Why is confession surrounded by mystery? Because a person who decides to repent of his sins must be completely sure that only God and his conscience are his judge, and no one else. For earthly deeds and violation of the laws of the country in which he lives, a person will answer before an earthly court. And for the way of thinking and level of Spirituality, before the Almighty.

A person does not have to repent of his sins before a priest; not many people will be able to open their Soul to a stranger, even if he is a church minister.

A conversation with God is the innermost secret of every person, and you do not need intermediaries at all, because this can harm both yourself and those people who will listen to you. If your sin is very serious according to earthly concepts, people will definitely condemn you, thereby inflicting an additional Mental wound on themselves, and you will be the source of additional karma. That's why The best way cleansing your Soul is a one-on-one conversation with God. You can trust him with everything, all your sorrows, doubts, all your pain. You will always receive specific help, but this help will not be expressed in a bag of money. Every person can receive the help of the Almighty, but everyone will receive exactly what they need.

When a person decides to confess to God, he takes a huge step forward, as he identifies himself with him and recognizes his power. “Everything is in the hands of God,” people say, we would also add: in the hands of man, in his mind, kindness, love in his desire for the better. Repentance for one's sins, forgiveness of all one's enemies, not condemning one's neighbor - these are the dogmas that should be present in a person's heart when he confesses to God.

Only your confession must come from the heart; if you forgive a person, forgive him with all your Soul, with all your heart, and if you repent of what you have done, repent truly and irrevocably. There is no middle ground here. It happens that a person wants to forgive another, but cannot. The strongest resentment lies in his Soul, he says: “I forgive you,” but he feels that he cannot. In this case, ask God for help: “Lord, help me forgive this person, teach me to love and not hold grudges, forgive me my imperfections, fill my heart with love for my neighbor, for I have no desire to be an accomplice of dark forces.” Amen, Amen, Amen.

If your desire is sincere, if you really want it, and are not afraid of the trials sent to you, your Soul will be cleansed, your whole nature will be filled with God’s Grace, tears of repentance will flow from your eyes, and your heart will be filled with such love that you cannot even imagine , for it comes from the heart of the creator.

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What is the secret of confession, why is it needed, how to properly prepare for it? This is what we will talk about today.

Confession- this is repentance, a conversation with God in private, although it takes place in the presence of a priest - a minister, a messenger of God. It is this form of communication that is recognized by the church and is considered to be the commandment of Jesus. By having such a conversation, the believer does something good - he tames his pride, one of the most powerful sins in Orthodoxy, and takes a step toward recognizing his sins through repentance in the hope of finding remission.

Why confess?

The purpose of confession: forgiveness of sins, so that the penitent realizes the sinfulness of his actions and, having repented, draws conclusions for the future.

Christ said about the condition for God to forgive our sins:

“If you forgive people their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; and if you do not forgive people their trespasses, then your Father will not forgive you your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15).

At confession, we tell the priest about our doubts and sins of spiritual heaviness. Of course, it is not the priest who absolves us of our sins, all this is in the knowledge of God’s will, through him the judgment is carried out: to forgive or not to receive such an honor. They say God forgives everyone, his love for us is so strong. Maybe a little like a mother’s, no matter how strong we are, we always forgive our children, because they are part of us. And we have a part of his God. The priest is only the conductor of this communication. He prays for us, blesses us for confession, showing us the right path.

On the other hand, if God sees everything and knows everything, why should he once again tell us about the actions we have committed, since they are known to him? And remember yourself and your children, you know the insults inflicted on you, but how good it is if a child comes with repentance. We confess when we have realized what we have done, repented, and are ready for correction.

The question of making confession in the temple of God or one on one with God at home does not arise here, only the first, as the Holy Fathers say, as the Bible teaches. But think about it for yourself, if there is no such opportunity, it is better to confess, even if incorrectly, at home alone with God, than not to confess at all. So, without calling for ignoring confession in church, I still think that express your painful concerns in front of the icons during prayer, repent and forgive, this is also a small step towards comprehending faith and increasing our spirituality.

Preparing for Confession

How to prepare for confession. First of all, it is important to start by reflecting on your sins. We talked about what sin is and which of them are considered mortal. But you shouldn’t, after reading the list, think how hopeless everything is. We must strive for excellence. It’s worth looking at these things a little more carefully. What was classically considered a sin has already somehow transformed over time, and I think everyone will see these changes. We just shouldn’t show everything in our lives too brightly: be it anger, hatred, laziness or love for material things. Pride is good, for your homeland, for your country, for your family, but everything in moderation. You can rejoice at your successes, but without fanaticism. You should listen more to your conscience.

On the day of confession, it is worth devoting more time to prayers, it is better to take part in the service in the temple. Most often, confession and communion are held after it.

What prayers to read before confession

There are no special prayers for this; these are most often Christian prayers and ordinary initial texts.

Prayer before confession

God and Lord of all! You who have the power of every breath and soul, who alone is able to heal me, hear the prayer of me, the accursed one, and the serpent nesting in me, by the influx of the All-Holy and Life-Giving Spirit, slaying: and from me poverty and nakedness all the virtues exist, at the feet of my holy (spiritual) father with tears grant him the honor, and his holy soul, to be merciful, so that you may be merciful to me. And grant, Lord, in my heart humility and good thoughts, befitting a sinner who has agreed to repent to You, and may you not completely abandon the one soul that united with You and confessed You, and instead of the whole world chose and preferred You: weigh for, Lord, as I want to be saved, even if my evil custom is an obstacle: but it is possible for You, Master, the essence of everything, what is impossible is of man. Amen.

Lord, help me to sincerely repent.

Come, Holy Spirit, enlighten my mind so that I may become more aware of my sins; motivate my will to genuine repentance for them, to sincere confession and decisive correction of my life.

O Mary, Mother of God, Refuge of Sinners, intercede for me.

Holy Guardian Angel, my patron saints, ask God for me the grace of genuine confession of sins.

• Psalm 50 is considered repentant and is included in the daily rule. It is advisable to know it by heart.
• Troparions are short poems.
• Three prayers to the Lord, text below:

Prayer I

God, our Savior, who was granted forgiveness by Your prophet Nathan to David who repented of his sins, and who received Monassin’s prayer in repentance, Accept Your own and Your servant (name) who repents about them with Your usual love for mankind, despise all that he has done, forsake untruths , and transcend iniquity. You have declared, Lord: I do not want the death of a sinner by will, but as if he were to be converted and live, and as to forgive sins seventy times seven times. For Thy majesty is unapproachable, and Thy mercy is immeasurable.

If you see lawlessness, who will stand? For Thou art the God of the repentant, and to Thee we send glory, to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Prayer II

Let's pray to the Lord!
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, Shepherd and Lamb, take away the sins of the world, who granted the borrowing of two debtors, and granted forgiveness of her sins to a sinner; Yourself, Master, weaken, forsake, forgive sins, iniquities, sins, voluntary and involuntary, even in knowledge and in ignorance, even in crime and disobedience, which was from these servants of Yours, and even if, like men, bearing flesh and living in the world, from the devil deceived. If in word, or in deed, or in knowledge, or not in knowledge, or trampled on a priestly word, or under a priestly oath, or fell under one’s own anathema, or was sworn under an oath: He Himself, as He is good, and the gentle Master, these are the servants Your word resolves favorably, forgiving them your anathema and oath, according to your great mercy.
Hey, Master of Humanity, Lord, hear us, praying to Your goodness for these servants of Yours, and despise, as you are abundantly merciful of all their sins and deliver them from eternal torment. You have declared, Master: “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” For You are the only sinless one, and to You we send glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Prayer III

Let's pray to the Lord!

