Write down your sins before confession. Sins for confession: a list and detailed description of each

This list is designed for people who are beginning their church life and who want to repent before God. When preparing for confession, write down the sins that convict your conscience from the list. If there are many of them, you need to start from the most difficult ones - mortals. You can receive communion only with the blessing of the priest. Repentance TO GOD does not imply an indifferent listing of one’s bad deeds, BUT A SINCERE CONDEMNATION OF ONE’S SINNINESS AND A DECISION TO CORRECT!

I (name) sinned before GOD: weak faith (doubt in His being). I have neither love nor proper fear for God, so I rarely confess and receive communion, (what brought it up) soul up petrified insensibility towards God), I rarely attend Church on Sundays and holidays (work, trade, entertainment these days). I don’t know how to repent, I don’t see any sins. I don’t remember death and don’t prepare to appear at God’s Judgment (Memory of death and future judgment helps to avoid sin.)

Sinned: I don’t thank God for His mercies. Not by submission to the will of God (I wish everything was my way). Out of pride I rely on myself and people, and not on God. Attributing success to yourself rather than to God. Fear of suffering, impatience of sorrows and illnesses (they are allowed by God to cleanse the soul from sin). Murmuring at the cross of life (fate), at people. Cowardice, despondency, sadness, accusing God of cruelty, despair of salvation, desire (attempt) to commit suicide.

Sinned: Being late and leaving church early. Inattention during service (to reading and singing, talking, laughing, dozing...). Walking around the temple needlessly, pushing and being rude. Out of pride, he left the sermon criticizing and condemning the priest. In female impurity she dared to touch the shrine.

Sinned: I’m lazy and don’t read morning and evening prayers (entirely from the prayer book), I shorten them. I pray absentmindedly. She prayed with her head uncovered, having enmity towards her neighbor. A careless depiction of the sign of the cross on oneself. Not by wearing a cross. With irreverent veneration of St. Church icons and relics. Watched TV to the detriment of prayer, reading the Gospel, Psalms and spiritual literature (Through films, theomachists teach people to violate God’s commandment about chastity before marriage, adultery, cruelty, sadism, and damage the mental health of young people. Through “Harry Potter...” they instill in them an unhealthy interest in magic, witchcraft and are quietly drawn into disastrous communication with the devil In the media, this lawlessness before God is presented as something positive, in color and in a romantic way. Christian! Avoid sin and save yourself and your children for Eternity!!!). Coward silence when people blasphemed in front of me, shame to be baptized and confess the Lord in public (this is one of the types of renunciation of Christ). Blasphemy against God and all sacred things. Wearing shoes with crosses on the soles. Using newspapers for everyday needs... where it is written about God... He called animals by the names of people “Vaska”, “Mashka”. He spoke about God without reverence and humility.

Sinned: dared to begin Communion without proper preparation (without reading canons and prayers, concealing and belittling sins in confession, in enmity, without fasting and prayers of gratitude...). Didn’t spend Holy Communion days (in prayer, reading the Gospel..., but indulged in entertainment, overeating, sleeping a lot, idle talk...).

Sinned: violation of fasts, as well as Wednesday and Friday (By fasting these days, we honor the suffering of Christ.) I don’t (always) pray before eating, working and after (After eating and working, a prayer of gratitude is read). Satiety in food and drink, drunkenness. Secret eating, delicacy (sweet tooth). Ate animal blood (blood...). (Forbidden by God - Leviticus 7,26-27; 17, 13-14, Acts 15, 20-21,29). On a fast day, the festive (funeral) table was modest. The deceased were remembered with vodka (this is paganism and does not agree with Christianity).

Sinned: idle talk (empty talk about the vanity of life...). Telling and listening to vulgar jokes. Condemning people, priests and monks (but I don’t see my sins). By hearing and retelling gossip and blasphemous jokes (about God, the Church and the clergy). (By this means temptation was sown through ME, and the name of God was blasphemed among people.) Taking the name of God in vain (unnecessarily, in empty talk, jokes). Lies, deceit, failure to fulfill promises made to God (people). Foul language, swearing (this is blasphemy against the Mother of God) swearing with reference to evil spirits (the evil demons summoned in conversations will harm us). Slander, spreading bad rumors and gossip, disclosing other people's sins and weaknesses. I listened to slander with pleasure and agreement. Out of pride, he humiliated his neighbors with ridicule (jokes), stupid jokes... Excessive laughter, laughter. He laughed at the beggars, the crippled, the misfortune of others... God-fighting, false oaths, false testimony in court, the acquittal of criminals and the condemnation of the innocent.

Sinned: laziness, lack of desire to work (living at the expense of parents), the search for bodily peace, restlessness in bed, the desire to enjoy a sinful and luxurious life. . . Smoking (among the American Indians, smoking tobacco had a ritual meaning - the worship of demon spirits. A Christian who smokes is a traitor to God, a demon worshiper and a suicide - harmful to health). Drug use. Listening to pop and rock music (singing human passions, arouses base feelings). Addiction to gambling and entertainment (cards, dominoes, computer games, TV, cinemas, discos, cafes, bars, restaurants, casinos...). (The godless symbolism of the cards, when playing or telling fortunes, is intended to blasphemously mock the suffering of Christ the Savior. And games destroy the psyche of children. By shooting and killing, they become aggressive, prone to cruelty and sadism, with all the ensuing consequences for parents).

Sinned: corrupted my soul by reading and looking at (in books, magazines, films...) erotic shamelessness, sadism, immodest games, (A person corrupted by vices reflects the qualities of a demon, not God), dancing, danced myself, (They led to the martyrdom of John the Baptist, after which dancing for Christians is a mockery of the memory of the Prophet). Delight in prodigal dreams and recollection of past sins. Not by removing yourself from sinful encounters and temptation. Lustful views and liberty (immodesty, hugs, kisses, unclean touching of the body) with people of the opposite sex. Fornication (sexual intercourse before marriage). Prodigal perversions (handjob (masturbation), positions, oral and anal fornication). Sins of Sodom (homosexuality, lesbianism, bestiality, incest (fornication with relatives).

