Dogmatic Theology — Topic 15

Fundamental concepts of the Sacraments

In this lesson, we will focus on the dogmatic aspects of the sacraments rather than addressing their historical development or liturgical structure, which is dealt with in detail in the course on Orthodox Liturgics.

The inner life of the Church is mystical. It does not always coincide exactly with the historical reality of the Church, especially as regards the life and passions of the world. The inner life of the Church consists in the mystical cooperation of Christ as Head and the Church as His body in the Holy Spirit. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church , says the Apostle Paul (Eph. 5:32). Thus when the apostles call themselves “the stewards of the mysteries of God,” saying, Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God (1 Cor. 4:1: οἰκονόμους μυστηρίων Θεοῦ), they have the following elements of their service in mind:

• preaching the Gospel,
• the baptism of those who have believed,
• the imparting of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands,
• the strengthening of believers’ union with Christ through the sacrament of the Eucharist,
• the deepening of the hearts of the faithful into the mysteries of the Kingdom of God (1 Cor. 2:6-7).

Thus the activity of the Apostles was full of sacramental elements - μυστήρια. It is quite natural, therefore, that in the life of the Church a number of specific critical moments of the impartation of grace, a number of sacred acts were eventually given the name of “sacraments” (μυστήριον). St Ignatius the God-bearer, a direct disciple of the apostles, writes that the deacons are also “ministers of the mysteries of Jesus Christ.”[1] With these words St Ignatius disproves the claim of Protestant historians that in the ancient Church the concept of “mysteries”, “sacraments”, was never connected with the liturgical acts of the Church.

We may therefore define a sacrament as a sacred act, having been instituted by our Lord or the Apostles, which by a visible form communicates to the soul of the believer the invisible grace of God.

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[1] [St. Ignatius the God-bearer. Letter to the Trallians. Ch. 2.](http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/ignatius-trallians- roberts.html#:~:text=It%20is%20fitting%20also%20that%20the%20deacons%2C%20as%20being%20%5Bthe%20ministers%5D%20of%20the%20mysteries%20of%20Jesus%20Christ%2C%20should%20in%20every%20respect%20be%20pleasing%20to%20all.)

• Fundamental concepts of the Sacraments
  • The Seven Sacraments; Actuality and Effectiveness
  • The Sacrament of Baptism
  • The Sacrament of Chrismation
  • The Sacrament of Eucharist
  • The Sacrament of Repentance (1 Jn. 1:8-9)
  • The Sacrament of Marriage
  • The Sacrament of Ordination
  • The Sacrament of Holy Unction

The Sacrament of Baptism

Among the sacraments of the Church, the sacrament of Baptism is at the top of the list. It is the door to the kingdom of grace, the Church, and gives access to the other sacraments; i.e. baptism is the prerequisite for participation in all the other sacraments. Even before the institution of the Sacrament of Baptism, the Lord Jesus Christ, in His conversation with Nicodemus, indicated the absolute necessity of this Sacrament for salvation. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (Jn. 3:3). When Nicodemus expressed his perplexity, how can a man be born again when he is old , the Savior replied that the new birth will be fulfilled by water and the Spirit ([Jn. 3:5-6](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/John- Chapter-3/#:~:text=Jesus%20answered%2C,Spirit%20is%20spirit.)). The establishment of this sacrament took place after the Resurrection of Christ. While appearing to His disciples, the Lord told them that He had received from the Father all authority in heaven and on earth, and continued: Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.(Mt. 28:19-20), and to this He added: He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned (Mk. 16:16).

On the day of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, after Apostle Peter’s speech, the audience asked what they should do. St. Peter replies: Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:38). In the book of Acts there are other individual cases of baptisms performed by the Apostles; the Apostle Peter baptized Cornelius (Acts 10), the Apostle Paul baptized Lydia and her household and the keeper of the prison with his house (Acts 16), and many others.

It is quite natural that both the writer of the Acts, the apostle Luke, and the apostle Paul (Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27; 1 Cor. 1:13) speak of baptism “into Christ,” desiring to distinguish this baptism from John’s or any other similar baptism. Thus to this day during the sacrament of baptism we sing: As many as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ (Gal. 3:27).

The tenth article of the Creed reads: I confess one baptism for the remission of sins. This means that Baptism, as a spiritual birth, if performed correctly, through threefold immersion in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, cannot be repeated; therefore the Church may accept certain heretics who enter her fold without repeating Baptism, but simply through chrismation or repentance, if they are baptized as commanded by the Gospel and the ancient Church.

