The Mystery of Holy Confession
My beloved in the Lord:
Perhaps the most misunderstood sacrament of the Orthodox Church is Confession. How did it originate? What role does a Priest play? Is there a special procedure for Confession? The Holy Scriptures hold answers to all these questions.
Concerning our sins, God’s Logos gives a marvelous promise. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1John 1:9). The faithful are to bring their sins to God in repentance and receive cleansing and forgiveness. The early Christian community had a specific practice in this regard. People would stand and confess their sins to God in the presence of the entire congregation. Had not our Lord encouraged His fellows to walk in the light together, to confront problems corporately, to “tell it to the Church” (Matthew 18:17)? Thus Saint Iakovos writes, “Confess your trespasses to one another” (James 5:16). However as time went on and the Church grew in numbers, strangers came to visit and public confession became more difficult. Out of mercy, Priests began to witness confessions of sin privately on behalf of the Church.
Our Lord Jesus Christ gave His disciples the authority to forgive sin. “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgive them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (John 20:23). From the beginning, Christians understood that the grace of ordination endowed the Priest with the discernment and compassion to speak the words of remission, on behalf of Christ, regarding the sins of those who confess and turn from sin. For God has promised the removing of sin from us “as far as the east is from the west” (Psalms 103:12).
“You did not choose Me,” our Lord told the Twelve Disciples, “but I chose you and appointed [ordained] you.” (John 15:16). To these same disciples our Lord promised, “It is not you who speak but the Holy Spirit” (Mark 13:11) Whom God calls, He equips. Saint Paul writes to Timothy, “Stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands” (II Timothy 1:6). It is the grace of the Holy Spirit which enables the Priest to serve God and the people.
The Holy Church has encouraged her faithful: If you know you have committed a specific sin, do not hide it but confess it before coming to the Holy Eucharist. Saint Paul writes, “Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup” (I Corinthians 11:28), and “If we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged” (I Corinthians 11:31).
King David learned a lesson regarding his sin which is recorded for our benefit in II Samuel 11:1-12:13. For about one year, he had hidden his sin of adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband. Then, confronted by Nathan the Prophet, David repented from his heart and confessed his sin in a psalm which is used for general confession to this day (Psalm 50/51). The joy of salvation was restored to him.
People ask, “Can’t I confess to God privately?” Certainly, though there is no clear biblical basis for it. Even general confession occurs in the Church. In His mercy, God provides the Sacrament of Confession to give us deliverance from sin and from what psychologists call denial. It is easy to pray in isolation, yet never come clean. It is far more effective to confess aloud to God before a Priest, and benefit from his guidance and help. Thus we come before the holy icon of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, to whom we confess, and are guided by the Priest in a cleansing inventory of our lives. When we tell God all, naming our sins and failures, we hear those glorious words of freedom which announce Christ’s promise of forgiveness of all our sins. We resolve to “go and sin no more” (John 8:11)
Praying that the abundant blessing of Almighty God and the prayers of the Holy Theotokos be with you all, I humbly remain,
With paternal love and blessings in the Lord,
Protopresbyter Panagiotis