Lord God, the salvation of Your servants, Merciful and Generous and Long-suffering, repent of our evils, not wanting the sinner to die, but to turn and live to be him, You yourself have now been merciful for Your servants (names) and give them an image of repentance, forgiveness of sins and remission, forgiving them every sin, voluntary and involuntary: reconcile and unite them to the Holy Church of Yours, O Christ Jesus our Lord, with whom befits You power and splendor, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Closing Prayer

I know and feel, Lord, that I am unworthy of forgiveness, I am irresponsible before You and Your holy Truth, but I appeal to Your boundless mercy: accept my wretched repentance, forgive my countless sins, cleanse, renew and strengthen my soul and body, so that I can steadily walk I'm on the path to salvation.

How to behave in confession

• When talking about your sins, you don’t need to justify them or compare them with the misdeeds of other people who are even more sinful. Everyone will answer for themselves!
• You should start with the main sins. Passion for food, working on weekends, rare visits to the temple are sins, but they have nothing to do with desecration, foul language, slander, cheating on one’s husband/wife, self-aggrandizement, and lies.
• There is no need to look for the right words, speak as you think. The priest, and even more so God, will understand everything and will not judge him for his style.
• Do not wait special day for confession, listen to yourself, if there is a need, do it as soon as necessary. To deserve God's forgiveness, you yourself must be ready to forgive your offenders.
• If during confession the priest assigns you penance, do not confuse this with punishment, it is just for additional practice of spiritual exercises. This could be reading prayers, prostrations, abstinence from communion, merciful deeds. The period of penance is a certain time.
• As a rule, confession ends with a prayer from the clergyman. After the Sacrament of Repentance, a burden falls from the soul, it is freed from impurities. You can ask the priest for a blessing for communion.

We will talk about communion next time.

The regular priest of the Saratov Church of the Nativity of Christ, Andrei Evstigneev, by decree of the ruling bishop of the Saratov diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Longinus of Saratov and Volsk, was released from service for violating the secret of confession. This is stated in the information posted on the diocesan website.

“By this determination, you, priest Andrei Evstigneev, are released from all other duties previously assigned to you and are prohibited from serving in the priesthood for disclosing the secret of confession and publicly discussing it in the presence of representatives of the media ... for a period of one year,” the portal cites “ Interfax-Religion" text of the decree.

In addition, the decree stipulates that a priest is deprived of the right to wear priestly vestments for a year - a cassock and pectoral cross. He is also forbidden to bless believers and perform divine services and services.

The reason for church punishment was given by the priest’s speech at a meeting of the Public Chamber Saratov region. On March 28, they discussed the brutal murder of a seven-year-old boy, in which the child’s stepfather was accused.

During this discussion, Father Andrei remembered another resonant Saratov story when, according to investigators, after beating his stepfather a little boy jumped out of a high-rise building window and died.

“A few months ago there was another case when a child jumped from a balcony. The situation is almost a mirror image: the mother, if I may say so, is entangled in her men, and the man (stepfather - “IF”) is absolutely crazy,” the press service quoted the priest’s speech as saying. Public Chamber of the Saratov Region.

Andrei Evstigneev admitted that “as a priest, he talked to this man in the pre-trial detention center.”

“He was in confession. I have no right to divulge to you the secret of confession, but there is sawdust in my head,” the priest said at the chamber meeting.

Meanwhile, in the first centuries of Christianity, confession was an open public procedure. Confession of sins was made not only before the priest, but also before all members of the community, who together constitute the Body of Christ - the Church. However, as historians of religion note, the openness of confession led to a decrease in the number of people turning to the Church for repentance. Due to the decline in parishioners' interest in confession, the Church decided to approve the secret format of confession. The revision of the nature of confession required the establishment of a special trusting relationship between the clergy and the flock, which dictated the manifestation of respect for sacred meaning procedures of confession and from the state.

The strictness of the secret of confession is observed today by all Churches. Two years ago, a conference was held in the Vatican on the practice of confession in Catholic Church. It confirmed that even after the death of the repentant, the priest does not have the right to disclose what he heard from the deceased. “The seal is absolute. It cannot be removed, even if the penitent himself gives his permission to the priest who confessed him,” it was said during the discussion. Any violation of the “seal of confession” is punishable by excommunication from the Church. Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, who heads the Apostolic Penitentiary, which decides questions related to the internal jurisdiction of ministers of the Church, said that church law on this issue has remained unchanged for 800 years.

Let us note that the secret of confession is legally protected in Russia, which is enshrined in several documents.

Federal Law of September 26, 1997 N 125-FZ “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations” in paragraph 7 of Article 3 postulates legislative support for the protection of the secret of confession and restrictions on attracting criminal liability clergy for refusing to testify on information received as part of the sacrament of confession (“The secret of confession is protected by law. A clergyman cannot be held accountable for refusing to testify on circumstances that became known to him from confession”).

The Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation in paragraph 4 of part 3 of Article 56 includes a clergyman in the list of persons who are not subject to interrogation as witnesses for circumstances known during confession (“Not subject to interrogation as witnesses: 4) a clergyman - about circumstances that have become known to him from confession").

The Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation in paragraph 3 of part 3 of Article 69 determines that “the following are not subject to questioning as witnesses: 3) clergy religious organizations, past state registration, - about the circumstances that became known to them from confession."

• What is confession
• Why do Orthodox Christians confess?
• What are the rules of confession?
• • Is it possible to hide some sin
  • What to say to the priest

What's the point Christian life? There may be many answers, but no one will argue that Orthodox Christians see the ultimate goal of earthly existence as an eternal stay in paradise.

No one knows at what moment a person’s stay on earth may end, so one should be prepared for the transition to another world every second.

What is confession

The best means of getting rid of sin is sincere repentance when the thought of an unclean life becomes disgusting.

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He, being faithful and righteous, will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8, 9).

The secret of confession in Orthodoxy gives Christians the opportunity to leave all their sins and brings him closer to the Knowledge of God and the Kingdom of Heaven. Humble prayer and frequent confession are the results of repentance, real contrition of the spirit, which occurs in a constant struggle with passions.

Christ and the Sinner

Orthodox Christians who are constantly in prayer and repentance, bringing their bad deeds and thoughts to the altar of God's blood, are not afraid of death, for they know that their bad deeds are forgiven during confession.

Confession is a Sacrament, during which, through a priest, as an intermediary, a person communicates with the Creator, renounces his sinful life in repentance and recognition of himself as a sinner.

Any, even the smallest sin, can become a huge lock on the door of eternity. A repentant heart laid at the altar God's love, The Creator holds in His hands, forgiving all sins, without the right to remember them, shortening earthly life and depriving them of eternal stay in paradise.

Bad deeds come from hell, fallen man spends it in existing world, acting as a conductor.

Sincere confession of wrong actions cannot be violent; only through ardent repentance, hatred of the sin committed, dying for it and living in holiness, the Almighty opens His arms.

Forgiveness in Christianity

The secret of confession in Orthodoxy guarantees that everything was said in front of the priest, dies and does not leave the gates of the temple. There are no big or small sins, there are unrepentant sins and self-justification that alienate a person from accepting forgiveness. Through sincere repentance, a person comprehends the mystery of salvation.

