Among the early Christians, sins, according to the gospels, could be forgiven through apostolic mediation. Twelve possible cardinal sins mentioned in the New Testament were listed. All of them were various violations of the Ten Biblical

Christians in early communities received forgiveness for these sins while practicing prayer, good works, fasting, and almsgiving. This penitential discipline in modern times it has received the name of public repentance or penance, which is sometimes mistakenly confused with a public declaration of excommunication due to a serious and public sin.

Penance is repentance for sins, as well as the name of the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Lutheran sacrament of repentance and reconciliation, confession. It also plays a large role in confession among Anglicans, Methodists and other Protestants. The word comes from the Latin word paenitentia, which means repentance, the desire to be forgiven.

With the sacrament of penance, the believer, if he has sincerely repented, receives forgiveness of sins from God. This sacrament, which is necessarily performed by a bishop or priest, is also called reconciliation or confession. This is one of the two sacraments called “healing,” together with the anointing of the sick, since they are intended to relieve the suffering of the believer.

Penance as a religious attitude in Christianity

The Augsburg Confession divides repentance into two parts: “One is repentance, that is, fear, striking the conscience through the knowledge of sin, and the other is faith born of the Gospel or remission of sins. The belief that, for Christ’s sake, sins are forgiven, calms the conscience and frees it from fear.”

The attitude of penance can be like an externalization in the actions that the believer imposes on himself. These actions themselves are called repentance. Penitential activities are especially common during Lent and Holy Week. In some cultural traditions, this week dedicated to the Passion of Christ may be marked by penances and even voluntary pseudo-crucifixion.

In lighter acts of penance, time is devoted to prayer, reading the Bible or other spiritual books. Examples of more complex acts are:

• abstinence;
• abstinence from alcohol or tobacco or other deprivations.

In ancient times, self-flagellation was often used. Such actions were sometimes called mortification and were also associated with penance. In early Christianity, public penance imposed on penitents, the severity of which varied depending on the seriousness of their offenses. Today, an act of penance imposed in connection with a sacrament for the same therapeutic purpose may be established by prayers, a certain number of prostrations, or an act or omission. The act imposed is itself called repentance or Penance.

Repentance as a sacrament or rite in the Eastern Orthodox Church

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, repentance is usually called the Sacred Mystery of Confession. In Orthodoxy, the intention of the sacramental mystery of Holy Confession is to ensure reconciliation with God through repentance.

Traditionally, a repentant person kneels before an icon of Christ. This is because in Orthodox sacramental theology, confession is not made to the priest, but to Christ; the priest is there as a witness, friend and adviser. By analogy, in front of the penitent is placed gospel book and crucifixion. The penitent honors the Gospel, the cross and kneels. Once they are ready to begin, the priest says, “Blessed is our God, always, now and always, and forever and ever,” and reads the Three Holy Prayers and Psalm 50.

The priest then advises the penitent that Christ is invisibly present and the penitent should not be embarrassed or afraid, but must open his heart and reveal his sins so that Christ can forgive them. The penitent then blames himself for his sins. The priest listens, asking questions to encourage the penitent not to hide any sins out of fear or shame. After the confessor reveals all his sins, the priest offers advice.

Penance is neither a punishment nor simply a pious act, but is specifically aimed at healing a confessed spiritual illness. For example, if a penitent broke the Eighth Commandment by stealing something, the priest I could register, returning stolen goods, and giving alms to the poor on a more regular basis. Opposites are treated by opposites. If the penitent suffers from , the rule is revised and possibly increased. The intention of confession is never to punish, but to heal and cleanse. Confession is also considered a "second baptism" and is sometimes referred to as a "baptism of tears."

In Orthodoxy, confession and penance are seen as a means of ensuring better mental health and purity. Confession does not simply involve pointing out the sinful things a person does; good deeds done by that person are also discussed. This approach is holistic, examining the entire life of the confessor. Good work don't get saved, but are part of psychotherapeutic treatment to maintain salvation and purity. Sin is viewed as a spiritual disease or wound, only healed through Jesus Christ. The Orthodox belief is that in confession the sinful wounds of the soul must be exposed and healed in the "open air" (in this case, the Spirit of God).

