What are the sacraments? Sacraments of the Orthodox Church. Confession and Communion - Orthodox sacraments for everyday life
The word “sacrament” has several meanings in Holy Scripture:
1. A deep, intimate thought, thing or action.
2. The divine economy of salvation of the human race, which is depicted as a mystery, incomprehensible to anyone, even to angels.
3. The special action of God's providence in relation to believers, by virtue of which the invisible grace of God is communicated to them in the visible.
In relation to church rites, the word “sacrament” includes the first, second, and third concepts.
In a broad sense, everything performed in the Church is a sacrament.
This applies not only to the services performed by priests, but also to the lives of parishioners - believers who make up the Church as the body of Christ. A person’s appeal to God, prayer, and the divine answer that everyone who prays with all his heart necessarily receives is an incomprehensible mystery. But the life of believers is filled with this mystery, they are immersed in it again and again, and come out of this experience different - comforted in suffering, filled with spiritual strength and joy. Throughout his life, a person learns to understand what God tells him - in signs or symbols, in random encounters, in the words of church hymns, in books and films, in the events of the surrounding life.
Even the fact that someone suddenly thought about faith, stopped, and looked into the church by chance, is undoubtedly God’s providence for this person. The entire chain of circumstances due to which a person finds himself on the threshold of a temple, accepts into his inner world something unknown, completely unusual - is nothing more than the action of God in an individual human life.
The apostles write about this, the first Christians understood this very well, in the works of Christian Saints - teachers of the Church and saints of God, the idea is conveyed with particular strength and clarity that the whole life of a person in following Christ is an unthinkable and great mystery.
In the ancient Church there was no special term for the sacraments as a separate category of ecclesiastical actions. The concept misterion was used first in the broader and more general sense of “the mystery of salvation,” and only in a second, additional meaning was it used to designate private actions that bestow grace, that is, the sacraments themselves. Thus, by the word sacrament, the Holy Fathers understood everything that relates to the Divine economy of our salvation.
In subsequent centuries, the Christian tradition, which developed in theological schools by the 15th century, distinguishes from the many grace-filled church rites the seven sacraments themselves: Confirmation, Communion, Repentance, Priesthood, Marriage, Blessing of Anointing.
The sacraments are characterized by the following mandatory properties:
1. The sacraments are instituted by God
2. In the sacrament, the power of God descends on a person - invisible grace
3. The sacrament is performed through visible and understandable sacred rites
External actions (“visible image”) do not have meaning in themselves; they are intended for the person approaching the sacrament. This is explained by the fact that by nature man needs visible means to perceive the invisible power of God.
Three sacraments are mentioned directly in the Gospel - Communion and Repentance. Indications about the Divine origin of other sacraments can be found in the Acts and Apostolic Epistles, as well as in the works of the teachers of the Church of the first centuries of Christianity (St. Justin Martyr, St. Clement of Alexandria, St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Origen, Tertullian, St. Cyprian, etc.)
In each sacrament, the believer is given a specific gift of grace:
1. Grace is given to a person, freeing him from his previous sins and sanctifying him.
2. B Sacrament of Confirmation the believer, when parts of the body are anointed with Holy Myrrh, is given grace, putting him on the path of spiritual life.
3. B Sacrament of Penance he who confesses his sins, with a visible expression of forgiveness from the priest, receives grace that frees him from his sins.
4. B The Sacrament of Communion (Eucharist) the believer receives the grace of deification through union with Christ.
5. B The Sacrament of Anointing when anointing the body with oil (oil), the sick person is given the grace of God, healing mental and physical infirmities.
6. B Sacrament of Marriage spouses are given grace that sanctifies their union (in the image of the spiritual union of Christ with the Church), as well as the birth and Christian upbringing of children.
7. B Sacrament of Priesthood Through hierarchical ordination (ordination), the rightly chosen one from among the believers is given the grace to perform the Sacraments and shepherd the flock of Christ.
The sacraments of the Orthodox Church are divided into those obligatory for all Christians:
Baptism, Confirmation, Repentance, Communion and Blessing of Unction, and the optional ones are the sacraments of Marriage and Priesthood. In addition, there are repeated sacraments - Repentance, Communion, Blessing of Unction, and under certain conditions - Marriage; and non-repeatable, these include Baptism, Confirmation and Priesthood.
Introduction
1. Sacraments of the Orthodox Church: general information
2. Seven sacraments of the Orthodox Church
2.1 The Sacrament of Holy Baptism
2.2 Sacrament of Confirmation
2.3 Sacrament of repentance
2.4 Sacrament of Communion
2.5 Wedding
2.6 Priesthood
Conclusion
Introduction
Orthodox sacraments are sacred rites revealed in Orthodox church rites, through which the invisible Divine grace or saving power of God is communicated to believers.
The sacraments are something that is unchangeable, ontologically inherent in the Church. In contrast, visible sacred rites (rites) associated with the performance of the Sacraments were formed gradually throughout the history of the Church.
Historically, Orthodoxy allowed the use of various rites, but after the Great Schism, the almost exclusive use of the Byzantine rite became established.
The Performer of the Sacraments is God, who performs them with the hands of the clergy.
The formulated isolation of the seven sacraments from worship came from Latin scholastic theology at the end of the 16th century, which was caused in Constantinople by theological polemics with Protestants, and in Moscow by the strong influence of the Kiev school (Kiev-Mohyla Academy) on the emerging academic theology. However, the tradition of distinguishing the sacraments from other sacred rites of the church (monastic tonsure, funeral service, great blessing of water, etc.) was firmly rooted in later school theology.
The purpose of this work: to characterize the sacraments of the Orthodox Church.
Sacraments of the Orthodox Church: general information
The Church on earth is the focus of true spiritual life, shrines, the truth of God, wisdom, strength, peace, freedom. The Church is a society of those being saved, a holy and mysterious union of righteous souls who have gone to God and are already reigning in heaven, and people of Orthodox believers, humbly and joyfully bearing their cross in earthly life. They are united together by the Head of the Church - our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit animates, sanctifies and strengthens this union. The institutions, rituals and customs of the Orthodox Church exist by the will of its Head - the Lord Jesus Christ and its Helmsman - the Holy Spirit...
Sacrament (Greek mysterion - secret, sacrament) - sacred actions in which the invisible grace of God is communicated to believers under a visible image.
The word “Sacrament” has several meanings in the Holy Scriptures.
A deep, intimate thought, thing, or action.
The Divine economy of salvation of the human race, which is depicted as a mystery, incomprehensible to anyone, even to the Angels.
The special action of God's Providence in relation to believers, due to which the invisible grace of God is incomprehensibly communicated to them in the visible.
When applied to church ceremonies, the word Sacrament embraces the first, second, and third concepts.
In the broad sense of the word, everything performed in the Church is a Sacrament: “Everything in the Church is a holy sacrament. Every sacred ceremony is a holy sacrament. - And even the most insignificant? “Yes, each of them is deep and saving, like the mystery of the Church itself, for even the most “insignificant” sacred action in the Theanthropic organism of the Church is in an organic, living connection with the entire mystery of the Church and the God-Man Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Archim. Justin (Popovich )).
As noted by Rev. John Meyendorff: “In the patristic era there was not even a special term to designate “sacraments” as a special category of church acts: the term misterion was used at first in the broader and more general sense of the “mystery of salvation”, and only in the second auxiliary sense was it used to designate private actions , “giving salvation,” that is, the Sacraments themselves.
Thus, by the word “Sacrament” the Holy Fathers understood everything that relates to the Divine economy of our salvation.
But the tradition that began to take shape in Orthodox theological schools starting from the 15th century distinguishes from the numerous grace-filled sacred rites the seven Sacraments themselves: Baptism, Confirmation, Communion, Repentance, Priesthood, Marriage, Blessing of Anointing.
