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To help the penitent: From the works of St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov). To help the repentant Orthodoxy to help the repentant

Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov

Eight major passions with their divisions and industries

1. Gluttony

Binge eating, drunkenness, non-keeping and allowing fasts, secret eating, delicacy, and generally violation of abstinence. Incorrect and excessive love of the flesh, its belly and rest, which constitutes self-love, which leads to failure to remain faithful to God, the Church, virtue and people.

2. Fornication

Prodigal lust, prodigal sensations and attitudes of the soul and heart. Acceptance of unclean thoughts, conversation with them, delight in them, permission for them, slowness in them. Prodigal dreams and captivities. Failure to preserve the senses, especially the sense of touch, is the insolence that destroys all virtues. Foul language and reading voluptuous books. Natural prodigal sins: fornication and adultery. Prodigal sins are unnatural.

3. Love of money

The love of money, in general the love of property, movable and immovable. The desire to get rich. Reflection on means of enrichment. Dreaming of wealth. Fears of old age, unexpected poverty, illness, exile. Stinginess. Selfishness. Disbelief in God, lack of trust in his providence. Addictions or painful excessive love for various perishable objects, depriving the soul of freedom. Passion for vain concerns. Loving gifts. Appropriation of someone else's. Likhva. Cruelty towards the poor brethren and all those in need. Theft. Robbery.

4. Anger

Hot temper, acceptance of angry thoughts: dreams of anger and revenge, indignation of the heart with rage, darkening of the mind with it: obscene shouting, argument, swearing, cruel and caustic words, stress, pushing, murder. Malice, hatred, enmity, revenge, slander, condemnation, indignation and insult to one’s neighbor.

5. Sadness

Sadness, melancholy, cutting off hope in God, doubt in God’s promises, ingratitude to God for everything that happens, cowardice, impatience, lack of self-reproach, grief towards one’s neighbor, grumbling, renunciation of the cross, attempt to descend from it.

6.Despondency

Laziness towards any good deed, especially prayer. Abandonment of church and cell rules. Abandoning unceasing prayer and soul-helping reading. Inattention and haste in prayer. Neglect. Irreverence. Idleness. Excessive calming by sleeping, lying down and all kinds of restlessness. Moving from place to place. Frequent exits from cells, walks and visits with friends. Celebration. Jokes. Blasphemers. Abandonment of bows and other physical feats. Forgetting your sins. Forgetting the commandments of Christ. Negligence. Captivity. Deprivation of the fear of God. Bitterness. Insensibility. Despair.

7. Vanity

The search for human glory. Boasting. Desire and search for earthly and vain honors. Love of beautiful clothes, carriages, servants and cell things. Attention to the beauty of your face, the pleasantness of your voice and other qualities of your body. A disposition towards the dying sciences and arts of this age, a desire to succeed in them in order to acquire temporary, earthly glory. Shame to confess your sins. Hiding them before people and the spiritual father. Craftiness. Self-justification. Disclaimer. Making up your mind. Hypocrisy. Lie. Flattery. People-pleasing. Envy. Humiliation of one's neighbor. Changeability of character. Indulgence. Unconscionability. The character and life are demonic.

Such are the ailments, such are the ulcers that constitute the great ulcer of the old Adam, which was formed from his fall. The holy prophet Isaiah speaks about this great ulcer: from the feet even to the head there is no integrity in it: neither a scab, nor an ulcer, nor a scorching wound, do not apply a plaster, below the oil, below the bandage (Isa. 1, 6). This means, according to the explanation of the Fathers, that the ulcer - sin - is not private, and not on just one member, but on the entire being: it has embraced the body, embraced the soul, taken possession of all the properties, all the powers of a person. God called this great plague death when, forbidding Adam and Eve from eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he said: “If you take away one day from it, you will die.” (Genesis 2:17). Immediately after eating the forbidden fruit, the forefathers felt eternal death; a carnal feeling appeared in their gaze; they saw that they were naked. The knowledge of the nakedness of the body reflected the nakedness of the soul, which had lost the beauty of innocence on which the Holy Spirit rested. There is a carnal sensation in the eyes, and in the soul there is shame, in which is the accumulation of all sinful and shameful sensations: pride, impurity, sadness, despondency, and despair. The Great Plague is spiritual death; the decay that occurred after the loss of the Divine likeness is incorrigible! The Apostle calls the great plague the law of sin, the body of death (Rom. 5:23-24), because the mortified mind and heart have completely turned to the earth, slavishly serve the corruptible desires of the flesh, have become darkened, burdened, and become flesh themselves. This flesh is no longer capable of communicating with God! (Genesis 6:3). This flesh is not capable of inheriting eternal, heavenly bliss! (1 Cor. 4:50). The great plague spread over the entire human race and became the unfortunate property of every person.

Considering my great ulcer, looking at my mortification, I am filled with bitter sadness! I'm perplexed, what should I do? Will I follow the example of the old Adam, who, seeing his nakedness, hastens to hide from God? Will I, like him, justify myself by placing the blame on the guilt of sin? It is in vain to hide from the All-Seeing One! It is in vain to justify yourself before the One who always wins, to always judge Him (Ps. 30:6).

Instead of fig leaves, I will clothe myself with tears of repentance; Instead of justification, I will bring sincere consciousness. Clothed in repentance and tears, will I appear before the face of my God? Is it in heaven? I have been expelled from there, and the cherub standing at the entrance will not let me in! By the very burden of my flesh I am nailed to the ground, my prison!

Sinful descendant of Adam, take heart! A light has shone in your prison: God has descended into the low country of your exile to lead you to your lost highland fatherland. You wanted to know good and evil: He leaves you this knowledge. You wanted to become like God, and from this you became like the devil in your soul, like cattle and beasts in your body; God, uniting you with Himself, makes you God by grace. He forgives your sins. This is not enough! He will remove the root of evil from your soul, the very infection of sin, hell, cast into your soul by the devil, and will give you medicine for the entire path of your earthly life for healing from sin, no matter how many times you become infected with it, due to your weakness. This healing is the confession of sins. Do you want to put off the old Adam, you, who through holy baptism have already been clothed in the New Adam, but through your own iniquities managed to revive old age and death in yourself, to choke life, to make it half-dead? Do you want, enslaved to sin, drawn to it by the violence of habit, to regain your freedom and righteousness? Immerse yourself in humility! Conquer vain shame, which teaches you to hypocritically and craftily pretend to be righteous and thereby preserve and strengthen spiritual death within yourself. Cast out sin, enter into hostility with sin by sincere confession of sin. This healing must precede all others; without it, healing through prayer, tears, fasting and all other means will be insufficient, unsatisfactory, fragile. Go, proud one, to your spiritual father, at his feet find the mercy of the Heavenly Father! One, one sincere and frequent confession can free one from sinful habits, make repentance fruitful, and correction lasting and true.

In a brief moment of tenderness, in which the eyes of the mind are opened for self-knowledge, which comes so rarely, I wrote this as an accusation to myself, as an admonition, reminder, instruction. And you, who with faith and love for Christ read these lines and, perhaps, find in them something useful for yourself, bring a heartfelt sigh and prayer for the soul that has suffered much from the waves of sin, that has often seen drowning and destruction before itself, that has found rest in one refuge: in confession of one’s sins.

On the virtues opposite to the eight main sinful passions

1. Abstinence

Avoidance of excessive consumption of food and nutrition, especially excessive consumption of wine. Maintaining strict fasts established by the Church, curbing the flesh with moderate and constantly equal consumption of food, from which all passions in general begin to weaken, and especially self-love, which consists of a wordless love of the flesh, its life and peace.

2. Chastity

Avoidance of all kinds of fornication. Avoidance of voluptuous conversations and reading, from the pronunciation of voluptuous, nasty and ambiguous words. Storing the senses, especially sight and hearing, and even more so the sense of touch. Modesty. Rejection of the thoughts and dreams of prodigals. Silence. Silence. Ministry to the sick and disabled. Memories of death and hell. The beginning of chastity is a mind that does not waver from lustful thoughts and dreams; the perfection of chastity is purity that sees God.

3. Non-covetousness

Satisfying yourself with one thing necessary. Hatred of luxury and bliss. Mercy for the poor. Loving the poverty of the gospel. Trust in God's providence. Following Christ's commandments. Calmness and freedom of spirit and carelessness. Softness of heart.

4. Meekness

Avoidance of angry thoughts and indignation of the heart with rage. Patience. Following Christ, who calls His disciple to the cross. Peace of the heart. Silence of the mind. Christian firmness and courage. Not feeling insulted. Kindness.

5. Blessed cry

A feeling of decline, common to all people, and of one’s own spiritual poverty. Lamentation about them. Cry of the mind. Painful contrition of the heart. The lightness of conscience, grace-filled consolation and joy that vegetates from them. Hope in God's mercy. Thanks be to God in sorrows, their humble enduring from the sight of their many sins. Willingness to endure. Cleansing the mind. Relief from passions. Mortification of the world. The desire for prayer, solitude, obedience, humility, confession of one’s sins.

