The Sacraments of the Church

CHRISMATION

NI

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BAPTISM

EUCHARIST

CONFESSION

ORDINATION

HOLY UNCTION

KA

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Although Orthodox Christians often speak of the "seven sacraments", it is important to remember that all of life is given to us in order that it might become "sacramental." Through prayer, participation in the liturgical services, ascetic struggle against our passions or sinful inclinations, and by gestures of loving self-sacrifice, we enter ever more deeply into communion with the God of love.

BAPTISM
The experience of salvation is initiated in the waters of baptism. The Apostle Paul teaches in Romans 6: 1-6 that in baptism we experience Christ's death (as we are immersed in the water) and resurrection (as we are lifted out of the water). In it our sins are truly forgiven and we are energized by our union with Christ to live a holy life. Some consider baptism to be only an "outward sign" of belief in Christ. This innovation has no historical or biblical precedent. Others reduce it to a mere perfunctory obedience to Christ's command (cf. Matthew 28:19, 20). Still others, ignoring the Bible completely, reject baptism as a vital factor in salvation. These contemporary innovations rob sincere people of the most important assurances that baptism provides -- namely that they have been united to Christ and are part of His Church.

CHRISMATION
Chrismation is the completion of Baptism, and is generally performed during the same service. Like the early apostles, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit during chrismation, a gift of grace from God to help us lead a Christian life. The priest anoints the person with miron, a special oil blessed by the Ecumenical Patriarch, and says, "The seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit. Amen." Three locks are tonsured from the child's hair in the form of a cross as a gift to God. The priest then places a necklace with a cross around the person's neck saying, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me". (Mark 8:34)

EUCHARIST
Eucharist means "thanksgiving" and early became a synonym for Holy Communion. The Eucharist is the center of worship in the Orthodox Church. Because Jesus said of the bread and wine at the Last Supper, "This is my body", "This is my blood", and "Do this in remembrance of Me" (Luke 22: 19,20), His followers believe -- and do -- nothing less. In the Eucharist, we partake mystically of Christ's Body and Blood, which impart His life and strength to us. The celebration of the Eucharist was a regular part of the Church's life from its beginning. Early Christians began calling the Eucharist "the medicine of immortality" because they recognized the great grace of God that was received in it.
More on the Holy Eucharist

CONFESSION
Confession is the open admission of known sins before God and man. It means literally "to agree with" God concerning our sins. St. James the Apostle admonishes us to confess our sins to God before the elders, or priests, as they are called today (James 5:16). We are also exhorted to confess our sins directly to God (I John 1:9). The Orthodox Church has always followed the New Testament practices of confession before a priest as well as private confession to the Lord. Confession is one of the most significant means of repenting, and receiving assurance that even our worst sins are truly forgiven. It is also one of our most powerful aids to forsaking and overcoming those sins.
The Sacrament of Confession - Remedy for a sick soul.

HOLY UNCTION
In the sacrament of Holy Unction the sick person is anointed with sanctified oil and divine grace heals his bodily and spiritual ills.

ORDINATION
In the sacrament of Ordination through prayer and the laying-on of hands by a bishop, divine grace comes down on the ordained enabling him to be a worthy minister of the Church. Apostolic succession is fundamental to the Church. Without it there can be no continuity of the Church.

Apostolic succession has been a watershed issue since the second century, not as a mere dogma, but as crucial to the preservation of the faith. Certain false teachers came on the scene insisting they were authoritative representatives of the Christian Church. Claiming authority from God by appealing to special revelations, some were even inventing lineages of teachers supposedly going back to Christ or the Apostles. In response, the early Church insisted there was an authoritative apostolic succession passed down from generation to generation. They recorded that actual lineage, showing how its clergy were ordained by those chosen by the successors of the Apostles chosen by Christ Himself.

Apostolic succession is an indispensable factor in preserving Church unity. Those in the succession are accountable to it, and are responsible to ensure all teaching and practice in the Church is in keeping with Her apostolic foundations. Mere personal conviction that one's teaching is correct can never be considered adequate proof of accuracy. Today, critics of apostolic succession are those who stand outside that historic succession and seek a self-identity with the early Church only. The burgeoning number of denominations in the world can be accounted for in large measure by a rejection of apostolic succession.