Why repent of a mortal sin - if it is not forgiven? My relative, who went to church and participated in its sacraments, died suddenly. Left a leaf with sins

A person becomes ill during worship - why is this?

Usually, everyone who has not yet fully repented, who has not made a general confession, feels bad in the temple. The grace of God acts, but the soul is dirty, does not contain it, so the person becomes ill. This is especially true during weddings. The temple is free, bright, the air is clean; the wedding begins; the woman is ill, she loses consciousness, falls... But the one who sincerely repents of all sins, begins to pray, the grace of God helps to grow spiritually; such a person in the temple is good. Hearing church singing and reading, he plunges into the ocean of Love. And Divine Love is such that a person drowns in it, forgetting where he is - in Heaven or on earth. And a long service (and on Athos it lasts 14-15 hours) flies by for him in an instant, imperceptibly. He just entered the temple, woke up from prayer - and the service was over! But this is only for those who are constantly in prayer, who set themselves up for prayer in the morning. He comes to the temple, and his inner prayer is picked up by a weak...

How detailed should you be about your sins at confession?

When you and I sin, sins can enter into us through our thoughts, tongue, eyes, ears, and body. We can sin before God, before our neighbors, against ourselves and against nature. Let's say thoughts go. If we go out into the street and the wind is blowing, then we will not stop that wind with a raincoat. Similarly, thoughts: they go, but you need to be able to control your thoughts. When our soul is all distorted by sin, then we have sinful thoughts swarming in our head. We think evil about our neighbor, we even blaspheme God, the saints. If we resist these thoughts, fight them - remember, sin does not fall on the soul! They forcibly climb to us, but we do not want to! We will be rewarded for this struggle. And if we are bogged down in thoughts, like a swamp, enjoy this mud, then we must already repent of this. This is the evil of our soul. And how to repent? Simply: "Father, I have blasphemous thoughts against God." Everything is clear and said enough. "Father, I have poor thoughts" - and that's enough. From prodigal thoughts, passions can also disturb - tell me about this too ...

A man comes and says "Behold, I have sinned - I have committed fornication." There is no need to tell the priest the details of how he enjoyed this passion, but it must be said, if there was a perversion, with how many people it was. Suppose a person swore obscenities - he should say: "Swearing obscenities", "drunk drunk", "playing cards", "fought". There are many sins, and if we talk about them in detail, then the priest will only have time to listen to you alone.

I am an elderly person, my memory is weak, I cannot remember all the sins. How can I repent?

Then one woman came, she was already over 80 years old. She has never confessed, does not feel sins, does not see, i.e. dead soul. I told her with love, for edification: "Why don't you honor sins? Because your body is a coffin, and your soul is a dead man in a coffin. You are a walking corpse!" And she did not know what to answer. And she had so many sins! I began to help her confess, I say:

Can't you yourself?

I can not.

Ask?

All your life you didn't go to church, didn't pray to God...

Didn't pray...

You didn't follow the posts.

Didn't comply...

She lived unmarried, met with others.

It was wrong.

Abortions? Didn't repent?

Well, and a host of other sins.

I don't remember anymore.

Well, since this is an old man, I ask:

Didn't she break temples? Didn't it close?

It was like that. In Ivanovo, they went from house to house with lists: "Do we need a church or not?" I wrote: "We don't need a temple." And she told everyone: "Write like this." And now I'm old, I need to repent. I didn’t want to bother the priest, to call home, I think - I’ll go myself, repent.

Your whole life has been spent in the service of Satan.

How can I be saved now?

While you still have time, you breathe and your heart beats. But the time will come, and there will be his final blow. Personally, you need to be in the temple every morning and evening.

The Lord does not reject such people. Though at the eleventh hour, He accepts them.

Do I need to repent in confession of a sin if I know that it will happen again?

You have to repent. When a person comes to confession and repents before the Lord, then at that time the Lord gives grace-filled strength to fight sin, and after confession this sin may not be repeated. I know a man, he was drunk for 15 years. His wife did not remember him sober, it was very rare with him. He drank constantly. And he somehow repented, then again ... Ten times he repented, at confession he said: "Here, father, I drink it - and that's it. I drink - and that's it." But his wife prayed fervently for him; in monasteries, in temples everywhere she served ... But his faith is still weak ... He comes: "Father, I have sinned again. I drank." And suddenly, at the same time, he stopped. The second year he doesn’t take a single gram - a complete disgust for wine. And you don't have to code! The grace of God helped him. The Lord keeps him. I ask: “What do those with whom they drank say ?! -“ And they are perplexed why they quit so abruptly, always drank with them, and then stopped drinking. They invite me, and I tell them that my entire limit is over. I've drunk everything in 15 years."

Why sometimes after confession I do not feel light?

Little prepared. Before confession, one must feel one's sins and condemn oneself.

Is it possible to receive communion after a general confession? There is no private confession in our church, the Lord sees our intention to repent in detail, but there is no such possibility.

It is necessary to find such a confessor so that one can confess to him thoroughly, for the whole life. There is no general confession in the Orthodox Church; there never was and never will be. And the fact that now in some churches there is no real confession is due to the decline of the human spirit. Many "Orthodox" are so accustomed to general confession, so saturated with sin to the last cell, that they don't even know what to repent of. They go, for example, to communion, and before that they can quarrel at home, throw an iron at their husband, and they don’t feel sin in themselves, they don’t confess it. Everything seems to be in order. We have become so accustomed to a sinful life that it has become a habit, the soul has become dead, insensible. The same soul, which is constantly cleansed by confession, immediately feels even a small sin... I think not a single priest will refuse to listen to you separately. We must wait for the last person, when he leaves the priest, come up and say: "Father, I have a sin ... I condemned a person, scandalized, argued, idle talk, was offended, grumbled, was proud, boasted; ate a lot, drank, slept; prayed bad, I didn't always go to church..." To put it briefly, concisely, the priest will always listen.

The dying old woman was 89 years old, she was paralyzed. A week before her death, she began to baptize herself and the walls lying down. She couldn't speak. It was strange to see.

When death comes to a person, he feels how the soul begins to separate. I have met many of them. One of my relatives lay and said: "This is a miracle! Now I was in the Moscow region, I was at the house, I saw all the relatives." And he lay and died in Siberia. That is, the Lord finally showed him such mercy - he let him say goodbye to those places, to see everyone. The next day he died.

In the end, unclean spirits appear behind the sinful soul. They know that the soul must depart, they guard it. Maybe that's why the grandmother baptized herself and the walls - so that the evil spirits would depart.

There was such an archimandrite Fr. Tikhon (Agrikov). It was a real intelligent shepherd. He taught pastoral teaching. Great benefit was received by those students who listened to his lectures. Once he was called to Sergiev Posad to see a dying woman. He arrived, enters the apartment and sees a lot of people. The chairman of the city executive committee was dying, being a party member. At this time, when people gathered around her, and Fr. Tikhon. He went to her, she confessed and repented. And then he says, taking his hand. "I won't let you go!" - "What's the matter?" - "Here, a lot of black men have gathered now, scary and they say:" You are ours! We'll take you!" They've been tormenting me for the whole day. And when you came in, they all fled. Now, with you, I'm not afraid. They're all gone. Don't leave me." The priest entered - the demons all disappeared ...

How to lead a person on his last journey?

Imagine: a person was invited to a wedding feast, where people close to him will gather. Before going there, a person must prepare himself: wash the body, put on the best clothes, stock up on gifts, and most importantly, come to the meeting in a good mood, with a joyful face. And since we live here temporarily, our whole earthly life is only a preparation for eternity, we must prepare ourselves in such a way that it would not be shameful to appear in the assembly of saints. Some devout Christians prepare themselves from a young age, hourly, because we don't know when the Lord will call us. Today we will not talk about a sudden death, we will talk about the expected death, about those people who are already grayed with gray hair, who are lying in a hospital bed. How to help them? What good can their loved ones do for them?

