Orthodoxy (5) – Sacraments
07 July 2000 11:57
SACRAMENTS
Sacraments are not the same as symbols. They do more than represent some inner meaning. In a sacrament, ordinary substances become “spirit-bearing”, vehicles of divine Grace. Orthodox generally call sacraments Mysteries, which does not mean they are vague or suspicious, but that they are marvels of God bigger than human understanding.
There are many acts which have sacramental quality, but it is modern practice (adopted from the Roman Catholics) to count seven sacraments:-
BAPTISM
The entry of a person into the Christian community is by total, three-fold immersion. In the waters of baptism a person is purified and is also merged into the death of Christ and rises with Him, reborn as a new man.
Children of Orthodox parents are baptised as infants. They are undressed and plunged naked three times into the font. After baptism they are dressed in a white baptismal robe. Adults who are baptised are allowed to wear a swimsuit!
Immediately after baptism, at the same ceremony, a person is anointed with a special oil called CHRISM, as a king, priest and prophet of the Kingdom of God. The priest anoints the eyes, the nostrils, the mouth, the ears – all the senses – and the heart, the hands and the feet with the words “The seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit”. The whole person, body and soul, is dedicated to God and filled with His Spirit.
People who have been baptised in other churches and become Orthodox are received by chrismation. Baptism and chrismation confer full membership of the Orthodox Church; there is no later Confirmation. So every Orthodox, including babies and children, may receive Holy Communion.
HOLY COMMUNION
Although all Christians celebrate Holy Communion, churches differ in what they believe about it. The Orthodox Church believes that the bread and wine are really changed by the Holy Spirit into the Body and Blood of Christ and are not just symbols. God is seen as uniting Himself to the Bread and Wine as He united Himself to human flesh when He became Man.
Communion is not received every week automatically by Orthodox, but only after very careful preparation and self-examination, which often involves the Sacrament of Confesssion (from the age of seven or so). Some Orthodox only receive Communion occasionally. However, children are brought to Communion frequently.
CONFESSION
Since early times it was the practice of the Church to exclude from Communion people who had committed grave sins such as apostasy, murder and adultery. They were readmitted when they had repented in front of the whole congregation! Nowadays the priest acts as a representative of the congregation to hear a person’s confession. The confession is made to God, with the priest as a witness, and he passes on God’s forgiveness – not his own – to the penitent. He also gives very useful advice for avoiding the same sins in the future.
Confession enables a person to have the “feedback” lacking in private prayer, and concrete reassurance of forgiveness and love.
HOLY UNCTION
The anointing of the sick is performed when a person is very ill either physically or spiritually. It is not a “last rite” – communion is given to a dying person.
In a long ceremony in which there are seven sets of Bible readings, among them the Epistle of St James, oil is blessed and the sick person is anointed on the eyes, ears, mouth and hands (and the particular part of the body which is ill).
On the Wednesday evening of Holy Week, Holy Unction is given to everybody as a final healing preparation for Easter.
HOLY ORDERS
The Orthodox Church has a three-fold ministry of bishops, priests and deacons.
Deacons and priests must decide before they are ordained whether they wish to become monks or to marry, as a man may not marry (or remarry) after ordination. Bishops are always taken from the monastic clergy and are, therefore, unmarried.
Deacons originally did parish work such as looking after the poor and the sick, but nowadays their function is to lead the people in prayer during the services – they sing the litanies. Deacons do not automatically become priests; some men prefer to remain deacons all their lives.
Priests celebrate the sacraments. An Orthodox priest is called “Father” and has a fatherly role in the parish. In services he represents Christ.
Bishops are the guardians of the Orthodox faith, which has been passed down with their authority in an unbroken line from the Apostles by the laying-on of hands – this is called the Apostolic Succession. All bishops have an equal responsibility in that respect, and when councils of the Church are called, no one bishop has more weight than another.
Senior bishops are designated archbishop or metropolitan, and the heads of some churches, for example the Russian Church, are called patriarchs. The Patriarch of Constantinople is called the Ecumenical Patriarch and has special honour, although he does not have any authority over other Orthodox churches.
Although some men are set apart for ordination in order to celebrate the services, ALL Orthodox are anointed into the “royal priesthood of all believers” and in that sense concelebrate the Liturgy. Ordination is limited to adult males, but every Orthodox is called to the vocation of being a saint.
HOLY MATRIMONY
The marriage ceremony was a late development in church life – for instance, it was not introduced at Constantinople until the 9th Century. Before that a couple wishing to marry simply received Communion together. Today there is an elaborate ceremony, at which the bride wears white and a veil like an English bride.
The service is divided into two parts, the betrothal and the rite of crowning.
The BETROTHAL takes place at the back of the church. Bride and groom are blessed and exchange rings, which are worn on the fourth finger of the RIGHT hand. They then move to the centre of the church and stand on a special rug in front of a table.
Here the rite of CROWNING takes place. Bride and groom hold candles, and the congregation stands round informally. There is no grand procession in and out of the church, but the singing of the choir is very beautiful.
Until quite recently marriages were arranged, so the couple are asked whether they are marrying of their own free will. Then the groom is crowned with the words, “The servant of God (name) is crowned unto the handmaid of God (name) in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit”; and the bride is similarly crowned. The Greeks use crowns of leaves and flowers but the Russians use special metal crowns which are kept by the church. They are held in turn above the couple’s heads by three pairs of groomsmen.
The crowns symbolize the fact that an Orthodox household is a colony of
Christ’s Kingdom. They are crowns of happiness. But they are also
crowns of martyrdom, reminding the couple of the self-sacrifice each will
have to make in married life.
After two Bible readings the couple drink from a common cup, signifying the common life that will be theirs, and the priest leads them three times in procession round the table.
This circular procession represents the unbroken nature of marriage. However, the Orthodox Church recognises that people sometimes fail in their eternal endeavours. And so DIVORCE is granted for the cause of adultery, according to Christ’s words in St Matthew’s Gospel, and remarriage in church is allowed, although a second ceremony contains certain penitential prayers. Up to three marriages are allowed, but not a fourth. The granting of a church divorce is not a recent idea, but an ancient practice. The wedding service, in fact, does not contain legalistic vows as in a Western service. An Orthodox couple do not declare “Till death us do part”, although, of course, they are expected to attempt that ideal.
At the end of the service the members of the congregation come up to kiss the happy couple. Orthodox weddings are often held on Sundays after the Liturgy, which means that a separate civil ceremony has to be held on another day, as registrars do not work on Sundays.
(to be continued)
