Library “Chalcedon”

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How the sacrament of Penance was established. How to prepare for confession. How does confession take place in the church? What to talk about in confession. Home confession of the sick and dying. On the attitude towards priests and confession

Repentance is a sacrament in which he who confesses his sins, with visible
expression of forgiveness from the priest, invisibly resolved from sins
By Jesus Christ Himself.

Orthodox catechism.

How the sacrament of Penance was instituted

The main part of the mystery repentance- confession - was already known to Christians during the time of the apostles, as evidenced by the book "Acts of the Apostles" (19, 18): "Many of those who believed came, confessing and revealing their deeds."

In the ancient Church, depending on the circumstances, the confession of sins was either secret or open, public. Those Christians were called to public repentance who, by their sins, created a temptation in the Church.

In ancient times, penitents were divided into four types.

The first, the so-called weeping ones, did not dare to enter the church and with tears asked for prayers from those passing by; others, listening, stood in the porch and approached the arm of the blessing bishop, together with those preparing for Baptism, and with them left the church; the third, called crouching, stood in the temple itself, but in its back part, and participated with the faithful in prayers for the penitent, prostrate. At the end of these prayers, they knelt down, received the blessing of the bishop and left the temple. And finally, the last ones - the standing ones - stood together with the faithful until the end of the Liturgy, but did not approach the Holy Gifts.

During the entire time set for the penitents to fulfill the penance imposed on them, the Church offered up prayers for them in the church between the Liturgy of the Catechumens and the Liturgy of the Faithful.

These prayers form the basis of the rite of Repentance in our time.

This sacrament now, as a rule, precedes the sacrament of Communion of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, purifying the soul of the communicant for participation in this Meal of immortality.

How to prepare for confession

The moment of repentance is "an auspicious time and a day of atonement." The time when we can put off the heavy burden of sin, break the chains of sin, see the “fallen and broken tabernacle” of our soul renewed and bright. But this blissful purification is not an easy path.

We have not yet begun confession, but our soul hears tempting voices: “Should we postpone it? Am I prepared enough? Am I going to bed too often?”

These doubts must be firmly rebuffed. In the Holy Scriptures we read: "My son! If you begin to serve the Lord God, then prepare your soul for temptation: direct your heart and be firm, and do not be embarrassed during the visit; cling to Him and do not retreat, so that you may be magnified in the end" (Sir. 2, 1-3).

If you decide to confess, there will be many obstacles, internal and external, but they disappear as soon as you show firmness in your intentions.

The first action of a person preparing for confession should be a test of the heart. For this, the days of preparation for the sacrament are set - fasting.

Usually people who are inexperienced in spiritual life do not see either the multiplicity of their sins or their heinousness. They say: “I didn’t do anything special”, “I have only minor sins, like everyone else”, “I didn’t steal, I didn’t kill,” - so often many begin confession.

How can we explain our indifference at confession, our self-conceit, if not by petrified insensitivity, if not by "deadness of the heart, spiritual death, bodily anticipation"? Why are our holy fathers and teachers who left us prayers of repentance, considered themselves the first of sinners, with sincere conviction appealed to the Sweetest Jesus: "No one has sinned on earth from time immemorial, as I have sinned, accursed and prodigal!" And we are convinced that everything is fine with us!

We, immersed in the darkness of sin, do not see anything in our hearts, and if we do, we are not horrified, since we have nothing to compare with, for Christ is closed to us by a veil of sins.

Understanding the moral state of your soul, you must try to distinguish between basic sins from derivatives, symptoms from deeper causes. For example, we notice - and this is very important - absent-mindedness in prayer, inattention during worship, lack of interest in listening to and reading Holy Scripture; But don't these sins come from lack of faith and weak love for God?!

It is necessary to note in oneself self-will, disobedience, self-justification, impatience of reproaches, intransigence, stubbornness; but it is much more important to discover and understand their connection with self-love and pride.

If we notice in ourselves a desire to always be in society, in public, we show talkativeness, mockery, slander, if we care too much about our appearance and clothes, then we need to carefully examine these passions, because most often our vanity and pride are manifested in this way.

If we take life's failures too close to our hearts, if we endure separation hard, if we grieve inconsolably for those who have departed, then isn't disbelief in the good Providence of God hidden in the strength, in the depths of these sincere feelings?

There is another auxiliary tool that leads us to the knowledge of our sins - more often, and especially before confession, remember what other people usually accuse us of, living side by side with us, our loved ones: very often their accusations, reproaches, attacks are fair.

But even if they seem unfair, one must accept them with meekness, without bitterness.

Before confession, ask for forgiveness to everyone before whom you consider yourself guilty, in order to approach the Sacrament with an unburdened conscience.

With such a test of the heart, care must be taken not to fall into excessive suspiciousness and petty suspicion of any movement of the heart. Having embarked on this path, one can lose the sense of what is important and unimportant, get entangled in trifles. In such cases, you must temporarily leave the test of your soul and prayer and good deeds clear your soul.

Preparation for confession does not consist in possibly fully remembering and even writing down our sin, but in achieving that state of concentration, seriousness and prayer, in which, as in the light, our sins will become clearly visible.

The confessor should bring to the confessor not a list of sins, but a feeling of repentance, not a detailed story about his life, but a contrite heart.

Knowing your sins does not mean repenting of them.

But what should we do if our heart, dried up by the sinful flame, is not capable of sincere repentance? Still, this is no reason to put off confession in anticipation of a feeling of repentance.

God can also touch our hearts during confession itself: self-confession, the naming of our sins aloud, can soften our hearts, refine our spiritual vision, sharpen our repentant feeling.

Most of all, preparation for confession, fasting serve to overcome our spiritual lethargy. By exhausting our body, fasting violates our bodily well-being and complacency, which is disastrous for spiritual life. However, fasting in itself only prepares, loosens the soil of our heart, which after that will be able to absorb prayer, the Word of God, the lives of the saints, the works of the holy fathers, and this, in turn, will lead to an intensification of the struggle with our sinful nature, inspire us to actively do good. close.

How does confession take place in the temple

Our Lord Jesus Christ said, addressing His disciples: "Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (Matthew 18:18). He, appearing to the apostles after His Resurrection, said: “Peace be to you! as the Father sent me, so I send you. Having said this, he breathed, and says to them: receive the Holy Spirit. on that they will remain" (John 20:21-23). The apostles, fulfilling the will of the Finisher of salvation and the Head of our faith, transferred this power to the successors of their ministry - the pastors of the Church of Christ.

It is they, the priests, who receive our confession in church.

The first part of the following, which is usually performed simultaneously for all confessors, begins with the exclamation: "Blessed is our God ...", then prayers follow, which serve as an introduction and preparation for personal repentance, help the confessor feel his responsibility directly before God, his personal connection with Nim.

Already in these prayers, the opening of the soul before God begins, they express the hope of the penitent for forgiveness and cleansing of the soul from the filth of sins.

At the end of the first part of the service, the priest, facing the audience, pronounces the address prescribed by the Treasury: "Behold, child, Christ stands invisibly ...".

