"Sin is a terrible evil," the same saint asserts, "but an evil that must be healed. It is terrible for him who keeps sin in himself, but it is curable for him who lays off sin by repentance. Imagine a man holding a burning coal in his hand. As long as the coal is in his hand, no doubt he is burning it. But if he throws away coal, he will remove from himself also that which burned."192

The prayers of repentance read by the priest at the beginning of confession are aimed precisely at ensuring that a person, through the word of confession, removes from himself every reprehensible inclination, every wrong act.

"In Him who gave birth to you in God," St. Gregory of Nyssa addresses the penitent Christian, "you must rely more than on those who gave birth to you according to the body. Boldly reveal to him the secret sins, like hidden wounds to a physician. He will take care of your honor and your health. Shed bitter and abundant tears before him, and he will unite his tears with yours. Receive the priest as a father in the participation and fellowship of your sorrow (for sins)."193

Realizing his participation in the penitential work of a Christian, the priest after the penitential troparia cries out: "Lord, have mercy" (40 times).

Priest's prayers for penitents and addressing them

Both prayers read by the priest at confession are the most ancient in their origin. The first of them almost does not differ in content from the prayer of repentance placed in the "Apostolic Decrees" (Book 8:9). The second prayer was preserved at the end of the Liturgy of the Apostle James as propitiatory. These prayers for the penitents were lifted up by the Ancient Church between the Liturgy of the Catechumens and the Liturgy of the Faithful. They were read aloud during the entire time appointed by the penitent for the fulfillment of the penance imposed on the penance by the priest and obvious to all.

In prayers for the penitent, the priest asks the Lord to accept the repentance of the sinner, to forgive him his sins and iniquities, to free him from eternal torment and to absolve the guilt and crimes that weigh on him. Prayerful appeal to the Living God helps the penitent to strengthen his readiness to draw closer to God and to say with full truthfulness: "I have sinned against You. I plead guilty to this. You are the Judge. I stand before Thee as a witness against myself. Thy righteousness is in spite of me. But you are love. I commit myself and all that is in me to the mystery of Your Love."

As if delving into the mystery of such a state, the priest turns to the penitent: "Behold, child, Christ stands invisibly, accepting your confession..." With these words, the priest emphasizes the importance of standing before Christ the Savior, so that the penitent confesses his faith and tells his confessor his sins, being aware of the invisible presence of God. It is before Him that the penitent reveals his truthfulness: he contrites his heart for the sins he has committed, not hiding their gravity and not adding to them. Before the Living God, the penitent prepares to denounce himself in confession, and not to excuse himself; name your own sins, not someone else's. The penitent speaks of his sins "not in simple conversation, but with heartfelt regret," intending to keep himself from such sins in the future, for without this there can be no true repentance. (Exhortation before confession to the penitent.

Trebnik). "Everything that you say to me," says the priest, "I will testify before the Lord, for He alone can give the alienation of sins." And he concludes: "Hearken unto thee: for thou hast come to the hospital, that thou mayest not be healed."

Reading the Symbol of Faith

The Symbol of Faith, pronounced aloud to the whole church, allows the confessor to feel himself under the enlightening influence of the Divine Truth. It affirms the conviction that the gates of hell and the law of sin will not prevail against the Church, and that the regenerating and healing power of life, "which is illumined by the Trinitarian unity of the sacred mystery," will not be exhausted in it (Stepenna, tone 4, 1st antiphon). It is to this power of life that the confessor wishes to be a partaker.

The reading of the Symbol of Faith raises in the heart of the penitent a living confidence in the possibility of appearing before God in the Sacrament and receiving His help for spiritual rebirth. And then the believer turns to Him, accepts Him "as the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), his heart is imbued with love for Christ and burns with the desire to be in total unity with Him, a unity lost through the Fall.

According to Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann, "faith is always directed towards the Other and is a person's exit from the limits of his 'I'. As a result, there is a "radical change in his relationships, first of all, with himself."194