Important! The Holy Fathers of the Church forbid remembering sins that were confessed to God in sincere repentance and left forever by a person.

Why do Orthodox Christians confess?

Man consists of spirit, soul and body. Everyone knows that the body will turn to dust, but concern for bodily cleanliness occupies an important place in the life of Christians. The soul, which will meet the Savior at the end of life, also needs to be cleansed from sins.

Only confession of sinful deeds, thoughts, and words can wash away the dirt from the soul. The accumulation of impurities in the soul causes negative emotions:

• irritation;
• anger;
• depression;
• apathy.

Often Orthodox Christians themselves cannot explain their behavior; they do not even suspect that the cause is unconfessed sins.

A person’s spiritual health and a calm conscience directly depend on the frequency of confessing his vicious inclinations.

Confession accepted by God is directly related, or rather, is the result of sincere repentance. A repentant person sincerely desires to live according to the commandments of the Lord; he is constantly critical of his errors and sins.

Confession in the Orthodox Church

According to Saint Theophan the Recluse, repentance occurs in four stages:

• realize sin;
• admit your guilt in committing an offense;
• decide to permanently break off your relationship with wrong actions or thoughts;
• tearfully pray to the Creator for forgiveness.

Important! Confession must be spoken out loud, for God knows what is written, but demons hear what is spoken by voice.

In obedience, going to the frank opening of his heart, which occurs in the presence of a priest, a person first of all steps over his pride. Some believers argue that one can confess directly in the presence of the Creator, but according to the laws of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Sacrament of Confession is considered legal if it is performed through an intercessor, prayer book and witness in one person, through a clergyman.

The main thing when confessing sins is not the rank of mediator, but the state of the sinner’s heart, his heartfelt contrition and complete renunciation of the committed offense.

What are the rules of confession?

People who wish to perform the Sacrament of Confession approach the priest before or during the Liturgy, but always before the Sacrament of Communion. By prior agreement, priests visit sick people at home.

According to the Church Charter, during the purification of the Orthodox soul there are no reservations regarding fasting or prayer rules, the main thing is that the Christian believes and sincerely repents. People do the right thing when, before coming to church, they spend time recognizing and writing down their sins, but these notes should be left at home.

In front of a priest, as in front of a doctor, they talk about what hurts and torments, and for this you don’t need papers.

Deadly sins include:

• pride, arrogance, vanity;
• love for mammon;
• fornication;
• desire for someone else's and envy;
• excessive gratification of one's flesh;
• unbridled anger;
• a sad spirit that dries up the bones.

Advice! The priest should not tell the story of the offense committed, the circumstances of its commission, or try to find an excuse for himself. What to say in confession should be considered at home, repenting of every little thing that troubles the heart.

If this is an offense, before going to church, you need to reconcile with the offender and forgive the offending person.

In the presence of a priest, one should name the sins, say that I repent and admit it. In confession, we bring repentant sin to the foot of the great God and ask for forgiveness. Do not confuse a heart-to-heart conversation with a spiritual mentor and the Sacrament of Confession.

When consulting with a counselor, Christians can talk about their problems, ask for advice, and when confessing sins, they should speak clearly, clearly and briefly . God sees a repentant heart, He does not need verbosity.

The Church points out the sin of insensibility during confession, when a person has no fear of the Creator, has little faith, but came to church because everyone came so that his neighbors could see his “piety.”

Cold, mechanical confession without preparation and sincere repentance is considered invalid; it insults the Creator. You can find several priests, say one bad deed to each, but not repent of a single one, “taking on” the sin of hypocrisy and deception.

First confession and preparation for it

Having decided to confess, you should:

• clearly understand the importance of this event;
• feel full responsibility before the Almighty;
• repent of what has been done;
• forgive all debtors;
• be filled with faith for forgiveness;
• state all sins with deep repentance.

The first appearance of petition and repentance will force you to mentally “shovel” your life from the point of view of repentance, if the desire for repentance is sincere. At the same time, you should constantly pray, ask God to open the darkest corners of your soul, and bring all bad deeds to the light of God.

Sacrament of Repentance

It is a mortal sin to come to confession and then take communion with unforgiveness in your soul. The Bible writes that people who come to communion unworthily get sick and die. (1 Cor. 11:27-30)

Holy Scripture affirms that God forgives any repentant sin, except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 12:30-32)

If the crime committed is very great, then after confession before communion of the Blood of Jesus, the priest can assign penance - punishment in the form of many bows, many hours of reading the canons, reinforced post and pilgrimages to holy places. It is impossible not to perform penance; it can be canceled by the priest who imposed the punishment.

Important! After confession they do not always receive communion, and it is impossible to receive Communion without confession.

Is it possible to hide some sin

Carnal sins live in every person, and some of them are embarrassing to talk about. Bad memories in the body of an Orthodox Christian resemble a splinter that hurts all the time, and sometimes even breaks out. There is no such sin for which God will not accept repentance.

The hidden, smallest, from a human point of view, sin closes the door of God's grace.

There is a picture of Jesus standing at the door and knocking. An attentive viewer will see that the door does not have a handle on the outside. Christians themselves open the doors to Jesus by confessing their sins in repentance.

Christ knocks on the door

Only pride and false shame, which also refers to pride, hide the importance of complete trust in the Creator in His mercy and forgiveness. Righteous shame is born of conscience, it is given by the Creator; a sincere Christian will always strive to clear his conscience as soon as possible.

What to say to the priest

When going to confession for the first time, you should remember that what lies ahead is not a meeting with a clergyman, but with the Creator Himself.

When cleansing your soul and heart from a sinful inheritance, you should admit your guilt in contrition, humility and reverence, while not touching on the sins of other people. They themselves will give an answer to the Creator. One must confess in firm faith that Jesus came to save and wash His children from sinful deeds and thoughts with His blood.

Opening your heart to God, you must repent not only of obvious sins, but of those good deeds, which could have been done for people, the church, the Savior, but were not done.

Neglect of a task entrusted to you is an abomination to God.

Jesus, by His earthly death, proved that the path of purification is open to everyone, promising the thief who recognized Him as God, the Kingdom of Heaven.

God does not look at the number of bad deeds on the day of confession, He sees a repentant heart.

A sign of forgiven sin will be special world in the heart, peace. At this time, the angels sing to Heaven, rejoicing at the salvation of another soul.

How to prepare for confession? Archpriest John Pelipenko

THE CONCEPT OF THE SACRAMENT

Repentance is a sacrament in which one who confesses his sins, with a visible expression of forgiveness from the priest, is invisibly absolved of sins by Jesus Christ Himself (Catechism).

THE BEGINNING OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SACRAMENT

In its origin, repentance, like other sacraments of the Orthodox Church, is a Divine institution. The grace to bind and solve sins was promised to the apostles by Jesus Christ during His earthly life. Thus, the Lord, in a conversation about forgiveness for sinners, told the apostles: “If you bind anything on earth, it will be bound in heaven, and if you loose it on earth, it will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 18:18). This grace was taught to the apostles and their successors by Jesus Christ after the resurrection, when he often talked with his disciples about the structure of His Church and established sacraments for it. One day, appearing to the disciples after the resurrection, the Savior said: “Peace be with you: as the Father sent Me, and I send you. And these things he said and breathed and said to them: Receive the Holy Spirit. For whose sins you forgive, they will be forgiven them, and whose sins you hold, they hold fast” (John 20:21-23). Here the grace and power to bind and solve sins is called the Holy Spirit, and thus the resolution or retention of them appears to be the work of God. This is the mystery.

