When it comes to confession. What is repentance in Orthodoxy and how to repent correctly. What is confession

One of the most important aspects of spiritual life is repentance. Not always, however, it is understood by Orthodox Christians as it should be. We will try to consider the issues related to this Sacrament, which are most often encountered in pastoral practice.

What is Repentance?

Repentance is a Sacrament in which a Christian, repenting of his sins and confessing them before a priest, receives through him forgiveness and permission of sins from God. To perform the Sacrament, two actions are needed: 1) repentance and confession, and 2) forgiveness and permission of sins by a clergyman who has the power from God to forgive sins. We read about the first, that is, the need for confession, in the First Epistle of the Apostle John the Theologian: “If we confess our sins, then He, being faithful and just, will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1 : 9); about the second - in the Gospel of John: “Receive the Holy Spirit,” the Lord said to the apostles. - To whom you forgive sins, they will be forgiven; upon whom you leave, on him they will remain” (John 20:22-23).

Here you can immediately answer the frequently asked question: why do you need to go to the priest to talk about sins, is it not enough to repent in your soul, before God? No, not enough. The Lord gave the power of forgiveness of sins not to the person himself during their mental confession before God, but to the Church in the person of the apostles and their successors, i.e. bishops and presbyters. In order for them to recognize those sins that, on behalf of the Lord, have the grace to forgive, they need to communicate them, say, name, that is, confess them and testify to the clergyman their repentance for them.

Sin separates a person from God and His Church; in the Sacrament of Penance, the forgiveness of sins and the reunification of a person with the Church takes place. Outside the Church, even if a person sincerely laments his sinful deeds, he has nowhere to get permission from them.

What is sin?

“Sin is lawlessness,” says the Apostle John the Theologian (1 John 3:4), i.e., violation of the will of God, which is the all-creative action of God, that on which the world, all being, rests. And we know from Holy Scripture that the will of God is not some kind of indifferent almighty power, but is “good, acceptable, and perfect” (Rom. 12:2). If we correspond with the will of God with our deeds, thoughts, feelings, love it, seek it, create it, then we thereby partake of the original harmony of the world order, goodness, goodness, perfection and stay in the God-established rank and order, correspond to God and divine life and acquire peace, tranquility of conscience, internal (and often external) well-being, bliss and immortality. If we violate the will of God, then by doing so we go against God's order of the world order, that is, we destroy, spoil and pervert ourselves and the world. The apostle James writes: “Sin committed brings forth death” (James 1:15).

The will of God is revealed to us in Holy Scripture, especially the New Testament. If we diligently read and study this main book of the Church and apply what we have read to ourselves, then we will conform our lives to the will of God.

The committed sin violates the laws of life - primarily spiritual laws, and, therefore, for a person it entails an inevitable responsibility. If a person leaves the window of the 15th floor, having the desire to go through the air to the neighboring house, then he will fall down - these are the laws of the physical world; It doesn't really matter what he thinks and thinks. The same is true in the spiritual sphere: if a person goes against the laws of God, then whether he blames himself for this opposition to God or not, he reaps certain consequences.

Any sin perverts, changes God's order for the worse, separates a person from God. But truly, the Love of God transcends all human imperfection and infirmity. The Lord Jesus Christ in His Church gave us the great and wonderful Sacrament of Repentance; and now, if a person realizes his sin, repents, confesses it and receives permission from him in the Church, then by the action of this Sacrament sin is destroyed, blotted out of existence, and the soul is healed and receives grace-filled strength to fight sin; the main thing that is happening is the restoration of communion between God and man.

Two Kinds of Repentance

But repentance is not only a Sacrament. Repentance is, first of all, an inner action, the inner work of a person, which prepares and leads him to the Sacrament.

Repentance as entry into the Church

The gospel preaching began with nothing more than a call to repentance. “The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand: repent and believe in the Gospel” (Mark 1:15) - this is the first thing the Lord said when he went out to preach. Prior to this, St. John the Baptist called to repentance, and even baptized into repentance, that is, he performed ablution with water as a sign of cleansing from the sins confessed to him. Apostolic, that is, church, preaching also began with exhortations about repentance. After the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, in his very first sermon, the apostle Peter said: “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38); “Repent and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19). In Holy Scripture, repentance is considered a necessary condition for turning to God and for salvation. The Lord says, "Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3). Repentance pleases God and is pleasing to Him: “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous who have no need of repentance” (Luke 15:7).

What is it about? The Greek word “throwing” (repentance), which is in the original in all the quoted passages of the New Testament, literally means “to change your mind”, and the meaning of this concept is a change in consciousness. This word means something more than just a process of mental activity, it means an intentional "conversion" in which the heart, will and consciousness are involved; this is “a change in the way of thinking, leading to a change in behavior”, and it is the religious aspect that is meant here - the conversion from sin and lies to God, truth and goodness. Thus, repentance in the proper sense of the word is a change in consciousness and a decisive change in one's entire life, the realization of one's sins and forsaking them, turning to God and organizing one's life on new, evangelical principles.

Such an appeal to God occurs primarily through the acceptance of the Sacrament of Baptism; in our time, many people who were baptized in childhood, but not brought up as Christians, who have stifled the grace of Baptism with a non-Christian life, enter the Church through the Sacrament of Penance. In this sense, it is called "the second Baptism" or "restoration, renewal of Baptism."

Repentance as a moral act

But now we have entered the Church. How should our life be structured now? Having rejected sin and united with God, we received from Him in the Sacraments grace-filled gifts, and now our task is to preserve, increase and increase them. To do this, we must make a conscious moral effort on ourselves. The Lord speaks of this: “The kingdom of heaven is taken by force, and those who use force take it by force” (Matt. 11:12). This effort must be even, constant, unceasing, so that we can constantly grow in Christ, ascend from strength to strength.

But this is the ideal. In life, such a smooth ascent is not often found. We are weak, incapable of such constancy, of constant inner tension; we have acquired many sinful habits that have almost grown together with our nature. The arrangement of our external life is completely un-Christian, contrary to a pious life; and the devil beside his temptations. Under these conditions, we often become scattered, darkened, exhausted, weakened - and as a result, we allow sins into our lives. And here again the love of God is revealed to us and accepts us in the Sacrament of Penance.

About inner repentance

Repentance (here we are talking about an act of inner repentance, not about the Sacrament itself) is not something amorphous, like some kind of confused self-reproach of the soul. Nor is it some inner hysteria. Repentance has its own inner order and order, which St. Theophan the Recluse very well defines. Here is what he writes.

There is repentance:

1) awareness of one's sin before God;

2) reproaching oneself for this sin with a full confession of one's guilt, without shifting responsibility to other people or circumstances;

3) the determination to leave sin, to hate it, not to return to it, not to give it a place in oneself;

4) a prayer to God for the forgiveness of sin, until the peace of the spirit.

