View source for Sacrament

{{short description|Christian rite recognized as of particular importance and significance}}
{{About|the religious term}}

[[File:Seven Sacraments Rogier.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|''[[Seven Sacraments Altarpiece|The Seven Sacraments]]'', an [[altarpiece]] by [[Rogier van der Weyden]]]] 
{{Grace in Christianity}}
{{Christianity|expanded=theology}}
A '''sacrament''' is a [[Christianity|Christian]] [[Rite (Christianity)|rite]] which is recognized as being particularly important and significant.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UbQ_DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT41|title=Understanding the Sacraments of Initiation: A Rite-Based Approach|last=Stice|first=Randy|date=2017-11-21|publisher=LiturgyTrainingPublications|isbn=9781618331847|page=41|language=en}}</ref> There are various views on the existence, number and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible [[symbol]] of the reality of [[God in Christianity|God]], as well as a channel for God's [[Grace in Christianity|grace]]. Many [[Christian denomination|denominations]], including the [[Catholic Church|Catholic]], [[Lutheran]], [[Moravian Church|Moravian]], [[Reformed Christianity|Reformed]] ([[Continental Reformed Protestantism|Continental Reformed]], [[Presbyterian]], and [[Congregationalist]] traditions), [[Anglicanism|Anglican]], [[Methodist]] and [[Baptist]], hold to the definition of sacrament formulated by [[Augustine of Hippo]]: an outward sign of an inward grace, that has been instituted by Jesus Christ.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Junior Catechism of the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Methodist Episcopal Church, South|year=1905|publisher=Jennings and Graham|language=en|page=26|quote=87. What is a sacrament? A sacrament is an outward sign, appointed by Christ, of an inward grace. (Rom. 4:11.)}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Lutheran Forum, Volumes 38–39|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gdgmAQAAIAAJ|year=2004|language=en|page=46|quote=A sacrament is an outward sign of an inward grace.}}</ref><ref name="LydenMazur2015">{{cite book|last1=Lyden|first1=John C.|last2=Mazur|first2=Eric Michael|title=The Routledge Companion to Religion and Popular Culture|date=27 March 2015|publisher=Routledge|language=en|isbn=9781317531067|pages=180|quote=Augustine defines a sacrament as "an outward sign of an inward grace". Reformed tradition subscribes to this definition (see McKim 2001: 135).}}</ref><ref name="CCC1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P35.HTM|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1131|website=www.vatican.va|access-date=2020-01-04}}</ref> Sacraments signify God's grace in a way that is outwardly observable to the participant.<ref name="CCC1" />