HISTORY OF THE LITURGICAL SIDE OF THE SACRAMENT

We find instructions about the sacrament of Repentance among Christians of the apostolic time in the books of Holy Scripture (Acts 19, 18; James 5, 16). According to the explanation of the interpreters, these places of St. The Scriptures show that confession was generally known to Christians of the apostolic time and that they confessed their sins before the builders of the mysteries of God (1 Cor. 4:1). Already in the apostolic age, confession of sins, depending on the circumstances, was either secret or open and public. Public repentance was required from those Christians who, with their sins, caused temptation in the Church.

Confession of sins was combined with spiritual punishments, which were of three types:

1) deprivation for a certain time of the right to make offerings and participate in communion (appointed for less important crimes);

2) for more important sins, the Church forbade attendance at meetings of believers, especially during the liturgy.

3) The highest degree of punishment for grave sins (murder, adultery), combined with unrepentance, was exclusion from the number of believers. The bishop expelled those responsible from the congregation. And only if they expressed sincere repentance, the bishop, at the request of the deacons, allowed them to attend meetings of believers along with the catechumens, and then admitted them to the number of penitents.

By the end of the first half of the 3rd century, public repentance took shape in the form of a special, exactly defined by rules Church of the rite of accepting into the Church Christians who, through their crimes, have broken off communion with it. The reason for this was the persecution of Emperor Decius. During the thirty years of peace that preceded this persecution, a weakening of the original living faith and pure morality became noticeable both in ordinary Christians and in the church clergy. Therefore, it is not surprising that during the persecution of Decius there were many who fell (those who renounced Christ). This phenomenon, important in itself, served as the beginning of a dispute about the fallen. The reason for this dispute was given partly by the fallen themselves, who thought to make up for the lack of repentance with the testimony of confessors, partly by confessors who gave testimonies without proper attention and analysis, and, finally, partly by the presbyters themselves, who did not always carefully accept the fallen into communion with the Church. There was even a schism in the Carthaginian and Roman Churches in the 3rd century, caused by Felicissimus (in Carthage) and the presbyter Novatian (in Rome). Felicissimo formed a party of his supporters who stood for the acceptance of all those who fell without repentance. Novatian went to the other extreme, arguing that the fallen cannot be accepted into communion with the Church at all, for then it would cease to be holy. At the Carthage and Roman Councils convened under such circumstances, it was determined to accept into communion with the Church through public repentance those Christians who had fallen away from the faith, who had sacrificed to idols or burned incense to them, or through bribery had received false certificates of their sacrifice to idols, and finally to This class was joined after the persecution of Diocletian by traitors who gave the persecutors books of the Holy Scriptures, church synodics (diptychs) and their fellow Christians.

All of these persons who had broken communion with the Church, if they sincerely wished to return to the Church again, came to the presbyter-spiritual person expressing their desire. The confessor, convinced of the sincerity of the wishes of those who came, entered their names in church list For general information and commemoration during the divine service, laid his hands on them as evidence of their permission from excommunication and acceptance into the number of penitents, and released them. Thus accepted among the penitents, they then remained outside the church in feats of fasting, prayer and mercy. When they came to church, they had to go through four degrees of public repentance (penance): crying, listening, crouching and paying.

Repentant mourners could only enter the outer porch (portico) of the temple, outside the gates of the temple, where with tears they begged the faithful, and especially the primates of the Church, to pray for them. This degree was preparatory and, as it were, an introduction to church repentance itself (Gregory the Wonderworker, 11 Ave.; Basil the Great, Ave. 22).

Those listening were allowed to enter the inner porch of the temple, stand with the catechumens, listen with the faithful to the singing and reading of the Holy Scriptures and teachings during the first half of the liturgy, after which they left together with the catechumens (First Ecumenical Council, 11 and 12 etc.).

The penitents of the third group - the prostrate ones - stood in the temple itself, in the rear part of it, and participated with the faithful in prayers for the penitents, listening to them, falling on their faces. At the end of these prayers, they bowed their knees and received a blessing from the bishop and left the temple.

The monks stood with the faithful until the end of the liturgy, without proceeding only to the Eucharist (First Ecumenical Council, 11 Ave.; Ancyra Cathedral, 4 Ave.).

During the entire duration of time appointed for the performance of penance by the penitents, the Church offered prayers for them in the church between the Liturgy of the Catechumens and the Liturgy of the Faithful (Council of Laodicea, 19 Ave.). In their content, they are almost no different from those prayers that are currently read before confession. One of these prayers was preserved in (the end of) the liturgy of the Apostle James, and the other in the Apostolic Constitutions (VIII, 9).

The final moment of repentance after the fulfillment of penance was that those who had undergone all degrees of repentance, in a more or less lengthy time, publicly confessed their sins before the entire Church, headed by the bishop, and received permission, usually on Thursday or Friday of Holy Week, through the laying on of the hand of the bishop and reading the prayer of permission, and were admitted to the Eucharist. The very acceptance of penitents into the Church was not only a public act, but was also part of public worship and was performed in a solemn manner.

After the end of the persecution, the Church, during the period of its peaceful existence (in the 4th century), spread public repentance not only for falling away from the faith, but also for other crimes: idolatry, fornication, murder, heresy.

Along with public repentance (public), the ancient Church also had the custom of private repentance, or confession of sins before only one bishop or presbyter. It was carried out at the request of the penitent and consisted of revealing sins and resolving them with prayer and the laying on of hands. Clement of Rome, Origen, Cyprian and others speak about private repentance. Clement of Rome exhorts not to be ashamed to confess secret sins to the abbot, so that from him, with the help of the word of God and instructions, you can receive healing. Origen says that for a sinner who thirsts for justification before God, the means to gain it and find a cure is to confess his sin to the priest of God.

The practice of public repentance continued in the Church until the end of the 4th century. At Patriarch of Constantinople Nektaria (398), the position of presbyter-confessor was abolished, and after that the degrees of repentance and rituals that accompanied acceptance into the number of publicly penitents were gradually destroyed. By the end of the period of the Ecumenical Councils (VIII-IX centuries), public confession finally disappears and is replaced by secret.

The motivation for the abolition of public confession and its replacement with a secret was that public confession, so beneficial in ancient times given the severity of the morals of that time and zeal for piety, seemed burdensome for Christians of subsequent times. Many began to avoid her out of shame or to hide their sins. In addition, sins revealed publicly could serve as a temptation for some weak Christians. And therefore, so that healing for some does not turn into a fatal poison for others, the Church, in order to avoid this danger, replaced public confession with a secret one.

In the X-XII centuries. in the Eastern Church, repentance and confession take those forms (spirituality of confessors-priests from the monastic and lay and secret confession) in which they existed later for centuries, and exist to the present day, with the right of the confessor to impose secret or open penance on those Christian sinners who had previously undergone public confession.