For, let’s say, “minor” sins, this inner repentance is often sufficient, while significant sins require their bringing to confession, because the heart is not pacified by the mere passage of this inner repentance.

How, when, how often to confess sins?

But here we are “ripe” to come to the temple for confession. Questions immediately arise before us: what and how, when and how often should we confess? The general rule here is this: you must confess when there is a need, and confess what your conscience reproaches, whether it be a deed, a word, a thought, or a disposition of the heart. It is always necessary to confess fully, without concealing, not embarrassed, and not ashamed by the false shame “what will the father think of me?” For the priest, sins are not news; he has heard all this hundreds of times. A priest always rejoices with Christ when a person repents of his sins, and feels love, affection and great respect for a sincerely repentant Christian, because courage and will are always needed to repent of his sins.

Mortal sins, if, God forbid, we have allowed them, we need to confess as soon as possible, without postponing repentance, because the enemy can pile up many obstacles to delay our coming to confession, in order to plunge us into despondency and despair. The same is with the first confession. When a person wants to return to the Church through repentance, as through a second Baptism, he should not be embarrassed and, under the pretext of false shame, put off confession until an indefinite “later”.

When we become churched, our participation in the Sacrament of Penance becomes more or less regular. Usually, according to the tradition of our Church, it happens before Communion. Things in which our conscience reproaches us, we must always confess; words - when they entered the category of deeds, for example, when we offended someone with a word. For thoughts, that act of inner repentance, which was mentioned above, is enough; the thought has departed, and it is not necessary to remember it. But if he himself is remembered, if he is intrusive, does not leave and hurts the conscience, then you need to confess him, trying at the same time to trace his cause.

Sins should be named in such a way that the confessing priest understands what is at stake, but it is not necessary to go into details, especially carnal sins. It’s good to test one’s conscience in advance and write everything down, because a person can get confused during confession, be embarrassed and forget something.

About some mistakes in confession

It is necessary to note several dangers that we may encounter in the work of repentance.

1. Formalization of confession, when it seems necessary to confess, but there seems to be nothing, or when we turn confession into a dry “report on the work done”. Here it must be remembered that the Sacrament of Confession is the completion and expression of the inner process of repentance and has its significance only under its condition. That is, if we confess without spiritual repentance, without going through - even to a small extent - the four components of inner work indicated by St. Theophan, we are in danger of profaning the Sacrament, and it can become us "in judgment or condemnation." If a person leads an attentive life and follows the purity of his conscience, then he daily notices in himself that which requires purification.

2. There is also the danger of “substitution” at confession, when a person does not see his real sins, but imputes imaginary sins to himself or considers unimportant sins to be great: he strains a mosquito, swallows a camel, according to the word of the Lord (Matt. 23: 24). A person can repent and reproach himself, for example, that he ate cookies with a non-fasting ingredient - some kind of dry milk, or that he did not read all the prayers from his rule - and at the same time not notice that he has been poisoning the lives of his neighbors for years. This also includes the frequently encountered understatement or exaggeration of sins. Minimizing sins is always associated with self-justification. “I don’t do anything special, sins, like everyone else,” or “well, they still live like that.” But it is obvious that the sinfulness of violating the commandments of God does not diminish at all from the mass nature of these violations... Exaggeration of sins stems from a person's unwillingness or inability to truly understand his life. “I am a sinner in everything”, “I trampled on all the vows of Baptism, I lied to God in everything ...” question is dangerous, for it leads to a wrong view of oneself and of one's relationship with God and one's neighbors.

3. Getting used to confession and devaluing it: “It doesn’t matter that I sin, it doesn’t matter: there is a confession, I will repent.” This is a manipulation of the Sacrament, a consumerist attitude towards it. Such “games” with God always end very badly: God severely punishes a person for such a state of mind. You need to beware of this, and always be honest with God and with your conscience.

4. Disappointment in confession: “Here, I have been walking for years, repenting, but the passion does not go away, the sins are the same.” This is evidence that we could not determine our measure: after reading ascetic books, we decided that in a short time we would conquer our sins and passions. But this takes decades. In addition, the Lord can Providence leave us some weaknesses and passions, so that we humble ourselves, do not rely on ourselves, but seek God and patiently seek His help.

It must also be understood that sins vary in strength. Some have so entered our nature that they, like rust, need to be cleaned for a long time and diligently. Others can be compared to the mud that we got into, got very dirty, but after cleansing we no longer fit. Still others, small ones, are like dust, which gradually and imperceptibly collects. We will not wipe it, over time we will begin to suffocate. Finally, we do not ask the question: why brush your teeth if they will still be dirty. With each sincere confession, the power of sin in us weakens, and over time, it completely disappears.

Criteria for correct repentance

Repentant feelings should bring a person not despondency and despair, not an inferiority complex, but the grace of the Holy Spirit. This is not ecstasy, not exaltation, not bloody fever - the grace of the Holy Spirit is evidenced in the soul by a subtle, peaceful, joyful, humble, quiet, cool, truly spiritual feeling that gives a person peace, love and freedom - and, as it were, “gathers” a person into a whole and harmonious being, into what he should be according to God's plan. If what we consider repentance brings our souls embarrassment, heaviness, feelings of guilt, inner hysteria, self-blame, then we misunderstand repentance.

Repentance does not cover all inner work, it is a part of it. Repentance is not the goal of spiritual life, but, albeit the most important, it is a means. The goal of spiritual life is communion with God, and Repentance, in fact, restores it: this is the main thing that takes place in this Sacrament, and this is its place in spiritual life.

What is necessary for our confession to be deep, for the soul to feel light from the shed burden of sins? For this, sincerity and a sense of repentance are not enough. It is necessary to carefully review our lives, to understand, to realize what we need to repent of. Therefore, when we are preparing for confession, let us first try to see in ourselves those sins in which our conscience reproaches us, which lie on the surface of our consciousness. And then we will check ourselves according to the list of sins that spiritual literature offers us. When preparing for confession, do not be too lazy to take a piece of paper and write down what you need to tell the priest about. This will help you to be more collected during confession, not to forget to tell about some sins due to excitement or the actions of the evil one. And the priest will see that you have prepared in good faith for the Sacrament of Penance.

Eight main passions that corrupt the life of Man and the whole society according to the works of St. Ignatius Brianchaninov

1. Gluttony

Gluttony, drunkenness, non-observance of fasts, secret eating, delicacy, general incontinence in eating and drinking. Excessive love for the flesh, the desire for comfort and peace, because of which self-love arises, from which - non-observance of fidelity to God, the Church and people.

2. Fornication

Prodigal kindling, prodigal orientation of the soul and heart. Acceptance of impure thoughts, consideration of them, delight in them, detention in them. Wicked dreams. Intemperance of the senses - of sight, especially of touch, which is insolence, which destroys all virtues. Cursing and reading voluptuous books, watching prodigal movies and TV shows. Malachi (masturbation). Fornication (failure to maintain purity before marriage), adultery (violation of marital fidelity). Fornication sins are unnatural.

