Is it necessary to confess? Major sins against another person. Sins against God

What is confession?

Why is it needed, and how to correctly name sins in confession?

Why do you need to confess to a priest?

How to properly prepare for the sacrament for those who want to repent for the first time?

Sooner or later, every Orthodox person asks himself all these questions.

Let's understand together all the intricacies of this sacrament.

Confession for an Orthodox person - what is it?

Repentance or confession is a sacrament during which a person verbally reveals his sins to God in the presence of a priest who has the authority to forgive sins from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. During his earthly life, the Lord gave his apostles, and through them, all priests, the power to forgive sins. During confession, a person not only repents of his sins, but also makes a promise not to repeat them again. Confession is the cleansing of the soul. Many people think: “I know that all the same, even after confession, I will commit this sin again (for example, smoking). So why should I confess?” This is fundamentally wrong. You don’t think: “Why should I wash if I’m going to get dirty tomorrow anyway?” You still take a bath or shower because the body needs to be clean. Man is weak by nature and will continue to sin throughout his life. This is why confession is needed, to cleanse the soul from time to time and work on one’s shortcomings.

Confession is very important for an Orthodox person, because during this sacrament reconciliation with God occurs. You need to confess at least once a month, but if you have a need to do it more often, please do so. The main thing is to know how to correctly name sins in confession.

For some particularly serious sins, the priest may assign penance (from Greek “punishment” or “special obedience”). This could be prolonged prayer, fasting, almsgiving or abstinence. This is a kind of medicine that will help a person get rid of sin.

Some recommendations for those who want to confess for the first time

As before any sacrament, you need to prepare for confession. If you have decided to repent for the first time, then you need to find out when the sacrament is usually held in your temple. It is mainly held on holidays, Saturday and Sunday.

As a rule, on such days there are many people who want to confess. And this becomes a real obstacle for those who want to confess for the first time. Some are shy, while others are afraid of doing something wrong.

It would be good if, before your first confession, you contact the priest with a request to set up a time for you when you and the priest will be alone. Then no one will embarrass you.

You can make yourself a little “cheat sheet”. Write down your sins on a piece of paper so that you don’t miss anything out of excitement during confession.

How to correctly name sins in confession: what sins should be named

Many, especially those who have just begun their path to God, rush from one extreme to another. Some dryly list common sins, copied, as a rule, from church books on repentance. Others, on the contrary, begin to describe each in such detail perfect sin that this is no longer a confession, but a story about yourself and your life.

What sins should you name in confession? Sins are divided into three groups:

1. Sins against the Lord.

2. Sins against neighbors.

3. Sins against your soul.

Let's take a closer look at each one individually.

1. Sins against the Lord. Majority modern people moved away from God. They do not visit temples or do so extremely rarely, and at best they have only heard about prayers. However, if you are a believer, have you been hiding your faith? Maybe you were embarrassed to cross yourself in front of people or say that you are a believer.

Blasphemy and murmuring against God- one of the most serious and grave sins. We commit this sin when we complain about life and believe that no one in the world is more unhappy than us.

Blasphemy. You have committed this sin if you have ever mocked the customs or sacraments of the Church about which you understand nothing. Jokes about God or Orthodox faith- This is also blasphemy. It doesn’t matter whether you listen to them or tell them.

False oath or piety. The latter says that man has no fear of the greatness of the Lord.

Failure to fulfill your vows. If you made a vow to God to do some good deed, but did not keep it, this sin must be confessed.

We don’t pray every day at home. It is through prayer that we communicate with the Lord and the Saints. We ask for their intercession and help in the fight against our passions. Without prayer there can be neither repentance nor salvation.

Interest in occult and mystical teachings, as well as pagan and heterodox sects, sorcery and fortune telling. In fact, such interest can be not only destructive for the soul, but also for the mental and physical state of a person.

Superstition. In addition to the superstitions that we inherited from our pagan ancestors, we began to get carried away by the absurd superstitions of new-fangled teachings.

Neglect of your soul. Moving away from God, we forget about our soul and stop paying due attention to it.

Suicidal thoughts, gambling.

2. Sins against neighbors.

Disrespectful attitude towards parents. We should treat our parents with reverence. The same applies to the attitude of students towards their teacher.

Offense inflicted on one's neighbor. By causing offense to loved ones, we harm his soul. We also commit this sin when we advise our neighbors something vicious or bad.

Slander. Speak falsehoods to people. Accusing a person without being sure of his guilt.

Schadenfreude and hatred. This sin is equivalent to murder. We must help and have compassion for our neighbors.

Grudge. It shows that our heart is filled with pride and self-justification.

Disobedience. This sin becomes the beginning of more serious evils: insolence against parents, theft, laziness, deception and even murder.

Condemn. The Lord said: “Judge not, lest ye be judged, for with the judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with the measure you use, I will measure it to you." By judging a person for this or that weakness, we can fall into the same sin.

Theft, stinginess, abortion, theft, remembrance of the dead with alcoholic beverages.

3. Sins against your soul.

Laziness. We don’t go to church, we shorten our morning and evening prayers. We engage in idle talk when we should be working.

Lie. All bad deeds are accompanied by lies. No wonder Satan is called the father of lies.

Flattery. Today it has become a weapon to achieve earthly benefits.

Foul language. This sin is especially common among young people today. Foul language makes the soul coarse.

Impatience. We must learn to restrain our negative emotions so as not to harm your soul and not offend your loved ones.

Lack of faith and disbelief. A believer should not doubt the mercy and wisdom of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Charm and self-delusion. This is an imaginary closeness to God. A person suffering from this sin considers himself practically a saint and places himself above others.

Long Hiding of Sin. As a result of fear or shame, a person cannot reveal the sin he has committed in confession, believing that he can no longer be saved.

Despair. This sin often haunts people who have committed serious sins. It must be confessed in order to prevent irreparable consequences.

Blaming others and self-justification. Our salvation lies in the fact that we can recognize ourselves and only ourselves as guilty of our sins and actions.

These are the main sins that almost every person commits. If earlier during confession sins were voiced that were not repeated again, then there is no need to confess them again.

Fornication (including marriage without a wedding), incest, adultery (treason), sexual relations between people of the same sex.

How to correctly name sins during confession - is it possible to write them on paper and simply give them to the priest?

Sometimes, in order to get ready for confession and not worry about forgetting something during the sacrament, they write their sins on paper. In this regard, many people ask the question: can you write your sins on a piece of paper and just give it to the priest? A clear answer: No!

The meaning of confession is precisely for a person to voice his sins, mourn them and hate them. Otherwise, it will not be repentance, but writing a report.

Over time, try to completely abandon any paperwork, and tell in confession exactly what is weighing on your soul at this very moment.

How to correctly name sins in confession: where to start confession and how to end it

When approaching the priest, try to throw thoughts about earthly things out of your head and listen to your soul. Start your confession with the words: “Lord, I have sinned before You” and begin to list your sins.

There is no need to list sins in detail. If, for example, you stole something, then you do not need to tell the priest where, when and under what circumstances it happened. It’s enough to just say: I sinned by stealing.

However, it’s not worth listing sins completely dryly. For example, you come up and start saying: “I sinned with anger, irritation, condemnation, etc.” This is also not entirely correct. It would be better to say this: “I sinned, Lord, by being irritable to my husband” or “I constantly condemn my neighbor.” The fact is that during confession the priest can give you advice on how to deal with this or that passion. It is these clarifications that will help him understand the reason for your weakness.

You can end your confession with the words “I repent, Lord! Save and have mercy on me, a sinner!”

How to correctly name sins in confession: what to do if you are ashamed

Shame during confession is a completely normal phenomenon, because there are no people who would be pleased to talk about the not so pleasant sides of themselves. But you don’t need to fight it, but try to survive it, endure it.

First of all, you must understand that you are not confessing your sins to a priest, but to God. Therefore, one should be ashamed not before the priest, but before the Lord.

Many people think: “If I tell the priest everything, he will probably despise me.” This is absolutely not important, the main thing is to ask God for forgiveness. You must clearly decide for yourself: to receive deliverance and cleanse your soul, or to continue to live in sins, plunging more and more into this dirt.

The priest is only an intermediary between you and God. You must understand that during confession the Lord Himself stands invisibly before you.

I would like to say once again that only in the sacrament of confession does a person with a contrite heart repent of his sins. After which a prayer of permission is read over him, which frees the person from sin. And remember, the one who hides sin during confession will acquire an even greater sin before God!

Over time, you will get rid of shame and fear and will better understand how to correctly name sins in confession.

Every Orthodox person must strive for God with his soul, and for this it must be cleansed of the sins that we commit on earth. If you think that you have no sin, then you can be considered a saint, but this is very unlikely. Orthodox man must take communion, and, of course, go to confession - the cleansing of sins before God. In this article we will tell you in detail what confession is, how to prepare for it, and how to confess correctly in church.

Confession is one of the seven sacraments in Orthodox religion. This is, in essence, a confession of sins before God and a request for forgiveness. Confession implies repentance, that is, you must sincerely want to improve, and not so that you confessed, and half an hour later repeated the same sin in the hope that you will come to church, confess again, and God will forgive you. This is a sacrament that should be taken seriously.

The history of the appearance of this sacrament is very interesting, because it is found both in Old Testament, and in the New Testament. Of course, everyone knows better New Testament, than the Old, but even in the latter, which also talks about sacrifices, the creation of the earth, the life of Cain and Abel, there was a confession. It did not have clear canons, but, nevertheless, it carried the same meaning as today. In the New Testament, this sacrament is presented as a certain rite, which has survived to this day. It is thanks to this story that we know how to properly confess in church.