HISTORY OF SECRET CONFESSION

The rite of confession currently existing in the Russian Church (located in the Trebnik) has its source in the Greek rites developed in the 16th-17th centuries. The latter were greatly influenced by the ancient rite of secret confession called the Nomocanon of John the Faster, attributed to John, Patr. Constantinople, who lived in the 6th century. (+ 596). In the Russian Church in the XV-XVII centuries. The rite of confession existed in many diverse and very extensive editions, based on the rite of confession of John the Faster. In the 17th century was published by printing first in Kyiv (1620), then in Moscow (1639 and 1658) a short rite of confession, which with late XVII century (after the publication of 1685), after some additions (supplemented with penitential troparia, a prayer of permission from the Breviary of Peter the Mogila: “The Lord our God Jesus Christ” and an exhortation to the penitent) remains unchanged to this day.

BASIC DOGMATICO-MORAL CONTENT AND PURPOSE OF THE SACREMENT OF CONFESSION

Baptism and repentance. Through the sacrament of Baptism - the “bath of rebirth”, the font of a new, renewed life, a person received a guarantee of “justification” - truth, righteousness, through the mysterious forgiveness of sins, his soul was “enlightened” and his body was sanctified. To fight sin, repressed, banished, as it were, to the periphery of his nature, he received grace-filled powers in the sacrament of Confirmation, and in the sacrament of the Eucharist - “sanctification” of body and soul. But through the sins that a person commits after these sacraments, he is deprived of the powers of grace, and through the “mediastinum” (barrier) of sin he deprives himself of life in the love of God, placing his isolated selfish will above the will of God and love for God and man. And so, for cleansing from sins committed after baptism, and for the return of gifts of grace, the Lord established the sacrament of Repentance, which the holy fathers call second baptism.

What are the main points of repentance?

In the area of ​​feeling and consciousness, this is “contrition for the sins committed,” the judgment of conscience, condemnation of one’s sinful past, disgust with sin, hatred of sin and (as a result, in the area of ​​the will) the desire and determination to break with this sinful past, the determination to renounce sinful direction of one’s will, a firm promise to henceforth guard oneself from sins and correct one’s life. And all this must be combined with fervent prayer to God for the forgiveness of sins and liberation from sin as an internal force living in a person.

The meaning of confession before a priest. The completion of this spiritual turning point and rebirth of a person is confession before a priest, when the hidden wounds of conscience, all the shame of sin, are revealed before the priest as a witness (“I am indeed a witness”) and together with the doctor. Here this spiritual breaking is completed, the final spiritual turning point, which makes a person worthy of Divine grace-filled forgiveness through a prayer of permission from the priest. For only God, in His miraculous help, given in the sacrament (confession), is able to truly whiten, like a wave, seeking His soul, with His miraculous touch to kill the power of sin in the sinner’s soul, to give the soul weakened by sin tranquility, peace, and strength. Here Christ “invisibly receives confession” (through a “witness”) and forgives sin, and the Holy Spirit descends and with His scorching fire cleanses the soul of the repentant.

But in order to be reborn in the sacrament of Repentance, a person himself must prepare his own rebirth. Without this, the sacrament cannot have its effect on him.

“When approaching the good Doctor,” writes St. Ephraim the Syrian, “the sinner, on his part, must bring tears - this is the best medicine. For this is what the Heavenly Physician wants, so that everyone heals himself with his own tears and is saved, and not involuntarily undergo only salvation. Before embarking on grace, a person must first voluntarily remove from himself everything sinful, must destroy the beginning of sin in himself (through repentance), so that grace can plant in him the beginning of a new life.”

Heartfelt contrition and confession of one’s sins create the conditions for the rebirth of a person by the grace of God.

“And if the confessor is not sufficiently imbued with repentant intentions, and the confessor reads a prayer of absolution over him, then what? - Then it may happen that when spiritual father will say: “I forgive and permit,” the Lord will say: “but I condemn”” (St. Theophan the Recluse).

The help of God sent through the sacrament - grace - is a natural consequence of the mournful cry to God of a soul seeking salvation and a firm determination not to sin, and not the result of a formal rite of confession; for the loving Lord is always near man and constantly “thirsts, O Compassionate One, for our salvation and reaches out to give forgiveness to those who diligently seek Him and work with love.”

PRIEST AS PERFORMER OF THE SACRAMENT OF REPENTANCE

Confession is a test and test of pastoral love.“Confession for a priest,” writes the saint righteous John Kronstadt, “is a feat of love for one’s spiritual children, love that does not look at faces, long-suffering, merciful, not arrogant, not proud, not looking for one’s own (one’s own peace of mind, self-interest), not irritated, enduring everything, never falling away.”

This is where it becomes clear what the priest is like: he is a shepherd or a mercenary, a father or a stranger to his children.

“My God, how difficult it is to confess properly! - writes John of Kronstadt. - How many obstacles from the enemy! How gravely you sin before God by confessing improperly! How the word becomes impoverished! How the source of the word is blocked in the heart! How language changes the mind! Oh, how much preparation is needed for confession! How much you need to pray for the successful completion of this feat!” “And what ignorance of spiritual children!.. They don’t know the Trinity, they don’t know who Christ is, they don’t know why they live on earth. And what about the falls?..” “Oh, what great love is needed for the souls of our neighbors in order to confess them with dignity, without haste and without being upset.”

The love of a priest, or, what is the same, true zeal for the salvation of souls, is filled with patience, meekness and firmness (with instructions). And the priest himself, who during confession is a judge and connoisseur of the morals and lives of others, must, as a man of God, excel in good morals, piety and purity of life; his life should serve as an example of those virtues that he demands from repentants. “The hand that wants to wash away the uncleanness of others must be clean.” “The priest must first of all cleanse himself,” says Gregory the Theologian, “then cleanse others, come to God, and then bring others, be sanctified, and then sanctify, become light, and then enlighten others.” “If we have virtues,” writes John Chrysostom, “if we are meek, humble, merciful, pure, peacemakers, then we will attract those who look at us with this no less than with miracles, and everyone will voluntarily rush to us.” But if a priest puts on the mask of virtue, being kind to his flock, and at the same time hiding his wicked life, then his wickedness, always open before God, will not hide from people. The soul of the shepherd is felt by the flock. Only what comes from the heart can have an influence on the heart. What priest can convince from the heart to leave sins when his heart is in slavery to sin?

Oh, how a priest must be confirmed in virtue!

Countless temptations await him, both in life and during confession.

For it often happens to a Christian man when he, having previously rejected temptation with horror, ceases to be afraid of it, hearing and seeing many people exposed to the sin that attacks him in temptation. Of all the sins, the most likely infection is the sins against chastity, which the priest has to listen to in confession; and the priest faces a great struggle with all kinds of memories and evil thoughts. The priest needs to have constant sobriety over his feelings and clear his conscience with the most frequent possible confession. A priest who neglects his own confession will never have the grace-filled power of teaching people repentance and confession.

Sobriety, vigor and prayerfulness of the priest-confessor. Prayer is of great importance for growth in virtue.

A shepherd is a constant man of prayer. Internal constant prayer is a condition of pastoral strength. With it, the shepherd is called to fan everyone who comes to him (invisibly for this latter, but visible for God and for the Angels who rejoice in this prayer, and perceptibly for the forces of evil, scorched by it). Then even his smallest word will be “with salt,” convincing, regenerating. A true priest is a self-assembled person, constantly awake in prayer, who salts the world with his whole life, with all his words and deeds. A shepherd with spiritual content is a source of living water for souls seeking not abstract teachings of dogma or morality, but the revelation of the heavenly reality of faith.

