Articles with a similar message have already been encountered. Here's another one.

The author is a Jew, a right-wing Zionist. Quite, as they say, " Jewish Jew". What he does not think to hide, what he is proud of. 66-year-old Israeli (lives in Petah Tikva) Igor Levitas, ex-Muscovite, graduate of the Moscow Art Theater School, who once held leadership positions at the Moscow Puppet Theater, Moscow Drama Theater named after K. S. Stanislavsky.

Its text is addressed to fellow tribesmen. But we are also curious to get acquainted.

I'm pretty sure that what I write will cause mixed reactions. It is possible that I will even be accused of anti-Semitism.
But still…
I'll start with a phrase that I've quoted many times. I was in Moscow at one time chief rabbi- Yakov Isaevich Maze. He was in his position during the most “combat” time: from 1893 to 1924. And this is what he concluded regarding the participation of Jews in revolutionary activities in Russia: “The Trotskys make the revolution, and the Bronsteins pay for it.” Those. Ordinary Jews pay the price for the actions of Jewish revolutionaries trying to lead revolutions. The rabbi was smart, he foresaw that ordinary citizens would pay for the actions of Trotsky, Kamenev, Zinoviev, Radek and others like them with rampant anti-Semitism.

A special surge in Judeophobia occurred when the “exposure of horrors” began: the atrocities of the Red Army, collectivization, repressions of 1937, and so on. Indeed, it turned out that Jews were at the head of many punitive organizations. True, by 1938 they were all shot, too, but this was somehow forgotten in the anti-Semitic frenzy. The Bronsteins continued to pay.
They say that we Jews are smart people. Judging by what is happening in Russia (Ukraine is a separate matter), this cannot be said.

History teaches nothing to many Russian Jews . You watch rallies of the Russian opposition - half-Jewish faces on the podium. It is on the podium, in the smaller crowd. You read any publication, printed or online, and three-quarters are signed with Jewish surnames. Then, at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, this at least had some clear explanation - the Jewish poor were in a much worse situation than the Russian poor. That, they say, is why they were such ardent revolutionaries. Let's not argue whether this is true or not - the matter has passed. But the current ones... Oligarchs, ministers, directors, writers, journalists, directors, not to mention doctors, engineers and programmers. Why are you criticizing the authorities? If it were not for this power, but such, say, as in Norway or Germany - where would you get millions from? Khodorkovsky, in best case scenario, would have worked as a clerk in a bank, and the late Nemtsov would have been a system administrator. In the West, heights are achieved through hard work, not through theft and slogans.
But, in the end, this would not be so bad, although thanks to the Khodorkovskys a generation of new anti-Semites has grown up. Smarter, more sophisticated, but also more evil. The fact is that some narrow-minded (I can’t say it any other way) Jews went further - they began to get involved in Russian Orthodox squabbles. This is already too much.

In general, I was prompted to write this post by an article by writer Vadim Levental. In it, he examines in detail why the film “Matilda” does not offend the feelings of believers, and therefore cannot be banned. I am a Jew, not a Christian, and I believe that I cannot judge how and what can be filmed about a person considered Orthodox Church to the saints. These are Christian squabbles and it is inappropriate for a person of a different faith to get involved in them. Moreover, I foresee the reaction - “the Jews cannot discuss what is sacred for the Orthodox. They are dictating to us again.” This is the only thing that can be achieved by articles signed with such names, Or, let us remember the incessant hype around Isaakievsky. Cathedral. fight for Orthodox church headed by Reznik and Vishnevsky.
This is some kind of phantasmagoria.

I sometimes get the impression that some Russian Jews deliberately provoke anti-Semitism in Russia with their behavior.

On assignment. So that Jews flee from anti-Semites to Israel.

Although I understand that this is a stupid assumption, I cannot find any other explanation.

I'm not saying that everyone should go to Israel. Yes, for the sake of G-d, live in Russia, study, work, earn millions, become academicians and movie stars, work as officials, ministers, deputies.

Just don't start a revolution and don’t meddle in the affairs of the Orthodox Church.

Think about the fate of those who, thanks to your actions, became victims of anti-Semites. Have pity on them!

