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There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of the reality of God , as well as a means by which God enacts his grace. Many denominations , including the Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, and Reformed, hold to the definition of sacrament formulated by Augustine of Hippo: Some traditions do not observe any of the rites, or hold that they are simply reminders or commendable practices that do not impart actual grace—not sacraments but " ordinances " pertaining to certain aspects of the Christian faith.
This in turn is derived from the Greek New Testament word "mysterion". In Ancient Rome , the term meant a soldier's oath of allegiance , and also a sacred rite.
Tertullian , a 3rd-century Christian writer, suggested that just as the soldier's oath was a sign of the beginning of a new life, so too was initiation into the Christian community through baptism and Eucharist. Roman Catholic theology enumerates seven sacraments: These seven sacraments were codified in the documents of the Council of Trent , which stated:.
During the Middle Ages, sacraments were recorded in Latin. Even after the Reformation, many ecclesiastical leaders continued using this practice into the 20th century. On occasion, Protestant ministers followed the same practice. Since W was not part of the Latin alphabet, scribes only used it when dealing with names or places.
In addition, names were modified to fit a "Latin mold". For instance, the name Joseph would be rendered as Iosephus or Josephus. In the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, "the sacraments are efficacious signs of grace , instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament.
They bear fruit in those who receive them with the required dispositions. The Church teaches that the effect of the sacraments comes ex opere operato , by the very fact of being administered, regardless of the personal holiness of the minister administering it.
The sacraments presuppose faith and through their words and ritual elements, nourish, strengthen and give expression to faith. Though not every individual has to receive every sacrament, the Church affirms that, for believers as a whole, the sacraments are necessary for salvation, as the modes of grace divinely instituted by Christ himself. The Eastern Orthodox tradition does not limit the number of sacraments to seven, holding that anything the Church does as Church is in some sense sacramental.
However it recognizes these seven as "the major sacraments", which are completed by many other blessings and special services. The Orthodox communion's preferred term is "Sacred Mystery", and the Orthodox communion has refrained from attempting to determine absolutely the exact form, number and effect of the sacraments, accepting simply that these elements are unknowable to all except God.
According to Orthodox thinking God touches mankind through material means such as water, wine, bread, oil, incense, candles, altars, icons, etc. How God does this is a mystery.
Vatican II speaks of the Church as the sacrament of Christ. On occasion, Protestant ministers followed the same practice. Along these lines a eucharistic theology gradually took shape in the apostolic and early church without much controversy or formulation. Retrieved 15 May The Quakers Religious Society of Friends also do not practice formal sacraments, believing that all activities should be considered holy.
On a broad level, the mysteries are an affirmation of the goodness of created matter, and are an emphatic declaration of what that matter was originally created to be. Despite this broad view, Orthodox divines do write about there being seven "principal" mysteries. On a specific level, while not systematically limiting the mysteries to seven, the most profound Mystery is the Eucharist or Synaxis , in which the partakers, by participation in the liturgy and receiving the consecrated bread and wine understood to have become the body and blood of Christ directly communicate with God.
No claim is made to understand how exactly this happens. The Eastern Orthodox merely state: I will take what He says as a 'mystery' and not attempt to rationalize it to my limited mind". For example, while it is correct and appropriate to say that "God exists", or even that "God is the only Being which truly exists", such statements must be understood to also convey the idea that God transcends what is usually meant by the term "to exist".
Anglican and Methodist sacramental theology reflects its dual roots in the Catholic tradition and the Protestant Reformation. The Catholic heritage is perhaps most strongly asserted in the importance Anglicanism and Methodism places on the sacraments as a means of grace and sanctification , [32] while the Reformed tradition has contributed a marked insistence on "lively faith" and "worthy reception". This reality does not depend on the experience of the communicant, although it is only by faith that we become aware of Christ's presence.
The article continues stating that "Those five commonly called Sacraments A recent author writes that the Anglican Church gives "sacramental value to the other five recognised by the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches" but these "do not reveal those essential aspects of redemption to which Baptism and Communion point". Anglicans are also divided as to the effects of the sacraments.