Explaining the 10th article of the Creed (“I confess one baptism for the remission of sins”), a catechism called “Orthodox Confession” that was widely circulated in Russia in the 18th and 19th centuries (the original edition was written under the direction of Peter Mogila; the first complete edition in Greek in 1667) reads: “Since he mentions Baptism, the first Sacrament, he gives us an opportunity to consider the seven Sacraments of the Church. They are the following: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Priesthood, honest Marriage and Blessing of Anointing. These seven Sacraments correspond to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. For through these Sacraments the Holy Spirit pours out His gifts and grace onto the souls of those who use them properly. Patriarch Jeremiah discusses this subject at length in the book that Lutherans wrote for conversion.”
All aspects of the life of Orthodoxy are the result of the religious and historical development of the living Body of the Church. This process is often compared to how a mighty tree grows from a small seed. The seven sacraments did not immediately take shape in the Church; such a number of them was established only by the 15th-16th centuries. The first attempt to systematize the sacraments is associated with the name of St. Dionysius the Areopagite. In the book “On the Church Hierarchy” he identified six sacraments. The first mentions in Orthodox sources of the formula for the sevenfold number of sacraments, without any difference in their composition from the current one, are found in the letters of John Veccus (1277) and in the so-called “Confession of Faith” of the Byzantine emperor Michael Palaiologos and his son Andronikos.
All seven Sacraments have the following necessary characteristics:
) divine establishment;
) invisible grace taught in the Sacrament;
) visible image (following) of its completion.
External actions (“visible image”) in the Sacraments do not have meaning in themselves. They are intended for a person approaching the Sacrament, since by his nature he needs visible means to perceive the invisible power of God.
The sacraments of the Orthodox Church are divided into:
) unrepeatable - Baptism, Confirmation, Priesthood;
) repeated - Repentance, Communion, Blessing of Unction and, under certain conditions, Marriage.
In addition, the Sacraments are divided into two more categories:
) obligatory for all Christians - Baptism, Confirmation, Repentance, Communion and Blessing of Anointing;
) optional for everyone - Marriage and Priesthood.
Seven Sacraments of the Orthodox Church
There are seven Sacraments accepted in Orthodoxy: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist (comunion), Repentance, Sacrament of the Priesthood, Sacrament of Marriage and Blessing of Anointing (unction).
Baptism, Repentance and the Eucharist were established by Jesus Christ himself, as directly reported in the New Testament.
Church Tradition testifies to the Divine origin of other sacraments. Indications about the divine origin of other Sacraments can be found in the book of Acts, in the Apostolic Epistles, as well as in the works of the apostolic men and teachers of the Church of the first centuries of Christianity (St. Justin Martyr, St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Tertullian, St. Cyprian and etc.).
In each Sacrament, a certain gift of grace is communicated to the Christian believer.
In the Sacrament of Baptism, a person is given grace that frees him from his previous sins and sanctifies him.
In the Sacrament of Confirmation, the believer, when parts of the body are anointed with Holy Chrism, is given grace, putting him on the path of spiritual life.
In the Sacrament of Repentance, the one who confesses his sins, with a visible expression of forgiveness from the priest, receives grace that frees him from his sins.
In the Sacrament of Communion (Eucharist), the believer receives the grace of deification through union with Christ.
In the Sacrament of the Blessing of Unction, when the body is anointed with oil (oil), the sick person is given the grace of God, healing mental and physical infirmities.
In the Sacrament of Marriage, spouses are given grace that sanctifies their union (in the image of the spiritual union of Christ with the Church), as well as the birth and Christian upbringing of children.
In the Sacrament of the Priesthood, through the laying on of a hierarch (ordination), the rightly chosen one from among the believers is given the grace to perform the Sacraments and shepherd the flock of Christ.
2.1 The Sacrament of Holy Baptism
We all know that when a child is born in a family, he is given a birth certificate. According to this document, the newborn is a full citizen of the country in which he was born. Now parents can only gradually teach their child the basic laws and norms of behavior of a given country.
Almost the same thing happens in the sacrament of baptism. However, with a significant difference: a “newborn,” or more precisely, a newly baptized person, can be either an infant or an adult, even a very old one; the country of which the newly baptized person becomes a “citizen” is one for all - the Kingdom of Heaven; the “parents” of the newly baptized person are called godparents, or godfather and mother; the law and norms of behavior are formulated not by people, but by God and given in the Holy Scriptures, or rather, in the Gospel; Unlike earthly states, in which power belongs to different people or groups of people, in the Kingdom of Heaven there is one Ruler - God the Trinity, God the Creator.
It is in order to become a subject, or citizen of the Heavenly Kingdom of God, that the Sacrament of Holy Baptism exists.
If an adult or even a teenager is baptized, then before baptism he is announced. The word “announce” or “announce” means to make public, to notify, to announce before God the name of the person who is preparing for baptism. During his preparation, he studies the basics of the Christian faith. His name is included in the church prayer “for the catechumens.” When the time of Holy Baptism comes, the priest prays to the Lord to expel from this person every evil and unclean spirit hidden and nesting in his heart, and to make him a member of the Church and heir to eternal bliss; the baptized person renounces the devil, makes a promise to serve not him, but Christ, and by reading the Creed confirms his faith in Christ as King and God.
The baby is declared by his godparents (godparents), who take responsibility for the spiritual upbringing of the child. From now on, godparents pray for their godson (or goddaughter), teach him prayer, and tell him about the Kingdom of Heaven and its laws.
Performing the sacrament of baptism. First, the priest sanctifies the water and at this time prays that the holy water will wash the person being baptized from previous sins and that through this consecration he will unite with Christ. The priest then anoints the person being baptized with blessed oil (olive oil).
Oil is an image of mercy, peace and joy. With the words “in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” the priest anoints the forehead with a cross (imprinting the name of God in the mind), chest (“for the healing of soul and body”), ears (“for the hearing of faith”), hands (to do deeds, pleasing to God), feet (to walk in the paths of God’s commandments). After this, a three-time immersion in holy water is performed with the words: “The servant of God (name) is baptized in the name of the Father. Amen. And the Son. Amen. And the Holy Spirit. Amen".
In this case, the person who is baptized receives the name of a saint or saint. From now on, this saint or saint becomes not only a prayer book, intercessor and defender of the baptized, but also an example, a model of life in God and with God. This is the patron saint of the baptized, and the day of his memory becomes a holiday for the baptized - name day.
Immersion in water symbolizes death with Christ, and exit from it symbolizes new life with Him and the coming resurrection.
Then the priest, with the prayer “Give me a robe of light, dress yourself in light like a robe, O most merciful Christ our God,” puts white (new) clothes (shirt) on the newly baptized person. Translated from Slavic, this prayer sounds like this: “Give me clean, bright, unspotted clothes, Himself clothed in light, O Most Merciful Christ our God.” The Lord is our Light. But what kind of clothes are we asking for? That all our feelings, thoughts, intentions, actions - everything would be born in the light of Truth and Love, everything would be renewed, like our baptismal robe. After this, the priest puts a pectoral (pectoral) cross on the neck of the newly baptized person for constant wear - as a reminder of the words of Christ: “If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24).
