www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life The Christian East & West General Absolution East and West

General Confession is not unknown in Orthodoxy. There are many parishes -- mostly in the OCA, I think -- that serve General Confession periodically. However, it works differently than my experiences of it growing up as a Latin Catholic.

In the OCA version, there is a service, typically during which we kneel (relatively rare for some Orthodox outside of Lent), various pslams are chanted and prayers for forgiveness are chanted, sins are enumerated and so forth. But the absolution given at the end of the service is administered individually, and there is time to mention specific sins, individual sins, to the priest at that time (but this is not required).

The idea behind General Confession (something spearheaded by Fr. Alexander Schmemann) was to get more people accustomed to regular confessions as well as to promote eucharistic communication by the laity (ie, there will have been a confession, so that "justification" that had been used by some would drop away if most of the parish had a general confession). I'm not sure how it has worked. The General Confession services that I have attended have all been fairly well-attended (more than at a typical Vespers service), but at the same time frequent communion has become a norm in the OCA parishes I have visited, whether or not they have general confession. Therefore I'm not sure whether the service is really serving the goal it was intended to serve ... but perhaps it's too early to draw up a balance sheet on that.

I still prefer individual auricular confession, as it is done in the Orthodox tradition, to the General Confession services, but if it is true that attendance at General Confession can encourage people to make an individual confession more frequently (ie, at least during the four fasts), then this seems appropriate to me.

Brendan

Dear Brendan the Theologian,

You are ALWAYS a sight for sore cybernetic eyes, esteemed Servant of Christ and thank you for anointing us with your wisdom once more!

So is the form of General Confession in the OCA similar to what RC's have had?

And is it "sacramentally effective" as well without private auricular confession?

What would be a good frequency of confession (assuming that one doesn't have to go to confession EACH TIME one goes to Communion) in order to go to Communion every Sunday and Holy-day?

Alex

Well what a wealth on information in those last few posts - and I have to say that the comment made by Byzinroswell is one that I have heard here as well.

ND Hoosier's is still being absorbed but I think I have got there

Brendan's - well now that has opened my eyes somewhat. General Absolution Service that way is something that makes sense and yes I can see that will lead people back to individual Confession. Pity that was not the way it was 'done' in the Latin Church.

I must say that I wish it was accepted practice in the Latin Church that Confession was before an Icon of Christ - I frequently take one with me and tend to place it on the table in front of me. Fortunately Fr understands my reason for this.

I only hope that others are getting as much from this thread as I am - thank you all for the help you have given me

Dear Angela,

Yes, Our Lady's Slave, yes, everyone else's posts on this subject have been insightful and excellent . . .

But don't forget who started this thread!

Alex
Teaser-in-Chief

"So is the form of General Confession in the OCA similar to what RC's have had?"

No, it's different from what I remember in the RCC. The Orthodox service is more penitential, and there is individual absolution.

"And is it "sacramentally effective" as well without private auricular confession?"

It's sacramentally effective with the absolution -- that is, the individual absolution one receives at the end of the General Confession service is a sacramental absolution. One is told that one must still attend private auricular confession (that is, one cannot substitute G.C. for it -- one should do both), ,but that doesn't deprive the G.C. absolution of its sacramentality.

"What would be a good frequency of confession (assuming that one doesn't have to go to confession EACH TIME one goes to Communion) in order to go to Communion every Sunday and Holy-day?"

A good guideline would be to confess at least once during each fasting season (ie, now for those of you who are on the New calendar), and at other times when you are in serious sin.

Brendan

Dear Brendan,

Excellent - I think the OCA service is the one for other Churches to emulate then!

It's pastorally responsible and viable without taking away from the significance of private confession in our spiritual life.

God bless,

Alex

In my OCA Cathedral which was the former Cathedral of now Metropolitan Herman we have General Confssion once a month DURING NON LENTEN PERIODS. It does not replace private Confession in any way shape or form. Private Confession is still offered to all those who want it. Usually after Vespers on the second to the last Saturday of the month our priest will give General Confession.
This is from my files. It is a posting I made on an Orthodox List awhile back. Glad I was able to find it rather than having to retype it all-

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In the Orthodox Church I belong which is part of the OCA (Orthodox Church In
America) we partake of 'Private' Confession similiar to what SLKAssoc
describes.
Private Confession is a must during Lenten periods and major feast days. We
also have 'General' Confession which is usually after Vespers on a Saturday
when the priest announces it. The priest will come out from behind the Iconostasis and in front of the Icon of Christ recite a series of 'Forgiveness Prayers'.
Then he will proceed with 'General Confession'.

At 'General Confession' the entire congregation kneels and
recites the following from the 'Full Confession of St. Demetrius of Rostov)
Which goes-

"I confess to the Lord my God and before thee, venerable father, all my
countless sins, committed by me unto this very day and hour, in deed, word or
thought. I sin daily and hourly by mine ingratitude toward God for His Great
and countless blessings and benevolent providence over me, a sinner.
I have sinned through: idle talking, judging others, stubborness, pride,
hard-heartedness, envy, anger, slander, inattention, negeligence concerning my
salvation, carelessness, indifference, impertinence, irritability, despondency,
rendering evil for evil, bitterness, disobedience, complaining,
self-justification, contradicting others, self-will, being reproachful,
gossiping, lying, light-mindedness, tempting others, self-love, ambition,
gourmandizing, eating and drinking to excess, vanity, laziness, entertaining
unclean thoughts, acquisitiveness, impure glances, absence from Divine
Services, because of laziness and carelessness, absentmindedness at prayer
both in church and at home; I have sinned in deed, word, thought, in sight,
hearing, smell, taste, touch and the rest of my mental and physical senses; of
all my sins I repent and beg forgiveness.

(At this point there is about a five minute silence. Here one should mention privately to God specifially any other sins which may be burdening the soul).

Forgive and absolve me, venerable father, and bless me to commune of the holy
and life-creating Mysteries of Christ unto the remission of sins and life-everlasting."

Amen!

At this point each individual person will go to the priest and receive absolution in the
manner that SLKAssoc has described.

In our parish approximately 95% of the people who go to Communion on any given
Sunday do so every Sunday. Usually when there is a Liturgy during the week the
priest will be there a half hour prior to the start of the Liturgy. If you
stand in front of the Iconostasis he will come out. He will ask if you have
any sins to confess and proceed to give you confession and/or absolution
(depending on how you reply). Our priest is very strict and knows
his parishioners (even to the kind of car we drive). If you come up and he
knows you have not received confession or absolution he will not give you
communion. We all know enough not to even attempt it!
On any given Sunday well over 75% or more of the congregation partake of
communion which usually takes bout 15 to 20 minutes.

Dear Friends,

Orthoman has raised an important point here, that being that the daily Orthodox prayers contain a formula of personal absolution that should be recited daily.

The Jordanville prayerbook has a ready text for this at the end of the Evening Prayers. The Ukrainian Saint Dmitry Tuptalenko (of Rostov) also had a well-known personal confession of sins.

It is interesting that the OCA would adopt St Dmitri's form.

It is, after all, based on an old Roman Catholic form St Dmitri found and adapted for Orthodox usage.

Ah, the spiritual overlap!

Alex