Mortal Sin?

[Ave Maria]

Hi everyone. Does the Orthodox Church believe in mortal sin? If not, why not? Also, what kinds of sins condemn a person to Hell in Eastern Orthodoxy?

 

[kamikat]

Well, we don't really categorize sins as mortal and venial. Any sin takes us away from communion with God. I was told that any sin that has not been repented of condemns one to hell.

 

[choirfiend]

All sin is sin. But God can also forgive all sin, and so while we are great sinners, we fall upon the mercy of Christ while running the race and striving to do His will, which is to not sin.

 

[Michael G]

It is not the sin which condemns one to hell. It is the lack of willingness to repent and accept the love and mercy of God which prevents one from enterring Heaven. Hell is the rejection of the love and mercy of God. Thus I can not say what sins would prevent one from attaining eternal life, other than to say that it is best to try to live as holy a life as you can and pray God will have mercy on you and you will be willing to accept God's mercy.

 

[Ave Maria]

Okay well how do you know which sins to confess and which not to confess?

 

[Michael G]

Okay well how do you know which sins to confess and which not to confess?

You confess all sins. The Orthodox understanding of sin is anything which misses the mark which is set by God. Thus sin is anything that prevents us from being in union with him.

 

[kamikat]

Okay well how do you know which sins to confess and which not to confess?

Why would you want to hold any sins back? Even when I was still Catholic, I confessed everything. A venial sin means you don't HAVE to confess it, not that you CAN'T confess it.

 

[Ave Maria]

You confess all sins. The Orthodox understanding of sin is anything which misses the mark which is set by God. Thus sin is anything that prevents us from being in union with him.

Ah okay. Thank you for clearing this up.

 

[Ave Maria]

Can you go to communion with any sin on your conscience?

 

[kamikat]

Can you go to communion with any sin on your conscience?

Confession is not directly linked to reception of communion. Generally, one's spiritual father will tell you how often to make confession. I suppose if a particular sin is weighing heavily on you, you might abstain. One must also follow the Friday and Wednesday fast, as well as the eucharistic fast from all food and drink from the night before receiving communion. Back before Vatican II, the Catholic eucharistic fast was from before midnight the night before. My mother raised us to observe this fast eventhough it was changed to an hour before reception, now.

 

[RobNJ]

Can you go to communion with any sin on your conscience?

This is part of the liturgy, that we say before communion:

I believe, O Lord, and I confess that Thou art truly the Christ, the Son of the Living God, Who came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the chief. And I believe that this is Thy pure Body and Thy own Precious Blood. Therefore, I pray Thee, have mercy on me and forgive my transgressions, voluntary and involuntary, in word and deed, known and unknown. And grant that I may partake of Thy Holy Mysteries without condemnation, for the remission of my sins and for the life eternal. Amen.

 

[Ave Maria]

This is part of the liturgy, that we say before communion:

I believe, O Lord, and I confess that Thou art truly the Christ, the Son of the Living God, Who came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the chief. And I believe that this is Thy pure Body and Thy own Precious Blood. Therefore, I pray Thee, have mercy on me and forgive my transgressions, voluntary and involuntary, in word and deed, known and unknown. And grant that I may partake of Thy Holy Mysteries without condemnation, for the remission of my sins and for the life eternal. Amen.

Ah okay so you can still receive communion even if you haven't just gone to confession?

 

[Oblio]

In general, auricular confession is not a requirement for every Communion, especially if you receive on a regular basis. There are exceptions (and not without controversy) to this.

 

[Ave Maria]

In general, auricular confession is not a requirement for every Communion, especially if you receive on a regular basis. There are exceptions (and not without controversy) to this.

Ah okay. Thank you for clarifying!

 

[Grigorii]

Can you go to communion with any sin on your conscience?

That depends upon the variety of Eastern Orthodox jurisdiction you ask. The Russians tend to emphasize confession before every time one communes, the Greeks tend to not do so and receive Communion more or less independent from Confession (these are generalizations and may not be accurate for all cases). I speak from my own experience here.

