A good thing called marriage.

What is fatigue? How much of this concept is from physiology, and how much from psychology? Why does one get tired faster than the other, even if he is physically healthier? Psychological and spiritual aspects of labor in the comments of specialists.

Irina Levina, psychologist:

Since a person is a whole being, there is as much physiology in fatigue as psychology. A person may be tired from hard work and therefore feel physical discomfort (muscle pain, for example), but if he is satisfied with the result of his work, he will feel positive emotions, fatigue can even be pleasant (“good job”). If a lot of work has been invested, but the result is not satisfactory, then dark thoughts and feelings can increase fatigue (“plowed in vain”, “no one needs it”).

Another type of fatigue is emotional. You can get tired of strong emotions(their own or those who are nearby). Each of us has his own range of emotions, and when what is happening inside or outside “goes wild” (overwhelmed with delight, euphoria or despair, horror, fear), then you can get tired of it, feel empty, dream of silence, peace and loneliness.

You can also get tired of the lack of emotions, impressions, and monotony.

For example, when a person is loaded with a routine of duties, does not have the opportunity to stop and feel his desires and interests, he may have the feeling that he does not live own life, and this will be subjectively experienced as dullness of everyday life, boredom, melancholy (“hands drop”, “I can’t do anything”).

When a person long time is in a situation emotional abuse(suppression, ignoring, neglect, humiliation), he will feel tired and exhausted, as if all the juice was squeezed out of him, even if no physical activity he didn't have.

With emotional fatigue, sometimes there is heaviness in the shoulders, back pain, body aches (“as if a skating rink has passed”, “as if crushed by a stove”) - that is, purely psychological inner experiences can manifest themselves through muscle fatigue and pain.

In general, just as muscle pain tells us that it's time to take a break from work, so emotional fatigue is a signal to stop, to ask ourselves: what do I feel now? what is happening in my life? how can i take care of myself? what changes are long overdue? If you ask a question, the answer will not keep you waiting long.

But how often do we find time for this? ..

Can hard work be taught?

Lilia Filimonenok, psychologist, psychiatrist:

Unwillingness to work, perhaps, depends on the degree of fatigue of the body. It can, of course, be objective, caused physical condition organism. But more often the unwillingness to work comes from the fear of "getting tired". In this case, the feeling of fatigue is a kind of emotion, something that we create in our head to solve certain life or momentary tasks.

In physical fatigue too a large share psychological component. Resources human body are quite large, but it happens that a physically healthy and strong person is spiritually and emotionally weak, and a very sick person not only does not lose heart during difficulties, but also infects with optimism, supports relatives and friends.

This means that you can tune in to work, even physically or psychologically difficult, you can simply not notice fatigue if you have a cheerful attitude to everything around. I note that I have more than once witnessed an extraordinary inner strength children who, even with terrible illnesses, find some inner hidden resources and remain cheerful, cheerful, able to help, although for them it is not only psychologically, but also physically difficult. Of course, children are largely influenced by the atmosphere that surrounds them from birth, and the example of their parents. In a family where people are used to working with joy and easily overcoming difficulties, the child will grow up with similar qualities. So, love for work is educable!

“The kingdom of God is in need, and the needy are rapturing it” (“The kingdom of God is taken by force and those who use force rapture it”), the Bible says. It is clear that this is not about physical effort. But still, is it possible to draw a parallel between the habit of work and the habit of prayer, of works of mercy?

Archpriest Dmitry Galkin

Archpriest Dimitry Galkin, cleric of St. John's Stauropegial Convent:

religious life, like life in general, implies regularity and repetition. Otherwise it is not life. But to maintain order, discipline is necessary, and it inevitably contains a smack of routine.

On the other hand, the religious life requires creativity, unceasing inner renewal, self-knowledge and God-knowledge.

Is it possible to regulate this process? After all, we come to know God by the grace of the Holy Spirit, and “the Spirit breathes wherever it wants” (John 3:8). From myself we dare to add: and when he wants.