Funeral service, burial is not the most important thing. The main thing is with what soul a person will depart into eternity, therefore an elderly, sick person must definitely make a general confession. As far as memory allows - to tell all the sins from youth. Then it is necessary to take unction (not only the dying are gathered, but also the sick, for healing, because in the Sacrament of unction a person is forgiven all the sins he has forgotten). After confession and unction, it is necessary to take communion - to receive the Body and Blood of Christ into oneself. When the hour of death comes for your loved one, you need to invite a priest to read the canon on the separation of the soul from the body; if there is no priest, believing relatives must read it themselves (it is in the prayer book). It is necessary that the dying person has time to reconcile with all his relatives, try to help him in this. It is very useful for every Christian before his death for 2-3 years to get sick, suffer and dry. If a person in illness does not grumble, his soul will be cleansed and it will be easier for her to go out into that world. When a person dies, if he was an Orthodox Christian, i.e. he praised God correctly (he constantly went to church, confessed, took communion), he should be brought to the church in the evening, on the eve of the burial, agreed in advance with the priest, and on the very day of the burial, he should be buried. A huge help for the deceased is the prayer of the Church for his repose, magpie, i.e. forty-day commemoration at the Divine Liturgy. It is good to order magpie in several temples and monasteries. Panikhida, almsgiving, reading the psalter for the deceased will also bring invaluable benefit to his soul. The deceased can no longer pray for themselves, they are looking forward to the prayers of their relatives and loved ones. We are talking about church people, but what if a person rarely went to church? In such people, the eye of conscience is closed, faith in the soul is darkened, the mind is darkened, and the person ceases to feel his sins, it seems to him that he is good: he did not kill anyone, did not rob ... Such a person needs help. According to the apostolic rules, everyone who has not been to church for 3 Sundays in a row. The Holy Spirit is cast out of the Church, is in darkness, in the power of the devil. Those who do not observe fasts, Wednesdays, Fridays, live unmarried, had abortions, did not pray to God ... a great many committed sins, but they do not feel them. If a black spot is planted on a black material, it will not be noticeable. So it is in the spiritual world: when the soul is completely saturated with sins, each new sin is no longer evident, and the person believes that everything is fine with him. And only when he begins to live spiritually, he discovers many sins in himself. And the Lord said: in what I find, in this I will judge (Matt. 24:42). The Lord will forgive us all our sins, only one thing will not be forgiven - if we do not repent. Therefore, if you have the strength, you need to come to the priest (the cross and the Gospel are visible signs of the invisible presence of God) and repent. And we do not repent to the priest - he is only an intermediary between God and our conscience, we repent to God himself. And if we sincerely repented of everything, did not hide a single sin, then the Lord through the priest forgives us all sins, a person is reconciled with God, gains grace-filled strength to fight sin. So it was in all times of the Church of Christ.

Rus' is now going through difficult times. It seems that the people of our long-suffering Russia should repent. It would be good for everyone to kneel together and ask God for mercy.

For this, it is necessary that the hierarchs be able to address the people on television or on the radio, so that at a certain time everyone kneels and repents.

But there is one difficulty: a huge mass of people do not know what to repent of. This is the worst.

Today I confessed to an elderly woman. I ask:

Well, tell me, what are your sins?

And I have no special sins!

How many times do you go to church?

Well, two or three times a year.

And if a student goes to school two or three times a year, ten years pass with an ABC book, he still won’t learn anything. So you do not see your sins. See if there are people in the temple?

Yes, a lot of people. He took it, buried her eyes with his hand:

Do you see them now?

No, I don't.

And you covered my eyes with your hands.

But are there people in the temple?

There is, I just don't see it.

In the same way, you do not see and do not feel your sins, because your spiritual eyes are closed.

Many have become soul dead. From what? From constant vices and passions. We don't go to church, we don't pray to God. We are mired in sins and do not feel them with our hearts.

The Holy Fathers say that a person begins to live spiritually only when his spiritual eyes are opened. He sees a lot of sins in his soul. This is the beginning of repentance.

People need to be prepared for repentance. They must know what sins to repent of. In parishes, priests must explain the meaning of confession. For example, they called on people to repent of regicide. Now there is a new generation. Newly born people did not kill the king. Father Artemy Vladimirov says that "we are not guilty of these sins, but those who killed or agreed with the murder should repent. Inwardly, they agreed with the murder, that is, as if they themselves killed." This is where they need to repent.

Every Christian, if he has not yet truly repented, needs to remember, as far as memory allows, all the sins from youth, from the day of baptism, briefly write them down in memory, come to the confessor in church and tell about his sins there. Especially in monasteries, people can truly open their souls to a priest, because not one priest confesses, but several. And in the parish, the priest must both serve the service, and confess, and fulfill the requirements. You need to choose a priest to your liking, come up and confess. This will be of great benefit to the soul of everyone, and therefore to the whole of Russia.

What should I do: I go to confession often, but my sins accumulate to sixty. At confession, if I write down a sin in detail, a feeling of shame is born in me, and it helps me to fight sin. And if I write it down in one word, then, as it were, I obscure my sin, I hide it. And now I am in doubt: what if these sins are not forgiven by God?

If you are in doubt, you must definitely recall all the sins in your memory, write them down and open them to the priest.

In the book of St. Barsanuphius and John, it is said about confession as follows: during the day we often sin - in thoughts, deeds or words. As soon as you have sinned, you must immediately cry out to the Lord: "Lord, forgive me, we have sinned! They condemned us, we slept too much, we said out of place." And the Lord by the Holy Spirit forgives us these daily sins.

In a day, millions of thoughts fly by, but if we consider all of them a sin and do not fight them ourselves, do not win with good thoughts, but read everything to the priest, we will exhaust the priest to nothing. We must learn not to accept thoughts. After all, it is the demon that puts them in our heads, these are not our bad thoughts. Sin is born in our heart when we accept these thoughts, listen to them, violate our good feelings towards our neighbor with hostility, anger, irritation. For no apparent reason, we will sharply answer him, we will be rude. Evil enters our heart. Why? Because they did not distinguish the thought from their thought in time. This skill comes with experience, when we ourselves get tired of our sins. Then we will control ourselves constantly. There will be the same number of temptations, but many fewer sins than sixty...

You need to prepare your sins for confession in the following way: remember, summarize all similar ones (twice angry, say in confession “I was angry with my neighbor”), briefly write down. Say to the priest, for example:

Father, this week I have sinned: I have been indignant, argued, deceived, eaten too much, slept too much, prayed distractedly, received thoughts and violated my spiritual peace through them, defiled my soul with impure memories, stood without attention in the temple...

This is enough for the Lord to forgive us our sins. If you live before the eyes of God, walk before God and remember Him constantly, then you know that the Lord sees your repentance, your struggle with sin, your desire for purification. And at confession, it is enough to testify that "in this and in this sin I repent." God forgives sins by the Holy Spirit. It is important not just to list sins, it is important to correct, get rid of sins. And then some at confession each time list: "I was indignant, burst out ...", but they will depart from confession, again for their own.

Wrestling with thoughts is more monastic doing. Previously, the elder had two or three novices, they would come to him and reveal their thoughts. And without the blessing of the elder, without his knowledge, the novices did nothing. Even if the thought seemed virtuous to them, they revealed it to the elder, and the elder was able to recognize the intrigues of evil spirits and the sin to which they wanted to incline the novice did not happen. Then the novices themselves quickly learned to recognize thoughts and got rid of a mass of sinful habits.

As it happens with us: at first we didn’t even seem to pay attention to this or that thought, we forgot it. And the demon, having put it in us, retreats, does not bother, hides. Later we remember the thought and, taking it for our own, we begin to think about it. And there already thoughts were distracted from prayer, and we do not pronounce the name of God, and bad feelings were born in the heart, and irritation ... Thought, like a seed, sprouted in our heart and bore its fruit - sin. We open our thoughts in confession - it's like we frighten away a snake lurking there from under a stone: they lifted a stone, and it disappeared.

I advise you to repent before God in accepting thoughts, and at confession to name those sins that were born into the world by these thoughts. If you managed to overcome the thought, did not get irritated, did not condemn, but found the right thought to justify your neighbor, then you defeated the demon. And cursing is not a sin. A reward from God awaits you for the battle. On earth this reward is the grace of God, but in the other world it is eternal life, eternal joy.

If the priest takes an interest in some specific sin, then you can explain in more detail.

How I want to repent and no longer repeat some kind of sin. Can this be learned?

Repentance depends on a sincere desire to get rid of sin. Repentance begins when a person realizes that he was lost, that he lived on earth in sin. When a person repents, he makes a promise to no longer live lawlessly. He repented - and turned his life entirely to God. It is impossible to serve two masters: it is impossible to promise God to improve and at the same time to be cunning before Him: "I'll get back a little more .., then, then I will correct myself."

At confession through a priest, the Lord visibly forgives sins and at that moment gives grace-filled strength to fight against passions. The man rises, takes wings. The main miracle is that during repentance the Lord resurrects the soul, a person is spiritually born. Therefore, repentance is like a second baptism.

Having prepared, I go to confession, but I begin to be embarrassed and in a hurry: "Oh, there are still people behind me!" What should I do?

Prepare a general confession from childhood, but do not describe sins in detail. Everything can be said briefly.

In the Pochaev Lavra, one had to confess a hundred and more people in a day. And then I had to develop a rule: to accept a concise, concrete confession. This is in order to forgive someone else's sins, to guide someone else on the path of salvation.

If a person does not know what sins to name, but comes to sincerely repent before God, then you help him. You name the sins, everything is clear to him, he clearly answers whether it was or not. You give a person a push, and then God Himself helps him to remember the sins committed from childhood. It seems to us that everything is already forgotten, that in childhood they did wrong. But our conscience, reviving at the first confession, prompts more and more offenses, new sins. Shame suffocates, tears roll from your eyes, but you want to be cleansed in the eyes of God... This is true repentance, real confession. After such a confession, a person physically feels that his soul has become easier, and then the person begins to write down new current sins on a piece of paper, to prepare for confession. He first controls, takes into account the committed sins, and then tries to avoid them. He would have committed this or that sin before, but now he remembers: "I'll have to say it in confession. So, maybe not do it? It's a shame - I already repented of it." And does not sin. This is already the beginning of spiritual warfare with evil spirits. This is the beginning of the path for the Lord.

Spiritual life should proceed under the guidance of an experienced confessor. In parishes where there is only one priest, but there are many people and needs, it is difficult. But if you want to improve, to become a warrior of Christ (even if you stay in the world), then find a confessor in a monastery. There are many priests there and they will give you more time.