Immediately after this, the sacrament of anointing is performed. Just as life follows birth, so baptism, the sacrament of new birth, follows confirmation, the sacrament of new life. The priest anoints the baptized person with holy oil, making the sign of the cross on different parts of the body with the words “seal (i.e., sign) of the gift of the Holy Spirit.” At this time, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are invisibly given to the baptized person, with the help of which he grows and strengthens in spiritual life. The forehead, or forehead, is anointed with myrrh to sanctify the mind; eyes, nostrils, lips, ears - to sanctify the senses; chest - to sanctify the heart; hands and feet - for the sanctification of deeds and all behavior. After this, the newly baptized and their successors, with lighted candles in their hands, follow the priest three times in a circle around the font and lectern (A lectern is an inclined table on which the Gospel, Cross or icon is usually placed), on which the Cross and Gospel lie. The image of a circle is an image of eternity, because a circle has neither beginning nor end. At this time, the verse is sung: “Those who were baptized into Christ, put on Christ,” which means: “Those who were baptized into Christ, put on Christ.”
2.2 Sacrament of Confirmation
Just as life follows birth, so baptism, the sacrament of new birth, follows confirmation, the sacrament of new life. In this sacrament, the newly baptized person receives the gift of the Holy Spirit. He is given “power from above” for a new life. The sacrament is performed through anointing with the Holy Myrrh.
The Holy Myrrh was prepared and consecrated by the apostles of Christ, and then by the bishops of the ancient Church. From them the priests received Myrrh when performing the sacrament of the Holy Spirit, since then called Confirmation.
The Holy Chrism is prepared and consecrated once every few years. The traditional place for the preparation of the Holy Chrism in the Russian Church from the 15th to the 18th centuries was the Metropolitan and then the Patriarchal Chambers of the Moscow Kremlin. Miro was consecrated in the Kremlin Assumption Cathedral. After the abolition of the patriarchate under Peter I, the second place for the consecration of the World, besides the Kremlin, became the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. With the restoration of the Patriarchate in the Russian Church in 1917, the place of preparation of the Holy Myrrh was (and remains to this day) the Small Cathedral of the Donskoy Monastery of the capital, where a special oven was built for this purpose. And the consecration of the World began to take place in the Patriarchal Epiphany Cathedral in Yelokhov.
During Confirmation, the priest applies the sign of the cross on the forehead, eyelids, nostrils, lips and ears, hands and tops of the feet, while pronouncing each time the words: “Seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit. Amen".
After this, the newly baptized and their successors, with lighted candles in their hands, follow the priest three times in a circle around the font and lectern (A lectern is an inclined table on which the Gospel, Cross or icon is usually placed), on which the Cross and Gospel lie. The image of a circle is an image of eternity, because a circle has neither beginning nor end. At this time, the verse is sung: “Those who were baptized into Christ, put on Christ,” which means: “Those who were baptized into Christ, put on Christ.” This is a call to bring the Good News of Christ everywhere and everywhere, testifying to Him in word, deed, and with your whole life.
2.3 Sacrament of repentance
There is no person who will live on earth and not sin. We sin against God, against our neighbor and against ourselves. We sin in deeds, words and even thoughts. We sin at the instigation of the devil, under the influence of the world around us and according to our own evil will.
What should someone who is tormented by their conscience do? What to do when the soul languishes? The Orthodox Church answers: bring repentance. Repentance is a sacrament in which one who sincerely confesses his sins receives forgiveness from God Himself and grace and strength not to sin again.
To receive forgiveness (resolution) of sins, the repentant is required: reconciliation with all his neighbors, sincere contrition for sins and verbal confession of them, a firm intention to correct his life, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and hope in His mercy. However, it is difficult to realize one’s guilt, and even more difficult to admit it out loud, openly and sincerely in front of a witness. What is needed here is genuine courage, for which you will not receive either an order or a medal. It is necessary to prepare for confession in advance; it is best to re-read the Commandments and thus remember your sins against them (and write them down). We must remember that forgotten, unconfessed sins weigh on the soul, causing bad mood and mental illness. Sin gradually destroys a person and prevents him from growing spiritually. The more thorough the confession and examination of conscience, the more the soul is cleansed of sins, the closer it is to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Confession in the Orthodox Church is performed at the lectern - a high table with an inclined tabletop, on which the cross and the Gospel lie as a sign of the presence of Christ, invisible, but hearing everything and knowing how deep our repentance is and whether we have hidden something out of false shame or specially. If the priest sees sincere repentance, he covers the bowed head of the confessor with the end of the stole and reads a prayer of permission, forgiving sins in the name of Jesus Christ. Then the confessor kisses the cross and the Gospel as a sign of gratitude and fidelity to Christ.
The priest expects from those who come to confession an awareness of his sin and repentance: he must name this sin without looking for an excuse for it. Details of the offense are rarely needed in confession. Their clarification is only sometimes necessary in order to help the confessor see the roots of his spiritual illness and better understand the meaning and consequences of what he has done.
Under no circumstances should you condemn someone during confession or talk about the sins of others. An attempt to lie in confession, to conceal a sin, to find an excuse for it, or to count on repeating a sin with impunity (in the spirit of popular worldly wisdom “If you don’t sin, you won’t repent”) leaves a person without the grace given in the sacrament. The Fathers of the Church warned that in such cases, at the moment when the priest says a prayer of permission, the Lord says: “But I condemn.”
In some cases, the priest prescribes penance (“prohibition”) to the penitent - a kind of spiritual medicine aimed at eradicating vice. This can be bows, reading canons or akathists, intense fasting, pilgrimage to a holy place - depending on the strengths and capabilities of the penitent. Penance must be performed strictly, and only the priest who imposed it can cancel it.
2.4 Sacrament of Communion
Life requires nutrition to sustain itself. The Lord grants this nutrition in the sacrament of communion or in Greek the Eucharist, which means “thanksgiving.” In communion we eat, under the guise of bread and wine, the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and so God becomes part of us, and we become part of Him, one with Him, closer than our closest people, and through Him - one body and one family with by all members of the Church, now our brothers and sisters.
The family prepares in advance for Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. This preparation includes intense prayer, attending divine services, fasting, good deeds, reconciliation with everyone, and then confession, that is, cleansing one’s conscience in the sacrament of repentance.
The Sacrament of Holy Communion was established by our Lord Jesus Christ Himself during the Last Last Supper, on the eve of His suffering and death. He Himself performed this sacrament: “Taking bread and thanking (God the Father for all His mercies to the human race), He broke it and gave it to the disciples, saying: Take, eat: this is My Body, which is given for you. He also took the cup and, giving thanks, gave it to them, saying: drink from it, all of you; for this is My Blood of the new testament, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins. Do this in remembrance of Me” (Matt. 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-24; 1 Cor. 11:23-25).
What should be noted about communion in relation to Christian worship is that this sacrament constitutes the main and essential part of Christian worship. According to the commandment of Christ, this sacrament is constantly performed in the Church of Christ and will be performed until the end of the century during a divine service called the liturgy, during which bread and wine, by the power and action of the Holy Spirit, are transformed, or transubstantiated, into the true body and true blood of Christ.
The sacrament of communion is performed every day, except for some days of Lent, so there is always the opportunity to receive communion. Opinions about how often one should receive communion have changed over time. The first Christians received communion almost daily, and a person who missed three Sunday Eucharists for no particular reason was considered to have fallen away from the Church. Later they began to receive communion less often. Before the revolution in Russia, it was considered the norm to take communion every Lent (Great, Petrovsky, Assumption and Christmas) and on your name day. Nowadays the practice of frequent communion, at least once a month, is becoming more and more widespread.
Images of Orthodox sacred rites go deep into the Old Testament. God replaced Isaac with a lamb; the Jews were supposed to prepare the lamb for the Passover holiday, remembering the saving exodus from Egypt. The Old Testament prophecy of Isaiah speaks of an innocent who, like a lamb, meekly goes to the slaughter. These words are repeated in the Orthodox liturgy. The lamb is the name given to the bread prepared for communion.