Once the penitent has accepted the therapeutic advice, the priest says a prayer of forgiveness over the penitent. In the prayer of forgiveness, priests ask God to forgive the sins they have committed.

Child and confession

It is believed that a child should confess at the age of seven, but you need to understand that a child even at six years old can have a clear consciousness of responsibility for actions. And it happens that a child even at eight years old remains a child who does not understand anything. Therefore, under certain conditions, children can be allowed to confess a little earlier. It must be remembered that formalism should not be allowed in spiritual life, especially in relation to a child.

Anglicanism

Private confession of sins to a priest, accompanied by absolution, has always been provided for in the Book of Common Prayer.

The status of confessions as sacraments is set out in Anglican formularies such as the Thirty-Nine Articles. Article XXV includes it among "Those five commonly called sacraments" which "shall not be counted among the sacraments of the gospel, because they have no visible sign or ceremony consecrated to God."

Despite the provision of private confession in every edition of the Book of Common Prayer, the practice of penance was often disputed during the ritualistic controversies of the late nineteenth century.

Methodism

In the Methodist Church, as with the Anglican sacrament, penance is defined by the articles of religion as such, which are commonly called sacraments, but are not considered sacraments of the gospel.

Many Methodists, like other Protestants, regularly practice confessing their sin to God himself, arguing that “when we confess, our fellowship with the Father is restored, he extends his parental forgiveness. He cleanses us from all unrighteousness, thereby removing the consequences of previously unseen sin. We are back on track to realizing the best plan God has for our lives.”

Lutheranism

The Lutheran Church teaches two key parts of repentance (repentance and faith). Lutherans reject the teaching that forgiveness is achieved through penance.

Roman Catholicism

The Roman Catholic Church uses the term "penance" in several specific cases:

• like a sacrament;
• as acts of satisfaction of faith.

as those specific actions prescribed by the penitent confessor in the context of the sacrament.

They have a common concept that the sinner must repent and, as far as possible, repay divine justice.

Moral virtue

Repentance is a moral virtue in which the sinner is determined to hate his sin as a crime against God. The main action in the implementation of this virtue is hatred of one's own sin. The motive for this hatred is that sin offends God. Theologians, following Thomas Aquinas, consider repentance to be a truly virtue, although they disagree about its place among the virtues.

Repentance proclaims the unworthiness of humanity in the face of God's condescension. For, although sanctifying grace only pardons and cleanses sins from the soul, it is necessary that the individual should consent to this work of grace by the work of repentance. Repentance helps to destroy sinful habits and acquire such:

• generosity;
• humility;
• patience.

The sacrament of penance

The process of repentance and conversion was described by Jesus in the parable of the Prodigal Son. In the Catholic Church, the sacrament of penance (also called reconciliation, forgiveness, confession and conversion) is one of two sacraments of healing. Jesus Christ wished that in this way the Church would continue, by the power of the Holy Spirit, his work of healing and salvation. Reconciliation with God is both the goal and the effect of this sacrament.

Through the priest, who is the minister of the sacrament acting on behalf of God, confession of sins is made to God, and remission of sins is received from God. In this sacrament, the sinner, placing himself before the merciful judgment of God, predicts in a certain way the judgment to which he will undergo at the end of his earthly life.

Essential to the sacrament are the actions of the sinner:

• consideration of conscience;
• repentance with determination not to sin again;
• confession to a priest;
• performing some action to correct the damage caused by sin.

And the priest (defining the act of reparation, subject to execution and remission of sins). Serious sins, mortal sins must be confessed within no more than a year and always before receiving the Sacred

The rite of the sacrament requires that the type and degree of satisfaction correspond to the personal state of each penitent. Anyone can restore the order he has disturbed and, through appropriate means, heal the disease from which he suffered.

