In the sacrament of baptism, a person is given a special divine grace that makes a newly baptized saint. But in the course of life a person is somehow again subjected to sin. For spiritual cleansing in the Church, there is the sacrament of confession, through which a person is again able to receive grace.
The sacrament of confession is one of the seven Orthodox church sacraments. Another way to call confession is repentance, because, starting this sacred rite, a person repents of his sins and receives forgiveness for what he has done from God.
Most often, believers begin the sacrament of confession before communion, but it should be understood that these are two different sacraments. The practice of confession immediately before communion indicates that before a person can unite with God, the first one needs to cleanse his soul from sin. It is for this that the sacrament of confession exists. But do not think that you can start confession only before the sacrament. The Holy Fathers say that the more often a person confesses, the better it affects his life, including spiritual life. Therefore, some believers begin this ordinance every week.
The sacrament of confession is usually performed in Orthodox churches in the evening after the service. If this is a large cathedral in which services are held daily, then the sacrament of confession can be performed every day in the evening.
In addition, the sacrament of confession is performed in some churches in the morning before the liturgy (from about 8 o'clock in the morning). There is a practice of performing the sacrament of confession immediately before communion (at the end of the liturgy: around 10-11 hours). However, the practice of repentance at the end of the Liturgy is not blessed by many bishops, as is the custom of performing the sacrament during the divine service. This is due to the fact that at the Divine Liturgy, a person must turn all his mind and thoughts to God and not be distracted by something else.
On special days, for example, before Maundy Thursday, confession is performed in churches on the eve of Wednesday before the evening service. This is due to the large number of those wishing to receive communion on Holy Thursday.
It is worth noting that the sacrament of confession can be performed in the temple and on any other day and time. To do this, you must first have a conversation with the priest.
