The sacraments

The sacraments
The interpretation and number of the sacraments vary among the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Eastern independent, and Protestant churches. The Roman Church has fixed the number of sacraments at seven: baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, penance, holy orders, matrimony, and anointing of the sick. In the early church the number of sacraments varied, sometimes including as many as 10 or 12. The theology of the Orthodox Church, under the influence of the Roman Catholic Church, fixed the number of sacraments at seven. The classical Protestant churches (i.e., Lutheran, Anglican, and Reformed) have accepted only two sacraments?-i.e., baptism and the Eucharist, though Luther allowed that penance was a valid part of sacramental theology.

The New Testament mentions a series of "holy acts" that are not, strictly speaking, sacraments. Though the Roman Catholic Church recognizes a difference between such "holy acts," which are called sacramentals, and sacraments, the Orthodox Church does not, in principle, make such strict distinctions. Thus, though baptism and the Eucharist have been established as sacraments of the church, foot washing, which in the Gospel According to John, chapter 13, replaces the Lord's Supper, was not maintained as a sacrament. It is still practiced on special occasions, such as on Holy Thursday in the Roman Catholic Church and as a rite prior to the observance of the Lord's Supper, as in the Church of the Brethren. The "holy acts" of the Orthodox Church are symbolically connected to its most important mysteries. 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. Immediately following baptism, chrismation (anointing with consecrated oil) takes place, and the baptized believers receive the "seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit."

SacramentThe notion of sacrament is particularly important to the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church, the latter which sees itself as a "sacramental agent." This means that sacraments are administered under its authority and care. Sacraments often mirror important life passages and should be seen as the spiritual and sacred reflection of their social/human counterparts. The Catholic and Orthodox Churches fix the number of sacraments at seven: Baptism, the rite of conversion into the church, sometimes in infancy; Confirmation, the renewal of one's belief as an adult along with the reaffirmation of a person's membership in the church; marriage or Holy Matrimony; Holy Orders or Ordination, when someone enters a permanent office of the church (e.g., as a deacon, priest, or bishop); the Sacrament of the Sick, or extreme unction, when one nears the end of life; Confession, or Reconciliation, where a person confesses their sins; and Mass--also known as Holy Communion, Holy Eucharist or the Lord's Supper--which symbolizes the formal forgiveness of confessed sins. Protestant Churches have different positions on the sacraments, from adoption of all or some of them to the denial of the idea of sacrament altogether (even when they practice some of the rites themselves).