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😉 Greetings to regular and new readers! Gentlemen, not each of us confessed in our lives, perhaps from ignorance of how this sacrament takes place. What is confession and how to confess?
The longer a person lives, the more anxiety, disappointment, pain from loss and his own mistakes accumulate in his soul. All this, having accumulated, begins to crush with a heavy burden. I would like to remove this burden, but many people do not know where and how.
Confession – what is it?
Confession is the sacrament of repentance, a person’s conversation with God about himself. Conversation, the result of which is the relief and cleansing of the soul. A priest or bishop accepts repentance. Confession of your sins is one of the sacraments of the Orthodox Church, preserved from the first century of our era.
The Institute for Confession was founded by Jesus Christ. The first priests were his disciples – the apostles. Since then, the priests have received from Christ a special right – permission (absolution) of sins. We can read about this in the New Testament.
Quite often, baptized people attending the temple have never confessed. The reason is ignorance or misunderstanding of the importance of this sacrament. Many have heard about its benefits, but do not know where to start.
How to confess
First of all, only one condition is necessary: sincere faith and a feeling of repentance. If it has arisen, then you can start preparing. You can confess at any time. But it is especially important to do this during Lent before Easter.
Stage One: Preparing for Confession
- we must look into our soul and try to understand that the cause of suffering comes from our own mistakes;
- remember the negative that you have created (willingly or unwillingly) in relation to other people: words, deeds and even thoughts;
- you need to sincerely regret that you were the source of these negative actions, words, emotions, bringing pain to others;
- it is better to write down your sins so that you do not forget them from excitement;
- Purchase in advance from the church store and read special prayers to prepare for confession (in the collection called “Prayer Book”).
Stage two: confession
The very process of repentance takes place in the church, in front of the priest. This ordinance in most churches takes place during church services, in the morning or in the evening. Usually, it is supposed to defend the service in the evening, on the eve of the day of communion, and in the morning, on the day itself.
It is more convenient to confess in the evening. During this time, the priests are freer and the confessors have more time. In the morning, all attention should be focused on the main type of worship – the liturgy.
In many churches, during fasting, or on the eve of major holidays, a general confession is held. In this case, you need to listen to the priest, who will aloud list the possible sins. Such repentance will remind you of forgotten mistakes, and will help newcomers to open their eyes to actions that they did not previously consider to be a sin.
But after the general confession (or independently of it), it is necessary to approach the priest for individual repentance.
Confessor’s actions in the temple
- it is advisable to purchase a separate candle, especially for the sacrament;
- carefully, so as not to distract anyone, go to the front of the temple, where to join the line of confessors;
- at the right time, approach the priest and clearly, without going into unnecessary details, tell what you bitterly regret committing;
- during the sacrament, you do not need to try to blame other people for your troubles, by this you fall into the sin of condemnation;
- the most dangerous thing is to try to conceal any sins; this loses all the benefits and meaning of confession.
Having listened to you to the end, the priest will read over you a prayer of permission for the forgiveness of sins. This is the main point. You need to understand that it is not a clergyman who forgives you. He is a mediator, and only God forgives sins.
For seriously ill or elderly people, you can call a clergyman for repentance at home and even in a hospital. Only prior agreement is required.
If a person repents sincerely, then leaving the temple, he feels spiritually different, renewed. As they say: “as if born again.” Sometimes this state comes later, after the sacrament.
The main thing after repentance is not to start collecting negativity with renewed vigor. Man is weak by nature and he, sooner or later, again does something negative. But now what is important is our desire not to repeat mistakes.
After a serious confession, a person tries to live differently, rethinking and redirecting his life to good. He, by and large, no longer makes the hardest mistakes. And if we do stumble, then there is always the opportunity to get up again and be cleansed by coming to the priest.
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