What a priest-spirit should be like is stated in the Great Trebnik (chapter 12) “Preface and legend about how a confessor should be.” Here we read: “Receive the thoughts of man, there must be an image of the good of all, and be abstinent, humble and virtuous, praying to God at every hour to give him the word of reason, to correct those who flow to him. First of all (of all) one must eat the Wednesday and the heels of the entire summer, as the divine rules command: and from them oneself must take, and commands others to create. If he himself is ignorant, and incontinent, and a sensualist, how can he teach other virtues? But whoever is unreasonable can listen to him, and talk about them, in vain he is a disorderly person and a drunkard, and teaches others not to get drunk, or to practice some other virtue, but does not do it himself? The eyes have gone most truly, says the Divine Scripture. Also, pay attention to yourself, O spiritual father! Zane, even if one sheep of negligence perishes for your sake, it will be extinguished at your hands. Cursed be (says the Scripture [Jer. 48:10]) the work of the Lord with negligence.”

Spiritual experience. The priest has the responsibility of providing spiritual care to the penitents. He explores the innermost bends of the soul, the secret movements and thoughts of the heart, examines all its deviations and through this he learns how deep spiritual ulcers are, reveals the beginning of diseases (what is the main passion that overcomes a person), finds means for their spiritual healing and with full confidence prescribes that things to do and things to avoid. For this, it is extremely necessary for the priest to acquire knowledge of his own heart and in general human nature, to acquire one’s own spiritual experience, as well as knowledge, by reading the Holy Scriptures, the writings and lives of the holy fathers and ascetics of the Church, etc.

Big mistake the shepherd to think that everyone who goes to him to confess is thereby spiritually inferior to him and, therefore, has a need for teaching. There are confessions so repentant and deep that the shepherd can only do one thing: gratefully, silently read the permission, learning from the power of human repentance and God’s mercy towards human soul. After such confessions, a true shepherd always feels heavenly joy in his heart (Luke 15:7). But there are other confessions that are painful for the priest: the penitents have nothing to say; are they silent or talking common phrases: “I have nothing special,” “I’m sinful like everyone else,” “sinful in everything,” etc. A lazy shepherd is happy with such confessions and is dissatisfied when the penitent shows too much zeal in repentance and perceives the phenomena of spiritual life too subtly ( which is incomprehensible to a soul at a lower stage of development). A careful, attentive and reverent priest can do a great and wonderful thing with a person who has not recognized his sinfulness and sins, who has not yet come to repentance. He can help the soul find its repentant depth. With the oil of love for a soul that is sick and hardened by sin, a priest, like an experienced doctor, can lead a sinner to the knowledge of his sinfulness and deep repentance for his sins, strengthen his determination to correct his life according to the commandments of Christ.

Is general confession acceptable? The spiritual meaning of expressing your sin in confession. Many souls woke up from a sinful sleep in the moments of confession. But, of course, much more would come away saved from the lectern if the shepherds to whom they entrust their consciences gave more attention, soul and heart to this holy sacrament. For a priest, the sacrament of Confession is often the only moment when he can speak with human soul. But even this priest deprives himself and those who come to repentance, as a result of the practice of making the so-called “general confession” that has become very widespread in our Church. Many of the laity (and many of the priests) do not understand the full depth and spiritual significance of seeking out and confessing one’s sin in confession. A sin that a person was “ashamed” to confess before a priest undoubtedly remains a thorn in the person’s soul; and in due time a person can easily fall into this sin again. During general confession there is almost no such personal statement and recognition of one’s sins. General confession is essentially just a type of sermon with a general listing of sins and the subsequent placing of an epitrachelion on the head of each, with the reading of a prayer of absolution. At best, the general confession now being held in many places is only good preparation to sincere repentance and confession of one’s personal sins to the priest at the lectern. General confession is permissible only in exceptional cases of a large influx of confessors, for example, during Lent, when it is physically impossible for a priest to confess everyone individually.

So, as a rule, confession should be individual, being preceded by a word of repentance to everyone approaching the sacrament. General confession for the most part weans parishioners from proper true repentance, consciousness - “seeing” their sins, contrition for their sins. There is no ardent shame about one’s sin, no disgust for one’s sin, no deep spiritual turning point and rebirth, as is possible when personal sinfulness is revealed in personal confession. And it happens that many parishioners leave the general confession without confession, that is, without bringing true repentance and without, as a result, receiving forgiveness of sins...

All this places a huge responsibility on the priest. “It is difficult for everyone to be saved,” says John Chrysostom, “but most of all for priests, and I think that few priests are saved...”

A priest needs constant vigil. The soul of even a priest who is zealous at first can be overcome by vices that especially hinder the correct and saving performance of the Sacrament of Repentance. Every priest is faced with the formation of a cold habit towards everything holy, towards all sacred rites and sacraments, a coldness of soul towards the salvation of the penitent. This is the state when, from a shepherd and spiritual father, he becomes a cold “corrector of demands”, a mercenary.

The coldness of the pastor's soul towards the salvation of the penitents is revealed in the fact that he considers the very time of confession to be difficult and boring and receives the penitents with displeasure, hidden irritation; he hurries to quickly release the repentant with some cold words of instruction, often hackneyed, memorized, asking questions himself and hastily answering them; those who are grieving and upset, who would like to reveal their illnesses and temptations in more detail and thereby ease their hearts, he does not listen or rushes them and lets them go with cruel words, and much more.

And the priest-confessor can be overcome by cowardice and loss of spirit. The confessor should not lose heart for fear of the difficulties awaiting him when performing the Sacrament of Repentance. “To rid yourself of this decline and anxiety of the heart, you, priest, resort with humble prayer to God, whose power is limitless, and who has chosen you to His great service; according to His infinite wisdom and goodness, He will send you grace and help to fulfill this difficult ministry in a worthy manner. He who trusts in the Lord God receives unexpected and wonderful help in the midst of great difficulties. If anyone seeks only God, he will find Him and with Him will receive light and strength.”

Some notes regarding confession. Bishops and priests legally appointed by them who are not under prohibition have the right to confess.

No priest has the right to refuse confession Orthodox Christian, turning from sin (Apostolic Canon 52), especially in the case when it is necessary to immediately confess the sick person.

Confession of sins before the priest is usually preceded by the so-called fasting, which, according to the Rule, lasts a whole week. During this time, the fasting person must observe established post, strengthen the exploits of the church and home prayer, try to curb passions and sinful habits, laying the foundation for the correction of life. Fasting is considered the predominant time for fasting and confession: in honor of St. apostles Peter and Paul, Uspensky, Rozhdestvensky and especially Lent. But this does not exclude the need and practice of confession more often at other times, when the conscience requires cleansing through the sacrament of Repentance.

One cannot approve of the practice of serving priests confessing during the liturgy. The priest, having begun the liturgy, should not leave the throne and be distracted. Confession should be made before the service, preferably in the evening. And as an exception, confession is allowed during the sacramental verse. Sometimes you can confess, in case of a crowd, 1-2 days in advance, and only give permission on the day of communion.

Before proceeding to confession, the priest must arouse the proper spiritual mood within himself through prayer, internal self-collection and reflection.

During confession, he must remain modest in everything; should not recklessly look into the face of a penitent, especially of another sex; he must listen and not watch, so as not to confuse the repentant and not to be caught in an unclean thought. During confession, listening and asking, while exhorting, admonishing and rebuking, the confessor must always invariably maintain extreme condescension, meekness and pastoral love, befitting a disciple of Eternal Love, in whose name he judges the sinner’s conscience.

