Few know how to properly confess and what to say to the priest. I will tell you and give you an example of a speech for repentance, so that the rite goes as comfortably as possible for you, and you can receive a blessing. It is scary to take this step only for the first time. After you have experienced all sacred power ritual, doubts will go away, and faith in God will increase.
What is confession?
Almost all people have heard about confession, but only a few know how to properly confess in church and what to say to the priest, as well as what deep meaning lies in this sacred rite.
The meaning of confession is in the purification of the soul, but at the same time it is a test for it. It helps a person to remove the burden of his sins, receive forgiveness and appear before God perfectly clean: thoughts, deeds, soul. Confession is also a wonderful religious tool for those who want to overcome inner doubts, learn to listen to their intuition and repent of committed misdeeds.
It is important to know that if a person has committed serious sins, the priest can assign him a punishment - penance. It may consist of long tedious prayers, strict aftercare, or abstaining from all worldly things. Punishment should be accepted humbly, understanding that it helps your soul to be cleansed.
It is known that any violation of God's commandments negatively affects physical health man, and on the state of his soul. That is why repentance is needed - in order to gain the strength necessary to resist temptations and temptations, to stop sinning.
Before confession, it is advisable to make a list of your sins in advance, describe them according to church canons and prepare for a conversation with the priest.
What to say in confession to a priest: an example
You should know that pouring out your soul to the priest and repenting of your sins in every detail is not at all necessary, even undesirable. Just take a look at this list of sins and write down the ones that are yours.
There are seven mortal sins in which it is necessary to repent:
- Envy of success and achievements, the benefits of other people.
- Vanity, which manifests itself to selfishness, narcissism, inflated self-esteem and narcissism.
- Despondency, with which such concepts as depression, apathy, laziness and despair, lack of faith in one's own strengths are also identified.
- Love of money, which in modern language we call greed, stinginess, fixation only on material goods. When a person sets himself goals aimed only at enrichment, but does not devote a single minute of time to spiritual development.
- Anger directed at people. This also includes any manifestations of temper, irritation, vindictiveness and vindictiveness.
- Fornication - betrayal of your partner, frequent change of sexual partners, infidelity to your beloved in thoughts, words or actions (not just a physical act).
- Gluttony, gluttony, excessive love of food and the absence of any restrictions in food.
These sins are not in vain called "mortal" - they lead, if not to death physical body man, then to the death of his soul. Constantly, day after day, committing these sins, a person moves further and further away from God. He ceases to feel his protection, support.
Only sincere repentance at confession will help to be cleansed of all this. We must understand that we are all not without sin. And there is no need to reproach yourself if you recognize yourself in this list. Only God does not make mistakes, and an ordinary person is not always able to resist temptations and temptations, not to let evil into his body and soul. Especially if some difficult period occurs in his life.
An example of what to say: "Oh God, I have sinned against you." And then list the sins according to a pre-prepared list. For example: “I committed adultery, I was greedy with my mother, I am constantly angry with my wife.” Complete the repentance with the phrase: "I repent, God, save and have mercy on me a sinner."
After the priest listens to you, he can give advice and help you understand how you should act in this or that situation in accordance with God's commandments
It can be very difficult for you to confess your sins. A feeling of heaviness, depression, a lump in the throat, a tear - any reaction is completely normal. Try to overcome yourself and tell everything. Batiushka will never judge you, because he is a guide from you to God and simply does not have the right to give value judgments.
Watch an instructional video on how to start confession before a priest:
How to Prepare for Confession
It is better to prepare for the sacred rite in advance so that everything goes smoothly. In a few days, choose the church you will go to, study its opening hours, see what time confessions are held. Most often, the schedule for this indicates weekends or holidays.
Often at this time there are a lot of people in the temple, and not everyone can open their hearts in public. In this case, you should contact the priest directly and ask him to set a time for you when you can be alone.
Read before confession penitential canon, which will set you up for the desired state and free your thoughts from all that is superfluous. Also, write out a list of sins in advance on a separate piece of paper, so that on the day of confession you don’t forget anything from excitement.