Seducing men, she shamelessly dressed in short skirts and with SLICES, trousers, shorts, tight-fitting and see-through clothes, (this violated God’s commandment about a woman’s appearance. She must dress beautifully, but within the framework of Christian shame and conscience. A Christian woman must represent the image of God, and not the atheistic, shorn-naked, repainted image, with a clawed paw instead of a human hand, the image of Satan) I cut my hair, put on makeup... In this form, disrespecting the shrine, dared to enter the temple of God. Participation in beauty contests, fashion models, masquerades (malanka, driving a goat, Halloween...), and also in dancing with fornication. He was immodest in his gestures, body movements, and gait. Swimming, sunbathing and nudity in the presence of people of the opposite sex (contradicts Christian chastity). Temptation to sin. Selling your body, pimping, renting out premises for fornication.

Sinned: adultery (cheating in marriage). Not married. Lustful intemperance in marital relations (on fasts, Sundays, holidays,pregnancy, during the days of female uncleanness). Perversions in married life (positions, oral, anal fornication). Wanting to live for his own pleasure and avoiding life’s difficulties, he protected himself from conceiving children. Using contraceptives (the spiral, the pills do not prevent conception, but kill the child at an early stage). Killed his children (abortion). Advising (forcing) others to have an abortion (men who, with tacit consent, or forced their wives... to have an abortion, are also infanticides. Doctors who perform abortions are murderers, and assistants are accomplices).

Sinned: ruined the souls of children, preparing them only for earthly life (didn’t teach about God and faith, didn’t instill in them a love for church and home prayer, fasting, humility, obedience. Didn’t develop a sense of duty, honor, responsibility... Didn’t look at what what they do, what they read, who they are friends with, how they behave). Punished them too harshly ( venting anger, and not for correction, he called names, cursed.Seduced children with his sins(And intimate relationships in front of them, swearing, foul language, watching immoral television programs).

Sinned: joint prayer or transition to schism (Kiev Patriarchate, UAOC, Old Believers...), union, sect. (Prayer with schismatics and heretics leads to excommunication from the Church: 10, 65, Apostolic Canons). Superstition (faith in dreams, omens...). Appeal to psychics, "grandmothers" (pouring wax, shaking eggs, draining fear...). Desecrated himself with urine therapy (in the rituals of Satanists, the use of urine and feces has a blasphemous meaning. Such “treatment” is a vile desecration and a devilish mockery of Christians), using what was “said” by fortune tellers... Fortune telling on cards, divination (For what?). I feared sorcerers more than God. Coding (from what?).

Passion for Eastern religions, occultism, Satanism (specify what). By attending sectarian, occult... meetings. Yoga, meditation, dousing according to Ivanov (it is not the dousing itself that is condemned, but Ivanov’s teaching, which leads to the worship of him and nature, and not of God). Eastern martial arts (worship of the spirit of evil - teachers, and the occult teaching about the disclosure of "inner capabilities" leads to communication with demons, possession...).Reading and storage occult literature prohibited by the Church: magic, palmistry, horoscopes, dream books, prophecies of Nostradamus, literature of Eastern religions, the teachings of Blavatsky and the Roerichs, Lazarev's "Diagnostics of Karma", Andreev's "Rose of the World", Aksenov, Klizovsky, Vladimir Megre, Taranov, Sviyazh, Vereshchagin, Garafins Makovy, Asaulyak... (The Orthodox Church warns that the writings of these and other occult authors have nothing in common with the teachings of Christ the Savior. Through the occult, a person enters into in-depth communication with demons, falls away from God and destroys his soul, and mental disorders will be due retribution for pride and arrogant flirting with demons). By forcing (advice) others to contact them and do it.

Sinned: theft, sacrilege (theft of church). Love of money (addiction to money and wealth). Non-payment of debts (wages). Greed, stinginess in alms and purchase of spiritual books... (and I spend generously on whims and entertainment). Selfishness (using someone else's property, living at someone else's expense...). Wanting to get rich, he gave money at interest. Trade in vodka, cigarettes, drugs, contraceptives, immodest clothing, porn... (by this he helped the demon to destroy himself and people - an accomplice in their sins). He talked about it, weighed it down, passed off a bad product as a good one...

Sinned: pride, envy, flattery, deceit, insincerity, hypocrisy, man-pleasing, suspicion, gloating. Forcing others to sin (lie, steal, spy, eavesdrop, snitch, drink alcohol...). The desire for glory, respect, gratitude, praise, championship... By doing good for show. Boasting and admiring oneself. Showing off in front of people (wit, appearance, abilities, clothes...).

Sinned: disobedience to parents, elders and superiors, insulting them. Whims, stubbornness, contradiction, self-will, self-justification. Laziness towards studying. Negligent care for elderly parents, relatives... (left them without supervision, food, money, medicine..., handed them over to a nursing home...).

Sinned: pride, resentment, rancor, hot temper, anger, vindictiveness, hatred, irreconcilable enmity. Insolence and impudence (climbed without a queue, pushed). Cruelty to animals. He insulted family members and was the cause of family scandals. Not carrying out joint work on raising children and maintaining the household, parasitism, drinking money, sending children to an orphanage... Practicing martial arts and sports (professional sport damages health and develops pride, vanity, a sense of superiority, contempt, thirst for enrichment in the soul...), for the sake of fame, money, robbery (racketeering). Rough treatment of neighbors, causing them harm (which one?). Assault, beating, murder. Not protecting the weak, the beaten, women from violence... Violating traffic rules, driving while intoxicated... (thus endangering people's lives).

Sinned: careless attitude towards work (public position). He used his social position (talents...) not for the glory of God and the benefit of people, but for personal gain. Harassment of subordinates. Giving and accepting (extorting) bribes (which could lead to public harm and private tragedies). Embezzled state and collective property. Having a leadership position, he did not care about suppressing the teaching of immoral subjects and non-Christian customs in schools (corrupting the morality of the people). He did not provide assistance in the spread of Orthodoxy and suppressing the influence of sects, sorcerers, psychics... He scammed them with money and rented out premises to them (which contributed to the destruction of people’s souls). He did not protect church shrines, did not provide assistance in the construction and repair of churches and monasteries...

Laziness towards every good deed (did not visit lonely, sick, prisoners...). In matters of life I did not consult with the priest and elders (which led to irreparable errors). Gave advice without knowing whether it pleased God. With a partial love for people, things, activities... He seduced those around him with his sins.