The perception of the Spirit presupposes a certain mood of the soul, a special susceptibility and inspiration, but it does not obey the rules. There is a contradiction! Are the exhortations so beloved by the clergy about the need for a regular prayer rule, about weekly attendance at church, about observing fasts really fraught with danger to the freedom of religious life? Can the habit of the church way of life imperceptibly kill that very sacred, tremulous thing that is experienced as communion with the Kingdom?

Yes, indeed, such a danger exists. Even during His public ministry, the Lord Jesus Christ reproached the Pharisees, whose piety in many respects was reduced to scrupulous and petty fulfillment of precepts to the detriment of the living religious feeling. Then, perhaps, down with all these routine rules and rituals? Will we live only by inspiration?

Despite the caricature of this approach, it is not uncommon. There is a considerable number of Orthodox Christians who do not come to the Sacraments of Confession and Communion for months and years, because they are waiting for inspiration, a special mood of the soul. Let's just say: don't wait!

And why? Yes, because inspiration is not born in a vacuum.

Even the most gifted artists and musicians had to hone their technique of painting or playing the piano over the years. musical instrument. So in the life of the spirit a foundation is needed. It is he who is formed thanks to the habit of daily prayer, regular testing of one's conscience, penitent effort, forcing oneself to virtue. Religious life based only on " beautiful impulses souls, in best case, naive dilettantism, at worst, a dangerous self-deception.

Yes, sometimes I don't feel like reading. prayer rule. But it is enough to force yourself to fulfill it, and a small miracle happens - the heart is melted and kindled with the joy of prayer. As ancient Christian wisdom says: prayer is given to the one who prays. The same goes for preparing for confession. Sometimes a person is in false complacency and does not notice his sins. But it is enough to listen attentively to the voice of conscience - and repentance awakens in the soul.

Spiritual life has its own laws, and one of them is that piety is formed from the outside to the inside. Forcing oneself to external piety, if, of course, this compulsion is sincere and not hypocritical, reveals the depths of the heart and makes it possible to meet the Living God there.

Psychological, legal and spiritual aspects of labor in the comments of specialists.

What is fatigue? How much of this concept is from physiology, and how much from psychology? Why does one get tired faster than the other, even if he is physically healthier?

Irina Levina, psychologist:

Since a person is a whole being, there is as much physiology in fatigue as psychology. A person may be tired from hard work and therefore feel physical discomfort (muscle pain, for example), but if he is satisfied with the result of his work, he will feel positive emotions, fatigue may even turn out to be pleasant (“work well”). If a lot of work has been invested, but the result is not satisfactory, then gloomy thoughts and feelings can increase fatigue (“plowed in vain”, “nobody needs it”).

Another type of fatigue is emotional. You can get tired of strong emotions (your own or those around you). Each of us has his own range of emotions, and when what is happening inside or outside “goes wild” (overwhelmed with delight, euphoria or despair, horror, fear), then you can get tired of it, feel empty, dream of silence, peace and loneliness.

You can also get tired of the lack of emotions, impressions, and monotony.

For example, when a person is loaded with a routine of duties, does not have the opportunity to stop and feel his desires and interests, he may have the feeling that he does not live his own life, and this will subjectively be experienced as dullness of everyday life, boredom, melancholy (“hands drop” , "can't do anything").

When a person is in a situation of emotional abuse for a long time (suppression, ignoring, neglect, humiliation), he will feel tired and exhausted, as if all the juice was squeezed out of him, even if he did not have any physical activity.

But how often do we find time for this? ..

Can hard work be taught?

Lilia Filimonenok, psychologist, psychiatrist:

Unwillingness to work, perhaps, depends on the degree of fatigue of the body. It can, of course, be objective, caused by the physical state of the organism. But more often the unwillingness to work comes from the fear of "getting tired". In this case, the feeling of fatigue is a kind of emotion, something that we create in our head to solve certain life or momentary tasks.