Penance for sins

In the Apostolic Constitution of 1966, Pope Paul VI said: "Repentance is a religious, personal act which has as its goal the love of God: fasting, for God and not for oneself." The Church affirms the primacy of the religious and supernatural values ​​of repentance. This can be prayer, mercy, service to one's neighbor, voluntary self-denial and sacrifice.

Transformation of the heart can be expressed in many ways. “Scripture and the Fathers insist, first of all, on three forms: fasting, prayer and almsgiving, which express conversion towards to yourself, God and others." Efforts to reconcile with one's neighbor and the practice of charity, which covers a multitude of sins, are also mentioned.

For example, penance for adultery involves excommunication from the sacrament of communion for many years or months, with the reading of canons and bows. The appropriate penance for aborted children is prescribed by the priest, but you need to remember, that there is no “prayer for abortion” that removes sin. Age, state of health, degree of faith and other things matter, including external circumstances. Prayer can be prescribed if an abortion occurs due to illness or accident.

Penance is also imposed for such a sin as drunkenness. Drunkenness leads to rapid degradation of a person, turning him into a honeycomb-shaped creature. Drunkenness, as a rule, leads to the commission of other more serious sins, such as fornication, in which unmarried people allow physical intimacy.

Fornication is the second of the eight human passions and differs from adultery in that adultery does not involve adultery. Just as in the case of other sins, penance for fornication is imposed at the discretion of the priest.

During the Liturgical year during Advent and Lent, such penitential exercises as voluntary self-denial are especially suitable. In accordance with canon 1250 “Repentant days and times in the universal Church- every Friday of the year and season of Lent.” Canon 1253 stated: "The Conference of Bishops may more precisely define the observance of abstinence, and also substitute other forms of penance, especially charitable and exercises of piety, in whole or in part, for abstinence and fasting."

Undoubtedly, the 21st century is a time of permissiveness, but true Christians fight against the harmful influence of the world around them and keep the covenants from the Bible, despite sidelong glances.

Intimate relationships outside of marriage are sinful, adultery is even worse. Masturbation is a process that only one person knows about; it does not harm others and does not destroy marital relationships. Then why Christianity considers masturbation a sin of fornication, it is necessary to understand.

Why masturbation is a sin

Masturbation is identical in definition to the concept of malakia. The meaning of the word comes from the Bible. In Orthodoxy it is considered a serious sin, one of the varieties of fornication. Malakia is caused by prodigal lust, the desire for pleasure. This sin is unnatural, as it occurs without contact with the opposite sex. Orthodoxy only approves of sexual contact between legal spouses.

The Church believes that a person who masturbates is a slave to his own lust, dependent on lustful desires. Passion overcomes him and he is unable to control it. Then everything reasonable is no longer a priority for the philandering son. Orthodoxy calls malakia a perversion because relationships with the other sex do not occur. The Bible itself states that fornicators those who committed adultery, and also the Malakis will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

By masturbating, a person defiles his soul, mind and body. And even thinking about this is already a sin. Sin, whose name was inspired by the biblical character Onan, is one of the most terrible carnal sins that takes away the right to eternal life.

Malakia in women and children

The Bible does not mention masturbating women, but this does not mean that the Heavenly Father does not consider female masturbation a sin. It makes no difference who committed this act. Handjob among women is no less condemned in Orthodoxy than men, because everyone is equal before God. This means that the harlot must also repent and strive for purity of thoughts and actions.

With children everything is a little different. Masturbation in boys and girls mostly occurs due to ignorance, unspoken questions, as well as itching in the genital area, too tight clothing, physical punishment, etc.

To protect your child from addiction, you need to:

Church punishment

Now the church does not provide penance for fornication. But there are certain methods. To cleanse oneself from sin, a person must perform certain austerities. For example, perform 100 bows for 40 days, and also fast to atone for your guilt.

You can’t give up; it’s possible to cope with temptation. To make it easier to eradicate sinful thoughts in yourself, you can turn to the following advice:

Self-satisfaction is a mortal sin that should not exist in the life of a believer. Only the desire to get rid of sinfulness, coming from a pure heart, can become the basis for acquiring spiritual purity. And the church will never abandon a repentant person and will provide all possible help.