The Sacrament of Chrismation

The sacrament of Chrismation is usually performed immediately after the sacrament of Baptism, making it part of the same liturgical rite. The sacrament is administered by a clergyman (bishop or priest). This sacrament is sometimes administered to persons who have abandoned heretical groups and are joining the Orthodox Church, as a means of their reception into the Orthodox Church. The formula of Anointing, “the Gift of the Holy Spirit” is very indicative of the meaning and effect of Chrismation:

• the consummation of the act of reception into the Church, the confirmation, or the seal of admission;
• the seal of the graces bestowed for strength and growth in the spiritual life.

St. Cyprian of Carthage writes: Those baptized in the Church are sealed with the Lord’s seal, just as the Samaritans once baptized received from the Apostles Peter and John through the laying on of hands and the prayer of the Holy Spirit ([Acts 8:14-17](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Acts- Chapter-8/#:~:text=Now%20when%20the,the%20Holy%20Ghost.))…What they lacked, Peter and John fulfilled… And so it is with us…(we) are perfected by the seal of the Lord.

The Original Form of the Sacrament

These gifts of the Holy Spirit were originally imparted in the primitive Church through the laying on of hands. We read about this in the book of the Acts (8:14-17), where it says that the Apostles who were in Jerusalem, when they heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. We also read in Acts ([19:2-6](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Acts- Chapter-19/#:~:text=He%20said%20unto,tongues%2C%20and%20prophesied.)) about the apostle Paul, how he baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus the disciples at Ephesus who had only been baptized unto John’s baptism, after which he laid his hands upon them and the Holy Ghost came on them.

How did the reception of grace through the laying on of hands turn into an anointing with myrrh? There are two possibilities regarding this. It may be that the apostles, while imparting the Holy Spirit to believers through the laying on of hands also used holy chrism simultaneously, about which there is no mention of in Acts. However, it is more likely that they themselves substituted the visible sign of the sacrament, i.e. the laying on of hands (probably initially due to their absence in a given place) with another visible sign, the anointing of baptized with chrism received from the hands of the apostles. In any case, the sacrament of chrismation through anointing undoubtedly comes from the Apostles; and they in turn were instructed by the Divine Teacher. The apostle Paul writes: He which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts (2 Cor. 1:21-22). The verbal formula of the sacrament itself (“the Seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit”) are closely connected with the following passage of the Apostle: grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30).

Outside of the sacrament of Chrismation, the chrism is used in a few other circumstances. For example, at the consecration of a church the Altar table, on which the sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ will be celebrated, as well as the walls of the temple, is marked with holy chrism. As a special sacrament, chrismation (lit. - anointing) using chrism is performed at the enthronement of Orthodox kings.

The Sacrament of Eucharist

The Eucharist (εὐχαριστία – thanksgiving, from εὐχαριστέω – to give thanks) is the Sacrament in which the bread and wine of the offering are transformed by the Holy Spirit into the true Body and the true Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, after which the faithful partake of them for the intimate union with Christ and eternal life.

This sacrament consists of two separate parts:

1. the consecration, or transubstantiation, of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of the Lord;
2. the communion of these Holy Gifts.

In the sacrament of the Eucharist, at the very moment when the priest, invoking the Holy Spirit, blesses the bread and wine while addressing God the Father with these words: “And make this bread the precious body of Thy Christ. And that which is in this cup the precious blood of Thy Christ. Changing them by Thy Holy Spirit,” the bread and wine are actually changed into the Body and Blood by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. After this moment, although our eyes continue to see bread and wine, in reality, yet invisible to our sensual eyes, they are the true Body and true Blood of the Lord Jesus.

In this regard, we can say the following about the Eucharist:

1. although the bread and wine in the sacrament are transformed into the Body and Blood of the Lord, He is present in the sacrament with His whole being, that is, with His soul and His very Divinity, which is inseparably united with His humanity;
2. although the Body and Blood of the Lord are broken and divided in the Sacrament of Communion, we believe that in each part, even the smallest particle the wholeness of Christ is received by the communicants in His essence, that is, with His soul and Divinity, as perfect God and perfect Man;
3. although there are many Liturgies being served simultaneously throughout the world, they are not many Bodies of Christ, but one and the same Christ is present and offered in all the churches of the faithful;
4. the bread of the offering, prepared separately in all the many Churches, when offered and consecrated becomes one and the same as the Body which is in heaven;
5. after the transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood, they never return to their former state, but remain the Body and Blood of the Lord forever, regardless of whether or not they are consumed by the faithful. Therefore the Orthodox Church since ancient times has the custom of communing the faithful during Great Lent at the “Liturgy of the Pre-sanctified Gifts,” and also the sick and dying with the Sacrament reserve specifically for these purposes in special sacred vessels;
6. just as the God-man Christ is to be worshipped as one undivided divine and human being due to the inseparable union of the two natures, so also the Eucharist must be given the same honor and worship as we give to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