The deep content of this appeal, revealing the meaning of confession, should be clear to every confessor. It can make the cold and indifferent realize at this last moment all the highest responsibility of the cause, for the sake of which he now approaches the lectern, where the icon of the Savior (Crucifixion) lies and where the priest is not a simple interlocutor, but only a witness to the penitent's mysterious conversation with God.

It is especially important to comprehend the meaning of this appeal, which explains the essence of the sacrament, to those who approach the lectern for the first time. Therefore, we present this appeal in Russian:

"My child, Christ stands invisibly (before you), accepting your confession. Do not be ashamed, do not be afraid and do not hide anything from me, but say everything you have sinned without being embarrassed, and you will receive the remission of sins from our Lord Jesus Christ. Here is His icon before us: I am only a witness, and everything that you say to me, I will testify before Him. If you hide anything from me, your sin will be aggravated. Understand that since you have come to the hospital, then do not leave but of it unhealed!"

This concludes the first part of the following and begins the interview of the priest with each confessor separately. The penitent, approaching the lectern, must make a prostration in the direction of the altar or in front of the Cross lying on the lectern. With a large gathering of confessors, this bow should be done in advance. During the interview, the priest and the confessor stand at the lectern. The penitent stands with his head bowed before the Holy Cross and the Gospel lying on the lectern. The custom of kneeling confession in front of the lectern, rooted in the southwestern dioceses, certainly expresses humility and reverence, but it should be noted that it is Roman Catholic in origin and has penetrated into the practice of Russian Orthodox Church relatively recently.

The most important moment of confession - verbal confession of sins. You don't have to wait for questions, you have to make the effort yourself; after all, confession is a feat and self-compulsion. It is necessary to speak precisely, without obscuring the ugliness of sin with general expressions (for example, "sinned against the seventh commandment"). It is very difficult, when confessing, to avoid the temptation of self-justification, it is difficult to give up attempts to explain to the confessor "extenuating circumstances", from references to third parties who allegedly led us into sin. All these are signs of self-love, lack of deep repentance, continuing stagnation in sin. Sometimes in confession they refer to a weak memory, which supposedly does not allow one to remember all the sins. Indeed, it often happens that we easily and quickly forget our fall into sin. But is it only due to poor memory? After all, for example, cases when our pride was especially hurt, when we were undeservedly offended, or, conversely, everything that flatters our vanity: our good luck, our good deeds, praises and thanks to us - we remember for many years. Everything in our worldly life that makes a strong impression on us, we remember for a long time and distinctly. Does this mean that we forget our sins because we do not attach serious importance to them?

The sign of perfect repentance is a feeling of lightness, purity, inexplicable joy, when sin seems just as difficult and impossible as this joy was just far away.

At the end of the confession of his sins, after listening to the final prayer, the confessor kneels down, and the priest, covering his head with an epitrachelion and laying his hands on top of it, reads a prayer of permissiveness - it contains the sacramental formula of the sacrament of Repentance:

"The Lord and our God Jesus Christ, by the grace and bounties of His philanthropy, may forgive you, child (name of the rivers), all your sins: and I, unworthy priest, by His authority given to me, I forgive and forgive you from all your sins, in the Name Father, and Son, and Holy Ghost, Amen." Pronouncing the last words of permission, the priest overshadows the head of the confessor with the sign of the cross. After that, the confessor rises and kisses the holy Cross and the Gospel as a sign of love and reverence for the Lord and fidelity to the vows given to Him in the presence of the confessor. The giving of permission means the complete remission of all the confessed sins of the penitent, and thereby he is given permission to proceed to Communion of the Holy Mysteries. If the confessor considers it impossible to immediately forgive the sins of this confessor due to their gravity or impenitence, then the permissive prayer is not read, and the confessor is not allowed to Communion.

What to say in confession to a priest

Confession is not a conversation about one's shortcomings, doubts, it is not a simple awareness of the confessor about oneself.

Confession is a sacrament, not just a pious custom. Confession is an ardent repentance of the heart, a thirst for purification that comes from the feeling of holiness, this is the second Baptism, and, therefore, in repentance we die for sin and rise again for holiness. Repentance is the first degree of holiness, and insensitivity is being outside of holiness, outside of God.

Often, instead of confessing one's sins, there is self-praise, denunciation of loved ones and complaints about the difficulties of life.

Some confessors strive to go through confession painlessly for themselves - they say general phrases: "I am sinful in everything" or spread about trifles, silent about what really should burden conscience. The reason for this is both false shame in front of the confessor, and indecision, but especially the cowardly fear to seriously begin to understand one's life, full of petty, habitual weaknesses and sins.

Sin This is a violation of Christian moral law. That is why the holy apostle and evangelist John the Theologian gives the following definition of sin: "Everyone who commits sin also commits iniquity" (1 John 3:4).

There are sins against God and His Church. This group includes numerous, connected in a continuous network of spiritual states, which include, along with simple and obvious, a large number of hidden, seemingly innocent, but in fact the most dangerous phenomena for the soul. Summarized, these sins can be reduced to the following: 1) lack of faith, 2) superstition, 3) blasphemy And swearing, 4) unprayer And disregard for church service, 5) charm.

Lack of faith. This is perhaps the most common sin, and literally every Christian has to struggle with it continuously. Lack of faith often imperceptibly turns into complete lack of faith, and the person suffering from it often continues to attend services and resort to confession. He does not consciously deny the existence of God, however, he doubts His omnipotence, mercy or Providence. By his actions, attachments, and the whole way of his life, he contradicts the faith he professes in words. Such a person never delved into even the simplest dogmatic questions, being afraid of losing those naive ideas about Christianity, often incorrect and primitive, that he had once acquired. Turning Orthodoxy into a national, domestic tradition, a set of external rites, gestures, or reducing it to the enjoyment of beautiful choral singing, the flickering of candles, that is, to external splendor, those of little faith lose the most important thing in the Church - our Lord Jesus Christ. For those of little faith, religiosity is closely connected with aesthetic, passionate, sentimental emotions; she easily gets along with selfishness, vanity, sensuality. People of this type seek praise and good opinion about them confessor. They approach the lectern to complain about others, they are full of themselves and strive in every possible way to demonstrate their "righteousness". The superficiality of their religious enthusiasm is best shown by their easy transition from cloyingly ostentatious "piety" to irritability and anger at one's neighbor.

Such a person does not recognize any sins, does not even bother trying to understand his life and sincerely believes that he does not see anything sinful in it.

In fact, such "righteous" often show callousness to those around them, they are selfish and hypocritical; live only for themselves, considering abstinence from sins sufficient for salvation. It is useful to remind ourselves of the content of chapter 25 of the Gospel of Matthew (the parables of the ten virgins, the talents, and especially the description of the Last Judgment). In general, religious complacency and complacency are the main signs of estrangement from God and the Church, and this is most clearly shown in another gospel parable - about the publican and the Pharisee.

Superstition. All sorts of superstitions, belief in omens, divination, divination on cards, various heretical ideas about the sacraments and rituals often penetrate and spread among believers.

Such superstitions are contrary to the teachings of the Orthodox Church and serve to corrupt souls and the fading of faith.