In addition to the seven deadly sins, the list may include:
- "Women's sins": refusal to communicate with God, reading prayers "on the machine" without turning on the soul, sex with men before marriage, negative emotions in thoughts, appeals to magicians, fortune-tellers and psychics, belief in omens and superstitions, fear of old age, abortion, provocative clothing, dependence on alcohol or drugs, refusal to help those in need.
- "Male sins": angry words against God, lack of faith in God, oneself, others, a sense of superiority over the weak, sarcasm and ridicule, evasion of military service, violence (moral and physical) against other people, lies and slander, succumbed to temptations and temptations, theft of other people's property, rudeness, rudeness, greed, a feeling of contempt.
Why is confession so important? We regularly cleanse our body of dirt, but we completely forget that it sticks to the soul every day. Having cleansed the soul, we receive not only the forgiveness of God, but also become more pure, calm, relaxed, full of energy and energy.
Instruction
Reverend John Lestvichnik wrote: “Repentance is a covenant with God about the correction of life. Repentance is reconciliation with the Lord. Repentance is the cleansing of conscience. The task at which the modern Christian has to constantly work is to live in the world and remain a pure, undefiled world. The fruit of this work is repentance.
Confession and repentance are not synonymous. Confession is one of the seven Christian sacraments, in which the penitent, his sins before the priest, is invisibly resolved from them by the Lord Himself. The sacrament was established by the Savior, who said to his Apostles: “Receive the Holy Spirit: to whom you forgive sins, they will be forgiven; to whom you leave, they will remain” (Jn 20:22-23).
In fact, the sacrament of confession should complete the process of repentance. Repentance is precisely a process, not an episode in a person's life. The Orthodox Christian is constantly in a state of repentance. The sacrament of confession must be preceded by inner work. If there is no inner comprehension of one's actions, contrition for them, then confession becomes empty talk.
There are a lot of “To Help the Penitent” memos, which list all kinds of sins. Such lists of sins can be used on initial stage if you are not familiar with church life. But you should not formally list everything that you wrote out from such a book in confession. A scrupulous enumeration of all one's sins leads away from the very essence of repentance.
The essence of repentance is finding God. When a person simply understands that he is sinful, bad, it is nothing more than a simple admission of his mistakes. Another thing is when he realizes at the same time that he needs a Savior, Christ, in order to become worthy of his calling. Repentance is the desire to become better and better. Speaking of repentance, the apostle Paul compares a Christian to an athlete. He says: everyone runs to the lists, but the victory goes to the one who runs first; this is how we should strive to achieve more in the spiritual life. Therefore, repentance is not the result of low self-esteem, but only the result of a constant striving for perfection.
What to do if a person does not feel at all "sinner than everyone else"? After all, then the call to repentance can only cause irritation and anger. It is important to remember that confession does not destroy a person as a person, not his dignity. It is difficult for many to come to confession, to overcome shame in front of a priest. There is no need to be afraid to go to confession, "because you are ashamed." The conscience is cleansed best of all by shame. In addition, shame is the best deterrent from further sin.
A person who has decided to embark on the path of repentance can be given some advice. First, as simple as it sounds, visit the temple more often. Liturgical life, frequent attendance at church turns out to be a powerful foundation upon which one can build one's repentance. Secondly, try, as far as possible, to change the external way of your life. For example, to go somewhere for a few days, retire to reflect on your life. It is good to go to some secluded monastery to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of silence and prayer.
How to prepare for the first confession? This question worries many beginning Orthodox Christians. You will find out the answer to this question if you read the article!
With the following below simple tips you can take the first steps.
How to confess and receive communion for the first time?
Confession in the church
The only exception may be the most concise "reminder" of major sins, which are often not recognized as such.