When getting acquainted with the rules of church discipline, the definition of “penance” often comes up, which is not always interpreted correctly by believers.

What is it for?

So, what is penance in Orthodoxy? This is not a punishment for a committed offense, but a medicine that heals the ulcer of sin in the soul.

Penance is not a punishment, but a spiritual medicine.

Translated from Greek, “penance” means “punishment according to the law.” This is the voluntary fulfillment by an Orthodox Christian of the corrective actions specified for him by the priest: an enhanced prayer rule, alms to the needy, strict and long fasting.

Infanticide

The husband and wife together are responsible for the taking of the life of an unborn child, especially if they profess Orthodoxy and realize the gravity of the act committed.

Important! Penance for infanticide, as a rule, is sent by the Heavenly Father Himself.

This sin can be forgiven if a person is consciously and humbly ready to endure the punishment throughout his life. It could be:

• complete infertility of both spouses;
• family problems;
• diseases.

It is important to understand that all the negativity that accompanies his life on earth was sent for the abortions performed.

Advice! It is necessary to constantly repent of sins, ask for forgiveness from the Lord and never do this again.

About childbirth in an Orthodox family:

Fornication

All adultery is prohibited by the seventh Commandment of the Word of God.

Penance. Boris Klementyev. Confession

Not allowed:

• any violation of marital fidelity;
• lesbianism;
• debauchery and other lascivious relationships.

Attention! As penance, excommunication from Communion is possible for up to 7 years.

If a person realizes the severity of the fall and accepts penance, then the result of his correction will be effective. But excommunication from Communion is a more difficult “punishment” than, for example, reading the canons or strict fasting.

Blasphemy

Modern men are more likely to fall into the sin of blasphemy.

Women usually curse, but by their nature it is the same blasphemy. When a “dark streak” occurs in life, ladies are furiously indignant against God’s Providence and His Justice, considering the Creator to be unjust. They often forget and surrender to the will of the devil, and as a result, they spew out satanic curses.

All this is blasphemy, worthy of hellish torment.

Perjury

There are people who take an oath on the Bible or the Crucifix. They believe that they perform this action in the name of the Lord, His Most Pure Mother or a saint.

Perjury

In fact, this sin is directed against God and others.

Important! This mortal sin is a desecration of the greatness of the Creator of Heaven and Earth.

Theft

Appropriation of other people's things into personal property without the knowledge of their owner.

Just thoughts and desire to return what was stolen is not enough.

Important! It is necessary not only to return the item, but also to compensate for the damage that the owner suffered during the absence of the stolen item.

Lie

An insignificant (small) lie does not entail serious consequences.

Of course, it is a sin, but not a serious one. But if, with the help of deception, material or moral damage is caused to a person, then the sin becomes grave.

The sinner is obliged at all costs to correct him and make reparation. Only then will the Lord forgive for the evil caused by lies.

Sin is a disease of the soul that requires urgent treatment. But there is still no pill for mental anguish in the world. Therefore, instead of pills, there is penance.

“What is penance? I heard that after you repent, the priest can impose this penance on you, and then no one except this priest can remove it. What will happen if you don’t fulfill it?” - asks the reader of Neskuchny Sad. We turned to authoritative priests for clarification.

On the island of Patmos there is a whole grove planted by those who were subject to penance - to plant a tree (“Elder Amphilochios († 1970), who labored on the island of Patmos, gave the peasants, as penance in confession, the command to plant a tree. “Where in the photographs of the beginning of the present centuries, which captured the hills near the Cave of Revelation, we see only bare and barren slopes, today the forest thicket is rampant" (Bishop Kallistos of Diocleia. Through creation to the Creator. M., 1998. P. 3-4)."

Indications for use

For many Orthodox people, penance is some kind of disciplinary sanction imposed on the offender. This interpretation is only partly correct.