During confession, the priest must show great sensitivity and wisdom. You need to know what questions you can ask the repentant according to his spiritual state. One must be careful that, when asking questions about sins, one does not propose ones that the person had no idea about (in particular, questions about sins against chastity).

The priest needs to know about the proper qualities of confession. Confession must be complete and detailed. The repentant must confess all the sins that he remembers and knows about himself. Confession should be characterized by simplicity and humility. In confession, the penitent must reveal only his own sins, and not other people; blame only yourself and not others, without reducing your sins by circumstances or weakness. Confession must be sincere, that is, it must be free from all twists, deceit and pretense, and with a good intention to correct oneself, to blot out sins with sincere repentance.

What the repentance of a penitent should be like is also stated in the “Admonition before confession to the penitent” (see Great Book of Breviaries, Chapter 13). It is highly advisable to convey its contents in Russian to the penitent before confession. The Exhortation says:

“Beloved in the Holy Spirit, child (name), it is good that you have come to holy repentance: for by this, as the spiritual font has washed away the sins of your soul, as by heavenly healing you will be healed from its deadly sores: just as you strive to be contrite in your heart for all your sins, and you To the Lord your God, who is invisibly present with us, before me, humble, who have received the power of permission from Him, truly confess, nothing and nothing, but whatever you have done, and remember, so confess... Do not have the sin of concealing even one, nor for the sake of shame... Do not hide anything for the sake of fear... In confession, expose, and do not excuse, your sins, and not reveal those of others. Don’t tell me about the people who share your sins with you... Just confess your sins, not just in conversation, but with heartfelt pity, and with good intentions to be guarded from such similar sins in the future: without this there can be no true repentance...”

Confession is often incomplete or lacking true repentance. There may be the following reasons for this:

1) ignorance of those who repent, what is the essence of repentance, ignorance of the requirements of God’s law, and what sins are against it;

2) the negligence of the person who came to confession to examine his conscience;

3) shame and shyness;

4) fear of penance;

5) stubbornness, bitterness and shamelessness;

6) lack of confidence that sin can be avoided.

The priest, having identified the reason, must with meekness and love explain and dispose the repentant to sincere, without fear, repentance, with full hope in the healing and strengthening grace of God.

To incite faith and contrition for sins, the Great Trebnik contains a very touching prayer canon to the Most Holy Theotokos for the confession of a sinner (chapter 96), which should be recommended to be read for confessors in evening rule to Communion.

RITE OF THE SACREMENT OF REPENTANCE

An essential part of the sacrament of Repentance is CONFESSION, or verbal confession of sins. Confession is a necessary consequence and fruit of heartfelt contrition for sins and the intention to correct one’s life. Since repentance and confession presuppose self-consciousness and the ability to distinguish between good and evil, infants (up to seven years old), the insane and those possessed by demons are not allowed to attend confession.

The rite of confession currently consists of two parts: preparation for confession with prayers of repentance and its performance itself.

Before the beginning of confession, a lectern is placed in front of the icon of the Savior, on which the priest places the holy cross and the Gospel, as a reminder of the invisible presence of the Lord Himself. The penitents (or the penitent) stand close to the lectern.

At the beginning of confession, the priest, standing at the lectern, reads common prayers of repentance for all confessors. Normal start:

Blessed be our God...

Trisagion according to Our Father. Lord have mercy (12 times). Glory to this day:

Come, let us worship (three times). Psalm 50.

And real penitential troparia: “Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us...”. Slava: “Lord, have mercy on us...” And now: “Open the doors of mercy for us...”

Also: Lord have mercy (40). After which the priest reads two prayers for the penitent. (These prayers are read for everyone if there are many confessors).

The priest says: “Let us pray to the Lord.”

And the first prayer for the repentant: “God our Savior...”.

“Let us pray to the Lord.”

And the second prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God...”.

In these preliminary prayers, the Church asks the Merciful Lord to have mercy on the repentant, to accept their heartfelt repentance, to forgive them all sins and iniquities, to remove from them the anathema and oath to which they fell due to weakness and negligence, to free them from eternal torment and resolve the guilt that weighs on them and crimes.

After this, the priest speaks to the confessor (or confessors) with an admonition:

“Behold, child, Christ stands invisibly, receiving your confession, do not be ashamed, do not be afraid, and do not hide anything from me: but without hesitation (i.e. without fear, embarrassment) all the things you have done (or have done) may you receive forgiveness from our Lord Jesus Christ. Behold, His icon is before us, and I am a direct witness, and I testify before Him with all things, as you say to me: if you hide anything from me, it will be a sin for you. Take heed, since you came to the doctor’s hospital, so that you do not leave unhealed.”

After this, if there are many confessors, it is good to say a short word explaining the essence of confession and about the main sins against the commandments of God, (you can) adhering to the decalogue or explaining about the eight mortal sins and their ramifications, but only in general terms, without going into details about the sins , in accordance with the state of the penitents - their parishioners.

Then the priest begins the confession itself, which must be private with each person, even if he is a minor.

Note.

It is not necessary to offer the penitent questions in the form they are printed in the Trebnik. The priest must ask questions to the penitent, taking into account the age, position and general moral state of his spiritual children.

Practice regarding the position of confessors at the lectern varies. In some places, confessors kneel before the lectern during confession. In other places, the confessor, standing, confesses sins, humbly bowing his head under the stole.

The best in this regard is the custom observed in most of our Church and in the Eastern Orthodox Churches, when the penitent confesses while standing in front of the lectern and looking reverently at the cross and the Gospel or at the icon.

The priest himself makes confession, standing at the lectern. In some places there is a custom for a priest to make confession while sitting (especially when there are many confessors), but the priest reads the prayer of permission while standing.

When the repentant before the priest finishes confessing all his sins, then the priest commands him to bow down to the ground (or bow his head) and reads the prayer: “Lord God of the salvation of Your servants...”, in which he asks the Lord to forgive the sins of the repentant, to reconcile and unite him with the Holy One. Church. This prayer is ancient origin and in Eastern Churches is permissive. (In front of many confessors, the priest reads this prayer uniformly for all of them after prayers of repentance and exhortations.) After confession (and the indicated prayer), the priest says a permissive (concluding) prayer:

“THE LORD AND OUR GOD, JESUS ​​CHRIST, BY THE GRACE AND GENEROSITY OF HIS HUMANITY, MAY FORGIVE YOU, CHILDREN (name), ALL YOUR SINS, AND I AM AN UNWORTHY JERY, BY THE POWER HIS GIVEN TO ME, I FORGIVE AND REMOVE THEE FROM ALL YOUR SINS, IN THEIR I AM THE FATHER AND THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT. AMEN".

Usually, when resolving sins, the confessor covers the penitent with an epitrachelion, and when speaking the end of the prayer of absolution, “marks the right hand (head) of the penitent with a cross” (Trebnik).

After this: “Worthy,” “Glory even now,” and dismissal. The placing of the epitrachelion on the head of the confessor has the same meaning as the laying on of hands and blessing of a bishop or presbyter, which was used in these cases in the ancient Church (see in the Apostolic Constitutions, St. Cyprian, etc.). The epitrachelion covering the head of the repentant also serves as a symbol of the grace of God, covering all his sins.