Special attention should be paid to such a fairly common and destructive teaching for the soul as occultism, magic, etc. On the faces of people who have been engaged in the so-called occult sciences for a long time, initiated into the "secret spiritual teaching", a heavy imprint remains - a sign of unconfessed sin, and in the souls - painfully distorted by satanic rationalistic pride opinion about Christianity as one of the lowest levels of knowledge of the truth. Stifling the childishly sincere faith in the paternal love of God, the hope for the Resurrection and Eternal Life, the occultists preach the doctrine of "karma", the transmigration of souls, non-church and, consequently, graceless asceticism. Such unfortunates, if they have found the strength to repent, should be explained that, in addition to direct harm to mental health, occultism is caused by a curious desire to look beyond closed door. We must humbly acknowledge the existence of the Mystery without trying to penetrate it in a non-ecclesiastical way. We have been given the supreme law of life, we have been shown the path that leads us directly to God - love. And we must follow this path, carrying our cross, not turning onto detours. Occultism is never able to reveal the secrets of being, as their adherents claim.

Blasphemy and blasphemy. These sins often coexist with churchliness and sincere faith. First of all, this includes blasphemous grumbling against God for His supposedly merciless attitude towards man, for sufferings that seem to him excessive and undeserved. Sometimes it even comes to blasphemy against God, church shrines, sacraments. Often this is manifested in telling irreverent or directly offensive stories from the life of clergymen and monks, in mocking, ironic quoting of individual expressions from Holy Scripture or from prayers.

The custom of worship and commemoration in vain of the Name of God or the Most Holy Theotokos is especially widespread. It is very difficult to get rid of the habit of using these sacred names in everyday conversations as interjections, which are used to give the phrase more emotional expressiveness: "God be with him!", "Oh, God!" etc. Even worse is to pronounce the Name of God in jokes, and a completely terrible sin is committed by one who uses sacred words in anger, during a quarrel, that is, along with swearing and insults. The one who threatens the wrath of the Lord with his enemies or even in a "prayer" asks God to punish another person also blasphemes. A great sin is committed by parents who curse their children in their hearts and threaten them with heavenly punishment. invocation evil spirits(swearing) in anger or in simple conversation is also sinful. The use of any swear words is also blasphemy and a grave sin.

Disregard for church service. This sin most often manifests itself in the absence of the desire to participate in the sacrament of the Eucharist, that is, the long-term deprivation of oneself of the Communion of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the absence of any circumstances that prevent this; in addition, it is a general lack of church discipline, dislike for worship. The justification is usually put forward by being busy with official and domestic affairs, the remoteness of the temple from home, the duration of the service, the incomprehensibility of the liturgical Church Slavonic language. Some attend the services quite carefully, but at the same time they only attend the liturgy, do not receive communion, and do not even pray during the service. Sometimes one has to deal with such sad facts as ignorance of the basic prayers and the Creed, misunderstanding of the meaning of the sacraments performed, and most importantly, a lack of interest in this.

unprayer, How special case non-churchism is a common sin. Fervent prayer distinguishes sincere believers from "lukewarm" believers. We must strive not to chastise the rule of prayer, not to defend divine services, we must acquire the gift of prayer from the Lord, love prayer, wait impatiently for the hour of prayer. Gradually entering, under the guidance of a confessor, into the element of prayer, a person learns to love and understand the music of Church Slavonic chants, their incomparable beauty and depth; colorful and mystical imagery of liturgical symbols - all that is called church splendor.

The gift of prayer is also the ability to control oneself, one's attention, to repeat the words of prayer not only with lips and tongue, but also with all one's heart and all thoughts to participate in prayer work. An excellent means for this is the "Jesus Prayer", which consists in a uniform, multiple, unhurried repetition of the words: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." There is an extensive ascetic literature about this prayerful exercise, collected mainly in the Philokalia and other patristic works. We can also recommend a wonderful book by an unknown author of the XIX century "Frank stories of a wanderer to his spiritual father."

The "Jesus Prayer" is especially good because it does not require the creation of a special external environment, it can be read while walking down the street, while working, in the kitchen, on the train, etc. In these cases, it especially helps to divert our attention from everything seductive, vain, vulgar, empty and concentrate the mind and heart on the sweetest Name of God. True, one should not start practicing "spiritual work" without the blessing and guidance of an experienced confessor, since such self-competition can lead to a false mystical state of delusion.

spiritual charm significantly different from all the listed sins against God and the Church. In contrast to them, this sin is rooted not in a lack of faith, religiosity, churchliness, but, on the contrary, in a false sense of an excess of personal spiritual gifts. A person in a state of deception imagines himself to have achieved special fruits of spiritual perfection, which is confirmed by all kinds of "signs" for him: dreams, voices, waking visions. Such a person can be very gifted mystically, but in the absence of church culture and theological education, and most importantly, due to the lack of a good, strict confessor and the presence of an environment inclined to gullibly perceive his stories as revelations, such a person often acquires many supporters, as a result of which most of the sectarian anti-church movements arose.

This usually begins with a story about a mysterious dream, unusually chaotic and with a claim to a mystical revelation or prophecy. In the next stage, in a similar state, according to him, voices are already heard in reality or shining visions appear in which he recognizes an angel or some saint, or even the Mother of God and the Savior Himself. They tell him the most incredible revelations, often completely meaningless. This happens to people, both poorly educated and very well-read in the Holy Scriptures, patristic writings, as well as to those who have given themselves up to "intelligent work" without pastoral guidance.

Gluttony- one of a number of sins against neighbors, family and society. It manifests itself in the habit of immoderate, excessive consumption of food, that is, overeating, or in a predilection for refined taste sensations, delighting oneself with food. Certainly, different people different amounts of food are required to maintain their physical strength - this depends on age, physique, state of health, as well as on the severity of the work that a person performs. There is no sin in the food itself, for it is a gift from God. The sin lies in treating her as a desired goal, in worshiping her, in the voluptuous experience of taste sensations, talking on this topic, in striving to spend as much as possible. more money to new, even more refined products. Every piece of food eaten in excess of satisfying hunger, every sip of moisture after quenching thirst, just for pleasure, is already gluttony. Sitting at the table, the Christian must not allow himself to be carried away by this passion. "The more firewood, the stronger the flame; the more food, the more violent lust" (Abba Leonty). "Gluttony is the mother of fornication," says one ancient patericon. And he directly warns: "Dominate the womb until it has dominion over you."

Blessed Augustine compares the body to a furious horse that carries away the soul, the unbridledness of which should be tamed by a decrease in food; It is for this purpose that the fasts are mainly established by the Church. But "beware of measuring fasting by simple abstinence from food," says St. Basil the Great. During fasting, it is necessary - and this is the main thing - to curb your thoughts, feelings, impulses. The meaning of spiritual fasting is best described in one Great Lenten verse: “We fast with fasting that is pleasant, pleasing to the Lord: true fasting is alienation from evil, abstinence of the tongue, abhorrence of anger, excommunication of lusts, utterances, lies and perjury: these are impoverishment, there is a true fast and auspicious” . No matter how difficult fasting is in the conditions of our life, we must strive for it, it must be preserved in everyday life, especially internal, spiritual fasting, which the fathers call chastity. The sister and friend of fasting is prayer, without which fasting becomes an end in itself, a means of special, refined care for one's body.