6. Sobriety

Zeal for every good deed. Non-slothful correction of church and cell rules. Attention when praying. Careful observation of all your deeds, words, thoughts and feelings. Extreme self-distrust. Continuous stay in prayer and the Word of God. Awe. Constant vigilance over oneself. Keeping yourself from a lot of sleep and effeminacy, idle talk, jokes and sharp words. Love of night vigils, bows and other feats that bring cheerfulness to the soul. Rare, if possible, departure from cells. Remembrance of eternal blessings, desire and expectation of them.

7. Humility

Fear of God. Feeling it during prayer. Fear that arises during especially pure prayer, when the presence and greatness of God is felt especially strongly, so as not to disappear and turn into nothing. Deep knowledge of one's insignificance. A change in view of neighbors, and they, without any coercion, seem to the humbled person to be superior to him in all respects. The manifestation of simplicity from living faith. Hatred of human praise. Constant blaming and beating yourself up. Rightness and directness. Impartiality. Deadness to everything. Tenderness. Knowledge of the mystery hidden in the Cross of Christ. The desire to crucify oneself to the world and passions, the desire for this crucifixion. Rejection and oblivion of flattering customs and words, modest due to compulsion or intent, or the skill of pretending. Perception of the riot of the gospel. Rejection of earthly wisdom as unbecoming before God (Luke 16:15). Leaving word justification. Silence before those who offend, studied in the Gospel. Putting aside all your own speculations and accepting the mind of the Gospel. The casting down of every thought placed upon the mind of Christ. Humility or spiritual reasoning. Conscious obedience to the Church in everything.

8. Love

Changing during prayer the fear of God into the love of God. Loyalty to the Lord, proven by the constant rejection of every sinful thought and feeling. The indescribable, sweet attraction of the whole person with love for the Lord Jesus Christ and for the worshiped Holy Trinity. Seeing the image of God and Christ in others; resulting from this spiritual vision, the preference for oneself over all neighbors, their reverent veneration for the Lord. Love for neighbors is brotherly, pure, equal to everyone, joyful, impartial, flaming equally towards friends and enemies. Admiration for prayer and love of the mind, heart and whole body. Indescribable pleasure of the body with spiritual joy. Spiritual intoxication. Relaxation of bodily members with spiritual consolation (St. Isaac of Syria. Sermon 44). Inactivity of the bodily senses during prayer. Resolution from the muteness of the heart's tongue. Stopping prayer from spiritual sweetness. Silence of the mind. Enlightening the mind and heart. Prayer power that overcomes sin. Peace of Christ. Retreat of all passions. The absorption of all understandings into the superior mind of Christ. Theology. Knowledge of incorporeal beings. The weakness of sinful thoughts that cannot be imagined in the mind.
Sweetness and abundant consolation in times of sorrow. Vision of human structures. The depth of humility and the most humiliating opinion of oneself... The end is endless!

Add-ons from various sources

The shortest confession

Sins against the Lord God

Belief in dreams, fortune telling, meetings and other signs. Doubts about faith. Laziness towards prayer and absent-mindedness during it. Not going to Church, long absence from confession and Holy Communion. Hypocrisy in Divine Worship. Blasphemy or just murmuring against God in the soul and in words. The intention to raise your hands. In vain. An unfulfilled promise to God. Blasphemy of the sacred. Anger with mention of evil spirits (trait). Eating or drinking on Sundays and holidays before the end of the Liturgy. Violation of fasts or inaccurate observance of them is a work issue on holidays.

Sins against one's neighbor

Lack of diligence in one's position or one's work in the dormitory. Disrespect for superiors or elders. Failure to fulfill a promise to a person. Non-payment of debts. Taking by force or secret appropriation of someone else's property. Stinginess in alms. Personal insult to one's neighbor. Gossip. Slander. Cursing others. Unnecessary suspicions. Failure to protect an innocent person or a just cause with loss for them. Murder. Disrespect for parents. Failure to look after children with Christian care. Anger is hostility in family or home life.

Sins against yourself

Idle or bad thoughts in the soul. Desires evil for one's neighbor. Falsity of words, speech. Irritability. Obstinacy or pride. Envy. Hard-heartedness. Sensitivity to upsets or insults. Vengeance. Love of money. Passion for pleasure. Foul language. The songs are seductive. Drunkenness and heavy eating. Fornication. Adultery. Unnatural fornication. Not fixing your life.

Of all these sins against the Ten Commandments of God, some, reaching the highest stage of development in a person, passing into vicious states and hardening his heart with unrepentance, are recognized as especially serious and contrary to God.

Mortal sins, that is, those that make a person guilty of eternal death or destruction

1. Pride, despising everyone, demanding servility from others, ready to ascend to heaven and become like the Most High: in a word - pride to the point of self-adoration.

2. Love of money. An insatiable soul, or Judas’s greed for money, mostly combined with unrighteous acquisitions, not allowing a person even a moment to think about spiritual things.

3. Gluttony or carnality, not knowing any fasting, combined with a passionate attachment to various amusements, following the example of the Evangelical rich man, who had fun all day long.

4. Fornication. Fornication, or the dissolute life of the prodigal son, who squandered all his father’s estate on such a life.

5. Envy, leading to every possible crime against one’s neighbor.

6. Vanity is the desire for vain, that is, vain, empty glory.

7. Irreconcilable anger and resolving to terrible destruction, following the example of Herod, who in his anger beat the infants of Bethlehem. Grudge.

8. Sadness. Dejection. Laziness, or complete carelessness about the soul, carelessness about repentance until the last days of life, such as in the days of Noah.

Sins of Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit

Excessive trust in God or continuation of a gravely sinful life in the sole hope of God’s mercy.
Despair or the feeling opposite to excessive trust in God in relation to God’s mercy, which denies the fatherly goodness in God and leads to thoughts of suicide.
Stubborn unbelief, not convinced by any evidence of truth, even obvious miracles, rejecting the most established truth.

Sins crying out to heaven for vengeance

In general, intentional homicide (abortion), and especially parricide (fratricide and regicide).
Sin of Sodom.
Unnecessary oppression of a poor, defenseless person, a defenseless widow and young orphans.
Withholding from a wretched worker the wages he deserves.
Taking away from a person in his extreme situation the last piece of bread or the last mite, which he obtained with sweat and blood, as well as the forcible or secret appropriation of alms, food, warmth or clothing from prisoners in prison, which are determined by him, and generally oppressing them.
Sadness and insults to parents to the point of daring beatings.

Confession

I confess that I am a great sinner (name) to the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ and to you, honorable father, all my sins and all my evil deeds, which I have done in all the days of my life, which I have thought even to this day.

He sinned: he did not keep the vows of Holy Baptism, he did not keep his monastic promise, but he lied about everything and created indecent things for himself before the Face of God.
Forgive us, Merciful Lord (for the people.
Forgive me, honest father (for singles).

I sinned: before the Lord by lack of faith and sluggishness in thoughts, all from the enemy against faith and the Holy. Churches; ingratitude for all His great and unceasing benefits, calling on the name of God without need - in vain.
Forgive me, honest father.

I sinned: lack of love for the Lord below fear, failure to fulfill the holy. His will and St. commandments, careless depiction of the sign of the cross, irreverent veneration of St. icons; did not wear a cross, was ashamed to baptize and confess the Lord.
Forgive me, honest father.

I sinned: I did not preserve love for my neighbor, did not feed the hungry and thirsty, did not clothe the naked, did not visit the sick and prisoners in prison; the law of God and St. I did not learn the traditions of my fathers out of laziness and negligence.
Forgive me, honest father.

I sinned: by not fulfilling church and cell rules, by going to the temple of God without diligence, with laziness and negligence; leaving morning, evening and other prayers; during a church service - he sinned by idle talk, laughter, dozing, inattention to reading and singing, absent-mindedness, leaving the temple during the service and not going to the temple of God due to laziness and negligence.
Forgive me, honest father.

I sinned: by daring to go to the temple of God in uncleanness and touch all holy things.
Forgive me, honest father.

Sinned: by not honoring the feasts of God; violation of St. posts and non-storage. fast days - Wednesday and Friday; intemperance in food and drink, polyeating, secret eating, disordered eating, drunkenness, dissatisfaction with food and drink, clothing, parasitism (tune - for nothing, illegally; poison - eating, eating bread for nothing).
One’s own will and reason through fulfillment, self-righteousness, self-indulgence and self-justification; undue reverence for parents, failure to raise children in the Orthodox faith, cursing their children and their neighbors.
Forgive me, honest father.

Sinned by: unbelief, superstition, doubt, despair, despondency, blasphemy, false religion, dancing, smoking, playing cards, fortune telling, witchcraft, sorcery, gossip, remembering the living for their repose, eating the blood of animals (Ecumenical Council, 67 canon. Act of the Apostles , 15 chapters).
Forgive me, honest father.