Having received absolution for sins, the confessor kisses the cross and the Gospel lying on the lectern. This, on the one hand, is a sign of his reconciliation with the Lord after the sacrament of Repentance, and on the other, a sign of confirmation that he sincerely confessed all his sins and has the firm intention, if possible, to avoid the sins expressed in confession, to be a true follower of the gospel teaching of Jesus Christ and follow Him, bearing your life cross.

PENANCE. THEIR IMPORTANCE

After confessing sins, the priest sometimes gives the repentant “a canon against his sin,” that is, he imposes penance on him. (Usually penance is imposed at the end of confession, before the prayer of permission.)

Penance, according to word production with Greek language and according to the original meaning, there is a prohibition (2 Cor. 2:6-8), that is, a spiritual punishment consisting in a prohibition to have communion with the Church. But since this punishment, according to the teachings of the Apostle, must be dissolved by love for the sinner and combined with the thought of danger from the devil for the sinner while he is out of communion with the Church, the concept of penance includes an indication of the conditions under which the sinner can resume the violation peace with the Church and restore the original communion with it. Therefore, penance in general is both a continuation of repentance and a fruit worthy of true repentance and confession of sins.

A more particular meaning of penance is that it is a spiritual medicine that destroys the lusts of the flesh and soul that give rise to sin, and protects against those vicious deeds from which the penitent is cleansed; it is an excellent means of accustoming oneself to spiritual exploits and patience, the fruit of which is virtue; finally, it is a guarantee for the Church itself that the penitent has hated sin - a condition without which communion with the Church is impossible.

Penance is not an absolute necessity during confession and is assigned by the priest to the penitent only in certain cases, depending on the severity of the sin, age, position, etc.

The Trebnik contains extracts from the Nomocanon on penances. The penances placed there indicate that penitential discipline in ancient times and even in the 16th-17th centuries. stood at a great height. (So, for example, a free murderer was excommunicated from communion of the Holy Mysteries for 20 years, an adulterer for 15 years, a fornicator for 7 years, etc.).

At the present time, when there is no moral strength that made the ancient Christians steadfast in long-term penitential feats and enduring in relation to moral corrective measures, the ancient penances would be beyond our strength. Therefore, at present, the following are usually given in the form of penance: prayer, alms and other good deeds, reading akathists, Psalms, daily additional bows with the Jesus Prayer, strict fast for a certain period of time and, finally, postponing permission for sins (especially in cases of persistent unrepentance) and preventing them from taking communion for a certain time. The latter is given for special grave sins. But here, too, it is usually necessary to show more compassion than severity (especially to persons close to despair), leading the sinner to the consciousness of his unworthiness to still receive the Holy Mysteries. However, there should not be excessive relaxation, because when the shepherd gives permission for all the most serious and mortal sins, and is embarrassed to impose penances in necessary cases, then he will thereby contribute to the establishment among his flock of a light view of even the most grave iniquities, which leads to a lukewarm attitude towards the requirements of moral purity and holiness of life, insensitivity to the inaccessible holiness of the Mystery of the Body and Blood of Christ.

Over those who have completed penance, the “Prayer over those who are permitted from prohibition” is read, by which he is freed from the “bond due to him” and is introduced into communion with the Church. According to church rules, no one else can authorize what is forbidden except the one who forbade it, except in cases of death of the one who forbade it, and also fatal disease penitent.

In the Great Trebnik there is a prayer for the permission of those excommunicated from communion (chapter 49), for the resolution of various bonds of conscience (chapters 46, 49-50).

ORDER OF RECEIPT INTO THE ORTHODOX CHURCH THROUGH REPENTANCE OF CHRISTIANS OF OTHER CONFESSIONS AND WHO HAVE FALLEN FROM THE FAITH

The sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, correctly performed, according to the teachings of the Orthodox Church, are not repeated. On this basis and in accordance with church rules (Council of Carthage, 68 Ave.; Basil the Great, 1, 73, 8 Ave.; Peter of Alexandria, 1-13 Ave.; Sixth Ecumenical Council, 17 Ave.), Christians of other confessions, correctly the baptized and anointed, and Christians who have renounced Christ, fallen into Judaism or Mohammedanism, or schism, are reunited by the Orthodox Church through the sacrament of Repentance. A cleric who has renounced Christ, but has repented, is accepted as a layman and can no longer be a cleric (in holy orders) - see First Ecumenical Council, 10 Ave.; Apostolic Canon 62; Peter of Alexandria, 10 ave.

The rite of receiving Christians of other confessions and those who have fallen away to another faith is that a person seeking communion with the Orthodox Church is first tested in the purity of his intentions, is instructed in the teachings of the Orthodox Church, confesses his sins, but does not receive permission.

He is then led to the gates of the temple, where the Church greets him with the singing of the 33rd Psalm. Here he publicly, on bended knee, confesses his repentance and desire for reunification. Then the Church, with the blessing and laying of the hand of the priest on the head of the one being reunited, prays to the Lord to accept him into His verbal flock and adorn it with the glory of the most holy name of Christ, and gives a new one or restores the old, but trampled upon, christian name.

Then the one being reunited, turning to the west, pronounces a renunciation of previous errors, and turning to the east, unites with Christ and pronounces a confession Orthodox faith, accompanying him with an oath of the sincerity of his appeal.

Then he is led into the temple, which until now was closed to him, while singing the 56th Psalm, depicting hope in God's mercy. In church, kneeling before the Gospel, he listens to the penitential psalms: the 50th, 37th and 142nd and two prayers in which the Church prays to the Lord to kindle in him the spark of saving Baptism that lies in his soul, and, like the lost and the newfound sheep, to add it to the chosen flock.

Finally, the reunited person receives remission of sins and at the same time the right to communicate with the Church.

Note.

The Great Trebnik (Ch. 97 and 98) contains “The follow-up of Patriarch Methodius from the rejection of various persons, and to the Orthodox truer faith applying." This rank applies to those who renounced (fell away) from the Orthodox faith due to lack of understanding, at a young age or under fear of death, or due to their own evil will. The first and second are accepted with penance, while the latter are excommunicated from communion of the Holy Mysteries, which is given to them only before death. The rite of ablution is performed on those converting (but not Baptism, which is not repeated) as a reminder of the purity of baptism lost through apostasy, then read cleansing prayers. After this, the rite of anointing is performed on those who have fallen away, who have completely renounced Christ and confessed pagan atheism, which serves not as a repetition of this sacrament, but as a sign that those who have fallen away from the faith are again receiving the grace that they lost through the rejection of Christ. This rite has now fallen out of use in the Church. The reception of those who have fallen away is accomplished through repentance and penance.

The rite of joining one who has fallen into schism is performed on the basis of the previous rite, but differs from it in greater brevity.

After preliminary preparation, announcement, denial of his errors and combination with Christ, he is introduced into the temple while singing the 26th Psalm and here, kneeling, a prayer is read that the Lord will kindle in him the spark of saving baptism. After reading the Creed (while standing), the person joining kisses the Gospel and receives permission. In this case, the same prayer of permission is used, which is also used for other converting apostates from Christianity. After this, the person joined confesses and receives the Holy Mysteries.

If a person converting from a schism has not been anointed or has been anointed by schismatic priests, then after the ceremony of acceptance into the Orthodox Church he is anointed with Holy Myrrh according to the rite of those joining Orthodoxy through Chrismation, and after this he confesses and partakes of the Holy Mysteries at the Liturgy.