So, now you know what this sacrament is, but why is it needed? First of all, repentance clears the conscience. Have you ever been tormented by your conscience for what you did? If yes, then you probably know how to deal with it, and best option- confess to someone for committing a particular act. But repentance is a little different from simply admitting mistakes. The point is that you must sincerely admit your guilt before God and want to improve. Confession is needed in order to receive other sacraments, for example, the sacrament of baptism, or the sacrament of communion. The most important thing is to cleanse your soul of heaviness.

Preparing for Confession

Preparation for confession must be done properly. We will tell you how best to prepare for the sacrament to take place.

1. Prepare your sins in advance. Many people go to confession with the thought that tomorrow I will stand next to the priest and tell you everything. But the dark forces make it so that when you approach the priest to perform the sacrament, you immediately forget what you should talk about. You remember only the most banal sins, and, as a result, you do not get results and proper cleansing. Therefore, prepare for repentance in advance. The day before, you can sit in silence and remember the sins you committed. It will be better if you write them down on a piece of paper and then just read them in front of the priest. Naturally, they should be realized. To do this, you need to understand what sin is. Sin is anything that is contrary to God's will and God's law. There are 7 deadly sins, as well as a lot of minor ones, which also require attention and repentance. Follow the commandments, and then you will have much fewer sins.
2. Do not use additional literature. Today in churches you can buy brochures in which lists of sins are already written. First of all, half of them are absurd, and other than that, you start to turn off your feelings and just look at the book to see if you did it or not. In this case, awareness and understanding of what has been done disappears, and the sacrament turns into a banal procedure, which is no different from going to the store. Therefore, you should not use literature; it is better to think for yourself what you did wrong, for which you feel burdened before God, or guilty. The most important thing is sincerity, even if you don’t write 500 sins, and your repentance will take no more than 5 minutes, but it will be sincere and real.
3. Don't think about what language to confess. No, this does not mean that you should speak to the priest in English, that is not the point. Many people, before performing this sacrament, try to find words and use church vocabulary, but this looks ridiculous and puts you in an uncomfortable position. The priest is also a person, and you should speak to him in understandable language, therefore, do not use extraneous expressions, do not try to minimize or embellish them, making them less dangerous. Call a spade a spade. By the way, you shouldn’t even think that the priest will condemn you for your sins, because during his ministry he heard nothing like that, therefore, it is extremely difficult to surprise him. The priest, on the contrary, will rejoice that you came to God with repentance, are ready to accept punishment and cleanse your soul.
4. Start changing your life even before repentance. If you are going to go in a week and confess that, for example, you smoke, but immediately take out a pack of cigarettes and light another one, then you shouldn’t think, I’ll smoke until I repent, I’ll confess, God will forgive, and then I’ll quit. Do this now, start changing even before repentance. First of all, try to get rid of the mortal sins that are described in the Holy Gospel.
5. Don't be angry with people, try to be at peace with everyone. Then your soul will always be pure and light, it will be easy for you.
6. Preparing for confession involves more than just remembering sins. You have to think about which temple you will go to, and here is little secret. There are churches in which services and confessions are held not only on weekends, but also on weekdays. At this time there are not many people, and the priest will talk to you carefully, listen to you, and give advice. Therefore, you can find just such a temple for yourself.
7. There are special prayers that should be read before repentance, and you should do this, especially if you rarely appear in the temple.

This, in fact, is how preparation for confession goes; now let's look at a more important question.

How to confess in church correctly

A person who comes to church for the first time always asks the question: how to properly confess in church? Is there a certain procedure, and so on. Of course there is, and there is a certain algorithm that will help you receive the sacrament correctly. Let's break it down.

1. You should come to church in modest clothing that does not attract attention, and you should not wear cosmetics. The same rule applies to repentance.
2. You must tune in, light a candle, pray and ask God to accept your prayer and repentance, say that you really want to cleanse yourself.
3. After this, you should approach the priest, and you will see a cross and a Bible in front of him. You should place two fingers of your right hand - index and middle - on the Bible, and bow your head. The priest will lean towards you and then say: “Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, forgive my sins, I have sinned.” After that, start listing your sins.
4. You should only talk about the matter. Many begin to get distracted, talk about their family, about their problems, but you can talk about this, but not in confession. Therefore, name your sins, sincerely believing that God will forgive you. Besides this, you can only talk about your own sins.
5. Talk about serious problems first, and only then about small ones. Many begin their confession with such sins as: “watched TV”, “didn’t go to church for a long time”, “didn’t fast” and so on. But they completely forget about pressing problems, about great sins that the soul asks to get rid of. Therefore, first name the big and important ones, and only then the minor sins.
6. During confession, the priest may assign you penance - a special punishment that will completely cleanse you of your sins. Accept it in peace, and be sure to follow through. You may not be able to take communion or visit temple for some time; you may have to read long prayers in the name of cleansing your sins. It is appointed for some time, and after that it can be forgiven.
7. When you finish confession, the priest will cover you with a special covering, read a prayer for the remission of sins, and give a blessing. After that it counts. That you confessed to God.

Now you know how to properly confess in church, and this should be done regularly so that problems do not accumulate and so that your soul remains light and bright. We wish you good luck and Have a good mood, and most importantly - God in the heart!

Confession is an important event in the life of every believer. An honest and sincere sacrament is a way for a churched layperson to communicate with the Lord through a confessor. The rules of repentance consist not only in what words to start with, when you can undergo the ritual and what you need to do, but also in the obligation of humility and a conscientious approach to the preparation and procedure of confession.

Preparation

A person who decides to go to confession must be baptized. Important condition- sacredly and unquestioningly believe in God and accept His Revelation. You need to know the Bible and understand the Faith, which is where visiting the church library can help.

You should remember and keep in mind, or better yet, write down on a piece of paper all the sins committed by the confessor from the age of seven or from the moment when the person accepted Orthodoxy. You should not hide or remember other people’s misdeeds, or blame other people for your own.

A person needs to give his word to the Lord that with His help he will eradicate sinfulness in himself and make amends for his low deeds.

Afterwards you need to prepare for confession. Before serving, you need to behave like an exemplary Christian:

• the day before, pray diligently and re-read the Bible;
• refuse entertainment, entertainment events;
• read the Penitential Canon.

What not to do before repentance

Before repentance, fasting is optional and is performed only at the request of the person. In any case, it should not be administered to small children, pregnant women and sick people.

Before the sacrament, a Christian abstains from physical and spiritual temptations. There is a ban on watching entertainment programs and reading entertainment literature. It is forbidden to spend time at the computer, play sports or be lazy. It is better not to attend noisy meetings and not to be in crowded companies, to spend the days before confession in humility and prayer.

How does the ceremony take place?

What time confession begins depends on the chosen church; it usually takes place in the morning or evening. The procedure begins before Divine Liturgy, during and immediately after the evening service. Provided that he is under the auspices of his own confessor, the believer is allowed to come to an agreement with him in individually when he confesses the person.

Before parishioners line up to see the priest, a general general prayer is read. In its text there is a moment at which the worshipers call given name. This is followed by waiting for your turn.

There is no need to use the brochures issued in churches listing sins as a model for building your own confession. You should not thoughtlessly rewrite advice from there on what to repent of; it is important to take this as an approximate and generalized plan.

You need to repent honestly and sincerely, talking about a specific situation in which there was a place for sin. When reading out a standard list, the procedure becomes a formality and does not carry any value.

Confession ends with the confessor reading out the closing prayer. At the end of the speech, they bow their heads under the priest’s stole, and then kiss the Gospel and the cross. It is advisable to complete the procedure by asking for a blessing from the priest.

How to confess correctly

When performing the sacrament, it is important to adhere to the following recommendations:

• Mention without concealment and repent of any evil committed. There is no point in attending communion if a person is not ready to humbly get rid of sins. Even if the meanness was committed many years ago, it is worth confessing to the Lord.
• Do not be afraid of condemnation from the priest, since the communicant conducts a dialogue not with the minister of the church, but with God. The clergyman is obliged to keep the secret of the sacrament, so what is said during the service will remain hidden from prying ears. Over the years church service the priests absolved all imaginable sins and they could only be upset by insincerity and the desire to hide evil deeds.
• Keep feelings under control and expose sins with words.“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). But tears, behind which there is no clear awareness of one’s accomplishments, are not blissful. Feelings alone are not enough; most often those receiving communion cry out of self-pity and resentment.

  The confession to which a person came to release emotions is useless, because such actions are aimed only at forgetting, but not at correction.