In physical fatigue, there is also a large share of the psychological component. The resources of the human body are quite large, but it happens that a physically healthy and strong person is spiritually and emotionally weak, and a very sick person not only does not lose heart during difficulties, but also infects with optimism, supports relatives and friends.

This means that you can tune in to work, even difficult physically or psychologically, you can simply not notice fatigue if you have a cheerful attitude to everything around. I note that I have more than once witnessed the extraordinary inner strength of children, who, even with terrible diseases, find some inner hidden resources and remain cheerful, cheerful, able to help, although it is not only psychologically, but also physically difficult for them. Of course, children are largely influenced by the atmosphere that surrounds them from birth, and the example of their parents. In a family where people are used to working with joy and easily overcoming difficulties, the child will grow up with similar qualities. So, love for work is educable!

How and from what age can a child officially find a job and receive a salary? What opportunities does Russian legislation provide for this?

The Labor Code of the Russian Federation prohibits the employment of persons under the age of 18 in work with harmful and (or) dangerous working conditions, in underground work, as well as in work, the performance of which may harm their health and moral development(gambling business, night cabarets and clubs, production, transportation and trade in alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, narcotic and other toxic drugs).

It is prohibited to send underage employees on business trips, to engage in overtime work, work at night, on weekends and non-working holidays.

According to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the work of workers under the age of 18 admitted to piece work is paid at the established piece rates. The employer may establish additional payments to these employees to wages at the expense of own funds.

However, employers do not seek to hire minors, because teenagers do not have certain qualifications and can only perform auxiliary work. At the youth labor exchange, teenagers are mainly offered seasonal work in landscaping, with a payment of about 100 rubles per hour. Also, a teenager can work as a leaflet distributor, courier, promoter or in a fast food establishment (for example, in McDonald's - from the age of 14, in other fast food chains - from the age of 16).

You can get a job distributing leaflets only semi-legally, according to employment contract but without complying with the law. Payment on average will be 100 rubles per hour, but the risk that they will not be paid at all is quite high. The same applies to working as a courier: the average salary does not exceed 1,000 rubles a week, as does the salary of a mobile communications promoter.

Basically, the remuneration of teenage labor is based on the rule: “how much you sell - you get so much, if you sell nothing - you get nothing”, we are not talking about any official salaries at all. For example, the earnings of a promoter in the Oriflame company depend on how many products he manages to sell, and the seller must deliver all the goods to customers himself, regardless of how much he weighs and where he has to go. It is not uncommon for a promoter to receive 100 rubles for a month of visiting enterprises and individuals with product offers.

Therefore, on the one hand, psychologists recommend early attempts to get a job (in many Western countries, even with wealthy parents, taken with adolescence to earn money for certain needs): it helps to keep oneself busy useful thing develop the habit of working and right attitude to cash.

On the other hand, the choice of work for minors should be approached very seriously, preferably with active participation parents and the strictest check by them of the place where the child gets a job.

Archpriest Dimitry Galkin, cleric of St. John's Stauropegial Convent:

Religious life, like life in general, presupposes regularity and repetition. Otherwise it is not life. But to maintain order, discipline is necessary, and it inevitably contains a smack of routine.

On the other hand, religious life requires a creative approach, constant inner renewal, self-knowledge and God-knowledge.

Yes, indeed, such a danger exists. Even during His public ministry, the Lord Jesus Christ reproached the Pharisees, whose piety in many respects amounted to scrupulous and petty fulfillment of precepts to the detriment of a living religious feeling. Then, perhaps, down with all these routine rules and rituals? Will we live only by inspiration?

And why? Yes, because inspiration is not born in a vacuum.