An example of such a note:
A. Sins against the Lord God:
- disbelief in God, recognition of any significance for other "spiritual forces", religious doctrines, in addition to Christian faith; participation in other religious practices or rituals, even “for company”, as a joke, etc.;
- nominal faith, not expressed in any way in life, that is, practical atheism (you can recognize the existence of God with your mind, but live like a non-believer);
- the creation of "idols", that is, putting in the first place among the values of life something other than God. Anything that a person really "serves" can become an idol: money, power, career, health, knowledge, hobbies - all this can be good when it takes the appropriate place in the personal "hierarchy of values", but, becoming in the first place, turns into an idol;
- an appeal to various kinds of fortune-tellers, soothsayers, sorcerers, psychics, etc. - an attempt to "subdue" spiritual forces in a magical way, without repentance and personal effort to change life in accordance with the commandments.
b. Sins against neighbor:
- neglect of people, resulting from pride and selfishness, inattention to the needs of the neighbor (the neighbor is not necessarily a relative or acquaintance, it is every person who is next to us at the moment);
- condemnation and discussion of the shortcomings of others ("From your words you will be justified and from your words you will be condemned," says the Lord);
- fornication sins of various kinds, especially adultery (violation of marital fidelity) and unnatural sexual intercourse, which is incompatible with being in the Church. Prodigal cohabitation also includes the so-called common today. "civil marriage", that is, cohabitation without registration of marriage. However, it should be remembered that a registered but unmarried marriage cannot be regarded as fornication and is not an obstacle to being in the Church;
- abortion - deprivation of the life of a human being, in fact, murder. You should repent even if the abortion was made for medical reasons. It is also a serious sin to persuade a woman to have an abortion (by her husband, for example). Repentance for this sin implies that the penitent will never consciously repeat it again.
- appropriation of someone else's property, refusal to pay other people's labor (ticketless travel), withholding the wages of subordinates or hired workers;
- lies of various kinds, especially - slandering one's neighbor, spreading rumors (as a rule, we cannot be sure of the veracity of rumors), incontinence of the word.
This is an approximate list of the most common sins, but we emphasize once again that such "lists" should not be carried away. It is best to use the ten commandments of God in further preparation for confession and listen to your own conscience.
- Talk only about sins, and your own.
It is necessary to speak at confession about your sins, not trying to minimize them or show them as excusable. It would seem that this is obvious, but how often priests, when taking confession, hear life stories about all relatives, neighbors and acquaintances instead of confessing sins. When in confession a person talks about the offenses caused to him, he evaluates and condemns his neighbors, in fact, justifying himself. Often in such stories, personal transgressions are presented in such a way that it would seem impossible to avoid them at all. But sin is always the fruit of personal choice. It is extremely rare that we find ourselves in such collisions when we are forced to choose between two kinds of sin.
- Do not invent a special language.
Speaking about your sins, you should not worry about how they would be called “correctly” or “according to the church”. It is necessary to call a spade a spade, in the usual language. You are confessing to God, who knows even more about your sins than you do, and by naming the sin as it is, you certainly will not surprise God.
Do not surprise you and the priest. Sometimes penitents are ashamed to tell the priest this or that sin, or there is a fear that the priest, having heard the sin, will condemn you. In fact, a priest has to listen to a lot of confessions over the years of service, and it is not easy to surprise him. And besides, the sins are not all original: they have not changed much over the millennia. Being a witness of sincere repentance for serious sins, the priest will never condemn, but will rejoice in the conversion of a person from sin to the path of righteousness.
- Talk about the big things, not the little things.
It is not necessary to start confession with such sins as breaking the fast, not attending the temple, working on holidays, watching TV, wearing/not wearing certain types of clothing, etc. Firstly, these are definitely not your most serious sins. Secondly, it may not be a sin at all: if a person has not come to God for many years, then why repent of non-observance of fasts, if the “vector” of life itself was directed in the wrong direction? Thirdly, who needs endless digging into everyday minutiae? The Lord expects from us love and giving of heart, and we to him: “I ate a fish on fasting day” and “embroidered it on a holiday.”
The main attention should be paid to the relationship with God and neighbors. Moreover, according to the Gospel, neighbors are understood not only as people who are pleasing to us, but all who we met on life path. And above all, our family members. The Christian life for family people begins in the family and is tested by it. Here best field to cultivate Christian qualities in oneself: love, patience, forgiveness, acceptance.