Gregorios

 

[Mary of Bethany]

I've been reading Great Lent by Father Alexander Schmemann, and he gets into this very thing. He says that it's wrong to tie Communion directly to Confession, either to feel that you have to make Confession every week in order to receive the Holy Mysteries, or to hold yourself from Communion for a whole year, and then make a once-a-year Confession in order to receive the Holy Mysteries at that time.

He says that sacramental confession/absolution was originally meant for those who had excommunicated themselves from the Church - for whatever reason - and wanted to reunite. It was not thought necessary for every sin.

Nowadays we "confuse" Confession with spiritual counseling and feel we have to confess every sin - to be "sinless" before we can commune. We think we have to do this or we are not "worthy" to receive the Holy Mysteries. When the fact of the matter is, we are never "worthy". We only have Christ's "worthiness" to receive, and He intends us to receive Him as often as possible. The idea of not being "worthy" is what made people withhold themselves from receiving Communion more than the minimal once-a-year, which is of course what Father Schmemann worked hard to change.

It's something I'd like to talk to my Priest about. He encourages frequent confession - at least once a month.

Mary

 

[Kristos]

Can you go to communion with any sin on your conscience?

Absolutely not!

 

[Kristos]

Gregory the Theologian says:

When the most sacred body of Christ is received and eaten in a proper manner, it becomes a weapon against those who war against us, it returns to God those who had left Him, it strengthens the weak, it causes the healthy to be glad, it heals sicknesses, and it preserves health. Through it we become meek and more willing to accept correction, more longsuffering in our pains, more fervent in our love, more detailed in our knowledge, more willing to do obedience, and keener in the workings of the charismata of the Spirit. But all the opposite happens to those who do not receive Communion in a proper manner.​

St. Ephraim the Syrian writes:

Brothers, let us practice stillness, fasting, prayer, and tears; gather together in the Church; work with our hands; speak about the Holy Fathers; be obedient to the truth; and listen to the divine Scriptures; so that our minds do not become barren (and sprout the thorns of evil thoughts). And let us certainly make ourselves worthy of partaking of the divine and immaculate Mysteries, so that our soul may be purified from thoughts of unbelief and impurity, and so that the Lord will dwell within us and deliver us from the evil one.​

St. Theodore the Studite wondrously describes the benefit one receives from frequent Communion:

Tears and contrition have great power. But the Communion of the sanctified Gifts, above all, has especially great power and benefit, and, seeing that you are so indifferent towards it and do not frequently receive it, I am in wonder and great amazement. For I see that you only receive Communion on Sundays, but, if there is a Liturgy on any other day, you do not commune, though when I was in the monastery each one of you had permission to commune every day, if you so desired. But now the Liturgy is less frequently celebrated, and you still do not commune. I say these things to you, not because I wish for you simply to commune—haphazardly, without preparation (for it is written: ”But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the Bread, and drink of the Cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body and blood” [1 Cor. 11:28–29]). No, I am not saying this. God forbid! I say that we should, out of our desire for Communion, purify ourselves as much as possible and make ourselves worthy of the Gift. For the Bread which came down from heaven is participation in life: ”If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (Jn. 6:51). Again He says: ”He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him” (Jn. 6:58).​

St. Anastasios of Antioch confirms this:

If we fall into some small, pardonable sins on account of our being human, either with our tongue, our ears, our eyes, and we fall as victims of deceit into vainglory, or sorrow, or anger, or some other like sin, let us condemn ourselves and confess to God. Thus let us partake of the Holy Mysteries, believing that the reception of the divine Mysteries is unto the purification of these small sins (though not the grave and evil and impure sins which we may have committed, regarding which we should seek the Mystery of Confession).