As in Roman Catholic theology, the worthiness or unworthiness of the recipient is of great importance. This particular question was fiercely debated in the 19th century arguments over Baptismal Regeneration. Lutherans hold that sacraments are sacred acts of divine institution. Melanchthon 's Apology of the Augsburg Confession defines sacraments, according to the German text, as "outward signs and ceremonies that have God's command and have an attached divine promise of graces". His Latin text was shorter: Holy Baptism , the Eucharist , and Holy Absolution , with the other four rites eliminated for not having the ability to forgive sin, although at least one or two have the command of God.
Lutherans do not dogmatically define the exact number of sacraments. Luther himself around the time of his marriage and afterwards became one of the greatest champions of Marriage Holy Matrimony , and the other two Confirmation and Ordination were kept in the Lutheran Church for purposes of good order. Within Lutheranism, the sacraments are a Means of Grace , and, together with the Word of God , empower the Church for mission. John Calvin defined a sacrament as an earthly sign associated with a promise from God. He accepted only two sacraments as valid under the new covenant: He and all Reformed theologians following him completely rejected the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation and the treatment of the Supper as a sacrifice.
He also could not accept the Lutheran doctrine of sacramental union in which Christ was "in, with and under" the elements. Sacraments are denoted "signs and seals of the covenant of grace". Baptism admits the baptized into the visible church , and in it all the benefits of Christ are offered to the baptized. Members of the Latter Day Saint movement often use the word " ordinance " in the place of the word "sacrament", but the actual theology is sacramental in nature.
Latter-Day Saints often use the word " sacrament " to refer specifically to the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, also known as the Lord's Supper , in which participants eat bread and drink wine or water, since the late s as tokens of the flesh and blood of Christ [2]. In Latter Day Saint congregations, the sacrament is normally provided every Sunday as part of the sacrament meeting and, like other Latter-Day Saint ordinances such as baptism and confirmation, is considered an essential and sacred rite.
In the Community of Christ , eight sacraments are recognized, including "baptism, confirmation, blessing of children, the Lord's Supper, ordination , marriage, the Evangelist Blessing , and administration to the sick". The enumeration, naming, understanding, and the adoption of the sacraments formally vary according to denomination , although the finer theological distinctions are not always understood and may not even be known to many of the faithful.
Many Protestants and other post-Reformation traditions affirm Luther's definition and have only Baptism and Eucharist or Communion or the Lord's Supper as sacraments, while others see the ritual as merely symbolic, and still others do not have a sacramental dimension at all.
In addition to the traditional seven sacraments, other rituals have been considered sacraments by some Christian traditions. In particular, foot washing as seen in Anabaptist , Schwarzenau Brethren , German Baptist groups or True Jesus Church , [66] and the hearing of the Gospel, as understood by a few Christian groups such as the Polish National Catholic Church of America [67] , have been considered sacraments by some churches. Since some post-Reformation denominations do not regard clergy as having a classically sacerdotal or priestly function, they avoid the term "sacrament", preferring the terms "sacerdotal function", "ordinance", or "tradition".
This belief invests the efficacy of the ordinance in the obedience and participation of the believer and the witness of the presiding minister and the congregation. This view stems from a highly developed concept of the priesthood of all believers.
In this sense, the believer himself or herself performs the sacerdotal role. Baptists and Pentecostals , among other Christian denominations , use the word ordinance , rather than sacrament because of certain sacerdotal ideas connected, in their view, with the word sacrament. Some denominations do not have a sacramental dimension or equivalent at all.
The Salvation Army does not practice formal sacraments for a variety of reasons, including a belief that it is better to concentrate on the reality behind the symbols; however, it does not forbid its members from receiving sacraments in other denominations. The Quakers Religious Society of Friends also do not practice formal sacraments, believing that all activities should be considered holy.
Rather, they are focused on an inward transformation of one's whole life. Some Quakers use the words "Baptism" and "Communion" to describe the experience of Christ's presence and his ministry in worship. The classical Protestant churches i. Hence, baptism consists of a triple immersion that is connected with a triple renunciation of Satan that the candidates say and act out symbolically prior to the immersions. Candidates first face west, which is the symbolic direction of the Antichrist , spit three times to symbolize their renunciation of Satan, and then face east, the symbolic direction of Christ , the sun of righteousness.
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