a conversation. We must remember that the confession that we say in church is the tip of the iceberg. If this confession is everything, and everything is limited to it, we can say that we have nothing. There was no actual confession. There is only the grace of God, which, despite our foolishness and recklessness, still acts. We have the intention to repent, but it is formal, it is dry and lifeless. It is like that fig tree, which, if it bears any fruit, does so with great difficulty. Our confession is performed at another time and prepared at another time. When we, knowing that tomorrow we will go to church, confess, sit down and sort out our lives. When I think: why have I judged people so many times during this time? But because, judging them, I myself look better in my own eyes. Instead of dealing with my own sins, I condemn others and justify myself. Or I find some kind of pleasure in condemnation. When I understand that as long as I judge others, I will not have the grace of God. And when I say: “Lord, help me, otherwise, how long will I kill my soul with this?” After this, I will come to confession and say: “I condemned people countless times, I exalted myself over them, I found sweetness in this for myself.” My repentance lies not only in the fact that I said it, but in the fact that I decided not to do it again. When a person repents in this way, he receives very great grace-filled consolation from confession and confesses in a completely different way. Repentance is a change in a person. If no change occurred, confession remained to a certain extent a formality. “Fulfillment of Christian duty,” as for some reason it was customary to express it before the revolution. There are examples of saints who brought repentance to God in their hearts, changed their lives, and the Lord accepted this repentance, although there was no stole over them, and a prayer for the remission of sins has not been read. But there was repentance! But with us it’s different - the prayer is read, and the person receives communion, but repentance as such has not occurred, there is no break in the chain of sinful life. There are people who come to confession and, having already stood in front of the lectern with the cross and the Gospel, begin to remember, what they sinned. This is always a real torment - both for the priest, and for those who are waiting for their turn, and for the man himself, of course. How to prepare for confession? Firstly, an attentive, sober life. Secondly, there is a good rule, which you can’t think of anything to replace: every day in the evening, devote five to ten minutes not even to thinking about what happened during the day, but to repentance before God for what a person considers himself to have sinned. Sit down and mentally go through the day - from the morning hours to the evening hours. And realize every sin for yourself. A big sin or a small one - you need to understand it, feel it and, as Anthony the Great says, put it between yourself and God. See it as an obstacle between yourself and the Creator. Feel this terrible metaphysical essence of sin. And for every sin ask God for forgiveness. And put in your heart the desire to leave these sins in the past. It is advisable to write down these sins in some kind of notebook. This helps to put a limit on sin. We did not write down this sin, we did not do such a purely mechanical action, and it “passed on” to the next day. And then it will be easier to prepare for confession. There is no need to “suddenly” remember everything. Another common opinion: why would I repent if I know that I won’t change anyway - it will be hypocrisy and hypocrisy on my part. “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” What is sin, why does a person repeat it again and again, even realizing that it is bad? Because this is what prevailed over him, what entered his nature, broke it, distorted it. And a person himself cannot cope with this; he needs help - the gracious help of God. Through the Sacrament of Repentance, a person resorts to His help. The first time a person comes to confession and sometimes is not even going to leave his sins, but let him at least repent of them before God. What do we ask God for in one of the prayers of the Sacrament of Repentance? “Loosen up, leave, forgive.” First, weaken the power of sin, then leave it, and only then forgive. It happens that a person comes to confession many times and repents of the same sin, not having the strength, not having the determination to leave it, but he repents sincerely. And the Lord, for this repentance, for this constancy, sends His help to a person. It is very important to believe in the forgiveness of sins, in the power of the Sacrament. Those who do not believe complain that after confession there is no relief, that they leave the church with a heavy soul. This comes from a lack of faith, even from a lack of faith in forgiveness. Faith should give a person joy, and if there is no faith, there is no need to hope for any spiritual experiences and emotions. The most important thing is to feel peace with God.