An Examination of Conscience From St. John of Kronstadt and St. Demetri of Rostov Compiled and edited
by V. Rev. Fr. George Morelli, Ph.D.
Sins Against God
Do you pray to God in the morning and evening, before
and after meals?
During prayer have you allowed your thoughts to
wander?
Have you rushed or gabbled your prayers? or when
reading in church?
Do you read the Scriptures daily? Do you read other
spiritual writings regularly?
Have you read books whose content is not Orthodox or
even anti-Orthodox, or is spiritually damaging?
Have you pronounced the name of God without reverence,
joking? Have you asked God's help before starting every activity?
Have you made the sign of the Cross carelessly,
thoughtlessly? Have you sworn? Have you murmured against God?
Have you sinned by forgetting God?
Have you been slack in attending church?
Have you consecrated even part of the feast days,
particularly Sundays and the Twelve Great Feasts, to God?
Have you tried your best to attend church on these
days? or have you spent them more sinfully than ordinary days?
If unable to attend church for some reason, have you
nonetheless tried to devote some part of these days to prayer and spiritual
reading?
Have you joined actively in worship services of the
non-Orthodox or receive their sacraments.
Have you kept the fasts?
Have you behaved irreverently in church, or before the
clergy and monastics?
Have you laughed or talked in church, or moved about
unnecessarily, thus also distracting other people from prayer?
Have dressed modestly and in a becoming manner when in
church?
Have you tried to pay reverent attention to the
readings, hymns, and prayers in church?
Have you striven to pray with the service, crossing
yourself, etc., or have you day-dreamed?
Have you prepared for the services beforehand, looking
up the Scriptural readings, making sure you have the texts to follow the
service etc., especially if the service will be in a language you do not
readily understand?
Have you ever left church after the Divine Services,
and particularly after receiving the Holy Mysteries and immediately engaged in
light talk and thus forgotten the blessings and graces you have received?
Have you been ashamed of your Faith or the sign of the
Cross in the presence of others?
Have you made a show of your piety?
Have you used your Orthodox Faith or its teachings
merely to browbeat others or belittle them?
Have you used it as a shield or excuse for your own
inadequacies rather than humbling yourself?
Have you believed in dreams, fortune telling,
astrology, signs and other superstitions?
Do you give thanks to the Lord for all things?
Have you ever doubted God's providence concerning
yourself?
Do you at least try to perceive His purpose in all the
things that come upon you?
Sins Against Your Neighbors
Do you respect and obey your parents, legitimate
religious (priest & bishop) and legal authorities?
Have you offended them by rudeness or contradiction?
Have you insulted anyone?
Have you quarreled or fought with anyone? Have you hit
anyone?
Are you always respectful to old people?
Are you ever angry, bad tempered or irritable?
Have you called anyone names? Do you use foul
language?
Have you derided any that are disabled, poor, old or
in some way disadvantaged?
Have you entertained bad feelings, ill will or hatred
against anyone?
Have you forgiven those who have offended you?
Have you asked forgiveness from those whom you have
offended?
Are you at peace with everyone?
Have you left the needy without help when you could
have helped?
Have you attended the sick or elderly when they have
asked you to do so?
Have you shown kindness and attention to all,
remembering that God is expecting just such an attitude from you?
Have you hit animals without a cause or been cruel to
them, or neglectful of those in your care?
Have you stolen anything?
Have you taken or used other people's things without
asking?
Have you kept money or things that were lent you
without returning them?
Have you wasted your employers' time or resources?
Have you taken things from work for your own use, used the firm's phone or
other facilities for your own purposes without permission or repayment?
Are you obstinate, and do you always try to have your
own way?
Have you been inconsiderate of other people's
feelings?
Have you tried to have your revenge against those who
have offended you?
Have you harbored resentment? Have you deceived
people?
Have you gossiped?
Have you told untruths?
Have you judged and condemned others?
Have you taken pains before approaching for confession
to be reconciled
with all?
Sins Against Yourself
Have you been proud? Do you boast of your abilities,
achievements, family, connections or riches?
Do you consider yourself worthy before God?
Are you vain, ambitious? Do you try to win praise and
glory?
Do you bear it easily when you are blamed, scolded or
treated unjustly? Do you think too much about your looks, outward appearance
and the impression you make?
Have you sinned in thought, word or deed, by a look or
glance, or in any other way against by sexual sins? (Adultery, fornication, all
extra-marital sexual relationships with others, masturbation, engaging in
unnatural sexual acts, fantasizing, pornography, etc.)
Have you envied anyone anything? Have you been
over-sensitive?
Have you been lazy? Have you done your duties
heartily?
Have you wasted your time, energy or abilities in
things that do not profit the soul?
Have you become obsessive about anything? Have you
been despondent or listless?
Have you had thoughts of committing suicide?
Have you brought a curse on yourself or others or
ill-wished them, being impatient?
Have you drunk alcohol too much, or become dependent
on drink?
Have you taken drugs, other than necessary medicines?
Have you smoked?
Have you watched television too much or
indiscriminately? Have you given yourself up to any other similar pastime which
wastes your time and energy and might have harmed you?
Have you been greedy, either with regard to food or to
possessions?
Have you indulged in comfort-eating? Have you become
accustomed to eating between meals?
Have you been picky about your food, or wasteful of
foods, forgetting that so many people are without proper nourishment? Have you
been extravagant? Have you been wasteful?
Do you care for and seek first the salvation of your
soul, the spiritual life and the kingdom of God, or have you put earthly considerations
in the first place?
Have you cared for all of God’s creation, protecting
the earth, environment, precious resources?
Is there any other sin, which burdens your conscience,
or which you are
ashamed to tell?
A Brief Confession Before Father Confessors
From the Full Confession of St. Demetrius of Rostov
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 and 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: senseless talking; judging
others; willful close-mindedness; pride; hard-heartedness; envy; anger;
slander; inattention; negligence concerning my salvation; carelessness,
indifference, disrespect, irritability, loss of hope, rendering evil for evil,
bitterness, disobedience; complaining; self-justification; contradicting
others; self-will; blaming others; gossiping, lying, frivolousness, tempting
others, self-love, ambition, eating and drinking to excess, vanity;
slothfulness and absent-mindedness in prayer in church and at home; not
attending church and divine services because of laziness and carelessness;
entertaining unclean thoughts, impure glances and deeds; desiring and obtaining
excess possessions; neglecting the physical and spiritual needs of others and
myself; not caring for the earth and it’s environment. I have sinned in deed,
word thought; in sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch and the rest of my mental
and physical senses and by counsel, command, consent, provocation, flattery
concealment, partaking, silence. and defense. I am truly sorry for all my sins
I repent and beg forgiveness.
(Here one should mention specifically any other sins
which may be burdening the soul.)
I also repent and ask forgiveness for all those sins
that I have not confessed because of their multitude and my forgetfulness. I
commit to Christ to change my heart, mind and behavior and beg His grace.
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.
CONVERSATION