Chrysostom likewise says:

For Great Lent occurs but once a year. But we celebrate Pascha (that is, we receive Communion) three times a week or even four. Or, to say it better, as often as we like. For Pascha does not consist of fasting, but of the Offering and Sacrifice which takes place during the daily gathering. And as testimony that this is true, listen to Paul, who says: “Christ our passover [pascha] is sacrificed for us” (1 Cor. 5:7)…. Therefore, as often as you partake of Communion with a pure conscience, you celebrate Pascha; not when you fast, but when you partake of that Sacrifice…. The catechumen never celebrates Pascha, even though he may fast every year during Lent, because he does not commune in the Offering. So then, even the person who did not fast, if he approaches with a pure conscience, celebrates Pascha, be it today, tomorrow, or any time he partakes of Communion. For good and proper preparation for Communion is not judged by lengths of time, but by a pure conscience.

 

[Kristos]

1. Concerning Mortal Sins

According to Gennadios Scholarios, George Koressios, the Orthodox Confession, and Chrysanthos of Jerusalem, mortal sins are those voluntary sins which either corrupt the love for God alone, or the love for neighbor and for God, and which render again the one committing them an enemy of God and liable to the eternal death of hell. Generally speaking, they are: pride, love of money, sexual immorality, envy, gluttony, anger, and despondency, or indifference.
2. Concerning Pardonable Sins

Pardonable sins are those voluntary sins which do not corrupt the love for God or the love for neighbor, nor do they render the person an enemy of God and liable to eternal death, to which transgressions even the Saints are susceptible, according to the words of the Brother of God: “For in many things we all sin” (Jas. 3:2), and of John: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves” (l Jn. 1:8), and according to Canons 125, 126, and 127 of Carthage. These sins, according to Koressios and Chrysanthos, are: idle talk, the initial inclination and agitation of anger, the initial inclination of lust, the initial inclination of hate, a white lie, passing envy, or that which is commonly called jealousy, which is slight grief over the good fortunes of one’s neighbor, and the like.
The many sins which are generally called pardonable are not of one and the same degree, but they are of varying degrees, smaller and larger, lower and higher, and that pardonable sins and mortal sins are two extremes. For in between these extremes there are found varying degrees of sins, beginning from the pardonable ones and proceeding up to the mortal ones, which degrees were not given names by the Ancients, perhaps because they are many and varied according to the class and specific kind of sins, but could have named them if they so desired.
3. Concerning sins of omission

Those good works, or words, or thoughts, which are capable of being done or thought by someone, but through negligence were not done, or said, or thought, are called sins of omission, and are brought forth from the mortal sin of despondency. God will render an account on the day of judgment concerning these. Who verifies this for us? The example of that slothful servant who had the one talent and buried it in the ground, who was judged, not because he committed any sin or injustice with it (because he who gave the talent to him took it all back, as Basil the Great says in the Introduction of The Long Rules), [16]but because being able to increase it, was negligent and did not increase it: “Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury” (Mt. 25:27). It is also verified for us by the example of the five foolish virgins who were condemned for nothing other than an absence of oil. And concerning the sinners placed at the left hand, they will be condemned, not because they committed any sin, but because they were lacking and were not merciful to their brother: “For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink” (Mt. 25:42). The reason that God gave to man natural strength was not in order to leave it idle and useless, without results and fruit, just as that slothful servant left the talent of the Lord idle, but He gave it to man in order for man to put it into action, and into practice, and for it to increase, doing good with it and the commandments of the Lord, and so to be saved through this. On this account Basil the Great said: “We have already received from God the power to fulfill all the commandments given us by Him, so that we may not take our obligation in bad part, as though something quite strange and unexpected were being asked of us, and that we may not become filled with conceit, as if we were paying back something more than had been given us.”
Gregory of Nyssa, says: “As each shall receive his wages, just as the Apostle says (1 Cor. 3:14), according to his labor, so also each shall receive punishment according to the extent of their negligence.”
Those things which are also called sins of omission are those which we were able to prevent, by word or act, but did not prevent.

 

[Gwendolyn]

Back before Vatican II, the Catholic eucharistic fast was from before midnight the night before. My mother raised us to observe this fast eventhough it was changed to an hour before reception, now.

Unfortunately most people in Roman Catholicism do not think much on fasts these days. I observe the old Eucharistic fast simply because it helpes me to take Our Lord's presence in the Eucharist more seriously; makes me think about what it is I am receiving, and the exhortation to live a good and holy life that goes along with it.