The order of confession. Church ordinances: how to correctly write sins for confession and prepare for it

When you come to church for confession, do not be afraid. The Lord is magnanimous, accepts all sinners. Forgives those who repent. You should not be afraid of the priest, he is the eyes and ears of the Lord, no one will know about your secret sins. He listens so much throughout the day that by lunchtime he does not remember who came to him and what he said.

Father is the only person who will not wish you ill, envy. He will only rejoice that one more soul has been saved, and thank God that he is all-seeing and all-good and has directed you to the true path!

Sins speaking in confession

The priest in the church is not an all-seeing eye, much less a psychic to guess about your sins. He will ask questions related to sins in one way or another. These questions are directly related to the 10 important commandments.

1. "I am your God."It will be listed:

  • Do you pray, how often you go to services, just to church?
  • Do you admit that you believe in God to your friends?
  • Do you believe in God?

2. "Make no idol for yourself."These include:

  • Overeating, as a food cult;
  • Decorations;
  • Money, alcohol, smoking;
  • Pride.

3. Do you remember the Lord in moments of frustration?

4. Do you devote a day off to prayer.

5. Do you respect your parents

6. Do not kill, not by word or deed.

7. Do not seduce anyone, do not destroy someone's marriage and life.

8. Don't take what doesn't belong to you.

9. Do not slander your relatives and friends with lies.

10. Do not desire what others have.

Preparing for a confession of sins, how to repent

Before you go to confession to the priest, you need to prepare. What does it mean to prepare? To do this, you need to read prayers, fast for at least a day before going to the temple. On the very day of the confession itself, you need to eat nothing, come to the very beginning of the service. If the priest notices that you have not been there from the very beginning of the service, he will not confess.

Do not look for excuses in your actions. If you did this, then you wanted to, and at that time it was very convenient for you. Before going to confession, make peace with yourself, your loved ones, ask for forgiveness, if necessary.

The confession is divided into two parts:

  • Soul confession: You repent every day for what you have done;
  • Confession to a priest: You tell a priest about your deeds in order to cleanse your soul.

These are completely two different sides of the same coin. When you come to church, you should be aware of what and why you will say. In front of a completely stranger, it is very difficult to tell what wrongs you have, and why you did so. It becomes embarrassing, many forget or do not want to talk about the most painful mistakes they have made.

You can make a list of misdeeds, so you will not forget anything, and then it will be easier to talk about it. If it is still difficult for you to compile such a list, there is a mini shop at the church, it certainly has a booklet on how to conduct a confession, what sins exist.

After confession, a person usually experiences a feeling of relief, as if a mountain had been lifted off his shoulders. You can confess several times a week. Frequent church visits can help you feel relaxed and confident.

Sins in Confession List for Women

Compilation and reading of such a ready-made list leads to a stupor of many ladies. Not everyone can understand that your life is a complete sinful nightmare. You should not despair. Consult with the priest, he will briefly explain everything and tell you what and why. No one will intrude into your personal life, because only God alone knows why this is, and how you deserve it. You, having passed the secret of confession, will be able to figure it out and draw the right conclusions, improve your life position and take the right path of correcting life mistakes. You can discuss contraception with the priest, because abortion is a mortal sin, and it is better to avoid this in time than to repent for the rest of your life.

List of possible sins:

  • I was not happy with my position in society, environment, life;
  • She was angry with her children, screamed, doubted them;
  • Didn't trust doctors, doubted their competence;
  • I was deluding myself;
  • Set a bad example for her children;
  • She was jealous;
  • Was the cause of scandals;
  • The most terrible and deadly sin is PRIDE. It is very difficult to fight with him, almost no one notices him, but they yak very often. If you learn to catch yourself on the I, readjust to WE, then you are on the right path.
  • She did not pray and rarely read a prayer, did not come to the temple of God;
  • During the service, she reflected on worldly problems;
  • She performed abortions herself, and pushed others to this idea;
  • I thought badly about people, discussed;
  • Read obscenities or watched obscene films;
  • She used foul language, lied, envied;
  • She was offended for no reason, showing others her I;
  • She wore obscene clothes, too short and defiant, thereby provoking excessive male attention and female envy;
  • She was afraid for her appearance and figure;
  • Thought about death;
  • Overeat, drank alcohol, took drugs;
  • Refused to help;
  • She visited fortune-tellers and fortune-tellers.
  • I believed in all sorts of superstitions;

Complete confession of sins for women

You need to trust the priest, tell everything:

  • If you have not confessed before, then you need to tell about all the misdeeds you have committed since the age of seven. The hidden sin is doubled, it is harder to atone for it;
  • If you have confessed, then from the last confession;
  • Share your sinful thoughts and desires;
  • An important place is given to abortion. If you did, and more than one, it is worth mentioning all of them;
  • If they were married more than once, cohabited in a civil marriage, or had several men, as well;
  • If you have children from more than one husband, also;

The priest must understand what you need to do, read, how many days to fast, and exactly how to fast. That is why he is the right hand of the Lord.