3. love of money

Love for money and wealth in general. The desire to get rich. Fear of old age, poverty. Greed, greed. Mercy to the poor and the needy. Greed. Disappointment in the Providence of God, hope in your wealth. Excessive concern for earthly things. Love for gifts. Theft, misappropriation of someone else's, careless attitude to someone else's property. Robbery. Non-payment or withholding of wages to employees.

4. Anger

Short temper, irritability. Desire for revenge. Quarrels, bickering, insults, beating, murder, rancor, hatred, enmity, slander, unwillingness to reconcile and forgive sins.

5. sadness

Grief, longing, cutting off hope in God, ungratefulness to God for everything that happens in life, cowardice, cowardice, intolerance, lack of self-reproach, complaining about one's neighbor, grumbling, renunciation of the cross of life or an attempt to get off it.

6. Despondency

Indifference to any good deed, especially to prayer. Non-fulfillment of home and church prayers. Inattention and haste in prayer. Negligence, negligence in spiritual matters. Laziness in reading spiritual books. Apathy, idleness, desire for entertainment, drowsiness. Frequent abandonment of the temple. Excessive guesting, idle talk, laughter. Blasphemy. Forgetting your sins. Forgetfulness of the commandments of Christ. Deprivation of the fear of God. Bitterness. Despair.

7. Vanity

Striving for human glory and honors. Praise. Love for beautiful and expensive things. Narcissism, excessive concern for one's appearance, clothing, fashion craze (regarding clothing, furniture, home decoration, modern technology, scientific achievements, artistic tastes, etc.). Shame to confess sins at confession, hiding them before the priest. Craftiness. Self-justification. Contradiction. Exposing your mind. Hypocrisy. Lie. Flattery. Humanity. Envy. Humiliation of neighbor. Changeability of mood. Condoning injustice. Unscrupulousness. The temper and life are demonic.

8. Pride

Neighbor neglect. Preferring yourself to everyone. Insolence. Confusion of mind and heart. Hula. Disbelief. Arrogance. Disobedience to the teachings of the Church, failure to comply with its laws, blasphemy and slander against it. Connivance to one's sinful will. Fascination with heretical and occult literature. False philosophy. Sectarianism. Atheism. Ignorance. Death of the soul. Satanism. Disregard for the voice of your conscience. Maliciousness. Rejection of Christian humility and silence. Loss of simplicity. Loss of love for God and neighbor.

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Instruction

The Monk John of the Ladder wrote: “Repentance is a covenant with God about the correction of life. Repentance is reconciliation with the Lord. Repentance is the cleansing of conscience. The task at which the modern Christian has to constantly work is to live in the world and remain a pure, undefiled world. The fruit of this work is repentance.

Confession and repentance are not synonymous. Confession is one of the seven Christian sacraments, in which the penitent, his sins before the priest, is invisibly resolved from them by the Lord Himself. The Sacrament was established by the Savior, who said to his Apostles: “Receive the Holy Spirit: to whom you forgive sins, they will be forgiven; to whom you leave, they will remain” (Jn 20:22-23).

In fact, the sacrament of confession should complete the process of repentance. Repentance is precisely a process, not an episode in a person's life. The Orthodox Christian is constantly in a state of repentance. The sacrament of confession must be preceded by inner work. If there is no inner comprehension of one's actions, contrition for them, then confession becomes empty talk.

There are a lot of “To Help the Penitent” memos, which list all kinds of sins. Such lists of sins can be used initially if you are unfamiliar with church life. But you should not formally list everything that you wrote out from such a book in confession. A scrupulous enumeration of all one's sins leads away from the very essence of repentance.

The essence of repentance is finding God. When a person simply understands that he is sinful, bad, it is nothing more than a simple admission of his mistakes. Another thing is when he realizes at the same time that he needs a Savior, Christ, in order to become worthy of his calling. Repentance is the desire to become better and better. Speaking of repentance, the apostle Paul compares a Christian to an athlete. He says: everyone runs to the lists, but the victory goes to the one who runs first; this is how we should strive to achieve more in the spiritual life. Therefore, repentance is not the result of low self-esteem, but only the result of a constant striving for perfection.

What to do if a person does not feel at all "sinner than everyone else"? After all, then the call to repentance can only cause irritation and anger. It is important to remember that confession does not destroy a person as a person, not his dignity. It is difficult for many to come to confession, to overcome shame in front of a priest. There is no need to be afraid to go to confession, "because you are ashamed." The conscience is cleansed best of all by shame. In addition, shame is the best deterrent from further sin.

A person who has decided to embark on the path of repentance can be given some advice. First, as simple as it sounds, visit the temple more often. Liturgical life, frequent attendance at church turns out to be a powerful foundation upon which one can build one's repentance. Secondly, try, as far as possible, to change the external way of your life. For example, to go somewhere for a few days, retire to reflect on your life. It is good to go to some secluded monastery to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of silence and prayer.

The importance of repentance cannot be overestimated. After all, Jesus' first public sermon was "Repent!" (Mark 1:15) - and since for Jesus this was one of the first on the list, perhaps we should also pay attention to it.

But what is the right way to repent? Psalm 31 is a great place to explore the nature and process of deep repentance. Here five basic steps:

1. Honestly admit that you need to repent.

“Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!” (verse 2)

Repentance requires honesty. No one comes to God with sincere repentance in his heart until he realizes the need for forgiveness and reconciliation with Him. Only those who have stopped trying to hide their sin behind self-righteousness and deceit can feel the deep and lasting change that comes only through repentance.

2. Realize the danger of sin and the destructive effect of guilt.

Let's face it: you're seeking repentance because the Spirit of God has condemned you. We often blame others for causing our stress and bad mood, but very often we feel bad because we did something bad. David describes the physical and emotional symptoms of a bad conscience. We must honestly assess the consequences of our sin, which means assessing both the consequences for us personally and how it has affected—or continues to affect—others.

3. Confess fully.

“But I have revealed my sin to You and have not hidden my iniquity; I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord” (verse 5)

Deep repentance requires deep confession. Although it seems paradoxical, the only way to be completely covered in Christ is to fully expose your sin. In the process of repentance, we must strive to fully reveal to God the depth and breadth of our sin. Only ruthless honesty will do here, and it will lead to freedom and joy.

4. Take refuge in God.

“You removed from me the guilt of my sin. For this every righteous man will pray to You at the right time, and then the flood of many waters will not reach him. You are my shelter: you guard me from sorrow, you surround me with the joys of deliverance” (verses 5-7)

Adam and Eve hid behind a disproportionate, makeshift cover to mask their sin and shame. We, too, often hide behind self-made righteousness to appear more pleasant than we really are. If we want to change, to really change - which, by the way, is a sign of real repentance - we must take refuge only in God.

