The Traditional Christian Sacraments

The universal Church highlights seven Sacraments which it recognises as special and effective signs of God’s grace in the world.

The two primary and universal Sacraments are Holy Baptism and Eucharist or Holy Communion (also called The Mass or The Last Supper), the other five are Marriage, Confession, Anointing, Ordination and Confirmation.

Although the central and foundational Sacraments are Baptism and Holy Communion, these seven rites continue to be formative especially in Anglo-Catholic and mainstream Anglican identity and spirituality and are also deeply relevant to the Christian life and witness in our Springline Parish.

‘What was visible in Christ has now passed over into the sacraments of the Church.’ (St Leo the Great)

‘Sacraments are the powerful instruments of God to eternal life. For as our natural body consisteth in the union of the body with the soul, so our life supernatural is in the union of the soul with God.’ (Richard Hooker)

‘It is vital to affirm that the sacraments effect what they signify and are means of grace.’ (The House of Bishops, The Eucharist: Sacrament of Unity)

THE EUCHARIST/HOLY COMMUNION/THE LORD’S SUPPER, THE MASS

“Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”
St Luke 22:19,20

Jesus said, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them…”
St John 6:53-55

‘The Eucharist stands at the very heart of the life, worship and mission of the Christian Church.’

Archbishops of Canterbury and York, The Eucharist: Sacrament of Unity

‘Belief in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist is clearly taught in the Church of England’s eucharistic Theology.’

The House of Bishops, The Eucharist: Sacrament of Unity

BAPTISM/CHRISTENING

‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’
St Matthew 28:19,20

‘Baptism is God’s most beautiful and magnificent gift … because it is conferred on those who bring nothing of their own.’
St Gregory Nazianzus

‘Our ‘drowning’ in the water of baptism, where we believe we die to sin and are raised to new life, unites us to Christ’s dying and rising…’
Common Worship

CONFIRMATION

‘Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.’
(Acts 8:14-17)

‘It is necessary for him that has been baptized also to be anointed, so that by his having received chrism, that is, the anointing, he can become the anointed of God and have within him the grace of Christ.’
(St Cyprian of Carthage)

‘Remember then that you received the seal of the Spirit; the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and godliness, and the spirit of holy fear in the presence of God. Guard what you have received.’
(St Ambrose of Milan)

ANOINTING OF THE SICK WITH HOLY OIL

‘They cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.’
(St Mark 6:13)

‘Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.’
(Letter of St James 5:14)

‘I anoint you in the name of God who gives you life. Receive Christ’s forgiveness, his healing and his love.’
(Common Worship)

HOLY MATRIMONY

‘But from the beginning of creation, “God made them male and female.” “For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” So, they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.’
(St Mark 10:6-9)

‘How beautiful is the marriage of two Christians: two who are one in hope, one in desire, one in the way of life they follow, one in the religion they practice. They are as brother and sister, both servants of the same Master. Nothing divides them, either in flesh or in spirit.’
(Tertullian)

‘The Bible teaches us that marriage is a gift of God in creation and a means of his grace, a holy mystery in which man and woman become one flesh.’
(Common Worship)

RECONCILIATION (CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION)

‘Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.’
(Letter of St James 5:16)

‘… embrace, as a shipwrecked man, the protection of some plank. This will draw you forth when sunk in the waves of sins and will bear you forward into the port of the divine mercy.’
(Tertullian)

‘May the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ and his infinite merits, whatsoever good you have done and evil you have endured, heal you of your sins, help you to grow in holiness and bring you to eternal life. Go in peace.’
(Book of Common Prayer, 1662)

ORDINATION TO DIACONATE/PRIESTHOOD

I left you behind in Crete for this reason, that you should put in order what remained to be done, and should appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.’
(Titus 1:5)

‘Let all respect the deacons as Jesus Christ, even as the bishop is a type of the Father, and the presbyters as a council of God and college of apostles.’
(St Ignatius of Antioch)

‘The Church of England holds and teaches that from the apostles’ time there have been these orders in Christ’s Church: bishops, priests, and deacons.’
The Canons of the Church of England.

For more information about any of the above traditional Sacraments or if you would have intention to receive any of the traditional Sacraments in your own Christian faith and growth in life, do kindly contact us for your queries.