Sins in confession in your own words

I confess, Lord. Sinful. The world is sinful and I am no better. Despair, offended, angry. I skip the post on Wednesday and Friday. I do not strictly fast. Sometimes I overeat, I am lazy. I scream at my husband and children. I don't trust people. I am doing my job poorly. I am worried that there is not enough money. I do not trust the Lord, I only rely on myself, etc.

Complete confession of sins

There are several options for confession. Short, involves a description of the actions, words or deeds committed. Full confession also includes thoughts and desires. This is the confession that monks pass. Believers, if they wish, can also undergo such a complete cleansing of the soul. To do this, you need to consult with the priest, or read the relevant literature.

Confession how to write a note with sins

The sheet must be divided into parts:

  • Sins against parents and relatives;
  • Sins against yourself;
  • Sins against God.

Many people think that having written down their transgressions on a piece of paper, they are doing wrong, and when they come to confession, they forget half of their sins, they go astray. Such a presentation of your thoughts will streamline the confession itself, and not allow you to forget or hide something.

There is an opinion that writing sins on a piece of paper is no longer a secret, but a banal reading.

In confession, it is important to repentance, to understand what was perfect and not to allow such acts anymore. That is why, it is worth considering the transfer of sins to paper as the design of a memo or a tip.

List of sins in confession for men

It is more difficult for men to admit their misdeeds, words, sins. They may even believe that they are not guilty of anything. Only women are guilty of their concept. Therefore, only to repent and confess to them.But this is far from true. Men are no less sinful. They discuss and gossip in some way more than we do. And irascibility and narcissism are generally a separate topic for conversation.

Possible sins:

  • Conversations in church and during services;
  • Allowing Doubts in Faith;
  • The manifestation of cruelty, pride, laziness;
  • Greed or wastefulness;
  • Avoiding helping his wife, children, misleading them;
  • Disclosure of other people's secrets;
  • Inclination to sin;
  • Drinking alcohol, smoking drugs;
  • Passion for card games, slot machines, persuading others to this debauchery;
  • Participation in thefts, fights;
  • Narcissism;
  • Impudent behavior, the ability to humiliate loved ones;
  • Manifestations of negligence and cowardice;
  • Abuse, seduction, adultery.

This is not a complete list of male sins. To most of the above, mankind takes it for granted, and does not consider it a sin at all.

Examples of sins for confession

People sin in their own way. One considers his act to be the norm, for another it is a deadly sin.

Here is an approximate possible list:

  • Not faith in the Lord God;
  • Doubts;
  • Ingratitude to the Savior;
  • Not wanting to wear a cross;
  • Not wanting to defend your opinion of God in front of unbelievers;
  • They swore by the Lord to justify themselves;
  • They called upon God, asked for help in vanity and unbelief;
  • They blamed on the Lord;
  • Stayed and attended non-Christian churches;
  • Hostility;
  • They resorted to the help of sorcerers, wizards;
  • Read or preach false doctrines about God;
  • They played all kinds of games: cards, machines;
  • Refused to fast;
  • Have not read the prayer book;
  • Desired to commit suicide;
  • They used foul language;
  • Don't go to church;
  • Think badly of priests;
  • Watching TV or sitting at the computer, instead of helping loved ones, or doing something around the house;
  • Despair and do not ask God for help;
  • Relying too much on others;
  • You deceive the priest during confession, or do not trust him;
  • Has a quick-tempered character;
  • Treat people arrogantly;
  • Show others your pride and vanity;
  • You lie to relatives and friends;
  • Make fun of the poor, inept;
  • Show your stinginess, or excessive wastefulness;
  • Your children are not raised in the faith and fear of the Lord;
  • Do not help the needy, the disadvantaged;
  • Do not come to the aid of your parents;
  • Resorting to theft;
  • Do not behave decently at the commemoration, let alcohol take over you;
  • You can kill the interlocutor with a word;
  • Slander;
  • Bring the person to sinful thoughts of death;
  • Abortion, persuading others to do so;
  • Imposing your thoughts;
  • The cult of money;
  • Showing oneself to people as a benefactor;
  • Excessive overeating, drinking;
  • Adultery, masturbation, incest.

Confession of prodigal sins

Fornication is considered a very serious sin. Previously, for such offenses, they were excommunicated for up to 7 years. It is located inside the person himself, in his subconsciousness. He eats a person from the inside. Being in such a sophisticated state, you feel euphoric. You no longer want to read a prayer. Such sinners are displeasing to God, he is disgusted by the mere thought of them. But at the same time, when they repent, they will be forgiven faster than anyone else.