“I know you inside and out.

You are dearer to me than my brother,

Closer than brother-in-law

My enemy"

(from the book “Wolfhound” by M. Semenova)

Society has a very mixed opinion about Jews. One could probably even say the opposite. For some, this is a complete fiend of hell, who seduce and deceive innocent people. For others, Jews are the most beautiful and cultured people.
It must be assumed that there is a certain truth in both points of view. Let's try to dig a little deeper into the topic. For general development.

To begin with, bad peoples - “fiends of hell” - do not exist. The people - a miraculous union of people with common characteristics - are blameless. Any people. Because it is not the result human activity, but is perceived by a person from birth as a gift, together with the surrounding nature, the sun, and so on.

Jews belong to the family of Shem. That is, these are the people who descended from the second son of Noah, who acquired Asia as his domain. Let me remind you that there were two more sons of the patriarch - Japheth and Ham. The descendants of the first received the land of Europe, the descendants of the second received Africa.

It’s immediately worth noting that all Jewish ambiguity revolves around... God. Jews are living proof of the existence of this very God, even if other representatives of this people claim something different. The most important revelations of the Almighty for humanity are so strongly intertwined with this tiny people.

Usually, if I’m not mistaken, Jews consider their history to be from the patriarch Abraham. He is a patriarch not because he served in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, but because this name is usually given to people who lived a long, long time ago and played a significant role in the history of mankind.

You know what's interesting? If I'm not mistaken, the entire Bible describes history near and around the Jews. Actually, until a certain time, only Jews were engaged in writing what later became included in the Bible - that is, historical chronicles.
The entire Bible is described around one people.

And here - do you really think that the Jews were actually something significant? Why was the history of people not described by the hands of, say, some German or Chinese author? But there were a great many peoples at the time of Abraham’s appearance! And the race of Jews after Abraham was very small. Interesting, isn't it? God did not choose the strongest, preferring simple shepherds. Namely, the Jewish people were engaged in cattle breeding.

“Go outside, Abraham, and look at the sky. I tell you the truth, this is what your seed will look like,” Abraham was told as he looked at the night sky with countless stars.

This Abraham was a superhero who saved young red-haired beauties from evil monsters? No, gentlemen. Abraham simply believed(!) God. Simple to the point of banality. This man lived during the heyday of paganism, when people had already forgotten where they came from and fell under the power of fallen spirits, who quickly inspired them that they were trembling creatures, but these spirits were gods, to whom it would be nice to sacrifice something better.

But Abraham believed in God. And what? And the fact that he is alone. In a huge world, among many peoples and already with a decently developed civilization (2000 BC). Abraham's faith was tested by the creator and was given a “certificate of quality”; the patriarch was ready to give his own son - the eldest - as a sacrifice to the Creator. And he had already lit a fire and prepared a knife. Do you know how difficult it is for a decent person to even entertain the idea of ​​stabbing his son to death?

Gentlemen, God does not need sacrifices. But people need Him. Therefore, not only was Isaac not sacrificed, but the guy was blessed by God as one who meekly endured.

In short, a whole chain is being built. And this is incredibly valuable. Among millions of people, it was impossible to find a person simply faithful to his true Father. That is, a sober person - everyone was deceived. The chain of Jewish forefathers is God's great grace. It’s not just like that - I wanted it and did it. This evil can be done without any problems, but good, real, not drenched in deceit, is very difficult.

I repeat, the history of the Jews - especially from the beginning - is living proof of the living God.

A small steppe people who lived somewhere between Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan - somewhere in between - was chosen as a beacon for all mankind.

Jews have a unique history. They ended up in Egypt. There, gradually from “princes” they fell into “dirt” - they became slaves. And, again, Moses appears - perhaps the central person in Jewish history in life. And again - a series of tests. The fallen spirits sensed something was wrong, inspired the local rulers with the idea, and there they began to slaughter (or drown?) children. Moses was saved by God. Brought to the palace. Grew up there. Was expelled. He went into the desert. Got married. Herding sheep is such a big deal. Just think - herd sheep! Yes, even I can do this, just give me a sheep and some supplies, be healthy! No, so that, there, the Emperor, what commandments to give. To the shepherd! Interesting, isn't it?