She wrote all the sins on paper, gave it to the priest, and he, without reading it, tore it up: "God knows your sins." Has my confession been completed?

If your confession was neither read nor listened to, then those sins remained on you. Confession as a sacrament was not completed, even though that priest read a permissive prayer over you, but he did not know why he was allowing you, that he was forgiving. Maybe you wrote there that you killed a hundred people, shot at the bus, but he doesn’t even know this. Maybe they put dynamite under the bridge and committed sabotage, people were killed, and he doesn't know that. It is necessary that each time your confession be read or listened to, and only after that a permissive prayer is read over your head. Then the sins of man are forgiven by God.

Especially now, many people come to confession who were in Afghanistan, Chechnya, Dagestan. Those released from prison come, and robberies, murders, and violence are on their conscience. Professional thieves, killers, snipers come, those who committed contract killings, committed sabotage. Their conscience torments them, does not allow them to live in peace. Such a "sick" person will come to a novice "doctor", show festering wounds, and he will say: "Nothing, everything is fine." And an experienced "doctor" will open the wound, clean out the pus, bandage it, prescribe the medicine ...

Find a confessor to whom you can truly repent and purify your soul.

A person in confession constantly repents of the same sins. He hates sins, fights and repeats anyway. What else to do to defeat them?

The most important thing is that a person should hate sin. This is the very center! If we do not love sin, then we will quickly get rid of it.

The Lord has blessed us with many gifts, such as giving us the gift of anger. Do you hear? Gift! So that we would be angry against the devil, against evil spirits, so that we would stand strong in their attacks. And we have perverted this gift: we sin, we are angry against our neighbor. We have been given the gift of zeal for God. And we are not jealous of holiness, but of our neighbor. This is sin. We have been given greed as a gift of thirst for God, for everything holy, but we are greedy for earthly charms. We need to improve and, most importantly, to hate sin.

And this requires determination. In his youth, Blessed Augustine could not get rid of one sin, and only when he became a mature spiritual man did he understand why the sin did not leave him. He lacked determination, a sincere desire to be freed: “I prayed, asked to be delivered from sin, and in the depths of my soul, as it were, I said: “Deliver me, Lord, from sin, but not now, later. Now I am young, I want to live. "I did not say these words aloud, but somewhere in my mind this thought was."

Apparently, I need to confess from childhood. I feel the need for it. I go to the church and I can't get in. And if I go to confession, I can’t completely cleanse my soul.

One man told how he could not repent of one mortal sin. He came to the temple, saw a priest on the kliros, and it seemed to him that the priest was looking at him all the time. Couldn't get ready for confession. And this was a demonic suggestion to prevent the soul from being cleansed of sins. We must set ourselves up so that we go to church to God, and not to a priest, and that we repent before God.

There are more priests in the monasteries, several people go to confession at once. We must try and choose one who could listen to all our sins. Mark for memory on a piece of paper the sins that you remember from your youth, the most shameful, nasty, they are usually well remembered.

Remember: the day of the Last Judgment will come, when our unrepentant sins will be revealed to the whole world, to all angels, saints and people. That's where there will be horror, shame and disgrace! That's where the shame will be! We will fall into the abyss, we will cry bloody tears, we will tear our hair out on our heads, but we will never return to earth in this life, we will not be able to repent and bring worthy fruits of repentance.

When a person goes to confession, the devil inspires fear in him, puts up all sorts of obstacles. And don't be afraid! Know that if we sincerely repent, the confessor will experience more respect and love for you. This I am saying from my experience. Sometimes I think: "Why am I standing in confession if no one says anything?" And when a person comes and sincerely repents, then he and I have joy. At least one person is alive!

Holy Scripture says this about it: "All heaven rejoices and rejoices over the one repentant sinner."

How to repent of Sodom sins?

Take the breviary for the clergyman. There are questions that the spiritual father should ask at confession: are you married? did you get married? how many men were there? what nations? Were there close relatives? what and how much?

When the human soul leaves the body, it goes through ordeals, twenty of them in total. The most terrible are the 16th - fornication, the 17th - adultery, the 18th - sodomy sins. These ordeals are successfully passed by only a few.

There were five nearby cities in Palestine in which prodigal unnatural sins flourished. Two cities, Sodom and Gomorrah, were especially famous for their vices. Their inhabitants fell so low that they did not know the prohibitions and barriers to satisfy their passions. Then brimstone fire came down from heaven, and the cities were destroyed. Now they all lie at the bottom of the Dead Sea.

An interesting tree grows on the shores of this sea - the Sodom apple tree. Its fruits are beautiful, bite - sweetness on the lips. And then such bitterness! You won't spit at all. It was the Lord who left a reminder of death from "sweet" sins. The sins of Sodom give temporary sweetness, but bitterness soon comes, and in hellish torments you will not get rid of it.

It is easy to fall into these sins. The most important devil in these ordeals is Asmodeus. He is the chief of prodigal demons. There are a great many of them, and at the ordeals they show all the sins committed by people. They boast that few of those guilty of these sins repent. Few people go through these ordeals, because they are ashamed to admit to them.

And the one who repented of these sins must endure some sorrows and illnesses for them. Do not grumble when someone scolds, but thank God for everything. Only in this way can the soul be cleansed.

My conscience is silent, does not accuse of sins, passions. I go to church, repent, confess, take communion, but I feel that everything is not as it should be. What should I do?

The most important thing to do is to make a general confession. Remember everything, as far as your memory allows, so that nothing remains on your conscience.

If a person constantly controls all his words, deeds and thoughts, then he will quickly be cleansed. And the voice of conscience will loudly proclaim to him if he wants to do something not according to God. When a person is unrepentant of sins, he tramples on his conscience. You are on the right path - you live a church life: confess, repent, take communion, pray to God, go to services. The main thing is that you want improvements, corrections. The other, who has drowned out the voice of conscience in himself, behaves differently: "So what if I drink a glass of milk during fasting or eat a piece of sausage?" Starts small. The Lord says: "In little things you have been faithful; over many I will set you" (Matthew 25:20-22). And if you are not faithful to God in small things, then a small sin will give birth to a big sin.

You need to find a priest who can listen to you when you come with a general confession. There are few priests in the parishes - one, two. And there are more of them in monasteries, and they also have more time to listen to parishioners. They have confession - a special obedience. And even, perhaps, you will find a confessor for yourself to instruct you on the path of spiritual salvation. He will talk with you, help you discover hidden passions in yourself. And you just need to learn not to hide anything. Sin is not gold to be buried. It must be quickly discovered and removed from the soul. And then the voice of conscience will be heard in any temptation.

Read the lives of the saints, your soul will grieve when you compare your life with their deeds. See how holy they lived and how impure we live. In all temptations, blame yourself, and not someone else, consider yourself indebted to God. When a person thinks that he is on the right path, saves himself, prays with a pure prayer, this is bad. Until death, one must consider oneself worthless for anything, as the apostle Paul said, "unkeyed slaves." Even if we did good deeds from morning to evening, even then we cannot be sure of our salvation. The Lord alone knows this.

I am ashamed to pronounce some of my sins before the priest. I can only cry out daily: "Lord, forgive me, damned one." Will He remove from me those sins that I name before Him?

Of course, we must constantly repent before God, ask for forgiveness. But we do not know if He has forgiven us or not. The Lord left us on earth the clergy, gave the first Church - His disciples-apostles - the power to forgive and bind sins. The sacrament of confession comes from the apostles.

On the day of the Last Judgment, the Lord will forgive us all sins, except for the unrepentant ones. You need to cast aside shame and confess your sins before the priest. Our bad deeds burn with shame. We must be ashamed to sin, but not to be ashamed to repent. If you are sick and cannot go to the temple, invite the priest home. We do not know when our death hour will come, we must be ready to meet it at every minute. It is necessary to repent boldly. Here we only in the presence of a priest - one person - name our sins. And on the Last Judgment unrepentant sins, of which we are ashamed, will sound before all the saints, before the angels. The whole world knows them. Therefore, the devil inspires us to be ashamed of them, so that we do not repent. While the blood is still flowing in the body, while the heart is still beating, while the mercy of the Lord is with us, we must confess unrepentant sins.

Why are we embarrassed to name a shameful sin? Our pride and pride get in the way: "What will Father think of us?" Yes, every day the priest has a stream of people with the same sins! And he will think: "Here is another lost sheep of Christ returned to God's flock."

When a person speaks freely about his sins, does not make amends for them, laments, cries, the priest has great respect for the penitent. He appreciates the sincerity of the penitent.

Sins do not need to be piled up in the soul, as in a piggy bank. Who needs them? When repentance is real, it is easy for both the person and the priest. And "in heaven there will be more joy over one sinner who repents" (Luke 15:7). If we came to the doctor's office, said minor minor illnesses, and hid the most life-threatening wound, we can die; spiritual wounds are no less dangerous for our spiritual life, our soul, and the soul is more precious than the body.

If we previously concealed shameful sins, deliberately hushed up, then all our previous confessions are considered invalid, the sacrament was not performed. All the sins, named and unnamed, remained in the soul, and even more sin was added - hiding sins at confession. This is stated in the breviary: "Behold, child, Christ stands invisibly, accepting your confession, if you conceal any sin, you will have a special sin." You can fool a priest, but you can't fool God. And if after such "confessions" you also take communion, then communion will be in condemnation. For this, it will be especially asked at the Last Judgment.