It is not enough to repent only of obvious things. It's not enough to say: "I admit that I behaved wrong". All people repent in this way, especially religious people who keep their reputation.

The Christian repents not only of his outward sins, but also of his attempts to hide behind false self-made righteousness. Stop hiding behind your efforts. Take refuge in God.

5. Grab hold of hope.

“Many are sorrows to the wicked, but he who trusts in the Lord is surrounded by mercy.” (verse 10)

How can we be sure that God has forgiven us? Because of His unchanging love. Remember and confirm the great promises He made throughout history and how those promises were fulfilled in Jesus Christ:

His promise to Adam and Eve to crush the enemy
His promise to Abraham to uphold and protect the people
His promise to Moses to give sinful people a way to have a relationship with a Holy God
His promise to David is to give once and for all an eternal King to His people.

Throughout history—up to the present moment when you repent—God has said and continues to say: "I love you. I won't let you down. I am everything you need."

Look at God's promises, grab hold of hope, and “Rejoice in the Lord and rejoice, righteous ones; rejoice, all upright in heart"(Psalm 31:11)

Author - Christian Living/ Joel Lindsey/ thegospelcoalition.org
Translation - Ekaterina Vilenskaya For

Those who, for the first time in their lives, will participate in one of the most important Christian sacraments, are wondering with what words to begin confession before the priest. A person who wants to repent and may not know how to talk about their sins.

A well-known church figure of our time, Archimandrite John (Krestyankin), identified two options for constructing a confession:

according to the ten commandments;
according to the commandments of happiness.

In his book on confession, the hierarch gives an example of how one can pronounce confession and repent of one's sins. The archimandrite analyzes each of the commandments and describes what duties Christians should have before God according to these commandments. John points out to readers the mistakes in everyday life that lead to forgetfulness of faith.

He analyzes the beatitudes and points out what people neglect. Considering the second beatitude ("blessed are those who mourn"), he asks the reader if he mourned the desecration of God's image in himself, his non-Christian life, surges of pride and anger. He shows readers how far they stand from the steps of moral perfection.

This book is recognized as a good manual explaining what should be considered sin in human life. But it cannot be an instruction on what to say. The penitent must himself choose the words that will come from his heart, and sincerely desire to repent.

Preparing for confession and conducting it

A person who wants to confess for the first time must carefully remember all the sins that have been committed. For convenience, he can draw up a summary that will allow him not to forget anything during the sacrament. He can speak in advance with the clergyman, who will appoint a time for him during the general confession or especially.

People confess to the clergy in turn. The visitor must wait his turn. After that, he, turning to the audience, asks them for forgiveness for their sins. They say God will forgive and forgive him. After that, the confessor goes to the clergyman.

A person approaches the lectern, crosses himself, makes a bow, and then begins to confess. Approaching the priest, he must turn to God and say that he has sinned before Him. At the beginning, he may introduce himself to the confessing priest, but this can also be done at the end, when the priest will have to call his name in prayer. Then comes the time of listing sins, the story of each of which should begin with the word: "sinned / sinned."

Also, approaching the lectern, the believer can say “The servant of God (the servant of God) is confessing” and give the name. Then say "I repent of my sins" and start listing them.

When the penitent finishes listing his sins, he must listen to the word of the priest, who can absolve him of his sins or impose a punishment on the layman (penance). After that, the person is baptized again, bows, and venerates the Gospel and the Cross.

Confession is one of the most important sacraments in the life of a Christian. For new converts and those who came to the faith late, the question often arises with what words to begin confession before the priest. . A person must show that he has realized his sinful life and wants to change.

LIST OF SINS WITH A DESCRIPTION OF THEIR SPIRITUAL ESSENCE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

About repentance

Sins against God and the Church

Sins towards neighbors

List of deadly sins

Special mortal sins - blasphemy against the Holy Spirit

About the eight main passions with their subdivisions and branches and about the virtues that oppose them (according to the works of St. Ignatius Brianchaninov).

General list of sins

edition
ZADONSK CHRISTMAS-BOGORODITSKY
MONASTERY
2005

About repentance

Our Lord Jesus Christ, who came to call not the righteous, but sinners to repentance (Matthew 9:13), Even in His earthly life He established the sacrament of the forgiveness of sins. The harlot, who washed His feet with tears of repentance, He let go with the words: “Your sins are forgiven… your faith has saved you, go in peace.” (Luke 7:48, 50). The paralytic, brought to Him on the bed, He healed, saying: “Your sins are forgiven ... but so that you know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins,” then he says to the paralytic, “arise, take up your bed and go to your house » (Mt. 9, 2, 6).

He gave this power to the apostles, and they to the priests of the Church of Christ, who have the right to resolve sinful bonds, that is, to free the soul from the sins committed and weighing upon it. If only a person came to confession with a sense of repentance, an awareness of their iniquities and a desire to cleanse the soul from the burden of sin...

This pamphlet is intended to help the penitent: it contains a list of sins compiled on the basis of the "general confession" of St. Demetrius of Rostov.

Sins against God and the Church
* Disobedience to the will of God. Obvious disagreement with the will of God expressed in His commandments, Holy Scripture, the instructions of the spiritual father, the voice of conscience, reinterpreting the will of God in one’s own way, in a sense favorable to oneself with the aim of self-justification or condemnation of one’s neighbor, delivering one’s own will above the will of Christ, jealousy is not according to reason in ascetic exercises and forcing others to follow oneself, failure to fulfill the promises made to God in previous confessions.

* Murmur at God. This sin is a consequence of distrust of God, which can lead to a complete falling away from the Church, loss of faith, apostasy and theomachism. The opposite virtue to this sin is humility before God's providence for oneself.

* Ingratitude to God. A person often turns to God during periods of trials, sorrows and illnesses, asking to soften or even deliver them from them, on the contrary, during periods of external well-being, he forgets about Him, not realizing that he uses His good gift, does not thank for him. The opposite virtue is constant thanksgiving to the Heavenly Father for the trials, consolations, spiritual joys and earthly happiness He sends.

* Lack of faith, doubt in the truth of Holy Scripture and Tradition (that is, in the dogmas of the Church, its canons, the legitimacy and correctness of the hierarchy, the celebration of divine services, in the authority of the writings of the holy fathers). Renunciation of faith in God out of fear of people and concern for earthly well-being.

Lack of faith is the lack of complete, deep conviction in any Christian truth, or the acceptance of this truth only with the mind, but not with the heart. This sinful state arises on the basis of doubt or lack of zeal for true knowledge of God. Lack of faith is to the heart what doubt is to the mind. It relaxes the heart on the paths of fulfilling the will of God. Confession helps cast out lack of faith and strengthens the heart.

