The Sacraments of the Orthodox Church

“Mystery” (μυστήριον) is the proper term in the Orthodox Church. “Sacrament” is Western
terminology, but has become widespread among Orthodox in the West. We will use the
term sacrament in our discussion.

Conventional number: Seven — though this is not written in stone anywhere!

All sacraments take their origin and meaning from the doctrines of salvation and deifica-
tion that we have studied. But the sacraments also remind us of the sanctifying grace of
God upon all creation. Thus, material substances like oil, water, bread and wine are sancti-
fied and consecrated to restore the unity that God originally intended for all his creation,
including the human. This is what a mystery/sacrament does, it communicates God’s sanc-
tifying and saving grace. A sacrament restores us to God’s original purposes and elevates
us further to the purposes of the new covenant in Christ.

Romans 5:10 εἰ γὰρ ἐχθροὶ ὄντες κατηλλάγημεν τῷ θεῷ διὰ τοῦ θανάτου τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ
πολλῷ μᾶλλον καταλλαγέντες σωθησόμεθα ἐν τῇ ζωῇ αὐτοῦ
For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much
more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. (KJV)
for if, being enemies, we have been reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much
more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved in his life. (Young’s Literal Translation,
1862)
 Baptism & Chrismation
Entrance into the Church and the Communion of Saints

The Orthodox baptism service, even in case of infant bap-

tism, maintains its origins as an adult baptism. So there are
prayers for the forgiveness of sins in the plural (but not a
single reference to original sin — only to the old nature).
The three “exorcisms” at the beginning are often deleted in
infant baptisms. The blessing of baptismal waters connects
baptism to the creation of visible and invisible natures.

Images of salvation/redemption in the baptism service:

In the very first prayer: “Remove far from him/her that ancient error (την παλαίαν εκείνην
πλάνην), and fill him/her with faith and hope and
love that is in you…”
“Redeem this your creature from the yoke of the
enemy and receive him/her into your heavenly
kingdom. Open the eyes of his/her understanding,
so that the illumination of your Gospel may dawn
upon him/her.”
Questioning of the candidate: “Do you renounce
Satan, and all his works, and all his worship, and
all his angels, and all his pomp?....”
“Do you unite yourself to Christ?...”
“Put off from him/her the old nature (παλαιότητα, παλαιόν άνθρωπον in another prayer),
and renew him/her unto everlasting life. Fill him/her with the power of your Holy Spirit
unto union with your Christ…”
“That he/she be σύμφυτον (born with/congenital/like by nature/grow together with) and
κοινωνόν (communicant/partaker of) the death and resurrection of Christ our God….”
“That he/she may preserve the garment of baptism and the αρραβώνα (pledge, earnest
money deposited by the purchaser and forfeited if the purchase is not completed = down
payment?) of the Spirit undefiled and blameless in the awesome day of Christ…”
“Blessed is God who enlightens and sanctifies every human being that comes into the
world….”
“The servant of God ____ is baptized in the name of the Father, Amen. And of the Son,
Amen. And of the Holy Spirit, Amen.”
Prayer of Confirmation (Holy Chrism):
“… You who have granted regeneration to your servant newly illuminated through water
and the Spirit and given him forgiveness of his/her sins, both voluntary and involuntary,
now bestow upon him/her also the seal of your omnipotent and adorable Holy Spirit and the
communion of the holy body and precious blood of your Christ. Keep him/her in your sanc-
tification; confirm him/her in the Orthodox faith ….”
“THE SEAL OF THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT,
AMEN.” (Personal Pentecost)
“The servant of God is clothed with the garment of right-
eousness…”
Walk around the baptismal font: “As many as have been bap-
tized into Christ have put on Christ. Alleluia.”
 Holy Communion — The Eucharist
The Orthodox Church never developed a dogmatic statement similar
to the Catholic belief in transubstantiation. But we do believe that the
Bread and Wine we receive is truly the Body and Blood of Christ.

The preparation of the bread and wine

takes place before Liturgy begins.

