The Forgotten Medicine: The Mystery of Repentance

“Greater than baptism itself is the fountain of tears after baptism, even though it is somewhat audacious to say so. For baptism is the washing away of evils that were in us before, but sins committed after baptism are washed away by tears.” — St. John Climacus, 7th Century

Every Christian feels a natural yearning of the heart towards God, a true desire to taste the sweetness of communion, of being with Him as He created us to be; but the impurity of our hearts – full of passions, conflicts and fears – bars the way. Yet there is a cure for the weight of sin which burdens the heart and soul of each one of us and afflicts the conscience, keeping us from inner peace and from peace with our neighbors and loved ones.

“If our Savior were to come, He Who is bringing the greatest gift – His heavenly grace with which He makes our souls happy and saves them – and if He were to seek shelter for Himself in our souls, where could He find a place to rest?” — Fr. Seraphim Aleksiev

In  The Forgotten Medicine, the renowned Bulgarian spiritual father Archimandrite Seraphim (†1993) details the reasons many give for not coming to Confession, and for each of these he clearly brings forth the truth of the matter. For those who feel awkward because of not knowing how to approach Confession, he explains in depth how to prepare beforehand and what to do afterwards.

“In the Mystery of Repentance the spiritual afflictions of a man are treated, impurities of the soul are removed, and a Christian, having received forgiveness of sins, becomes innocent and sanctified, just as he came out of the waters of Baptism.” — excerpt from The Forgotten Medicine 

The Forgotten Medicine is the first volume to appear in a series of spiritual writings by Archimandrite Seraphim Aleksiev. It provides not only the Scriptural and theological foundations for repentance and Confession, but also a clear instruction for one’s own approach to this Sacrament