Obstacles to prayer come from weak, incorrect, insufficient faith, from much concern, vanity, preoccupation with worldly affairs, from sinful, impure, evil feelings and thoughts. These obstacles are helped by fasting.

love of money manifests itself in the form of extravagance or the opposite of stinginess. Secondary at first glance, this is a sin of extreme importance - in it is the simultaneous rejection of faith in God, love for people and addiction to lower feelings. It breeds malice, petrification, carelessness, envy. Overcoming the love of money is a partial overcoming of these sins as well. From the words of the Savior Himself, we know that it is difficult for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. Christ teaches: "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where is the treasure yours, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:19-21). The Holy Apostle Paul says: “We have brought nothing into the world; it is clear that we cannot take anything out of it. Having food and clothing, we will be content with it. lusts that plunge people into disaster and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evil, which, having indulged, some have deviated from the faith and subjected themselves to many sorrows. But you, man of God, flee from this ... Exhort those who are rich in this present age so that they they did not think highly of themselves and did not trust in unfaithful wealth, but in the living God, who gives us everything abundantly for enjoyment; so that they do good, become rich in good deeds, be generous and sociable, laying up for themselves a treasure, a good foundation for the future, in order to achieve eternal life "(1 Tim. 6, 7-11; 17-19).

"The wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God" (James 1:20). Anger, irritability- many penitents tend to justify the manifestation of this passion with physiological reasons, the so-called "nervousness" due to the suffering and hardships that have befallen them, tension modern life, the difficult nature of relatives and friends. Although these reasons are partly present, they cannot serve as an excuse for this, as a rule, deeply rooted habit of taking out one's irritation, anger, and bad mood on loved ones. Irritability, irascibility, rudeness first of all destroy family life, leading to quarrels over trifles, causing reciprocal hatred, a desire for revenge, rancor, harden the hearts of generally kind and loving people. And how perniciously the manifestation of anger acts on young souls, destroying in them the God-given tenderness and love for parents! "Fathers, do not provoke your children, so that they do not lose heart" (Col. 3, 21).

The ascetic writings of the Fathers of the Church contain a lot of advice for dealing with the passion of anger. One of the most effective is "righteous anger", in other words, the conversion of our ability to irritation and anger to the very passion of anger. "It is not only permissible, but indeed salutary, to be angry at one's own sins and shortcomings" (St. Demetrius of Rostov). St. Nilus of Sinai advises to be "meek with people", but swearing with our enemy, since this is the natural use of anger in order to hostilely oppose the ancient serpent" ("Philokalia", vol. II). The same ascetic writer says : "Whoever bears a grudge against demons does not bear a grudge against people."

In relation to neighbors, one should show meekness and patience. "Be wise, and block the lips of those who speak evil of you with silence, and not with anger and abuse" (St. Anthony the Great). “When they slander you, see if you have done something worthy of slander. “When you feel a strong influx of anger in yourself, try to be silent. And so that silence itself will bring you more benefit, turn mentally to God and mentally read some short prayers to yourself at this time, for example, the “Jesus Prayer,” advises St. Philaret Moskovskij One must even argue without bitterness and without anger, since irritation is immediately transferred to another, infecting him, but in no case convincing him of the rightness.

Very often, the cause of anger is arrogance, pride, the desire to show one's power over others, to expose his vices, forgetting about one's sins. “Destroy two thoughts in yourself: do not recognize yourself as worthy of something great and do not think that the other person is much lower than you in dignity. In this case, the insults inflicted on us will never irritate us” (St. Basil the Great).

At confession, we must tell if we harbor malice towards our neighbor and have we reconciled with those with whom we quarreled, and if we cannot see someone in person, have we reconciled with him in our hearts? On Athos, confessors not only do not allow monks who have malice towards their neighbor to serve in the church and partake of the Holy Mysteries, but when reading the prayer rule, they must omit the words in the Lord's prayer: "and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" so as not to be liars before God. By this prohibition, the monk, as it were, for a time, until reconciliation with his brother, is excommunicated from prayerful and Eucharistic communion with the Church.

The one who prays for those who often lead him into the temptation of anger receives significant help. Thanks to such a prayer, a feeling of meekness and love for people who until recently were hated is instilled in the heart. But in the first place there should be a prayer for the granting of meekness and driving away the spirit of anger, revenge, resentment, rancor.

One of the most common sins is, without a doubt, condemnation of one's neighbor. Many do not even realize that they have sinned countless times, and if they do, they believe that this phenomenon is so common and ordinary that it does not even deserve to be mentioned in confession. In fact, this sin is the beginning and root of many other sinful habits.

First of all, this sin is closely connected with the passion of pride. Condemning other people's shortcomings (real or apparent), a person imagines himself better, cleaner, more pious, more honest or smarter than another. The words of Abba Isaiah are addressed to such people: “Whoever has a pure heart, he considers all people pure, but whoever has a heart defiled by passions, he does not consider anyone clean, but thinks that everyone is like him” (“Spiritual Flower Garden”).

Those who judge forget that the Savior Himself commanded: “Judge not, lest you be judged, for with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; can't you feel in your eye?" (Matthew 7:1-3). “Let us no longer judge each other, but rather judge how not to give a brother an opportunity to stumble or tempt” (Rom. 14, 13), teaches St. apostle Paul. There is no sin committed by one person that no one else could commit. And if you see someone else's impurity, then it means that it has already penetrated you, because innocent babies do not notice the debauchery of adults and thus preserve their chastity. Therefore, the one who condemns, even if he is right, must honestly admit to himself: did he not commit the same sin himself?

Our judgment is never impartial, because most often it is based on a random impression or is made under the influence of personal resentment, irritation, anger, random "mood".

If a Christian heard about the unseemly act of his loved one, then before becoming indignant and condemning him, he must act according to the word of Jesus the son of Sirakhov: “A curbing tongue will live peacefully, and one who hates talkativeness will reduce evil. ... Ask your friend, perhaps he did not do it; and if he did, then let him not do it ahead. Ask your friend, perhaps he did not say that; and if he said, let him not repeat it. Ask a friend, for often there is slander. Believe not every word. Some sin with a word, but not from the heart; and who has not sinned with his tongue? Question your neighbor before threatening him, and give place to the law of the Most High" (Sir. 19, 6-8; -19).

The sin of despondency most often comes from excessive preoccupation with oneself, one's own experiences, failures and, as a result, the fading of love for others, indifference to other people's suffering, inability to enjoy other people's joys, envy. The basis and root of our spiritual life and strength is love for Christ, and we must cultivate and educate it in ourselves. To peer into His image, to clarify and deepen it in oneself, to live with the thought of Him, and not of one's petty vain successes and failures, to give one's heart to Him - this is the life of a Christian. And then silence and peace will reign in our hearts, about which St. Isaac Sirin: "Be at peace with yourself, and heaven and earth will make peace with you."