I sinned: pride, conceit, arrogance, self-love, ambition, envy, conceit, suspicion, irritability.
Forgive me, honest father.

I sinned: by condemning all people - living and dead, by slander and anger, by malicious malice, hatred, evil for evil, retribution, slander, reproach, wickedness, laziness, deception, hypocrisy, gossip, disputes, stubbornness, unwillingness to give in and serve one's neighbor; sinned with gloating, malice, malice, insult, ridicule, reproach and man-pleasing.
Forgive me, honest father.

Sinned: incontinence of mental and physical feelings; spiritual and physical impurity, pleasure and procrastination in unclean thoughts, addiction, voluptuousness, immodest views of wives and young men; in a dream, prodigal desecration at night, intemperance in married life.
Forgive me, honest father.

I sinned: by impatience with illnesses and sorrows, by loving the comforts of this life, by captivity of the mind and hardening of the heart, by not forcing myself to do any good deed.
Forgive me, honest father.

I sinned: by inattention to the promptings of my conscience, negligence, laziness in reading the word of God and negligence in acquiring the Jesus Prayer. I sinned through covetousness, love of money, unrighteous acquisition, embezzlement, theft, stinginess, attachment to various kinds of things and people.
Forgive me, honest father.

I sinned: by condemning and disobeying my spiritual fathers, by murmuring and resenting them and by not confessing my sins to them through oblivion, negligence and false shame.
Forgive me, honest father.

Sinned: by unmercifulness, contempt and condemnation of the poor; going to the temple of God without fear and reverence, deviating into heresy and sectarian teaching.
Forgive me, honest father.

Sinned: by laziness, relaxation, love of bodily rest, excessive sleeping, voluptuous dreams, biased views, shameless body movements, touching, fornication, adultery, corruption, masturbation, unmarried marriages, those who performed abortions on themselves or others, or persuaded someone, gravely sinned. something to this great sin - infanticide. He spent his time in empty and idle pursuits, in empty conversations, jokes, laughter and other shameful sins.
Forgive me, honest father.

I sinned: despondency, cowardice, impatience, murmuring, despair of salvation, lack of hope in God’s mercy, insensibility, ignorance, arrogance, shamelessness.
Forgive me, honest father.

I sinned: by slandering my neighbor, anger, insult, irritation and ridicule, non-reconciliation, enmity and hatred, dissent, spying on other people's sins and eavesdropping on other people's conversations.
Forgive me, honest father.

I sinned: by coldness and insensitivity in confession, by belittling sins, by blaming others rather than by condemning myself.
Forgive me, honest father.

I sinned: against the Life-giving and Holy Mysteries of Christ, approaching Them without proper preparation, without contrition and the fear of God.
Forgive me, honest father.

I sinned: in word, in thought and with all my senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch - voluntarily or involuntarily, knowledge or ignorance, in reason and unreason, and it is not possible to list all my sins according to their multitude. But in all of these, as well as in those unspeakable through oblivion, I repent and regret, and henceforth, with the help of God, I promise to take care.

You, honest father, forgive me and release me from all of this and pray for me, a sinner, and on that day of judgment testify before God about the sins I have confessed. Amen.

Sins confessed and resolved earlier should not be repeated in confession, for they, as the Holy Church teaches, have already been forgiven, but if we repeated them again, then we need to repent of them again. We must repent of those sins that were forgotten, but are now remembered.

Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov
Excerpts from the treatise “Ascetic Experiences”

Jesus Christ and John the Baptist began their sermons with the words: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17, Matthew 3:2). Repentance (in Greek - metanoia, literally: “change of mind”) is a theological term that in Christianity means the sinner’s awareness of his sins before God. The result of repentance is the decision to renounce sin.

Eight main passions

1. Gluttony
Binge eating, drunkenness, non-keeping and allowing fasts, secret eating, delicacy, and generally violation of abstinence. Incorrect and excessive love of the flesh, its belly and rest, which constitutes self-love, which leads to failure to remain faithful to God, the Church, virtue and people.
2. Fornication
Prodigal lust, prodigal sensations and attitudes of the soul and heart. Acceptance of unclean thoughts, conversation with them, delight in them, permission for them, slowness in them. Prodigal dreams and captivities. Failure to preserve the senses, especially the sense of touch, is the insolence that destroys all virtues. Foul language and reading voluptuous books. Natural prodigal sins: fornication and adultery. Prodigal sins are unnatural.
3. Love of money
The love of money, in general the love of property, movable and immovable. The desire to get rich. Reflection on means of enrichment. Dreaming of wealth. Fears of old age, unexpected poverty, illness, exile. Stinginess. Selfishness. Disbelief in God, lack of trust in his providence. Addictions or painful excessive love for various perishable objects, depriving the soul of freedom. Passion for vain concerns. Loving gifts. Appropriation of someone else's. Likhva. Cruelty towards the poor brethren and all those in need. Theft. Robbery.
4. Anger
Hot temper, acceptance of angry thoughts: dreams of anger and revenge, indignation of the heart with rage, darkening of the mind with it: obscene shouting, argument, swearing, cruel and caustic words, stress, pushing, murder. Malice, hatred, enmity, revenge, slander, condemnation, indignation and insult to one’s neighbor.
5. Sadness
Sadness, melancholy, cutting off hope in God, doubt in God’s promises, ingratitude to God for everything that happens, cowardice, impatience, lack of self-reproach, grief towards one’s neighbor, grumbling, renunciation of the cross, attempt to descend from it.
6.Despondency
Laziness towards any good deed, especially prayer. Abandonment of church and cell rules. Abandoning unceasing prayer and soul-helping reading. Inattention and haste in prayer. Neglect. Irreverence. Idleness. Excessive calming by sleeping, lying down and all kinds of restlessness. Moving from place to place. Frequent exits from cells, walks and visits with friends. Celebration. Jokes. Blasphemers. Abandonment of bows and other physical feats. Forgetting your sins. Forgetting the commandments of Christ. Negligence. Captivity. Deprivation of the fear of God. Bitterness. Insensibility. Despair.
7. Vanity
The search for human glory. Boasting. Desire and search for earthly and vain honors. Love of beautiful clothes, carriages, servants and cell things. Attention to the beauty of your face, the pleasantness of your voice and other qualities of your body. A disposition towards the dying sciences and arts of this age, a desire to succeed in them in order to acquire temporary, earthly glory. Shame to confess your sins. Hiding them before people and the spiritual father. Craftiness. Self-justification. Disclaimer. Making up your mind. Hypocrisy. Lie. Flattery. People-pleasing. Envy. Humiliation of one's neighbor. Changeability of character. Indulgence. Unconscionability. The character and life are demonic.
8. Pride
Contempt for one's neighbor. Preferring yourself to everyone. Insolence. Darkness, dullness of the mind and heart. Nailing them to the earthly. Hula. Disbelief. False mind. Disobedience to the Law of God and the Church. Following your carnal will. Reading books that are heretical, depraved and vain. Disobedience to authorities. Caustic ridicule. Abandonment of Christ-like humility and silence. Loss of simplicity. Loss of love for God and neighbor. False philosophy. Heresy. Godlessness. Ignorance. Death of the soul.
Such are the ailments, such are the ulcers that constitute the great ulcer of the old Adam, which was formed from his fall. The holy prophet Isaiah speaks about this great ulcer: from the feet even to the head there is no integrity in it: neither a scab, nor an ulcer, nor a scorching wound, do not apply a plaster, below the oil, below the bandage (Isa. 1, 6). This means, according to the explanation of the Fathers, that the ulcer - sin - is not private, and not on just one member, but on the entire being: it has embraced the body, embraced the soul, taken possession of all the properties, all the powers of a person. God called this great plague death when, forbidding Adam and Eve from eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he said: “If you take away one day from it, you will die.” (Genesis 2:17). Immediately after eating the forbidden fruit, the forefathers felt eternal death; a carnal feeling appeared in their gaze; they saw that they were naked. The knowledge of the nakedness of the body reflected the nakedness of the soul, which had lost the beauty of innocence on which the Holy Spirit rested. There is a carnal sensation in the eyes, and in the soul there is shame, in which is the accumulation of all sinful and shameful sensations: pride, impurity, sadness, despondency, and despair. The Great Plague is spiritual death; the decay that occurred after the loss of the Divine likeness is incorrigible! The Apostle calls the great plague the law of sin, the body of death (Rom. 5:23-24), because the mortified mind and heart have completely turned to the earth, slavishly serve the corruptible desires of the flesh, have become darkened, burdened, and become flesh themselves. This flesh is no longer capable of communicating with God! (Genesis 6:3). This flesh is not capable of inheriting eternal, heavenly bliss! (1 Cor. 4:50). The great plague spread over the entire human race and became the unfortunate property of every person.
Considering my great ulcer, looking at my mortification, I am filled with bitter sadness! I'm perplexed, what should I do? Will I follow the example of the old Adam, who, seeing his nakedness, hastens to hide from God? Will I, like him, justify myself by placing the blame on the guilt of sin? It is in vain to hide from the All-Seeing One! It is in vain to justify yourself before the One who always wins, to always judge Him (Ps. 30:6).
Instead of fig leaves, I will clothe myself with tears of repentance; Instead of justification, I will bring sincere consciousness. Clothed in repentance and tears, will I appear before the face of my God? Is it in heaven? I have been expelled from there, and the cherub standing at the entrance will not let me in! By the very burden of my flesh I am nailed to the ground, my prison!
Sinful descendant of Adam, take heart! A light has shone in your prison: God has descended into the low country of your exile to lead you to your lost highland fatherland. You wanted to know good and evil: He leaves you this knowledge. You wanted to become like God, and from this you became like the devil in your soul, like cattle and beasts in your body; God, uniting you with Himself, makes you God by grace. He forgives your sins. This is not enough! He will remove the root of evil from your soul, the very infection of sin, hell, cast into your soul by the devil, and will give you medicine for the entire path of your earthly life for healing from sin, no matter how many times you become infected with it, due to your weakness. This healing is the confession of sins. Do you want to put off the old Adam, you, who through holy baptism have already been clothed in the New Adam, but through your own iniquities managed to revive old age and death in yourself, to choke life, to make it half-dead? Do you want, enslaved to sin, drawn to it by the violence of habit, to regain your freedom and righteousness? Immerse yourself in humility! Conquer vain shame, which teaches you to hypocritically and craftily pretend to be righteous and thereby preserve and strengthen spiritual death within yourself. Cast out sin, enter into hostility with sin by sincere confession of sin. This healing must precede all others; without it, healing through prayer, tears, fasting and all other means will be insufficient, unsatisfactory, fragile. Go, proud one, to your spiritual father, at his feet find the mercy of the Heavenly Father! One, one sincere and frequent confession can free one from sinful habits, make repentance fruitful, and correction lasting and true.
In a brief moment of tenderness, in which the eyes of the mind are opened for self-knowledge, which comes so rarely, I wrote this as an accusation to myself, as an admonition, reminder, instruction. And you, who with faith and love for Christ read these lines and, perhaps, find in them something useful for yourself, bring a heartfelt sigh and prayer for the soul that has suffered much from the waves of sin, that has often seen drowning and destruction before itself, that has found rest in one refuge: in confession of one’s sins.