• Do not hide your reluctance to admit your evil behind memory diseases. Confession “I repent that I have sinned in thought, word and deed” is usually not allowed into the procedure. You can receive forgiveness if it was complete and sincere. A passionate desire to undergo the procedure of repentance is required.
• After remission of the most serious sins, do not forget about the rest. Having confessed his most evil deeds, a person goes through the very beginning of the real path to calming the soul. Mortal sins are rarely committed and are often greatly regretted, unlike minor offenses. By paying attention to feelings of envy, pride or condemnation in his soul, a Christian becomes purer and more pleasing to the Lord. The work to eradicate small manifestations of cowardice is more difficult and longer than to atone for great evil. Therefore, you need to carefully prepare for each confession, especially for the one before which you cannot remember your sins.
• To talk at the beginning of confession about what is more difficult to say than the rest. Living with the awareness of an act for which a person torments his soul every day, it can be difficult to admit it out loud. In this case, it is important to remember that the Lord sees and knows about everything and is only waiting for repentance for what he has done. This means that at the very beginning of the dialogue with God, it is important to overcome yourself and state your terrible sin and sincerely ask for forgiveness for it.
• The more meaningful and concise the confession, the better.. You need to state your sins briefly but succinctly. It is advisable to immediately get to the point. It is necessary that the priest immediately understand what the person who comes wants to repent of. You should not mention names, places and dates - this is unnecessary. It is best to prepare your story at home by writing it down, and then cross out everything that is unnecessary and interferes with understanding the essence.
• Never resort to self-justification. Self-pity makes the soul languish and does not help the sinner in any way. Concealing perfect evil in one confession is not the worst thing a Christian can do. It is much worse if a similar situation is repeated. It is important to remember that by attending a sacrament, a person seeks liberation from sins. But he will not achieve this if he leaves them to himself, each time ending the confession with words about the insignificance of some offenses or about their necessity. It is better to state the situation in your own words without excuses.
• Make an effort. Repentance is hard work that requires effort and time. Confession involves daily overcoming your own being on the path to a better personality. The sacrament is not the easy way calm the feelings. This is not a constant opportunity to seek help in a particularly difficult hour, to talk about painful things, to go out into the world as a new person with a pure soul. It is important to draw conclusions about your own life and actions.

List of sins

All sins committed by a person are conditionally divided into groups, depending on their content.

In relation to God

• Doubt about one's own faith, the existence of God, and the truthfulness of the Holy Scriptures.
• Long-term non-attendance to holy churches, confessions and communions.
• Lack of diligence when reading prayers and canons, absent-mindedness and forgetfulness in relation to them.
• Failure to keep promises made to God.
• Blasphemy.
• Suicidal intentions.
• Mention of evil spirits in swearing.
• Consumption of food and liquid before communion.
• Failure to fast.
• Work during church holidays.

In relation to one's neighbor

• Reluctance to believe and help save someone else's soul.
• Disrespect and disrespect for parents and elders.
• Lack of action and motivation to help the poor, the weak, the grieving, the disadvantaged.
• Suspicion of people, jealousy, selfishness or suspiciousness.
• Raising children outside of the Orthodox Christian faith.
• Committing murder, including abortion, or self-mutilation.
• Cruelty or passionate love for animals.
• Inflicting a curse.
• Envy, slander or lies.
• Grudge or insult to someone else's dignity.
• Condemning other people's actions or thoughts.
• Seduction.

In relation to yourself

• Ingratitude and carelessness towards one's own talents and abilities, expressed in wasting time, laziness and empty dreams.
• Shirking or completely ignoring one's own routine obligations.
• Self-interest, stinginess, the desire for the strictest economy in order to accumulate money, or wasteful spending of the budget.
• Theft or begging.
• Fornication or adultery.
• Incest, homosexuality, bestiality and the like.
• Masturbation (it’s better to call the sin of masturbation) and viewing depraved images, recordings and other things.
• All kinds of flirtations and flirtations with the purpose of seduction or seduction, immodesty and disregard for meekness.
• Drug addiction, drinking alcohol and smoking.
• Gluttony or deliberate torture of oneself by hunger.
• Eating animal blood.
• Negligence towards one's health or excessive concern about it.

For women

• Violation of church rules.
• Neglect of reading prayers.
• Eating, smoking, drinking in order to drown out resentment or anger.
• Fear of old age or death.
• Immodest behavior, debauchery.
• Addiction to fortune telling.

Sacrament of repentance and communion

In Russian Orthodox Church the processes of confession and communion are inextricably linked. Although this approach is not canonical, it is nevertheless practiced in all corners of the country. Before a Christian can receive communion, he goes through the procedure of confession. This is required for the priest to understand that communion is served to an adequate believer who has fasted before the sacrament, who has stood the test of will and conscience, and who has not committed serious sins.

When a person is released from his evil deeds, an emptiness appears in his soul that needs to be filled with God, this can be done at communion.

How to Confess to a Child

There are no special rules for confession of children, except when they reach the age of seven. When leading your child to the sacrament for the first time, it is important to remember some nuances of your own behavior:

• Do not tell the child about his main sins or write a list of what must be told to the priest. It is important that he prepares for repentance himself.
• It is forbidden to interfere with church secrets. That is, ask the offspring questions: “how do you confess,” “what did the priest say,” and the like.
• You cannot ask your confessor for special treatment of your child, or ask about the successes or delicate moments of the church life of your son or daughter.
• It is necessary to take children to confession less often before they are of conscious age, since there is a high probability that confession will turn from a sacrament into a routine habit. This will result in memorizing a list of your minor sins and reading them to the priest every Sunday.

  Confession for a child should be comparable to a holiday, so that he goes there with an understanding of the sacredness of what is happening. It is important to explain to him that repentance is not a report to an adult, but a voluntary recognition of evil in oneself and a sincere desire to eradicate it.

• You should not refuse your offspring independent choice confessor. In a situation in which he liked another priest, it is important to allow him to confess to this particular minister. Selecting a spiritual mentor is a delicate and intimate matter that should not be interfered with.
• It is better for an adult and a child to attend different parishes. This will give the child the freedom to grow up independent and conscious, not tolerating the oppression of excessive parental care. When the family does not stand in the same line, the temptation to overhear the child’s confession disappears. The moment when the offspring becomes capable of voluntary and sincere confession becomes the beginning of the path of parents moving away from him.

Examples of Confession

Women's

I, the churched Mary, repent of my sins. I was superstitious, which is why I visited fortune tellers and believed in horoscopes. She held resentment and anger towards her loved one. She exposed her body too much when going out in order to get someone else's attention. I hoped to seduce men I didn’t know, I thought about the carnal and obscene.

I felt sorry for myself and thought about stopping living on my own. She was lazy and idly spent her time doing stupid entertainment activities. I couldn't stand the fast. She prayed and attended church less often than expected. Reading the canons, I thought about the worldly, and not about God. Allowed sexual intercourse before marriage. I thought about dirty things and spread rumors and gossip. I thought about the uselessness of church services, prayers and repentance in life. Forgive me, Lord, for all the sins of which I am guilty and accept the word of further correction and chastity.

Men's

Servant of God Alexander, I confess to my God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, my evil deeds from youth to this day, committed consciously and unconsciously. I repent of sinful thoughts about someone else’s wife, inducing others to use intoxicating substances and leading an idle lifestyle.

Five years ago, I zealously deviated from military service and participated in the beating of innocent people. He ridiculed church foundations, the laws of holy fasts and divine services. I was cruel and rude, which I regret and ask the Lord to forgive me.

Children's

I, Vanya, sinned and came to ask for forgiveness for it. Sometimes I was rude to my parents, didn’t keep my promises, and got irritated. I played on the computer for a long time and walked with friends instead of reading the Gospel and praying. I recently drew it on my hand and snapped when my godfather asked me to wash off what I had done.

Once I was late for service on Sunday, and after that I didn’t go to church for a month. Once I tried to smoke, which caused me to quarrel with my parents. I did not attach the necessary importance to the advice of my father and elders, and deliberately acted contrary to their words. I offended people close to me and rejoiced in grief. Forgive me, God, for my sins, I will try not to let this happen.

– Why does a person come to confession? There is a whole range of answers that reveal his motivation. One of them: for the Lord to forgive sins. That is why a person decides to reveal them to God.

Here the question arises: why does God need to voice sins? Does He really not know about them? Another person wants to confess to make him feel better. That is, the main goal of confession is seen as obtaining some kind of comfort.

Sorry for the rudeness, one of my friends said: “What else is this confession for? I came, stayed, and it became easy..."

On the one hand, it seems understandable - when a person is burdened by something, he wants to get relief.

But, on the other hand, I think about this: our life, the life of fallen people, is so tragic that any desire to receive consolation, pain relief, smacks of escapism, that is, escape.

A person, trying to escape from reality, for example, may resort to drugs. As a result, he receives a feeling of anesthesia from the pain of life, a brief, dubious euphoria. Man invents many ways to escape from life...

Pain relief, not experiencing pain, is one of the powerful movements of modern man. It can be understood: there are unbearably severe suffering, illnesses, and mental states.

IN modern world many people get sick and suffer, despondency is very common in it - not only in the church sense, but also in the most medical sense - despondency as part of clinical depression...

Alas, while the soul is alive, it is natural for it to be sick, because in our imperfect, fallen world it simply cannot be in absolute joy, in absolute happiness, without suffering.

A person who tries to live inevitably experiences difficulties, suffering, something that needs to be overcome. Even getting up in the morning by an alarm clock and getting involved in an active life is not easy; we need to overcome the resistance of our weak being, which pulls us back to bed, under the blanket.

A person understands that if he indulges the desire for comfort, he will simply stop living.

Someone comes to confession, feeling that he is really guilty before God and wants to get rid of the feeling of guilt. Someone else for some other reason.

In a temple or “on the way from work on the way to the grocery store”?

– Lately I have often thought about the phrase “repent before God.” After all, it would seem, if you want to justify yourself before God, why should you go to Church?

As some saints said: The Lord is closer to us than our own skin. You can talk to Him in any corner at any time of the day: at home, at work, on the street while walking the dog, “on the way from work on the way to the grocery store,” as Nautilus sang...