The Gospel filled Old Testament images with new meaning. The soldier struck Christ on the cross with a spear to confirm His death, and water and blood gushed out from the wound. Therefore, wine is mixed with water, which is a condition of life, and transformed into the Blood of Christ. A copy is an object used by the clergyman to remove particles from the prosphora - bread for communion. These and many other images from the Old and New Testaments form a single fabric of worship. The experiences of believers are woven into it, connecting what is happening with the entire Sacred history of mankind. The Body and Blood of Christ is “spiritual food,” a fire that burns evil, but is also capable of “burning” those who receive communion “unworthily,” that is, insincerely, without reverence, without preparing for communion by fasting and prayer, having hidden things on their conscience sins. Instead of “healing soul and body,” such people, according to the Church, are preparing punishment for themselves. “He took communion to condemnation,” they say about such cases in the Church.
After the required sacred rites, the offering of prayers by the priest performing the sacrament and the entire church, the communicants approach the steps of the altar. Children are passed forward and receive communion first. Children in the Orthodox Church receive communion immediately after baptism. The youngest, who cannot yet eat solid food, partake of the Blood of Christ. After the deacon’s exclamation: “Come with the fear of God and faith!” - the communicants, folding their arms crosswise on their chests, take turns approaching the chalice. The priest, using a special spoon with a long handle (a liar), takes a particle of the Holy Gifts from the chalice and places it into the mouth of the communicant. Having accepted the particle, the communicants kiss the bottom of the chalice and go to the table, where the ministers give them to wash down the communion with a consecrated warm drink - wine and water - and eat a piece of consecrated bread. At the end of the service, those receiving communion listen to a prayer of thanksgiving and a sermon from the priest. On the day of communion, Orthodox believers try to behave especially decently, remembering His sacrifice and their duty to God and people.
2.5 Wedding
Wedding or marriage is a sacrament in which, with the free (before the priest and the Church) promise by the bride and groom of mutual fidelity to each other, their marital union is blessed, in the image of the spiritual union of Christ with the Church, and the grace of God is asked and given for mutual help and unanimity, and for the blessed birth and Christian upbringing of children. Marriage was established by God Himself in heaven. After the creation of Adam and Eve, “God blessed them and God said to them: be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen. 1:28).
Each sacrament is a renewal of a person, as if his new birth. And in the sacrament of wedding a person is also born again, but not alone, but in a family. After all, in a Christian marriage, two people become one soul and one flesh in Christ. First, the ceremony of betrothal of the bride and groom is performed, during which the priest, with prayers, puts on their wedding rings (in the word “betrothal” it is easy to distinguish the roots of the words “hoop,” that is, a ring, and “hand”). A ring that has neither beginning nor end is a sign of infinity, a sign of union in boundless, selfless love. Then the priest, having joined the hands of the bride and groom, places them in front of the lectern with the Cross and the Gospel, which means - in front of the Face of the Lord, in His presence. At the same time, the bride and groom stand on a new white towel. This is a symbol of the beginning of a new life path together, but no longer separately, but together.
Prayers follow one after another with requests for God's blessing on those getting married. They recall the unions of Adam and Eve, the forefathers Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Rachel, the parents of the Virgin Mary - Joachim and Anna, the parents of John the Baptist - Zechariah and Elizabeth as examples for newlyweds.
On behalf of the Church, the priest asks God for a new union of strength, wisdom and courage in trials, mutual understanding, peaceful life, healthy children who are obedient to God’s will. The priest takes the crowns and places them - one on the head of the groom, the other on the head of the bride, while saying: “The servant of God (name of the groom) is married to the servant of God (name of the bride) in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen". And - “The servant of God (name of the bride) is married to the servant of God (name of the groom) in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen". After this, blessing the newlyweds, the priest exclaims three times: “Lord our God, crown them with glory and honor.” “Crown” means: “unite them into one flesh,” that is, create from these two, who have hitherto lived separately, a new unity that carries within itself (like God the Trinity) fidelity and love for each other in any trials or illnesses and sorrow.
The following is a reading from the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Ephesians and from the Gospel of John. The Apostle Paul calls on the husband to love his wife as Christ does the Church, not sparing his life, and for the wife to love, honor and obey her husband as the Church does Christ. The Gospel passage tells about a marriage in Cana of Galilee, where the Lord performed His first miracle, turning ordinary water into fine wine. For the bride and groom, who have already become husband and wife, this has considerable meaning. Now, in their life together, they will have to transform their not yet strong feelings (like fresh water) into true love (like fine wine). And everyone present, together with the priest, wishes the newlyweds long and joyful years of marriage.
2.6 Priesthood
The priesthood is a sacrament in which a properly chosen person receives the grace of the Holy Spirit for the sacred service of the Church of Christ. Ordination to the priesthood is called ordination, or consecration. In the Orthodox Church there are three degrees of priesthood: the lowest - deacon, then - presbyter (priest, priest) and bishop (bishop).
Anyone ordained as a deacon receives the grace to serve (help) in the performance of the sacraments. He who is ordained a bishop (bishop) receives the grace not only to perform the sacraments, but also to consecrate others to perform the sacraments.
The ordination of a priest and a deacon can only be performed by a bishop. This sacrament is performed during the liturgy. The protege (i.e., the one receiving the rank) is led around the throne three times, and then the bishop, placing his hands and omophorion on his head (Omophorion is a sign of the episcopal rank in the form of a wide strip of fabric on the shoulders), which means the laying on of the hands of Christ, reads a special prayer. In the invisible presence of the Lord, the bishop prays for the election of this person as a priest, an assistant to the bishop.
Handing over to the ordained the objects necessary for his service, the bishop exclaims: “Axios!” (Greek “worthy”), to which the choir and all the people respond with three times “Axios!” Thus, the church meeting testifies to its consent to the ordination of its worthy member. From now on, having become a priest, the ordained one takes upon himself the responsibility to serve God and people, as the Lord Jesus Christ Himself and His apostles served in His earthly life. He preaches the Gospel and performs the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, in the name of the Lord forgives the sins of repentant sinners, celebrates the Eucharist and communion, and also performs the sacraments of Marriage and Unction. After all, it is through the sacraments that the Lord continues His ministry in our world - leading us to eternal life in the Kingdom of God.
2.7 Blessing of Anointing (Unction)
The sacrament of unction, or consecration of oil, as it is called in liturgical books, is a sacrament in which, when anointing a sick person with consecrated oil (olive oil), the grace of God is called upon the sick person to heal him from physical and mental illnesses. It is called unction because several (seven) priests gather to perform it, although one priest can perform it if necessary.
The sacrament of the consecration of oil goes back to the apostles, who, having received from Jesus Christ “the power to heal diseases,” “they anointed many sick people with oil and healed them” (Mark 6.13). The essence of this sacrament is most fully revealed by the Apostle James in his Council Epistle: “Is any of you sick, let him call the elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will heal the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him” (James 5:14-15).
How does unction take place? A lectern with the Gospel is placed in the center of the temple. Nearby there is a table on which there is a vessel with oil on a dish with wheat. Seven lighted candles and seven anointing brushes are placed in the wheat - according to the number of passages from the Holy Scriptures read.
All the congregation hold lit candles in their hands. This is our testimony that Christ is the light of our lives. With the exclamation “Blessed is our God now, and ever, and unto ages of ages,” the prayer begins, listing the names of those gathered. Then the priest pours wine into the vessel with oil and prays for the consecration of the oil, for the sake of healing and cleansing the flesh and spirit of those who will be anointed with it. Wine is poured into oil in memory of the Merciful Samaritan, whom the Lord spoke about in His parable: how a certain Samaritan took pity on a man beaten and robbed by robbers, and “bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine” (Luke 10:34).