What is idle talk?

Spring has come, soon it will be summer, it will be warm. Many people like to go to the bench in front of the entrance or go to a neighbor. They came, sat down, but there was nothing to talk about if the soul was not filled with prayer and concern for the good of one's neighbor. And idle talk begins, if only to kill time quickly. And time is so precious! We have been given a little of it to save our souls. And now the grandmothers are sitting, with their eyes they see off everyone who has passed by. Everyone knows: who has been married how many times, how many abortions he had, who is engaged in what kind of commerce. And why should this "knowledge" go to waste? Share with each other. And this is called idle talk, condemnation, slander, gossip.

Anecdotes are also idle talk, idle talk, ridiculousness, because they do not bring any benefit. Empty laughter without spiritual joy, laughter and carelessness occur when there is no fear of God in the soul.

There are flowers on apple trees, and there are empty flowers. The wind blew, and only a third of the flowers remained on the branches, the empty flowers flew to the ground. Opali.

We must set ourselves up in such a way that each of our words is good, not an empty flower, but brings spiritual fruit.

I know many fathers. When they meet, they do not idle talk, but talk about faith, about God's providence, about salvation, about how best to be saved. They should be taken as an example.

There is no such sin that would exceed the mercy of God. Even Judas would be forgiven if he asked for forgiveness. The example of St. Mary of Egypt, who was a harlot for 17 years, and then became a model of repentance and a great saint of God, gives us hope for the forgiveness of our sins.

I'm about to go to my first confession. How to prepare?

Confession requires awareness of one's sins, sincere repentance for them, a desire to correct oneself with God's help. You can write down some sins on a piece of paper as a cheat sheet so that you don’t get confused the first time (then do whatever you want with this piece of paper: you can throw it away, burn it, give it to the priest, save it until the next confession and compare what you have improved, and in than not). With a long list of sins, it is better to come to the service in the middle of the week, and not on Sunday. In general, it is better to start with the patient himself, which disturbs the soul, gradually moving on to minor sins.

Came to confession for the first time. The priest did not allow me to take communion - as "homework" he advised me to read the Gospel.

When a person does not know, for example, the rules of the road, then he does not know that he is violating them. If a person does not know the Gospel, that is, the Law of God, then it is difficult for him to repent of sins, for he does not really understand what sin is. Therefore, it is useful to read the Gospel.

Is it possible to ask in confession for the forgiveness of the sins of parents and relatives?

We cannot, having come to the doctor, receive treatment for someone, we cannot eat for someone in the dining room, so at confession we ask for forgiveness for our sins and help in correcting them. And we pray for our loved ones ourselves and submit notes to the church.

At confession, I regularly repent that I live in fornication, but I continue to live like this - I'm afraid that my loved one will not understand me.

An Orthodox Christian should be concerned to be understood by God. And according to His word, "fornicators will not inherit the kingdom of God." In addition, confession is not just a statement of sins, but also a desire to improve. In your case, this situation turns out: you come to the doctor (for confession in the church), state that you are "sick" with sin, but you are not being treated. Moreover, such a confession is also hypocritical. Of course, we repeat most of our confessed sins, but at least we must have the intention to correct ourselves, and you do not. Tip: register the relationship as soon as possible at least in the registry office.

I am not yet ready to repent of one sin, because I will commit it again. Don't go to confession at all? But other sins torment!

No matter how much we love our sins, at least at the level of reason, we must understand that if we do not repent and do not correct ourselves, eternal punishment awaits us. Such a thought should contribute to the desire to correct in all sins, because who can give himself a guarantee that he will live at least until the next day? And the Lord said to us: "In whatever I find, in that I will judge." Unfortunately, the vast majority of people immediately repeat most of their sins after confession, but this is no reason not to repent of them. If a person sincerely worries about this, if he wants to improve, even if he does not succeed in everything and not immediately, then, according to the word of the Holy Fathers, even this desire will be accepted by the Lord as an act.

Can I go to public confession?

The so-called general confession is rather a profanation of confession, for there is no confession as such. It's like this: a bunch of people came to the doctor, and he took out a piece of paper with a list of diseases and said: "Well, patients, now get well, be healthy!" Something is doubtful to benefit from such an appointment with a doctor. This is allowed as an exception during a large influx of confessors during Great Lent, but at the same time, the priest must emphasize that this is an exception: come to presanctified services on Wednesdays and Fridays, on Saturday, go to churches somewhere on the outskirts of the city, where less people, but do not approach confession formally. Do not rejoice that you did not have to say anything, shifting the responsibility to the priest. In general, the one who knocks is opened, and he who seeks finds.

All sins are forgiven at confession. But what to do if the sins of 10, 20 years ago are remembered? Do they need to be confessed?

If sins are remembered and recognized, then, of course, they must be confessed. It won't get any worse.

Serious sins, even though they have already been confessed, are very tormenting. Do I need to talk about them in confession again?

Sincerely repentant and no longer repeated sin is forgiven once and for all. But such terrible sins as abortion, occultism, murder, even after confession, gnaw at a person. Therefore, in them you can once again ask God for forgiveness, while it is not necessary to speak them in confession, but simply remember your crimes and try to make amends with good deeds opposite to them.

Why do the laity have to confess before communion, but the priests do not? Is it possible to receive communion without confession?

What do you think, if we take a doctor and a patient without medical education, - which of them is better versed in diets, prescriptions of drugs, etc.? In some cases, the doctor can help himself, and the common man is forced to seek help. People go to church to treat their souls, and there are sins that do not allow a person to take communion. A layman may not understand and be unaware of this, and if he goes without confession, communion may serve him not for salvation, but for condemnation. So you need control in the form of a priest. And the clergy are more competent in such things and can control when they go to confession, and when they can only ask for forgiveness from God.

Is there evidence in the Bible that we should confess through a priest?

The Lord, sending the apostles to preach, said: "To whom you forgive on earth, that will be forgiven in heaven." What is it, if not the right to accept repentance and on behalf of God to forgive a person's sins? And He also said: "Receive the Holy Spirit, by Him forgive on earth, it will be forgiven in heaven." There were also prototypes of repentance in the Old Testament, for example, a rite with a scapegoat, offering sacrifices in the temple, for these were cleansing sacrifices for sins. This apostolic authority for the forgiveness of sins, by virtue of succession, is received by all legal priests, which is confirmed by the words of Christ: "Behold Azm (I) am with you all the days until the end of the age."

It is not always possible to go to confession of sins in the temple. Can I confess in front of the icon of the house?

Evening prayers end with daily confession of sins. But, nevertheless, from time to time a person must repent of them and at confession.

I was preparing for the first confession, I read the book of John (Krestyankin) "The Experience of Building a Confession". But when he approached the lectern, he could not say anything - tears flowed. Father has forgiven me of my sins. Is confession valid?

In confession, the main thing is not what we say, but what is in our hearts. For the Lord says so: "Son, give me your heart." And King David taught: "A sacrifice to God is a broken spirit. A contrite and humble heart God will not despise."

My grandmother is dying, she does not understand anything, she does not speak. Being of sound mind, she refused confession and communion. Is it possible to confess now?

The Church accepts the conscious choice of a person, without violating his will. If a person, being of sound mind, wanted to begin the sacraments of the Church, but for some reason did not do this, then in case of clouding of reason, remembering his desire and consent, you can still make such a compromise as communion and unction (so we give communion to infants or the insane). But if a person, being in sound consciousness, did not want to accept the sacraments of the Church, refused to confess his sins, then even in the event of loss of consciousness, the Church does not force the choice of this person. Alas, it is his choice. Such cases are considered by the confessor, directly communicating with the patient and his relatives, after which the final decision is made. In general, of course, it is best to find out your relationship with God in a conscious and adequate state.

I had a fall - the sin of fornication, although I gave my word, repented and was sure that this would not happen to me again. What to do?

Mary of Egypt was the greatest harlot. But every great post The Church remembers her as a model of repentance. Conclusion: no matter how hard we fall, sincere repentance blots out sin and opens the gates of heaven. Let the very word fornication be disgusting to you, so that with God's help this will never happen again.

It is a shame to tell the priest at confession about his sins.

You should be ashamed when you sin. And shame in confession is false shame. We must think not about how the priest will look at us, but about how God will look at us. In addition, any prudent priest will never condemn you, but will only rejoice, as a doctor rejoices at a recovering patient. If you can't bring yourself to name the sins, write them down on a piece of paper and give them to the priest. Or repent without details, in general terms. The main thing is to have a repentant feeling, contrition, a desire to improve.

If my sins are very shameful, can I tell the priest about them without details? Or will it be like hiding sin?

In order to treat bodily diseases, it is important for the doctor to know all the details of these diseases. You may not describe the details of your sins, but still it is better to call a spade a spade and not be limited to general phrases.

Is it necessary to go to confession if it turns out to be formal?

