I have been reading the different absolution prayers among groups who practice it, and I was struck by the humility of the Orthodox prayer. It is beautiful in its humility:
My spiritual child/brother/sister, you have made your
confession to my humble person, although I, a humble
sinner, have no power on earth to forgive sins, for God
alone forgives.
Nonetheless, we recall that after His
resurrection, our Lord Jesus Christ said to His Apostles,
“If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them;
if you retain the sins of any,
they are retained” (John20:23);
encouraged by these divinely spoken words, I am
bold enough to say that whatever you have said to my
humble and lowly person, and whatever you have failed
to say, whether from ignorance, or forgetfulness, or
whatever it may be, may God forgive you in this present
age and in the age to come.
May God Who,
through Nathan the Prophet forgave
David when confessed his sins; Peter when he wept
bitterly for his denial; the harlot who shed tears upon His
feet; the Publican as well as the Prodigal: may this same
God forgive you, through me a sinner, everything both
in this age and in the age to come; and may He make you
stand uncondemned before His dread judgment seat.
Having no further care for the sins you have confessed,
go in peace.
The grace of the Holy Spirit, through my
insignificance, has you loosened and forgiven.
Having no further care for the sins you have confessed,
go in peace.
The grace of the Holy Spirit, through my insignificance,
has you loosened and forgiven.
Source
My spiritual child/brother/sister, you have made your
confession to my humble person, although I, a humble
sinner, have no power on earth to forgive sins, for God
alone forgives.
Nonetheless, we recall that after His
resurrection, our Lord Jesus Christ said to His Apostles,
“If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them;
if you retain the sins of any,
they are retained” (John20:23);
encouraged by these divinely spoken words, I am
bold enough to say that whatever you have said to my
humble and lowly person, and whatever you have failed
to say, whether from ignorance, or forgetfulness, or
whatever it may be, may God forgive you in this present
age and in the age to come.
May God Who,
through Nathan the Prophet forgave
David when confessed his sins; Peter when he wept
bitterly for his denial; the harlot who shed tears upon His
feet; the Publican as well as the Prodigal: may this same
God forgive you, through me a sinner, everything both
in this age and in the age to come; and may He make you
stand uncondemned before His dread judgment seat.
Having no further care for the sins you have confessed,
go in peace.
The grace of the Holy Spirit, through my
insignificance, has you loosened and forgiven.
Having no further care for the sins you have confessed,
go in peace.
The grace of the Holy Spirit, through my insignificance,
has you loosened and forgiven.
Source