There is perhaps no more common sin than lie. This category of vices should also include broken promises, gossip And idle talk. This sin went so deep into the mind modern man, is so deeply rooted in the souls that people do not even think about the fact that any form of untruth, insincerity, hypocrisy, exaggeration, boasting is a manifestation of grave sin, serving Satan - the father of lies. According to the words of the Apostle John, "no one who is devoted to abomination and falsehood will enter the Heavenly Jerusalem" (Rev. 21:27). Our Lord said about Himself: "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life" (John 14:6), and therefore one can come to Him only by walking along the path of truth. Only the truth makes people free.

A lie can manifest itself completely shamelessly, openly, in all its satanic abomination, becoming in such cases the second nature of a person, a permanent mask that has grown to his face. He becomes so accustomed to lying that he cannot express his thoughts otherwise than by dressing them in words that obviously do not correspond to them, thereby not clarifying, but obscuring the truth. A lie imperceptibly creeps into a person’s soul from childhood: often, not wanting to see anyone, we ask relatives to tell the visitor that we are not at home; instead of directly refusing to participate in some business that is unpleasant for us, we pretend to be sick, busy with another business. Such "everyday" lies, seemingly innocent exaggerations, jokes based on deceit, gradually corrupt a person, allowing him subsequently to make deals with his conscience for his own benefit.

Just as nothing can come from the devil but evil and death for the soul, so from lies - his offspring - nothing can follow except a corrupting, satanic, anti-Christian spirit of evil. There is no "saving lie" or "justified", these phrases themselves are blasphemous, for only the Truth, our Lord Jesus Christ, saves, justifies us.

No less than a lie, sin is common idle talk, that is, the empty, unspiritual use of the Divine gift of the word. This also includes gossip, retelling rumors.

Often people spend time in empty, useless conversations, the content of which is immediately forgotten, instead of talking about faith with those who suffer without it, seek God, visit the sick, help the lonely, pray, comfort the offended, talk to children or grandchildren to instruct them with a word, a personal example on the spiritual path.

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When going to church confession for the first time in their lives, most people are worried - how to confess properly what to say to the priest at the beginning, how to list sins, what words to end confession with. In fact, this concern, although justified, should not overshadow the main thing - the awareness of one's sinfulness and readiness to be freed from its burden before God. The most important thing that the confessor must understand is that for God there are neither rich nor poor, neither successful nor unsuccessful, He treats everyone equally and expects everyone with the same love. Therefore, it is not so important to learn how to speak Right words how much to keep the right mood of the spirit, which will be the best helper during confession. The Apostle Paul's letter to the Hebrews says: The Lord kisses even intentions” (Heb. 4:12), which, in principle, also reflects the attitude of the Church towards those who wish to confess. However, in order to facilitate the process of confession by the confessor himself and its perception by the priest, and so that confused, confused speech does not take too much time during the service, it is desirable, of course, to focus on some kind of “plan” of repentance.

How to confess and what the priests need to say in confession

The best instructions on how to better prepare for confession, how to behave the day before, when it is better to come to church, can only be obtained from the priest of the church where you decide to confess. But, despite some differences in the foundations (the foundations, but not the Charter!) of different churches, the basic rules for preparing and conducting confession are the same everywhere:

1. Fasting is recommended 3 days before confession - fasting (do not eat meat, dairy and egg products), reading the Canons and prayers set before confession and Communion.
2. If possible, it is advisable to attend church services these days, not to attend entertainment events, entertainment, not to get carried away with TV, it is better to read soulful literature.
3. On the same days, you need to fully delve into the recollection of your sins, you can write them down on a piece of paper (so that you can later read this list in front of the priest), read penitential prayers in order to be fully imbued with disgust for your sinful misdeeds.
4. Before confession, it is obligatory to attend the evening service (in some parishes, confession is performed mainly at the evening service).

How to confess correctly what to say to the priest at the beginning

What to say to the priest

Immediately before confession, try to carefully listen to the prayer of the priest, read by him for those who came to confess, give your name and calmly wait for your turn.

Approaching the priest, cross yourself, then the priest himself will say “kiss the Gospel, kiss the cross”, you just need to do it. Do not be disturbed by thoughts about how to confess correctly, what to say to the father. Example the standard confession of a modern person can be found in any church shop that sells brochures with explanations for those who want to take communion or confess. Arm yourself only with the firm conviction that confessed sins are irrevocably forgiven by the Lord and forever erased from your Book of Life.

Usually the priest himself asks: “What have you sinned before the Lord”, then you can say: “I confess that I am a sinner (or a sinner, and give my name) all my sins ...” (a) so-and-so, listing the sins, the list of which was made the day before.

Do not go into details, name the sins precise definitions accepted in the Church, if the priest begins to ask about the details himself, then tell it like it is. The list of sins, which takes up more than one page, can also be found in church brochures, or you can confess according to the commandments, that is, after sorting through all 10 commandments, evaluate how you observed them (or did not observe them).

End of confession

At the end of the confession, the priest will ask if you have revealed all your sins before the Lord, if you have concealed anything. Usually they also ask whether you repent of your sins, whether you regret what you have done, whether you have a firm decision not to commit such a thing again, and so on. You just need to answer all these questions, then the priest will cover you with an epitrachelion (an element of priestly vestments) and read a permissive prayer over you. Then he will prompt and show what needs to be done next, how to be baptized, what to kiss (the cross and the Gospel) and, if you were preparing for Communion, he will bless you to wait for Communion or come to confession again.

When preparing for confession, try to talk to the priest in advance about your intention to free yourself from the burden of sins, especially if you are doing this for the first time. Only a priest will be your best guide in such an intimate and charitable matter as confession. Therefore, you should not worry in vain (“Am I right in saying what the father will think of me”), it’s better to try to name all the sins without concealment, lamenting your guilt with all your heart and completely surrendering to the Lord’s love and mercy.

The holy mysteries - the body and blood of Christ - the greatest shrine, God's gift to us sinners and unworthy. No wonder they are called so - holy gifts.

No one on earth can consider himself worthy to be a partaker of the holy mysteries. In preparing for the sacrament, we purify our spiritual and bodily nature. We prepare the soul by prayer, repentance and reconciliation with our neighbor, and the body by fasting and abstinence. This preparation is called fasting.

Prayer rule

Those preparing for communion read three canons: 1) repentant to the Lord Jesus Christ; 2) a prayer service to the Most Holy Theotokos; 3) the canon to the guardian angel. The Follow-up to Holy Communion is also read, which includes the canon for Communion and prayers.

All these canons and prayers are contained in the Canon and the usual Orthodox prayer book.

On the eve of communion, it is necessary to be at the evening service, for the church day begins in the evening.

Fast

Before communion, fasting, fasting, fasting - bodily abstinence is attributed. During fasting, food of animal origin should be excluded: meat, dairy products, and eggs. With a strict fast, fish is also excluded. But lean foods should also be consumed in moderation.

Spouses during fasting must refrain from bodily intimacy (5th canon of St. Timothy of Alexandria). Women who are in purification (during the period of menstruation) cannot take communion (7th canon of St. Timothy of Alexandria).