On the virtues opposite to the eight main sinful passions

1. Abstinence

2. Chastity

3. Non-covetousness

4. Meekness

5. Blessed cry

A feeling of decline, common to all people, and of one’s own spiritual poverty. Lamentation about them. Cry of the mind. Painful contrition of the heart. The lightness of conscience, grace-filled consolation and joy that vegetates from them. Hope in God's mercy. Thanks be to God in sorrows, their humble enduring from the sight of their many sins. Willingness to endure. Cleansing the mind. Relief from passions. Mortification of the world. The desire for prayer, solitude, obedience, humility, confession of one’s sins.

6. Sobriety

7. Humility

8. Love

Add-ons from various sources

The shortest confession

Sins against the Lord God
Belief in dreams, fortune telling, meetings and other signs. Doubts about faith. Laziness towards prayer and absent-mindedness during it. Not going to Church, long absence from confession and Holy Communion. Hypocrisy in Divine Worship. Blasphemy or just murmuring against God in the soul and in words. The intention to raise your hands. In vain. An unfulfilled promise to God. Blasphemy of the sacred. Anger with mention of evil spirits (trait). Eating or drinking on Sundays and holidays before the end of the Liturgy. Violation of fasts or inaccurate observance of them is a work issue on holidays.
Sins against one's neighbor
Lack of diligence in one's position or one's work in the dormitory. Disrespect for superiors or elders. Failure to fulfill a promise to a person. Non-payment of debts. Taking by force or secret appropriation of someone else's property. Stinginess in alms. Personal insult to one's neighbor. Gossip. Slander. Cursing others. Unnecessary suspicions. Failure to protect an innocent person or a just cause with loss for them. Murder. Disrespect for parents. Failure to look after children with Christian care. Anger is hostility in family or home life.
Sins against yourself
Idle or bad thoughts in the soul. Desires evil for one's neighbor. Falsity of words, speech. Irritability. Obstinacy or pride. Envy. Hard-heartedness. Sensitivity to upsets or insults. Vengeance. Love of money. Passion for pleasure. Foul language. The songs are seductive. Drunkenness and heavy eating. Fornication. Adultery. Unnatural fornication. Not fixing your life.
Of all these sins against the Ten Commandments of God, some, reaching the highest stage of development in a person, passing into vicious states and hardening his heart with unrepentance, are recognized as especially serious and contrary to God.
Mortal sins, that is, those that make a person guilty of eternal death or destruction
1. Pride, despising everyone, demanding servility from others, ready to ascend to heaven and become like the Most High: in a word - pride to the point of self-adoration.
2. An insatiable soul, or Judas’s greed for money, combined for the most part with unrighteous acquisitions, not allowing a person even a minute to think about spiritual things.
3. Fornication, or the dissolute life of the prodigal son, who squandered all his father’s estate on such a life.
4. Envy, leading to every possible crime against one’s neighbor.
5. Gluttony or carnal knowledge, not knowing any fasting, combined with a passionate attachment to various amusements, following the example of the Evangelical rich man, who had fun all day long.
6. Uncompromising anger and resolving to terrible destruction, following the example of Herod, who in his anger beat the Bethlehem babies.
7. Laziness, or complete carelessness about the soul, carelessness about repentance until the last days of life, such as in the days of Noah.
Sins of Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit
Excessive trust in God or continuation of a gravely sinful life in the sole hope of God’s mercy.
Despair or the feeling opposite to excessive trust in God in relation to God’s mercy, which denies the fatherly goodness in God and leads to thoughts of suicide.
Stubborn unbelief, not convinced by any evidence of truth, even obvious miracles, rejecting the most established truth.
Sins crying out to heaven for vengeance
In general, intentional homicide (abortion), and especially parricide (fratricide and regicide).
Sin of Sodom.
Unnecessary oppression of a poor, defenseless person, a defenseless widow and young orphans.
Withholding from a wretched worker the wages he deserves.
Taking away from a person in his extreme situation the last piece of bread or the last mite, which he obtained with sweat and blood, as well as the forcible or secret appropriation of alms, food, warmth or clothing from prisoners in prison, which are determined by him, and generally oppressing them.
Sadness and insults to parents to the point of daring beatings.
The end and glory to God.
Confession
I confess that I am a great sinner (name) to the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ and to you, honorable father, all my sins and all my evil deeds, which I have done in all the days of my life, which I have thought even to this day.
He sinned: he did not keep the vows of Holy Baptism, he did not keep his monastic promise, but he lied about everything and created indecent things for himself before the Face of God.
Forgive us, Merciful Lord (for the people).
Forgive me, honest father (for singles).
I sinned: before the Lord by lack of faith and sluggishness in thoughts, all from the enemy against faith and the Holy. Churches; ingratitude for all His great and unceasing benefits, calling on the name of God without need - in vain.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: lack of love for the Lord below fear, failure to fulfill the holy. His will and St. commandments, careless depiction of the sign of the cross, irreverent veneration of St. icons; did not wear a cross, was ashamed to baptize and confess the Lord.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: I did not preserve love for my neighbor, did not feed the hungry and thirsty, did not clothe the naked, did not visit the sick and prisoners in prison; the law of God and St. I did not learn the traditions of my fathers out of laziness and negligence.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: by not fulfilling church and cell rules, by going to the temple of God without diligence, with laziness and negligence; leaving morning, evening and other prayers; during a church service - he sinned by idle talk, laughter, dozing, inattention to reading and singing, absent-mindedness, leaving the temple during the service and not going to the temple of God due to laziness and negligence.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: by daring to go to the temple of God in uncleanness and touch all holy things.
Forgive me, honest father.
Sinned: by not honoring the feasts of God; violation of St. posts and non-storage. fast days - Wednesday and Friday; intemperance in food and drink, polyeating, secret eating, disordered eating, drunkenness, dissatisfaction with food and drink, clothing, parasitism (tune - for free, illegally; poison - eating, eating bread for free);
One’s own will and reason through fulfillment, self-righteousness, self-indulgence and self-justification; undue reverence for parents, failure to raise children in the Orthodox faith, cursing their children and their neighbors.
Forgive me, honest father.
Sinned by: unbelief, superstition, doubt, despair, despondency, blasphemy, false worship, dancing, smoking, playing cards, fortune telling, witchcraft, sorcery, gossip, commemorating the living for their repose, eating the blood of animals Ecumenical Council, canon 67. Acts of the Apostles, ch. 15. .
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: pride, conceit, arrogance, self-love, ambition, envy, conceit, suspicion, irritability.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: by condemning all people - living and dead, by slander and anger, by malicious malice, hatred, evil for evil, retribution, slander, reproach, wickedness, laziness, deception, hypocrisy, gossip, disputes, stubbornness, unwillingness to give in and serve one's neighbor; sinned with gloating, malice, malice, insult, ridicule, reproach and man-pleasing.
Forgive me, honest father.
Sinned: incontinence of mental and physical feelings; spiritual and physical impurity, pleasure and procrastination in unclean thoughts, addiction, voluptuousness, immodest views of wives and young men; in a dream, prodigal desecration at night, intemperance in married life.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: by impatience with illnesses and sorrows, by loving the comforts of this life, by captivity of the mind and hardening of the heart, by not forcing myself to do any good deed.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: by inattention to the promptings of my conscience, negligence, laziness in reading the word of God and negligence in acquiring the Jesus Prayer. I sinned through covetousness, love of money, unrighteous acquisition, embezzlement, theft, stinginess, attachment to various kinds of things and people.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: by condemning and disobeying my spiritual fathers, by murmuring and resenting them and by not confessing my sins to them through oblivion, negligence and false shame.
Forgive me, honest father.
Sinned: by unmercifulness, contempt and condemnation of the poor; going to the temple of God without fear and reverence, deviating into heresy and sectarian teaching.
Forgive me, honest father.
Sinned: by laziness, relaxation, love of bodily rest, excessive sleeping, voluptuous dreams, biased views, shameless body movements, touching, fornication, adultery, corruption, masturbation, unmarried marriages, those who performed abortions on themselves or others, or persuaded someone, gravely sinned. something to this great sin - infanticide. He spent his time in empty and idle pursuits, in empty conversations, jokes, laughter and other shameful sins.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: despondency, cowardice, impatience, murmuring, despair of salvation, lack of hope in God’s mercy, insensibility, ignorance, arrogance, shamelessness.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: by slandering my neighbor, anger, insult, irritation and ridicule, non-reconciliation, enmity and hatred, dissent, spying on other people's sins and eavesdropping on other people's conversations.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: by coldness and insensitivity in confession, by belittling sins, by blaming others rather than by condemning myself.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: against the Life-giving and Holy Mysteries of Christ, approaching Them without proper preparation, without contrition and the fear of God.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: in word, in thought and with all my senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch - voluntarily or involuntarily, knowledge or ignorance, in reason and unreason, and it is not possible to list all my sins according to their multitude. But in all of these, as well as in those unspeakable through oblivion, I repent and regret, and henceforth, with the help of God, I promise to take care.
You, honest father, forgive me and release me from all of this and pray for me, a sinner, and on that day of judgment testify before God about the sins I have confessed. Amen.
The end and glory to God.
Sins confessed and resolved earlier should not be repeated in confession, for they, as the Holy Church teaches, have already been forgiven, but if we repeated them again, then we need to repent of them again. We must repent of those sins that were forgotten, but are now remembered.
The repentant is required to:
Consciousness of one's sins. Condemning yourself in them. Self-accusation before the confessor. Repentance is not only in word, but also in deed. Repentance is correction—new life. Contrition and tears. Belief in the forgiveness of sins. Hate past sins. The fight against sin attracts the grace of God. Sins shorten our lives...