The Catholic Church, [[Hussite Church]] and the [[Old Catholic Church]] recognize seven sacraments: [[Baptism]], [[Sacrament of Penance|Penance]] (Reconciliation or Confession), [[Eucharist]] (or Holy Communion), [[Confirmation]], [[Christian views on marriage|Marriage]] (Matrimony), [[Holy Orders]], and [[Anointing of the Sick]] (Extreme Unction).<ref>{{cite book|title=Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate|year=1977|publisher=[[Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus']]|language=en|page=67|quote=The Czechoslovak Hussite Church professes Seven Sacraments.}}</ref><ref name="MeltonBaumann2010">{{cite book|last1=Melton|first1=J. Gordon|last2=Baumann|first2=Martin|title=Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices, 2nd Edition|url=https://archive.org/details/religionsworldvo00melt|url-access=limited|date=21 September 2010|publisher=ABC-CLIO|language=en|isbn=9781598842043|page=[https://archive.org/details/religionsworldvo00melt/page/n2253 2137]|quote=The Old Catholic Church accepts seven sacraments, the intermediaries of salvation.}}</ref> The [[Eastern Churches]], such as the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] and [[Oriental Orthodox Church]] as well as the [[Eastern Catholic Churches]], recognize these as the seven major sacraments, but also apply the words ''[[sacred mysteries]]'' corresponding to [[Ancient Greek language|Greek]] word, {{lang|grc|μυστήριον}} ({{transliteration|grc|mysterion}}), and also to rites that in the Western tradition are called [[sacramentals]] and to other realities, such as the Church itself.<ref name="goarch.org">{{Cite web|url=https://www.goarch.org/-/the-sacraments|title=Understanding the Sacraments of the Orthodox Church - Introduction to Orthodoxy Articles - Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America|website=www.goarch.org|language=en-US|access-date=2020-01-04}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.holy-trinity-church.org/?option=com_content&task=view&id=140&Itemid=140|title=Holy Trinity Church|language=en-US|access-date=2020-01-04}}</ref><ref>[http://www.copticchurch.net/topics/thecopticchurch/sacraments/index.html Sacramental Rites in the Coptic Orthodox Church] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514210156/http://www.copticchurch.net/topics/thecopticchurch/sacraments/index.html |date=14 May 2011 }}. Copticchurch.net. 4 August 2016.</ref> Many [[Protestant]] denominations, such as those within the Reformed tradition, preach just two sacraments instituted by Christ: the Eucharist (or Holy Communion) and Baptism.<ref name="Haffner1999"/> The [[Lutheran sacraments]] include these two, often adding [[Confession (Lutheran Church)|Confession (and Absolution)]] as a third sacrament.<ref name="Haffner1999">{{cite book|last=Haffner|first=Paul|title=The Sacramental Mystery|year=1999|publisher=Gracewing Publishing|language=en|isbn=9780852444764|page=11|quote=The [[Augsburg Confession]] drawn up by Melanchton, one of Luther's disciples admitted only three sacraments, Baptist, the Lord's Supper and Penance. Melanchton left the way open for the other five sacred signs to be considered as "secondary sacraments". However, Zwingli, Calvin and most of the later Reformed tradition accepted only Baptism and the Lord's Supper as sacraments, but in a highly symbolic sense.}}</ref><ref name="Smith1911">{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Preserved|title=The Life and Letters of Martin Luther|url=https://archive.org/details/lifeandlettersm04smitgoog|year=1911|publisher=Houghton Mifflin|page=[https://archive.org/details/lifeandlettersm04smitgoog/page/n123 89]|quote=In the first place I deny that the sacraments are seven in number, and assert that there are only three, baptism, penance, and the Lord's Supper, and that all these three have been bound by the Roman Curia in a miserable captivity and that the Church has been deprived of all her freedom.}}</ref> Anglican and Methodist teaching is that "there are two Sacraments ordained of Christ our Lord in the Gospel, that is to say, Baptism and the Supper of the Lord", and that "those five commonly called Sacraments, that is to say, Confirmation, Penance, Orders, Matrimony, and Extreme Unction, are not to be counted for Sacraments of the Gospel."<ref>[[Thirty-Nine Articles]], Article XXV</ref><ref>[[Articles of Religion (Methodist)]], Article XVI</ref>

Some traditions, such as the [[Quakers|Religious Society of Friends]] do not observe any of the rites, or, in the case of the [[Plymouth Brethren]], hold that they are simply reminders or commendable practices that do not impart actual grace—not sacraments but "[[ordinance (Christian)|ordinances]]" pertaining to certain aspects of the Christian faith.<ref>[[Jeffrey Gros]], Thomas F. Best, Lorelei F. Fuchs (editors), ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=anImr8a1MVQC&pg=PA352 Growth in Agreement III: International Dialogue Texts and Agreed Statements, 1998–2005]'' (Eerdmans 2008 {{ISBN|978-0-8028-6229-7}}), p. 352</ref><ref name="Gunn2004"/>

==Generic meaning==
An example of the generic meaning of "sacrament" can be seen in the work of theologian [[Edward Schillebeeckx]]: ''Christ, the sacrament of the encounter with God'',<ref>Schillebeeckx, E., ''Christ, the sacrament of the encounter with God'' (1987), {{ISBN|0-934134-72-3}}</ref> The [[Second Vatican Council]] referred to ""the wondrous sacrament of the whole Church",<ref>Holy See, [https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19631204_sacrosanctum-concilium_en.html Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy: Sacrosanctum Concilium], paragraph 5, published on 4 December 1963, accessed on 26 April 2025</ref> and [[Pope Francis]] speaks of Jesus' love for humankind as a sacrament: "his human emotions became the sacrament of that infinite and endless love".<ref>Pope Francis, [https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/20241024-enciclica-dilexit-nos.pdf Dilexit nos], paragraph 60, published on 24 October 2024, accessed on 19 December 2024</ref>