The commandments were given to Moses. Law, that’s what they called it later. What do they eat this with? People at that time not only forgot about their previous registration in Paradise - they completely forgot. That is, they came to an extremely bestial state. The commandments of God are the beginning of the process of saving people, that is, returning to them the memory that they - people - are not pieces of crap, but kings by birth and rank. And, you know, it is not the crown that makes a king a king, but the king that makes a crown a crown.
The commandments set priorities. They showed what the right person should be like. Looking at this small list and comparing it with the image accepted in society, you can understand how it was “Before” and how it became “After”.

Of course, the Commandments and Moses were part of the plan. The prophet went to Egypt. In Egypt! In the USA at that time! And he went straight to the CIA general office, to the Emperor himself. And he said right off the bat - you are releasing my people, and we will disperse peacefully. Yeah, ask the States to give back all the money “earned” from international scams. But the Jews for Egypt were more expensive than the budget for the United States! Brought it out.

The race of Jews multiplied. But time after time the signs appeared God's grace. Then the Jewish boys, studying with some Emperor, are shoved into the oven, you can’t look at it because of the heat, but they stand alive and unharmed. Then Daniel will be put with a hungry lion, and he will lick his feet. Then a simple guy David becomes a king, having gone through a lot. And he sings praises - who? - one God. And his son Solomon made Israel the richest state and became known as a righteous judge.

Everything is about one thing - about God. All Jewish history.

They were waiting for Him - the Messiah. He promised to come any day, there were prophecies. But, at the same time, a certain noble part of Jewish society was subject to the influence of fallen spirits. They got carried away with the implementation of numerous small rules. And they missed the main thing - they forgot about God. In general, this is unrealistic. It is impossible to be rich, famous, well-read at the same time and at the same time please God. It is not for nothing that the Jews were chosen from among many not because of wealth.

The Messiah has come. A person. Poor.

No wealth or glory, although his family - on his mother's side - was glorious - from King David.

This is impossible! Everything connected with Jesus (translated, sort of, as Savior) could be described with these two words. Born from a woman who did not have sexual intercourse with a man. I lived all my life in the temple, and before, you know, there was no modern debauchery. She was accompanied by an ancient grandfather - about 80 years old - not a man, so to speak. And, most interestingly, “He spoke not as one who was submissive, but as one who had authority.”

God loves to joke. The whole story is presented with such tricks that then it’s time to open your mouth and say: “Well, that’s nothing.” A simple man, he walked around Israel and read sermons. Collected from the same ordinary people company that followed him. As a rule, people understood almost nothing of what He said there. But as is usually the case, we “felt it in our gut.”

There was another simple Jew at that time - his name was John. Lived in the desert. Many people went to listen to him. And again - it seems like a beggar is like a beggar, but they are really drawn to it! What Jesus said about John: “Why do you go into the wilderness? Should I look at a cane shaken by the wind? Is it a prophet? Prophet. And I'll tell you, great prophet. None of the wives on Earth have ever given birth to such a thing.” Is this a beggar speaking?

There is such a principle that what you say about others very accurately indicates about yourself, so to speak.

“Tell us, are you the one or should we wait for someone else?” - John asked from prison. Answer: “Look what is happening, the blind are seeing, the dead are being raised. Blessed is he who is not offended by me!" It gives. Not the one, so to speak. Wait for “who else.” Why was he crucified there? For blasphemy. “If you loved Me, you would rejoice in Me.” So, they chained me to a cross, stabbed me in the ribs, gave me vinegar to drink - that’s it, you can go drink beer.

Do you know what resonance there was in Jewish society in those days? Yes, everyone was stabbed there! It was shaking - this phenomenon was so strong! Moreover, those Jews who were carried away by “small things” - doing what was impossible to do, became indescribably furious. For a beggar?

Society split. Jesus actually reset the millennia Jewish customs. Nothing is needed except simple faith in God. But the Jewish society was so religious that it was very involved in the implementation of numerous instructions.

