The Consequences of Concealment of Sins Before the Priestly Ordination

Letters of elder John (Krestiankin).

Elder John (Krestiankin) (1910 - 5.2.2006)

Dear Father P.!

In Pochaev, they made you an accurate diagnosis of your disease. And the reason is clear for you. God is not mocked.

It is absolutely necessary for you to confess to your ruling bishop, because the sins mentioned by you, starting from concealing them before the ordination, are a canonical impediment for your service before the altar. You have to choose, because if you do not confess to the bishop and continue the service, the consequences could be dreadful in relation to both your illness and your future fate. A priest can not solve your problem, he has no such power.

May God give you wisdom and help you realize that you are in the toils of dark forces.

***

Servant of God S.!

The issue of becoming a priest is usually finally decided on the confession. After all, there are some sins that forever impede the person, who committed them, the service before the God’s altar.

And I do not know you, so I cannot decide such an important issue. But I know some priests who did not disclose their background to the bishop before the ordination and, being ordained, began to fall into such states that they understood that they can not serve.

So solve your issue with the confessor, but first – with your conscience.

http://oprelesti.ru/index.php/concealment-of-sins-in-confession/616-the-consequences-of-concealment-of-sins-before-the-priestly-ordination

What Happens if a Priest Has a Mortal Sin and Serves Liturgy

Bishop Palladius. "The Lausiac History".

Chapter XVIII.  Macarius of Alexandria

Once I visited this holy Macarius and found a village priest lying just outside his cell, whose head was all eaten away by the disease called cancer, and the actual bone appeared on the crown of his head. He had come to be healed and Macarius would not grant him an interview. So I besought him: "I pray you, pity him and give him his answer." And he said to me: "He does not deserve to be healed, for it has been sent him as a punishment. But if you want him to be healed, persuade him to give up taking services. For he was taking services, though living in fornication, and for this reason he is being punished and God is healing his soul." So when I said this to the afflicted man he consented, and swore that he would no longer exercise his priesthood. Then he received him and said: "Do you believe that God is?" He said to him: "Yes." "Were you able to mock God?" "No," he answered. He said: "If you recognize your sin and the chastening of God, on account of which you suffered this, reform yourself henceforward." So he confessed his fault and gave a promise that he would sin no more nor take the service, but embrace the position of a layman. Then he laid his hands on him and in a few days he was cured and the hair grew and he went away healed.

http://oprelesti.ru/index.php/concealment-of-sins-in-confession/300-what-happens-if-a-priest-has-a-mortal-sin-and-serves-liturgy