As the holy fathers say, three days of intense prayer, fasting, and repentance are enough to earn the Lord's forgiveness.

It’s a shame, of course, scary, but it’s better to tell and repent than to carry this abomination in yourself. And if your family is also expecting a child, even more so. Why torture an unborn baby's soul. After all, we pass our sins onto children. And then we wonder why they are sick, or have many problems in life!

In this case, you should not write a note to the priest. Like, read it, while I’m going to the store or have a smoke! This is a kindergarten! When they sinned, there was no shame before God, but before the priest yes!

The most important thing! Repented. Have mastered the passed material. Correct your mistake! Don't repeat it! By repeating, automatically become a hypocrite!

May the Lord protect you from temptation.

Confession sin masturbation

The concept is ambiguous, and the sin is very serious. In the Christian faith, they call it masturbation, or masturbation. Loving yourself with your hands is the same sin as cheating on your spouse, or being overwhelmed by girls. It is very difficult to get rid of such a clever passion. Father needs to be told everything in detail, he will ask many questions. It is necessary to get to the bottom of this sin, since this is the tip of the iceberg, the root of the problem is much worse and is hidden deep in the subconscious, hiding behind other obvious sins.

To confess is to go through a small judgment of God. Blush, and only you will be ashamed. And there, in that world, at the judgment of God, all your deceased relatives will be ashamed, there you will not hide anything. Therefore, we have sinned, repent, here and now.

For this sin in the old days they punished with strict fasting, sat on bread and water for 40 days. At the service, they bowed tirelessly.

Holy Scripture says: “If anyone has sinned, forgive him, and all his sins will be forgiven. And if you don’t forgive anyone, they will remain on that ”.

To do such a thing means to waste your strength and life resource in vain. This behavior suggests that the Orthodox is weak-willed, weak in character, does not have the strength of mind to control his desires.The Church does not take this for granted. Since for the natural permissible fornication there must be two, a husband and a wife. This is the only way they get approval. Anything else is sin and unethical.

Priests say about masturbation that it is uncleanness. It was with such a sin that the son of the patriarch Judah Onan was slain. To get pleasure, you need God's blessing for a church marriage. And it's easier to enter it than to be under constant sinful addiction.

Sin will succumb, maybe the female sex. The church condemns him no less than men. It follows from this that they also need to repent.

Masturbation also happens among adolescents, girls and boys. At this age, this is more an unconscious act, a bad hyena leads to this, too tight-fitting things. Parents are obliged to look after their children, to control their behavior. It is more difficult to fix this problem, children, as a rule, do not understand the full depth of the problem, and do not realize what they are to blame.

You should spend as much time with them as possible, change clothes, if the reason is in it. Sign up the child to swim. Find the cause of the problem. Read spiritual literature to a child, subtly explain that this is a sin.

The priest will help you choose the necessary prayers that will help you get rid of this addiction.

List of sins for confession with explanations

  • I don’t confess, I don’t go to church, or I come to services very rarely.I do unnecessary things on weekends, I don’t read prayers.I don't understand what my sins are.
  • I don't have the habit of thanking God.I do not pray in the morning and in the evening. She blamed on God, did not believe in him.
  • She gave her pets human names.
  • I listened to swearing and gossip.She swore, thereby cursing the Mother of God. I listened to vulgarities.
  • She received communion without preparation, fasting, or prayer.
  • She broke her fast, cooked dinner from forbidden foods. Remembered dead relatives with alcohol.
  • She wore obscene clothes, thereby seducing men, encouraging fornication.
  • Civil marriage, prodigal.
  • She performed abortions, thereby killing her children, trying to avoid difficulties in life.
  • She set a bad example for the children, shouted, beat them, did not introduce them into the church, did not teach them prayer, fasting, and restraint.
  • She was fond of occult sciences, magic, etc., conducted meditations, attended martial arts sections, which led to communication with demons.
  • She took someone else's, loans, things, on debt and did not return, which brought people suffering.
  • She boasted, put herself on display, showed everyone her goodness, thereby humiliating them.
  • Violated traffic rules, thereby creating risky situations.
  • She talked about her problems, cried, thereby feeling sorry for herself, justifying.

Sins of children in confession

Children need to be taught to church from infancy. Until the age of seven, children do not confess. It is believed that the child is still sinless. And what he says and how he acts, it is only our merit and the example set.It is necessary to explain to the child what confession is, why it is needed. Children should understand that they tell about their bad deeds not to an uncle in a cassock, but to God himself, that the priest is the eyes and ears of the Lord.

The mood of the child depends on his attendance at church and his attitude towards it. In no case do not insist, if the child is not ready, there will only be harm to his fragile psyche.