You know, the beggars who, with words of spirit, will smash to smithereens an ideology that has been built over thousands of years? This one could.

Moreover, it was specifically noted, “I did not come to break the Law, but to fulfill it.” Who are you? Execute!?

Something that thousands of not stupid people could not do...

The fact is that the Law and Moses are a means for forming a holistic image. That is, the combination of all the commandments describes one person. Like properties. But this is not a list. This is not a series - do this, you’ll do something else tomorrow. Namely, the noble Jews gradually came down to the ranks, to the list. Or rather, they were deceived by demons. As usual. The only question was whether they were ready to abandon their petrified opinion or not? Those who refused to “turn to stone” became like demons. That is, they became furious, proud - full list. Great grace with a careless attitude promises big problems.

But there were also many ordinary people among the Jews. They knew the Law somehow from the outside. That's a different conversation.

God is unpredictable. And He loves to joke beautifully.

“How many times have I gathered the people together? One's own, like a bird that gathers its chicks under its wing. And you didn't want to! Behold, your house remains empty!”

It was about the Holy Spirit. About the Spirit of God. About the One who gives meaning and life. They lost their spirit, but received wealth in compensation. God is Love, not a Punishing King.

Jews settled throughout the land. They began to marry representatives of other nations. This is also part of God's will to compensate for spiritual poverty. I repeat, we are not talking about the human spirit, God’s Spirit is unique. He is Meaning and Light and Life. What everyone is looking for. But the human spirit is human logic, intelligence, knowledge. God is illogical and unpredictable. The person is trying to put everything into pieces.

It is in the mind that the Jews succeeded - by training from generation to generation. At the same time, there were many peoples in the world who did not accept the teaching about the Life of the Future Age. That has its own human logic, and modern life was more expensive for them.

Also, apostates from Christ gradually appeared (a Jewish concept, by the way) - who, again, were careless about the teaching and turned out to be “cursed, because they did holy deeds with negligence.” A whole company, in short.

Moreover, the number of the latter has increased significantly closer to our days. And in combination with the smartest figures, this society has its own ideology. With God, everyone is equal. And in human society, hierarchy always reigns under any circumstances. So don’t even think about any equality - whoever is stronger is right.

Closer to our time, Jews lived mainly in two places, if I’m not mistaken - in Europe and the Middle East. Moreover, they preferred Eastern Europe. Poland, for example. I’ll probably forgive dealing with the Slavs. At the same time, they were not understood, or something. “The house is empty” was very strong. Jews did not fit in the world. Their principles of life contradicted the generally accepted ones.

Jews came to Russia with the annexation of Poland to our country. And we got used to it well. We came and settled in Odessa (“hello, I’m your aunt!”), in western Ukraine, Belarus. The Tsar did not allow Jews into Russia, not unreasonably believing that a society with a fundamentally different way of life would not get along in the Russian world. The so-called Pale of Settlement appeared - Western Ukraine, Belarus. What our government did not do to accustom the Jews to the land! And they gave out plots for the family, and paid subsidies, and ordered German cows. They tried to teach turkey ducks to swim... Cows were slaughtered for meat, the land was barely cultivated. Well, no way. They get a subsidy and run away. But what the Jews did professionally was trade. At first they preferred alcohol. I have no idea where they got it, but a lot of people traded it. Yes, so many of the Russian population were hooked on this business that there was even a famine in Belarus - the peasants drank themselves to death.

They began to take measures. They tried to destroy the “kahal” and make ordinary people full-fledged members of society - a hierarchical Jewish structure, but that was not the case - society fiercely defended itself, since it was the kahals with their leaders in the person of the high priests (sort of) that were the centers of Judaism.

They tried to draw Jews into Russian life in another way - they called for sending their children to Russian schools and sending them to the army. At first the kahal resisted, but towards the end of the 19th century the approach changed. Jews rushed to get an education. They changed their national clothes to generally accepted ones. They learned the language (they lived for almost 100 years in the country without knowing the language - they held on to their principles so strongly).

Bottom line, worst enemies- Christians and Jews turned out to be citizens of the same country - Russia. And not just a Christian country. Guardians of Christianity! Cool? “We sensed it in our guts,” gentlemen Jews. God led where the light shone.