There are chants, these are prayers addressed to the Lord and the saints who became famous for their miraculous healings. This is followed by the reading of seven passages from the epistles of the apostles and the Gospels. After each Gospel reading, the priests anoint the forehead, nostrils, cheeks, lips, chest and hands on both sides with consecrated oil. This is done as a sign of cleansing all our five senses, thoughts, hearts and the works of our hands - everything that we could have sinned with.
At each anointing, the prayer is read: “Holy Father, physician of souls and bodies...” This is followed by a prayerful invocation of the Most Holy Theotokos, the Life-Giving Cross, John the Baptist, the apostles and all the saints.
The Blessing of Anointing of the congregation ends with the placing of the Gospel on their heads. And the priest prays over them.
In addition to healing from illnesses, the consecration of oil grants us forgiveness of forgotten sins (but not deliberately hidden ones). Due to the weakness of memory, a person cannot confess all his sins, so it is not worth mentioning how great the value of unction is. Through the forgiveness of sins comes cleansing, and often healing or patient enduring of illness for the Lord's sake.
Unction is not performed on infants, because an infant cannot consciously commit sins. Physically healthy people cannot resort to this sacrament without the blessing of a priest.
Performers of the Sacraments. It is obvious from the very definition of the Sacrament that the “invisible grace of God” can only be given by the Lord. Therefore, speaking about all the Sacraments, it is necessary to recognize that their Performer is God. But the co-workers of the Lord, the people to whom He Himself has granted the right to perform the Sacraments, are the properly appointed bishops and priests of the Orthodox Church. We find the basis for this in the letter of the Apostle Paul: Therefore, everyone should understand us as ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God (1 Cor. 4; 1).
A necessary condition for the performance and effectiveness of the Sacrament is the presence of:
) the objective side of the Sacrament, which consists in its performance by a correctly appointed clergyman, observing a certain external form and verbal formula of the Sacrament. If the objective side is observed, the completed Sacrament will be valid;
) the subjective side of the Sacrament, which lies in the internal mood and disposition of the person resorting to it. For a person who has firm faith and reverence, the completed Sacrament will be effective. However, the humbly acknowledged lack of firmness of faith is far from the same thing as stubborn unbelief. After all, by and large, only such unbelief can serve as a mediastinum between God and man.
The existence of merits or merits of the persons performing and receiving the Sacraments is not a condition for the validity of the Sacrament. A sinful person must be aware of the great meaning and importance of the Sacrament and have a sincere desire and readiness to accept it. In the absence of such an internal attitude, a person’s appeal to the Sacrament will only serve to condemn him (See: 1 Cor. 11; 26-30).
Correctly performed and received Sacraments impart grace to the entire psychophysical nature of a person and produce a profound impact on his inner, spiritual life.
Conclusion
Thus, concluding the work, let us briefly note the following.
Orthodox Sacraments are sacred rites revealed in Orthodox church rites, through which the invisible Divine grace or the saving power of God is communicated to believers.
Baptism, repentance and the Eucharist were established by Jesus Christ himself, as reported in the New Testament. Church Tradition testifies to the Divine origin of other sacraments. Jesus Christ: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). With these words, the Lord clearly indicated to us that in addition to the Sacrament of Baptism, He also established other Sacraments.
There are seven Sacraments: the Sacrament of Baptism, Confirmation, Penance, Communion, Marriage, Priesthood and Anointing.
The sacraments are visible signs through which the grace of the Holy Spirit, the saving power of God, invisibly descends on a person. All the Sacraments are closely related to the Sacrament of Communion.
Baptism and Confirmation introduce us to the Church: we become Christians and can begin to receive Communion. In the sacrament of Repentance, our sins are forgiven.
By receiving Communion, we unite with Christ and become participants in eternal life.
The Sacrament of the Priesthood makes it possible to perform all the Sacraments. In the Sacrament of Marriage, a blessing is taught for married family life.
In the Sacrament of Anointing, the Church prays for the forgiveness of sins and the return of the sick to health.
The sacraments constitute the Church. Only in the Sacraments does the Christian community transcend purely human standards and become the Church.
Bibliography
Vasechko V.N. Comparative theology (course of lectures) / V.N. Vasechko. - M.: Orthodox St. Tikhon's Humanitarian University, 2006. - 102 p.
Lortz J. History of the Church. Christian Russia. In 2 volumes / J. Lortz. - M.: New time, 2000. - 511 p.; 579 pp.
Malkov P.Yu. Introduction to Liturgical Tradition. Sacraments of the Orthodox Church (course of lectures) / P.Yu. Malkov; Ed. Archpriest V. Vorobyov. - M.: Orthodox St. Tikhon's Humanitarian University, 2008. - 322 p.
A clergyman's handbook. Holy Dormition Pochaev Lavra. Volume 4. - M.: Orthodox St. Tikhon's Humanitarian University, 2008. - 862 p.
Ponomarev V. Handbook of an Orthodox person. Sacraments of the Orthodox Church. Part 2. / V. Ponomarev. - M.: Orthodox St. Tikhon's Humanitarian University, 2008. - 182 p.
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A sacrament is a sacred act through which the Grace of God acts on a person. The sacraments were established by Christ or His apostles and are designed to change the inner life of a person.
1 Baptism
The essence of the Sacrament: Joining the Church, being born in Christ.
Main ritual: Immersion in water three times with the words pronounced: “The servant of God (name) is baptized in the name of the Father. Amen. And the Son. Amen.
And the Holy Spirit. Amen".
2 Confirmation
The essence of the Sacrament: Sanctification of the whole person, imparting to him the grace of the Holy Spirit.
Main ritual: Cross-shaped anointing by the priest of the forehead, eyes, nostrils, ears, chest, hands and feet of the newly baptized with the consecrated chrism with the words “Seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit. Amen".
3 Communion
The essence of the Sacrament: The union of the believer with Christ.
Main ritual: At the Liturgy in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, bread and wine are transformed (transubstantiated) into the true Body and Blood of Christ, which the believers eat. The central point of the Liturgy is the recitation of the Anaphora prayer with the blessing of bread and wine. From this prayer, believers in the temple hear only the words spoken by Christ at the establishment of the Eucharist at the Last Supper: “Take, eat, this is My Body, broken for you for the remission of sins! Amen. Drink from it, all of you, this is My blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins! Amen” (see Matthew 26:26-28).
4 Blessing of Anointing
The essence of the Sacrament: Healing by the grace of God spiritual and physical ailments.
Main ritual: Reading seven passages from the Apostolic Epistles and the Gospel. After each reading, the priest says a prayer for the sick person and anoints his forehead, cheeks, chest and hands with consecrated oil. At the end of the last reading, the priest places the opened Gospel on the head of the uncanthified person and prays for the forgiveness of his sins.
5 Repentance
The essence of the Sacrament: Confessing your sins to God and receiving forgiveness.
Main ritual: After openly confessing one’s sins to God, the priest, who is present at the celebration of the Sacrament and is a witness of repentance, says two prayers. The first contains the words “reconcile and unite him with Your Holy Church.” The second is called “permissive”: “May our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, by the grace and generosity of His love for mankind forgive your child (name) for all your sins, and I, an unworthy priest, forgive you by the authority given to me and absolve you from all your sins, in the Name Father and Son and Holy Spirit. Amen".
6 Priesthood
The essence of the Sacrament: Through the laying on of hands by the bishop, the believer is given grace to perform the Sacraments.
Main ritual: Ordination takes place during the Liturgy. The rank and order of appointment to different degrees of priesthood (deacon, priest, bishop) are different. At the end of the rite, the protege is dressed in vestments corresponding to his new rank, while the bishop (or council of bishops) performing the Sacrament proclaims “Axios!”
(Greek - “worthy”), to which the priests and choir respond with three times “Axios!” - “worthy!”