Sincerity is key in our relationship with God. We must understand that formalism and hypocrisy in dealing with God will not go away. But if your conscience agrees that many of your words in confession sound cold, formal, this indicates that, nevertheless, the sin you confess worries you and you want to get rid of it. Therefore, name sins at confession, say at the same time that, recognizing them, you see some sins, but you still cannot hate them. And therefore, ask God for forgiveness so that this vision grows into hatred of sin and a desire to get rid of it. The Holy Fathers teach that even if the same sins are repeated again, nevertheless, they must be confessed, in this way we, as it were, loosen the stump, which is then easier to tear out.

Is it true that at confession one should not repent of sins committed before baptism?

If you wash dirty clothes, then wash them again only when they get dirty again. If a person with faith accepts the sacrament of baptism, then, indeed, he receives forgiveness for all the sins committed up to this moment. It makes no sense to repent of them. It's just that there are such terrible sins as murder, abortion, in which the soul again and again wants to ask for forgiveness from God. That is, the case when God has already forgiven, but a person cannot forgive himself. In such cases, it is allowed to once again speak about terrible sins at confession.

I'm afraid I misnamed the sin in confession. What to do?

The main thing is not how to name your sin, but to have a repentant feeling and a desire to correct.

My spiritual father confesses me at home, so I am better aware of my sins, I am not in a hurry, I can ask him a question. Is it possible to do so?

Can. Many people before the revolution, not being able to visit Optina Hermitage often, wrote to the elders, confessed in letters. In your case, it is important that you do not just talk, but that the priest at the end read the permissive prayer.

Is it possible to confess without preparation?

When a person has appendicitis, or he does not sleep at night due to toothache, he does not need any tests, examinations, ultrasound to identify the disease. He rushes to the doctor for help. So it is with confession. If our hearts hurt that, for example, we stole something, went to sorcerers, had an abortion, fell into fornication, drunkenness, that is, when we specifically know what we are sinning, then no books are needed we go to confession and confess our sins. But a person who is not familiar with the Gospel, does not know the laws of God and, even breaking them, does not realize that he is sinning, naturally, he must prepare. Study the laws of God, find out what he sins in, and thus having prepared, go to confession to the priest.

In what cases can a priest impose penance? How to take it off?

Penance is excommunication from communion for some sin for some time. It may consist of fasting, fervent prayer, and so on. Upon completion of the imposed penance, it is removed by the same priest who imposed it.

Going to the first confession, I found a list of sins on the Internet. There were: listening to music, going to the movies, going to concerts, riding the rides... Is that true?

Firstly, it is impossible to recognize and remember all sins, we have so many of them. Therefore, at confession, we must repent of especially serious sins that worry us and from which we really want to get rid of. Secondly, with regard to attractions, music, cinema, then, as they say, there are nuances. For music and films are different and not always harmless. For example, films filled with debauchery, violence, horror. Many songs of rock music glorify the devil, are literally dedicated to him. Well, I'm sure there are absolutely harmless attractions, not counting, of course, hobbies for computer games and consoles. For gambling addiction (gambling addiction) has terrible consequences for both the soul and the body, which cannot be said about ordinary carousels and swings.

There is an opinion that it is undesirable to confess "according to the list", but you need to remember everything.

If a person, preparing for confession, simply rewrites a manual for penitents, and then reads out this list at confession, then this is an ineffective confession. And if a person is worried, afraid of excitement to forget about some of his sins, and at home in front of a candle and an icon with tears, he writes down on paper the repentant feelings of his heart, then such preparation can only be welcomed.

Can a priest's wife go to confession with her husband?

To do this, you need to be literally a holy person, because purely humanly it is difficult to be completely sincere, revealing all the nakedness of your soul to your husband. Even if mother does this, she can harm the father himself. After all, he, too, is a weak man. Therefore, I would recommend not confessing to your husband unless absolutely necessary.

My relative, who went to church and participated in its sacraments, died suddenly. There was a leaf with sins. Is it possible to read it to the priest so that he can say the permissive prayer in absentia?

If a person was preparing for confession, but died on the way to the temple, the Lord accepted his intentions and forgave his sins. So no correspondence confession is required.

I go to confession regularly. I won’t say that I don’t see my sins, but the sins are the same. Do you say the same thing in confession?

But do we brush our teeth every day? And we wash ourselves, and my hands, despite the fact that they get dirty again. So it is with the soul. This is what the Gospel calls for: how many times you fall, so many times you get up. So there is only one conclusion: soiled clothes - we clean clothes, polluted the soul with sins - we cleanse the soul with repentance.

What are the consequences for the soul of the remembrance of confessed sins?

If you once again remember with a shudder, for example, an abortion, this is useful. And if with relish to remember, for example, the sins of fornication, then it is sinful.

Is online confession allowed?

Your doctor can tell you over the phone which medicines to take for which symptoms. But, for example, it is impossible to perform an operation over the phone. Similarly, through the Internet, you can ask a priest something and get advice, but you still have to go to the sacraments yourself. But if someone ended up on a desert island, but somehow contacted the priest by e-mail, he can repent of his sins by asking the priest to read the permissive prayer. That is, a similar format of confession can be allowed when there is no other opportunity for repentance.

At what age should boys confess, and at what age should girls?

There is an indication in the rules, without dividing into boys and girls, that a person starts confession from about 10 years old or as he realizes the meaning of confession. And here in Rus' (probably very smart children) it is customary to start confessing children from the age of 7.

Came to confession for the first time in 20 years. He repented of an affair with a married woman, he did not remember more sins. The priest said that in my case it was necessary to come with a huge list of sins and that the Christian in me had died...

In fact, confession does not need a long list of sins written on paper. In confession, a person says what he cannot forget, what his soul hurts about, and no paper is needed for this. For what is the point of sitting at home, copying on paper almost one in one another manual for the penitents, if at the same time the person did not feel the depth of his fall and there is no desire in him to correct himself? In your case, the Christian in you didn't die, he just slept for 20 years in a deep sleep. Once you came to the temple, he began to wake up. The task of the confessor in this case is to help you resurrect the Christian in you. So in form you seem to have been rightly beaten, but in fact they could really finally kill the remnants of Christianity in your soul. I would like to wish you, through the instructions of the Holy Fathers, listening to the voice of conscience and good priests, to come to the Church and live in it all your life with the hope of the Kingdom of Heaven.

I want to confess and take communion, but I keep putting it off because of fear of the Lord. How to overcome fear?

The fear of sudden death should overcome the fear of confession, because no one knows at what moment the Lord will call his soul for an answer. But it’s scary to appear before God with all your negative baggage, it’s wiser to leave it here (through confession).

Does a priest have the right to violate the sacrament of confession?

The secret of confession is not subject to disclosure to anyone under any justification. There were cases when a priest, keeping the secret of confession, even went to prison.

I don’t go to confession, because I’m afraid for the priest, who takes all the sins upon himself and then gets sick.

John the Baptist, pointing to Christ, said: "Behold, the Lamb of God, who took away the sins of the world." No priest is able to take upon himself the sins of the people who are confessed to him; only Christ can do this. Throw away all your fears and false shame and hurry to confession.

After confession and communion, I felt relieved. Minor feuds disappeared in the family, well-being improved. But the most important thing: I noticed that my prayers to God were answered, requests for the health of my family were fulfilled.

Your words testify that when you sincerely turn to God with a request for the forgiveness of sins, the Lord, who said "ask, and it will be given to you," fulfills the promise. And since our sins are very often the cause of our illnesses, troubles, failures, when these sins are forgiven, the cause of all troubles disappears. That is, when the causes disappear, the consequences also disappear: a person’s health is restored, successes appear in work, family relationships etc.

Pastor Jack Hiles (1926-2001)

(Chapter 4 of the book "Enemies of Soul Salvation")

I am often asked, "Is repentance important to salvation?" Of course it's important. Everything that has to do with how a person can escape eternal Hell and live forever in Heaven is of great importance. In this chapter, we will discuss this important issue.

1. First, let's look at what condemns a person and keeps him from salvation.

Read John 3:18: “He who believes in Him is not judged, but the unbeliever is already condemned, because he did not believe in the name of the Only Begotten Son of God”. Here it is clearly and clearly stated what is the cause of a person's non-salvation. Notice the words "the unbeliever is already condemned." The one who does not believe is condemned, therefore the unbelieving person has no salvation.

The word "believer" is translated from the Greek word, which means "to trust, to hope." When a person believes in Christ, he simply relies on the fact that after he dies, Christ will take him to Heaven. Everything is clear - a person is condemned by his own unbelief. Then we read: because he did not believe in the name of the Only Begotten Son of God". And again we are told why a person is not saved - because he did not believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Everything is very simple.

Now let's look at John 3:36: . We are again trying to understand why a person perishes and is not saved. Here again, everything is very simple. Note - " he who does not believe in the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him". Why can't a person see life? Because he doesn't believe! Why is God's wrath on him? Because he doesn't believe! So what must a person repent of in order to be saved? He must repent of the sin that will prevent him from being saved. Since he is not saved because of unbelief, he is saved by faith. Repentance means turning away from that which does not save and turning towards that which saves.. Yes, in order to believe, a person must repent of unbelief. You just need to change direction. This means turning 180 degrees. You move away from unbelief and make a decision to go in the direction of faith. You are changing direction. Your heart is changing. You decide to rely on Christ and trust that He will save you. But in order to believe, you need to repent of your unbelief. What doesn't work must be changed..