Even the most gifted artists and musicians have had to hone their technique of painting or playing a musical instrument for years. So in the life of the spirit a foundation is needed. It is he who is formed thanks to the habit of daily prayer, regular testing of one's conscience, penitent effort, forcing oneself to virtue. Religious life, based only on "beautiful impulses of the soul", is at best a naive dilettantism, at worst a dangerous self-delusion.

Yes, sometimes you don’t want to read the prayer rule. But it is enough to force yourself to fulfill it, and a small miracle happens - the heart is melted and kindled with the joy of prayer. As ancient Christian wisdom says: prayer is given to the one who prays. The same goes for preparing for confession. Sometimes a person is in false complacency and does not notice his sins. But it is enough to listen attentively to the voice of conscience - and repentance awakens in the soul.

Prepared by Alexandra Ershova

The volleys of champagne died down, the cries of "bitterly" fell silent ... Now we are married. And what to do next? Who will tell? Maybe online friends or parents? It's so scary to be alone with each other, especially when the first wave of love rolled back from our shore. Here you can not do without the advice of an experienced priest. Therefore, "Water of Life" decided to learn about the problems of a young family from the cleric of St. John's Monastery, confessor of the youth club "The Seagull" Archpriest Dimitry Galkin.

Checking by the registry office

-Father Dimitri, sincerely believing young people often have a maximalist attitude: why should I get married if there is a more preferable way of monasticism? How to figure out what specific person it is better?
-Monasticism requires a special inner calling, a readiness to devote oneself entirely and without reserve to God. Of course, honor and praise to the person who chooses this ministry. But, thinking about the monastic path, it is necessary to measure your strength. Before taking final decision, it makes sense to live in a monastery as a laborer, to "try on" the monastic way of life. However, marriage requires a lot of sacrifice from a person. Patience in relation to the infirmities of a spouse, colossal efforts for raising children, difficulties in organizing family life - all this is also the path of the cross. And which path is preferable?.. This is a question of questions, and a person must find the answer to it himself.

Is it possible that awareness comes after marriage?

This means that a person does not love his partner, that's all.

- That is, getting divorced for the sake of monasticism is bad?!
- You still need to decide which way to go before marriage. Otherwise, you may be a traitor. Certainly, church history knows a lot of cases when family people went to the monastery. But, as a rule, this happened by mutual agreement, when both spouses at some point in their lives realized the need to aspire to a higher spiritual life, when their children reached adulthood and all other obligations to the world were fulfilled. Let's remember Reverend Seraphim Vyritsky.

-However, what can we say about the desire for a spiritual life, if many people treat the wedding formally ... - Churched Orthodox Christians take the Sacrament of the Wedding seriously. In relation to the unchurched, I would not use the cliché: "They get married because it's fashionable." As experience shows, even couples who are very far from the Church see this Sacrament as an attempt to give their marriage some kind of fullness. Unfortunately, unchurched people tend to perceive the wedding magically, as a guarantee of good luck in the future. living together. And they are very surprised if their married marriage then falls apart. It should be recalled to this: the grace of the Sacrament is not given mechanically, but is assimilated by a person to the extent of striving for the Christian way of life. In my personal opinion, it makes sense for unchurched Christians to first marry in the registry office, and only after checking their feelings, having gone through a certain path of churching, get married. After all, participation in any Church Sacrament not only communicates grace, but also imposes a certain responsibility. But, I emphasize, this is mine. personal opinion regarding the wedding of baptized, but actually far from the Church, Christians.

-Here you are talking about checking feelings. What does it mean? After all, feelings are an ephemeral thing.
-As a rule, the word "love" denotes that strong surge of feelings that occurs in initial stage relationship between a man and a woman. But as the psychologist and philosopher Erich Fromm brilliantly showed, this is not love yet, this is just attraction. True love has yet to be born and strengthened in marriage. Attraction is a derivative of emotions and physiology, while love is sacrificial in nature and is a derivative of the will of a person. Let us remember the words of Christ: "... love one another as I have loved you" (John 15:12). And He loved us to the cross, to death. So in marriage, love is the willingness to serve each other, your family, your children.

