- Jan 24, 2016
- 190
- 166
- 47
- Country
- Viet Nam
- Gender
- Male
- Faith
- Eastern Orthodox
- Marital Status
- Married
As most of you know, I live in Hanoi, Vietnam and we do not have a priest here. Every few months, a priest from Russian Orthodox church will visit to celebrate the Divine Liturgy. The priest varies; it's usually one of two English-speaking Russian priests.
The past few months, I have been conversing with a priest I met through FaceBook. He is a legit Orthodox priest and he has been hearing my confession (we video chat every couple of weeks and he hears my confession). He considers himself my spiritual father.
Today, we had the Divine Liturgy and during my confession, I informed Father that my last confession was a week ago. He questioned this and when I told him about the priest that I have been talking to, Father told me that it was not possible to conduct Confession through the internet. So, I was asked to confess all of the sins since my last confession in front of a priest.
After the Divine Liturgy, Father told me that it is okay to consult with the priest via the internet, but that I cannot make my Confession this way.
My dilemma: what do I do? My heart is telling me to follow the instructions that I received today, but I would then feel bad about the discussion that I would need to have with the priest that I have been communicating with through the internet.
Any advice is appreciated!
The past few months, I have been conversing with a priest I met through FaceBook. He is a legit Orthodox priest and he has been hearing my confession (we video chat every couple of weeks and he hears my confession). He considers himself my spiritual father.
Today, we had the Divine Liturgy and during my confession, I informed Father that my last confession was a week ago. He questioned this and when I told him about the priest that I have been talking to, Father told me that it was not possible to conduct Confession through the internet. So, I was asked to confess all of the sins since my last confession in front of a priest.
After the Divine Liturgy, Father told me that it is okay to consult with the priest via the internet, but that I cannot make my Confession this way.
My dilemma: what do I do? My heart is telling me to follow the instructions that I received today, but I would then feel bad about the discussion that I would need to have with the priest that I have been communicating with through the internet.
Any advice is appreciated!