7 Marriage
The essence of the Sacrament: The blessing of marriage as a joint path to God.
Main ritual: During the Sacrament of Wedding, the priest places crowns on the heads of the bride and groom, saying three times the petition: “Lord our God, crown (them) with glory and honor.”
The content of the article
ORTHODOX SACRAMENTS, sacred rites established by divine providence, revealed in Orthodox church rites, through which invisible divine grace is communicated to believers. In Orthodoxy, there are seven sacraments, the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: baptism, confirmation, Eucharist (comunion), repentance, the sacrament of the priesthood, the sacrament of marriage and the consecration of oil. Baptism, repentance and the Eucharist were established by Jesus Christ himself, as reported in the New Testament. Church tradition testifies to the divine origin of other sacraments.
Sacraments and rituals.
External signs of the sacraments, i.e. Church rituals are necessary for humans, since human imperfect nature needs visible symbolic actions that help to feel the action of the invisible power of God. In addition to the sacraments, the Orthodox Church also accepts other liturgical rites, which, unlike the sacraments, are not of divine, but of ecclesiastical origin. The sacraments impart grace to the entire psychophysical nature of man and have a profound impact on his inner, spiritual life. Rituals call for blessing only on the external side of earthly human life ( cm. SACRAMENTALS). The celebration of each sacrament carries with it a special gift of grace. In baptism, grace is given that cleanses from sin; in confirmation - grace that strengthens a person in spiritual life; Blessing of oil is a gift that heals ailments; in repentance forgiveness of sins is given.
The effectiveness of the sacraments.
According to the teachings of the Orthodox Church, the sacraments acquire effective force only when two conditions are combined. It is necessary for them to be carried out correctly by a legitimate hierarchically appointed person and the internal mood and disposition of a Christian to accept grace. In the absence of faith and a sincere desire to accept the sacrament, its performance serves to condemnation. On Catholic and Protestant teachings on the sacraments cm. SECRET.
Seven sacraments of the Orthodox Church
are designed to fill the seven most essential needs of a person’s spiritual life. The sacraments of baptism, confirmation, communion, repentance and consecration of oil are considered obligatory for all Christians. The sacrament of marriage and the sacrament of priesthood provide for freedom of choice. The sacraments are also divided into repeatable and non-repeatable during a person’s life. Only once in a lifetime are the sacraments of baptism and confirmation, as well as the sacrament of the priesthood, performed. The remaining sacraments are repeatable.
Baptism
- the very first of the Christian sacraments, it marks the entry of the believer into the Church of Christ. Its establishment was preceded, according to the Gospels, by the baptism (purifying immersion in water) of Jesus himself in the Jordan, performed by John the Baptist. Christian baptism as a sacrament began with the words of Jesus addressed to the apostles before his ascension into heaven: “...go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16). Methods of baptism in the ancient church are described in Teachings of the Twelve Apostles(1st – beginning of 2nd centuries): “Baptize alive [i.e. running] water in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. If there is no living water, baptize in other water; If you can’t do it cold, then warm it. And if there is neither one nor the other, then place it on your head three times.” Water as a cosmic and sacred element plays a crucial role in the performance of the sacrament: baptism is performed through three times immersion in water with the pronouncement of the formula “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Divine grace acting through the water element frees a person from all sin: infants - from the firstborn, adults - both from the original, and from those committed during life. The Apostle Paul called baptism the washing of regeneration.
In post-apostolic times, infant baptism was already accepted. Adults prepared to receive the sacrament through catechism (catechesis). The catechumen usually lasted two years, during which the most important part of Christian teaching was communicated to the catechumens. Before Easter, they added their names to the list of those being baptized. The solemn baptism of a large number of believers was performed by the bishop. During the times of persecution of Christians, natural reservoirs, rivers and streams served as places of baptism. Since the time of Constantine the Great, baptism took place in baptisteries, specially constructed pools at churches ( cm. BAPTISTERY). Immediately after immersion, the presbyter anointed the forehead of the person being baptized with oil (olive oil), after which he was clothed in white robes, a symbol of his acquired purity and righteousness. After baptism, the Holy Mysteries were received in the church. The seriously ill and those in prison were baptized through pouring or sprinkling.
The traditions of the ancient church are preserved in Orthodoxy today. Baptism takes place in the temple (in special cases it is allowed to perform the ceremony in the house). Adults are baptized after instruction in the faith (catechumen). The announcement is also made at the baptism of infants, and the recipients act as guarantors for their faith. The priest places the person being baptized facing east and says prayers that drive away the devil. Turning to the west, the catechumen renounces Satan and all his works. After renunciation, he again faces the east and three times expresses the desire to unite with Christ, after which he kneels. The priest censes the font with three lit candles, hands the candles to the recipients and blesses the water. After the blessing of the water, the oil is blessed. The sign of the cross is made with oil over the water, as a symbol of reconciliation with God. Then the priest draws the sign of the cross on the forehead, ears, arms, legs, chest and shoulders of the person being baptized and immerses him three times in the font. After the font, the baptized person dresses in white clothes, which are usually preserved throughout life as a relic. In case of mortal danger, the ritual is performed in a reduced order. If there is a danger of the baby's death, baptism is allowed to be performed by a layperson. In this case, it consists of immersing the baby in water three times with the words “The servant of God is baptized in the name of the Father Amen, and the Son Amen, and the Holy Spirit Amen.” The baby's name is left to his parents to choose, while adults choose it for themselves. If such a right is granted to a priest, he is obliged to choose the name of the saint closest in time to the celebration after the birthday of the person being baptized. Cm. BAPTISM.
Confirmation.
According to the canons (rules) of the Orthodox Church, immediately after baptism a Christian receives the sacrament of confirmation. In this sacrament, believers receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit, giving them the strength to be firm in the Orthodox faith and maintain the purity of their souls. The right to perform confirmation belongs only to bishops and priests. Separately from baptism, it is performed during the anointing of kings as kings, as well as in cases when non-Christians who were baptized according to a rite corresponding to the rules of the Orthodox Church, but were not anointed, join Orthodoxy. Confirmation after baptism occurs as follows. After dressing the baptized person in white robes, the priest says a prayer in which he asks God to grant the new member of the church the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit, and applies the signs of the cross with chrism on his forehead, eyes, nostrils, ears, chest, arms and legs. Then the presbyter and the newly baptized together walk around the font three times with candles in their hands while singing the verse: “As many as were baptized into Christ, put on Christ.” This ritual symbolizes the baptized person's entry into eternal union with Christ. This is followed by the reading of the Apostle and the Gospel, after which the so-called. ablution. Having soaked his lip in warm water, the priest wipes the places that were anointed with myrrh, with the words: “You were baptized, you were enlightened, you were anointed with myrrh...” The anointing performed during the crowning of kings is neither a special sacrament nor a repetition of what was previously done. The sacred anointing of a sovereign means only a higher degree of communication of the gifts of the Holy Spirit necessary for him to fulfill the ministry to which he is called by God. The ritual of the coronation and anointing of the king is a solemn act, completed by the introduction of the sovereign to the altar, where at the throne he takes communion as the anointed of God, the patron and protector of the church. Cm. CONFIRMATION.
Repentance.