The Liturgy as a whole relives the incarnation and culminates

in the Kingdom of God. The opening doxology, “Blessed is
the kingdom of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages, Amen” pro-
claims the goal of our gathering, to partake of the feast in the
kingdom. The Eucharist is not a re-enactment of the Last
Supper, but the fulfillment of the promised heavenly feast.
This is what is often called “fulfilled eschatology”!
“Blessed is the entrance of your saints…”
“… You did not cease doing everything until you led us to heaven and granted us your
kingdom to come… We also thank you for this liturgy which you are pleased to accept
from our hands, even though you are surrounded by thousands of Archangels… Together
with these blessed powers… He came and fulfilled the divine plan for us. On the night
when he was delivered up, or rather when he gave himself up for the life of the world, he
took bread … gave thanks, blessed, sanctified, broke, and gave it … saying:
Take eat, this is my body which is broken for you, for the forgiveness of sins.
Likewise, after supper, he took the cup….
Remembering, therefore, this command of the Savior, and all that came to pass for our
sake, the cross, the tomb, the resurrection on the third day, the ascension into heaven, the
enthronement at the right hand [of the Father], and the second and glorious coming
We offer to you these gifts from your own gifts in all and for all.
Once again we offer … send down your Holy Spirit upon us and upon these gifts here pre-
sented…
So that they may be to those who partake of them for vigilance of soul, forgiveness of sins,
communion of your Holy Spirit, fulfillment of the kingdom of the heavens, confidence be-
fore you, and not in judgment or condemnation…”
“For the precious gifts offered and consecrated … that our loving God who has received
them at his holy, heavenly and spiritual altar as an offering of spiritual fragrance, may in
return send upon divine grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit, let us pray…”

Private prayers of preparation for communion em-

phasize our unworthiness to receive the heavenly
gifts, but we ask God to make us worthy! Rules
about fasting before communion really have noth-
ing to do with how worthy we are!

Communion with a spoon began in 9th century,

for practical reasons; but also due to growing
clericalism.
 Confession and Holy Unction
The two healing sacraments

There are no confessionals in Orthodox practice. Priest

and penitent stand before an icon or sit down in a pew.

No strict chronology of repen-

tance. Does it come before a per-
son comes to confession, after, or both before and after? Consider be-
ginning of the service: “For the remission of sins of the servant of
God ___ and the forgiveness of all his/her voluntary and involuntary
transgressions… That the Lord may grant him/her remission of sins
and time of repentance, let us pray to the Lord.” Repentance is more
than feeling sorry for one’s sins. Repentance implies a new orientation in life, and it comes
from the healing that God grants with forgiveness of sins.

Holy Unction is the anointing of the sick with oil. It is meant to be done
by 7 priests! The elaborate setup includes a bowl of wheat with 7 candles,
7 anointing brushes and an oil lamp. The oil is sanctified by the “Prayer
of the Oil” - but before people are anointed with it comes a series of 7
pairs of Epistle and Gospel readings, each pair accompanied with a long
prayer, each said by one of the 7 priests. People are anointed on the face
and hands.
 Holy Matrimony and Ordination
Two sacraments of Calling/Vocation

Although very different, these two sacraments are related in the sense that they are not for
all Orthodox Christians: Not everyone gets married, and only a few men are ordained. Both
marriage and ordination to holy orders are considered as vocations, states in life to which
one is called. Other callings include the monastic life and the various ways that a person
can accept leadership roles in the church. But only marriage and ordination are treated as
sacraments.

The Marriage service consists of two parts:

The Betrothal, during which rings are placed on
the bride and groom as a sign of the pledge they
have made to each other.
The Crowning is the main celebration of mar-
riage. Crowns are placed on the heads of the
bride and groom, they drink from a common
cup of wine, and they walk around the table.
The prayers make heavy use of creation lan-
guage and Old Testament figures.
When the crowns are removed at end of the ser-
vice, the priest prays: “Accept their crowns in
your kingdom unsoiled and undefiled, and pre-
serve them without offense to the ages of ages. Amen.”
Ordination is the means by which the church maintains its “apostolic succession” and the
transmission of all its ordinances. The most important ranks of clergy are: Deacon, Priest
and Bishop. The rites of ordination are very convoluted. Only a bishop can ordain deacons
and priests, and several bishops have to be present for the elevation of a priest to bishop. At
the ordination, vestments appropriate to his rank are put on the newly-ordained, who is
then presented to the congregation with the words, “Axios, Axios, Axios.” Bishops are re-
quired to be celibate (or widowers). Priests and deacons can be married, but must marry
before ordination.

An Episcopal consecration in Russia

Patriarch Alexei II of Moscow and all Russia
is the chief celebrant.
A newly-ordained priest is presented to the
local community at St. Andrew Church in
Chicago for their acceptance.