-If the main thing is love, why do we need such a formality as civil registration?
-Christian marriage has two sides: religious and social. God's Grace for Creation family relations is bestowed in the Sacrament of the Wedding, but the family does not live in isolation, but in society. Therefore, the "stamp in the passport" is not a formality at all. This is a confession to society that we will build relationships on the basis of mutual obligations, legal responsibility and mutual love. That is why the basics social concept ROC "recognize an unmarried, but registered marriage is still a marriage. By the way, according to the norms of church life, we can only marry a registered marriage. Cohabitation without civil registration and without a wedding, we can, unfortunately, qualify as fornication. According to observations, virtually all extramarital affairs break up sooner or later. We have a catastrophe in Russia now with official marriages: they are dissolved in 50%. And relationships that are not sealed at least by civil ties are doomed to collapse. You know, it’s like a new car’s bottom is covered with anti-corrosion If this is not done, no matter how good the car is, it will rot in 2-3 years.

- And where is the line beyond which it is already impossible to avoid divorce?
- Divorce is always a tragedy, it is destruction by God this institute families. The most affected parties in a divorce are not adults at all, but their children. Therefore, the Church has always insisted on the indissolubility of marriage. The Lord Jesus Christ called adultery the only acceptable ground for divorce. In 1918 local cathedral ROC in the "Determination of the reasons for the termination of the marriage union, consecrated by the Church"recognized as such, except for adultery and the entry of one of the parties into new marriage, as well as the falling away of a spouse from Orthodoxy, unnatural vices and a number of other reasons. It seems to me that even in families in which relations between husband and wife are difficult, spouses should not look for a reason for divorce, but, on the contrary, ways to overcome family discord . And here the Church, with her saving Sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist, can be of great help. Experience shows that the churching of spouses very often helps to inspire new life in their family relationships.

Common Mistakes

-But besides this, the newlyweds in the first year lie in wait for many dangers. What are they related to?
- It makes no sense to talk about specific difficulties and mistakes in family life, if we do not ask ourselves the question: "What should be the foundation of intra-family relations?" After all, a properly laid foundation ensures the integrity of the entire building. The answer to this question can be a quote from the 1st Epistle to the Corinthians: “I also want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of the wife is the husband, and the head of Christ is God” (1 Cor. 11, 3).

- And in what sense should a man be the main one? Is such a strict subordination relevant now?
-Now many of this approach may seem anachronistic. The past 20th century is a time of very tough and consistent emancipation. Now the ideal of a well-mannered man is "a gentleman who is inferior to a lady in everything." In a significant part of young families, it is the woman who tries to take the reins of government into her own hands, and the man, willy-nilly, finds himself removed from the management of the family. As a result, a type of henpecked husband is formed, who loses responsibility for the family, is eliminated from the need to provide for it financially, take care of children and take important life decisions. At the same time, wives often reproach their husbands that they are, they say, rags, some kind of sofa-bed creatures. But do not steal power from a man! Let him feel like the head of the family, and he will break into a cake, trying to be a true creator of family life. The phrase addressed to the husband: "We will do as you decide" - has an almost magical effect. Lovely ladies with pronounced qualities of a leader! You show your leadership at work, and leave in the family the last word behind a man. Even if he makes a mistake in making this or that decision. No problem! Learn from mistakes. The main thing is that a man will feel in his place.

-Women often choose their spouse on the basis of financial solvency. But with christian point view is wrong?
- Still, the cornerstone should be put mutual love gravitation and respect for each other. The question of the financial component, I think, should be moved to a different plane. Often, young people put off getting married until they can earn a certain amount of money, buy an apartment, a car, and lay the foundation of their career. As experience shows, such motivation is crafty. A person under a plausible pretext does not want to take responsibility. But marriage is concluded for this, so that the husband and wife, realizing themselves as one, together, hand in hand, build what is called financial well-being. We are together, the rest are nearby.