Doubt is a thought that violates (obviously and vaguely) the conviction of the truth of the teachings of Christ and His Church in general and in particular, for example, doubts in the gospel commandments, doubts in dogmas, that is, any member of the Creed, in the holiness of any recognized by the Church a saint or the events of Sacred history celebrated in the Church, in the inspiration of the Holy Fathers; doubt in the veneration of holy icons and the relics of saints, in the invisible Divine presence, in worship and in the sacraments.

In life, one must learn to distinguish between “empty” doubts raised by demons, the environment (the world) and one’s own mind darkened by sin — such doubts must be rejected by an act of will — and real spiritual problems that must be resolved based on full trust in God and His Church , forcing oneself to complete self-disclosure before the Lord in the presence of a confessor. It is better to confess all doubts: both those that were rejected by the inner spiritual eye, and especially those that were accepted in the heart and gave rise to confusion and despondency there. Thus the mind is purified and enlightened, and faith strengthened.

Doubt may arise on the basis of excessive self-confidence, fascination with other people's opinions, little jealousy for the realization of one's faith. The fruit of doubt is relaxation in following the path of salvation, contradiction to the will of God.

* Passivity(little zeal, lack of diligence) in the knowledge of Christian truth, the teachings of Christ and His Church. Lack of desire (if possible) to read the Holy Scriptures, the works of the holy fathers, to ponder and comprehend the dogmas of faith with the heart, to understand the meaning of worship. This sin arises from mental laziness or an excessive fear of falling into any kind of doubt. As a result, the truths of faith are assimilated superficially, thoughtlessly, mechanically, and in the end, a person's ability to effectively-consciously fulfill the will of God in life is undermined.

* Heresies and superstitions. Heresy is a false doctrine relating to the spiritual world and communion with it, rejected by the Church as being in clear contradiction with Holy Scripture and Tradition. Heresy often leads to personal pride, excessive trust in one's own mind and personal spiritual experience. The reason for heretical opinions and judgments may also be insufficient knowledge of the teachings of the Church, theological ignorance.

* Ritual belief. Adherence to the letter of Scripture and Tradition, attaching importance only to the external side of church life while forgetting its meaning and purpose - these vices are united under the name of ritual belief. Belief in the saving value of only the exact execution of ritual actions in themselves, without taking into account their inner spiritual meaning, testifies to the inferiority of faith and a decrease in reverence for God, forgetting that a Christian should “serve God in the renewal of the spirit, and not according to the old letter” (Rom. 7:6). Ritual belief arises from insufficient understanding of good news Christ, but "He gave us the ability to be ministers of the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the spirit, because the letter kills, but the spirit gives life" (2 Cor. 3, 6). Ritual belief testifies to an inadequate perception of the teachings of the Church, which does not correspond to its greatness, or to an unreasonable zeal for service, which does not correspond to the will of God. Ritual belief, quite common among the church people, entails superstition, legalism, pride, division.

* Distrust of God. This sin is expressed in the lack of confidence that the primary cause of all external and internal life circumstances is the Lord, who wants us to be truly good. Distrust of God is caused by the fact that a person has not sufficiently accustomed himself to the Gospel Revelation, has not felt its main knot: voluntary suffering, crucifixion, death and resurrection of the Son of God.

From distrust of God arise such sins as the lack of constant gratitude to Him, despondency, despair (especially in illnesses, sorrows), cowardice in circumstances, fear of the future, vain attempts to insure against suffering and avoid trials, and in case of failure - hidden or obvious grumbling on God and His Providence for oneself. The opposite virtue is the laying of one's hopes and hopes on God, the complete acceptance of His Providence for oneself.

* Lack of fear of God and reverence for Him. Careless, distracted prayer, irreverent behavior in the temple, in front of a shrine, disrespect for the holy dignity.

The lack of memory of a mortal in anticipation of the Last Judgment.

* Small jealousy(or its complete absence) to communion with God, spiritual life. Salvation is fellowship with God in Christ in the eternal future life. Earthly life for the acquisition of the grace of the Holy Spirit, the disclosure of the Kingdom of Heaven in oneself, divinity, divine sonship. The achievement of this goal depends on God, but God will not constantly be with a person if he does not show all his zeal, love, and intelligence in order to draw closer to Him. The whole life of a Christian is directed towards this goal. If you do not have love for prayer as a way of communion with God, for the temple, for participation in the sacraments, then this is a sign of a lack of zeal for communion with God.

In relation to prayer, this manifests itself in the fact that it happens only under compulsion, irregular, inattentive, relaxed, with a careless position of the body, mechanical, limited only by memorized or recited prayers. There is no constant memory of God, love and gratitude to Him as the background of all life.

Possible reasons: insensitivity of the heart, passivity of the mind, lack of proper preparation for prayer, unwillingness to think through and understand with the heart and mind the meaning of the forthcoming prayer work and the content of each forgiveness or doxology.

Another group of reasons: the attachment of the mind, heart and will to earthly things.

In relation to temple worship, this sin manifests itself in rare, irregular participation in public worship, absent-mindedness or conversations during the service, walking around the temple, distracting others from prayer with their requests or remarks, being late for the start of the service and leaving before the dismissal and blessing.

In general, this sin boils down to not feeling the special presence of God in the temple during public worship.

Causes of sin: unwillingness to enter into prayer unity with brothers and sisters in Christ due to the burden of earthly cares and immersion in the vain affairs of this world, powerlessness in the fight against internal temptations sent by spiritually hostile forces that hinder and hold us back from acquiring the grace of the Holy Spirit, and and, finally, pride, unfraternal, unloving attitude towards other parishioners, irritation and bitterness against them.

In relation to the Sacrament of Repentance, the sin of indifference manifests itself in rare confessions without proper preparation, in the preference for a general personal confession in order to go through it more painlessly, in the absence of a desire to deeply know oneself, in an unbroken and unhumble mental disposition, in the absence of determination to leave sin, to eradicate vicious inclinations , to overcome temptations, instead - the desire to belittle sin, justify oneself, keep silent about the most shameful actions and thoughts. Thus committing deceit in the face of the Lord Himself, who accepts confession, a person aggravates his sins.

The reasons for these phenomena are in the misunderstanding of the spiritual meaning of the Sacrament of repentance, in complacency, self-pity, vanity, in the unwillingness to overcome demonic resistance internally.

We sin especially grievously against the Most Holy and Life-Giving Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ, approaching Holy Communion rarely and without proper preparation, without first purifying the soul in the Sacrament of Penance; we do not feel the need to partake more often, we do not keep our purity after communion, but again we fall into vanity and indulge in vices.

The reasons for this are rooted in the fact that we do not ponder over the meaning of the highest sacrament of the Church, we do not realize its greatness and our sinful unworthiness, the need to heal the soul and body, we do not pay attention to insensitivity of the heart, we do not realize the influence of fallen spirits nesting in our souls, which they turn us away from communion, and therefore we do not resist, but succumb to their temptation, we do not enter into a fight with them, we do not experience reverence and fear of the presence of God in the Holy Gifts, we are not afraid to partake of the Holy “for judgment and condemnation”, we do not care about the constant fulfillment of the will God in life, inattentive to our hearts, prone to vanity, we approach the Holy Chalice with a hardened heart, not reconciled with our neighbors.

