Is confession required before every Communion?
I believe the main reason for the problem lies in a misunderstanding of the essence of the Sacrament of Repentance. For many laypeople and even priests, it has become merely one of the conditions or a kind of “pass” to Holy Communion. Yet in the Church canons there is no requirement for obligatory confession before the Eucharist. The Holy Fathers also do not speak of such a necessity. At the same time, we often find exhortations about the need for “purifying the conscience,” “confessing with the resolve not to yield to sin,” and similar things.
The point is that we conflate different concepts into one. The Sacrament of Repentance is the Sacrament of reunion with the Church of those who have fallen away from Her through committing mortal sins, which is why it is sometimes even called a “second baptism.” It must be distinguished from the confession of everyday sins (which does not require the participation of a priest), and even more so from the ancient monastic practice of disclosing one’s thoughts to an elder.
The Apostle Paul says: “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup” (1 Cor. 11:27). That is, it is the communicant himself who must examine himself, not the priest or someone else. St. John Chrysostom, commenting on these words, notes that the Apostle “commands us not to examine one another, but to examine ourselves, establishing a tribunal without publicity and an accusation without witnesses.”
St. Anastasius of Antioch says: “If we fall, as all men do, into some venial offenses, being deceived by the tongue, or the ear, or the eyes, or by vanity, or sorrow, or anger, or something similar, then by reproaching ourselves and confessing to God (here again no priest is mentioned), let us partake of Communion… But if we commit some grave, wicked, carnal, and unclean sins and harbor resentment against our neighbor, then until we repent in a worthy manner (here the Sacrament is meant), we must not approach the Divine Mysteries at all.”
Thus, for some sins we may limit ourselves to an interior confession before God, while grave sins require the Sacrament of reconciliation with the Church, which is performed through a priest. This is why in many Local Churches confession is required only after committing a mortal sin that separates one from the Body of the Church.
I am convinced that true confession cannot be performed before every Liturgy. Repentance is not just a list of mistakes but a deep transformation of mind and heart, which demands time, reflection, and change of thinking. By its very nature, such a process cannot take place frequently; otherwise, it turns into a formality or mere conversations about family and personal problems, and also leads to the false belief that a person cannot on his own ask God for forgiveness of his sins.
As a result, instead of prayerful participation in the Liturgy itself, people end up standing in lines for a “pass.” Yet within the Liturgy itself there are prayers asking for the forgiveness of sins and that Communion be not unto condemnation.
Of course, there are people who have entered the church for the first time, or those who do not regard mortal sins as such. But when a parish has a healthy Eucharistic life, the priest knows his flock and can bless them for Communion without formalistic confessions. And for those unknown to him, there will be time for a preliminary conversation and a thorough repentance if necessary.