The word itself came to us from Greek, where it sounded like penance, with the emphasis on the penultimate syllable, and really meant punishment, punishment. But in a spiritual sense, this is not a punishment, but rather a medicine so that the wound left by sin heals faster.

The medicine that a person seeks for himself, convicted by his conscience. “Penance is born from a certain urge to the right action, which would cross out my past,” explains the confessor of Moscow, rector of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Krylatskoye Archpriest Georgy BREEV . — Remember the Gospel episode with the tax collector Zacchaeus? The Lord said to him: “...today I need to be in your house” (Luke 19: 5). The publican, in the eyes of the faithful people of that time, was a despicable person, completely lost his conscience and rejected by God. And now, realizing how blessed he has been, Zacchaeus suddenly says: “Lord! I will give half of my property to the poor, and if I have offended anyone in any way, I will repay him fourfold.” The Lord did not advise him or order anything. I just visited him, and a reciprocal feeling was born in the publican. Because he looked at his past - yes, indeed, it is worthy of condemnation. Indeed, it is impossible to live with such a heavy burden. God came to meet him, visited his home, exalted him, and naturally there was a holy response in response to the desire to change his life. Some justice demanded that he bear some kind of penance, and he proclaims it to himself. Penance is a means that a person, having deep faith in God and understanding his untruth before Him, additionally takes upon himself to show that his repentance is not superficial. That he thanks God for his mercy, but wants to additionally bear some kind of righteous reward for his deeds.”

In 1999, the historical center of Chora with the monastery of St. John the Evangelist and the Cave of the Apocalypse on the island of Patmos were declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.

The soul languishes and suffers from the wound inflicted by sin. Conscience denounces us, and it becomes difficult for us to bear this burden. Lamenting our sin, we go to confession to receive forgiveness. We believe that the Lord accepts our sincere repentance, but sometimes there is a need to do something else that would cleanse our soul and remove grave sin from it. “The practice of giving penance has existed since ancient times,” explains Fr. Georgy. - A person is entrusted with such obligations, the fulfillment of which would be within his power and would correct him. The Holy Fathers said that a sin committed is cured by a kind of opposite influence. That is, if you were stingy, show mercy. If you were not chaste, then leave your previous lifestyle and live chastely. For the sake of the latter, many even took upon themselves the feat of monasticism.”

Special instructions

Just like conventional medicine, spiritual medicine should only be prescribed by a “doctor” with the necessary competence and authority. “The priest who imposes penance must “experience the fruits of repentance and wisely manage the person,” if necessary, weakening and shortening the penance or, conversely, tightening it. Therefore, it can only be imposed by one who vigilantly monitors the spiritual state of the penitent, his confessor,” explains senior lecturer at the Department of Church History and Canon Law of PSTGU Priest Dimitry PASHKOV. — If an unknown priest imposed penance on you, then you need to tell your confessor about it. The confessor will be able to assess the extent of its spiritual benefit and, accordingly, the appropriateness of its purpose.” In practice, not every penance serves the purpose of healing the soul. First of all, perhaps, because it is not prescribed by the “attending doctor”, but by a “trainee” who accidentally looked into the ward. Chairman of the Synodal Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces Archpriest Dimitry SMIRNOV I regularly encounter similar cases in my parish practice. “When penances are handed out left and right to people whom they see for the first time in their lives, it’s just savagery,” says the priest. This summer, his parishioner Ivan N. went on a pilgrimage to the monastery and returned from there despondent and confused. He wanted to take communion, but the hieromonk who confessed him not only did not allow him to take communion, but also imposed an unbearable penance - 300 bows daily. Ivan is sick with arthrosis, and his strength is barely enough for one bow, and if you try to do all 300, the health consequences may be irreversible. Father Dimitri himself sometimes gives the following penance: read a chapter from the Gospel every day.