Fasting, of course, is necessary not only with the body, but also with the mind, sight and hearing, keeping one's soul from worldly entertainment.

The duration of the Eucharistic fast is usually negotiated with the confessor or parish priest. It depends on the bodily health, the spiritual state of the communicant, and also on how often he begins to partake of the holy mysteries.

The general practice is to fast before communion for at least three days.

For those who take communion frequently (for example, once a week), the duration of the fast can be reduced with the blessing of the confessor to 1-2 days.

Also, the confessor can weaken the fast for sick people, pregnant and lactating women, and also taking into account other life circumstances.

Those preparing for communion no longer eat after midnight, as the day of communion arrives. You need to take communion on an empty stomach. Under no circumstances should you smoke. Some mistakenly believe that you should not brush your teeth in the morning so as not to swallow water. This is completely wrong. In the Teaching News, each priest is prescribed brushing his teeth before the Liturgy.

Repentance

by the most important point in preparation for the sacrament of communion is the cleansing of one's soul from sins, which is performed in the sacrament of confession. Christ will not enter into a soul not cleansed of sin, not reconciled to God.

One can sometimes hear the opinion that it is necessary to separate the sacraments of confession and communion. And if a person regularly confesses, then he can proceed to communion without confession. In this case, they usually refer to the practice of some Local Churches (for example, the Greek one).

But our Russian people more than 70 years was in atheistic captivity. And the Russian Church is only just beginning to recover from the spiritual catastrophe that has befallen our country. We have very few Orthodox churches and clergy. In Moscow, for 10 million inhabitants, there are only about one thousand priests. People are not churched, cut off from traditions. Community life is practically non-existent. The life and spiritual level of modern Orthodox believers are incomparable with the life of Christians of the first centuries. Therefore, we adhere to the practice of confession before each communion.

By the way, about the first centuries of Christianity. The most important historical monument early Christian writing "The Teaching of the 12 Apostles" or in Greek "Didache", says: "On the day of the Lord (that is, on Sunday. - O. P.G.), having gathered together, break bread and give thanks, having confessed your transgressions in advance, so that your sacrifice may be pure. But whoever is at odds with his friend, let him not come with you until they are reconciled, lest your sacrifice be defiled; for this is the command of the Lord: in every place and at all times a pure sacrifice must be offered to me, for I am a great King, says the Lord, and my name is marvelous among the nations” (Didache 14). And again: “Confess your sins in church and do not approach your prayer with a bad conscience. Such is the way of life!” (Didache, 4).

The importance of repentance, cleansing from sins before communion is undeniable, so let's dwell on this topic in a little more detail.

For many, the first confession and communion was the beginning of their churching, becoming Orthodox Christians.

Preparing to meet our dear guest, we try to clean our house better, put things in order. Even more so, we must prepare with trepidation, reverence and diligence to receive into the house of our souls the "King of kings and the Lord of lords." The more attentively a Christian follows spiritual life, the more often and more zealously he repents, the more he sees his sins and unworthiness before God. No wonder the holy people saw their sins as countless as the sand of the sea. A noble citizen of the town of Gaza came to the Monk Abba Dorotheus, and the abba asked him: “Eminent gentleman, tell me who do you consider yourself to be in your city?” He replied: "I consider myself great and the first in the city." Then the monk again asked him: “If you go to Caesarea, what will you consider yourself to be there?” The man replied: "For the last of the nobles there." “If you go to Antioch, who will you consider yourself to be there?” “There,” he replied, “I will consider myself one of the commoners.” “If you go to Constantinople and draw near to the king, who will you consider yourself to be there?” And he answered: "Almost for a beggar." Then the abba said to him: “This is how the saints, the closer they come to God, the more they see themselves as sinners.”

Unfortunately, we have to see that some perceive the sacrament of confession as a kind of formality, after which they will be admitted to communion. Preparing to receive communion, we must with all responsibility treat the purification of our soul in order to make it a temple for the acceptance of Christ.

Repentance the holy fathers call second baptism, baptismal tears. Just as the waters of baptism wash our souls from sins, tears of repentance, weeping and contrition for sins cleanse our spiritual nature.

Why do we repent if the Lord already knows all our sins? God expects from us repentance, recognition of them. In the sacrament of confession, we ask Him for forgiveness. You can understand this with this example. The child climbed into the closet and ate all the sweets. The father knows perfectly well who did this, but he is waiting for the son to come and ask for forgiveness.

The very word "confession" means that a Christian has come tell, confess, tell yourself your sins. The priest in prayer before confession reads: “These are Your servants, word be kindly resolved." Man himself is resolved from his sins through the word and receives forgiveness from God. Therefore, confession should be private, not public. I mean the practice when a priest reads a list of possible sins, and then simply covers the confessor with an epitrachelion. "General Confession" was an almost ubiquitous phenomenon in Soviet time when there was very little operating temples and on Sundays public holidays, as well as fasting, they were overflowing with prayers. It was simply unrealistic to confess to everyone who wanted to. Conducting confession after the evening service was also almost not allowed anywhere. Now, thank God, there are very few churches where such a confession is held.

In order to be well prepared for the purification of the soul, before the sacrament of repentance, one must reflect on one's sins and remember them. The following books help us in this: “To Help the Penitent” by St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov), “The Experience of Building a Confession” by Archimandrite John (Krestyankin) and others.

Confession cannot be perceived as just a spiritual washing, showering. You can mess around in the ground and not be afraid of dirt, anyway, then everything will be washed off in the soul. And you can go on sinning. If a person comes to confession with such thoughts, he confesses not for salvation, but for judgment and condemnation. And having formally “confessed”, he will not receive permission from God for sins. It's not that simple. Sin, passion causes great harm to the soul, and even having repented, a person bears the consequences of his sin. So in a patient who has had smallpox, scars remain on the body.

It is not enough just to confess sin, you need to make every effort to overcome the tendency to sin in your soul, not to return to it anymore. So the doctor removes the cancerous tumor and prescribes a course of chemotherapy to defeat the disease, to prevent a relapse. Of course, it is not easy to immediately leave sin, but the penitent should not be hypocritical: "I will repent - and I will continue to sin." A person must make every effort to embark on the path of correction, no longer return to sin. A person should ask God for help to fight sins and passions.

Those who rarely go to confession and communion cease to see their sins. They move away from God. And vice versa, approaching Him as the Source of light, people begin to see all the dark and impure corners of their souls. Just as the bright sun illuminates all the uncleaned nooks and crannies of the room.

The Lord does not expect earthly gifts and offerings from us, but: "Sacrifice to God - the spirit is contrite, the heart contrite and humble God will not despise" (Ps. 50:19). And as we prepare to be united with Christ in the sacrament of communion, we bring this sacrifice to Him.

Reconciliation

“So 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” (Matt. 5:23-24), the word of God tells us.

The one who dares to take communion sins mortally, having malice, enmity, hatred, unforgiven insults in his heart.