Mixed with the Russians. And this not least contributed to the Russian revolution. If very low and very high pressures meet in a geographically narrow space, what happens? Tornado!

But to say that, well, the Jews are to blame for everything... “What is thin, breaks.” Christian gentlemen, do you believe in God? The Jews were given to Russia because it began to retreat from God. As a sample. Russian landowners in their lifestyle and values ​​were in many ways similar to the Jews - mine and slaughter, so to speak. Similar to similar.

On the other hand, with regard to the Jews, God allowed them to mix with the Russians - who historically and first-hand knew what Christianity was. Russians are literally imbued with the Spirit of God, so strongly was Christianity adopted. Hence, a careless attitude towards great grace gave rise to such Russian Judaism, so to speak. And all this came under the control of real Jews. The USSR was formed.

Many Jews married Russians. Yes, and with other nations, but with Russia it is a special case.

At the same time, the pagan world, which before God, like a lightbulb, began to quickly merge into a single global structure with clear principles, mostly enjoyed freedom. And the theme here is set by fallen spirits - just like in the old days.

But the Jews in Russia... Someone left for Israel after its formation. Russian society turned out to be thoroughly permeated with “freedom” - the result of apostasy from God. This did not concern the Jews. God had no Christian meaning to them. But... mixing with Russians does not pass without a trace.

Apparently, this process - the joining of the incompatible - has borne fruit. Many Jews live a simple life, having long forgotten about the rigid society.

And, as in the beginning, on whom did the grace of God begin to act? On simple ones!

During the Great Patriotic War Jews were evacuated in advance. Several million people. Those who refused to leave were shot by the Germans. They had orders. They are talking about 2.5 million. But I think the numbers are overestimated. It is unlikely that millions of people would have been left to die.

The Jewish worldview differs significantly from the Russian, say. Why, they are diametrically opposed! The logical mind and the spiritual mind. Logic versus intuition, so to speak. I repeat, the Russians and Jews who fell away from God found themselves on the same page, and this, again, gave a number of results. Of course, for many, nothing has changed. But there are Jews who have studied the Russian world so thoroughly that there is only a small step left separating them from God.

In general, Christianity and Judaism are incredibly close. But you shouldn't mix it up.

Let's remember our current state, humanity has completely fallen away from God. Again. And, on the one hand, the Jews became, as it were, the leaders of this process. On the other hand... they no longer stand out from the crowd. Humanity unites.

And then God begins to act. “Don’t put new wine into old wineskins, otherwise the skins will break and the wine will leak.” Jews are the beacon of “old wineskins” - a world where everyone was pagan, that is, they did not know the simplest concepts of good and evil.

The new world is the Kingdom of Heaven.

How many Jews are left in Russia - a million? They live “like everyone else,” no longer standing out. At the same time, a Jew’s view of life is different from that of a Russian. I don’t know what exactly is in the souls of the Jews.

Life in one country will not pass without a trace. And when every religion loses its meaning before the new Messiah, it will suddenly turn out that some of the Jews will remain with Russia.

Jews are a very religious people. They are eagerly awaiting their Messiah. So, those who turn out to be the “bad guy” - who don’t want to wait for anyone - will turn out to be the right one. " Good boys", who will fulfill the faith of the fathers to the end will receive the following: "They will come to him and say, give us rain, and he will answer them - the heavens do not give. Then they will understand that he is not the one, but it will be too late.”

The history and life of the Jewish people are a real manual about the action of the Living God. Neither add nor subtract. He who is with God is holy, he who is outside of Him is wicked.

“I know you inside and out,

The law bequeathed from our great-grandfathers is cruel,

But he and you harnessed us together forever,

My enemy.

I know you inside and out -

Bottom line, with such enmity there is no need for love.

Live a hundred years, good luck and blessings to you,

The most difficult thing in life is repentance. After all, no one likes to admit and correct their mistakes, and this is precisely what repentance means. In the Church there is a special Sacrament of Repentance - Confession, which removes a person’s sense of guilt and gives him the opportunity to start a lot from scratch.
We so often strive to seem better to ourselves and others than we really are... From our article you will learn how to repent, prepare with prayer for Confession, what to say to the priest and how to name sins in confession.

