The concept of “repent” has several shades of meaning, although quite close to each other. This verb plays an important role in church customs. Without repentance, the spiritual life of Christian believers is impossible. More details about what it means to repent will be described in the article.
Dictionary word
Three variants of the meaning of the word “repent” are given there.
- The first of them speaks of the recognition of one’s own guilt or the mistake made, of a feeling of regret.
- The second involves admitting a mistake or guilt.
- The third has a religious connotation and means repentance of one's sins during confession.
For a better understanding of what the word "repent" means, examples of its use should be given.
Examples of offers
These include the following:
- "Only the love that we lose makes us indulge in grief and repent of the fact that we did not have time to give much to our beloved."
- "He longed to take revenge on her, to severely punish her for treason, to make her suffer and repent."
- "In order to maintain a relationship, Sergei had to repent before everyone, proving that he was not a camel."
- "This man could not and did not want to repent publicly of his sins."
- "According to the canons of ancient church practice, a person had the opportunity to repent only once when he entered the community."
- "There are situations when a person is so bad that he is no longer able to pray or repent."
Understanding the meaning of “repent” will help acquaintance with synonyms for this word.
Synonyms
Among them can be noted such as:
- to confess;
- to blame;
- repent;
- to suffer remorse;
- regret;
- confess;
- confess;
- to feel remorse;
- to be executed;
- to be tormented;
- to blame;
- he is not happy;
- Bitterly repent;
- feel the pangs of conscience;
- to regret;
- there is nothing to conceal;
- honestly say;
- regret the act;
- to admit guilt.
For a better understanding of what it means to repent, it would be advisable to consider the origin of this verb.
Etymology
The verb in question comes from the Proto-Slavic kajati (sę). Among other things, from it were formed:
- Russian: “reproach” - “reproach”;
- Ukrainian: “kayats (of someone)” - “reproach”;
- Bulgarian: “kaya se” - “repent”;
- Serbo-Croatian: “kȁyati” - “(from) revenge”;
- Slovenian: kájati - “reproach”;
- Czech: kát se - “repent, repent of something”;
- Polish: kajać sie - “repent”;
- Upper Luga: kać so - “repent”;
- Lower Luzhskoe: kajaś se– “repent”.
There is a connection with the word "price" by alternating vowels. Is related:
- Ancient Indian: cayate - “avenges, punishes”;
- Avestan verbs: kā - “pay, repent”; cikayat “let him take revenge, punish, repent”;
- Avestan nouns: kaēnā - “punishment, revenge”; kaʮa - “payment, retribution”;
- the Greek verb: τίνω - “cry, repent”; noun - ποινή - "punishment, repentance."
In continuation of the study of the question of what it is to repent, some religious aspects related to it will be considered.
What to talk about in confession?
Priests say that a considerable number of people coming to confession do not know what they should repent of. They are silent and wait for leading questions to follow from the clergyman. Church officials see several reasons for this. In first place among them are the following:
- A scattered life with a thousand things, during which there is no time to look into your own soul and figure out what is wrong with it.
- Overpriced self-esteem, that is, pride, a tendency to notice more not one's own, but other people's shortcomings and sins.
- Lack of guidance on this issue from parents and priests.
Particular attention should be paid to these reasons and more involved in improving one's inner world, then the question of what needs to be repented will be more clear for each person. The answer to it to the Orthodox Christian will help to give his conscience. But there are general recommendations about this.
It is best to build a confession in accordance with the Ten Commandments of God. That is, first of all, it is necessary to talk about what a person sinned against God. These are, for example, sins such as:
- disbelief;
- lack of faith;
- superstition;
- vows;
- bozheniya.
Secondly, one should repent of sins committed against loved ones. This is about:
- not veneration;
- inattention to parents;
- disobedience to them;
- cheating;
- tricks;
- conviction;
- anger against others;
- hostility;
- arrogance;
- pride;
- vanity;
- avarice;
- theft;
- seducing others to sin;
- fornication.
In conclusion of the consideration of the question that it is to repent, we will talk about important nuances that interest believers in connection with confession.
Questions to the priests
Below are those that are most frequently asked, and answers are given to them.
- “Is it necessary to confess all sins in confession?” - It all depends on how much repentance a person experiences. If he decided to finally get rid of sin, trying to uproot it, he sets out all the smallest details. If a formal approach is observed, then the statements will be brief. For example, "He committed a sin in deeds, in thoughts, and in words." There is an exception to this rule regarding sin such as fornication. In this case, it is better to refuse to give details.
- " What to do with the feeling of shame that often engulfs people in confession, with the desire to hide sin? Will God forgive hidden sin?" - Shame during confession is a natural feeling. It testifies to the presence of a living conscience in the soul. Much worse when shame is absent. But at the same time, it is important that this feeling does not reduce confession to formality, when something is open and something is hidden. Such a confession will not please God. Typically, the priest feels when confession becomes a formality. Regardless of how great the severity of perfect sin is, the deeper the repentance, the more the priest rejoices for the repentant. Angels are also happy for a sincere person.
- "If after confession a person does not feel relief, what does this mean?" - Most likely, there was no genuine repentance, there was no heartbreak. There was only a formal listing of sins without a desire to change their lives, parting with sin completely. But sometimes the feeling of lightness is not given by the Lord immediately so that a person does not feel pride and does not commit the same sins. And relief may not come right away when it comes to old, deeply rooted sins. For relief to come, many penitential tears must be shed.