So what must a person repent of in order to be saved? He must repent of the sin that will prevent him from being saved. Since he is not saved because of unbelief, he must repent of unbelief (in order to be saved by faith).

Now let's look at John 5:40: "But you do not want to come to Me to have life". Oh, how simple and clear! Why doesn't man have life according to this verse? Because he does not come to Christ. If a person does not go to Christ, he must turn and go to Him, that is, you need to change direction and change your mind. This is what repentance is. To repent means to turn away from that which keeps one from salvation and turn towards that which saves.

Read Isaiah 53:6: « We all wandered like sheep; each one turned to his own way: and the Lord laid on him the sins of us all» . Let us especially single out the words "everyone has gone astray to his own way." To turn away to one's own way is the reason why a person does not receive salvation. But if we embark on God's path, i.e. we put our faith in Jesus, we turn from our path to His path, from unbelief we turn to faith. This is what the Bible says about repentance. It is faith that saves. In order to put your faith in Christ, you need to turn around in the opposite direction. You must repent of what is holding you back from salvation.

If a person were saved by good deeds, then in order to be saved, he would have to repent of doing evil deeds or not doing good deeds. If a person had to first stop sinning in order to be saved, then he would first have to repent of his sins. A person is saved because he believes, i.e. he turns in his disbelief or turns away from it.

Let's look at some verses of Scripture that say that a person is saved by faith.

John 3:15: "that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life".

John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”.

John 3.18: “He who does not believe in Him is not judged, but the unbeliever is already condemned, because he did not believe in the name of the Only Begotten Son of God”.

John 3:36: “He who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who does not believe in the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him”.

Acts 16:31: .

There are many who say that in order to be saved, we must repent of all our sins. It is not true! The only thing we need to change in order to be saved is unbelief, which is what keeps us from being saved. If a person must turn away from his sins in order to be saved, then from what sins exactly? From pride? From selfishness? From greed? The truth is that no one can turn away from all their sins until they go to heaven and receive a new body like our Savior. 1 John 3:2: "Beloved! we are now children of God; but it has not yet been revealed that we will. We only know that when it is revealed, we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is.”. As Psalm 18:13 says, we don't even know all our sins. David said: "Cleanse me from my secret (sins)". Here he asks God to cleanse him from sins that he himself does not know. When a person is saved, he does not know about all his sins, and if he must repent of all sins, then where is the place of increasing grace? Who then can be called a baby in Christ? Where does the carnal Christian fit in here?

There are many who say that in order to be saved, we must repent of all our sins. It is not true! The only thing we need to change in order to be saved is unbelief, which is what keeps us from being saved.

Do not misunderstand me. Of course, I am for the fact that people left their sin and lived a righteous life, but it is not we who cleanse our lives, it is not we who save ourselves. Salvation means repenting of unbelief, believing, and letting Christ save us. We submit to Him and allow ourselves to be saved. And He does it immediately! The Holy Spirit immediately enters our lives. He begins His work of cleansing our lives. He is the one who purifies and He is the one who saves. He is the one who reveals our sins to us after we are saved, and He is the one who saves us when we are saved.

When we put our faith in Christ, repent of our unbelief, and begin to believe, God's Holy Spirit enters our lives and begins to put things in order. He points us to our sins, and when we obey Him, He cleanses us of them. If we misbehave, we will still get to Heaven, because we go there by faith in Christ and that He will take us to Heaven. The Holy Spirit begins to tell us what to do and what not to do. If we don't listen to Him, if we misbehave during our earthly journey, we still go to Heaven. It's just that we won't get as much joy out of this journey as we would if we obeyed Him.

The truth is that no one can turn away from all their sins until they go to heaven and receive a new body like our Savior.

I know one young man who recently got married. He got the apartment a few months before he got married and lived there alone until the wedding took place. What a mess this apartment was! His pants hung on an armchair, his shoes lay on the floor under the bed, and the bed itself was never made at all. Then he got married. How did he become a married man? From a single man, he turned into a married man. He seemed to repent of his loneliness and got married. When he brought his wife to his apartment, she was horrified by what she saw, so she immediately began to clean up. She put her shoes in the closet, took off her shirt from the chair, removed her clothes from the bed, and the chaos turned into a wonderful little apartment. Now he was not married because his apartment was cleaned. He was married because he repented of what prevented him from marrying. He swore an oath before the altar and accepted the girl as his wife. Only after that she entered his apartment and put things in order!

Virtually all false doctrine comes from the fact that the order is violated. God has established this order: salvation is change, not change is salvation! If a person must first change in order to be saved, then this is salvation by works. Moreover, it is also salvation according to the flesh. The truth is that we are cleansed from the sins of our flesh just as we are saved - by obeying the Holy Spirit and letting Him do His work.

2. You can repent not necessarily of sin.

Matthew 7:3: “Then Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He was condemned, and repenting, returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders.”. Notice Judas repented.” What does it mean? He repented of having taken the money. He betrayed the Savior for thirty pieces of silver. He changed his mind and took the money back. There was a change in his heart, but it had nothing to do with salvation. He made a bad deal. Then he took pity on her and tried to make things right.

Every person who lives in sin repents sooner or later, but not in unbelief. He changes his attitude towards sin. No one lives in sin and realizes in the end that he does not get the joy, happiness, peace and satisfaction that he so wanted in the beginning. Every week I meet people who are tired of their sins, they are unhappy, dissatisfied with their lives, because of the consequences of their sin they live badly and miserably. What did they do? They have changed their minds about sin and in some cases they have even abandoned that sin - at least the sin that most hindered their lives. A person can repent of sin, but not repent of unbelief. So it was with Judas. Of course, he repented that he had done a bad deed. He realized he had made a bad deal. He changed his mind and returned the money, but he never repented of what was keeping him from salvation - the sin of unbelief.

3. God himself repents.

A person can repent of sin, but not repent of unbelief. So it was with Judas.

Genesis 6:6: “And the Lord repented that He had made man on earth, and was grieved in His heart”. The word "repent" means "to change one's mind, to change one's mind." God created man and regretted it. He grieved at what man did, and repented that he had made him. This does not mean that God repented of sin, because God cannot sin. He just changed His mind, which, by the way, He often does. Actually, He does it every time he answers our prayers..

Now let's look at 1 Samuel 15:35: “And Samuel saw Saul no more until the day of his death; but Samuel mourned over Saul, because the Lord repented that Saul had reigned over Israel.”. God made Saul king of Israel. The point is that God didn't want to do this, but Israel wanted a king. Saul was chosen to take the place of the king, but he turned out to be not the best king. This verse simply says that God repented that he had made Saul king. God has changed his mind.

I want to say that repentance may not be associated with sin. A woman can change her mind and start using other perfumes. A man may change his mind and start eating different foods or wearing different clothes. He can change his manners and behavior. You may regret being unkind and begin to be polite. You can repent that you were stubborn and begin to show indulgence. You can regret that you were impatient and begin to show patience, but all this does not save. You need to repent of what does not save and believe in what saves. Unbelief should be repented.

Let's look at Exodus 32:9-14: “And the Lord said to Moses: I see this people, and, behold, they are a stiff-necked people; leave me therefore, let my wrath be kindled against them, and I will destroy them, and I will make a great nation out of you. But Moses began to implore the Lord his God, and said: let not your anger be kindled, O Lord, against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a strong hand, so that the Egyptians would not say: He brought them out to destruction to kill them. in the mountains and destroy them from the face of the earth; turn away your fiery wrath and abolish the destruction of your people; Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, by whom You swore by Yourself, saying: I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven; And the Lord canceled the evil of which he said he would bring it upon his people.".

Verse 14 simply says: "And the Lord abolished the evil which He said He would bring upon His people". The word "evil" means something that would hurt the people. This is not about sin. In the end, God decided not to touch them. God decided not to exterminate people. He changed his mind about the people, but He didn't change His mind about sin, because God cannot sin.

Let's read Jonah 3:9,10: “Who knows, perhaps God will still have mercy and turn away His burning anger from us, and we will not perish.” And God saw their deeds that they turned from their evil way, and God regretted the disaster, about which he said on them, and did not point ”.

God was going to punish Nineveh. Jonah preached in Nineveh and warned the people of the coming destruction. People believed the prophet and God changed his mind about punishing them. In verse 10 we read: “And God took pity on the disaster, which he said that he would bring upon them, and did not bring”.

And again we see that God simply changed His mind and His thoughts. He was going to punish them, but they believed and He decided not to punish them. The direction of thoughts has changed: from punishment to non-punishment. This is repentance, but not repentance for sin, because God does not sin.

So repentance is not always associated with salvation and sin. It simply means a change in the direction of thoughts.

4. Now let's talk about repentance and salvation.

Acts 3:19: "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out".

Peter preaches. He tells people to repent and turn. Let's go back and talk about what saves. John 3:14-16,18,36: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. He who believes in Him is not judged, but the unbeliever is already condemned, because he did not believe in the name of the Only Begotten Son of God. He who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who does not believe in the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”. Acts 16:31: “They said: believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you and your whole house will be saved”.

These people had to repent of their unbelief and begin to believe in order to be converted. They had to change the direction of their thoughts, start thinking differently.