Parents can briefly, but correctly, explain to their child what sin is and what they are. Each parent knows the characteristics of their child. Shy children can be encouraged to write a note to help them focus. Explain to your child that you should not be afraid, that you will not know about his conversation with God. He must learn to trust both you and the priest.

Children's confession list of sins

Children's sins are not as bitter as adults. They are more like wrongdoing. Therefore, a child's confession differs from an adult. Approximate questions that the father can ask:

  • Does the child attend church and how often? What does he do if he comes to church? Is it interesting for him to be here?
  • What prayers does he know?
  • Does he have a cross?
  • Is he telling the truth to his parents or is he cheating?
  • How many friends does he have and what kind of relationship do they have? Does he show intolerance towards them? How does it feel about babies and girls?
  • What does he do and what interests do he have? Does he show pride in his accomplishments?
  • Does he have any favorite pets? How does he feel about them?
  • Does he love his parents?

Sins of adolescents for confession

Older children are more susceptible to outside influences, such as friends, the street. They defend their point of view, their opinion. Unfortunately, in the rhythm of big cities, there is not always time to control where they are, and who they are friends with, what they watch and what sites they visit! Therefore, it is important to teach a teenager to trust, if not you, then at least a priest. He will definitely not advise bad, and will take the side of the teenager unambiguously, will prompt the right way out of this situation. And he certainly will not criticize, like many parents.

It is in adolescence that children manage to get into different stories, try to get out of them themselves, thinking that they are already adults and have enough experience. They are afraid to confess to their parents, they consult with friends.

By attending church and trusting God through a priest, a teenager can avoid many difficult situations. Do not spoil your life, do not take the path of sin from such a young age.

What the father may ask about:

  • What does he say if someone has a better phone, for example?
  • Did he steal? If so, what did you do afterwards? Was he ashamed?
  • How does he behave with children from poor families? Is there envy of the children of rich parents?
  • Doesn't he laugh at the disabled, sick children?
  • How does he relate to cards, alcohol, drugs?
  • Does he help elders, for example, with household chores?
  • Doesn't he deceive the parents by saying that he is sick?
  • How does he study? Does she skip school?
  • Does he have an addiction to TV, computer, telephone? And how does he understand this?
  • How does he feel about elders? Does mom and dad respect?
  • Is he not saying bad words?
  • What does she think of girls when they are in short skirts? Girls, why do they need clothes that are short or too tight? Do they seduce boys?
  • Doesn't he do something that makes you ashamed?
  • Can he tell his parents about all his actions?
  • Watching adult movies and related sites?
  • Didn't he take someone else's, things, money?
  • Does he correct what he has done?
  • Does it repent of what has already been done?

Are all sins forgiven in confession

There are no sinners that the Savior could not ask for. If a person repents in confession, he can be forgiven. The sin that the church cannot forgive is foul language against the Lord, the Church and her laws.

The Lord forgives all sins. Because of his love for us, he suffered and was crucified. He accepts all sinners, gives them a second chance, and believes that they can correct themselves.

The question is whether a person who has sinned can forgive himself. And if he caused pain and suffering, even more so.

If you missed something or forgot to tell the priest during the service, then when the chrismation is performed, sins will be forgiven. Such services are held in the evening, on Saturday, or on holidays.

Isn't it time for all of us to learn how to confess correctly? - the staff of the portal "Orthodox Life" decidedly and did not hesitate to ask the confessor of the Kiev theological schools, the teacher of the KDA, Archimandrite Markell (Pavuk).

Photo: Boris Gurevich fotokto.ru

- A large number of people do not know what to repent of. Many go to confession and are silent, waiting for leading questions from the priests. Why is this happening and what should an Orthodox Christian repent of?

- Usually people do not know what to repent of, for several reasons:

1. They lead a scattered life (busy with thousands of things), and they have no time to deal with themselves, look into their souls and see what is wrong there. Such people in our time, 90%, if not more.

2. Many suffer from high self-esteem, that is, they are proud, and therefore are more inclined to notice and condemn other people's sins and shortcomings than their own.

3. Neither their parents, nor teachers, nor priests taught them what and how to repent.

And an Orthodox Christian should repent first of all in what his conscience denounces. It is best to build a confession according to the Ten Commandments of God. That is, during Confession, first we need to talk about what we have sinned against God (these can be the sins of unbelief, lack of faith, superstition, God, oaths), then repent of sins against our neighbors (disrespect, inattention to parents, disobedience to them, deception, cunning, condemnation, anger against neighbors, hostility, arrogance, pride, vanity, avarice, theft, seducing others into sin, fornication, etc.). I advise you to familiarize yourself with the book "To help the penitent", compiled by St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov). In the work of Elder John Krestyankin, a sample of confession according to the Ten Commandments of God is presented. Focusing on these works, you can make your own informal confession.