I justify my sins with everyday needs, illness, weakness, and that no one taught us to believe in God (but we ourselves were not interested in this). Seduced people into disbelief. Visited the mausoleum, atheist events...

A cold and insensitive confession. I sin deliberately, trampling on my convicting conscience. There is no firm determination to correct your sinful life. I repent that I offended the Lord with my sins, I sincerely regret this and will try to improve.

Indicate other sins that you have committed.

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Note! As for the possible temptation from the sins cited here, it is true that fornication is vile, and we must speak about it carefully. The Apostle Paul says: “Fornication and all uncleanness and covetousness must not even be mentioned among you” (Eph. 5:3). However, through television, magazines, advertising... he has entered the lives of even the youngest so much that prodigal sins are not considered a sin by many. Therefore, we must talk about this in confession and call everyone to repentance and correction.

Preparation for Confession- test of conscience before.

Unlike a magical rite of purification, which allows for blind execution of the instructions of a “sacred” sorcerer or magician, the Sacrament of Repentance implies the presence of faith, awareness of personal guilt before God and others, and a sincere and conscious desire to free oneself from the power of sin.
The Sacrament of Repentance cannot be approached mechanically. Forgiveness and remission of sins is not a legal act of declaring a sinner innocent. Everyone who has confessed at least once in their life could pay attention to what prayer is being read over them: “reconcile and unite the saints of your Church.” Through the Sacrament of Repentance, a person is reconciled with, restores himself as a member.

Repentance for sin consists of 3 stages: Repent of the sin as soon as you have committed it; remember him at the end of the day and again ask God for forgiveness for him; confess it in the Sacrament of Repentance (Confession) and receive permission from this sin.

It is necessary to distinguish from the Sacrament of Penance:
- confidential spiritual conversation with a priest;
- a repentant conversation before (not mandatory).

Where and when can I go to confession?

You can confess anywhere on any day of the year, but it is generally accepted to confess at a scheduled time or by agreement with. The person confessing must be baptized.

It is better not to come to your first confession or confession after a long break on Sundays or days of great church holidays, when churches are full of people praying and there is a long line for confession. It is also advisable to come to the Sacrament in advance.

The First Confession should not be combined with the First Communion in order to fully experience the impressions of this great event in our lives. However, this is only advice.

How to prepare for Confession?

When preparing for confession, unlike preparation for the Sacrament of Communion, the church charter does not require any special or special prayer rules.

Before going to confession it is appropriate:
— Focus on prayers of repentance.
- Carefully examine thoughts, thoughts, deeds; note, if possible, all your sinful traits (as an auxiliary aid, also include those accusations that came from relatives, friends, and other people).
— If possible, ask for forgiveness from those who were offended by sin, offended by inattention, indifference.
— Consider the plan for confession, and, if necessary, prepare questions for the priest.
— In case of serious sins or rare confessions, additional fasting may be recommended.

— Sins are confessed from the moment of the last confession; if they have never been confessed, then from the moment of Baptism.
— In the Sacrament, all sins are forgiven, with the exception of those intentionally hidden. If you forgot to name some minor sin, then don’t worry. The sacrament is called the Sacrament Repentance, but not " The sacrament of listing all sins committed".
- You need to confess first of all what you are ashamed of! Tactically, confession should always be very substantive and specific. You can’t repent of being “proud”—it’s pointless. Because after your repentance, nothing changes in our lives. We can repent of having looked arrogantly or said some words of condemnation to a specific person. Because, having repented of this, next time we will think whether it is worth doing this. You cannot repent “in general,” in the abstract. A substantive confession allows you to simultaneously draw up a plan to combat certain passions. At the same time, pettiness should be avoided; there is no need to list a large number of sins of one type.
— Do not use crafty generalizations. For example, under the phrase treated one's neighbor unfairly can be understood as both involuntary grief and murder.
— There is no need to describe sexual sins in detail, it is enough to name them. For example: sinned (,).
— When preparing for and during Confession, self-justification should be avoided.
— If you do not feel your sins, it is recommended to turn to God with “ Lord, grant me to see my sins».

Is it possible to write down sins so as not to forget them at confession?

What to do if you do not consider yourself a sinful person? Or if the sins are common, like everyone else’s.

You should compare yourself first of all with, then your own spiritual health will not look so rosy.
A clear conscience is a sign of a short memory...

Is it worth confessing if you are likely to commit some sins again?

Is it worth washing if you know for sure that you will get dirty again? Repentance is a desire to be reborn, it does not begin with confession and does not end with it, it is a matter of a lifetime. Repentance is not only a listing of sins before the testimony of a priest, it is a state of hating sin and avoiding it.
Repentance should not just be an emotional release, it is a systematic, meaningful work on oneself, with the goal of becoming closer to God in one’s qualities, becoming like Him in . Orthodoxy has an inexhaustible ascetic heritage, compiled by holy ascetics, which must be studied for proper organization.
Our goal is not just to be cleansed of sins and passions, but to acquire. It’s not enough, for example, to stop stealing, you need to learn mercy.

Gross sins have already been overcome and at each confession one has to repeat almost the same sins. How to get out of this vicious circle?

Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov): “For people who have been churched for a long time, the “list” of sins, as a rule, is approximately the same from confession to confession. There may be a feeling of some kind of formal spiritual life. But at home we often sweep the floor, and, thank God, we don’t have to rake out the Augean stables every time. This is just not a problem. The trouble is that you begin to notice how the lives of some Christians become more and more boring over the years. But it should be the other way around: it should become more and more rich and more and more joyful.”

However, you don’t need to be complacent about the fact that you can’t overcome all sins; you just need to realize that not all sins and passions can be overcome instantly. This is a systemic problem, the solution of which is .

I have very difficult life circumstances, I’m afraid that a simple priest will not understand me.

The Lord will understand in any case. There is a good story about this: .

God wanted us to repent not before the sinless Angels, but before people. We should be ashamed of committing sin, not repenting. If a person sincerely hated his sins, then he will not be ashamed to confess them to the priest.

Sometimes you can notice that some parishioners, with amazing pedantry and scrupulousness confessing to the slightest violations of church rules or disrespect for sacred things, with the same amazing constancy remain rather harsh and unpeaceful in their relations with the people around them.
Priest Philip

Instructions

When preparing for confession, check your own conscience with the ten Beatitudes; they are known to every believer from childhood, since they are mentioned quite often in everyday life. Remember, if you hide something in confession, you are hiding it not from a human priest, but from Jesus Christ himself.