Let me say again that I don't think Christians should live like the devil. In my sermons, I talk a lot about how we should live a righteous life. I simply believe that turning away from sin is the work of the Holy Spirit, just as renewing is the work of the Holy Spirit. But all this begins after a person repents of what keeps him from salvation, i.e. in disbelief. When this happens, he begins to believe and is saved. Only then does the Holy Spirit enter his life and begin to tell the Christian what sin he should repent of. The man changed his mind about unbelief. The Holy Spirit led him to this. And now the Holy Spirit enters and begins to live in a person, changing his views on different things.

Now read Acts 2:38: “Peter said to them: repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins; and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit".

Peter says, "Change your mind and get baptized." What did they change their mind about? We read the answer in verse 41. Look what they did. They willingly accepted His Word and were baptized. So what was their repentance? They repented for not taking His Word, and then they accepted it. That's all Peter was talking about. He said, "Change your mind about receiving the Word," ie. repent of unbelief and start believing that Jesus is Lord and Christ to be saved.

Let's open Acts 17:30: "So leaving the times of ignorance, God now commands people everywhere to repent". Notice that God commands all people to repent. Repent for what? In what keeps them from salvation, i.e. in disbelief. Let's look at Acts 17:34: “Some men, having attached themselves to him, believed; among them was Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with them. Notice it says "some men believed". When he said "repent," he meant "repent of unbelief and believe," just as the command was given in Acts 2:38 and 41, where to believe meant to fulfill that command. They changed their mind about faith. They believed!

First you turn away from unbelief and turn towards faith, and only then do you begin to repent of your sins, because the One who pointed you to the sin of unbelief and helped you to believe now lives in you.

Now turn to Mark 1:15: “and saying that the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent and believe in the gospel”.

Jesus Himself says to repent: "repent and believe." In other words, He says, "Leave unbelief and believe. Change your mind (how you're saved) and start believing." Again, I don't think a Christian should live an unrighteous life, but I want to say that changing your life does not save you. This is salvation by works. Faith is what saves. First you turn away from unbelief and turn towards faith, and only then do you begin to repent of your sins, because the One who pointed you to the sin of unbelief and helped you to believe now lives in you. Now it is much easier for Him to point out your mistakes and help you change your mind.

5. Repentance for sin is a command to God's people.

Revelation 2:5: “Remember, then, from where you fell, and repent, and do the former works; but if not, I will quickly come to you, and I will remove your candlestick from its place, unless you repent.”.

It's talking about a church that was a good church. It was an active church, it worked hard. She hated sin. It contained sound teachings. Revelation 2:2: “I know your deeds, and your work, and your patience, and that you cannot bear the perverse, and tried those who call themselves apostles, but they are not, and found that they are liars”. It was a patient church. It was a church that believed in the name of Jesus and did not weaken in standing up for Him.

Revelation 2:3: “You endured much and have patience, and for My name you labored and did not fail”. But it was the church that left its first love behind. It says here that this church didn't lose its first love, it left it. When you lose something, you don't know where it is. When you leave something, you know where it is. It doesn't say that this church didn't love anymore. She loved. It was love that made them faithful and patient, helped them to work and hate sin, stand up for the name of Jesus and hate false doctrine. These were people who loved God, but they left their first tender love, and it is not as deep as it was at the beginning.

It does not say that they loved God less. In fact, they may have loved Him even more, but God is saying, "I want your love to be deep and mature, but at the same time tender and expressive as it was in the beginning."

The only sin this church committed was that it left its first love. They have sinned, so God tells them to repent. Repent for what? Repent of drunkenness? No. Repent of adultery? No. This is not about that. They had to repent for not loving Jesus with their first love.

The command to repent was given to the church at Pergamos - Revelation 2:16: "Repent; otherwise, I will quickly come to you and fight with them with the sword of my mouth". The same was said to the church of Thyatiri - Revelation 2:21,22: "I gave her time to repent of her fornication, but she did not repent. Behold, I cast her into a bed and those who commit adultery with her into great sorrow, if they do not repent of their deeds". The Church of Sardis also had to repent - Revelation 3:3: "Remember what you received and heard, and keep and repent. If you do not watch, then I will find on you like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will find on you". The church in Leodicea received the same command - Revelation 3:19: "Those whom I love, I rebuke and punish. Therefore, be zealous and repent".

As we can see, God tells both individuals and groups of people and even entire nations to repent. He calls Israel to repentance over and over again.

So let's recap:

1. God says to lost people, "Repent of your unbelief."

Interestingly, in 1 John the word repentance never mentioned, and yet John wanted to give people the assurance of salvation. 1 John 5:13: "I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that by believing in the Son of God you have eternal life.". But although the word repentance is not mentioned in this book, it is clearly implied, because here we are told that believing that Jesus saves saves, which of course implies that a person must repent that leads him to destruction, i.e. unbelief.

2. God says to saved people: "Repent of your sin". This work is done by the Holy Spirit when He comes into our lives and puts things in order, indicating what sin we should repent of.

3. If a person must repent of his sins in order to be saved, what sins should he repent of? Can he repent of all sins? Isn't that sinless perfection then? Is this not salvation by works? What sin must a person repent of? In the one that keeps him from salvation, in the sin of unbelief.

4. If salvation is given only after a person turns away from sin, then if he returns to it again, does he lose salvation? Acts 16:30 asks a very simple question: " What can I do to be saved?". This is the only time this question occurs in the Bible. The answer to this question should tell us what is needed for salvation. Acts 16:31: " They said: believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you and your whole house will be saved."So the answer is - believe. Not a word is said here about repentance for sins, although yes, you need to repent of only one thing - unbelief.

5. If a person must first put his life in order, and then be saved, then we return to salvation by works.

6. We Can't Do What Only the Holy Spirit Can Do. First, the Holy Spirit convicts us of the sin of unbelief to bring us to Christ. After He brings us to Christ, He enters and abides in our lives. Romans 8:9: "But you do not live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, if only the Spirit of God lives in you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His". 1 Corinthians 6:19,20: "Do you not know that your bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your bodies and in your souls, which are God's".

When the Holy Spirit enters our lives, He begins to show us what needs to be changed. Then the Christian life becomes a constant repentance until we become like Christ.

According to Christian ideas, there is no such person who would not sin, except for Jesus Christ. However, by repentance, a person can receive the remission of sins.

The Church offers the healing of the soul through repentance at confession. Repentance is the recognition of one's sin, contrition for its commission and the intention not to repeat it again in the future. At confession, a person in front of a priest names his sin, which he committed and which he repented of.

In Orthodox churches, confession is made every day. Although the priest accepts it, it is believed that the confessor opens his heart to God, who gives forgiveness through his servant on earth. It is believed that Jesus Christ himself gave the right to the pastors of the Church to forgive sins on His behalf. At the same time, the priest says, recognizing his insignificance before God: “The Lord and our God Jesus Christ, by the grace and bounties of His love of mankind, may He forgive you all your sins, and I, an unworthy priest, by His authority given to me, forgive and allow you from all your sins."

When confessing sins, one should not try to present “extenuating circumstances” to the confessor, justify oneself or shift the blame onto other people who allegedly led the penitent into sin, complain about the circumstances, etc. All this indicates a lack of true repentance in a person and binding him to sin. Sins should be named clearly and clearly, and not vaguely or hinted at. You should also not be distracted during confession and transfer the conversation to other topics. You should not wait for questions from the priest, but tell yourself what seems necessary about yourself.

The Orthodox Church considers murder, abortion, beatings, adultery, fornication and sexual perversion, theft, blasphemy, blasphemy (mocking of sacred objects), hatred of one's neighbor and uttering curses against him, witchcraft and fortune-telling, turning to psychics to the most serious sins , the so-called "healers" and astrologers, drunkenness, smoking, drug addiction.

Less serious, in human understanding, sins on the spiritual plane are no less an obstacle to the Kingdom of Heaven than mortal sins. Such sins include, for example, lying and foul language. Those who commit them also deserve eternal punishment in hell, as, for example, murderers.

As mentioned above, confession should be repentance. Simply listing your sins is meaningless without a decision to leave them. In this case, there is no purification of the soul, and a person with an unclean heart performs the sacraments and rituals before God, which will not bring him any benefit.

Sometimes a priest appoints a person who confesses a sin and cannot leave it, a penance - a spiritual test, which is designed to help get rid of an existing vice. As a penance, bows, reading of canons or akathists, enhanced fasting, pilgrimage to holy places can be appointed. This takes into account the physical and financial capabilities of a person.

The penance appointed by the priest must be carried out strictly. If it seems difficult to perform it, you need to contact the priest who imposed it. Only he has the right to cancel the penance.

“If you bring your gift to the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go, first be reconciled to your brother”

Sometimes in Orthodox Church a common confession is practiced, at which the priest names the most common sins, after which he reads a permissive prayer. Only those people who have not committed mortal sins should participate in such a confession. However, they should come to individual confession at least once a month.

You can confess from the age of seven. Until this age, according to Orthodox tradition, sins are not imputed to a person. A person who has been baptized as an adult should only confess his sins after baptism.

Preparation for confession

Confession should be made as often as possible. People who think little about the spiritual often do not see sins behind them or do not feel their severity. It is difficult for them to repent of them, especially if the sin brings carnal pleasure. Many do not consider themselves sinners just because they have not committed serious sins. That's what they say: "I didn't kill anyone, I never stole." It is wrong to start confession with such words.

