Sins in confession in your own words. Preparing for confession. Example of a general confession

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; one should not be embarrassed or ashamed of him, just like the all-forgiving God himself.

God, in the person of the holy fathers, 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?

Important! The sin of arrogance.

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

This list is designed for people who are beginning their church life and want to repent before God.

When preparing for confession, write down the sins that convict your conscience from the list. If there are many of them, you need to start from the most serious mortals.
You can receive communion only with the blessing of the priest. Repentance TO GOD does not imply an indifferent listing of one’s bad deeds, BUT A SINCERE CONDEMNATION OF ONE’S SINNINESS AND A DECISION TO CORRECT!

List of sins for confession

I (name) sinned before GOD:

• weak faith (doubt about His existence).
• I have neither love nor proper fear for God, so I rarely confess and receive communion (which brought my soul to petrified insensibility towards God).
• I rarely attend Church on Sundays and holidays (work, trade, entertainment on these days).
• I don’t know how to repent, I don’t see any sins.
• I do not remember death and do not prepare to appear at the Judgment of God (Memory of death and future judgment helps to avoid sin).

Sinned :

• I DO NOT thank God for His mercies.
• Not by submission to the will of God (I want everything to be my way). Out of pride I rely on myself and people, and not on God. Attributing success to yourself rather than to God.
• Fear of suffering, impatience of sorrows and illnesses (they are allowed by God to cleanse the soul from sin).
• Grumbling at the cross of life (fate), at people.
• Cowardice, despondency, sadness, accusing God of cruelty, despair of salvation, desire (attempt) to commit suicide.

Sinned :

• Being late and leaving church early.
• Inattention during the service (to reading and singing, talking, laughing, dozing...). Walking around the temple needlessly, pushing and being rude.
• Out of pride, he left the sermon criticizing and condemning the priest.
• In female impurity she dared to touch the shrine.

Sinned :

• Out of laziness, I don’t read the morning and evening prayers (entirely from the prayer book), I shorten them. I pray absentmindedly.
• She prayed with her head uncovered, having enmity towards her neighbor. A careless depiction of the sign of the cross on oneself. Not by wearing a cross.
• With irreverent veneration of St. Church icons and relics.
• To the detriment of prayer, reading the Gospel, the Psalter and spiritual literature, I watched TV (Those who fight God through films teach people to violate God’s commandment about chastity before marriage, adultery, cruelty, sadism, damage the mental health of young people. They are instilled in them through “Harry Potter...” unhealthy interest in magic, sorcery and are quietly drawn into disastrous communication with the devil. In the media, this iniquity before God is presented as something positive, in a colorful and romantic way. Christian! ).
• Cowardly silence when people blasphemed in front of me, shame to be baptized and confess the Lord in front of people (this is one of the types of renunciation of Christ). Blasphemy against God and all sacred things.
• Wearing shoes with crosses on the soles. Using newspapers for everyday needs... where it is written about God...
• Called animals after people: “Vaska”, “Mashka”. He spoke about God without reverence and humility.

Sinned :

• dared to approach Communion without proper preparation (without reading the canons and prayers, concealing and belittling sins in confession, in enmity, without fasting and prayers of gratitude...).
• He did not spend the days of Communion sacredly (in prayer, reading the Gospel..., but indulged in entertainment, overeating, sleeping a lot, idle talk...).

Sinned :

• violation of fasts, as well as Wednesday and Friday (By fasting on these days, we honor the suffering of Christ).
• I don’t (always) pray before eating, working and after (After eating and working, a prayer of gratitude is read).
• Satiety in food and drink, drunkenness.
• Secret eating, delicacy (addiction to sweets).
• Ate the blood of animals (bloodweed...). (Forbidden by God Leviticus 7,2627; 17, 1314, Acts 15, 2021,29). On a fast day, the festive (funeral) table was modest.
• He commemorated the deceased with vodka (this is paganism and does not agree with Christianity).