Thinking about this, I began to understand some simple things about what the Church is. Why does a person necessarily go to church to confess? The Church is unique because, at its core, it is a family: God is the Father, and everyone else is children.

The Church is the place where God came to gather these children closer to Him. “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to you! How often have I wanted to gather your children together, as a bird gathers its chicks under its wings...” (Matthew 23:37) This is how the Lord gathers those who want to be with Him.

The Church is a meeting place, a place of salvation, like an island in the middle of a flood, and it was founded by the Lord Himself. The church is like a beacon calling: “Come here, here we will be together.”

The whole point of the sacraments of the Church, first of all - the sacrament of confession and the sacrament of communion - is for people to be together with God. Not just each one individually, on his own, but all together, in fulfillment of the second part of the commandment - to love not only God, but also our neighbor. Family is not only everyone together with the Father, but together with brothers and sisters.

Our consciousness is affected by individualism. We go to repent and mean our spiritual worries, mental illnesses, our problems. We come to church and don’t see anyone around us: we go directly to the place in the temple where, it seems to us, God is. We repent before Him, solve our problems...

It seems that we were at confession, took part in one of the most important sacraments, but at the same time, we were not in church. We did not see anyone around us, we did not understand the very nature of the Church, that it is a family. Whatever our brothers and sisters may be, good or bad, they are our neighbors, and there is no escape from that.

The Lord wants us to get rid of our loneliness, selfishness, and individualism. Even being in a state of pride, a person is able to present himself as a believer, to flaunt: “I Orthodox Christian, I come to God.”

But as soon as you say to him: “You come not only to God, but also to your neighbors,” he will be surprised: “To which neighbors? To this harmful old woman? To this pot-bellied ass?

These are strangers to me, I came not to communicate with them, but with God. I solved my spiritual problems and went back. I am a literate person, I have read many theological books, I know well how to pray and how to be baptized. But I don’t have any contact with the people around me in the temple.” This is not a Christian dispensation.

The Lord came to call us to be together. When a person goes to confession, thinking that he is going only to God to reveal his sins to Him, this is not a correct dispensation. Firstly, as was said at the beginning, God knows about our sins, and much better than we ourselves.

Secondly, if we go to confession as if we were going to a session with a psychotherapist, so that afterwards our sores will disappear and we will begin to feel comfortable, we again miss the mark. Greek word“sin” – “hamartia” – just means missing the target. That is, while seemingly confessing our sins, we again do something wrong.

Why then is all this necessary: ​​a person comes to church and in order to confess, he must approach the priest? He could come to miraculous icon or another shrine, repent while no one is around. In general, you can hear from many: “I love going to church when there are no people there: it’s quiet, calm.” The feeling is that a person has come to a museum. But what to do in church when there are no people there?! The church is people.

So, in the sacrament of confession a person repents not only before God, but also before the Church, before people, at least in the person of the priest. It is very important.

We know that this is exactly what happened in the first centuries of Christianity. We read the Acts of the Apostles, martyrologies and know that the very concept of sin among the Christians of that time, captivated by the anticipation of the coming of Christ, arose quite rarely. If everyday sins happened, it was an exceptional case. When Christianity began to spread, sins were no longer such an exception. Nevertheless, it was always assumed that a person repents of these sins before the Church. From there, for example, came the order of catechumens, who loudly announced their sins and asked for forgiveness from the Church.

Why confess?

A person needs to repent, first of all, in order to get rid of sin, and not only so that he can live well and comfortably, so that “his conscience does not torment him.”

I recall the profound words of Dostoevsky that when the Antichrist comes, he will not only promise people material well-being, but will also take their conscience into their hands. That is, someone who decides everything for us means that everything is in order, there is no need to think and suffer.

We can do anything and we will be justified - our conscience has been given to another. That’s why some people want to “clear their conscience”...

But that’s not what the sacrament of confession is for. Confession is a real action that involves real correction of your sin, which prevents you from being in the Church, from entering the Kingdom of Christ, which is about to come.

Otherwise, why do we repeat the words from the Creed every day: “I look forward to the resurrection of the dead. And the life of the next century"? The Lord is about to come, but we will not be able to enter wedding feast, because they were not in wedding clothes, they did not correct their sin.

When we come to church, we reveal our sin before the Church. A priest in confession is a reminder that your sin is accepted not only by Christ, but by the entire Church, the entire congregation of believers.

Confessed “not completely”

It happens that a person has confessed, but still feels that something is wrong. The reason may be that the confession is not sincere enough. When a person tries to justify himself, to hide some sin.

From a human perspective, this is understandable: some kind of sore that is embarrassing to show. A man is embarrassed to show his problem to a proctologist, a young, pretty woman. This is roughly what happens to some believers during confession: it’s disgusting and shameful to expose some of your sins.

This is a childhood state that quickly passes when a person begins to come to confession often and understands that the priest does not condemn him. You can hear from some: “Father, we tell you such sins, how are you not crazy yet?” I answer: “Over the years of priesthood, I have already heard so much, and at least one person told me something new! For thousands of years, not a single new sin has been invented.”

As long as the patient is afraid of the doctor, he will not be able to begin treatment. He must understand: the doctor is experienced, has seen a lot, there is nothing to be ashamed of in front of him - the doctor will not laugh at him, scold him, the doctor’s goal is to cure.

Here we come to important concept: sin is a disease, not a person’s legal guilt. A disease that has deeply affected human nature.

It is not for nothing that when the priest begins confession, he reads a prayer in which there are the words: “You came to the doctor’s hospital, so that you do not leave unhealed.” That is, you came to the hospital, so do not leave uncured.

But this is not easy, this is a difficult task for our pride and impatience. We want to take an instant action so that once and everything goes away. It turns out that sin is a deep illness, not only acquired, but going back to the depths of time, to the forefather Adam. It is not yet known how the treatment will go. You need to be patient, have a lot of wisdom, a lot of sobriety.

Patience is one of the basic qualities that we greatly lack, including during confession.

If sin is not forgotten...

It happens that a person confessed a sin, completely moved away from it, but cannot forget what he committed: he suffers for a year, two, ten years... It is important for a person to repent at confession, although repentance itself is not limited to the moment of confession.

Repentance is a change of mind, a change of life. Nevertheless, there is something in the sacrament of confession that will really help to overcome sin. That is, not only will God forgive us this sin, but He always forgives us because He loves us. At confession, a person receives precisely the opportunity for treatment.

Imagine a person is very sick, and the doctor says to him: “I forgive you for being sick.” But the disease is not going anywhere. So - in the sacrament of confession there is something that cures illness.

There is no need to delude yourself here: “I’ll come to confession, repent, and the next day I’ll wake up different.” It is important to understand how much human nature is affected by sin. As I already said, you need to be realistic, have patience and sobriety. You need to understand that you can fight our nature all your life.

Great holy ascetics and monks cried at the end of their lives and said: “Oh, soon to appear before God, but I have not yet begun to repent.” They objected to the ascetic: “How can this be, you led a holy life, you are a saint, after all?!” The questioners did not understand that the closer to the source of Light, to God, the more visible the dirt and stains are on oneself. And when a person sits in twilight, in the dark and thinks that he is clean, he should try to come closer to Christ and see how much stuff he has on him.

Of course, the saints were and remain saints, but, being already close to Christ, they noticed the very little things from which they suffered and repented. Remember Andersen’s fairy tale “The Princess and the Pea”: a small pea was placed under many feather beds for the princess, and she did not sleep a wink all night due to the inconvenience. Another woman, of a coarser constitution, a cowgirl, for example, would fall asleep soundly even if a car of bricks were placed under her mattress.

It is important that the sacrament of confession has everything to heal a person not only from sin, but also from the consequences of sin. For every disease, say, requiring surgical intervention, it is important not only to perform the operation, but also to properly organize the recovery period after.

The sacrament contains medicine that helps us overcome the sin that we have repented of, so that it stops gnawing at us like real guilt, so that it becomes a creative task for our subsequent life, a lesson, an order.

We will not be able to forget sin, but we will remember it not as an eternal guilt gnawing at us, but simply as an example to act differently next time. The memory of sin will be a working tool for us, which we will apply to the structure of our future life.

The second point: why do we often suffer from the fact that we seem to have repented of sin, but we cannot forgive ourselves for it. It's about our lack of faith.

I often remember a wonderful episode from my life St. Silouan Athos as presented by Father Sophrony (Sakharov), who was the cell attendant of Elder Silouan. During the time when future elder was a young man Semyon from the Tambov province, in their village there lived a man who for a long time spent time in hard labor for killing his wife.

After hard labor, he returned to the village, lived quietly, played the harmonica, and took part in festivities. One day, the future elder Silouan approached him and asked: “How can you live like this, rejoice, because you have done a terrible thing.” To which the former convict replied: “While I was in hard labor these years, I prayed a lot to God. And God forgave me."

It is important not only that God forgives, it is important to be able to accept forgiveness. What's the use if the doctor prescribes the most best medicine, if we do not make an effort to find this medicine, then - to take it correctly, on a certain schedule! Our lack of faith, distrust of the sacrament of confession very often hinders us.

I know many cases when a person comes to confession and repents of old sins again and again. Why harp on the same thing, what you repented of? “I can’t calm down, I have such a delicate, sensitive soul,” you can hear from such a person.

What, is your subtlety higher than faith in the sacrament of the Church? The Lord has forgiven, that’s it, calm down, move on. Let the sin you experienced become a lesson for you, nothing more.