Eight major passions with their divisions and industries

1. Gluttony

2. Fornication

3. Love of money

4. Anger

Hot temper, acceptance of angry thoughts: dreams of anger and revenge, indignation of the heart with rage, darkening of the mind with it: obscene shouting, argument, swearing, cruel and caustic words, stress, pushing, murder. Malice, hatred, enmity, revenge, slander, condemnation, indignation and insult to one’s neighbor.

5. Sadness

Sadness, melancholy, cutting off hope in God, doubt in God’s promises, ingratitude to God for everything that happens, cowardice, impatience, lack of self-reproach, grief towards one’s neighbor, grumbling, renunciation of the cross, attempt to descend from it.

6.Despondency

7. Vanity

The search for human glory. Boasting. Desire and search for earthly and vain honors. Love of beautiful clothes, carriages, servants and cell things. Attention to the beauty of your face, the pleasantness of your voice and other qualities of your body. A disposition towards the dying sciences and arts of this age, a desire to succeed in them in order to acquire temporary, earthly glory. Shame to confess your sins. Hiding them before people and the spiritual father. Craftiness. Self-justification. Disclaimer. Making up your mind. Hypocrisy. Lie. Flattery. People-pleasing. Envy. Humiliation of one's neighbor. Changeability of character. Indulgence. Unconscionability. The character and life are demonic.

8. Pride

Contempt for one's neighbor. Preferring yourself to everyone. Insolence. Darkness, dullness of the mind and heart. Nailing them to the earthly. Hula. Disbelief. False mind. Disobedience to the Law of God and the Church. Following your carnal will. Reading books that are heretical, depraved and vain. Disobedience to authorities. Caustic ridicule. Abandonment of Christ-like humility and silence. Loss of simplicity. Loss of love for God and neighbor. False philosophy. Heresy. Godlessness. Ignorance. Death of the soul.

Such are the ailments, such are the ulcers that constitute the great ulcer of the old Adam, which was formed from his fall. The holy prophet Isaiah speaks about this great plague: “from the feet even to the head there is no integrity in it: neither a scab, nor an ulcer, nor a burning wound, do not apply a plaster, below the oil, below the bandage”(Is. 1 :6 ) . This means, according to the explanation of the Fathers, that the ulcer - sin - is not private, and not on just one member, but on the entire being: it has embraced the body, embraced the soul, taken possession of all the properties, all the powers of a person. God called this great plague death when, forbidding Adam and Eve from eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he said: "In the onzhe moreover If you take a day from it, you will die.” (Life 2 :17 ) . Immediately after eating the forbidden fruit, the forefathers felt eternal death; a carnal feeling appeared in their gaze; they saw that they were naked. The knowledge of the nakedness of the body reflected the nakedness of the soul, which had lost the beauty of innocence on which the Holy Spirit rested. There is a carnal sensation in the eyes, and in the soul there is shame, in which is the accumulation of all sinful and shameful sensations: pride, impurity, sadness, despondency, and despair. The Great Plague is spiritual death; the decay that occurred after the loss of the Divine likeness is incorrigible! The Apostle calls the great plague the law of sin, the body of death (Rome. 7 :23–24 ) , because the mortified mind and heart have completely turned to the earth, slavishly serve the corruptible desires of the flesh, they have become darkened, burdened, and become flesh themselves. This flesh is no longer capable of communicating with God! (Life 6 :3 ) . This flesh is not capable of inheriting eternal, heavenly bliss! (1 Cor. 15 :50 ) . The great plague spread over the entire human race and became the unfortunate property of every person.

Considering my great ulcer, looking at my mortification, I am filled with bitter sadness! I'm perplexed, what should I do? Will I follow the example of the old Adam, who, seeing his nakedness, hastens to hide from God? Will I, like him, justify myself by placing the blame on the guilt of sin? It is in vain to hide from the All-Seeing One! It is in vain to make excuses before the One who always wins, “never to judge” Him (Ps. 50 :6 ) .

On the virtues opposite to the eight main sinful passions

1. Abstinence

Avoidance of excessive consumption of food and nutrition, especially excessive consumption of wine. Keeping strict fasts established by the Church, curbing the flesh with moderate and constantly equal consumption of food, from which all passions in general begin to weaken, and especially self-love, which consists in the wordless love of the flesh, its life and peace.

2. Chastity

3. Non-covetousness

4. Meekness

5. Blessed cry

6. Sobriety

7. Humility

Fear of God. Feeling it during prayer. Fear that arises during especially pure prayer, when the presence and greatness of God is felt especially strongly, so as not to disappear and turn into nothing. Deep knowledge of one's insignificance. A change in view of neighbors, and they, without any coercion, seem to the humbled person to be superior to him in all respects. The manifestation of simplicity from living faith. Hatred of human praise. Constant blaming and beating yourself up. Rightness and directness. Impartiality. Deadness to everything. Tenderness. Knowledge of the mystery hidden in the Cross of Christ. The desire to crucify oneself to the world and passions, the desire for this crucifixion. Rejection and oblivion of flattering customs and words, modest due to compulsion or intent, or the skill of pretending. Perception of the riot of the gospel. Rejection of earthly wisdom as obscene before God (OK. 16 :15 ) . Leaving word justification. Silence before those who offend, studied in the Gospel. Putting aside all your own speculations and accepting the mind of the Gospel. The casting down of every thought placed upon the mind of Christ. Humility or spiritual reasoning. Conscious obedience to the Church in everything.