* Self-justification, complacency. Satisfaction with one's spiritual dispensation or state.

* Despair from the spectacle of one's spiritual state and impotence to fight sin. In general, self-assessment of one's own spiritual dispensation and state; the imposition of spiritual judgment on oneself, in contrast to what the Lord Jesus Christ said: “Vengeance is mine, I will repay” (Rom. 12:19).

* Lack of spiritual sobriety constant heartfelt attention, absent-mindedness, sinful oblivion, unreason.

* spiritual pride, attributing to oneself the gifts received from God, the desire for independent possession of any spiritual gifts and energies.

* spiritual fornication, attraction to spirits alien to Christ (occultism, Eastern mysticism, theosophy). True spiritual life is being in the Holy Spirit.

* Frivolous and sacrilegious attitude towards God and the Church: the use of the name of God in jokes, the frivolous mention of shrines, curses with the mention of His name, the pronunciation of the name of God without reverence.

* spiritual individualism, a tendency to isolate in prayer (even during the Divine Liturgy), forgetting that we are members of the Catholic (Catholic) Church, members of the one mystical Body of Christ, fellow members.

* Spiritual selfishness, spiritual voluptuousness- prayer, participation in the sacraments only for the sake of receiving spiritual pleasures, consolations and experiences.

* Impatience in prayer and others spiritual exploits. This includes failure to fulfill the prayer rule, breaking fasts, eating at the wrong time, leaving the temple prematurely without a particularly good reason.

* Consumer attitude towards God and the Church, when there is no desire to give something to the Church, to work somehow for her. Prayer asking for worldly success, honors, satisfaction of selfish desires and material wealth.

* spiritual greed, lack of spiritual generosity, the need to convey to the neighbors the grace received from God with a word of consolation, sympathy, service to people.

* Lack of constant concern for the fulfillment of the will of God in life. This sin manifests itself when we do serious things without asking God's blessing, without consulting and asking for blessings from a spiritual father.

Sins towards neighbors

* Pride, exaltation over one's neighbor, arrogance, "demonic stronghold" (this most dangerous of sins is considered separately and in detail below).

* Condemnation. The tendency to notice, remember and name other people's shortcomings, to make a clear or internal judgment on one's neighbor. Under the influence of condemnation of one's neighbor, which is not always noticeable even for oneself, a distorted image of him is formed in the heart. This image then serves as an internal justification for dislike for this person, a scornfully evil attitude towards him. In the process of repentance, this false image must be crushed and, on the basis of love, the true image of each neighbor must be recreated in the heart.

* Anger, irritability, grumpiness. Can I control my outbursts of anger? Do I allow swear words, curses in quarrels with my neighbors, in raising children? Will I use foul language in normal conversation (to be "like everyone else")? Is there any rudeness, rudeness, arrogance, malicious mockery, hatred in my behavior?

* Unmercifulness, uncompassionateness. Am I responding to requests for help? Are you ready for self-sacrifice, almsgiving? Is it easy to lend things, money? Do I reproach my debtors? Am I rudely and persistently demanding the return of what I borrowed? Do I brag to people about my sacrifices, almsgiving, helping others, expecting approval and earthly rewards? Was he stingy, afraid of not getting what he asked for back?

Works of mercy should be done in secret, for we do them not for the sake of human glory, but for the love of God and neighbor.

* Resentment, unforgiveness of insults, vindictiveness. Excessive demands on others. These sins contradict both the spirit and the letter of the gospel of Christ. Our Lord teaches us to forgive our neighbor sins against us up to seventy times seven. Without forgiving others, taking revenge on them for their offense, keeping in mind the evil against another, we cannot hope for the forgiveness of our own sins by the Heavenly Father.

* self-isolation, alienation from other people.

* Disregard for others, indifference. This sin is especially terrible in relation to parents: ingratitude towards them, callousness. If parents have died, do we forget to remember them in prayer?

* Vanity, ambition. We fall into this sin when we are conceited, flaunting our talents, spiritual and bodily, mind, education, and when we demonstrate our superficial spirituality, ostentatious churchliness, imaginary piety.

How do we treat members of our family, people with whom we often meet or work? Can we tolerate their weaknesses? Are we often irritated? Are we arrogant, touchy, intolerant of other people's shortcomings, other people's opinions?

* curiosity, desire to be the first, to command. Do we love to be served? How do we treat people who depend on us at work and at home? Do we love to rule, to insist on doing our will? Don't we have a tendency to interfere in other people's affairs, in someone else's private life with persistent advice and instructions? Don't we tend to leave the last word for ourselves, just to disagree with the opinion of another, even if he is right?

* human-pleasing- this is the reverse side of the sin of arrogance. We fall into it, wanting to please another person, afraid of embarrassing ourselves in front of him. From human pleasing, we often do not expose the obvious sin, we participate in a lie. Have we not indulged in flattery, that is, a feigned, exaggerated admiration for a person, trying to get his goodwill? Have we not adapted to other people's opinions, tastes for our own benefit? Have you ever been deceitful, dishonest, two-faced, unscrupulous in your work? Didn't they betray people, saving themselves from trouble? Did they place their blame on others? Did they keep other people's secrets?

Pondering into his past, a Christian preparing for confession should remember all the evil that he voluntarily or involuntarily committed towards his neighbors.

Was it not the cause of grief, someone else's misfortune? Did he destroy the family? Is he guilty of adultery and did he push another to this sin by pandering? Did he take upon himself the sin of killing an unborn child, did he not contribute to this? These sins should be repented only in personal confession.

Was he not prone to obscene jokes, anecdotes, immoral allusions? Didn't he offend the shrine of human love with cynicism and abuse?

* Peace breaking. Do we know how to keep peace in the family, in communication with neighbors, co-workers? Do we allow ourselves slander, condemnation, evil ridicule? Are we able to curb our tongue, are we not chatty?

Are we not showing an idle, sinful curiosity about the lives of other people? Are we attentive to the needs and concerns of people? Are we not shutting ourselves up in our supposedly spiritual problems, turning away people?

* Envy, malevolence, malevolence. Didn't you envy someone else's success, position, dispensation? Didn't you secretly wish failure, failure, a sad outcome for other people's affairs? Didn't you openly or secretly rejoice at someone else's misfortune, failure? Did he incite others to evil deeds while remaining outwardly innocent? Have you ever been overly suspicious, seeing only the bad in everyone? Did he not point out to one person the vice (obvious or imaginary) of another person in order to quarrel them? Did he abuse the trust of his neighbor by revealing to others his shortcomings or sins? Didn't he spread gossip that defames the wife in front of her husband or the husband in front of his wife? Did his behavior cause jealousy of one of the spouses and anger against the other?