Sinned :

• idle talk (empty talk about the vanity of life...).
• Telling and listening to dirty jokes.
• By condemning people, priests and monks (but I don’t see my sins).
• By listening and retelling gossip and blasphemous jokes (about God, the Church and clergy). (By this means temptation was sown through ME, and the name of God was blasphemed among people.)
• Remembering the name of God in vain (unnecessarily, in empty conversations, jokes).
• Lies, deceit, failure to fulfill promises made to God (people).
• Foul language, swearing (this is blasphemy against the Mother of God), swearing with the mention of evil spirits (the evil demons called up in conversations will harm us).
• Slander, spreading bad rumors and gossip, disclosing the sins and weaknesses of others.
• I listened to slander with pleasure and agreement.
• Out of pride, he humiliated his neighbors with ridicule (jigs), stupid jokes... With immoderate laughter, laughter. He laughed at the beggars, the crippled, the misfortune of others... God-fighting, a false oath, false testimony in court, the acquittal of criminals and the condemnation of the innocent.

Sinned :

• laziness, no desire to work (living at the expense of parents), the search for bodily peace, laziness in bed, the desire to enjoy a sinful and luxurious life.
• Smoking (among the American Indians, smoking tobacco had a ritual meaning of worshiping demonic spirits. A Christian who smokes is a traitor to God, a demon worshiper and a suicide is harmful to health). Drug use.
• Listening to pop and rock music (singing human passions, arouses base feelings).
• Addiction to gambling and entertainment (cards, dominoes, computer games, TV, cinemas, discos, cafes, bars, restaurants, casinos...). (The godless symbolism of the cards, when playing or fortune-telling, is intended to blasphemously mock the suffering of Christ the Savior. And games destroy the psyche of children. By shooting and killing, they become aggressive, prone to cruelty and sadism, with all the ensuing consequences for parents).

Sinned :

• corrupted his soul by reading and viewing (in books, magazines, films...) erotic shamelessness, sadism, immodest games (a person corrupted by vices reflects the qualities of a demon, not God), dancing, he himself danced ), (They led to the martyrdom of John the Baptist, after which dancing for Christians was a mockery of the memory of the Prophet).
• Delight in prodigal dreams and recollection of past sins. Not by removing yourself from sinful encounters and temptation.
• Lustful views and liberties (immodesty, hugs, kisses, unclean touching of the body) with persons of the other sex.
• Fornication (sexual intercourse before marriage). Prodigal perversions (handjob, poses).
• Sins of Sodom (homosexuality, lesbianism, bestiality, incest (fornication with relatives).

Leading to the temptation of men, she shamelessly dressed in short skirts and with SLICES, trousers, shorts, tight-fitting and see-through clothes (this violated the commandment of God about the appearance of a woman. She must dress beautifully, but within the framework of Christian shame and conscience.

A Christian woman should be an image of God, not a God-fighting one, with her hair cropped and naked, repainted, with a clawed paw instead of a human hand, the image of Satan) cut her hair, dyed her hair... In this form, without respecting the shrine, she dared to enter the temple of God.

Participation in “beauty” competitions, fashion models, masquerades (malanka, goat driving, Halloween...), as well as in dances with prodigal actions.

He was immodest in his gestures, body movements, and gait.

Swimming, sunbathing and nudity in the presence of persons of the other sex (contrary to Christian chastity).

Temptation to sin. Selling your body, pimping, renting out premises for fornication.

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Sinned :

• adultery (cheating in marriage).
• Not married. Lustful intemperance in marital relations (during fasting, Sundays, holidays, pregnancy, on days of female impurity).
• Perversions in married life (postures, oral, anal fornication).
• Wanting to live for his own pleasure and avoiding life’s difficulties, he protected himself from conceiving children.
• The use of “contraceptives” (coils and pills do not prevent conception, but kill the child at an early stage). Killed his children (abortions).
• Advising (forcing) others to have an abortion (men, with tacit consent, or forcing their wives... to have an abortion are also child killers. Doctors who perform abortions are murderers, and assistants are accomplices).

Sinned :

• He ruined the souls of children, preparing them only for earthly life (he did not teach them about God and faith, did not instill in them the love of church and home prayer, fasting, humility, obedience.
• Didn’t develop a sense of duty, honor, responsibility...
• I didn’t look at what they do, what they read, who they are friends with, how they behave).
• Punished them too harshly (taking out anger, not to correct them, calling them names, cursing them).
• He seduced children with his sins (intimate relationships in front of them, swearing, foul language, watching immoral television programs).