The Kiev-Pechersk Patericon tells about the terrible sinful state that people can fall into when they begin to receive communion in a state of anger and non-reconciliation. “There were two brothers in spirit – the deacon Evagrius and the priest Titus. And they had great and unfeigned love for each other, so that everyone marveled at their unanimity and immeasurable love. The devil who hates good, who always walks around, “like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5: 8), aroused enmity between them. And he put such hatred into them that they shied away from each other, did not want to see one another in person. Many times the brethren begged them to be reconciled among themselves, but they did not want to hear. When Titus walked with the censer, Evagrius ran away from the incense; when Evagrius did not run away, Titus passed him without shaking. And so they spent a long time in sinful darkness, proceeding to the holy mysteries: Titus, not asking for forgiveness, and Evagrius, angry, the enemy armed them before. Once Titus fell very ill and, already at death, began to grieve about his sin and sent to the deacon with a plea: “Forgive me, for God's sake, my brother, that I was angry with you in vain.” Evagrius answered cruel words and curses. The elders, seeing that Titus was dying, forcibly brought Evagrius in order to reconcile him with his brother. Seeing him, the sick man got up a little, prostrated himself at his feet and said: “Forgive me and bless me, my father!” He, unmerciful and fierce, refused to forgive in the presence of everyone, saying: “I will never be reconciled with him, neither in this age, nor in the future.” And suddenly Evagrius escaped from the hands of the elders and fell. They wanted to pick him up, but they saw that he was already dead. And they could neither stretch out his hand nor close his mouth, as in the case of a long-dead one. The patient immediately got up, as if he had never been ill. And everyone was horrified at the sudden death of one and the speedy recovery of the other. With much weeping they buried Evagrius. His mouth and eyes remained open, and his arms outstretched. Then the elders asked Titus: “What does all this mean?” And he said: “I saw angels departing from me and weeping for my soul, and demons rejoicing at my wrath. And then I began to pray to my brother to forgive me. When you brought him to me, I saw an unmerciful angel holding a fiery spear, and when Evagrius did not forgive me, he struck him and he fell dead. The angel gave me his hand and lifted me up.” Hearing this, the brethren were afraid of God, who said, “Forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37).

In preparation for the communion of the Holy Mysteries, it is necessary (if only there is such an opportunity) to ask for forgiveness from everyone whom we have voluntarily or involuntarily offended and forgive everyone ourselves. If it is not possible to do this personally, one must be reconciled with one's neighbors, at least in one's heart. Of course, this is not easy - we are all proud, touchy people (by the way, touchiness always stems from pride). But how can we ask God for forgiveness of our sins, count on their remission, if we ourselves do not forgive our offenders. Shortly before the communion of the faithful at the Divine Liturgy, the Lord's Prayer - "Our Father" is sung. As a reminder to us that God will only then "leave ( forgive) we owe ( sins) ours”, when we also leave “our debtor”.

One of the most important sacraments in Orthodoxy can be called the Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ. This is the moment when the believer connects with the Son of God. However, you should know how the preparation for the sacrament takes place, especially for those who have decided to take it for the first time (for example, you need to confess, pray, etc.). This is necessary in order for the right attitude to appear, the realization of the future unity with Christ.

Preparing for confession and communion is not a one-day procedure, so you need to know exactly what to do and when. This is exactly what will be discussed in the article.

What is the Sacrament of Communion?

Before you figure out how the preparation for the sacrament begins (this is especially important for beginners), you should know what kind of sacrament it is in general. For the first time it was accepted by Christ and commanded to repeat it to his followers. The first communion took place at the Last Supper on the eve of his crucifixion.

Before the sacrament, a divine service is necessarily performed, which is called the Divine Liturgy, or the Eucharist, which is translated from Greek as "thanksgiving". It was this action that Christ performed in the distant past before giving communion to his disciples.

Thus, the preparation for communion must also include remembrance of these distant ancient events. All this allows you to tune in the right way, which will undoubtedly lead to a deeper acceptance of the Sacrament.

How often do you need to take communion?

Preparation for the sacrament (especially for those who do it infrequently or even for the first time) should include the concept of how many times you can participate in this sacrament. Here you should know that this action is voluntary, therefore, in no way should you force yourself to do this. The main thing is to come to communion with a pure and light heart, when you want to partake of the Mystery of Christ. For those who are in any doubt, it is better to consult a priest.

It is recommended that you start communion if you are ready for it internally. That Christian who lives with faith in God can perform this sacrament at every liturgy. If there are still doubts in your heart, but you believe in God and are on this path, then you can take communion once a week or a month. As a last resort during each big post. However, all this should be regular.

It should also be noted that, according to ancient sources, communion was desirable to be performed daily, but well and four times a week (Sunday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday). Those who are just embarking on the path of the Christian faith should know that there is one day in the year - Maundy Thursday (before Easter), when communion is simply necessary, this is a tribute ancient tradition that started it all. About it is written in the article above.

Some clergy believe that frequent communion is unacceptable. However, it should immediately be said that, according to canonical laws, they are not right. Here you need to look into a person very deeply and see how much he really needs this action. In addition, the sacrament should not be mechanical. Therefore, if it is performed often, then the layman must constantly keep himself in good shape, be ready to accept the Gifts. Not everyone can do this, so what is described in this preparation article should happen regularly. Constant prayers, confession and observance of all fasts. The priest should know about all this, since you really cannot hide such a life.

Prayer rule before communion

So, now let's take a closer look at all the points that need to be considered before preparing for the sacrament. First of all, it should be noted that home prayer before the Sacrament is very important. In the Orthodox Prayer Book there is a special sequence that is read before communion. This is preparation for communion. The prayers that are read before this, not only at home, but also church ones, are also included in the preparation for the Sacrament. It is imperative to attend the service immediately before the Sacrament, but in general it is advisable to do this every day.

• prayer canon of the Mother of God;
• penitential canon to Jesus Christ;
• canon to the Guardian Angel.

Thus, conscious preparation for communion and confession, prayers from a pure heart can help the believer to feel the importance of the Sacrament and spiritually prepare for this miracle.

Fasting before Communion

It is equally important to fast before communion. This is a prerequisite. After all, Holy Communion, preparation for which must take place consciously, is a very important rite, and it should not be mechanical, otherwise there will be no benefit from it.

So, those believers who regularly observe multi-day and one-day fasts are entitled to only the so-called liturgical fast. Its meaning is not to eat and drink from twelve o'clock at night before receiving the Sacrament. This fast continues in the morning (that is, communion takes place on an empty stomach).

For those parishioners who do not observe any fasts, as well as those who have just joined Orthodoxy, the priest can establish a seven-day or three-day fast before communion. All such nuances should be coordinated additionally in the church and not be afraid to ask about them.

How to behave, what thoughts to avoid before the Sacrament

When the preparation for communion begins, one should realize one's sins in full. But besides this, so that there are no more of them, you need to refrain from various amusements, for example, visiting the theater, watching TV. Spouses must renounce physical contact the day before communion and on the day it is received.

Pay special attention to your mood, behavior and thoughts. See to it that you do not condemn anyone, discard obscene and malicious thoughts. Don't give in bad mood, irritation. Free time should be spent in seclusion, indulging in the reading of spiritual books or prayer (as far as possible).