* Resist evil against yourself. This sin manifests itself in a clear resistance to the offender, in retribution with evil for evil, when our heart does not want to bear the pain inflicted on him.

* Failure to help the neighbor, offended, persecuted. We fall into this sin when, out of cowardice or misunderstood humility, we do not stand up for the offended, we do not expose the offender, we do not testify to the truth, we allow evil and injustice to triumph.

How do we endure the misfortune of our neighbor, do we remember the commandment: "Carry one another's burdens"? Are you always ready to help, sacrificing your peace and well-being? Are we leaving our neighbor in trouble?

Sins against oneself and other sinful inclinations contrary to the spirit of Christ

* Sadness, despair. Have you given in to despondency, despair? Have you thought about suicide?

* Bad faith. Do we force ourselves to serve others? Do we sin by dishonest performance of our duties in work, upbringing of children; whether we keep our promises to people; Do we not introduce people into temptations by being late to the meeting place or to the house where they are waiting for us, by forgetfulness, optionality, frivolity?

Are we careful at work, at home, in transport? Do we scatter in work: forgetting to finish one thing, we move on to another? Are we strengthening ourselves in the intention to serve others?

* bodily excesses. Didn't he destroy himself with excesses according to the flesh: overeating, eating sweets, gluttony, eating at the wrong time?

Have you abused your inclination to bodily peace and comfort, sleeping a lot, staying in bed after waking up? Have you indulged in laziness, immobility, lethargy, relaxation? Are you addicted to a certain way of life so that you do not want to change it for the sake of your neighbor?

Isn't he sinful of drunkenness, this most terrible of modern vices, destroying the soul and body, bringing evil and suffering to others? How do you deal with this vice? Do you help your neighbor to get away from him? Did he not seduce the non-drinker with wine, did he not give wine to the minor and the sick?

Is he not addicted to smoking, which also destroys health? Smoking distracts from spiritual life, a cigarette replaces prayer for a smoker, displaces the consciousness of sins, destroys spiritual chastity, serves as a temptation for others, harms their health, especially children and adolescents. Didn't use drugs?

* sensual thoughts and temptations. Have we struggled with sensual thoughts? Have you avoided the temptations of the flesh? Did they turn away from seductive spectacles, conversations, touches? Have they not sinned by intemperance of spiritual and bodily feelings, pleasure and slowness in impure thoughts, voluptuousness, immodest glance at persons of the opposite sex, self-desecration? Do we not recall with delight our former sins of the flesh?

* Peacefulness. Are we not sinning by catering to human passions, mindlessly following the way of life and behavior accepted among the people around us, including those that exist in the church environment, but not imbued with the spirit of love, pretending to portray piety, falling into hypocrisy, hypocrisy?

* Disobedience. Do we sin by disobedience to parents, elders in the family, bosses at work? Do we not follow the advice of our spiritual father, do we evade the penance laid on us by him, this spiritual medicine that heals the soul? Do we suppress the pangs of conscience in ourselves by not fulfilling the law of love?

* Idleness, wastefulness, attachment to things. Are we wasting our time? Are we using our God-given talents for good? Are we wasting money for ourselves and others without benefit?

Are we not sinning with an addiction to the comforts of life, are we not attached to perishable material things, do we accumulate excessively, “for a rainy day”, food products, clothes, shoes, luxurious furniture, jewelry, thereby not trusting God and His Providence, forgetting that tomorrow we can stand before His judgment?

* money-grubbing. We fall into this sin when we are excessively carried away by the accumulation of perishable riches or by seeking human glory in work, in creativity; when, under the pretext of being busy, we refuse to pray and visit the temple even on Sundays and holidays, we indulge in much concern, vanity. This leads to captivity of the mind and petrification of the heart.

We sin in word, deed, thought, all five senses, knowledge and ignorance, willingly and unwillingly, in reason and unreason, and there is no way to enumerate all our sins according to their multitude. But we truly repent of them and ask for grace-filled help to remember all our sins, forgotten and therefore unrepentant. We promise to continue to guard ourselves with the help of God, to avoid sin and to do works of love. You, Lord, forgive us and forgive us from all sins by Your mercy and long-suffering, and bless us to partake of Your Holy and Life-Giving Mysteries not for judgment and condemnation, but for the healing of soul and body. Amen.

List of deadly sins

1. Pride, despising all, demanding servility from others, ready to ascend to heaven and become like the Most High; in a word, pride to the point of self-adoration.

2. Unsatisfied soul, or Judas's greed for money, connected for the most part with unrighteous acquisitions, which does not give a person even a minute to think about spiritual things.

3. Fornication, or the dissolute life of the prodigal son, who squandered all his father's estate on such a life.

4. Envy, leading to every possible evil deed to the neighbor.

5. Gluttony, or fleshly pleasure, not knowing any fasts, combined with a passionate attachment to various amusements, following the example of the gospel rich man, who rejoiced all day long.

6. Anger uncompromising and resolving on terrible destruction, following the example of Herod, who in his anger beat the Bethlehem babies.

7. Sloth, or perfect carelessness about the soul, negligence about repentance until the last days of life, as, for example, in the days of Noah.

Special mortal sins - blasphemy against the Holy Spirit

These sins include:

stubborn disbelief, not convinced by any evidence of the truth, even by obvious miracles, rejecting the most learned truth.

Despair, or the opposite of excessive hope in God, a feeling in relation to the mercy of God, which denies paternal goodness in God and leads to thoughts of suicide.

Over-reliance on God or the continuation of a gravely sinful life in the sole hope of God's mercy.

Deadly sins that cry out to heaven for vengeance

* In general, deliberate homicide (abortion), and in particular patricide (fratricide and regicide).

* Sodom sin.

* Vain oppression of a poor, defenseless person, a defenseless widow and young orphans.

* Withholding from a wretched worker his well-deserved wages.

* Taking away from a person in his extreme position the last piece of bread or the last mite, which he obtained with sweat and blood, as well as the forcible or secret appropriation of alms, food, warmth or clothing from those imprisoned in prison, which are determined by him, and generally their oppression.

* Grief and resentment to parents to their impudent beatings.

Of the eight major passions with their subdivisions
and branches and the virtues that oppose them
(according to the works of St. Ignatius Brianchaninov)

1. gluttony- gluttony, drunkenness, non-keeping and permission of fasts, secret eating, delicacy, generally violation of abstinence. Wrong and excessive love of the flesh, its belly and rest, from which self-love is made, from which comes the non-keeping of fidelity to God, the Church, virtue and people.

This passion must be resisted. abstinence - restraint from excessive consumption of food and food, especially from excessive consumption of wine, keeping the fasts established by the Church. One must bridle one's flesh with a moderate and constantly uniform use of food, which is why all passions begin to weaken in general, and especially self-love, which consists in wordless love of the flesh, life and its rest.