Sinned :

• joint prayer or transition to a schism (Kiev Patriarchate, UAOC, Old Believers...), union, sect. (Prayer with schismatics and heretics leads to excommunication from the Church: 10, 65, Apostolic Canons).
• Superstition (belief in dreams, omens...).
• Appeal to psychics, “grandmothers” (pouring wax, swinging eggs, draining fear...).
• He desecrated himself with urine therapy (in the rituals of Satanists, the use of urine and feces has a blasphemous meaning. Such “treatment” is a vile desecration and a devilish mockery of Christians), the use of what was “said” by sorcerers... Fortune telling on cards, divination (for what?). I feared sorcerers more than God. Coding (from what?).

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Passion for Eastern religions, occultism, Satanism (specify what). By attending sectarian, occult... meetings.

Yoga, meditation, dousing according to Ivanov (it is not the dousing itself that is condemned, but Ivanov’s teaching, which leads to the worship of him and nature, and not of God). Eastern martial arts (worship of the spirit of evil, teachers, and occult teachings about the disclosure of “inner capabilities” leads to communication with demons, possession...).

Reading and storage of occult literature prohibited by the Church: magic, palmistry, horoscopes, dream books, prophecies of Nostradamus, literature of Eastern religions, the teachings of Blavatsky and the Roerichs, Lazarev’s “Diagnostics of Karma”, Andreev’s “Rose of the World”, Aksenov, Klizovsky, Vladimir Megre, Taranov, Sviyazh , Vereshchagina, Garafina Makoviy, Asaulyak...

(The Orthodox Church warns that the writings of these and other occult authors have nothing in common with the teachings of Christ the Savior. A person through occultism, entering into deep communication with demons, falls away from God and destroys his soul, and mental disorders will be due retribution for pride and arrogance flirting with demons).

By forcing (advice) others to contact them and do it.

Sinned :

• theft, sacrilege (theft of church property).
• Love of money (addiction to money and wealth).
• Non-payment of debts (wages).
• Greed, stinginess for alms and the purchase of spiritual books... (and I spend generously on whims and entertainment).
• Self-interest (using someone else's property, living at someone else's expense...). Wanting to get rich, he gave money at interest.
• Trade in vodka, cigarettes, drugs, contraceptives, immodest clothing, porn... (this helped the demon to destroy himself and people, an accomplice to their sins). He talked about it, weighed it down, passed off a bad product as a good one...

Sinned :

• pride, envy, flattery, deceit, insincerity, hypocrisy, man-pleasing, suspicion, gloating.
• Forcing others to sin (lie, steal, spy, eavesdrop, snitch, drink alcohol...).

The desire for fame, respect, gratitude, praise, championship... By doing good for show. Boasting and admiring oneself. Showing off in front of people (wit, appearance, abilities, clothes...).

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Sinned :

• disobedience to parents, elders and superiors, insulting them.
• Whims, stubbornness, contradiction, self-will, self-justification.
• Laziness towards studying.
• Negligent care for elderly parents, relatives... (left them without supervision, food, money, medicine..., put them in a nursing home...).

Sinned :

• pride, resentment, rancor, hot temper, anger, vindictiveness, hatred, irreconcilable enmity.
• With arrogance and impudence (climbed out of turn, pushed).
• Cruelty to animals,
• He insulted family members and was the cause of family scandals.
• Not by working together to raise children and maintain the household, by parasitism, by drinking money away, by sending children to an orphanage...
• Practicing martial arts and sports (professional sports damage health and develop in the soul pride, vanity, a sense of superiority, contempt, thirst for enrichment...), for the sake of fame, money, robbery (racketeering).
• Rough treatment of neighbors, causing them harm (what?).
• Assault, beating, murder.
• Not protecting the weak, the beaten, women from violence...
• Violating traffic rules, driving while intoxicated... (thus endangering people's lives).