- Start changing your life even before confession.
Repentance on Greek sounds like "metanoia", literally - "change of mind". It is not enough to admit that in life you have committed such and such misdeeds. God is not a prosecutor, and confession is not a confession. Repentance should be a change of life: the penitent intends not to return to sins and tries with all his might to keep himself from them. Such repentance begins some time before confession, and coming to the temple to see a priest already “captures” the change taking place in life. This is extremely important. If a person intends to continue sinning after confession, then maybe it is worth postponing confession?
It should be noted that when we talk about changing one's life and renouncing sin, we mean first of all the so-called "mortal" sins, according to the words of the Apostle John, that is, incompatible with being in the Church. With such sins Christian church from ancient times considered renunciation of faith, murder and adultery. Sins of this kind can also include the extreme degree of other human passions: anger at one's neighbor, theft, cruelty, and so on, which can be stopped once and for all by an effort of the will, combined with God's help. As for petty sins, the so-called “everyday” ones, they will be repeated in many ways even after confession. One must be ready for this and accept it humbly as an inoculation against spiritual exaltation: there are no perfect people among people, only God is sinless.
- To be at peace with everyone.
“Forgive and you will be forgiven,” says the Lord. “With what judgment you judge, you will be judged.” And even more strongly: “If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go, first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” If we ask God for forgiveness, then we ourselves must first forgive the offenders. Of course, there are situations when it is physically impossible to ask for forgiveness directly from a person, or this will lead to an aggravation of an already difficult relationship. Then it is important, at least, to forgive on your part and not have anything in your heart against your neighbor.
A few practical recommendations. Before you come to confession, it would be nice to find out when confession is usually held in the temple. In many churches they serve not only on Sundays and holidays, but also on Saturdays, and on big temples and monasteries - and on weekdays. The greatest influx of confessors occurs during Great Lent. Of course, the Lenten period is mainly a time of repentance, but for those who come for the first time or after a very long break, it is better to choose a time when the priest is not very busy. It may turn out that they confess in the temple on Friday evening or on Saturday morning - these days there will certainly be fewer people than during the Sunday service. It is good if you have the opportunity to personally contact the priest and ask him to appoint a convenient time for confession.
There are special prayers expressing a repentant "mood". It is good to read them the day before confession. The repentant canon to the Lord Jesus Christ is printed in almost any prayer book, except for the shortest ones. If you are not used to praying in Church Slavonic, you can use the translation into Russian.
During confession, the priest can assign you a penance: abstaining from communion for a while, reading special prayers, prostrations or works of mercy. This is not a punishment, but a means to get rid of sin and receive full forgiveness. Penance can be appointed when the priest does not meet the proper attitude towards serious sins on the part of the penitent, or, conversely, when he sees that a person has a need to do something practically to "get rid" of sin. Penance cannot be indefinite: it is appointed for a certain time, and then must be terminated.
As a rule, after confession, believers receive communion. Although confession and communion are two different sacraments, it is better to combine the preparation for confession with the preparation for communion. What this preparation is, we will tell in a separate article.
If these little tips have helped you prepare for confession, thank God. Do not forget that this sacrament must be regular. Don't put off your next confession for years. Confession at least once a month helps to always be “in good shape”, to be attentive and responsible to your Everyday life in which, in fact, our Christian faith should be expressed.
Have you read the article?
Repentance or confession is a sacrament in which a person who confesses his sins to a priest, through his forgiveness, is resolved from sins by the Lord Himself. The question of whether, father, is asked by many people who join the church life. The preliminary confession prepares the soul of the penitent for the Great Meal - the Sacrament of Communion.
The essence of confession
The Holy Fathers call the Sacrament of Repentance the second baptism. In the first case, at Baptism, a person receives cleansing from the original sin of the forefathers Adam and Eve, and in the second, the penitent is washed away from his sins committed after baptism. However, because of the weakness of their human nature, people continue to sin, and these sins separate them from God, standing between them as a barrier. They cannot overcome this barrier on their own. But the Sacrament of Penance helps to be saved and acquire that unity with God acquired at Baptism.