This sacrament cleanses the believer from the sins he committed after baptism and gives strength to continue the feat of earthly Christian life. By confessing his sins to a priest, a Christian receives forgiveness from him and is mysteriously absolved from his sins by God himself. Only a bishop or priest can accept confession, since they receive the right to forgive sins through the sacrament of the priesthood from Jesus Christ himself. The priest is obliged to keep the secret of confession; For publicizing the sins confessed to him, he is deprived of his rank. The Gospel teaching understands repentance not simply as repentance for what has been done, but as rebirth, renewal of the human soul. The sacrament of repentance is performed as follows. In front of the icon of Jesus Christ or in front of the Holy Cross, the priest reads prayers for the penitents for everyone who comes to the temple for confession. The very confession of sins to the priest occurs alone with him. The penitent lists his sins, and when he finishes, he bows to the ground. The priest, having placed the epitrachelion on the head of the confessor, reads a prayer in which he asks for his forgiveness, makes the sign of the cross over his head, and then lets him kiss the cross. In special cases, the priest has the right to impose penance, i.e. a certain kind of punishment in accordance with the severity of the sin. There is a rule in the Orthodox Church that every Christian must go to confession at least once a year. REPENTANCE.
Communion or Eucharist
Sacrament of the Priesthood.
All sacraments, with the exception of baptism, can be performed only in a legal manner (i.e., in accordance with the canons of the Orthodox Church) by an ordained priest, since upon ordination he receives this right through the sacrament of the priesthood. The sacrament of the priesthood consists in the fact that through the laying on of a hierarch (ordination) the Holy Spirit descends on the one appointed to a hierarchical degree. The grace of the Holy Spirit invests the initiate with special spiritual power in relation to believers, gives him the right to lead the flock, instruct them in the faith and improvement of spiritual life, and also perform church sacraments for them. The degrees of priesthood are as follows: deacon, priest (presbyter) and bishop. Other persons of the clergy, the so-called. clergy are consecrated not through ordination, but only with the blessing of the bishop. One is initiated into the highest degrees of the hierarchy only after successively passing through the lower ones. The method of ordination to one or another degree of priesthood is indicated in the instructions of the apostles, in the testimonies of the church fathers and in the rules of ecumenical councils. Grace is not given to each degree in equal measure: less to the deacon, more to the presbyter, and more to the bishop. According to this grace, the deacon performs the role of a co-celebrant of the bishop and presbyter during the celebration of the sacraments and divine services. The presbyter, through ordination from the bishop, receives the right to perform all sacraments, except the sacrament of the priesthood, and all divine services in his parish. The bishop is the main teacher and first clergyman, the main manager of the affairs of the church in his diocese. Only a council of bishops numbering at least two can ordain bishops. The sacrament of the priesthood is performed at the altar of the church during the liturgy, so that the newly ordained person can take part with the entire clergy in the consecration of the Holy Gifts. At the liturgy, ordination is performed on only one bishop, one presbyter and one deacon. The one ordained as a deacon is brought to the royal doors, where he is met by deacons who lead him into the altar. At the altar, he bows to the throne, walks around it three times and kisses the corners of the throne, as if taking an oath to reverently honor the holiness of the altar and throne. As a sign of humility before the bishop ordaining him, after each round he kisses the hand and knee of the bishop, then bows three times to the throne and kneels on one right knee, since the deacon is entrusted with partial priestly service. To commemorate the fact that he devotes all the strength of his soul to serving at the throne, he places his hands on the throne and places his forehead against it. Initiation is preceded by certification that not only the person being initiated, but also all members of his family are Orthodox Christians. The Orthodox Church adheres to the rule of not repeating ordination if it was performed correctly, even in non-Orthodox societies. BISHOP; CHURCH HIERARCHY; CLERGY; PRESBYTER; PRIEST.
Sacrament of marriage
- a sacrament performed over the bride and groom, believers who have chosen the path of married life, during which they give a free promise to the priest and the church to remain faithful to each other, and the priest blesses their union and asks them for the grace of pure unanimity for the birth and Christian upbringing of children. Marriage is an image of the union of Christ and the church. Before commencing the sacrament of marriage in the church after the liturgy, an announcement takes place, that is, the clergyman tells the parishioners the names of the bride and groom and asks if they know of any obstacles to the conclusion of this marriage. After the announcement, the marriage itself takes place. The sacrament of marriage always takes place in the temple in the presence of witnesses. The ceremony is performed by a priest. The ceremony of marriage consists of two parts: betrothal and wedding. For the betrothal, the priest leaves the altar and places a cross and the Gospel, symbols of the invisible presence of Christ himself, on a lectern in the middle of the temple. He blesses the bride and groom and gives them lighted candles, which signify their purity. After reading certain prayers, the rings consecrated on the throne are brought, and those entering into marriage put the rings on each other as a sign of mutual consent. During the wedding, the marriage union is blessed and the descent of divine grace upon it is requested. At the end of the prayers, the priest takes the crowns and places them on the heads of the bride and groom. The crowns signify a reward for their chaste life before marriage. After the death of one of the spouses, marriage can be performed a second or third time. The celebration of the sacrament of a second or third marriage is not so solemn. Those who are bigamous or triple-wedded are not given candles or crowns placed on their heads. Remarriages are allowed by the church after penance has been carried out.
Blessing of oil, or unction.
In this sacrament, when anointing with oil, the sick are given grace that heals mental and physical infirmities. Anointing is performed only on the sick. It is prohibited to perform it on the healthy, as well as on the dead. Before the consecration of oil, the sick person confesses, and after (or before) receives communion. The performance of the sacrament involves a “gathering of believers,” although it can take place both in church and at home. A council of seven presbyters according to the number of gifts of the Holy Spirit is also desirable, but the presence of two or three priests is also allowed. In extreme cases, one priest is allowed to act, but say prayers on behalf of the cathedral. To perform the sacrament, a table is set up, and on it is a dish with wheat. Wheat grains serve as a symbol of rebirth to new life. A vessel with oil, a visible sign of grace, is placed on top of the wheat. Wine is poured into it: combining oil with wine is done in memory of the fact that this is exactly what the Evangelical Good Samaritan did to treat the sick. Anointing brushes are placed nearby and seven candles are lit. The service of the sacrament consists of three parts. The first part is prayer singing. The second part is the blessing of oil. The first priest reads a prayer for the consecration of the oil, the rest repeat it quietly, then sing troparia to the Mother of God, Christ and the holy healers. The third part consists of seven readings of the Apostle, seven readings of the Gospel and seven anointings. Those parts of the body through which sin enters a person are anointed: forehead, nostrils, cheeks, lips and both sides of the hands. After the seventh anointing, the priest places the open Gospel on the head of the sick person, which signifies the hand of the Savior himself, healing the sick.
"Seven Church Sacraments"
Every Sunday school student knows that the number of sacraments in the Church is seven, although, of course, this division is conditional, since the Church itself is a mystery, since everything in it is mysterious. Nevertheless, since such a classification of sacraments exists, we will provide an explanation of them in accordance with this classification.
1. It’s not good to be a non-Christian
Baptism. This sacrament was established by Christ Himself, saying to His disciples: “Go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” This phrase contains one of the main requirements for the rule of baptism: one is baptized into the Orthodox faith by dipping into water three times - in the name of the Trinity. But even in the first centuries of Christianity, a heresy (Eunomian) appeared, whose followers immersed the baptized person in water once - as a sign of the death and resurrection of Christ. On this occasion, the apostles even established a rule (fiftieth), according to which the one who immerses the baptized person once, and not three, will be expelled from the Church. Therefore, even now, when a Christian of a non-Orthodox religion wishes to convert to Orthodoxy, a thorough study of the rules by which he was baptized before is carried out. If they were immersed once, then such baptism is considered invalid, but if they were baptized according to the ternary formula, then such baptism is recognized. Careful research is necessary because a person should only be baptized once.
In this regard, the question often arises: is it necessary to baptize the so-called immersed ones, that is, those who were baptized in the villages by believing grandmothers. In such cases, if it is not possible to find out how correctly the baptismal formula was followed, it is necessary to go through the sacrament of baptism again, and the priest, in order not to violate the prohibition of re-baptism, will definitely say: “if you are not baptized, eat.” If a person was baptized correctly, then he comes to the sacrament of baptism, but is included in the celebration of the sacrament only at the stage of anointing, since his grandmothers definitely did not anoint him with chrism.