What can you repent of?

Repentance is the awareness of one’s mistakes, but repentance is the concept that there are mistakes, that there are sins. Repentance is often “hair pulling”—a meaningless, oppressive feeling of guilt. And repentance is the true beginning of a new life.

Confession, despite the fact that many Orthodox people They confess once every week or two, that is, quite often, they call it the second baptism. During Baptism, a person is cleansed of original sin by the grace of Christ, Who accepted the Crucifixion for the deliverance of all people from sins. And during repentance at Confession, we get rid of new sins that we have committed throughout our life’s journey.

You can hear that the worst sin is pride. They say this because strong pride clouds our eyes, it seems to us that we have no sins, and if we did something, it was an accident. Of course, this is absolutely not true. You need to understand that people are weak, that in the modern world we devote too little time to God, the Church and improving our souls with virtues, and therefore we can be guilty of so many sins even through ignorance and inattention. It is important to be able to expel sins from the soul in time through confession.

However, perhaps the most terrible of sins is suicide - because it can no longer be corrected. Suicide is terrible, because we give away what has been given to us by God and others - life, leaving our loved ones and friends in terrible grief, dooming our soul to eternal torment.

Passions, vices, mortal sins are very difficult to drive out of oneself. In Orthodoxy there is no concept of atonement for passion - after all, all our sins have already been atoned for by the Lord Himself. The main thing is that we must confess and receive communion in church with faith in God, having prepared ourselves with fasting and prayer. Then, with God’s help, stop committing sinful actions and fight sinful thoughts.

What is repentance

You should not look for particularly strong emotions in repentance. Repentance is:

• Reconciliation with loved ones and acquaintances if you have seriously offended or deceived someone;
• Understanding that a number of actions you have done out of intent or carelessness and the constant preservation of certain feelings are unrighteous and are sins;
• A firm intention not to sin again, not to repeat sins, for example, to legalize fornication, stop adultery, recover from drunkenness and drug addiction;
• Faith in the Lord, His mercy and His gracious help;
• Faith that the Sacrament of Confession by Christ's grace and the power of His death on the Cross will destroy all your sins.

Guilt and repentance

During Confession, a person names his sins to the priest - but, as it is said in the prayer before confession, which the priest will read, this is a confession to Christ Himself, and the priest is only a servant of God who visibly gives His grace. We receive forgiveness from the Lord: His words are preserved in the Gospel, with which Christ gives to the apostles, and through them to the priests, their successors, the power to forgive sins: “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive, they will be forgiven; on whomever you leave it, it will remain on him.”

In Confession we receive forgiveness of all the sins that we have named and those that we have forgotten. Under no circumstances should you hide your sins! If you are ashamed, name the sins, among others, briefly.

The feeling of guilt is irrational, it only causes an unrealizable desire to correct the past, and repentance, a listing of sins and a promise not to sin again is a request to God for help, so that He Himself will correct your life, your past mistakes.

Preparing for confession is basically thinking about your life and repenting, that is, admitting that certain things you have done are sins. Before Confession you need:

If you have never confessed, start remembering your life from the age of seven (it is at this time that a child growing up in Orthodox family, By church tradition, comes to the first confession, that is, he can clearly answer for his actions). Realize what transgressions cause you remorse, because conscience, according to the word of the Holy Fathers, is the voice of God in man. Think about what you can call these actions, for example: taking candy saved for a holiday without asking, getting angry and yelling at a friend, leaving a friend in trouble - this is theft, malice and anger, betrayal.

Write down all the sins that you remember, with the awareness of your untruth and a promise to God not to repeat these mistakes.

Continue thinking as an adult. In confession, you cannot and should not talk about the history of each sin; its name is enough. Remember that many encouraged modern world deeds are sins: affair or affair with married woman- adultery, sex outside of marriage - fornication, a clever deal where you received a benefit and gave someone else a low-quality item - deception and theft. All this also needs to be written down and promised to God not to sin again.

