Why did God give the apostles the power to forgive sins? Can’t we just repent and ask God to forgive us instead of also going to Abouna?

By CopticBot.ai (Coptic Space Inc.) · Last reviewed 2026-10-10

The question of why we must confess to a priest rather than only praying in our "closet" is central to understanding the sacramental nature of the Coptic Orthodox faith. While God is indeed the one who forgives, He established the Priesthood as the specific channel through which that forgiveness is mediated and felt.

1. Biblical Mandate and Apostolic Authority

We must follow the order God established. In the Gospel of John, after His Resurrection, Christ specifically breathed on the Apostles and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained" (John 20:22-23).

If private prayer were sufficient for all circumstances, Christ would not have specifically instituted this "binding and loosing" authority. St. Paul also affirms this by stating that God has given the Apostles the "ministry of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:18).

2. The Priest as a Spiritual Physician

The Church is often described as a "hospital," and sin is a disease of the soul. As noted in the Apostolic Canons, repentance is a process of healing that requires guidance.

• Diagnosis: Just as a physical patient cannot always diagnose their own illness, a sinner often has blind spots. The priest, as a spiritual father, helps the person identify the root causes of their sins.
• The Medicine: The priest provides a "canon" (spiritual exercise) or advice tailored to the person's specific struggle. Without the priest, a person might be too easy on themselves (laxity) or too hard on themselves (despair).

3. Psychological and Spiritual Assurance

Human nature is such that we often carry the guilt of sin even after we ask God for forgiveness in private. By confessing out loud to a witness, the "secrecy" and power of the sin are broken.

• When the priest places his hand on the head of the penitent and declares the Absolution, the believer receives an audible, tangible assurance that God has truly forgiven them.
• The priest acts as a representative of the whole Church. When we sin, we don't just hurt God; we hurt the "Body of Christ" (the Church). Therefore, we confess to the representative of that Body to be reconciled back into the community.

4. Guarding Against Self-Deception

If we only repent in our hearts, it is very easy to lie to ourselves. As mentioned in the Coptic Katameros (referencing 1 John), "If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us" (1 John 1:10). The act of kneeling before another human being and admitting our faults requires humility. Humility is the greatest weapon against Satan, and the devil hates the Sacrament of Confession because it humbles the soul.

5. Historical Precedent in the Old Testament

The concept of a mediator is not new. In the Old Testament, as recorded in Leviticus 5:1-6, when a person sinned, they were required to bring a sacrifice to the priest. The priest would then make atonement for them. Christ did not abolish the need for a priesthood; He fulfilled it by making His own Sacrifice the source of the priest's power to forgive.

Summary

While you should certainly repent and pray to God the moment you sin, the Sacrament of Repentance and Confession is where that repentance is sealed and the soul is officially absolved by the authority of the Holy Spirit. It ensures that the person is truly repentant, provides spiritual guidance for the future, and grants the grace needed to approach the Holy Eucharist.