2. We are all anointed with the same world
Although confirmation is performed during baptism immediately after immersion in the font, it is nevertheless an independent sacrament. During this sacrament, the priest seals the “seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit” through the anointing of the newly baptized with holy myrrh. Myrrh is an fragrant oil that is boiled in the last days of Lent and is consecrated by His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' on Maundy Thursday (Thursday of Holy Week). Then the myrrh is poured into vessels and distributed to all dioceses. Various sects, including those who arbitrarily call themselves “Orthodox,” do not have chrism, and therefore do not have the sacrament of anointing.
After baptism and confirmation, a person begins life as if with a clean slate: all his previous sins are cleansed by the “bath of rebirth,” but since it is difficult not to sin in this fallen world, the Church established the sacrament of repentance, to which a baptized person must resort as often as possible.
3. Open the door of repentance
Repentance (confession). No matter how grave a person’s sins may be, the Merciful God can forgive him subject to sincere repentance. It is sincere, not formal. A person will always find reasons for repentance, and for this there is no need to sin on purpose. Moreover, a person who sins deliberately, in the hope that God will forgive him for it during confession, is unlikely to receive this forgiveness.
In recent years, a tradition has developed that confession in churches is accepted at a certain time, as a rule, on the eve of communion. And in order to begin communion, you need to talk (fast) for several days and read a lot of special prayers. In this regard, in the minds of new Christians there was a conviction that all this should be done on the eve of confession. And since not everyone can fulfill the established rules, many are still unable to confess their accumulated sins. It should be noted that repentance is an independent sacrament, and a person can begin it not necessarily after rigorous preparation in the form of fasting and reading prayers. It is only advisable to connect your desire to confess to the time set in a particular church. The only condition for those who wish to confess is a sincere condemnation of their sins and a desire not to repeat them. But in order to begin communion, you need to prepare specially.
4. This is My Body
Sacrament of Communion. At the Last Supper, Christ, breaking bread and distributing it to His disciples, said: “This is My Body,” and after giving the cup of wine, he said: “This is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” Christ thereby replaced the bloody sacrifice (the Jews slaughtered a lamb at Passover) with a bloodless sacrifice. Since then, Christians, when receiving communion during the sacrament of communion, take into themselves the Body and Blood of Christ, into which bread and wine are mysteriously transformed during the service.
In the Russian Orthodox Church there is a tradition of starting the sacrament of communion only after confession, strictly on an empty stomach (starting from 24 hours of the previous day), having fasted for at least three days the day before and read special prayers. Infants under seven years of age (up to six years of age inclusive) receive communion without confession. Sick people suffering from serious illnesses and who cannot do without pills are allowed, if necessary, to take medicine on the eve of communion, since medicine is not considered food. “Immersed” (baptized by laymen) can begin to receive the sacrament only after such baptism is completed by a priest. It is customary for the laity to receive communion at least five times a year (during four long fasts and on their Angel Day), as well as in special life situations, for example, on the eve of a wedding.
5. Marriage is honest and the bed is undefiled
Wedding. Let us note right away that the Church does not recognize as legal the so-called “civil marriage”, in which people cohabit without registering with the registry office. Therefore, in order to avoid misunderstandings, only persons who have a marriage registration document are allowed to attend a wedding. The Church recognizes such a registered marriage as legal. Nevertheless, the Church reminds that for Orthodox people civil registration is not enough and that it is imperative to receive God’s sanctification of family life.
Weddings have become a fashionable phenomenon in our time, and, unfortunately, not everyone who embarks on it realizes its importance and their responsibility to God and their spouse, which they take on during the wedding. The Church, wanting to have an honest marriage and a clean marital bed, asks God to protect the young throughout their entire life together. But it very often happens that spouses treat a wedding as a kind of magical rite that should automatically seal their union without mutual efforts. Without faith in God, a wedding in most cases becomes meaningless. A church marriage is strong only when the spouses do not forget the promises they made at the wedding, and do not forget to ask God to help them fulfill these promises. And God will always help them, just like those who turn to Him when sick during the sacrament of consecration of oil, or unction.
6. Healing of mental and physical infirmities
Blessing of Anointing (unction). The essence of this sacrament was most accurately stated by the Apostle James: “If any of you is sick, let him call the elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will heal the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him” (Epistle of the Apostle James, chapter 5, verses 14-15). Many people approach this sacrament with completely unfounded fear: they say that unction precedes death. Indeed, quite often a person is given unction on the eve of death, thereby cleansing him of all the involuntary sins that he committed in life and which, out of ignorance or forgetfulness (but not deliberately concealed), he did not repent of in confession. However, there are often cases when seemingly hopelessly ill people got back to their feet after the sacrament of unction. So there is no need to be afraid of this healing sacrament.
7. Pop - from the word dad
And the last (not in importance, of course, but in number) sacrament is the sacrament of the priesthood. The Orthodox Church has preserved the continuity of the priesthood from the apostles, whom Christ Himself ordained. Since early Christian times, the sacrament of the priesthood (ordination) has been continuously transmitted in the depths of the Church until our time. Therefore, in those Christian organizations that periodically arise out of nowhere and that claim to be called the Church, there is actually no priesthood as such.
The sacrament of the priesthood is performed only on male persons who profess Orthodoxy, are in their first marriage (married) or have taken monastic vows. In the Orthodox Church there is a three-tier hierarchy: deacons, priests and bishops. A deacon is a clergyman of the first degree who, although he takes part in the sacraments, does not perform them himself. A priest (or priest) has the right to perform six sacraments, except for the sacrament of ordination. The bishop is the highest clergyman who administers all seven sacraments of the Church and who has the right to pass on this gift to others. According to tradition, only a priest who has accepted the monastic rank can become a bishop.
Unlike Catholicism, where all priests, without exception, accept celibacy (vow of celibacy), in Orthodoxy there are white clergy (married), and black (those who have accepted the monastic rank). However, for white clergy there is a requirement to be married once, that is, a person who is remarried cannot be a clergyman, and a clergyman who becomes a widower cannot remarry. Often widowed priests take the monastic rank. Monks who violate their vow of celibacy are expelled from the Church.
According to ancient tradition, clergy (deacons and priests) are called fathers: Father Paul, Father Theodosius, etc. Bishops are usually called lords. In official addresses, the corresponding titles of the clergy are written: the deacon is addressed as “Your Love of God,” the priest is addressed as “Your Reverence,” the archpriest (senior priest) is addressed as “Your Reverence.” Abbots and archimandrites (senior priests of the monastic order) are also titled as highly reverend. If a deacon or priest is a monk, then they are called a hierodeacon and a hieromonk, respectively.
Bishops, also called bishops, may have several administrative degrees: bishop, archbishop, metropolitan, patriarch. The bishop is officially addressed as “Your Eminence,” the archbishop and metropolitan as “Your Eminence,” and the patriarch as “Your Holiness.” In the Orthodox Church, unlike the Catholic Church (where the Pope is considered the vicar of Christ on earth, and therefore infallible), the patriarch is not endowed with the status of infallibility. The presence of the word “Holiness” in the title of the patriarch does not refer to him, but to the Church itself, one of the earthly structures of which he heads. Nevertheless, the most important church decisions in the Orthodox Church are made conciliarly, that is, collectively, since, despite the presence of titles and titles, all Orthodox Christians are brothers and sisters in Christ and together they are the very Church that is holy and infallible.
Well, as for the word “pop”, which in modern times has acquired a certain offensive and disparaging connotation, it should be noted that it comes from the Greek word “papes”, which means a loving father or dad!
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