How to confess in church, and why do Christians do it?

How to confess in the church? This question is often asked themselves and those who are just going to the temple, and those who are just curious about what a confession in general. The question of how to properly confess in the church - with emphasis on the word "right" - is very significant for those who go to the temple all the time.

As a rule, preparation for confession takes place inseveral stages. Confession is not an indulgence, nor is it permission for new sins. Just once a person realizes that it is unbearably hard for him to carry a lump of sin on his heart. She presses and oppresses him. This is the first stage of preparation for confession. A person realizes his sinfulness, feels the impossibility of further living the way he lived. Therefore, he asks from God: "Lord, help change, help turn this page of life!" The main condition under which the page can be turned up is sincere repentance, spiritual affront and full confession of guilt and sinfulness.

Sincere heartbreak is incompatible withmalice and all sorts of excesses. Therefore, confessions are preceded by a period when a person reconciles with others and forgives those who have offended him, fasts, perhaps refrains from carnal pleasures. An important part of the pre-confessional stage is the recitation of penitential prayers or simply prayers for the forgiveness of one's sins.

Do I have to write down my sins and bringa detailed account of them? Or a short note? How right? Confessing in the church is possible from memory. But Lutherans, for example, quite rightly believe that a person is not able to remember all his sins and will necessarily miss something. Orthodox priests recommend writing memos for themselves, sharing sins over broken commandments. We must begin with the main thing - sins against God. Then - sins against their neighbors, in the last place there are minor sins. But, of course, strict instructions do not exist - it's just easier not to forget.

Then follows the confession itself, and the priest by authority,given by Christ, will resolve from sin. Perhaps he will impose a punishment - penance, which will consist in additional fasting, reading prayers and bowing. Why is this done? Often a person simply needs to feel that sin is really worn out, passed, forgiven. Penance is never unlimited.

As a rule, after confession, the believer takes communion with the Holy Mysteries of Christ. This strengthens the weak human spirit in the decision not to sin any more.

Where and how to confess? In the church? Or can you confess at home? For example, seriously ill how to confess? In the church too? But it happens that the circumstances are such that a person can not reach the temple.

It is admissible to confess at home, you just need to discuss this with the priest. In addition, a believing person confesses his sins to God every time during prayer.

The rite of remission of sins itself takes place differently in Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism.

In the Orthodox Church, the priest covers the believerand reads the permissive prayer. The Catholic priest does not see the face of the confessor, since he is in a special small room - a confessional. This rite many represent on feature films. Protestants do not impose penance, because it is believed that all sins are released according to God's mercy.

Confession does not need to be a secret. The first Christians opened their minds and repented of their sins publicly - and all the faithful prayed together for the forgiveness of sinners. This kind of confession existed and subsequently - for example, it was practiced by John of Kronstadt.

But then confession became a mystery - after all forsome penitent sins could repay life. Since the fifth century, the concept of the mystery of confession appeared. Moreover, later in the Catholic and Orthodox churches, punishments were introduced for a priest who violated the secret of confession.

But secular power made exceptions - for example,by decree of Peter I the priest was charged with reporting to the authorities if from confession he became aware of a crime against the state or the monarch. In Soviet Russia, the failure to report on the impending crime was prosecuted and there were no exceptions for priests. Therefore, such an act as "confessing in the church," demanded considerable courage from both believers and priests. Now the secret of confession is protected by law - the priest is not obliged to report or give evidence about what became known to him at confession.

It is interesting that confession is not a prerogativeonly Christianity - it is inherent in all Abrahamic religions. Both in Judaism and in Islam there are analogues of the Christian confession, a prayer for the forgiveness of sins. But there it does not have such a systemic character as in Christianity.