Prepared by Oksana Golovko

Every believer must understand that in confession he confesses his deeds to the Lord. Each of his sins must be covered by the desire to atone for his guilt before the Lord; this is the only way to achieve his forgiveness.

If a person feels that his soul is heavy, then it is necessary to go to church and undergo the sacrament of confession. After repentance, you will feel much better, and a heavy burden will fall from your shoulders. Your soul will become free and your conscience will no longer torment you.

What is needed for confession

Before you can properly confess in church, you need to understand what to say there. Before confession you need to make the following preparations:

• realize your sins, sincerely repent of them;
• have a sincere desire for sin to be left behind, with faith in the Lord;
• to sincerely believe in the fact that confession will help to cleanse yourself spiritually with the help of prayers and sincere repentance.

Confession will help remove sins from the soul only if the repentance is sincere and the person’s faith is strong. If you said to yourself, “I want to confess,” then your conscience and faith in the Lord should tell you where to start.

How does confession go?

If you are thinking about how to properly confess in church, then you must first understand that all actions must be as sincere as possible. In its process, you need to open your heart and soul, completely repenting of what you have done. And if there are people who do not understand its meaning, who do not feel relief after it, then these are simply unbelieving people who have not really realized their sins and certainly have not repented of them.

It is important to understand that confession is not a simple listing of all your sins. Many people think that the Lord already knows everything about them. But this is not at all what He expects from you. In order for the Lord to forgive you, you should want to get rid of your sins and repent of them. Only then can one expect relief after confession.

What to do during confession

People who have never made the sacrament of confession do not have the slightest idea how to properly confess to the priest. All people who are ready to confess are welcome in churches. Even for the greatest sinners, the path there is never closed. Moreover, priests often help their parishioners in the process of confession, pushing them to take the right actions. Therefore, there is no need to be afraid of confession, even if you do not know how to confess correctly for the first time.

During individual confession, one should not forget about those sins that were mentioned during the general sacrament. This can be done in any words, since the form of repentance does not matter. You can express your sin in one word, for example, “stole,” or you can talk about it in more detail. You need to speak from the heart, in the words that your heart tells you. After all, you are pouring out your thoughts before God, and it does not matter to him what the priest may be thinking at this time. Therefore, there is no need to be ashamed of your words at all.

What to do if you forgot to name some sin?

Every person can get agitated. You can then just go up to the priest and tell him everything. There is nothing criminal about this.

Many parishioners write down their sins on a piece of paper and come to confession. This has its advantages. Firstly, this way you won’t forget about the main thing, and secondly, by writing it down, you will think about your actions and understand that you did the wrong thing.

But here, too, you should not overdo it, since this process can make confession a mere formality.

At the first confession, a person must remember all his misdeeds, starting from the age of six. After this, there is no longer any need to remember those sins that have already been named before. Unless, of course, they committed this sin again.

If the named offenses are not considered a sin, then the priest should tell the person about this, and together they should think about why this act bothers the parishioner so much.

How to confess correctly

Having decided to confess, you should find out how this procedure occurs. After all, there is a whole Orthodox ritual for this, which takes place in a specially designated place called a lectern. It is a table with four kuts, on which you can see the Holy Gospel and a cross.

Before you repent of your sins, you need to go up to him and put two fingers on the Gospel. After this, the priest can put the epitrachelion on his head. Appearance it somewhat resembles a scarf.

But the priest can do this even after he has listened to the person’s sins. After this, the clergyman will read a prayer for the remission of sins. A priest baptizes a parishioner.

At the end of the prayer, the epitrachelion is removed from the head. Even then you need to cross yourself and kiss the holy cross. Only after this can you receive a blessing from the priest.

After confession, the priest can assign a person penance. Lately this has happened quite rarely, but there is no need to be afraid of such a step - these are simply actions whose purpose is to quickly eradicate sins from a person’s life.

But the priest can soften or even cancel the penance if the person asks for it. Of course, there must be a good reason for such a step. Very often, prayers, bows or other actions are prescribed as penance, which should become an act of mercy on the part of the person confessing. But recently, priests most often assign penance only if the person himself asked for it.

How to confess correctly - advice from a priest

It often happens that during confession a person’s tears flow. There is no need to be ashamed of this, but you should not turn tears of repentance into hysterics.

What is better to wear to confession?

Before going to confession, you should review your wardrobe. Men must wear long pants, shirts or T-shirts with long sleeves. It is very important that clothes do not depict different mythical characters, women without clothes or scenes with elements of smoking or drinking alcohol. In the warm season, men should be in church without hats.

Women should dress very modestly for confession. Outerwear must cover the shoulders and décolleté. The skirt should not be too short, maximum to the knees. There should also be a scarf on the head. It is very important not to wear makeup and, especially, not to use lipstick, since you need to kiss the cross and the Gospel. You should not wear shoes with long heels, as the service may take a long time and your feet will get tired.

Preparing for confession and communion

Confession and communion can occur on the same day, but this is not necessary. You can confess during any service, but for the second sacrament you need to prepare much more seriously, since it is very important to receive the sacrament correctly.

Before the sacrament of communion there must be at least three days of strict fasting. A week before this, it is necessary to read akathists to the Mother of God and the Saints. Worth a visit on the day before communion evening service. Don’t forget about reading the three canons:

• Savior;
• Mother of God;
• Guardian Angel.

You cannot eat or drink anything before communion. It is also necessary to read morning prayers after sleep. During confession, the priest will definitely ask whether the person fasted before communion and whether he read all the prayers.

Preparation for communion also includes renouncing marital obligations, smoking and drinking alcohol. During the period of preparation for this sacrament, you should not use foul language or gossip about other people. This is very important, because preparations are underway to receive the Blood and Body of Christ.

You need to stand in front of the Chalice of Christ with your arms crossed on your chest and say your name before drinking wine and bread.

How to confess correctly for the first time

If a person wants to confess for the first time, then he needs to understand that not simple repentance awaits him. Such a confession is usually called general. It must be approached consciously and very carefully. It is important for a person to concentrate and remember all his sins from the age of six (in subsequent times he will no longer have to do this).

Church ministers recommend fasting during the preparation period and giving up relationships with members of the opposite sex. How long to fast depends on the person himself. You need to listen to the needs of your soul and follow them.

Don't forget to read your prayers and read the Bible these days. In addition, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the literature that exists on this topic. The priest can recommend some books. But before reading unverified publications, it is better to consult with your priest.

During confession, you should not use any memorized words or phrases. After the person talks about sins, the priest may ask some more questions. They must be answered calmly, even if they confuse the person. The parishioner himself can ask troubling questions, because the first confession exists so that a person takes the right path and never leaves it.

But we should not forget about other people who came to the Liturgy and also want to confess. There is no need to take a lot of time, even if there are still some questions. They can be asked to the priest after the Service.

The sacrament of confession has its purpose - it cleanses human souls from sins. But do not forget that you need to confess constantly. After all, in our Time of Troubles It is impossible to live without sinning. And all sins fall heavily on our soul and our conscience.

