The sacrament of confession is the repentance of man before God in his sins, in the presence of a priest. You can turn to the Lord and confess in any place convenient for the confessor, but repentance in the temple has its differences.
From what age can you confess?
How to confess
The first sacrament of confession for a person who is brought up in a marriage family is performed at the age of seven. Upon reaching seven years, adolescence occurs, the child must report to his actions and understand what consequences they will lead to themselves.
Before sending a child to confession, the upcoming sacrament should be discussed with him. Typically, priests with understanding relate to those who first came to repentance, so you can count on tact and correctness on their part. This applies not only to children, but also to adult confessors.
The sacrament of confession for an adult
Of course, confession for an adult is a little more complicated, since the entire preparation process is completely on it. The first thing to decide is to be a place for the sacrament. The confessor should feel calm and comfortable, only in this case the whole process will pass easily and freely.
For the first time it is better to choose a weekday, when there are few people in the church, in this case the priest will be able to devote more time to the confessor. You can choose a more suitable time for the sacrament in advance.
Preparation for the first repentance
The process of preparation for the first confession takes about three days, which are recommended to be carried out in abstinence from animal products and intimacy. The confessor decides for himself how many days to adhere to the post. If the communion is planned after the confession, then the post is required for three days.
These should be held in prayer days, learn more about mortals and sins of them arising from them. The list of literature is better to agree in advance with the priest.
Basic preparation rules
The believer person is well aware of the ten commandments of the Law of God and all the actions committed against him are considered a sin. It is they who are very confessed to the first, therefore, you should carefully prepare in advance and remember whether these actions had a place in your life.
In order for no sin to be forgotten, you can record them in a special notebook.
How to confess
There is nothing shameful in the fact that a whole notebook may be written out, on the contrary, this indicates the complete return and seriousness of the confessor intentions.
Basic rules of conduct in the first confession
Many who have never confessed, worrying the question – where to start? No need to use some memorized words and phrases, it is better when confession comes from the heart, in your own words. In the process of repentance, you can ask the priest any exciting questions.
A person who comes to confession for the first time may be something not clear. There is nothing condemning that the first time the sacrament will take a little more time than usual, the confessor should get answers to all questions that bother him. That is why a weekday is chosen.
The ritual of the sacrament
There is a traditional Orthodox ritual of confession.
How to confess
Each church provides for this place where the Gospel and the Cross are located. Going to anal (special table), you should cross and put the index and middle fingers on the gospel.
Then follows repentance, after listening to which, the priest will read the prayer for the remission of sins and cross. During this, the confessor needs to persuade the head to the anal. At the end of the prayer, it is necessary to cross, apply lips to the cross with the Gospel and get the blessing of the priest.