Changing during prayer the fear of God into the love of God. Loyalty to the Lord, proven by the constant rejection of every sinful thought and feeling. The indescribable, sweet attraction of the whole person with love for the Lord Jesus Christ and for the worshiped Holy Trinity. Seeing the image of God and Christ in others; resulting from this spiritual vision, the preference for oneself over all neighbors, their reverent veneration for the Lord. Love for neighbors is brotherly, pure, equal to everyone, joyful, impartial, flaming equally towards friends and enemies. Admiration for prayer and love of the mind, heart and whole body. Indescribable pleasure of the body with spiritual joy. Spiritual intoxication. Relaxation of bodily members with spiritual consolation. Inactivity of the bodily senses during prayer. Resolution from the muteness of the heart's tongue. Stopping prayer from spiritual sweetness. Silence of the mind. Enlightening the mind and heart. Prayer power that overcomes sin. Peace of Christ. Retreat of all passions. The absorption of all understandings into the superior mind of Christ. Theology. Knowledge of incorporeal beings. The weakness of sinful thoughts that cannot be imagined in the mind.

Sweetness and abundant consolation in times of sorrow. Vision of human structures. The depth of humility and the most humiliating opinion of oneself... The end is endless!

Add-ons from various sources

The shortest confession

Sins against the Lord God

Sins against one's neighbor

Sins against yourself

Mortal sins , that is, making a person guilty of eternal death or destruction:

About knowing God: No matter how much we study, it is still impossible to know the Lord if we do not live according to His commandments, for the Lord is known not by science, but by the Holy Spirit. Many philosophers and scientists have come to believe that God exists, but they have not known God. And we, monks, study the law of the Lord day and night, but not everyone has come to know God, even though they believe. It is one thing to believe that God exists, and another thing to know God (Elder Silouan).

About prayer: If our prayers are not immediately heard, it means that the Lord does not want what we want to happen to us, but what He wants. In this case, He desires and prepares for us something greater and better than what we ask of Him in prayer. Therefore, every prayer must be ended with contrition: Thy will be done.

About the importance of reading: The Word of God is food for soul and body. It is the duty of a Christian every day - I will not go to bed unless I read:

Thy Mystical Supper this day, O Son of God, accept me as a partaker; I will not tell your enemies the secret, nor give you a kiss like Judas, but like a thief I will confess to you: remember me, O Lord, in your kingdom.

May the communion of Your Holy Mysteries be not for judgment or condemnation for me, Lord, but for the healing of soul and body. Amen.

St. Isaac of Syria. Word 44

Ignatius (Brianchaninov), St.

Bishop Ignatius (Brianchaninov) (1807-1867) is a famous Russian ascetic and spiritual writer of the 19th century. His works, published during the life of the Saint, attract attention with their deep knowledge of the Holy Scriptures and the works of the Holy Fathers of the Orthodox Church, creatively revised and meaningful in relation to the spiritual needs of our time. Written, moreover, with extraordinary literary skill, the works of the Saint represent a valuable guide for everyone who wants to walk the narrow and thorny path of experimental knowledge of God.

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Speech delivered upon arrival at the diocese, in the Stavropol Cathedral, January 5, 1858
Lesson 1 of the week of the publican and the Pharisee. The Character of the Publican and the Pharisee
Lesson 2 of the week of the publican and the Pharisee. About prayer and repentance
Lesson for Meat Week. About the second coming of Christ
Lesson in the week of raw food. Condition for entering the Holy Pentecost
Conversation on Monday of the first week of Lent. Preparation for the Sacrament of Confession
Teaching for Wednesday of the 1st week of Lent. About the dangers of hypocrisy
Sermon on Friday of the 1st week of Lent. About the human body
Speech to the brethren upon communion of the holy mysteries of Christ, on Saturday of the 1st week of Lent
Sermon for the second week of Lent. The meaning of fasting for a person
Sermon for the third week of Lent. About bearing the cross
Sermon for the fourth week of Lent. The meaning of fasting in relation to fallen spirits
Sermon for the fifth week of Lent. Combining fasting with mercy and prayer
Homily on Maundy Thursday at the liturgy. About the Holy Mysteries of Christ
Lesson for the Week of the Myrrh-Bearing Women. About the deadness of the human spirit
Lesson for the week about the Samaritan. On Worshiping God in Spirit and Truth
A weekly lesson on the man born blind. About self-conceit and humility
Sermon on the Sunday of All Saints, the first after Pentecost. Sign of God's Chosen
Sermon on Saturday of the fourth week. Condition for assimilation to Christ
Lesson for the ninth week. God is man's helper in his sorrows
Sermon on Tuesday of the eleventh week. On the words of the Savior, the One who reveals the law: judgment and mercy and faith
Teaching on the words: The cry of Sodom and Gomora has multiplied towards Me, and their sins have been great. When I come down I will see that if, because of their cry that comes to Me, they will accomplish
Conversation in the thirteenth week. About the reason for people's departure from God
Word on Tuesday of the twenty-third week. Explanation of the Lord's Prayer: Our Father
Sermon on Monday of the twenty-sixth week. About the kingdom of God
Teaching in the twenty-seventh week. Explanation of the day's Gospel: Jesus taught one from the congregation on the Sabbath
Teaching in the twenty-eighth week. Explaining the day's gospel. A certain man created a great supper and called many
Teaching in the twenty-ninth week. On thanksgiving and praise to God
Conversation on Monday of the twenty-ninth week. About signs and wonders
Lesson for the thirty-first week. Explanation of the mysterious meaning of the Gospel story
Teaching on the 54th conception of the Gospel of Luke, read on the feast days of the Mother of God. About physical and mental feats
Word on the opening of the St. John the Baptist convent near the Caucasian city of Stavropol
A lesson to the common people when visiting the diocese. About salvation
A conversation about the fact that for fruitful repentance it is necessary to reject self-conceit

The beginning, foundation and peak of spiritual life in Orthodoxy is deep repentance. This is the same difficult and narrow path that the Savior commanded us to follow. On this path we encounter many obstacles, stumbling blocks, and perplexities.
And so - the famous Russian saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov), a deep and subtle expert on the human soul, who himself has gone through the sorrowful path of repentance and now prays to God for us sinners, teaches us invaluable lessons.

Eight main passions
About virtues
Additions. The shortest confession
Confession
The penitent is required
Better is war than peace, which removes us from God

Eight major passions with their divisions and industries

1. Gluttony

2. Fornication

3. Love of money

5. Sadness

7. Vanity
The search for human glory. Boasting. Desire and search for earthly and vain honors. Love of beautiful clothes, carriages, servants and cell things. Attention to the beauty of your face, the pleasantness of your voice and other qualities of your body. A disposition towards the dying sciences and arts of this age, a desire to succeed in them in order to acquire temporary, earthly glory. Shame to confess your sins. Hiding them before people and the spiritual father. Craftiness. Self-justification. Disclaimer. Making up your mind. Hypocrisy. Lie. Flattery. People-pleasing. Envy. Humiliation of one's neighbor. Changeability of character. Indulgence. Unconscionability. The character and life are demonic.