The Eucharistic sacrifice is not a repetition of our Savior’s sacrifice on the cross; it is the manifestation (actualization) to us of that same sacrifice, of that same sacrificial Body and Blood, with which our Redeemer once ascended to the Cross, “ever eaten and yet never consumed.” The sacrifice of Calvary and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are inseparable, constituting in fact one Sacrifice; but at the same time they are distinguished from each other. They are one and the same gracious tree of life, which God planted on Golgotha, which fills all God’s Church with its mystical branches and feeds all those who seek Eternal life with its saving fruit until the end of the age. However, they are different in that the sacrifice of the Eucharist is called bloodless and passionless as it is performed after the Resurrection of the Savior; it is offered without suffering, without shedding of blood, without death, although it is performed in remembrance of the suffering and death of the Divine Lamb.

Partaking of the Body and Blood of the Lord is an essential, necessary, saving and consoling duty of every Christian. This is evident from the words of our Savior, when He professed the sacrament of the Eucharist: Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day (Jn. 6:53-54).

It is necessary, however, to remember that these saving fruits of the Eucharist profit only those who partake of them in faith and repentance; an unworthy partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ brings condemnation: he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body (1 Cor. 11:29).

The Sacrament of Holy Unction

In the sacrament of Holy Unction the grace of God is invoked upon the sick, through prayer and the anointing of the body with oil, to heal their spiritual and physical infirmities. It is usually performed when a person is close to death or seriously ill, and also during Great Lent as a preparation for the passion, death and resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

There are several accounts of the anointing of the sick with oil in Scripture (Mark 6:13; [James 5:14-15](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/James- Chapter-5/#:~:text=Is%20any%20sick,be%20forgiven%20him.)). The apostle James prescribes a particular liturgical action which is meant to become customary in the Church; it’s performed by the elders (clerics) of the Church, consisting of prayer and anointing. This service is meant to bring about the relief of bodily illness and the remission of sins. We cannot understand the Apostle James’ reference to anointing with oil simply as a common medical remedy of the time, because oil, regardless of all its beneficial effects, does not act as a cure for all illnesses.

The Sacrament of Marriage

The sacrament of marriage was established from the very beginning of the creation, as evidenced by the account in Genesis ([2:18-25](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Genesis- Chapter-2/#:~:text=And%20the%20LORD%20God%20said,wife%2C%20and%20were%20not%20ashamed.)). It is clear from the actions and words of Christ that marriage did not lose its significance in the New Testament, i.e. after the Resurrection of Christ. Christ spoke of the importance of fidelity and purity in marriage and its indissolubility. His presence at the marriage in Cana of Galilee is also an important testimony to this fact (Jn. 4:1-11).

In the sacrament of marriage the Church invokes God to help the newly-wed couple to understand, perform and accomplish the integral goal of marriage: to establish a “family church:” to raise their children in the faith; to establish true Christian relationships within the family; to live according to the Gospel commandments and be an example of godliness to others; to bear with patience and humility the inevitable trials, and occasional sufferings, that visit family life.

The Church consents to the dissolution of a marriage only in exceptional cases, mainly when it has already been tainted by adultery or when it has been disrupted by the circumstances of life (long-term absence of one of the spouses). Entering into a second marriage is allowed by the Church, although prayers are read, asking for the forgiveness of the sin of the second marriage, being that the vows given in the first marriage are broken. A third marriage is tolerated only as a lesser evil in order to avoid the greater evil of fornication. Much of the triumphal and festive aspects of the marriage service are skipped in the case of a second or third marriage.

The Sacrament of Ordination

The hierarchical ministry in the Church, especially that of bishops and priests, is a particular and distinctive service: it is a ministry of grace. It is the pastoral ministry of God’s flock, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself giving the greatest example of how to be a “good shepherd.” Scripture clearly indicates that ordination to the priesthood communicates a special mystical grace, without which this ministry cannot be performed. The word – χειροτονία – literally means the casting of votes in a popular assembly by a show of hands, a vote, a choice. In the New Testament there are many accounts of receiving the grace of the priesthood through ordination ([Acts 6:2-6](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Acts- Chapter-6/#:~:text=Then%20the%20twelve,hands%20on%20them.); 14:23; 20:28, 1 Tim. 4:14; 5:22, 2 Tim. 1:6).

