Sfânta Taină a Pocăinței în Biserica Ortodoxă Coptă și în Biserica Ortodoxă Română

Abstract

Like in the Romanian Orthodox Church, also in the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Sacrament of Penance is one of the most important sanctifying works that the priest administers to believers to restore the communion with God, which is broken by sin, and to restore the bright garment received at Baptism, but stained by sins. Therefore, in both churches, Christian life can not be conceived without the Sacrament of Penance, instituted by Christ the Saviour, immediately after His Holy Resurrection from the dead. The author analyzes the Sacrament of Holy Confession from the point of view of the two churches, both in terms of form and substance, showing the many similarities regarding this Sacrament, exposed in detail in the present articleand also the small differences regarding it. The terms of repentance, the recipient’s age, the need of confession before a priest, canons ordained for different sins, the conditions that must be met by the priest confessor, the ordinanceof the Sacrament in the Coptic Church are the topics addressed synthetically in treating this important topic of pastoral theology. As a novelty, the author also presents the order of the Sacrament of Confession for priests, as well as for those who have denied the faith.