On Patmos there are about five hundred churches for three thousand inhabitants

Penance should be prescribed with caution to those who have recently come to the Church. “What kind of penance can we talk about if a person does not feel his sin? - says Fr. Georgy Breev. “He needs more than one year to figure out whether he believes and how he believes.” Develop some kind of living attitude towards God, learn to pray. And only then, as a person gradually enters spiritual life, he begins to see his untruth, his limitations, the fallenness of his nature. Then a response is born in him - “I want to work hard.” Some, after living in the Church for ten years, suddenly say: “Father, I still want to go to a monastery to work.” They have matured, they have seen. It is always pleasant, joyful, and beneficial to the person himself. And people who have not yet joined the spiritual life rarely accept penance with humility. Although, naturally, they may have many grave sins on their conscience, for which, if approached formally, penance is due.” According to Fr. George, such people should not be punished, but encouraged to work on themselves: “We need to help a person get to the point where, by reading the Holy Scriptures, praying, getting acquainted with spiritual life, with practice, he gradually opens up to himself.”

Overdose

“The concept of “I am a sinner” can vary from formal agreement with a fact to the deepest experience of oneself as a person clothed in a fallen nature,” says Fr. Georgy. - This is where God’s Love for man is revealed, deep self-knowledge is revealed, virtue and response are born in the soul - I don’t want to condemn anyone, because I see myself in a state worthy of all condemnation. This is how true repentance is born. This, in fact, is the ultimate goal of both prayers and penance - to lead a person to the understanding that he is not only not alien to sin, but from the inside he does not correspond at all to the high destiny to which the Lord calls him as a Christian.” But even if a person himself seeks penance corresponding to the sin committed, this does not mean that he has grown up to it, Father George is convinced. “I usually stop such “enthusiasts.” You need to start small: correct yourself in thoughts, words, take care of yourself. And only then, when a person feels some spiritual strength, he may be able to take on something more serious.”

If a patient wants to be cured, he must follow the doctor’s recommendations, even when he doesn’t really like them. The situation is similar in spiritual healing: it is better to fulfill the penance imposed by the confessor, but only the confessor himself can remove it. “And if penance is beyond your strength, you just need to discuss it with your confessor,” says Fr. Georgy. — As a last resort, if for some reason you can’t talk to your confessor, you can turn to the bishop. He has the power to remove any penance imposed by the priest.”

Tradition instead of law

The clergyman’s handbook says that penance should help a sinner, firstly, to realize the extent of his sin and feel its seriousness, secondly, give him the strength to stand up again, inspire him with hope for God’s Mercy, thirdly, give him the opportunity to show determination in your repentance. The Church did not come to such an understanding of penance right away.

In the second half of the 4th century, after the persecution of Christians stopped and the Church was flooded with yesterday's pagans, the holy fathers began to develop certain norms and rules for community life. Among other things, Basil the Great draws out a number of disciplinary canons that show what requirements are imposed on a person who wants to improve. In those days, confession was public and concerned only the most important offenses (unlike modern confession, which often turns into a “revelation of thoughts”). The canons of the 4th century are dedicated to public confession. They provide mainly for one type of influence - excommunication from communion for 10, 15 and even 20 years for murder, theft, adultery and similar grave sins. At the end of the 4th century, the institution of secret confession arose. Initially, the sanctions established by the canons continued to be used there, but gradually the approach to the penitent softened. John Chrysostom, for example, in his works advises not to approach the appointment of penance formally, calls for being guided more by the spiritual state of a person than by the severity of his sins.

The Trullo Council of 691, with its last (102nd) canon, also recommends an individual approach to confessors and establishes the possibility of both tightening and softening the penance prescribed by the canons. “For the disease of sin is not one and the same, but different and manifold.” At the turn of the 6th-7th centuries, a specific collection began to take shape - the canon, intended to regulate secret confession. He introduces two important innovations: on the one hand, the differentiation of sinful acts according to the degree of their severity, on the other, the difference between the sinners themselves depending on their individual characteristics. For example, he treats a married youth who has committed fornication more gently than an adult man who has been married for many years. It is in the canonikon that there is a sharp reduction in the period of excommunication from communion and the emergence of new forms of penance. Let's say, instead of ten years, the new rules prescribe excommunication from communion for two years, but during these two years the penitent must observe a stricter fast, read prayers, bow, etc.