“Light has come into the world; but the people loved the darkness more than the light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works be reproved, because they are evil; but he who does what is right goes to the light, that his works may be manifest, because they are done in God.”

(John 3:19-21).

People who are mired in sins often do not notice anything in their hearts, and if they see it, it does not really bother them, because they have nothing to compare with, because they remember little about God. Those who are constantly in communion with God clearly see their sinfulness and consider themselves the first of sinners. Thus, the apostle Paul said: “The saying is true, and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief” (1 Tim. 1:15).

In order to overcome spiritual laziness and insensitivity, the Church has established preparatory days before the sacrament of repentance. These days are called fasting. Preparation for repentance can last from three to seven days. During this period, the believer should fast, try not to commit anything sinful, reflect more on spiritual topics and acquire reverence for God.

During fasting, one should also attend church services as often as possible, pray at home more often, and also read Holy Scripture and other spiritual literature. In addition, a person should turn his gaze inward, testing himself, thinking about his actions and words, whether there was evil in them, hatred, intemperance, etc. The epistle of the Apostle Paul says: “Therefore, many of you are weak and sick, and not a few die. For if we judged ourselves, we would not be judged; but when we are judged, we are punished by the Lord, so that we may not be condemned with the world” (1 Cor. 11:30-32). Thus, self-judgment leads to repentance and forgiveness from God. If a person does not notice his sins and does not repent of them, he receives punishment from God. This is the benefit of reflection and inner exploration of one's own soul.

When examining one's mental and moral state, one should also distinguish the roots of sin from its external manifestation, the fruits. Jesus said: “From within, from the heart proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, malice, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness” (Mark 7:21-22). Perhaps a person has not killed anyone, robbed or done anything wrong, but in his heart there is hatred or contempt, which are the root of these sins. It is these roots that should be noticed and get rid of them through repentance.

In examining one's heart, pettiness should be avoided, when attention is completely diverted by petty thoughts and feelings, and important vices of the soul are overlooked.

So, in confession, the most important thing is not a story about your sinful life or a list of all sins, but contrition about them, sincere repentance.

If, when realizing one's own sins, pain does not arise in the heart, tears do not appear in the eyes, this does not mean that a person cannot repent. The main thing is that he conscientiously decide not to sin anymore and with such an attitude confess to the priest and God.

Another important point in preparing for confession is the forgiveness of their neighbors for their sins and reconciliation with them. Without this, one should not hope for God's forgiveness: “For if you forgive people their sins, then your Heavenly Father will also forgive you; And if you do not forgive people their trespasses, then your Father will not forgive you your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15).

Conducting confession

In accordance with the teaching of the Orthodox Church, repentance may not be accompanied by a verbal confession of sins. However, the forgiveness of sins can only be received in the church sacrament of confession performed by a priest.

“My children! I am writing this to you so that you do not sin; and if anyone sins, then we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous One: He is the propitiation for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world.

(1 John 2:1-2).

The first part of the confession is common to all penitents who come to the temple at the appointed time. This part begins with the priest's exclamation, "Blessed be our God!", followed by prayers that prepare those present for personal repentance. Prayers focus those confessing on God, make them feel their connection with Him. This helps to open the soul before God, which is the beginning of confession. The prayers of the priest reflect the hope of the penitent for forgiveness and cleansing from sins.

“If we confess our sins, He, being faithful and just, will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, then we present Him as a lie, and His word is not in us.

(1 John 1:9-10).

The first part ends with the words of the priest, who turns his face to the assembly and says the following: “Behold, child, Christ stands invisibly ... (etc.)”, which, translated into modern Russian, sounds something like this: “My child, Christ is invisible stands (before you), accepting your confession. Do not be ashamed, do not be afraid and do not hide anything from me, but say everything you have sinned without being embarrassed, and you will accept the remission of sins from our Lord Jesus Christ. Here is His icon before us: I am only a witness, and everything that you say to me, I will testify before Him. If you hide anything from me, your sin will be aggravated. Understand that since you have come to the hospital, do not leave it unhealed!

These words should awaken in the confessor a sense of responsibility, revealing the meaning of confession, which consists in the conversation of the penitent not with the priest, but with God himself. Therefore, it is very important for those who come to confession to understand the meaning of the words spoken by the priest.

After this, the second part of the confession begins, when each confessor separately approaches the lectern, makes a prostration in the direction of the altar or in front of the Cross lying on the lectern. Then he approaches the priest standing at the analogion for a conversation, during which he begins to confess, revealing all his sins and repenting of them. At the same time, his head should be bowed before the holy Cross and the Gospel lying on the lectern. Kneeling confession is a recent innovation and is not practiced in all churches.

The believer confesses his sins. The priest determines whether a person sincerely repents or not. If sincerely, the priest finally prays for him, after which the confessor should kneel, and the priest covers his bowed head with the end of the epitrachili (one of the details of priestly clothing), lays hands on it and reads a permissive prayer in which he pronounces the forgiveness of sins on behalf of Jesus Christ. Then the priest overshadows the confessor with the sign of the cross. The forgiven must get up, kiss the Holy Cross and the Gospel as a sign of love and reverence for the Lord, as well as a sign of fidelity to the promises made to God in the presence of a priest, after which he can leave, reassured and ready to participate in the sacrament of communion.

Permissive prayer: “The Lord and our God Jesus Christ, by the grace and bounty of His philanthropy, forgive you, child (name of rivers), all your sins: and I, unworthy priest, by His power given to me, I forgive and forgive you from all your sins , in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen".

During confession, sins that have already been confessed and forgiven should be named, unless the person again fell into the same sin after confession. In this case, you should repent again. In repentance, one should also bring those sins that were previously forgotten, but were remembered during confession.

When talking about sins, the confessor should not mention the names of other people who participated in the sin. These people must themselves repent of their sins in order to receive their absolution.

If a person sincerely repents, after a permissive prayer, he has a feeling of lightness, purity and joy.

If the priest decides that the confessor has not repented enough or his sins are too heavy to be forgiven immediately, he does not read the prayer of absolution, and the confessor is not allowed to take communion.

Books and articles can explain what to repent of, but not teach repentance. Probably, many parishioners are familiar with the feeling that you confess as it should be, but there is no repentance, heartfelt contrition about your actions, determination not to repeat them. And we repeat, and then again we list everything in confession. The priest put on an epitrachelion, we take communion and sin again. What to do? Archpriest Konstantin Ostrovsky, rector of the Assumption Church in Krasnogorsk, dean of the churches of the Krasnogorsk district, answers.

- Heartfelt contrition about one's sins, determination not to repeat them - these are great fruits, and not at all the first steps of repentance. Ideally, our whole life should be repentance. Everyone remembers the apostolic commandment: "Pray without ceasing" (Thess. 5:17). It means repentance. The Jesus Prayer - "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner" - is a prayer of repentance.

We sin, due to our weakness, continuously, if not by deed, then by thought. And we must repent continuously. Therefore, I do not think that parishioners should be forced to constantly list everyday sins at confession. A person feels that he needs the prayerful support of a priest - he can list it, confession is performed in our church every day in the morning and in the evening.

But strictly speaking, confession is a sacrament that reunites a person with the Church. By committing a serious sin, a person falls away from the Church, and at confession he returns to the Church through the sacrament, is received back into Eucharistic communion. Therefore, I do not insist that people who regularly take communion come to confession before each communion and list their daily sins there.

The task of a Christian is not to observe the rules, but to constantly be in prayerful union with God. For our weakness, this means self-reproach. Not in despair and self-reproach, but in self-reproach, that is, awareness and recognition of one's sinfulness and at the same time faith in God's mercy. That is, in the state that is expressed both in the Jesus Prayer and in the publican's prayer.

- And in many prayers it is written that “I am more sinful than all people”, there are also harsher assessments. Probably the saints who composed these prayers felt this way, because they evaluated themselves in the light of God's grace. But a simple layman, who spends a week in the Church without a year, hardly sincerely considers himself the most sinful of all.

“And the saints didn’t immediately feel that way. Abba Dorotheos confessed to his teachers Barsanuphius the Great and John the Prophet: I look at my life and understand that I am worthy of eternal torment, I know that I am worse than all people, but I don’t feel it in my heart. And the elders answered him that he was on the right path. We grow all our lives to a heartfelt understanding of what we really are - this is the spiritual path.

I think it's wrong to say "I'm more sinful than all people" if you don't feel it. I myself, unfortunately, do not feel that way, although I understand that it is necessary. But still, we, believers, are aware of our sins. Wait until a miracle happens and we feel them the way the saints felt? You may not have to wait. Therefore, let us now pray as best we can.

I say: “Have mercy on me, God, have mercy on me,” but there is no contrition in my heart. Well, well… I will reproach myself with the faith that if I work on my soul, hold on to church fellowship, the Lord will not leave me. I will pray with attention, on the advice of St. John of the Ladder, keeping my mind in the words of the prayer. If this is not given, I will pray with my eyes and lips, even with a cold heart, absent-mindedly, but in the hope that even such a small work will help me draw closer to God. As the holy fathers said, it is better to eat bread with ashes than not to eat anything.

Interviewed by Leonid Vinogradov