We confess to God in the presence of a priest because Christ gave His apostles, and through them, their successors, the authority to forgive sins. It’s not about the priest himself. It’s about what Christ established.
After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (John 20:22-23). That’s a direct commission. He didn’t say “pray about it” or “think good thoughts.” He gave them authority to actually forgive sins on His behalf. The Orthodox Church has understood this literally for two thousand years.
The Priest as Witness, Not Mediator
Here’s what trips people up, especially if you grew up Baptist or Church of Christ. You’re not confessing to the priest like he’s some kind of gatekeeper between you and God. You’re confessing to God with the priest standing there as a witness and Christ’s representative.
Think of it this way. When you sin, you don’t just offend God privately. You wound the whole Body of Christ. James tells us to “confess your sins to one another” (James 5:16). The priest represents the Church, the community you’ve injured. He’s there to hear your confession on behalf of everyone, to offer guidance, and to speak Christ’s forgiveness aloud.
Your priest goes to confession himself. He probably has more to confess than you do. He’s not standing there in judgment. He’s standing there as a fellow sinner who happens to have been ordained and given this particular ministry.
Why Out Loud?
You can pray silently to God anytime. Nobody’s saying you can’t. But there’s something about saying your sins out loud to another human being that changes things. It makes it real. It creates accountability. It’s harder to minimize or rationalize when you have to actually form the words.
And honestly? It’s a relief. I’ve watched people walk out of the confessional looking like they’ve put down a hundred-pound pack they’d been carrying for months. There’s freedom in it. Your conscience gets heavy. Confession lifts that weight.
The early Church knew this. The Didache, written around 70-100 AD, instructed Christians to “confess your sins in church… so that your sacrifice may be pure.” This isn’t some medieval invention. It’s how Christians have always done it.
The Priest as Spiritual Doctor
We call confession a “therapeutic sacrament.” The priest acts like a doctor diagnosing what’s making you spiritually sick. He draws on the wisdom of the Church Fathers, on two thousand years of dealing with human brokenness, to help you understand what’s going on and what might help.
Maybe you confess anger. A good confessor won’t just say “don’t be angry.” He’ll ask questions. What triggers it? What are you afraid of? What’s underneath? Then he might suggest a prayer, a practice, maybe reading something specific. He’s treating the disease, not just the symptoms.
The absolution he speaks isn’t magic words. It’s Christ’s forgiveness, conveyed through the ministry Christ established. When the priest says “I forgive you,” he’s speaking for Christ, by Christ’s authority. Something actually happens.
What About “One Mediator”?
People quote 1 Timothy 2:5 at us all the time: “There is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” Fair enough. We believe that too. But the priest isn’t mediating in that sense. He’s not standing between you and Christ. He’s acting in persona Christi, in the person of Christ, by delegated authority.
It’s like when a police officer pulls you over. He represents the state. He has authority the state gave him. That doesn’t make him “another state” competing with the real one. The priest represents Christ. He has authority Christ gave him. That doesn’t make him another savior.
How It’s Different
If you’re coming from a Protestant background, you’re used to confessing privately to God. That’s fine as far as it goes. But it’s incomplete. Christ gave specific authority to specific people for a reason. He could’ve just said “pray about it,” but He didn’t.
If you’re coming from a Catholic background, Orthodox confession will feel similar but less legalistic. We don’t have a confessional booth (usually just an icon stand in the corner of the church). We don’t assign penances like “say ten Hail Marys.” The priest might suggest something, but it’s about healing, not paying off a debt.
Practically Speaking
In our Antiochian parishes, every priest receives the faculty to hear confessions when he’s ordained. You confess to your pastor, the priest of your parish, because you’re under his spiritual care. If you’re traveling or there’s some special circumstance, you can confess to another Orthodox priest, but your regular confessor should be your regular priest.
Some parishes have scheduled confession times. Others don’t. At St. Michael, you can call Father and set up a time. Before major feasts, there’s usually confession available. Before you receive Communion, you should have confessed recently. How recently depends on your situation and your priest’s guidance.
The actual confession is straightforward. You stand before the icon of Christ (the priest stands beside you, not between you and the icon). You say what you need to say. The priest might ask questions or offer advice. Then he reads the prayer of absolution and you’re done. Five minutes, sometimes. Sometimes longer if you need to talk.
It Gets Easier
First confession is terrifying. Everybody feels that way. By your fifth or tenth, it’s just part of your spiritual rhythm. You’ll start to see patterns in your sins, understand yourself better, notice when you’re sliding before you completely fall.
That’s the point. Confession isn’t about groveling or feeling terrible. It’s about getting well. It’s about becoming the person God created you to be, slowly, with help, in community. The priest is there to help with that. So is Christ, who established this mystery for exactly that purpose.