While doing this, keep in mind an approximate list of them, which can be divided into three groups: sins against God (unbelief, taking the name of the Lord in vain, thoughts of suicide, ingratitude to God, playing cards, non-compliance and many others), sins against neighbors (arrogance , hot temper, anger, mockery, quarrels with neighbors) and sins against oneself (foul language, vanity, lying, drunkenness, adultery).

Do not be afraid of your own sins, they should in no way stand between you and a visit to church on. Remember that God pleases the very desire of the soul to repent.

Don't worry that the priest will be unpleasantly surprised or even amazed by the list of your unrighteous deeds. Believe me, the church has seen other sinners who repent of their deeds. The priest, like no one else, knows that people are weak and cannot cope with demonic temptation without help.

If there are doubts about the reputation of the priest performing the Sacrament of Confession, please note that confession remains in force no matter how sinful the clergyman is, provided that you actually repented sincerely.

For your first confession, choose a weekday time when there are not many people in the church. You can ask your friends for advice in advance about which priest and which temple is best to contact first. confession Yu. Respect other confessors, do not crowd close to the priest and under no circumstances be late for the start of the procedure, otherwise you risk not being allowed to the sacred Sacrament.

For the future, develop the nightly habit of analyzing the events of the past day and daily before God, and write down the most serious sins for future confession. Be sure to ask for forgiveness from all your neighbors who you have offended, even if inadvertently.

note

Women are not allowed to confess or visit temple at all during the period of monthly purification.

Helpful advice

Do not perceive confession as an interrogation with partiality, and do not tell the clergyman any particularly intimate details of your personal life. A brief mention of them will suffice.

Confession- a very serious step. It can be difficult to admit your negative actions not only to a stranger, but even to yourself. This is a conversation with your conscience. And you need to prepare for this conversation in advance, as if this is the last confession in your life.

Instructions

There is no specific structure for confession. It is not at all necessary to talk about sins in chronological order or by severity. However, you need to get your thoughts in order in advance. And to make this process easier, make a small “cheat sheet” on paper. Write about what you feel remorse for. And also the events that led you to commit the wrong act. But don’t involve other people in this; you are confessing your sins, not others’. Otherwise, it will not be confession, but condemnation, and this is a new sin. Do not try to justify yourself; on the contrary, you need to condemn, blame and expose your actions more in order to receive forgiveness. Your preparation is a very important part of confession.

The second part is the sacrament itself. Do not be ashamed of your sins before the priest confessing you. Because the priest is only an intermediary between you and God. The secret of confession is sacred; information from confession is not shared with anyone. It is better to confess after the evening service, the priest will be able to pay more attention to you. Confess your sins openly and in detail. Do not hide anything, you must sincerely regret what you did. Each sin must be discussed separately. It’s not enough to say “sinful”; it’s important to call sins by their names: gluttony, adultery, money-grubbing, pride. To help you collect your thoughts, the priest may ask you whether you have committed a particular sin. If you haven’t done this, then you shouldn’t answer: “maybe, yes.” And also do not talk about what you did not do without asking someone who confesses you, otherwise it will look like boasting.

You shouldn’t talk about the same sin every time if you confessed it once. One should confess with sorrow, regret and contrition for sins, but not with composure or even with a grin. Priests advise confessing at least once every two weeks. No matter what age you come to church, if this is your first confession, then sins starting from the age of seven.

How to prepare for confession? what to talk about in confession?

Confession cleanses our heart and soul. But not everyone knows how to approach confession correctly. We'll talk about this further.

What words to start confession with, how does confession go?

Confession is a bath that washes the soul from sinful filth. It is not enough to simply admit your sin. You need to go to church and repent before God in confession.

If some do not understand why it is necessary to go to the temple, then one more example should be given. The church is like a hospital for the soul. But if we are sick in the body, then we visit the hospital? So it is with the soul, it is necessary to heal it in the church.

During confession, you come to church and listen to the words of the holy father, “Behold, child, Christ stands invisibly, accepting your confession...”. This is how the confession itself begins.
Next, you bow your head over the lectern, the holy father covers you with stole, and you can already express what is in your soul. At this time, the index and middle fingers must be placed on the Gospel or cross.

After your words, the priest may ask you some questions and also clarify whether you repent of this sin. After you have repented, the rector of the temple reads a prayer of permission. Next you need to kiss the cross and the Gospel.

There are no formalities or obligations in preparing for confession. You don't have to say any specific words. In order to confess, you do not need to select a specific day or church holiday.

All you need is the call of your soul and the desire to cleanse yourself. Preparing for confession is the moment when you have analyzed your life and actions and realized that you are doing something wrong.

After confession, you can take a blessing from the priest. To do this, place your right hand on top of your left and say: “Father, bless.”

The priest makes the sign of the cross and places his hand on your palms. You need to kiss your father's hand. If after confession you plan to take communion, then also ask for a blessing for this.

How to prepare for confession for the first time?

Confession is perceived as reconciliation with the Lord. There is a priest present as a witness, to whom you reveal your sins. And he, in turn, prays for the forgiveness of your sins.

Before confession, you should remember several important rules:

• Realize your sins and repent sincerely. If you decide to come to confession, then you understand that you are doing something wrong in your life. Therefore, you should reconsider all the points that do not suit you and that you regret. Sincerely ask God for forgiveness for all sins and ask to cleanse your soul and mind from filth.
• Don't write huge lists. In this case, it’s as if you are simply reading the list without opening your soul. You can jot down briefly what you want to confess so you don’t forget. But you shouldn’t write the entire confession on paper.
• Confess only your sins. There is no need to say that you did something sinful in response to the sinful deed of a neighbor, relative or colleague. These are their sins for which you should not speak. Cleanse your soul and thoughts first.
• Don’t come up with any fancy words or phrases for your speech.. God accepts and loves us no matter what. And he certainly knows about your sins. Don't be shy about the priest either. Over the years of service, he has listened to a lot, so I certainly won’t be surprised by your words.
• If you have not gone to church for many years, then you should first confess this sin and talk about serious sinful deeds and thoughts. Wearing short clothes or watching TV during Lent can be said at the end. Because if there are more serious sins, it’s not so important to mention TV and clothes.
• Try to change your life before confession. You should not think that confession is an event after which you can continue to commit sinful acts. Change your life for the better. Let it be gradual and slow, but surely.
• Forgive and you will be forgiven. If you ask the Lord for forgiveness, then be ready to forgive the people with whom you are offended.