Sinned :

• careless attitude towards work (public position).
• He used his social position (talents...) not for the glory of God and the benefit of people, but for personal gain.
• Harassment of subordinates. Giving and accepting (extorting) bribes (which could lead to harm to public and private tragedies).
• Embezzled state and collective property.
• Having a leadership position, he did not care about suppressing the teaching in schools of immoral subjects and non-Christian customs (corrupting the morality of the people).
• Did not provide assistance in spreading Orthodoxy and suppressing the influence of sects, sorcerers, psychics...
• He was seduced by their money and rented out premises to them (which contributed to the destruction of people’s souls).
• He did not protect church shrines, did not provide assistance in the construction and repair of churches and monasteries...

Laziness towards every good deed (did not visit the lonely, the sick, the prisoners...).

In matters of life, he did not consult with the priest and elders (which led to irreparable mistakes).

Gave advice without knowing whether it pleased God. With a partial love for people, things, activities... He seduced those around him with his sins.

I justify my sins with everyday needs, illness, weakness, and that no one taught us to believe in God (but we ourselves were not interested in this).

Seduced people into disbelief. Visited the mausoleum, atheist events...

A cold and insensitive confession. I sin deliberately, trampling on my convicting conscience. There is no firm determination to correct your sinful life. I repent that I offended the Lord with my sins, I sincerely regret this and will try to improve.

Indicate other sins that (a) committed.

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Note! As for the possible temptation from the sins cited here, it is true that fornication is vile, and we must speak about it carefully.

The Apostle Paul says: “Fornication and all uncleanness and covetousness must not even be mentioned among you” (Eph. 5:3). However, through television, magazines, advertising... he has entered the lives of even the youngest so much that prodigal sins are not considered a sin by many. Therefore, we must talk about this in confession and call everyone to repentance and correction.

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. The question immediately arises in his mind: 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 the 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 desire 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.

In which he who sincerely confesses his sins, with a visible expression of forgiveness from the priest, is invisibly absolved from his sins by God Himself. Confession is received by a priest or...

Why is it necessary to confess in the presence of a priest, and not just ask God for forgiveness?

Sin is dirt, so confession is a bath that washes the soul from this spiritual dirt. Sin is poison for the soul - so, confession is the treatment of a poisoned soul, cleansing it from the poison of sin. A person will not take a bath in the middle of the street, nor will he be cured of poisoning while walking: this requires appropriate institutions. In this case, such a divinely established institution is the Holy Church. They will ask: “But why is it necessary to confess in the presence of a priest, in the atmosphere of a church sacrament? Doesn't God see my heart? If I did something bad, I sinned, but I see it, I’m ashamed of it, I ask God for forgiveness - isn’t that enough?” But, my friend, if, for example, a person fell into a swamp and, having climbed out to the shore, is ashamed of being covered in mud, is this enough to become clean? Has he already washed himself with one feeling of disgust? To wash away 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 flows is the Church of Christ, 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 the treatment of 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 postoperative therapy for the healing and restoration of the body (soul).

How easy it is for us to forgive someone who repents, how necessary it is for us to repent before those whom we have offended!.. But isn’t our repentance all the more necessary before God – the Heavenly Father? We do not have such a sea of ​​sins as before Him before any other person.

How does the Sacrament of Repentance take place, how to prepare for it and how to begin?

The rites of confession : the usual beginning, priestly prayers and an appeal to the repentant " Behold, Christ stands invisibly, accepting your confession...", the confession itself. At the end of confession, the priest places the edge on the head of the penitent and reads a prayer of permission. The penitent kisses the Gospel and the cross lying on the lectern.

Confession is usually made after evening or in the morning, immediately before, since the laity, according to tradition, are 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 (in the presence of a legal celebrant - an Orthodox priest). When 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 person confessing must be a baptized member of the Orthodox Church, a conscious believer (recognizing all the fundamentals of Orthodox doctrine 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 characteristic of fallen human nature, and in a more specific sense - as actual cases of transgression of God's commandments. The Slavic word “repentance” means not so much “apology” as “change” - a 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 stubbornly fight passions.