- How much detail should you tell about your sins in confession?

- It all depends on the degree of your repentance for your sins. If a person in his heart has found the determination to no longer return to this or that sin, then he tries to uproot it and therefore describes everything to the smallest detail. And if a person repents formally, then he gets something like: "I sinned in deed, in word, in thought." The exception to this rule is the sins of fornication. In this case, it is not necessary to describe the details. If the priest feels that a person is indifferent even to such sins, then he can ask additional questions in order to shame such a person at least a little and move him to true repentance.

- If you do not feel light after confession, what does it mean?

- This may indicate that there was no genuine repentance, the confession was made without contrition of the heart, but only by a formal enumeration of sins with an unwillingness to change your life and no longer sin. True, sometimes the Lord does not immediately give a feeling of lightness, so that a person does not become proud and immediately fall into the same sins again. Ease also does not immediately come if a person confesses long-standing, deeply rooted sins. For lightness to come, many tears of repentance must be shed.

- If you were in confession at Vespers, and after the service you managed to sin, do you need to go to confession again in the morning?

- If these are prodigal sins, anger or drunkenness, then it is imperative to repent of them once again and even ask the priest for penance, so as not to commit old sins so quickly. If sins of a different kind are committed (condemnation, laziness, verbosity), then during the evening or morning prayer rule, one should sincerely ask the Lord for forgiveness for the wrongdoings, and at the next confession, confess them.

- If in confession I forgot to mention some sin, and then after a while I remembered it, do I need to go up to the priest again and talk about it?

- If there is such an opportunity and the priest is not very busy, then he will even rejoice for your diligence, and if there is no such opportunity, then you need to write down this sin so that you do not forget it again and repent of it during the next confession.

- How to learn to see your sins?

- A person begins to see his sins when he stops judging other people. In addition, to see one's own weakness, as the Monk Simeon the New Theologian writes, is taught by careful fulfillment of the commandments of God. As long as a person does one thing and neglects the other, he will not be able to feel the wound that sins inflict on his soul.

- What to do with the feeling of shame in confession, with the desire to shade, hide your sin? Will this hidden sin be forgiven by God?

- Shame in confession is a natural feeling that testifies that a person's conscience is alive. It is worse when there is no shame. But the main thing is that shame should not reduce our confession to a formality, when we confess one thing and hide the other. It is unlikely that the Lord will please such a confession. And every priest always feels when a person is hiding something and formalizes his confession. For him, this child ceases to be dear, such for which he is always ready to pray earnestly. And, conversely, regardless of the severity of the sin, the deeper the repentance, the more the priest rejoices for the repentant. Not only the priest, but also the Angels in heaven rejoice for a sincerely repentant person.

- Do I need to confess the sin that you will commit one hundred percent in the near future? How to Hate Sin?

- The Holy Fathers teach that the greatest sin is unrepentant sin. Even if we do not feel within ourselves the strength to fight against sin, we still need to resort to the Sacrament of Repentance. With God's help, if not immediately, then gradually we will be able to overcome the sin that is rooted in us. But don't overestimate yourself too much. If we lead the right spiritual life, we can never feel completely sinless. The fact is that we are all comfortable, that is, we very easily fall into all kinds of sins, no matter how many times we repent of them. Each of our confessions is a kind of shower (bath) for the soul. If we constantly take care of the purity of our body, then all the more we need to take care of the purity of our soul, which is much more precious than the body. So, no matter how many times we sin, we must not hesitate to run to confession. And if a person does not repent of repeated sins, then they will entail other, more serious offenses. For example, someone is used to deceiving on trifles all the time. If he does not repent of this, then in the end he can not only deceive, but also betray other people. Remember what happened to Judas. At first, he stealthily stole money from the donation box, and then betrayed Christ Himself.

A person can hate sin only when he fully feels the sweetness of God's grace. While the feeling of grace in a person is weak, it is difficult for him not to fall into the sin of which he recently repented. The sweetness of sin in such a person is stronger than the sweetness of grace. That is why the holy fathers and especially the Monk Seraphim of Sarov insist that the main goal of Christian life should be the acquisition of the grace of the Holy Spirit.

- If a priest tore up a note with sins without looking into it, are these sins considered forgiven?

- If a priest is perspicacious and knows how to read what is written in a note without looking into it, then, thank God, all sins are forgiven. If the priest does this because of his haste, indifference and inattention, then it is better to go to confession to another or, if there is no such opportunity, to confess your sins out loud, without writing them down.

- Is there a common confession in the Orthodox Church? How should we relate to this practice?