-Similar questions Orthodox families often discussed on the Internet. Is it allowed to take inner life families for public discussion?
-I may seem like a retrograde, but the blogging activity of some families sometimes terrifies me. It's simply shocking when some Orthodox spouses "secretly tell the whole world" about how they quarreled yesterday and how they reconciled today. There is something unhealthy about this. As if a person, not finding the depth of mutual understanding and some kind of realization in intra-family relations, is trying to connect everyone around him to this. In family life there must be some inner space where no outsiders can enter.

-And if someone else invades this personal space, is such a feeling as jealousy acceptable?
- On the one hand, jealousy is a manifestation of a sense of ownership, on the other hand, it seeks to protect the integrity of the family, to protect it from outside encroachment. Manifestations of jealousy are terrible. It causes aggression, loss of trust between spouses, resentment and alienation. It is better not to give reasons for jealousy. Ideally, spouses are called upon to behave in such a way that it is clear to everyone around them: this is a whole family, and the third is clearly superfluous here. If one of the spouses sees that his marriage partner is jealous, he should not rejoice at this, receiving sinful sadistic pleasure, but think about the fact that he himself is a seducer. And the sin of temptation, according to the Gospel, is a very serious sin.

-Other frequent family boundary violators are parents. How actively should they participate in the life of the newlyweds? Are they always worth listening to?
- Parents should be treated with respect. They must be respected. Listen to their life experiences. But still, excessive parental care often proves to be destructive for the family. Trying to protect children from the mistakes that they still have to make in order to gain life experience, the older generation intrudes into the delicate sphere of joint life. Parents do not see the system of relationships between the newlyweds from the inside. In addition, the "syndrome of the mother-in-law (mother-in-law)" is inevitable. After all, they raised their little blood, put their whole soul into it, and now they have to give it to some barmaley!

-And what to do?
-It is best to implement a scheme of relations with parents on the principle of "living not together, but side by side." It is desirable that parents be within reach so that they can be asked for advice, asked to babysit a small child, so that the whole family can come together for festive table. But it is better for young people to build their relationships on their own. Worst of all, when one of the spouses begins to wash dirty linen in public, complaining to his father or mother about the infirmity of the second half. As a result, the parental side begins to hate their new relative. And this hatred for many years.

Interviewed by Timur Shchukin

Every time a Divine Liturgy is celebrated in the church, a priest leaves the altar before the service begins. He goes to the porch of the temple, where the people of God are already waiting for him. In his hands is the Cross - a sign of the sacrificial love of the Son of God for the human race, and the Gospel - the good news of salvation. The priest places the Cross and the Gospel on the lectern and, reverently bowing, proclaims: "Blessed is our God always, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen." Thus begins the Sacrament of Confession.

The name itself indicates that something deeply intimate takes place in this Sacrament, revealing the secret layers of the life of the individual, which in regular time the person prefers not to touch. Perhaps that is why the fear of confession is so strong among those who have never yet begun it. How long do they have to break themselves in order to approach the confessional lectern!

Useless fear!

It comes from ignorance of what actually takes place in this Sacrament. Confession is not a forcible "picking out" of sins from conscience, not an interrogation, and, moreover, not a "guilty" verdict on the sinner. Confession is the great Sacrament of the reconciliation of God and man; it is the sweetness of forgiveness of sin; it is a touching to tears manifestation of God's love for man.

We all sin a lot before God. Vanity, hostility, idle talk, ridicule, obstinacy, irritability, anger - permanent companions our life. More serious crimes lie on the conscience of almost every one of us: infanticide (abortion), adultery, turning to sorcerers and psychics, theft, enmity, revenge and much more, making us guilty of the wrath of God.