So, to prepare for confession means to take a repentant look at your life, analyze your deeds and thoughts from the point of view of God’s commandments (if necessary, write them 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 unconfessed due to forgetfulness or false shame, or confessed without proper repentance, mechanically. At the same time, you need to know that sincerely confessed sins are always and irreversibly forgiven by the Lord (dirt is washed away, illness is healed, the curse is lifted), 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 bother the soul for a long time, just as a healed wound can bother a person - no longer mortal, but still noticeable. In this case, it is possible to confess the sin again (to pacify the soul), but it is not necessary, since it has already been forgiven.

And - go to the temple of God to confess.

Although, as already mentioned, you can confess in any setting, it is generally accepted to confess in a church - before or at a time specially appointed by the priest (in special cases, for example, for confessing a patient at home, you need to individually agree with the clergyman).

The usual time for confession is before. They usually confess at evening services, and sometimes a special time is set. It is advisable to find out about the time of confession in advance.

As a rule, the priest confesses in front of a lectern (A lectern 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; they stand quietly, listening to church prayers, lamenting their sins in their hearts. When it’s their turn, they go to confession.

Approaching the lectern, bow your head; at the same time, you can kneel (if desired; 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 an epitrachelion (Epitrachelion is a detail of a priest’s vestment - a vertical strip of fabric on the chest), prays, asks what the confessor’s name is and what he wants to confess before God. Here the repentant must confess, on the one hand, a general awareness of his sinfulness, especially naming the passions and infirmities most characteristic of him (for example: lack of faith, love of money, anger, etc.), and on the other hand, name those specific sins for which he sees himself, and especially those that lie like a stone on his conscience, for example: abortion, insults to parents or loved ones, theft, fornication, the habit of swearing and blasphemy, non-observance of God’s commandments and church institutions, etc., etc. n. The “General Confession” section will help you understand your sins.

The priest, having heard the confession, as a witness and intercessor before God, asks (if he considers it necessary) questions and gives instructions, prays for the forgiveness of the sins of the repentant sinner and, when he sees sincere repentance and a desire for correction, reads a “permissive” prayer.

The Sacrament of forgiveness of sins itself is performed not at the moment of reading the “permissive” prayer, but through the entire set of rites of confession, however, the “permissive” prayer is, as it were, a seal certifying the fulfillment of the Sacrament.

So, confession is made, with sincere repentance, the sin is forgiven by God.

The forgiven sinner, crossing himself, kisses the cross, the Gospel and takes the priest’s blessing.

To receive 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 affairs. To do this, you need to fold your hands palms up (right to left), bow your head and say: “Bless, father.” The priest baptizes the person with the sign of the priestly blessing and places his palm on the folded palms of the person being blessed. One should venerate the priest’s hand with one’s lips—not as a human hand, but as an image of the blessing right hand of the Giver of all good things, the Lord.

If he was preparing for communion, he asks: “Will you bless me for communion?” - and if the answer is positive, he goes to prepare to receive the Holy Mysteries of Christ.

Are all sins forgiven in the Sacrament of Repentance, or only those named?

How often should you go to confession?

The minimum is before each Communion (according to church canons, the faithful receive communion no more than once a day and no less than once every 3 weeks), the maximum number of confessions is not established and is left to the discretion of the Christian himself.

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 a matter of a lifetime. That is why the Sacrament is called the Sacrament of Repentance, and not the “Sacrament of the Enumeration of Sins.” Repentance for sin consists of three stages: Repent of the sin as soon as you have committed it; 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 absolution from sins in the Sacrament of Confession.

How to see your sins?

At first this is not difficult, but with regular Communion, and, accordingly, confession, it becomes more and more difficult. You need to ask God for this, because seeing your sins is a gift from God. But we need to be prepared for temptations if the Lord grants our prayer. At the same time, it is useful to read the lives of saints and study.

Can a priest refuse to accept confession?

Apostolic Canons (52nd canon) " If anyone, a bishop or presbyter, does not accept a convert from sin, let him be expelled from the sacred rank. For [he] saddens 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 communion cannot receive absolution from sins.

Is it possible to confess over the phone or in writing?

In Orthodoxy there is no tradition of confessing sins over the phone or via the Internet, especially since this violates the secret of confession.
It should also be borne in mind that patients can invite a priest to their home or hospital.
Those who have left for distant countries 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 the sake of this.

What rights does a priest have to impose penance on a penitent?

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.