8. Pride
Contempt for one's neighbor. Preferring yourself to everyone. Insolence. Darkness, dullness of the mind and heart. Nailing them to the earthly. Hula. Disbelief. False mind. Disobedience to the Law of God and the Church. Following your carnal will. Reading books that are heretical, depraved and vain. Disobedience to authorities. Caustic ridicule. Abandonment of Christ-like humility and silence. Loss of simplicity. Loss of love for God and neighbor. False philosophy. Heresy. Godlessness. Ignorance. Death of the soul.
Such are the ailments, such are the ulcers that constitute the great ulcer of the old Adam, which was formed from his fall. The holy prophet Isaiah speaks about this great ulcer: from the feet even to the head there is no integrity in it: neither a scab, nor an ulcer, nor a scorching wound, do not apply a plaster, below the oil, below the bandage (Isa. 1, 6). This means, according to the explanation of the Fathers, that the ulcer - sin - is not private, and not on just one member, but on the entire being: it has embraced the body, embraced the soul, taken possession of all the properties, all the powers of a person. God called this great plague death when, forbidding Adam and Eve from eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he said: “If you take away one day from it, you will die.” (Genesis 2:17). Immediately after eating the forbidden fruit, the forefathers felt eternal death; a carnal feeling appeared in their gaze; they saw that they were naked. The knowledge of the nakedness of the body reflected the nakedness of the soul, which had lost the beauty of innocence on which the Holy Spirit rested. There is a carnal sensation in the eyes, and in the soul there is shame, in which is the accumulation of all sinful and shameful sensations: pride, impurity, sadness, despondency, and despair. The Great Plague is spiritual death; the decay that occurred after the loss of the Divine likeness is incorrigible! The Apostle calls the great plague the law of sin, the body of death (Rom. 5:23-24), because the mortified mind and heart have completely turned to the earth, slavishly serve the corruptible desires of the flesh, have become darkened, burdened, and become flesh themselves. This flesh is no longer capable of communicating with God! (Genesis 6:3). This flesh is not capable of inheriting eternal, heavenly bliss! (1 Cor. 4:50). The great plague spread over the entire human race and became the unfortunate property of every person.
Considering my great ulcer, looking at my mortification, I am filled with bitter sadness! I'm perplexed, what should I do? Will I follow the example of the old Adam, who, seeing his nakedness, hastens to hide from God? Will I, like him, justify myself by placing the blame on the guilt of sin? It is in vain to hide from the All-Seeing One! It is in vain to justify yourself before the One who always wins, to always judge Him (Ps. 30:6).
Instead of fig leaves, I will clothe myself with tears of repentance; Instead of justification, I will bring sincere consciousness. Clothed in repentance and tears, will I appear before the face of my God? Is it in heaven? I have been expelled from there, and the cherub standing at the entrance will not let me in! By the very burden of my flesh I am nailed to the ground, my prison!
Sinful descendant of Adam, take heart! A light has shone in your prison: God has descended into the low country of your exile to lead you to your lost highland fatherland. You wanted to know good and evil: He leaves you this knowledge. You wanted to become like God, and from this you became like the devil in your soul, like cattle and beasts in your body; God, uniting you with Himself, makes you God by grace. He forgives your sins. This is not enough! He will remove the root of evil from your soul, the very infection of sin, hell, cast into your soul by the devil, and will give you medicine for the entire path of your earthly life for healing from sin, no matter how many times you become infected with it, due to your weakness. This healing is the confession of sins. Do you want to put off the old Adam, you, who through holy baptism have already been clothed in the New Adam, but through your own iniquities managed to revive old age and death in yourself, to choke life, to make it half-dead? Do you want, enslaved to sin, drawn to it by the violence of habit, to regain your freedom and righteousness? Immerse yourself in humility! Conquer vain shame, which teaches you to hypocritically and craftily pretend to be righteous and thereby preserve and strengthen spiritual death within yourself. Cast out sin, enter into hostility with sin by sincere confession of sin. This healing must precede all others; without it, healing through prayer, tears, fasting and all other means will be insufficient, unsatisfactory, fragile. Go, proud one, to your spiritual father, at his feet find the mercy of the Heavenly Father! One, one sincere and frequent confession can free one from sinful habits, make repentance fruitful, and correction lasting and true.
In a brief moment of tenderness, in which the eyes of the mind are opened for self-knowledge, which comes so rarely, I wrote this as an accusation to myself, as an admonition, reminder, instruction. And you, who with faith and love for Christ read these lines and, perhaps, find in them something useful for yourself, bring a heartfelt sigh and prayer for the soul that has suffered much from the waves of sin, that has often seen drowning and destruction before itself, that has found rest in one refuge: in confession of one’s sins.

About the virtues opposite the eight main sinful passions HERE: http://www.wco.ru/biblio/books/ignbr9/Main.htm
The repentant is required to:
Consciousness of one's sins. Condemning yourself in them. Self-accusation before the confessor. Repentance is not only in word, but also in deed. Repentance is correction—new life. Contrition and tears. Belief in the forgiveness of sins. Hate past sins. The fight against sin attracts the grace of God. Sins shorten our lives...

To help the penitent.
What is the testimony of your conscience, expect such from God and judgment for yourself.

St. Filaret of Moscow
Page 2, (Page 1, Page 3)

Sins are usually called not only sinful deeds, i.e. actions, deeds, words, thoughts, feelings that are contrary to the commandments of God, the Christian moral law, but often the causes of sinful deeds are the passions and sinful habits of the human soul, as contrary to God’s plan for man, perverting the perfection of human nature, created in the likeness of God. Our daily home prayers remind us of our sins: the evening prayer to the Holy Spirit, the daily confession of sins at the end of the evening prayers, as well as the fourth prayer for Holy Communion: “For at Your terrible and impartial judgment seat stands” (placed, however, not in all prayer books) , and others. In most manuals for those preparing for the sacrament of confession, sins are distributed according to the ten commandments of the Law of God and the commandments of the Gospel. It should be noted that the Gospel understanding of the commandments of the Law of God, given through the prophet Moses to the ancient people of Israel, is much broader and deeper than the Old Testament. Violation of a commandment is considered a sin not only in deed, but also in thought and desire. However, the last, tenth commandment, as if preparing the Old Testament people for a perfect understanding of the Law, says: “You shall not covet.” Eight major sinful passions with their divisions and branches

1. gluttony
Intoxication, drunkenness, failure to keep and allow fasts, secret eating, delicacy, and generally violation of abstinence. Incorrect and excessive love of the flesh, its belly and rest, which constitutes self-love, which leads to failure to maintain fidelity to God, the Church, virtue and people. 2. fornication
Prodigal fervor, prodigal sensations and attitudes of the soul and heart / rolling - external and internal tickling, itching, caressing /, acceptance of unclean thoughts, conversation with them, delight in them, permission for them, slowness in them. Prodigal dreams and captivity. Desecration by suit / i.e. in bed with hugs, about objects /. Failure to preserve the senses, especially the sense of touch, is the insolence that destroys all virtues. Foul language and reading voluptuous books. Natural prodigal sins: fornication and adultery. Sins of prodigal unnatural: malakia / fornication /, sodomy, lesbianism / woman with woman /, bestiality and the like

3. love of money
The love of money, in general the love of movable and immovable property. The desire to get rich. Thinking about the means to get rich. Dreaming of wealth. Fear of old age, unexpected poverty, illness, exile. Stinginess. Selfishness. Disbelief in God, lack of trust in his providence. Addictions or painful excessive love for various perishable objects, depriving the soul of freedom. Passion for vain concerns. Loving gifts. Appropriation of someone else's. Likhva. Cruelty towards the poor brethren and all those in need. Theft. Robbery

4. anger
Hot temper, acceptance of angry thoughts: dreams of anger and revenge, indignation of the heart with rage, darkening of the mind with it: obscene shouting, argument, swearing, cruel and cutting words, stress, pushing, murder. Malice, hatred, enmity, revenge, slander, condemnation, indignation and insult to one’s neighbor.

5. sadness
Sadness, melancholy, cutting off hope in God, doubt in God’s promises, ingratitude to God for everything that happens, cowardice, impatience, lack of self-reproach, sorrow for one’s neighbor, grumbling, renunciation of the cross, an attempt to descend from it.

6. despondency
Laziness in every good deed, especially in prayer. Abandonment of church and cell rules. Abandonment of unceasing prayer and soul-helping reading. Inattention and haste in prayer. Neglect. Irreverence. Idleness. Excessive calming by sleeping, lying down and all kinds of restlessness. Moving from place to place. Frequent exits from cells, walks and visits with friends. Celebration. Shchutki. Blasphemers. Abandonment of bows and other physical feats. Forgetting your sins. Forgetting the commandments of Christ. Negligence. Captivity. Deprivation of the fear of God. Bitterness. Insensibility. Despair.

7. vanity
The search for human glory. Boasting. Desire and search for earthly and vain honors. Love of beautiful clothes, carriages, servants and cell things. Attention to the beauty of your face, the pleasantness of your voice and other qualities of your body. A disposition towards the sciences and arts that are dying in this century, a desire to succeed in them in order to acquire temporary, earthly glory. Shame to confess your sins. Hiding them before people and the spiritual father. Craftiness. Self-justification. Disclaimer. Making up your mind. Hypocrisy. Lie. Flattery. People-pleasing. Envy. Humiliation of one's neighbor. Changeability of character. Indulgence. Unconscionability. The character and life are demonic.

8. pride
Contempt for one's neighbor. Preferring yourself to everyone. Insolence. Darkness, dullness of the mind and heart. Nailing them to the earthly. Hula. Disbelief. False mind. Disobedience to the Law of God and the Church. Following your carnal will. Reading books that are heretical, depraved and vain. Disobedience to authorities. Caustic ridicule. Abandonment of Christ-imitating humility and silence. Loss of simplicity. Loss of love for God and neighbor. False philosophy. Heresy Irreligion. Ignorance. Death of the soul.
Mortal sins, that is, those that make a person guilty of eternal death or destruction

1. Pride, despising everyone, demanding servility from others, ready to ascend to heaven and become like the Most High: in a word - pride to the point of self-adoration.

2. An insatiable soul, or Judas’s greed for money, mostly combined with unrighteous acquisitions, not allowing a person even a minute to think about spiritual things.

3. Fornication, or the dissolute life of the prodigal son, who squandered all his father’s estate on such a life.

4. Envy, leading to every possible crime against one’s neighbor.

5. Gluttony or carnal pleasure, not knowing any fasting, combined with a passionate attachment to various amusements, following the example of the Evangelical rich man, who had fun all day long.

6. Uncompromising anger and resolving to terrible destruction, following the example of Herod, who in his anger beat the Bethlehem babies.

7. Laziness, or complete carelessness about the soul, carelessness about repentance until the last days of life, as for example in the days of Noah.

Sins of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit

Excessive trust in God, or continuation of a gravely sinful life in the sole hope of God’s mercy.