The collection is gradually spreading in the Byzantine Church; in late Byzantium a whole series of its adaptations or independent collections of a similar nature appeared (the so-called “penitential nomocanons”). Around the same time, these collections penetrated into the Slavic countries, were translated here and began to be used in spiritual practice.

“In Soviet times, church legal science practically ceased to exist, and tradition took the place of law,” says Albert BONDACH, teacher of the history of sources of church law at PSTGU. — Today there are no clear regulations establishing the measure of church responsibility for sins. This area, like many other matters, is entirely governed by customs, which may vary from parish to parish. But one way or another, penance, as a rule, comes down to sanctions of an ascetic nature (additional fasting, bowing, prayer) and informal excommunication for a short period. And such severe punishments as long-term excommunication from communion or anathematization are imposed only by decision of a church court and only for offenses of such a level as organizing a schism.”

When getting acquainted with the rules of church discipline, the definition of “penance” often comes up, which is not always interpreted correctly by believers.

What is it for?

So, what is penance in Orthodoxy? This is not a punishment for a committed offense, but a medicine that heals the ulcer of sin in the soul.

Penance is not a punishment, but a spiritual medicine.

Translated from Greek, “penance” means “punishment according to the law.” This is the voluntary fulfillment by an Orthodox Christian of the corrective actions specified for him by the priest: an enhanced prayer rule, alms to the needy, strict and long fasting.

Infanticide

The husband and wife together are responsible for the taking of the life of an unborn child, especially if they profess Orthodoxy and realize the gravity of the act committed.

Important! Penance for infanticide, as a rule, is sent by the Heavenly Father Himself.

This sin can be forgiven if a person is consciously and humbly ready to endure the punishment throughout his life. It could be:

• complete infertility of both spouses;
• family problems;
• diseases.

It is important to understand that all the negativity that accompanies his life on earth was sent for the abortions performed.

Advice! It is necessary to constantly repent of sins, ask for forgiveness from the Lord and never do this again.

About childbirth in an Orthodox family:

Fornication

All adultery is prohibited by the seventh Commandment of the Word of God.

Penance. Boris Klementyev. Confession

Not allowed:

• any violation of marital fidelity;
• lesbianism;
• debauchery and other lascivious relationships.

Attention! As penance, excommunication from Communion is possible for up to 7 years.

If a person realizes the severity of the fall and accepts penance, then the result of his correction will be effective. But excommunication from Communion is a more difficult “punishment” than, for example, reading the canons or strict fasting.

Blasphemy

Modern men are more likely to fall into the sin of blasphemy.

Women usually curse, but by their nature it is the same blasphemy. When a “dark streak” occurs in life, ladies are furiously indignant against God’s Providence and His Justice, considering the Creator to be unjust. They often forget and surrender to the will of the devil, and as a result, they spew out satanic curses.

All this is blasphemy, worthy of hellish torment.

Perjury

There are people who take an oath on the Bible or the Crucifix. They believe that they perform this action in the name of the Lord, His Most Pure Mother or a saint.

Perjury

In fact, this sin is directed against God and others.

Important! This mortal sin is a desecration of the greatness of the Creator of Heaven and Earth.

Theft

Appropriation of other people's things into personal property without the knowledge of their owner.

Just thoughts and desire to return what was stolen is not enough.

Important! It is necessary not only to return the item, but also to compensate for the damage that the owner suffered during the absence of the stolen item.

Lie

An insignificant (small) lie does not entail serious consequences.

Of course, it is a sin, but not a serious one. But if, with the help of deception, material or moral damage is caused to a person, then the sin becomes grave.

The sinner is obliged at all costs to correct him and make reparation. Only then will the Lord forgive for the evil caused by lies.

Sin is a disease of the soul that requires urgent treatment. But there is still no pill for mental anguish in the world. Therefore, instead of pills, there is penance.