• Find out about the time of confession in the temple. If you come for the first time, then it is better not to choose days of major holidays. On such days there are usually a lot of people who want to confess. It’s better to choose a quieter day to have the opportunity for a full, leisurely confession.
• Before confession, it is advisable to read prayers of repentance. They can be found in prayer books.
• It is advisable to confess at least once a month. Then you will feel in good physical and mental tone.

What prayers should I read before confession and communion?

Before confession and communion, one should not only fast, but also prepare with prayer. The prayer before confession is the prayer of Simeon the Theologian. The prayer book also contains prayers of repentance, which are also recommended for reading.

Before communion:

• Fast 3 days before Holy Communion. Avoid meat and dairy products.
• Before the day of communion, visit the temple during the evening service.
• Read the rules before Holy Communion.
• From midnight until communion, do not eat or drink water.
• Come at the beginning of the liturgy, and not at the time of confession. It is important to be in church during the entire service.

Communion is necessary for both children and adults

To begin Holy Communion in the evening you need to read the canons:

• Repentant to Jesus Christ
• Prayer service to the Blessed Virgin Mary
• Guardian Angel

Also find troparia and songs for Holy Communion in the prayer book and read them.

Is it necessary to fast before confession, is it possible to eat before confession?

There is no need to fast before confession. Since you can confess at any time when your soul requires it, without thinking about what you ate before.

But before communion, a three-day fast is required. On these days you can consume:

• Vegetables and fruits
• Flour products
• Sweets (but don't overeat)
• Dried fruits and nuts

Confession - sins: listing for women and men

Sins have existed since the time of Adam and Eve. They are so varied that perhaps some do not even know that they are sinning. We offer you a list of sins that men and women can expose themselves to:

• Violated the rules of behavior in the temple.
• He complained about his life and those around him.
• Didn't perform prayers diligently.
• She did not abstain from carnal pleasures during pregnancy, as well as on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. I was with my husband during the days of fasting.
• Didn’t repent of sin right away.
• Commemorated the deceased with alcohol.
• He condemned and doubted his neighbors.
• Had (a) sinful dreams.
• Sinful (of) gluttony.
• He praised people, not the Lord.
• I was too lazy to go to church on Sundays.
• He deceived, he was a hypocrite, he was cowardly.
• He believed in omens and was superstitious.
• Concealed sins during confession.
• Wore clothes that were not modest, looked at other people's nakedness.

• I was ashamed to be baptized, and took off my cross when meeting people.
• I did not pray before eating food, I went to bed without prayer.
• He condemned the priests.
• Advised or had an abortion.
• Spent money on entertainment and events.
• Spoiled the water while swimming in the river from which they take drinking water.
• Visited fortune tellers.
• Sold and produced alcoholic beverages.
• Being unclean, I went to the temple.
• Telling sinful stories from the lives of close friends or relatives.
• He sinned (a) fornication and masturbation.
• Took contraceptives, contraceptives.
• Visited wicked places.
• Had intimacy with a person of the same sex.
• I was doing exercises in the morning and not reading prayers.
• On Sundays I went not to church, but to the forest or to the river.
• He was jealous of his wife (husband). I tried to kill my opponent with the help of healers.
• I dreamed about traveling.
• I bought lottery tickets, hoping to get rich.
• During breastfeeding, she had a relationship with her husband.
• Instead of prayer, I read magazines and watched TV.
• She prayed with her head uncovered (for men - in a headdress).
• Permitted (a) sinful relationship without being married.
• Had the sin of sodomy (connection with animals, with a blood relative).

This is just a short list of sins. There are 472 of them listed on the pages of spiritual books. Some of them are repeated or indicated with additional clarifications.

Teenage and childhood sins in confession: list

A child confesses from the age of seven. Until this time, communion without confession is allowed. For children and adolescents, during confession the following sins are expected to be indicated (if any, of course):

• I forgot about reading prayers in the morning and evening, as well as before and after meals.
• I did not prepare for confession.
• Rarely visited the temple.
• I didn’t know the basic prayers: Our Father, Creed, Virgin Mary, Rejoice.
• Didn't listen to parents and teachers.
• Raised his voice at elders.
• He fought and called children names.
• Didn't study lessons.
• Played gambling.
• Didn't go to confession after reaching 7 years old.
• Had fun on fast days.
• Applied tattoos to the body.
• He did not accustom his younger relatives to the word of God.
• Was not respectful towards his godmother or godfather.
• Stole or took without asking.
• Not being able to do it, I tried to draw icons.
• He did not live according to Divine laws.
• Smoked (a).

How to talk about handjob in confession?

All people are sinners, everyone has their own. Masturbation is also a sin. And it is necessary to repent of it. But very often a situation occurs that people who spoke about such a sin in confession continued to do so.

You should understand for yourself that you should get rid of the sin of masturbation. After the first confession about this sin, try not to succumb to temptation anymore. If willpower is not yet strong enough, then it is necessary to go to church for confession after each handjob.

Ask God to give you the strength to get rid of sin. Repent and talk to the priest. Don’t be embarrassed, the temple minister will listen and support you and give advice.

Confession is a means of cleansing the soul and an impetus to a new, correct life. If you feel spiritual heaviness or sorrow does not leave you, visit the temple. There you will find help and support for your soul. and at the same time you will find peace and good spirits.

Video: Where does confession begin?

Archpriest Igor Prekup

“Oh,” one priest acquaintance complained about the social category of “grandmother” in the late 80s, recalling the beginning of his pastoral ministry, “they don’t even know how...” I, at that time a beginner in the church (not yet priestly) ) the minister, who was just about to submit documents to the LDS, listened to him not only in disbelief, but with some bewilderment: how could this person, being already an old man, systematically go to church for many years (after all, we were not talking about “Easter believers”), maybe he doesn’t know how to confess? What is there, in general, to be able to do? Come up and tell me what you have sinned since your last confession, or remember what you didn’t think to say before or maybe didn’t realize, or even just forgot - what’s so difficult? It can, of course, be embarrassing, but God sees everything, and carrying it around is even more shameful!