- General confession, during which special prayers from the Trebnik are read, are usually carried out before individual confession. The holy righteous John of Kronstadt practiced a general confession without an individual one, but he did it by force because of the multitude of people who came to him for consolation. Physically, due to human weakness, he did not have enough strength to listen to everyone. In Soviet times, such confessions were also sometimes practiced, when one temple was for an entire city or district. Now, when the number of churches and clergy has increased significantly, there is no need to do with one general confession without an individual one. We are ready to listen to everyone, if only there is sincere repentance.

Interviewed by Natalia Goroshkova

The importance of confession in the temple. List of sins and preparation for confession.

Human life is not only about daily affairs, family and material goals. It is also a way of realizing oneself, one's connection with God.

In every religious tradition you will find the instructions of the Lord governing the relationship between all beings on the planet and in the universe.

It so happens that we are drowning in:

  • routine
  • emotions
  • racing for survival and a better life in terms of material comfort
  • pleasures and desires to have at least something in this life

We forget that we rent from God everything that surrounds us and that comes according to fate. Only our landlord unconditionally and infinitely loves us, is merciful and supportive of any of our tricks, like a loving father to the mischief of his children.

We can give him the greatest satisfaction if we turn to face him, remember our connection, regularly pray sincerely and come to confession.

Let's talk about the last point in more detail in this article.

How to prepare for confession for the first time?

the girl came to ask the priest how to prepare for confession

Confession is the relief of the soul through sincere, humble pronunciation of the words of their bad deeds, which are contrary to the principles of life specified in the scriptures.

If you have never been to confession, and at the given moment decided to fill this gap and sincerely repent before God about your sins, use some tips:

  • find a temple / church inside which you feel peaceful and relaxed
  • find out the mode of her work - when services, confessions and communions are held
  • choose the day when the flow of people is the smallest, or talk to the priest and ask him to appoint you a day and hour for confession. If you do not have enough spirit and strength to immediately repent of what you have done, ask the priest for help. He will schedule a time for a spiritual conversation with you and prepare you for confession.
  • take a notebook and a pen, write down everything you are ready to repent of
  • only write about the most serious things. For example, that you broke the fast or knitted on a big holiday, you can not remember, because similar actions tend to be repeated
  • speak simply and clearly, without trying to clothe your deeds in church words
  • if you are very far from understanding the types of sins, read the Bible, 10 commandments. Here are simply and succinctly presented those types of actions that are considered sinful and contradict the plan of God regarding the life of living beings with each other
  • buy little books from the church store that list the main sins. However, use this advice only as a last resort. Because there is nothing more important than your sincerity during confession, and the Lord always dwells in the heart of every person and knows much more about you than you say to the priest in confession.
  • before coming to church, you must wear a pectoral cross and clothes accepted for wearing by a Christian / Christian woman

Preparing for confession: a list



father prays for the penitent during confession

Before coming to confession, it is appropriate to set aside time for preparation. You dive deeply into yourself, remember what you said, did and thought about other people or God.

It is a good practice to write down everything that you are willing to sincerely repent of in confession, namely:

  • the most serious mortal sins - apostasy from the faith in their religious tradition, murder and adultery, or illegal sex
  • serious destructive actions - theft, deception, intense anger and hatred against other people and God
  • actions, words and thoughts directed against your neighbor, that is, any person you meet according to fate
  • words, thoughts, actions directed against God and saintly persons
  • remember only about your deeds without judging other people and evaluating their lives

If you have not been to confession for a very long time or have never been and during this time the gravest sins have accumulated, before coming to the temple for repentance, fast, read prayers of repentance, perform penances. Find out more from your confessor what actions and for how long you should take.

What to say in confession?



Father helps during confession to correctly name sins

Before coming to the temple, think, realize and accept your imperfection in the form of actions, thoughts and words directed against or to the detriment of other people and beings.

During confession, you feel humble and responsible for not repeating sins in the future.

  • Talk to the priest only about your deeds, do not evaluate other people
  • Avoid long, detailed stories about a specific situation.
  • Speak simply without excuses and explanations of the motives for your actions and words.
  • Do not immerse yourself in thinking that your story is appreciated by the father. Firstly, this is a sign of pride and self-exaltation over others, and secondly, the priest has listened to many repentance speeches from other people for his practice. It is difficult to surprise him with anything, and his task is different when he listens to confession.

What should be said to the priest in front of the icons in the church?

  • about the gravest mortal sins
  • about strong negative emotions addressed to neighbors
  • to repent of those deeds that you unintentionally forgot and therefore did not say aloud

What sins to call in confession: a short list



Scripture on the altar for the sacrament of confession

Before confession, re-read or remember the 10 commandments that the Lord has bequeathed to us. They will become a guideline, a hint and a measure of all your actions.