==Etymology==
The English word ''{{linktext|sacrament}}'' is derived indirectly from the [[Ecclesiastical Latin]] {{lang|la|sacrāmentum}}, from the [[Latin]] {{lang|la|sacrō}} ({{gloss|hallow, consecrate}}), itself derive from the Latin {{lang|la|sacer}} ({{gloss|sacred, holy}}). In [[Ancient Rome]], the term meant a soldier's [[oath of allegiance]]. [[Tertullian]], a 3rd-century Christian writer, suggested that just as the soldier's oath was a sign of the beginning of a new life, so too was initiation into the Christian community through baptism and [[Eucharist]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Roo|first=William A. van|title=The Christian Sacrament|date=1992|publisher=Ed. Pontificia Univ. Gregoriana|location=Roma|isbn=978-8876526527|page=37}}</ref>

== Summary table ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+
![[Christian denomination|Denomination]]
![[Baptism]]
![[Confirmation]]
![[Eucharist|Holy Communion]]
![[Sacrament of Penance|Penance]]
![[Sacrament of Marriage|Marriage]]
![[Holy orders]]
![[Anointing of the sick]]
![[Holy Leaven]]
![[Sign of the cross]]
|-
|[[Catholic Church|Catholic]]
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|-
|[[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]]
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}} (Chrismation)
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|-
|[[Oriental Orthodox Churches|Oriental Orthodox]]
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}} (Chrismation)
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|-
|[[Church of the East]]
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}} (Chrismation)
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{No X}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{No X}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|-
|[[Hussite Church|Hussite]]
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|-
|[[Moravian Church|Moravian]]
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{No X}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|-
|[[Lutheranism|Lutheran]]<ref name="1999Haffner"/><ref name="Smith1911"/>
|{{Yes C}}
|{{No X}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{No X}}
|{{maybe}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|-
|[[Anglo-Catholicism]]<ref>{{cite web|last1=Herbert Stowe|first1=Walter|title=Anglo-Catholicism: What It Is Not and What It Is|url=http://anglicanhistory.org/usa/whstowe/what1932.html|publisher=Church Literature Association|year=1932}}</ref>
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|-
|[[broad church|Broad Church Anglicanism]]
|{{Yes C}}
|{{maybe}}{{NoteTag|Most broad church Anglicans recognize [[Confession (sacrament)|Confession/Absolution]], [[Christian view of marriage|Matrimony]], [[Confirmation (sacrament)|Confirmation]], [[Holy Orders]] (also called Ordination), and [[Anointing of the Sick]] (also called Unction) as "sacramental rites" which are not sacrament but still more important than other rites.}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{maybe}}
|{{maybe}}
|{{maybe}}
|{{maybe}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|-
|[[Central churchmanship|Center Church Anglicanism]]
|{{Yes C}}
|{{No X}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|-
|[[Evangelical Anglicanism]]
|{{Yes C}}
|{{No X}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|-
|[[Methodism]]
|{{Yes C}}
|{{No X}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|-
|[[Calvinism|Reformed]]<ref name="1999Haffner"/>
|{{Yes C}}
|{{No X}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|-
|[[Baptists]]
|{{Yes C}}
|{{maybe}}{{NoteTag|The [[General Baptists]] recognized [[Confirmation]] as a "holy rite [[ordinance (Christianity)|ordained]] by [[Jesus Christ]]", but not as a [[sacrament]].<ref name="CrossThompson2020">{{cite book |last1=Cross |first1=Anthony R. |last2=Thompson |first2=Philip E. |title=Baptist Sacramentalism, Volume 3 |date=28 September 2020 |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers |isbn=978-1-7252-8608-5 |page=35 |language=en}}</ref>}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|-
|[[Irvingism]]
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}} (Holy Sealing)
|{{Yes C}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|-
|[[Latter Day Saint movement|Latter-Day Saints]]
|{{Yes C}} (non-trinitarian)
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{Yes C}}
|{{No X}}
|{{No X}}
|}