Still, how different is the vision of a layman from that of a priest when we are talking about specifically church issues... I judged by myself. It never occurred to me that most of the parishioners of that period (there were almost no men, even elderly ones, in churches) did not hold the Gospel, much less the complete Bible, in their hands, let alone read, and somehow did not suffer about this. This is me, thanks to my fellow student at the institute Pasha, now Fr. Pavel Popov, was spoiled both by the New Testament, which “sailed” to me through him, after some searching, and by the Holy Fathers, whose works he photocopied (who lived at that time understands what the use of duplicating equipment was connected with, when even typewriters everyone was registered). And most of them had never even heard of the names of these Fathers.

It’s not that I didn’t understand at all how it was that grandmothers didn’t know how to confess (after all, I guessed that their intellectual abilities were not conducive to particularly in-depth introspection), but I still thought that my interlocutor was exaggerating the colors somewhat, as if wanting to say, that, given their age and experience, they could...

Four years later, having become the rector of the most remote parish in southern Estonia (from the church it was about 5 km to the border with Russia and 15 km to the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery), I had the dubious pleasure of verifying the truth of what my brother and co-servant had said. It turned out that it was meant to be taken literally. Moreover, as I later learned from the dean, my situation was even more or less (the proximity of the monastery had an effect), especially among parishioners from the Russian side.

I must say that my parish was in its own way inter-diocesan and interstate, because when the Pechersk region was transferred to the Pskov region, the border passed right through the territory of the parish in honor of the Military Medical Center. Paraskeva Pyatnitsa in such a way that two thirds of it ended up in the RSFSR and, accordingly, in the Pskov diocese. Until the Union collapsed, this was not felt at all, and by the time I was appointed there (in 1992), although the barbed wire was gradually being stretched, it was still not everywhere, so local residents, as before, walked from neighboring villages to church along forest paths, and continued to walk.

So, when I found myself in this parish, I felt to the depths the entire depravity of the practice of general confession, which, basically, spread and took root in Soviet times, because in the USSR, after several waves of persecution, there were very few functioning churches, which is why parishioners, with all their impoverishment in general, there were still more parishioners for each individual church than before the October revolution. The priests were physically unable to confess such a number in detail.

Moreover, it was very convenient to refer to the example of St. right John of Kronstadt. At the same time, for some reason the popularizers of general confession were not embarrassed by such a detail as their lack of the gift of clairvoyance, which St. possessed. John (it is worth noting that the holy right. Alexy Mechev considered the general confession a “misunderstanding,” answering those who justified it by citing the authority of St. John of Kronstadt: “He was a father of great spiritual power, and we cannot compare ourselves with him.” ).

Of course, the point was not only that there were too many suffering and thirsty people for one point on the map of Orthodoxy in the USSR. This was not the case everywhere and not at every service. And general confession began to spread even before the Soviet regime. It’s just a troublesome thing to confess in detail, and besides, prevalence is a very convenient excuse for accepting something as a rule. Who will go deep and figure out where the Holy Tradition is and where it is widespread, yes, perennial, yes, but stillvicious practice?

In that parish, general confession took root long before my immediate predecessor. This practice - not out of laziness, but because of its prevalence and generally accepted nature - was adhered to by the abbot who served before him for many years, about whom it could not be said that he was skimping on his duties. True, to the honor of that priest who served a long time ago, who left a good memory of himself, it should be noted that he preceded the general confession with a very heartfelt sermon, conducive to repentance. But, one way or another, the parishioners there forgot how to confess a long time ago. Even many older people didn’t know about individual confession, didn’t know, sincerely not understanding what I wanted from them, why (and what) I was asking.

However, I must say that I was still lucky: at least my people, when approaching the prayer of permission, confessed themselves to be sinners (within the limits of “sinful, father”), and the parishioners of my dean in the village. Värska (only 15 km deep into the territory) stood to death, as if before confession they were not read prayers of repentance with a reminder “if you hide anything from me, it’s a sin of imashi”, but “read out your rights”, warning that everything they said in confession will be used against them at the Last Judgment.

I, of course, tried not to go too far, but I launched a consistent fight against the “partisanship.” I won’t say that I enjoyed feeling like a kind of Gestapo man, using pincers to get recognition, but I had to work with each soul individually (especially if we were meeting for the first time), consistently asking questions at least about the Decalogue. At first I was shocked that even abortions were unconfessed, while the practice of general confession stipulates that especially serious sins must be confessed individually. This is why general confession is dangerous because, say or don’t talk about the need to confess grave sins separately...

General, so general. And all in one pile. Who is there and what is he dreaming about while the priest reads out the list of sins from the Book of Breviaries?..

Do you think everyone really listens to every word, carefully examining themselves in its light? And even when they hear it, they always understand the meaning?

It is naive to count on this if a person is not accustomed to concentrating for a long time and does not know how to think either on specific or abstract topics, and is also of advanced age, not to mention the incomprehensibility of some terms, coupled with “laziness and lack of curiosity”,as if repentant sinners.

In general, thank God, I shook out a lot of things from my grandmothers back then. I hope that soon, going through the ordeal, they remember me with a kind word.

I was not alone in my rejection of general confession, in my awareness of the need to teach people to confess carefully and simply, without crafty generalizations, but also without false scrupulousness. Unfortunately, the reaction to the abuse of general confession has not been free from extremes. Pamphlets of dubious origin with lists of sins have already begun to appear, surprising not only in their scope, but also in the morbidity of the compilers’ imagination.

And soon the term “young age” came into use, naming a phenomenon that is characterized not so much by the tender age of the “senile”, but by the very specificity of the claim to revive an interrupted tradition, a kind of new generation of elders (by analogy with political and philosophical movements, whose compound names also began with “young” and meant a new stage, a new round of development of the previous phenomenon: Young Hegelians, Young Turks, etc.).

Of course, this phenomenon was not new in its essence. Walking claims to spirituality have been encountered before. The novelty of the phenomenon lay in its scale.

Too many shepherds then began to imagine too much about themselves.