What to say in confession - a list of women's sins

1. She violated the rules of conduct for those praying in the holy temple.
2. I had dissatisfaction with my life and with people.
3. She performed prayers without zeal and bowed low to icons, prayed lying down, sitting (unnecessarily, out of laziness).
4. She sought glory and praise in virtues and works.
5. I was not always content with what I had: I wanted to have beautiful, varied clothes, furniture, and delicious food.
6. I was annoyed and offended when my wishes were denied.
7. I did not abstain with my husband during pregnancy, on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, during fasting, and was in uncleanness by consent with my husband.
8. I sinned with disgust.
9. After committing a sin, she did not repent immediately, but kept it to herself for a long time.
10. She sinned with idle talk and indirectness. I remembered the words others had said against me and sang shameless worldly songs.
11. She grumbled about the bad road, the length and tediousness of the service.
12. I used to save money for a rainy day, as well as for funerals.
13. She was angry with her loved ones and scolded her children. She did not tolerate comments or fair reproaches from people, she immediately fought back.
14. She sinned with vanity, asking for praise, saying “you can’t praise yourself, no one will praise you.”
15. The deceased was remembered with alcohol on a fast day funeral table was modest.
16. Didn’t have a firm determination to give up sin.
17. I doubted the honesty of my neighbors.
18. I missed opportunities to do good.
19. She suffered from pride, did not condemn herself, and was not always the first to ask for forgiveness.
20. Allowed food spoilage.
21. She did not always keep the shrine reverently (artos, water, prosphora spoiled).
22. I sinned with the goal of “repenting.”
23. She objected, justifying herself, was irritated by the lack of understanding, stupidity and ignorance of others, made reprimands and comments, contradicted, divulged sins and weaknesses.
24. Attributed sins and weaknesses to others.
25. She succumbed to rage: she scolded her loved ones, insulted her husband and children.
26. Led others into anger, irritability, and indignation.
27. I sinned by judging my neighbor and tarnishing his good name.
28. Sometimes she became discouraged and carried her cross with a murmur.
29. Interfered in other people's conversations, interrupted the speaker's speech.
30. She sinned with grumpiness, compared herself with others, complained and became embittered at those who offended her.
31. Thanked people, did not look towards God with gratitude.
32. I fell asleep with sinful thoughts and dreams.
33. I noticed bad words and actions of people.
34. Drank and ate food that was harmful to health.
35. She was troubled in spirit by slander and considered herself better than others.
36. She sinned by indulgence and indulgence in sins, self-indulgence, self-indulgence, disrespect for old age, untimely eating, intransigence, inattention to requests.
37. I missed the opportunity to sow the word of God and bring benefit.
38. She sinned with gluttony, guttural rage: she loved to eat excessively, savor tasty morsels, and amused herself with drunkenness.
39. She was distracted from prayer, distracted others, gave off bad air in church, went out when necessary without telling about it in confession, and hastily prepared for confession.
40. She sinned with laziness, idleness, exploited other people’s labor, speculated in things, sold icons, did not go to church on Sundays and holidays, was lazy to pray.
41. She became bitter towards the poor, did not accept strangers, did not give to the poor, did not clothe the naked.
42. I trusted in man more than in God.
43. I was drunk at a party.
44. I did not send gifts to those who offended me.
45. I was upset at a loss.
46. ​​I fell asleep during the day unnecessarily.
47. I was burdened by sorrows.
48. I didn’t protect myself from colds and didn’t get treatment from doctors.
49. She deceived with her word.
50. Exploited the work of others.
51. She was depressed in sorrows.
52. She was a hypocrite, a people-pleaser.
53. She wished evil, was cowardly.
54. She was resourceful for evil.
55. Was rude and not condescending to others.
56. I didn’t force myself to do good deeds or pray.
57. She angrily reproached the authorities at rallies.
58. I shortened prayers, skipped them, rearranged words.
59. I envied others and wanted honor for myself.
60. I sinned with pride, vanity, self-love.
61. I looked at the dances, dances, various games and spectacles.
62. She sinned by idle ranting, secret eating, petrification, insensibility, neglect, disobedience, intemperance, stinginess, condemnation, love of money, reproach.
63. Spent the holidays in drinking and earthly amusements.
64. She sinned by sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch, inaccurate observance of fasts, unworthy communion of the Body and Blood of the Lord.
65. She got drunk and laughed at someone else’s sin.
66. She sinned through lack of faith, infidelity, betrayal, deceit, lawlessness, groaning over sin, doubt, freethinking.
67. She was fickle in good deeds and did not care about reading the Holy Gospel.
68. I came up with excuses for my sins.
69. She sinned by disobedience, arbitrariness, unfriendliness, malice, disobedience, insolence, contempt, ingratitude, severity, sneaking, oppression.
70. She did not always fulfill her official duties conscientiously; she was careless and hasty in her work.
71. She believed in signs and various superstitions.
72. Was an instigator of evil.
73. I went to weddings without a church wedding.
74. I sinned through spiritual insensibility: relying on myself, on magic, on fortune telling.
75. Did not keep these vows.
76. Concealed sins during confession.
77. I tried to find out other people’s secrets, read other people’s letters, eavesdropped on telephone conversations.
78. In great grief she wished for death.
79. Wore immodest clothes.
80. Talked during the meal.
81. She drank and ate the water “charged” by Chumak.
82. Worked through strength.
83. I forgot about my Guardian Angel.
84. I sinned by being lazy in praying for my neighbors; I did not always pray when asked to do so.
85. I was ashamed to cross myself among unbelievers, and took off the cross when going to the bathhouse and to see a doctor.
86. She did not keep the vows given at Holy Baptism and did not maintain the purity of her soul.
87. She noticed the sins and weaknesses of others, divulged and reinterpreted them for the worse. She swore, swore on her head, on her life. She called people “devil”, “Satan”, “demon”.
88. She called the dumb cattle after the names of holy saints: Vaska, Mashka.
89. I didn’t always pray before eating food; sometimes I had breakfast in the morning before the Divine Service.
90. Having previously been an unbeliever, she seduced her neighbors into unbelief.
91. She set a bad example with her life.
92. I was lazy to work, shifting my labor onto the shoulders of others.
93. I did not always handle the word of God with care: I drank tea and read the Holy Gospel (which is lack of reverence).
94. Took Epiphany water after eating (unnecessarily).
95. I picked lilacs at the cemetery and brought them home.
96. I didn’t always keep the sacrament days, I forgot to read them thanksgiving prayers. I ate a lot these days and slept a lot.
97. I sinned by being idle, coming to church late and leaving it early, and rarely going to church.
98. Neglected menial work when absolutely necessary.
99. She sinned by indifference, remained silent when someone blasphemed.
100. Didn’t follow exactly fast days, I was fed up with posts lean food, seduced others with an abundance of tasty and inaccurate according to the regulations: a hot loaf, vegetable oil, seasoning.
101. I was carried away by bliss, relaxation, carelessness, trying on clothes and jewelry.
102. She reproached the priests and servants and spoke about their shortcomings.
103. Gave advice on abortion.
104. I disturbed someone else’s sleep through carelessness and impudence.
105. I read love letters, copied, memorized passionate poems, listened to music, songs, watched shameless movies.
106. She sinned with immodest glances, looked at other people’s nudity, wore immodest clothes.
107. I was tempted in a dream and passionately remembered it.
108. She suspected in vain (she slandered in her heart).
109. She retold empty, superstitious tales and fables, praised herself, and did not always tolerate the revealing truth and offenders.
110. Showed curiosity about other people's letters and papers.
111. Idly inquired about weaknesses neighbor.
112. I have not freed myself from the passion to tell or ask about news.
113. I read prayers and akathists rewritten with errors.
114. I considered myself better and more worthy than others.
115. I don’t always light lamps and candles in front of icons.
116. I violated the secret of my own and others’ confession.
117. Participated in bad deeds, persuaded people to do bad things.
118. She was stubborn against goodness and did not listen to good advice. She showed off her beautiful clothes.
119. I wanted everything to be my way, I looked for the culprits of my sorrows.
120. After completing the prayer, I had evil thoughts.
121. She spent money on music, cinema, the circus, sinful books and other amusements, and lent money for a deliberately bad cause.
122. In thoughts inspired by the enemy, she plotted against the Holy Faith and the Holy Church.
123. She disturbed the peace of mind of the sick, looked at them as sinners, and not as a test of their faith and virtue.
124. Yielded to untruth.
125. I ate and went to bed without praying.
126. I ate before mass on Sundays and holidays.
127. She spoiled the water when she bathed in the river from which she drank.
128. She talked about her exploits, labors, and boasted about her virtues.
129. I enjoyed using scented soap, cream, powder, and painted my eyebrows, nails and eyelashes.
130. I sinned with the hope that “God will forgive.”
131. I relied on my own strengths and abilities, and not on the help and mercy of God.
132. She worked on holidays and weekends, and from working on these days she did not give money to the poor.
133. I visited a healer, went to a fortune teller, was treated with “biocurrents”, sat in psychic sessions.
134. She sowed enmity and discord between people, she herself offended others.
135. She sold vodka and moonshine, speculated, made moonshine (was present at the same time) and took part.
136. She suffered from gluttony, even getting up to eat and drink at night.
137. Drew a cross on the ground.
138. I read atheistic books, magazines, “treatises on love”, looked at pornographic paintings, maps, half-nude images.
139. Distorted the Holy Scripture (mistakes when reading, singing).
140. She exalted herself with pride, sought primacy and supremacy.
141. Mentioned in anger evil spirits, called on the demon.
142. I danced and played on holidays and Sundays.
143. She entered the temple in uncleanness, ate prosphora, antidor.
144. In anger, I scolded and cursed those who offended me: so that there is no bottom, no tire, etc.
145. Spent money on entertainment (rides, carousels, all kinds of shows).
146. She was offended by her spiritual father and grumbled at him.
147. She disdained kissing icons and caring for sick and old people.
148. She teased the deaf and dumb, the weak-minded, and minors, angered animals, and paid evil for evil.
149. Tempted people, wore see-through clothes, miniskirts.
150. She swore and was baptized, saying: “I will fail in this place,” etc.
151. She retold ugly stories (sinful in essence) from the lives of her parents and neighbors.
152. Had a spirit of jealousy towards a friend, sister, brother, friend.
153. She sinned by being grumpy, self-willed, and complaining that there was no health, strength, or strength in the body.