==Catholicism==
{{Main|Sacraments of the Catholic Church}}
[[File:Council of Trent.JPG|thumb|The [[Council of Trent]] defined the seven sacraments.|alt=]]
Catholic theology enumerates seven sacraments:<ref>Cf. [https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P3E.HTM ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'', 1210] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609042152/https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P3E.HTM |date=9 June 2011 }}</ref> [[Baptism]], [[Confirmation (Catholic Church)|Confirmation]] (Chrismation), [[Eucharist in the Catholic Church|Eucharist]] (Communion), [[Sacrament of Penance (Catholic Church)|Penance]] (Reconciliation, Confession), [[Marriage (Catholic Church)|Matrimony]] (Marriage), [[Holy orders (Catholic Church)|Holy Orders]] (ordination to the [[deacon|diaconate]], [[Priesthood (Catholic Church)|priesthood]], or [[Bishop (Catholic Church)|episcopate]]) and [[Anointing of the Sick (Catholic Church)|Anointing of the Sick]] (before the [[Second Vatican Council]] generally called Extreme Unction). The list of seven sacraments already given by the [[Second Council of Lyon]] (1274) and the [[Council of Florence]] (1439)<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8fguAAAAYAAJ&q=florence+1439+%22seven+sacraments%22 |title=Clarence R. McAuliffe, ''Sacramental Theology'' (Herder 1958), p. 8 |access-date=6 January 2020 |archive-date=22 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221122101030/https://books.google.com/books?id=8fguAAAAYAAJ&q=florence+1439+%22seven+sacraments%22&dq=florence+1439+%22seven+sacraments%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjoraXN4O7mAhUNRBUIHX2fAMk4ChDoAQg_MAM |url-status=live |last1=McAuliffe |first1=Clarence R. |year=1958 }}</ref> was reaffirmed by the [[Council of Trent]] (1545–1563), which stated:

{{blockquote|CANON I. – If any one saith, that the sacraments of the New Law were not all instituted by Jesus Christ, our Lord; or that they are more, or less, than seven, to wit, Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Order, and Matrimony; or even that any one of these seven is not truly and properly a sacrament; let him be [[anathema]].

[...]

CANON IV. – If any one saith, that the sacraments of the New Law are not necessary unto salvation, but superfluous; and that, without them, or without the desire thereof, men obtain of God, through faith alone, the grace of justification; – though all (the sacraments) are not necessary for every individual; let him be anathema.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Seventh Session of the Council of Trent.|date=1848|publisher=Dolman: Hanover Historical Texts Project|location=London|pages=53–67|url=http://history.hanover.edu/texts/trent/ct07.html|access-date=23 April 2014}}</ref>|sign=|source=}}

During the Middle Ages, sacramental records were in Latin. Even after the Reformation, many ecclesiastical leaders continued using this practice into the 20th century. On occasion, Protestant ministers followed the same practice. Since W was not part of the Latin alphabet, scribes only used it when dealing with names or places. In addition, names were modified to fit a "Latin mold". For instance, the name Joseph would be rendered as Iosephus or Josephus.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Deciphering Handwriting in German Documents: Analyzing German, Latin, and French in Historical Manuscripts|last = Minert|first = Roger|author-link=Roger P. Minert|publisher = GRT Publications|year = 2013|location = Provo|pages = 79–84}}</ref>

The Catholic Church indicates that the sacraments are necessary for salvation, though not every sacrament is necessary for every individual. The Church applies this teaching even to the sacrament of baptism, the gateway to the other sacraments. It states that "Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament."<ref name="CCC1257">{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2c1a1.htm|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church - The sacrament of Baptism, 1257|website=www.vatican.va|access-date=2020-01-04}}</ref><ref name="vatican.va">{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html#The%20sacraments%20of%20Christian%20initiation|title=Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 262|website=www.vatican.va|access-date=2020-01-04}}</ref> But it adds: "God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments,"<ref name="CCC1257" /> and accordingly, "since Christ died for the salvation of all, those can be saved without Baptism who die for the faith (''[[Baptism of blood]]''). Catechumens and all those who, even without knowing Christ and the Church, still (under the impulse of grace) sincerely seek God and strive to do his will can also be saved without Baptism (''Baptism of desire''). The Church in her liturgy entrusts children who die without Baptism to the mercy of God."<ref name="vatican.va" />

In the teaching of the Catholic Church, "the sacraments are efficacious signs of [[Divine grace|grace]], instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament. They bear fruit in those who receive them with the required dispositions."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P35.HTM|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1131|website=www.vatican.va|access-date=2020-01-04}}</ref>

While the sacraments in the Catholic Church are regarded as means of Divine Grace, the Catholic definition of a sacrament is an event in Christian life that is both spiritual and physical.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2.htm |title=Catechism of the Catholic Church - the seven sacraments of the Church |access-date=30 March 2020 |archive-date=26 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200226120949/http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> The seven Catholic sacraments have been separated into three groups. The first three Sacraments of Initiation are Baptism, Communion, and Confirmation. The two Healing Sacraments are Anointing of the Sick and Penance. The two Sacraments of Vocation are Matrimony and Holy Orders.

