CONFESSION



Jesus said to His disciples: "Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (Mt. 18:18). Have we reckoned that?
Assuredly, one of Christ’s greatest gifts to His Church is the rite of Confession.



CONTENTS

PART I
THE HISTORY OF CONFESSION
1. Public and private Confession
2. Confession before the Priest
3. Confession or discussion?
4. The service of Confession

PART II
REPENTANCE AND CONFESSION
1. The Lord’s mercy
2. “Open the doors”
3. Devil and repentance

PART III
THE CONFESSION
1. Some clarifying
2. The Confessor during Confession
3. Confession with repentance
4. Confession without repentance
5. Canon 102
6. The penance
7. A didactic story

PART IV
THE CONFESSOR
1. Bishop and Confession
2. Hieromonk and married Priests Confessors
3. What makes a “good” Elder?
4. Obligations towards confessants
5. An Elder or a guru?

PART V
THE CONFESSANT
1. Not only as a cleanser...!
2. Elder’s blessing
3. What does obedience mean?
4. The right obedience
5. “He doesn’t understand me”
6. Criticizing your Elder

PART VI
CONFESSION AND PSYCHOLOGY
1. "Doctor, save me"
2. Negligence or depression?
3. Mental illness and Spirituality
4. Confession and mental health
5. Confession & psychoanalysis


PART II
REPENTANCE AND CONFESSION

1. The Lord’s mercy (pg. 18-20)

"I have sinned by betraying innocent blood" (Mt. 27:4), Judas said to those who crucified Christ. However, Judas should have said these words to the merciful Lord, to kneel and seek His mercy, and his heart would fill with hope. But instead of doing this, he committed suicide! (Mt. 27:5). He recognized his illness, but he did not go to the doctor.

You may also have sinned. You may also be overwhelmed by grief and despair, saying “My situation is hopeless,” “I’m lost,” “There is no salvation for me.” Let you do what Judas didn’t do: kneel before the merciful Christ, and persistently ask “Lord, have mercy.” And your heart will fill with hope, because "the Lord is merciful and gracious" (Ps. 103:8).

"A handful of sand scattered over the ocean vanishes without leaving a trace; the vast ocean is not even slightly affected. That is how it is with our sins: they vanish without a trace upon contact with the boundless ocean of God’s love and compassion" ( Abba Isaac the Syrian. Logos 50). Therefore, despair has no place in your heart. It is an "insult" to the mercy of the Lord! (...) "Glory to Thee, Christ our God and hope, glory to Thee" we say at church. The Lord’s mercy is our mighty hope that strengthens our penitent life.

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