Despair or the feeling opposite to excessive trust in God in relation to God’s mercy, which denies the fatherly goodness in God and leads to thoughts of suicide.

Stubborn unbelief, not convinced by any evidence of truth, even obvious miracles, rejecting the most established truth.

Sins crying out to heaven for vengeance

In general, deliberate homicide / abortion /, and especially parricide / fratricide and regicide /.

Sin of Sodom.

Unnecessary oppression of a poor, defenseless person, a defenseless widow and young orphans.

Withholding from a wretched worker the wages he deserves.

Taking away from a person in his extreme situation the last piece of bread or the last mite, which he obtained with sweat and blood, as well as the violent or secret appropriation of alms, food, warmth or clothing from prisoners in prison, which are determined by him and generally oppressing them.

Sadness and insults to parents to the point of daring beatings.

Sins tortured at ordeals

The essence of the doctrine of ordeals is expounded by St. Cyril of Alexandria in the word “On the Exodus of the Soul.” Ordeal is the inevitable path by which all human souls, both evil and good, make their transition from temporary earthly life to eternal lot. During the ordeals, the soul, in the presence of angels and demons, but also before the eye of the all-seeing God, is gradually and thoroughly tested in all deeds, words and thoughts. Good souls, justified in all ordeals, are ascended by angels to the heavenly abodes for the beginning of eternal bliss, and sinful souls, detained at one or another ordeal, are drawn, by the verdict of an invisible court, by demons to their dark abodes for the beginning of eternal torment.

Thus, ordeals are a private judgment that is carried out invisibly by the Lord himself through his angels over each human soul, including the evil tax collectors who accuse demons. In the life of Rev. Vasily the New (Ch.M. March 26) it is narrated that the student of his reverend. Gregory (also on March 26) were revealed in detail in a vision both the circumstances of the hour of death and the journey through the ordeals of St. Theodora (Dec. 8). Here the 20 ordeals are calculated in detail.

The questions begin in the ordeal with sins, as we call them, “small”, universal ones (idle talk) and the further they go, the more important they concern sins and end in the 20th ordeal with unmercifulness and harshness towards one’s neighbor - the most serious sins, for which, according to According to the word of God, there is “judgment without mercy” for those who have not shown mercy.

Sin in words: lack of speech, verbosity, idle talk, idle talk, idle talk, slander, foul language, jokes, obscenity, vulgarity, distortion of words, simplification, grandiosity, absurdity, ridicule, laughter, laughter, name-calling, singing passionate songs, rumors, grumpiness, tongue-tiedness, vileness, incitement, blasphemy, desecration of people and the name of God, remembering in vain, rudeness.

Lies: flattery, sycophancy, pleasing with cunning, meanness, cowardice, antics, vanity, isolation, imagination, artistry, perjury, perjury, concealing sins in confession, secrecy, breaking the promise given in confession not to repeat sins, deceit.

Slander: insults, condemnation, distortion of the truth, sneaking, complaints, abuse, mockery, promoting the sins of others, impudence, cynicism, moral pressure, threats, mistrust, doubts.

Gluttony: gluttony, heavy drinking, smoking, secret eating, breaking fasts, feasting, drunkenness, drug addiction, substance abuse, etc., gluttony

Laziness: neglect, inattention, oblivion, oversleeping, idleness, despondency, carelessness, cowardice, weakness of will, idleness, forgetfulness, carelessness, hackwork, parasitism, unnecessaryness, coldness and lukewarmness towards the spiritual, carelessness about prayer, carelessness about salvation, insensibility.

Theft: theft, theft, sharing, adventures, scams, complicity, use of stolen goods, fraud, misappropriation in the form of seizure, sacrilege.

Love of money: self-interest, search for profit, over-concern, acquisitiveness, greed, stinginess, hoarding, lent money at interest, speculation, bribes.

Extortion: extortion, robbery, robbery, deceit, tricks, non-repayment of debts.

Untruth: deception, falsehood, bribery, unjust trial, dishonor, extravagance, suspicion, concealment, complicity.

Envy: in material goods, in spiritual merits, partiality, desire for someone else's.

Pride: conceit, self-will, self-aggrandizement, exaltation, vanity, arrogance, hypocrisy, self-adoration, disobedience, non-compliance, disobedience, contempt, shamelessness, shamelessness, blasphemy, ignorance, insolence, self-justification, stubbornness, unrepentance, arrogance.

Malice: rancor, gloating, revenge, vindictiveness, sabotage, bullying, tricks, slander.

Anger: intransigence, hot temper, hatred, rage, blows, kicks, insolence, bitterness, despair, quarrels, squabbles, hysterics, scandal, treachery, mercilessness, rudeness, resentment.

Murder: (in thought, word, deed), fights, use of all kinds of weapons or drugs for murder, abortion (or complicity)

Witchcraft: fortune telling, divination, astrology, horoscopes, fashion seduction, healing (extrasensory perception) hiding behind the name of God, levitation, witchcraft, witchcraft, sorcery, shamanism, witchcraft

Fornication: carnal cohabitation outside of church marriage, voluptuous views, lustful thoughts, dreams, fantasies, raptures, pleasures, permission to sin, desecration of chastity, nightly desecrations, pornography, watching depraved films and programs, masturbation.

Adultery: adultery and also seduction, violence, fall, violation of the vow of celibacy.

Fornication of Sodom: perversion of nature, self-satisfaction, self-torture, violence, kidnapping, incest, corruption of minors (direct and indirect)

Heresies: unbelief, superstition, distortions and perversions of truth, distortions of Orthodoxy, doubts, apostasy, violation of church decrees, participation in heretical gatherings: Jehovah's Witnesses, Scientology, Mother of God Center, Ivan, Roerich, etc., as well as in other atheistic associations and structures.

Unmercifulness: insensibility, ruthlessness, persecution of the weak, cruelty, petrification, callousness, did not care about children, the elderly, the sick, did not give alms, did not sacrifice themselves and their time for the sake of others, inhumanity, heartlessness.

All passions, if they are allowed freedom, act, grow, intensify in the soul, and finally embrace it, take possession of it and separate it from God. These are the heavy burdens that fell on Adam after he ate of the tree. Our Lord Jesus Christ killed these passions on the cross. These are those old wineskins into which new wine is not poured (Matt. 9:17). These are the swaddling clothes with which Lazarus was bound (John 11:44). These are demons sent by Christ into the herd of pigs (Matthew 8:31-32). This is the old man, whom the Apostle commands the Christian to put off (1 Cor. 15:49). These are the thistles and thorns that the earth began to spew out for Adam after he was cast out of paradise (Gen. 3:18).

Abba Isaiah was asked: what does repentance consist of?
He answered: The Holy Spirit teaches us to withdraw from sin and no longer fall into it. This is what repentance consists of.
Those who bring true repentance are no longer engaged in condemning their neighbors, they are engaged in mourning their sins.
He who condemns sinners drives repentance out of himself.
He who justifies himself alienates himself from repentance.
Love humility: it will cover you from your sins.
Humility consists in a person recognizing himself as a sinner before God, who has not done a single good deed before God.
I beg every person who wants to bring repentance to God to stop drinking wine in large quantities. Wine revives extinguished passions in the soul and drives out the fear of God from it.
Do not argue with each other on any occasion, do not speak ill of anyone, do not judge anyone, do not condemn or humiliate anyone either in word or in your heart, do not grumble at anyone, do not suspect anyone of any evil.
Do not show contempt to anyone because of his physical defect.
If someone glorifies you and you accept praise with delight, then there is no fear of God in you.
If they say something unfair about you and you become embarrassed, then you have no fear of God.
If, when talking with brethren, you seek for your word to prevail over the words of others, then you do not have the fear of God.
If your word is neglected and you are offended by this, then you have no fear of God.
Do not be curious and do not ask about the vain affairs of the world.
Do not consult with everyone about your thoughts: consult about them only with your fathers. Otherwise you will bring grief and embarrassment upon yourself.
Do not reveal your thoughts to everyone, so that this does not cause stumbling for your neighbor.
Beware of lies: they drive out the fear of God from a person.
From the love of human glory lies are born. Whoever behaves deceitfully towards his brother will not be able to avoid heartbreak.
Do not seek friendship with the glorious of this world, lest the glory of God be extinguished in your heart.
Do not get carried away by the delightful memory of the sins you have committed, so that the feeling of these sins is not renewed in you.
Remember the Kingdom of Heaven, and little by little this remembrance will attract you to it.
Remember also about Gehenna and hate the deeds that lead you to it.
Every morning, when you rise from sleep, remember that you must give an account to God of all your deeds, and you will not sin before Him: His fear will dwell in you.
Consider your sins daily, pray about them, and God will forgive you for them.
He who expects imminent death will not fall into many sins. On the contrary, he who hopes to live long is entangled in many sins.
Live as if every day you experience were the last in your life, and you will not sin before God.