This is not surprising. During Soviet times, religion (Orthodox Christianity in particular) was driven into a ghetto. For a priest to show interest in the spiritual care of his flock, or in general in anything that goes beyond the scope of church services and fulfillment of demands, meant a challenge to the “watchful eye.” Even preaching was prohibited in some places. Pastors who pathetically denounce the ignorant in the rules, throwing thunder and lightning at people who are not properly dressed or who were incorrectly named at birth (with some non-Orthodox name), who know how to instill fear and “humble”, and therefore gather around themselves “guardians of piety”, sadistic masochistically fanatical about the priest’s charisma and clattering their false jaws at all “social aliens” - such imitators of confession, fitting into the standard image of the “obscurantist”, did not cause concern among the Soviet authorities. Moreover, it was these types of people who often turned out to be “reliable.”

However, such “pillars of piety” were not encountered very often, which, again, attracted those thirsty for “zealous pastoral care” even more to them. The authorities gave preference to cultivating the demand-fulfilling type, which unilaterally satisfied the religious needs of citizens, conscientiously working off their bread, without any pretension to holistic pastoral service.

It was very difficult to find priests who were sincerely interested and capable of attracting thinking and socially active people into the church. The authorities prudently took care of this, whenever possible, putting barriers for people with higher education to enter theological schools and seminary programs even in the early 90s, when it had long been obvious that God had sent “a famine to the earth, not a famine of bread, I do not thirst for water, but I thirst for hearing the words of the Lord" (Am.8 ; 11), still continued to be “tailored” to the production of demand executors.

There is hunger, but there were almost no people who could satisfy it by competently shaping the diet in specific historical, political and economic conditions common to all, depending on the individual characteristics of each hungry and thirsty person. And it would be good if those who were not ready for this situation continued to modestly do what they knew how to do, without pretending to more. However, many at that time imagined that the gifts of the Holy Spirit, received at ordination, in themselves give some special rights and power, without having to work long and diligently on themselves with God’s help, and wisdom is assigned to them by status , without the need to receive systematic theological education and hardworking self-education until the end of their days.

This was facilitated mainly by three factors: 1) the unsystematic appearance on the shelves (not only of churches) of a large amount of Orthodox, near- and pseudo-Orthodox literature of a very diverse quality: from non-Black Hundred brochures to rotaprint reprints of the Holy Fathers; 2) the influx into churches of a large number of neophytes interested in spiritual nourishment according to the schemes that their imagination drew in the process of voraciously absorbing patristic literature (at best) and a passionate desire to indulge in ascetic deeds, from which the first is complete obedience; 3) the rapid increase in the Orthodox clergy (this was due to the need to stake out the “state-protected” ruins of churches that were returned to us in order to restore them, build new churches, and organize parish life) due to the ordination of people who often had neither education nor vocation, which is good, if in hindsight they tried to gain basic knowledge and receive spiritual education.

These are the objective reasons for the spread of young age and all kinds of hysteria in the Orthodox Church environment, condensing in some places into some semblance of sects with their own “gurus”, “saints” and mythology (we do not touch on another problem - paganism in Orthodox vestments - we do not touch upon here). In general, everything is according to Marx: 1) the demand for spiritual nourishment and ascetic life determined the supply (only due to the almost complete absence of spirit-bearing elders and the interruption of tradition, consumer demand was satisfied by offering the people surrogates “identical to natural ones”), and the supply of imitation piety and spirituality began to form a corresponding demand; 2) the demand for the “Orthodoxization of the entire country” gave rise to the supply of a mass of manuals and manuals in the form of popular brochures regulating all aspects of life, including nutrition and marital duty (it would be nice if they explained it competently, but even here there was some idiocy), among which One of the places of honor was taken by publications to help those confessing.

The quality of these “confession for dummies” was, as a rule, very low, a sort of attempt to transfer the relevant part of the rite of confession from the Trebnik into a publicly accessible language.

True, some of the brochures, we must give them their due, admired for their stupidity and ignorance, combined with wild imagination and painful pettiness.

Thank God, very good manuals have been published to help those confessing. This is, first of all, “The Experience of Constructing a Confession” by the Pskov-Pechersk Elder Archimandrite. John (Krestyankina), “On Confession” Met. Anthony of Sourozh, “How to prepare for confession and communion” by Archpriest. Mikhail Shpolyansky, his “We will live with God. Conversations with children before confession." But these are not lists of sins, but conversations that help you think and expose (reveal, make visible) sins in yourself in order to repent of them before God and, with His help, be healed.

As for using lists of sins when preparing for confession, everything is not so simple. On the one hand, even the list contained in the Trebnik must be treated with caution. Deacon Vladimir Sysoev in his memoirs about St. Alexia Mecheve writes: “Father has always been an opponent of bookish formalism in confession. He often told me: “You know, in monasteries it is very customary to confess according to the breviary. And I have always been against this practice. The breviary contains many questions, many sins, which the confessor, perhaps, had no idea about. Some pure, unspoiled girl will come up to confession, and she will be asked about vices that she has no idea about. And instead of cleansing, sin and temptation will come out. It is always necessary not to adapt the person to the breviary, but the breviary to the person. Depending on who approaches your lectern - whether a man, a woman, a teenager, a child - you need to conduct a confession. However, one should not go into such questions, especially about intimate sins. These questions can only disturb the soul of the confessor, and in no way calm him down. It’s best to let a person tell himself everything that’s on his mind, and then ask questions as needed.”

On the other hand... well, what should a person do if he wants to prepare for confession, but somehow cannot formulate what he understands internally? It’s on the tip of your tongue, but nothing... Or it’s just hard to remember. You feel like you forgot something, and it’s something that’s on the surface, but there’s no way you can remember it. Here the list of sins can be a very good help. Especially at the beginning of the journey, when you still don’t really know anything, and you don’t know how to formulate it, or, conversely, in old age, when, due to age-related reasons, thoughts get confused and the simplest and most familiar words are forgotten.

However, there is one important “but”: if you follow the advice of St. Alexy, “it is not necessary to adapt a person to a breviary, but a breviary to a person,” and even a priest should not read everything from the Breviary to a penitent, it is logical to ask the question: is it then appropriate to give this list into the hands of any layman? There is, of course, no esotericism, no secrets from the people, but why? Why give reasons for temptation? In our time, it is unlikely that anyone can be surprised by any sin from the standard list in the Trebnik, but the very accumulation of vices, archaic terminology, often requiring explanation, a legalistic approach - all this may well cause (in the soul of a beginner, for example) a natural reaction of rejection.