It should be noted that the most important thing for receiving the Holy Gifts of Christ is repentance. A person should sincerely repent of his deeds. This is what you need to focus on. Fasting, prayer, reading the scriptures are just the means to achieve this state. And this must be remembered.

How to Prepare for Confession

Confession before communion is very important. Apply for this request to the priest of the church where you are going to receive the Sacrament. Preparation for communion and confession is a special attitude aimed at correcting one's sins, one's bad behavior and impure thoughts, as well as keeping track of everything that contradicts and violates the Commandments of the Lord. Everything that was found and consciously, and should be confessed. But remember about sincerity, do not turn a conversation with a priest into just a formal enumeration of sins on a list.

So, why is such a serious preparation for confession and communion necessary? One should recognize one's sins in advance in order to know what to tell the priest about. It often happens that a believer comes, but does not know what to say, where to start. You also need to tune in to the fact that the priest is just a guide, the Sacrament of Repentance remains with him and the Lord. Therefore, there is no need to be embarrassed when talking about your sins. This is necessary to cleanse and continue life freely.

Confession before Communion: confession of sins

So, the preparation for confession and communion is over. But the hardest part is yet to come. When you come to confession, open your heart without waiting for the priest's questions. Tell everything that lies like a stone on your soul. Perform this action better evening, on the eve of the liturgy, although it will not be a mistake to do this in the morning before it.

If you are going to receive communion for the first time, then it is better to confess the day before. This is necessary so that the priest has time to listen to you. If you want to confess in the morning, then choose a day when there are few people. For example, on Sunday there are a lot of parishioners in the temple, so the priest will not be able to listen to you in detail. After confessing sins, one should adhere to the right path and strive with all his might not to commit them in the future, otherwise what was the point in this spiritual conversation?

Communion day. What to do?

On the day of communion, certain rules must be observed. As mentioned above, you need to go to the temple on an empty stomach. If you smoke, then you need to refrain from cigarettes until you accept the Gifts of Christ. In the church, when the moment comes for their removal, you need to approach the altar, but let the children go ahead if they come, since they are the first to receive communion.

You don’t need to be baptized near the Chalice, you just need to bow in advance, crossing your arms over your chest. Before accepting gifts, you need to pronounce your Christian name, and then immediately eat them.

What should be done after a person has received communion?

The rules for preparing for communion also include knowing what to do after the Sacrament has taken place. Kiss the edge of the Bowl and go to the prosphora table to eat a piece. Do not leave the church until you kiss the altar cross, which will be held by the priest.

Also read in the temple thanksgiving prayers to be listened to. In extreme cases, you can read them at home on your own. Keep the purity you have received inside your soul. Each time it will happen easier and easier.

What you need to know about the communion of children and the sick

It should be said that small children (up to the age of seven) receive communion without confession. Also, they do not need to prepare the way an adult does (fasting, prayer, repentance). Those babies who have received baptism receive communion on the same day or during the next liturgy that follows their baptism.

Exceptions are also made for patients. They do not need to prepare in the way that healthy people do, but if possible, they should at least confess. But if the patient cannot do this, then the priest reads "I believe, Lord, and I confess." Then he immediately takes communion.

In church practice, those parishioners who have been excommunicated for a while from communion, but are on their deathbed or in danger, are not denied acceptance of the Holy Gifts. However, upon recovery (if so) the ban continues to apply.

Who can't take communion

Preparing for the sacrament for beginners includes knowing and who cannot receive it. This will be discussed below:

• those who have not confessed cannot take communion (the exception is children who are under seven years old);
• parishioners who have been excommunicated from receiving the Holy Mysteries also cannot receive communion;
• those who are insensible;
• parishioners who are insane and demon-possessed if they blaspheme in their fits (if this does not happen, then you can take communion, but this should not happen every day);
• spouses who, on the eve of receiving the Sacraments, had an intimate life;
• women who are menstruating should not receive communion.

A Brief Reminder for Communioners and Confessors

So, now let's summarize all the moments that arise when preparation for confession and communion takes place. The memo will help you not to forget all the steps.

1. Consciousness of sin.
2. Repentance for the perfect, a special state when you have forgiven everyone and do not feel evil.
3. Preparation for confession. Here it is necessary to reconsider what sins can be: in relation to God, relatives, to oneself (smoking, for example), carnal sins, those that relate to the family (infidelity and the like).
4. Correct and sincere, without concealment, confession.
5. Post if needed.
6. Prayers.
7. Communion directly.
8. Further retention of purity and Christ in the body.

Separately, it is necessary to say about how to behave in the temple during communion.

1. Don't be late for Liturgy.
2. You need to cross yourself when opening the royal doors, then fold your hands crosswise. To approach and depart from the Chalice in the same way.
3. Fit with right side, and the left one should be free. Don't push.
4. Communion should take place in turn: bishop, presbyters, deacons, subdeacons, readers, children, adults.
5. Women are required to come to the temple without lipstick.
6. Before accepting the Gifts of Christ, do not forget to give your name.
7. They are not baptized directly in front of the Chalice.
8. It happens that the Holy Gifts are given from two or more Chalices. In this case, one should be chosen, since communion more than once a day is considered a sin.
9. At home, after communion, you need to read thanksgiving prayers if you did not listen to them in the temple.

Now, perhaps, you know all the stages that include communion in the church, preparation for it. It is very important to approach this consciously, with deep faith in the heart. The most important thing is repentance for one's sins, which must be true, and not just in words. But you shouldn't stop there either. It is necessary to reject sin from life as something alien, to understand that it is impossible to live like this, to realize that lightness can only come with purity.

Finally

So, as we see, preparation for communion is a serious stage before the Sacrament itself. All recommendations should be followed in order to come ready to receive the Gifts of Christ. It is necessary to recognize in advance the importance of this moment, and therefore more fervent prayer is required. And the observance of fasting will help to purify the body of the believer, confession to the priest will purify the soul. Conscious preparation for communion and confession will help the parishioner understand that this Sacrament is not at all one of the many rites, but something deeper. This is a special communion with the Lord, as a result of which the life of a Christian changes dramatically.

However, it should be taken into account (this is important primarily for those parishioners who have just set foot on the path of repentance) that it is impossible to fix everything at once. If you have been building up a sinful burden for decades, then you need to get rid of it gradually. And taking the sacrament is the first step on that path.

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 help of the following 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 the 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 occupies 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, stemming 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 happened to be next to us in this 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 is the 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), retention wages subordinate 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 for long years did not come to God, then why repent of non-observance of the 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 pleasant to us, but all who we meet on the path of life. And above all, our family members. The Christian life for family people begins in the family and is tested by it. Here is the best field for cultivating Christian qualities in oneself: love, patience, forgiveness, acceptance.

• Start changing your life even before confession.

Repentance in 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 complex relationships. 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 in large churches and monasteries - 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. Well, if you have the opportunity to personally contact the priest and ask him to appoint you 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: refraining from communion for a while, reading special prayers, bowing down to the ground, or deeds 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 some certain time and then should 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.

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