2. fornication- fornication kindling, fornication sensations and positions of the soul and heart. Prodigal dreams and captivity. Failure to keep the senses, especially the sense of touch, which is an insolence that destroys all virtues. Cursing and reading voluptuous books. Fornication sins are natural: fornication and adultery. Fornication sins are unnatural.

This passion is resisted chastity - avoidance of all kinds of fornication. Chastity is the avoidance of voluptuous conversations and reading, from the pronunciation of voluptuous, nasty and ambiguous words. The storage of the senses, especially sight and hearing, and even more touch. Alienation from TV and depraved films, depraved newspapers, books and magazines. Modesty. Rejection of thoughts and dreams of prodigal. The beginning of chastity is the mind that does not waver from lustful thoughts and dreams; the perfection of chastity is purity that sees God.

3. love of money- love of money, in general, love of property, movable and immovable. Desire to get rich. Reflection on the means to enrichment. Dream of wealth. Fears of old age, sudden poverty, sickness, exile. Avarice. Greed. Unbelief in God, distrust of His Providence. Addiction or painful excessive love for various perishable objects, depriving the soul of freedom. Passion for vain cares. Loving gifts. Appropriation of someone else. Likhva. Hardness of heart to the poor brethren and to all those in need. Theft. Robbery.

Fight this passion non-acquisitiveness - self-satisfaction with one necessary thing, hatred of luxury and bliss, mercy to the poor. Non-acquisitiveness is the love of gospel poverty. Trust in God's Providence. Following Christ's commandments. Peace and freedom of spirit and carelessness. Softness of the heart.

4. Anger- temper, acceptance of angry thoughts: dreaming of anger and revenge, indignation of the heart with rage, clouding the mind with it; obscene shouting, argument, swearing, cruel and caustic words; hitting, pushing, killing. Remembrance, hatred, enmity, revenge, slander, condemnation, indignation and resentment of one's neighbor.

The passion of anger resists meekness — evasion from angry thoughts and from the indignation of the heart with rage. Patience. Following Christ, calling His disciple to the cross. Peace of the heart. Silence of the mind. Firmness and courage are Christian. Not feeling insulted. Kindness.

5. sadness- grief, longing, cutting off hope in God, doubt in the promises of God, ungratefulness to God for everything that happens, cowardice, impatience, not self-reproach, sorrow for one's neighbor, grumbling, renunciation of the cross, an attempt to get off it.

With this passion they fight, opposing it blissful lamentation — a feeling of a fall, common to all people, and of one's own spiritual poverty. Lamentation about them. Cry of the mind. Painful contusion of the heart. The lightness of conscience that vegetates from them, grace-filled consolation and joy. Hope for the mercy of God. Thanksgiving to God in sorrows, their humble bearing from the sight of many of their sins. Willingness to endure.

6. Despondency- laziness in every good deed, especially in prayer. Abandonment of church and private rules. Abandoning unceasing prayer and soulful reading. Inattention and haste in prayer. Neglect. Irreverence. Idleness. Excessive comfort with sleep, lying down and all kinds of languor. Idle talk. Jokes. Blasphemy. Leaving bows and other bodily feats. Forgetting your sins. Forgetfulness of the commandments of Christ. Negligence. Captivity. Deprivation of the fear of God. Bitterness. Insensibility. Despair.

Despondency resists sobriety — diligence in every good deed. Non-lazy correction of the church and private rules. Attention in prayer. Careful observation of all deeds, words, thoughts

and with your feelings. Extreme self-doubt. Unceasing stay in prayer and the Word of God. Awe. Constant vigilance over yourself. Keeping oneself from much sleep and effeminacy, idle talk, jokes and sharp words. Love of night vigils, bows and other feats that bring vigor to the soul. Remembrance of eternal blessings, desire and expectation of them.

7. Vanity— the search for the glory of man. Boasting. Desire and search for earthly and vain honors. Love of beautiful clothes. Attention to the beauty of your face, the pleasantness of your voice and other qualities of the body. Shame to confess your sins. Hiding them before people and the spiritual father. Craftiness. Self-justification. Envy. Humiliation of the neighbor. Change of temper. Indulgence. Unscrupulousness. The temper and life are demonic.

Fighting with vanity humility . This virtue includes the fear of God. Feeling it while praying. Fear that is born during especially pure prayer, when the presence and majesty of God are especially strongly felt, so as not to disappear and turn into nothing. Deep knowledge of your insignificance. A change in the outlook on neighbors, and they, without any coercion, seem to the resigned person to be superior to him in every respect. The manifestation of innocence from living faith. Knowledge of the sacrament hidden in the Cross of Christ. The desire to crucify oneself to the world and passions, the desire for this crucifixion. Rejection of earthly wisdom as indecent before God (Lk. 16:15). Silence before those who offend, studied in the Gospel. Putting aside all one's own thoughts and accepting the gospel mind. Deposition of every thought that rises against the mind of Christ. Humility or spiritual reasoning. Conscious obedience to the Church in everything.

8. Pride- contempt for others. Preferring yourself to everyone. audacity; obscuration, debility of the mind and heart. Nailing them to the earth. Hula. Disbelief. False mind. Disobedience to the Law of God and the Church. Follow your carnal will. Abandoning Christ-like humility and silence. Loss of simplicity. Loss of love for God and neighbor. False philosophy. Heresy. Irreligion. Ignorance. Death of the soul.

Pride Opposes Love . The virtue of love includes the change during prayer of the fear of God into the love of God. Loyalty to the Lord, proven by the constant rejection of every sinful thought and feeling, The indescribable, sweet attraction of the whole person to love for the Lord Jesus Christ and for the worshiped Holy Trinity. Vision, in the neighbors of the image of God and Christ; the preference for oneself of all one's neighbors arising from this spiritual vision, their reverent reverence for the Lord. Love for neighbors, brotherly, pure, equal to all, joyful, impartial, flaming equally towards friends and enemies. Rapture into prayer and love of the mind, heart and whole body. Inexpressible pleasure of the body with spiritual joy. Inactivity of bodily senses during prayer. Resolution from the silence of the heart tongue. Cessation of prayer from spiritual sweetness. Silence of the mind. Enlightenment of the mind and heart. Prayer power that overcomes sin. Peace of Christ. Retreat of all passions. The absorption of all minds by the superior mind of Christ. Theology. Knowledge of incorporeal beings. The weakness of sinful thoughts that cannot be depicted in the mind. Sweetness and abundant consolation during sorrows. Vision of human arrangements. The depth of humility and the most humble opinion of oneself ... The end is endless!

General list of sins

I confess, I am sinful (name) Lord God and Savior our Jesus Christ and you, honest father, all my sins and all my evil deeds, which I have done all the days of my life, which I have thought even to this day.

Sinned: He did not keep the vows of holy Baptism, but he lied in everything and made himself indecent before the face of God.