A brief list of sins voiced in confession looks like this:

  • Fornication is watching and listening to videos with erotica, physical adultery for those who are married, life in a civil marriage
  • Gluttony is a passion for satisfying hunger for body and tongue.
  • The love of money is a race for money, putting money on a pedestal and first place in life, instead of family and relatives
  • Anger - as a quality of character, the desire to control the life and actions of other people
  • Discouragement - any kind of laziness, especially in carrying out your daily duties
  • Sadness - long-term blues, regrets about past days and events
  • Vanity - the desire for fame, the desire to possess material goods and property
  • Pride is one of the most common sins of modern man. This is the erection of oneself on a pedestal, the lack of sensitivity to the life of another person, the humiliation of the voluntary and involuntary people around them, animals and other living beings

How to name sins in confession? Just a listing of sins


the woman in front of the altar prepares for confession to the priest

As described in the previous section, there are eight main passions plaguing humanity. But just listing them during confession will not give any result. And the priest, as a mediator, will not understand what the sinfulness was and what you repent of, and you will not experience the relief of your soul.

Therefore, remember and just talk about your specific deed, thoughts and words.

First of all, remember and pronounce sins:

  • apostasy, doubt about the power of God, atheism
  • murders, including abortions even forced for medical reasons
  • fornication and adultery. By the way, any religious tradition condemns civil marriage, or cohabitation. Although modern man practices this form of relationship

What is the name of the sin of masturbation in confession?



a girl with a ready-made record of her sins in confession

Each sin has decryptions and names of its different forms.

So masturbation happens:

  • natural - fornication, adultery
  • unnatural - malakia, same sex, animal relationships and similar perversions

Fornication is called:

  • lustful glances at other women / men
  • sexual contacts of unmarried people
  • various touches of an intimate nature to the body of another person

Adultery is the sins of a husband or wife with other people.

Malakia refers to the sexual satisfaction of oneself without the help of anyone.

For a more detailed understanding of this issue, read the book of St. Ignatius Brianchaninov vol. 1, ch. "The Eight Major Passions with Their Divisions and Industries."

Human life in the material world is associated with emotions, thoughts and deeds, which in one way or another affect and violate the interests of other people. Remembering that we are all souls, and after returning to the spiritual world, we deeply repent of what we have done during our lifetime on earth, but we can no longer change anything, come to church more often and confess to the holy father. Learn to forgive others for all offenses, pray and may God protect you and your family!

Video: preparation for confession, what sins to name?

In principle, there are no sinless people: the Bible, the church and common sense speak about this. A person who visits God's temple more than once a year probably knows how much confession is important for an Orthodox Christian: how to correctly name your sins in confession - Father's advice will help answer this question.

If you are going to confess for the first time in church, read in the previous article about. After all, this the most important sacrament in the life of every Christian requires special preparation, morale and pure intentions. During confession, a person experiences a session of reconciliation with God, he does not just list his sins in the presence of a priest or quote all the “10 Commandments”.

The man comes first, with repentance and awareness of their sins... If you do not know what sins to name, refer initially to church literature. Read the book "Interpretation of the Gospel" by B. I. Gladkov or "To help the penitent" by St. Ignatius Brianchaninov... However, this literature, useful in all respects, should not be carried away.

During confession, you should not pour out church words and terms with might and main, behave too pretentiously, or, conversely, too petty, naming all the smallest sins and mistakes. Confession is a great spiritual work, and it should be dealt with throughout life. We come to confession in order to expose our sin before God, to repent and realize all the ugliness of our sin.

Your remorse must come from within, from the very heart. This directly means that you will not repeat the sins you have committed in the future, or you are committed to resisting the temptation to repeat them again.

A person comes to confession before important life events - baptism, wedding, before communion and during major church holidays. Preparation for this ordinance should be done in advance: keep fasting for several days, pray, mentally clear your consciousness... In the same period, painstaking work on the compilation of the text of the confession takes place.

The best thing write everything on a piece of paper and reproduce in a calm voice in the church in front of the priest. This will keep you from worrying or forgetting all the highlights of your confession.

To the very confession certain requirements are put forward:

  • concreteness;
  • brevity;
  • sincerity;
  • ruthlessness in relation to their own sins.

Thorough preparation for confession is especially familiar to a woman, because during repentance, emotions should be held back and give preference to specifics. There is no shame in having a dress rehearsal preceding your confession.

Also, you can watch a video about confessions other people or write down your own, in order to study all the mistakes and not repeat them during the real ordinance. Further, in the article you will learn what to say to the priest: examples of phrases in confession will help you build your speech correctly. And right now we will tell you how in no case should you behave during confession.

What cannot be said in confession?

  1. Don't start with trivial sins such as breaking a fast or working during a holiday.
  2. Only talk about your sins, and not about the sins of their loved ones.
  3. It is not worth, having named your sins, right there find excuses for them.
  4. Don't belittle your sin and do not be afraid of judgment.
  5. Do not treat confession as a monthly report, she must be sincere... And the result of confession is repentance.