In the sacrament of the priesthood divine grace is imparted to the chosen person, through prayer and the laying on of the hands of the bishop upon the head of the candidate. This grace sanctifies and elevates the candidate to a given degree in the hierarchy of the Church, and assists him in the fulfillment of his holy duties. The prayer for ordination reads as follows: “The Divine grace, which ever heals that which is infirm and fills that which is lacking, elevates (name) the most reverent subdeacon to be a deacon (or deacon to be a presbyter): Let us pray for him, that the grace of the Holy Spirit may come upon him.”

The sacrament of the Priesthood is always performed during the Divine Liturgy. In contrast to the sacrament of ordination, the prayerful initiation into the lower degrees of the clergy (reader, canter, subdeacon) is called “tonsure.”

The Sacrament of Repentance (1 Jn. 1:8-9)

The Sacrament of Repentance is a grace-filled rite in which, following the confession of sins by the penitent, remission of those sins is granted by the grace of God through the priest in accordance with the promise of the Savior. It was established by Christ himself when he said to his apostles: “Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.” (John 20:22-23)

The sacrament of penance consists of two main acts:

1. confession before the priest of one’s sins;
2. the prayer of absolution pronounced by the clergyman.

Repentance is not only an acknowledgment of one’s sinfulness or a simple confession of one’s unworthiness; nor just contrition and remorse for one’s failings and weaknesses, not only regret (although all these things are necessary in repentance). Repentance is a manifestation of the will to change, a desire and determination to fight against one’s sinful inclinations. This point is conveyed by the etymology of the Greek word repentance – μετάνοια – the literal meaning of which is “a change of mind.”

Clergy are only visible instruments in the performance of the sacrament, which God Himself invisibly performs through them.

Scripture speaks of a number of cases or conditions under which sins cannot be forgiven ([Mt. 12:31-32](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Matthew- Chapter-12/#::text=Wherefore%20I%20say,world%20to%20come.); 1 Jn. 5:16; [Heb. 6:4-6](https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Hebrews- Chapter-6/#::text=For%20it%20is,an%20open%20shame.)). In all of these cases, the reason such sins cannot be forgiven lies in the sinners themselves, i.e. in the unrepentance of the sinners, not in the will of God. How can sin be forgiven by the grace of the Holy Spirit when blasphemy is cast upon that same grace? However, even these sins can be forgiven, if the sinner brings forth true repentance and fruit meet for repentance (Mt. 3:8).

The Seven Sacraments; Actuality and Effectiveness

The name “sacrament” has been assigned to seven rites in the Church. They are: Baptism, Chrismation, Communion - Eucharist, Repentance, Priesthood, Marriage and Holy Unction. These seven Sacraments are essential for the fullness of life in the Church. We can define the essence of each sacrament as follows:

In Baptism a person is mystically born into spiritual life; in Chrismation he receives a grace that revives and strengthens; in Communion he is nourished spiritually; in Repentance he is healed of spiritual illnesses - of sins; in the Priesthood he receives grace to spiritually revive and instruct others through teaching, prayer and the sacraments; in Marriage he receives grace to sanctify his marriage and the natural birth and raising of children; in Holy Unction he is healed of bodily illnesses through healing of spiritual illnesses.

One must distinguish between the “validity” or “actuality” of a sacrament (i.e., that it itself is a genuine grace-filled power, that through it the grace of God is truly imparted) and the ” effectiveness” of a sacrament (i.e., the degree to which those who receive it are graced with its beneficial power). The sacraments are instruments which necessarily act through Grace upon those who approach them; that is, they are valid if all necessary requirements are met (the priest is not suspended, the materials are properly prepared for the sacrament, etc.). However, their effectiveness, that is, the fruitfulness of their reception by the faithful depends on whether or not the person receives the sacrament worthily. An unworthy reception may entail not justification, but condemnation. Grace does not constrain a person’s freedom, nor does it act on one’s will compulsively. That said, unworthy reception of the sacrament does not in any way diminish the very dignity or value of the sacraments. The choir of the saints is a visible testimony to the power and efficacy of grace in the sacraments.

On the Sacraments

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