The Gospel says about repentance that it is a necessary condition for the salvation of the soul. A person throughout his life must continuously struggle with his sins. And, despite all sorts of defeats and falls, he should not lose heart, despair and grumble, but repent all the time and continue to carry his life's cross, which the Lord Jesus Christ laid on him.
Consciousness of one's sins
In this matter, the main thing is to learn that in the Sacrament of Confession, a penitent person is forgiven all his sins, and the soul is freed from sinful bonds. The ten commandments received by Moses from God and the nine commandments received from the Lord Jesus Christ contain the entire moral and spiritual law of life.
Therefore, before confessing, it is necessary to turn to your conscience and remember all your sins from childhood in order to prepare a real confession. How it passes, not everyone knows, and even rejects, but a true Orthodox Christian, overcoming his pride and false shame, begins to spiritually crucify himself, honestly and sincerely admit his spiritual imperfection. And here it is important to understand that unconfessed sins will be defined for a person in eternal condemnation, and repentance will mean victory over oneself.
What is real confession? How does this sacrament work?
Before confessing to a priest, it is necessary to seriously prepare and realize the necessity of cleansing the soul from sins. To do this, you need to reconcile with all the offenders and those who were offended, refrain from gossip and condemnation, all kinds of obscene thoughts, watching numerous entertainment programs and reading lightweight literature. Better free time devote to reading Holy Scripture and other spiritual literature. It is advisable to confess a little in advance at the evening service, so that during the morning Liturgy you will no longer be distracted from the service and devote time to prayerful preparation for Holy Communion. But already, as a last resort, you can confess in the morning (mostly everyone does this).
For the first time, not everyone knows how to confess correctly, what to say to the priest, etc. In this case, you need to warn the priest about this, and he will direct everything in the right direction. Confession, first of all, involves the ability to see and realize one's sins; at the moment of uttering them, the priest should not justify himself and shift the blame onto another.
Children under 7 years old and all newly baptized communion on this day without confession, this should not be done only by women who are in purification (when they have menstruation or after childbirth until the 40th day). The text of the confession can be written on a piece of paper so as not to stray later and remember everything.
Confession order
A lot of people usually gather in the church for confession, and before approaching the priest, you need to turn your face to the people and say out loud: “Forgive me, a sinner,” and they will answer: “God will forgive, and we forgive.” And then it is necessary to go to the confessor. Approaching the lectern (high book stand), crossing yourself and bowing at the waist, without kissing the Cross and the Gospel, bowing your head, you can proceed to confession.
Previously confessed sins do not need to be repeated, because, as the Church teaches, they have already been forgiven, but if they are repeated again, then they must be repented of again. At the end of your confession, you must listen to the words of the priest, and when he finishes, cross yourself twice, bow at the waist, kiss the Cross and the Gospel, and then, again crossing and bowing, accept the blessing of your father and go to your place.
What to repent about
Summing up the topic “Confession. How does this sacrament go”, you need to familiarize yourself with the most common sins in our modern world.
Sins against God - pride, lack of faith or unbelief, renunciation of God and the Church, careless execution of the sign of the cross, not wearing pectoral cross, violation of the commandments of God, mentioning the name of the Lord in vain, careless performance, not attending church, prayer without diligence, talking and walking in the temple during the service, belief in superstitions, turning to psychics and fortune-tellers, thoughts of suicide, etc.
Sins against one's neighbor - upsetting parents, robbery and extortion, stinginess in almsgiving, hardness of heart, slander, bribery, resentment, barbs and cruel jokes, irritation, anger, gossip, gossip, greed, scandals, hysteria, resentment, betrayal, treason, etc.
Sins against oneself - vanity, arrogance, anxiety, envy, vindictiveness, striving for earthly glory and honors, addiction to money, gluttony, smoking, drunkenness, gambling, masturbation, fornication, excessive attention to one's flesh, despondency, longing, sadness, etc.