154. I envied rich people, their beauty, their intelligence, education, wealth, and goodwill.
155. She did not keep her prayers and good deeds secret, and did not keep church secrets.
156. She justified her sins with illness, infirmity, and bodily weakness.
157. She condemned other people's sins and shortcomings, compared people, gave them characteristics, judged them.
158. She revealed the sins of others, mocked them, ridiculed people.
159. Deliberately deceived, told lies.
160. I hastily read holy books when my mind and heart did not assimilate what I read.
161. I gave up prayer because I was tired, making the excuse of weakness.
162. I rarely cried because I was living unrighteously; I forgot about humility, self-reproach, salvation and the Last Judgment.
163. In my life I have not surrendered myself to the will of God.
164. She ruined her spiritual home, mocked people, discussed the fall of others.
165. She herself was an instrument of the devil.
166. She did not always cut off her will in front of the elder.
167. I spent a lot of time on empty letters, and not on spiritual ones.
168. Didn’t have a feeling of fear of God.
169. She was angry, shook her fist, and swore.
170. I read more than I prayed.
171. I succumbed to persuasion, to the temptation to sin.
172. She commanded imperiously.
173. Slandered others, forced others to swear.
174. She turned her face away from those asking.
175. She disturbed the peace of mind of her neighbor and had a sinful mood of spirit.
176. Did good without thinking about God.
177. She was vain about her place, rank, position.
178. On the bus I did not give up my seat to the elderly or passengers with children.
179. When buying, she bargained and fell into argument.
180. I did not always accept the words of the elders and confessors with faith.
181. She looked with curiosity and asked about worldly things.
182. The flesh did not live in the shower, bath, bathhouse.
183. Traveled aimlessly, out of boredom.
184. When the visitors left, she did not try to free herself from sinfulness by prayer, but remained in it.
185. She allowed herself privileges in prayer, pleasure in worldly pleasures.
186. She pleased others to please the flesh and the enemy, and not for the benefit of the spirit and salvation.
187. I sinned with unspiritual attachment to friends.
188. I was proud of myself when doing a good deed. She didn’t humiliate herself or reproach herself.
189. She did not always feel sorry for sinful people, but scolded and reproached them.
190. She was dissatisfied with her life, scolded her and said: “When death takes me.”
191. There were times when she called me annoyingly and knocked loudly to get them to open.
192. While reading, I did not think deeply about the Holy Scriptures.
193. I did not always have cordiality towards visitors and the memory of God.
194. I did things out of passion and worked needlessly.
195. Often fueled by empty dreams.
196. She sinned with malice, did not remain silent in anger, did not move away from the one who aroused anger.
197. When I was sick, I often used food not for satisfaction, but for pleasure and enjoyment.
198. She coldly received mentally helpful visitors.
199. I grieved for the one who offended me. And they grieved at me when I offended.
200. During prayer I did not always have repentant feelings or humble thoughts.
201. Insulted her husband, who avoided intimacy on the wrong day.
202. In anger, she encroached on the life of her neighbor.
203. I have sinned and am sinning by fornication: I was with my husband not to conceive children, but out of lust. In the absence of her husband, she desecrated herself with masturbation.
204. At work I experienced persecution for the truth and grieved about it.
205. Laughed at the mistakes of others and made comments out loud.
206. She wore women's whims: beautiful umbrellas, fluffy clothes, other people's hair (wigs, hairpieces, braids).
207. She was afraid of suffering and endured it reluctantly.
208. She often opened her mouth to show off her gold teeth, wore glasses with gold frames, and an abundance of rings and gold jewelry.
209. I asked advice from people who do not have spiritual intelligence.
210. Before reading the word of God, she did not always call on the grace of the Holy Spirit, she only cared about reading as much as possible.
211. She passed on the gift of God to the womb, voluptuousness, idleness and sleep. She didn’t work, having talent.
212. I was lazy to write and rewrite spiritual instructions.
213. I dyed my hair and looked younger, visited beauty salons.
214. When giving alms, she did not combine it with the correction of her heart.
215. She did not shy away from flatterers and did not stop them.
216. She had an addiction to clothes: she cared about how not to get dirty, not dusty, not to get wet.
217. She did not always wish salvation for her enemies and did not care about it.
218. At prayer I was “a slave of necessity and duty.”
219. After fasting, I ate light meals, eating until my stomach became heavy and often without time.
220. I rarely prayed the night prayer. She sniffed tobacco and indulged in smoking.
221. Didn’t avoid spiritual temptations. Had some bad dates. I lost heart.
222. On the road I forgot about prayer.
223. Intervened with instructions.
224. She did not sympathize with the sick and mourning.
225. She didn’t always lend money.
226. I feared sorcerers more than God.
227. I felt sorry for myself for the benefit of others.
228. She soiled and spoiled sacred books.
229. I talked before morning and after evening prayer.
230. She brought glasses to guests against their will, treated them beyond measure.
231. I did the works of God without love and zeal.
232. Often I did not see my sins, I rarely condemned myself.
233. I played with my face, looking in the mirror, making grimaces.
234. She spoke about God without humility and caution.
235. I was burdened by the service, waiting for the end, hurrying quickly to the exit in order to calm down and take care of everyday affairs.
236. I rarely did self-tests; in the evening I did not read the prayer “I confess to you...”
237. I rarely thought about what I heard in the temple and read in the Scriptures.
238. I did not look for traits of kindness in an evil person and did not talk about his good deeds.
239. I often did not see my sins and rarely condemned myself.
240. Took contraception. She demanded protection from her husband and interruption of the act.
241. Praying for health and peace, I often went through names without the participation and love of my heart.
242. She spoke out everything when it would have been better to remain silent.
243. In the conversation I used artistic techniques. She spoke in an unnatural voice.
244. She was offended by inattention and neglect of herself, and was inattentive to others.
245. She did not abstain from excesses and pleasures.
246. She wore other people’s clothes without permission and damaged other people’s things. In the room I blew my nose on the floor.
247. She sought benefit and benefit for herself, and not for her neighbor.
248. Forced a person to sin: to lie, steal, spy.
249. Convey and retell.
250. I found pleasure in sinful dates.
251. Visited places of wickedness, debauchery and godlessness.
252. She offered her ear to hear the bad.
253. Attributed success to herself, and not to God’s help.
254. While studying spiritual life, I did not put it into practice.
255. She worried people in vain and did not calm the angry and saddened.
256. I often washed clothes, wasting time unnecessarily.
257. Sometimes she ran into danger: she crossed the road in front of transport, crossed the river along thin ice etc.
258. She rose above others, showing her superiority and wisdom of mind. She allowed herself to humiliate another, mocking the shortcomings of soul and body.
259. I put off the works of God, mercy and prayer for later.
260. I didn’t mourn myself when I did a bad deed. I listened with pleasure to slanderous speeches, blasphemed the life and treatment of others.
261. Did not use excess income for spiritual benefits.
262. I did not save from the days of fasting to give to the sick, the needy and children.
263. She worked reluctantly, with grumbling and annoyance because of the low pay.
264. Was the cause of sin in family discord.
265. She endured sorrows without gratitude and self-reproach.
266. I didn’t always retire to be alone with God.
267. She lay and luxuriated in bed for a long time, and did not immediately get up to pray.
268. Lost self-control when defending the offended, kept hostility and evil in her heart.
269. Didn’t stop the speaker from gossiping. She herself often passed it on to others and with an addition from herself.
270. Before morning prayer and during prayer rule did household chores.
271. She autocratically presented her thoughts as the true rule of life.
272. Ate stolen food.
273. I did not confess the Lord with my mind, heart, word, or deed. She had an alliance with the wicked.
274. At meals I was too lazy to treat and serve my neighbor.
275. She was sad about the deceased, about the fact that she herself was sick.
276. I was glad that the holiday had come and I didn’t have to work.
277. I drank wine on holidays. She loved going to dinner parties. I got fed up there.
278. I listened to the teachers when they said things that were harmful to the soul, against God.
279. Used perfume, burned Indian incense.
280. She was engaged in lesbianism and touched someone else’s body with voluptuousness. With lust and voluptuousness I watched the matings of animals.
281. She cared beyond measure about the nutrition of the body. Accepted gifts or alms at a time when there was no need to accept it.
282. I didn’t try to stay away from a person who likes to chat.
283. Didn’t get baptized, didn’t say a prayer when the church bell rang.
284. Being under the guidance of her spiritual father, she did everything according to her own will.
285. She was naked when swimming, sunbathing, doing physical education, and when she was sick she was shown to a male doctor.
286. She did not always remember and count her violations of the Law of God with repentance.
287. While reading prayers and canons, I was too lazy to bow.
288. Having heard that the person was sick, she did not rush to help.
289. In thought and word she exalted herself in the good she had done.
290. I believed the slander. She did not punish herself for her sins.
291. During church services, I read my household rule or wrote a memorial.
292. I did not abstain from my favorite foods (albeit lean ones).
293. She punished and lectured children unfairly.
294. Had no daily memory of God's Court, death, Kingdom of God.
295. During times of sadness, I did not occupy my mind and heart with the prayer of Christ.
296. She did not force herself to pray, to read the Word of God, or to cry about her sins.
297. She rarely commemorated the dead and did not pray for the dead.
298. She approached the Chalice with unconfessed sin.
299. In the morning I did gymnastics, and did not devote my first thoughts to God.
300. When praying, I was too lazy to cross myself, sorted out my bad thoughts, and didn’t think about what awaited me beyond the grave.
301. I hurried through prayer, shortened it out of laziness and read it without due attention.
302. I told my neighbors and acquaintances about my grievances. I visited places where bad examples were set.
303. She admonished a person without meekness and love. She became irritated when correcting her neighbor.
304. I didn’t always light the lamp on holidays and Sundays.
305. On Sundays I didn’t go to church, but to pick mushrooms and berries...
306. Had more savings than necessary.
307. I spared my strength and health in order to serve my neighbor.
308. She reproached her neighbor for what happened.
309. Walking on the way to the temple, I did not always read prayers.
310. Assented when condemning a person.