To the father's question, are you sinful, you should answer: "I have sinned" or "I have sinned" and name which sin you wish to repent of. For example, "I have sinned with adultery, with a lie" etc. If the priest does not stop you and does not ask you to specify exactly what sins you have committed, you should not go into details. Do not try to hide anything either, because you you need to be honest, first of all, in front of oneself.

remember, that The "list of sins" is not limited to the Ten Commandments... You must entrust your misdeeds and sins to the priest if you:

    • Neglected people, out of pride or selfishness.
    • Condemned others.
    • Have an abortion or neglected parenting in favor of pleasure.
    • They were fainthearted, shifting the responsibility onto others.
    • Have not paid their debts or have refrained from paying employees.
    • Spread gossip or slander.
    • Were greedy for those in need.
    • Are you suffering from drunkenness or drug addiction.
    • You are often lazy and kind of “go with the flow”.
    • Do you want a "beautiful life" or luxury.
    • You behave indifferently towards other people, do not help them overcome their own sin.

Perhaps this list of sins will not be entirely complete. Let's add here appeal to fortune-tellers, theft, blasphemy, anger, cruelty, envy and many more petty and grievous human sins. With some of them you will part easily and naturally. Others will persecute you after confession. After all, man is not sinless and not perfect.

Going to confess to their spiritual father, many believers ask themselves questions: how to confess correctly, what to say to the priest while doing this? This is especially interesting for those who go to repentance for the first time. Of course, this is very exciting, because a person must repent of all mortal sins. But after Father forgives all sins, the soul becomes easy and free.

Confession is often called the second baptism. Having been baptized for the first time, the believer is freed from original sin. And a person who repented takes away the sins committed in life after baptism. A person is a sinner, during his whole life unrighteous deeds move him further and further from God. To approach the saint, one must accept the sacrament of confession or repentance.

Soul salvation is the main goal of the confessing person. Only in repentance is the sinner reunited with the Father in heaven. Despite the fact that troubles and sorrowful moments happen in the life of every Christian, he should not complain, grumble about fate and be discouraged. This is one of the most serious sins.

To prepare for confession, you need to think it over and follow these steps:

  • forgive all your offenders and, if possible, make peace with them;
  • ask for forgiveness yourself from everyone whom you could offend in word or deed;
  • stop gossiping and judging others for their actions;
  • refuse to watch entertainment programs and magazines;
  • drive away from yourself all obscene thoughts;
  • study spiritual literature;
  • 3 days before the sacrament, you need to eat only lean food;
  • attend church services.

Children under 7 years of age and those who have just received baptism are not subject to confession, as well as women who have their periods on this day, and young mothers who have not passed another 40 days after giving birth.

As soon as you come to the temple, you will see that the believers have gathered for confession. You should turn to them, look around everyone and say: "Forgive me a sinner!" To this, the parishioners should answer: "God will forgive, and we forgive."

After that, you need to go to the confessor, bowing your head in front of the analogue, impose a cross on yourself and bow. Now we should start confession. It may happen that the priest asks you to kiss the cross and the bible. It is necessary to do whatever he says.

What sins to tell a priest about?

If this is not the first time you are repenting, there is no need to talk about previously committed sins. You should only mention those that you did after the previous confession.

The main sins committed by a person.

  1. Sins against the Heavenly Father. These include pride, denial of the church and the Almighty, violation of the 10 commandments, false prayer, unworthy behavior during worship, fascination with fortune-telling or magicians, thoughts of suicide.
  2. Sins against the Neighbor. These are resentments, anger, anger, indifference, slander. Bad jokes directed at others.
  3. Sins against yourself. Despondency, melancholy. Games for money, passion for material values. Smoking, alcoholism, gluttony.

If you truly consciously repent and repent, God will forgive all transgressions. Think back to the top 10 commandments and see if you have broken them. You can not hide anything and not finish speaking. Most often, the priest will listen to you and forgive sins. Sometimes he will ask to elaborate on a particular case.

At the beginning of the conversation, the priest will ask: "In what way have you sinned before the Lord?" If you don't know the language of the Bible, you can start confessing in your own words. The main thing is that they come from the heart.

In conclusion, you must answer all the questions that the confessor will ask you. Do you repent of what you did? Have you made a decision to live by the commandments and not commit further sins?

After your answers, the priest will cover you with an element of the holy garment called epitrachelion. He will speak over you and tell you what to do next. You can take the sacrament, or the priest will recommend that you come to confession again.

Having made a decision to confess, first of all you need to contact your priest, who will reveal to you all the nuances of this sacrament. Only in this case you will not worry about how to confess correctly, what to say to the priest. Come to confession with a pure heart and openly tell about all the sins you have committed. Only then will the Lord be merciful and grant you forgiveness.