Holy Mysteries
What is confession?
Confession In Plain Terms
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.
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.
If Confession Is New To You
Visitors and inquirers can speak with the priest about struggles and questions. Sacramental confession itself belongs to the life of the Church, so ask Abouna how it applies if you are a catechumen, returning Christian, or someone preparing for baptism or reception.
- 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.
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.
Catechumen: A person being prepared to enter the Church through teaching, repentance, worship, and the sacramental path given by 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.