311. She was jealous of her husband, remembered her rival with anger, wished for her death, and used a witch doctor’s incantation to harass her.
312. I have been demanding and disrespectful towards people. She gained the upper hand in conversations with her neighbors. On the way to the temple, she overtook those older than me, and did not wait for those who lagged behind me.
313. She turned her abilities to earthly goods.
314. Had jealousy towards my spiritual father.
315. I always tried to be right.
316. I asked unnecessary questions.
317. Cried about the temporary.
318. Interpreted dreams and took them seriously.
319. She boasted about her sin, the evil she had done.
320. After communion I did not guard against sin.
321. I kept atheist books and playing cards in the house.
322. She gave advice without knowing whether it was pleasing to God; she was careless in the affairs of God.
323. She accepted prosphora and holy water without reverence (she spilled holy water, spilled crumbs of prosphora).
324. I went to bed and got up without prayer.
325. She spoiled her children, not paying attention to their bad deeds.
326. During Lent, she practiced guttural rage and loved to drink. strong tea, coffee, other drinks.
327. I took tickets and groceries from the back door, and rode on a bus without a ticket.
328. She put prayer and the temple above serving her neighbor.
329. Endured sorrows with despondency and murmuring.
330. I was irritated when tired and sick.
331. Had free relations with persons of the other sex.
332. When thinking about worldly affairs, she gave up prayer.
333. I was forced to eat and drink the sick and children.
334. She treated vicious people with contempt and did not strive to convert them.
335. She knew and gave money for an evil deed.
336. She entered the house without an invitation, spied through a crack, through a window, through a keyhole, and listened at the door.
337. Confided secrets to strangers.
338. I ate food without need and hunger.
339. I read prayers with errors, got confused, missed them, put the emphasis incorrectly.
340. She lived lustfully with her husband. She allowed perversion and carnal pleasures.
341. She lent money and asked for debts back.
342. I tried to find out more about divine objects than was revealed by God.
343. She sinned with body movement, gait, gesture.
344. She set herself up as an example, boasted, boasted.
345. She spoke passionately about earthly things and delighted in the memory of sin.
346. I went to the temple and back with empty conversations.
347. I insured my life and property, I wanted to make money from the insurance.
348. She was greedy for pleasure, unchaste.
349. She conveyed her conversations with the elder and her temptations to others.
350. She was a donor not out of love for her neighbor, but for the sake of drinking, free days, for money.
351. Boldly and willfully plunged herself into sorrows and temptations.
352. I was bored and dreamed of travel and entertainment.
353. Made wrong decisions in anger.
354. I was distracted by thoughts while praying.
355. Traveled south for carnal pleasures.
356. I used the time of prayer for everyday matters.
357. She distorted words, distorted the thoughts of others, and expressed her displeasure out loud.
358. I was ashamed to admit to my neighbors that I am a believer and visit the temple of God.
359. She slandered, demanded justice in higher authorities, wrote complaints.
360. She denounced those who do not visit the temple and do not repent.
361. I bought lottery tickets with the hope of getting rich.
362. She gave alms and rudely slandered the beggar.
363. I listened to the advice of egoists who themselves were slaves of the womb and their carnal passions.
364. I was engaged in self-aggrandizement, proudly expecting a greeting from my neighbor.
365. I was burdened by fasting and looked forward to its end.
366. She could not bear the stench of people without disgust.
367. In anger she denounced people, forgetting that we are all sinners.
368. She went to bed, did not remember the affairs of the day and did not shed tears about her sins.
369. She did not keep the Charter of the Church and the traditions of the holy fathers.
370. For help in household She paid with vodka and tempted people with drunkenness.
371. During fasting, I made tricks in food.
372. I was distracted from prayer when bitten by a mosquito, fly or other insect.
373. At the sight of human ingratitude, I refrained from doing good deeds.
374. She shunned dirty work: cleaning the toilet, picking up trash.
375. During the period of breastfeeding, she did not abstain from married life.
376. In the temple she stood with her back to the altar and the holy icons.
377. She prepared sophisticated dishes and tempted her with guttural madness.
378. I read entertaining books with pleasure, and not the Scriptures of the Holy Fathers.
379. I watched TV, spent all day at the “box”, and not in prayers in front of icons.
380. Listened to passionate worldly music.
381. She sought consolation in friendship, yearned for carnal pleasures, loved to kiss men and women on the mouth.
382. Engaged in extortion and deception, judged and discussed people.
383. While fasting, I felt disgusted by monotonous, lean food.
384. She spoke the Word of God to unworthy people (not “throwing pearls before swine”).
385. She neglected the holy icons and did not wipe them from dust in a timely manner.
386. I was too lazy to write congratulations on church holidays.
387. Spent time in worldly games and entertainment: checkers, backgammon, lotto, cards, chess, rolling pins, ruffles, Rubik's cube and others.
388. She charmed illnesses, gave advice to go to sorcerers, gave addresses of sorcerers.
389. She believed omens and slander: she spat over her left shoulder, a black cat ran by, a spoon, fork, etc. fell.
390. She answered the angry man sharply to his anger.
391. Tried to prove the justification and justice of her anger.
392. She was annoying, interrupted people’s sleep, and distracted them from their meals.
393. Relaxed with small talk with young people of the opposite sex.
394. Was engaged in idle talk, curiosity, stuck around fires and was present at accidents.
395. She considered it unnecessary to undergo treatment for illnesses and visit a doctor.
396. I tried to calm myself down by hastily fulfilling the rule.
397. I overworked myself with work.
398. I ate a lot during the meat-eating week.
399. Gave incorrect advice to neighbors.
400. She told shameful jokes.
401. To please the authorities, she covered the holy icons.
402. I neglected a person in his old age and his poverty of mind.
403. She stretched out her hands to her naked body, looked and touched the secret ouds with her hands.
404. She punished children with anger, in a fit of passion, with abuse and cursing.
405. Taught children to spy, eavesdrop, pimp.
406. She spoiled her children and did not pay attention to their bad deeds.
407. I had a satanic fear for my body, I was afraid of wrinkles and gray hair.
408. Burdened others with requests.
409. Drew conclusions about the sinfulness of people based on their misfortunes.
410. Wrote offensive and anonymous letters, spoke rudely, disturbed people on the phone, making jokes under an assumed name.
411. Sat on the bed without the owner’s permission.
412. During prayer I imagined the Lord.
413. Satanic laughter attacked while reading and listening to the Divine.
414. I asked advice from people ignorant in this matter, I believed in crafty people.
415. I strived for championship, competition, won interviews, participated in competitions.
416. Treated the Gospel as a fortune-telling book.
417. I picked berries, flowers, branches in other people's gardens without permission.
418. During fasting she had no good disposition towards people and allowed violations of fasting.
419. I did not always realize and regret the sin.
420. I listened to worldly records, sinned by watching videos and porn movies, and relaxed in other worldly pleasures.
421. I read a prayer, having enmity against my neighbor.
422. She prayed in a hat, with her head uncovered.
423. I believed in omens.
424. She indiscriminately used papers on which the name of God was written.
425. She was proud of her literacy and erudition, she imagined and singled out people with higher education.
426. She appropriated the money she found.
427. In church I put bags and things on the windows.
428. I rode for pleasure in a car, motor boat, or bicycle.
429. I repeated other people’s bad words, listened to people swearing.
430. I read newspapers, books, and worldly magazines with enthusiasm.
431. She abhorred the poor, the wretched, the sick, who smelled bad.
432. She was proud that she had not committed shameful sins, capital murder, abortion, etc.
433. I ate and got drunk before the onset of fasts.
434. I purchased unnecessary things without having to.
435. After a prodigal sleep, I did not always read prayers against defilement.
436. Celebrated New Year, wore masks and obscene clothes, got drunk, cursed, overeated and sinned.
437. Caused damage to her neighbor, spoiled and broke other people's things.
438. She believed in nameless “prophets”, in “holy letters”, “the dream of the Virgin Mary”, she herself copied them and passed them on to others.
439. I listened to sermons in church with a spirit of criticism and condemnation.
440. She used her earnings for sinful lusts and amusements.
441. Spread bad rumors about priests and monks.
442. She jostled around in the church, hurrying to kiss the icon, the Gospel, the cross.
443. She was proud, in her lack and poverty she was indignant and grumbled at the Lord.
444. I urinated in public and even joked about it.
445. She did not always repay what she borrowed on time.
446. She minimized her sins in confession.
447. Gloated at the misfortune of her neighbor.
448. She taught others in an instructive, commanding tone.
449. She shared their vices with people and confirmed them in these vices.
450. Quarreled with people for a place in the church, at the icons, near the eve table.
451. Inadvertently caused pain to animals.
452. I left a glass of vodka at the grave of relatives.
453. I did not sufficiently prepare myself for the sacrament of confession.
454. Sanctity of Sundays and holidays violated by games, visits to shows, etc.
455. When the crops were being grassed, she swore at the cattle with dirty words.
456. I had dates in cemeteries; as a child we ran and played hide and seek there.
457. Allowed sexual intercourse before marriage.
458. She got drunk on purpose in order to decide to sin, and took medicine along with wine to get more drunk.
459. She begged for alcohol, pawned things and documents for this.
460. To attract attention to herself, to make her worry, she tried to commit suicide.
461. As a child, I didn’t listen to teachers, prepared my lessons poorly, was lazy, and disrupted classes.
462. I visited cafes and restaurants located in churches.
463. She sang in a restaurant, on the stage, and danced in a variety show.
464. In crowded transport, I felt pleasure from touching and did not try to avoid it.
465. She was offended by her parents for punishment, remembered these grievances for a long time and told others about them.
466. She reassured herself with the fact that everyday worries prevented her from engaging in matters of faith, salvation and piety, and justified herself with the fact that in her youth no one taught the Christian faith.
467. Wasted time on useless chores, fuss, and conversations.
468. Was engaged in the interpretation of dreams.
469. She objected with passion, fought, and scolded.
470. She sinned with thefts, as a child she stole eggs, gave them to a store, etc.
471. She was vain, proud, did not respect her parents, and did not obey the authorities.
472. She engaged in heresy, had a wrong opinion about the subject of faith, doubt and even apostasy from the Orthodox faith.
473. Had the sin of Sodom (coitus with animals, with the wicked, entered into an incestuous relationship).