God will forgive any sin, nothing is impossible for him, a person only needs to truly realize his sinful deeds and sincerely repent of them.
Participle
They usually confess in order to take communion, and for this you need to say a few days, which means prayer and fasting, attending evening services and reading at home, in addition to evening and morning prayers, the canons: the Mother of God, the Guardian Angel, the Penitent One, for Communion, and, if possible, or rather, at will, the Akathist to Jesus the Sweetest. After midnight they no longer eat or drink, they proceed to the sacrament on an empty stomach. After acceptance, one must read the prayers for Holy Communion.
Don't be afraid to go to confession. How is she going? You can read about this exact information in special brochures that are sold in every church, they describe everything in great detail. And then the main thing is to tune in to this true and saving cause, because death is about Orthodox Christian one must always think so that she does not take him by surprise - without even communion.
Confession is important religious rite which sooner or later every believer must go through. It is important to know what to say during repentance in order to feel comfortable during the sacrament.
- Envy, which may appear due to the success of the people around, and also manifest itself in the desire to take possession of something that others have.
- Vanity, which goes hand in hand with selfishness, narcissism, arrogance, the desire to look better at the expense of belittling other people.
- Despondency, which manifests itself in a depressed mood, apathy, laziness and self-pity.
- self-interest, greed and stinginess, giving rise to an unquenchable thirst for wealth, money, which leads to obsession material wealth and neglect of spiritual values.
- Anger and malice, which manifest themselves in aggression, screaming, insulting others, as well as in vindictiveness, rancor and violence.
- Adultery, which is explained as adultery. This also includes fornication, betrayal and betrayal, not only bodily, but also mental or verbal.
- Gluttony, in other words, overeating, which manifests itself in excessive consumption of food, unhealthy love for it, the absence of restrictions on food.
Site site experts remind that these sins lead to the slow but certain death of the soul, which loses not only strength, but also the support of the Lord, his protection and help. It is necessary to find the strength in oneself to see exactly what sins manifest in, because every person is a sinner, and it is important to realize this.
It is necessary to analyze this list of sins and understand which of them you may have committed. They should be written down for the upcoming confession. During repentance, you can simply read them from a piece of paper. You should not be ashamed of your actions, because everyone can turn off the path, and the clergyman will never condemn you for sins, especially for those that you repent of.
An example of what to say in confession:
It is worth starting with the words: "Lord, I have sinned." Then you need to voice the sins, for example: “I succumbed to envy, became angry and rude, spared money for the family, committed treason, constantly offend my parents and lie a lot”. At the end of the confession, you can say: “I repent before You, my God. Save my soul, forgive my sins and have mercy on me, for I repent and ask for Your forgiveness".
When you finish confessing, the priest, with the power given to him by the Lord, will forgive you all your sins, bless and give advice on how to act in a difficult life situation and not repeat the forgiven sins.
During confession, or even at the very end, there may be a feeling of heaviness, oppression and despair inside you. Do not be afraid of such emotions. Continue to talk about your sins, trying not to hide anything from the priest. Any of your reactions and behavior will not be perceived with condemnation: the clergyman will never reproach, condemn or blame the person who confesses to him.
Do not be afraid if at the end of the spiritual sacrament the priest will assign you a punishment, which in the church is called penance. Usually such a measure is applied if the confessor has committed a grave and terrible sin. This punishment is a way to atone for the most terrible sins. It can mean long and continuous prayers, strict post or abstaining from worldly goods. It is important not to refuse punishment, but to accept it with dignity, meekness and humility, realizing that after a heavy punishment, cleansing from sins, lightness in the soul and joy in the heart will follow.
Do not be afraid and avoid confession. The purpose of this sacrament is not to shame the sinner and not to punish, but to help get rid of sins, become closer to the Lord and find happiness. At confession, it is important to talk about what has been a heavy burden on the soul for a long time, talk about the most serious and most insignificant sins, and most importantly, sincerely repent of them and try never to commit them again. We wish you peace in your soul,and don't forget to press the buttons and