It’s a completely different matter when we prepare for confession according to the commandments of the Decalogue and the Beatitudes, because in the process of preparation it is important not just to go through a larger or smaller list of sins, choosing what you like, but to clearly understand what we are sinning against. And here, for example, the work of Fr. John (Peasant) will be an excellent help, since within the framework of each commandment the corresponding sins are considered. With such preparation, their list will be no less than in the Trebnik, and the approach is fundamentally different, therefore the understanding of each confessed sin is incomparably deeper.

However, what is the Trebnik to us! His list of sins cannot be compared in any way with the apocrypha, which were published in abundance at one time under the stamp of blessing of this or that monastery or diocese. Take, for example, one such masterpiece (for some reason composed exclusively from a female person) with a volume of 473 points (!), among which there are the following: “444. I urinated in public and even joked about it,” or this: “81. She drank and ate the water “charged” with Chumak” (obviously compiled in the late 80s, early 90s).

But here’s something wonderful in terms of logical sequence: “148. She teased the deaf and dumb, the weak-minded, and minors, angered animals, and paid evil for evil.” Or this mystical self-criticism: “165. She herself was an instrument of the devil.” But where does such confidence come from that “it was” and not “is”? And is there hidden pride in this recognition?..

From the series “for adults only” (brochures can also fall into the hands of children, explain later what is what): “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.” Or, for example: “473. She had the sin of Sodom (coitus with animals, with the wicked, entered into an incestuous relationship).” I forgot about the main thing, actually, Sodom... In general, why is everyone throwing a barrel at the inhabitants of Sodom? Now bestiality has been attributed to them in abundance! This is a Pompeian sin then, judging by some artifacts. However, the most interesting thing is different: what kind of “wickedness” are we talking about, because of which a person becomes something between an animal and a relative (the connection with the “wicked” is placed between bestiality and incest)?

And all this mixed with “422. She prayed in a hat, with her head uncovered", "216. She had an addiction to clothes: she was concerned about not getting dirty, not getting dusty, not getting wet,” etc.

If at the beginning of the last century St. Alexy Mechev was embarrassed about confession according to the Trebnik, fearing that someone might hear something unknown and become interested to their own destruction. Today, with any information being publicly available, the danger comes from such lists, but not because they contain any a sin that the current younger generation is not aware of, but because these collections turn away from Orthodoxy with the utter stupidity with which they are permeated and saturated, stupidity that discredits the little that is true and valuable that they contain.

What is important to understand in order not to fill your head with all sorts of nonsense and not get hung up on these monuments of religious psychopathology?

Without going into such subtleties as the difference between sacramental and non-sacramental confession, we will only note that before communion it is necessary to confess (regardless of who is at confession - your confessor or someone else’s priest) those sins for which, according to the canons, temporary excommunication is prescribed, as well as the mentioned in 1 Cor.6 ; 9–10. It is impossible to receive communion with such a sin on your conscience.

Confession before each communion is required only in the Russian Orthodox Church. This was introduced during the period of struggle against the Old Believer schism. In other Local Churches, ordinary communion occurs without confession, if a person has not done anything serious. If he has done something wrong, and his confessor is out of reach, he can turn to any priest who has the right to confess, although it is in the order of things that everyone confesses from time to time only to his confessor. There is, however, another problem: some people put off confession for years. Therefore, it is very good that we have a tradition of mandatory confession before communion. But that is another topic.

So, we must confess according to the essence of what was done, said or experienced, remembering that we are confessing to God, but the priest is only a witness of repentance and God’s instrument for performing the Sacrament. Therefore, depending on who is at the lectern with the Cross and the Gospel (our confessor or another priest, whose spiritual guidance we do not crave), we either call sin by its name, and, if we cannot find the words, we describe it in general terms ( in fact, clearly, without the thought spreading over the tree), and we provide the necessary details, if the confessor needs to know them in order to have an idea of ​​​​what has been done and the state of our soul, in order to give useful advice; or, if we confess to a priest whose spiritual guidance we do not seek, then we limit ourselves to the repentant revelation of sin, and, naming it, we fundamentally do not go into details that do not change the essence of what was said (if the confessor shows interest in them, we will answer him that we are discussing our own in detail sins only with a confessor).

And again about preparing for confession.

As we read the New Testament, we will inevitably remember our sins. In order not to forget, it is better to write it down somewhere. If anyone additionally needs a list of sins for preparation, it is best to rely on the above-mentioned work of Elder John (Krestyankin) “The Experience of Constructing a Confession.”

About cheat sheets. The attitude towards them is different. Some priests react nervously to them, believing that they distract the penitent from the living process of repentance, and therefore do not allow them to be used. Others, on the contrary, tear them apart so solemnly at the end of confession, as if this is the secret formula, and what follows (covering with the epitrachelion and reading the prayer of permission) is an additional ritual decoration. In fact, a cheat sheet is a cheat sheet everywhere:compact placement of generalized information on paper or other suitable media, in order to compensate for memory instability .

We all know how sometimes we forget our sins during confession. They just knew it, and now they’ve suddenly forgotten it completely. Happens. Especially when they are breathing down your neck, and you understand that it is necessary, if possible, not to delay the priest and the brothers and sisters in Christ standing behind you, who need to have time to confess before communion begins. And sometimes there is time, and everything is calm internally, but suddenly the most important thing is for which, in fact, I came: rrr! - and disappeared somewhere.

So everything is very individual here. It is only important that, in fact, the preparation of cribs does not consume all the repentant mood. Otherwise, when compiling them, we may grieve over our sins, and directly at confession we will just formally list them. As the priest writes. Alexander Elchaninov: “Preparing for confession is not about fully remembering and even writing down your sin, but about achieving that state of concentration, seriousness and prayer in which, as if in the light, sins become clear.” This doesn't mean you don't need to write it down. It is necessary if it helps not to forget. But you should understand that this is not the main thing.

It would be better for a person to come up to me with something like an ancient scroll, but read the contents meaningfully and collectedly, than to strain, trying to remember what was stuck between his convolutions, and waste our time testing me for humility, meekness and mercy.