Sacrament

A sacrament is a special religious rite in some Christian churches.

The Roman Catholic Church recognizes seven sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation (Chrismation), the Eucharist, Penance and Reconciliation (Confession), the Anointing of the Sick (Extreme Unction, Last Rites), Holy Orders and Marriage (Holy Matrimony). Protestant churches usually recognize only Baptism, and sometimes the Eucharist, as sacraments. The others may be considered religious ceremonies, but not sacraments.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines the sacraments as "perceptible signs (words and actions) accessible to our human nature. By the action of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit they make present efficaciously the grace that they signify". At the time of the Protestant Reformation, Protestant churches held that five of the sacraments recognized by the Roman Catholic Church failed to meet one or more of those four tests established by the Catholic Church herself.

For example, Matrimony was not a new practice at the time of Christ. Then too, Jesus does not appear to have authorized Holy Unction, although the anointing of the sick by church elders is mentioned in the New Testament. The Anglican Church's Articles of Religion contend that the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation negates the sacramental character of the Sacrament of the Altar (the Eucharist) because if the bread and wine are rendered non-existent, as is claimed, there is no longer any physical component.

The Orthodox Church accepts the same set of sacraments as the Catholic Church does, but it declines to number the sacraments. The sacraments of the Orthodox Church are more fully described in the essay "Orthodox Mysteries".

The only significant Christian Churches that observe no sacraments at all, in the usual sense of the word, are the Friends (Quakers), Salvation Army, and Unitarians. Most Baptists, instead of referring to sacraments, refer to the two ordinances, namely, baptism and the Lord's Supper, and regard those as symbolic acts of obedience.

Quotes

"A sacrament is a curious thing in that all members of the group fervently believe in its existence while being unable to satisfactorily define it.".

Ambrose Bierce said that "Rome has seven sacraments, but the Protestant churches, being less prosperous, feel that they can afford only two, and these of inferior sanctity. Some of the smaller sects have no sacraments at all — for which mean economy they will indubitable be damned."

See Also

• Sacraments in the Catholic Church
  • Baptism
  • Eucharist (the Most Blessed Sacrament, the Sacrament of the Altar, Holy Communion)
  • Reconciliation and Penance (Confession)
  • Confirmation (Chrismation)
  • Holy Orders
  • Marriage (Holy Matrimony)
  • Anointing of the Sick (Extreme Unction, Last Rites)