At the same time, it should be remembered that sin is not a fact in a biography that can be lightly forgotten. Sin is a "black seal" that remains on the conscience until the end of days and is not washed away by anything except the Sacrament of Repentance. Sin has a corrupting power that can cause a chain of subsequent, more serious sins.

One ascetic of piety figuratively likened sins ... to bricks. He spoke like this: "The more unrepentant sins a person has on his conscience, the thicker the wall between him and God, made up of these bricks - sins. The wall can become so thick that the life-giving grace of God ceases to reach a person, and then he experiences the spiritual and bodily consequences of sins . TO mental consequences have a dislike for individual people or society as a whole increased irritability, anger and nervousness, fears, bouts of anger, depression, the development of addictions in the personality, despondency, melancholy and despair, in extreme forms sometimes turning into suicidal tendencies. It's not neurotic at all. This is how sin works.

The bodily effects include disease. Almost all illnesses of an adult, explicitly or implicitly, are connected with the sins he has committed before.

So, in the Sacrament of Confession, a great miracle of God's mercy towards the sinner is performed. After sincere repentance of sins before God in the presence of a clergyman as a witness of repentance, while the priest is reading a permissive prayer, the Lord himself with His all-powerful right hand breaks the wall of sin-bricks into dust, and the barrier between God and man collapses.

Coming to confession, we do not repent before a priest. The priest, being himself a sinful man, is only a witness, an intermediary in the Sacrament, and the Lord God is the true Performer of the Mystery. Then why go to church? Isn't it easier to repent at home, alone before the Lord, because He hears us everywhere?

Yes, indeed, personal repentance before confession, which leads to the realization of sin, to heartfelt contrition and rejection of the offense committed, is necessary. But in itself it is not exhaustive. The final reconciliation with God, cleansing from sin is accomplished within the framework of the Sacrament of Confession without fail through the mediation of a priest. This form of the Sacrament was established by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Appearing to the apostles after his glorious Resurrection, He breathed and said to them: "... receive the Holy Spirit. To whom you forgive sins, they will be forgiven; on whom you leave, they will remain" (John 20, 22-23). Apostles, pillars ancient church power was given to remove the veil of sin from the hearts of men. From them, this power passed to their successors - church primates - bishops and priests.

In addition, the moral aspect of the Sacrament is important. It is easy to list your sins in private before the All-Knowing and Invisible God. But opening them in the presence of a third party - a priest, requires considerable effort to overcome shame, requires the crucifixion of one's sinfulness, which leads to an incomparably deeper and more serious realization of personal wrong.

The Holy Fathers call the sacrament of confession-repentance the "second baptism". It returns to us that grace and purity that were given to the newly baptized and were lost to him through sins.

The sacrament of confession-repentance is God's great mercy to humanity that is weak and prone to fall; it is a means accessible to all, leading to the salvation of the soul, which constantly falls into sins.

Throughout our lives, our spiritual garments are constantly stained with sin. They can be seen only when our clothes are white, that is, cleansed by repentance. On the clothes of an unrepentant sinner, dark from sinful dirt, stains of new and separate sins cannot be noticeable.

Therefore, we must not put off our repentance and allow our spiritual clothes to become completely soiled: this leads to a dulling of conscience and to spiritual death.

And only an attentive life and timely cleansing of sinful stains in the Sacrament of Confession can preserve the purity of our soul and the presence of the Holy Spirit of God in it.

Priest Dmitry Galkin

In the sacrament of repentance, or what is also confession, bills are torn, that is, the handwriting of our sins is destroyed, and communion of the true Body and Blood of Christ gives us the strength to be reborn spiritually.
Venerable Barsanuphius of Optina

The sacrament of confession should be resorted to as often as possible: the soul of that person who has the habit of often confessing his sins is kept from sinning by the memory of the upcoming confession; on the contrary, unconfessed sins are conveniently repeated, as if committed in the dark or at night.
Saint Ignatius (Bryanchaninov)

Portal for the student. Self-training

Checking by the registry office

Common Mistakes

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