Holy Confession

The gift of God’s forgiveness is received through private prayer, corporate worship, the disciplines of prayer and fasting, penitential services and above all through the sacrament of Holy Confession.

The value of Holy Confession is twofold. First, through this sacramental act of the ordained priest and the Christian believer we have the assurance of divine forgiveness, according to the words of Christ (Jn 20:23 ). Secondly, Holy Confession provides the opportunity to talk about one’s deep concerns, to receive counsel and to be encouraged toward spiritual growth, all of which are universally recognised as extremely beneficial to personal life.

Holy Confession is appropriate whenever an Orthodox Christian feels the need for it. It is also a part of our total spiritual preparation during the fast periods leading up to the great feasts of Pascha, Christmas, the Falling Asleep of the Theotokos and the Feast of Twelve Apostles. However, Holy Confession is especially necessary:

1. when a serious sin has been committed;

2. when a habitual sin has overwhelmed a Christian, or

3. when a Christian has stopped growing spiritually and needs a reexamination of priorities.

We confess our sins to God and the power of forgiveness is God’s. However, the gift of God’s forgiveness, although assured, is not magical. It does not automatically spare us from spiritual struggle – the continual vigilance against evil and the unceasing warfare against sin. Holy Confession will bear fruits in the Spirit only when the believer hates evil, utterly rejects sin and patiently cultivates positive habits of the life in Christ. “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to Christ Jesus… Do not yield your members to sin as instruments of wicked ness, but yield yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life” (Rm 6:11 , 13)

Please follow the links below for further information on how to prepare for Confession.

If We Confess Our Sins (A Preparation Guide for Adults) An excellent booklet to read in preparation for the sacrament of confession. The first part is an article explaining the sacrament of confession, aswell as it's biblical origin. The second part is a guide as to how to spiritually prepare oneself for confession using the beatitudes.

We return to God: Preparing Children for the Sacrament of ConfessionAn article which guides a parent into introducing the sacrament of confession to their children. This is especially helpful for a child's first confession. It also provides a preperation for confession which is easy for a child to understand aswell as prayers and spiritual guidance.