Read Orthodox literature about Confession. An example of such a book is “The Experience of Constructing Confession” by Archimandrite John Krestyankin, a contemporary elder who died in 2006. He knew the sins and sorrows of modern people.

A good habit is to analyze your day every day. The same advice is usually given by psychologists in order to form an adequate self-esteem of a person. Remember, or better yet, write down your sins, whether done by accident or intentionally (mentally ask God to forgive them and promise not to commit them again), and your successes - thank God and His help for them.

There is a Canon of Repentance to the Lord, which you can read while standing in front of the icon on the eve of confession. It is also included in the number of prayers that are preparatory to Communion. There are also several Orthodox prayers with a list of sins and words of repentance. With the help of such prayers and Canon of Penance you will prepare for confession faster, because it will be easy for you to understand what actions are called sins and what you need to repent of.

Prayer of repentance

Often the Sacrament of Confession itself can be called a prayer of repentance, because the priest prays that the Lord will accept our repentance. This is how it goes
Confession usually takes place half an hour before the start of each Liturgy (you need to find out its time from the schedule) in any Orthodox church.

In the temple you need to wear appropriate clothing: men in trousers and shirts with at least short sleeves (not shorts and T-shirts), without hats; women in a skirt below the knee and a headscarf (kerchief, scarf) - by the way, skirts and headscarves can be borrowed for free during your stay in the temple.

For confession, you only need to take a piece of paper with your sins written down (it is needed so as not to forget to name the sins).

The priest will go to the place of confession - usually a group of confessors gathers there, it is located to the left or right of the altar - and will read the prayers that begin the Sacrament. Then, in some churches, according to tradition, a list of sins is read out - in case you have forgotten some sins - the priest calls for repentance of them (those that you have committed) and to give your name. This is called general confession.

Then, in order of priority, you approach the confessional table. The priest may (this depends on practice) take the sheet of sins from your hands to read for himself, or then you yourself read aloud. If you want to tell the situation and repent of it in more detail, or you have a question about this situation, about spiritual life in general, ask it after listing the sins, before absolution.
After you have completed the dialogue with the priest: simply listed your sins and said: “I repent,” or asked a question, received an answer and thanked you, state your name. Then the priest performs absolution: you bend down a little lower (some people kneel), put an epitrachelion on your head (a piece of embroidered fabric with a slit for the neck, signifying the priest’s shepherding), reads a short prayer and baptizes your head over the stole.

When the priest removes the stole from your head, you must immediately cross yourself, kiss first the Cross, then the Gospel, which lie in front of you on the confessional lectern (high table).

If you are going to Communion, take a blessing from the priest: cup your palms in front of him, right over left, say: “Bless me to take communion, I was preparing (preparing).” In many churches, priests simply bless everyone after confession: therefore, after kissing the Gospel, look at the priest - is he calling the next confessor or is he waiting for you to finish kissing and take the blessing.

On the eve of Confession or when there is a burden of heart, you can read the prayer of repentance online in Russian - this is a daily confession of sins, which is read as part of the Orthodox evening prayer rule:

“I confess to You, the One Lord my God and Creator, the Holy Trinity, glorified by all, Whom all people worship: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, all my sins that I committed in all the days of my life, which I sinned every hour, during today and in the past days and nights: in deed, in word, in thoughts, gluttony, drunkenness, eating in secret from others, idle discussion of people and things, despondency, laziness, disputes, disobedience and deception of superiors, slander, condemnation, careless and inattentive attitude to business and people, pride and selfishness, greed, theft, lies, criminal profit, desire for easy gain, jealousy, envy, anger, resentment, rancor, hatred, bribery or extortion and all my senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, other spiritual and physical sins with which I angered You, my God and Creator, and caused harm to my neighbor; Regretting all this, I am guilty before You, I admit to my God and I myself repent: only, Lord my God, help me, I humbly beg You with tears: forgive me all my sins committed by Your mercy, and deliver me from all that I listed in prayer to You, according to Your Good will and love for all people. Amen".

May the Lord accept your repentance and help you in all matters!

Birthdays