Holy Mysteries
What is confession?
Confession is the sacrament of repentance in which a person names sins before God in the presence of the priest and receives absolution. The priest is not a spectator. He serves as spiritual father, witness, and physician under Christ, helping the person return to God honestly.
If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them.
What Happens In Confession
The person confesses sins plainly, receives counsel if needed, and hears the priest pray the absolution. The point is repentance, healing, and reconciliation with God. Confession is connected to Communion because receiving Christ should be joined to a life of repentance.
Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.
Confession usually includes three movements. First, the person examines the conscience before God and comes with repentance rather than self-defense. Second, the sins are spoken to God before the priest with enough clarity for real guidance. Third, the priest gives counsel and prays the absolution, returning the person to the path of prayer, fasting, restitution, reconciliation, and Communion.
Why Confess Out Loud
Sin often stays vague when it remains only in the mind. Speaking honestly before God with a priest brings the hidden wound into the light. The priest can help distinguish sin from anxiety, give practical guidance, and call the person back to prayer, fasting, restitution, and Communion in due time.
The spoken confession also teaches humility. The person stands before God without excuses, trusts the mercy of Christ, and receives correction inside the Church rather than inventing a private standard. The goal is a healed life, not a religious performance.
Confession And Ongoing Formation
Confession is not reserved only for moments of crisis. It is part of ordinary Orthodox formation because repentance is part of ordinary Christian life. Over time, the father of confession comes to know the person's patterns, strengths, temptations, and wounds, and can guide repentance with patience and truth.
Someone preparing to enter the Church should ask Abouna how confession applies to that path. The answer may depend on Baptism, Chrismation
- Confession to a Priest, Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States Q&A. Pastoral answer on confession before God in the presence of the priest.
- Repentance and Confession, Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States Q&A. Pastoral answer connecting confession, repentance, spiritual guidance, and healing.
- Confession and Absolution, Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States Q&A. Pastoral answer on repentance, confession, and receiving absolution.
- Rituals of the Sacraments, Servants Preparation Program, SUSCopts. Servants-prep lesson on the rites of Baptism, Chrismation, Eucharist, Repentance and Confession, Unction, Matrimony, and Priesthood.
- The Seven Sacraments, Servants Preparation Program, SUSCopts. Doctrine lesson explaining the sacraments as visible mysteries through which the faithful receive grace.
Confession: The sacrament of repentance in which a person confesses sins before God in the presence of the priest and receives absolution and guidance.
Sacrament: A visible mystery through which God gives grace to His people. In Coptic usage the sacraments belong to the whole healing life of the Church.
Absolution: The priestly prayer of forgiveness and release, prayed by the authority Christ gave His Church for repentance and reconciliation.
Holy Communion: The faithful receiving the true Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist, after baptismal life, repentance, confession, fasting, reconciliation, and pastoral preparation.
Orthodox: Right worship and right belief, naming the Church's received apostolic faith and the life of worship that preserves it.
Abouna: A common Coptic way to address a priest, meaning our father, because priestly service is pastoral and fatherly within the life of the Church.
Baptism: The sacrament of new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, joining a person to Christ's death and resurrection and to the life of the Church.
Chrismation: The anointing with holy Myron after Baptism, sealing the newly baptized with the gift and indwelling of the Holy Spirit.