The Church teaches that the effect of the sacraments comes ''[[ex opere operato]]'', by the very fact of being administered, regardless of the personal holiness of the minister administering it.<ref>[http://saints.sqpn.com/ncd06116.htm New Catholic Dictionary] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120924135428/http://saints.sqpn.com/ncd06116.htm |date=24 September 2012 }}</ref> However, as indicated in this definition of the sacraments given by the ''[[Catechism of the Catholic Church]]'', a recipient's own lack of proper disposition to receive the grace conveyed can block a sacrament's effectiveness in that person. The sacraments presuppose faith and, through their words and ritual elements, nourish, strengthen and give expression to faith.<ref>''[[Sacrosanctum Concilium]]'', 59, quoted in [https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P32.HTM Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1123] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200301083741/http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P32.HTM |date=1 March 2020 }}</ref>

Though not every individual has to receive every sacrament, the Church affirms that for believers the sacraments are necessary for salvation. Through each of them, Christ bestows that sacrament's particular healing and transforming grace of the Holy Spirit, making them participants in the divine nature through union with Christ.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P33.HTM|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1129|website=www.vatican.va|access-date=2020-01-04}}</ref>

==Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy==
{{Eastern Orthodox sidebar}}
{{See also|Eastern Orthodox Church#Holy mysteries (sacraments)|Sacred mysteries#Eastern Christianity}}
The [[Eastern Orthodox]] tradition does not limit the number of sacraments to seven, holding that anything the Church does as Church is in some sense [[Sacramentals|sacramental]]. However, it recognizes these seven as "the major sacraments" which are completed by many other blessings and special services.<ref name="goarch.org"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.orthodoxresearchinstitute.org/store/books/gialopsos_seven_sacraments.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622002546/http://www.orthodoxresearchinstitute.org/store/books/gialopsos_seven_sacraments.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2011-06-22|title=The Seven Sacraments of the Greek Orthodox Church by Rev. Philip Gialopsos|date=2011-06-22|access-date=2020-01-04}}</ref> Some lists of the sacraments taken from the Church Fathers include the [[consecration]] of a church, [[monastic]] [[tonsure]], and the [[Funeral|burial of the dead]].<ref>Meyendorff, J. (1979). The Sacraments in the Orthodox Church, in ''Byzantine Theology''. Obtained online at {{cite web |url=http://www.lasvegasorthodox.com/library/Orthodox_Practices/The_Sacraments.htm |title=LasVegas Orthodox |access-date=2017-04-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050406112938/http://www.lasvegasorthodox.com/library/Orthodox_Practices/The_Sacraments.htm |archive-date=6 April 2005}}</ref> More specifically, for the [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Eastern Orthodox]] the term "sacrament" is a term which seeks to classify something that may, according to Orthodox thought, be impossible to classify. The Orthodox communion's preferred term is "Sacred Mystery", and the Orthodox communion has refrained from attempting to determine absolutely the exact form, number and effect of the sacraments, accepting simply that these elements are unknowable to all except God. On a broad level, the mysteries are an affirmation of the goodness of created matter, and are an emphatic declaration of what that matter was originally created to be.

[[File:GreekOrthodoxBaptism1.jpg|thumb|left|Baptism and [[Chrismation]], the sacraments of initiation, in an [[Eastern Orthodox]] church]]
Despite this broad view, Orthodox divines do write about there being seven "principal" mysteries. On a specific level, while not systematically limiting the mysteries to seven, the most profound Mystery is the Eucharist or [[Synaxis]], in which the partakers, by participation in the liturgy and receiving the consecrated bread and wine (understood to have become the body and blood of Christ) directly communicate with God. No claim is made to understand how exactly this happens. The Eastern Orthodox merely state: "This appears to be in the form of bread and wine, but God has told me it is His Body and Blood. I will take what He says as a 'mystery' and not attempt to rationalize it to my limited mind".<ref>''Holy Eucharist'' obtained online at http://www.orthodoxy.org.au/eng/index.php?p=74 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720225502/http://orthodoxy.org.au/eng/index.php?p=74 |date=20 July 2008 }}</ref> 

The seven sacraments are also accepted by [[Oriental Orthodoxy]], including the [[Coptic Orthodox Church]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.virginmarybrisbane.org/about-us/coptic-church|title=Virgin Mary Brisbane|website=www.virginmarybrisbane.org|access-date=2020-01-04}}{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nacopts.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=29 |title=Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate, Archdiocese of North America, "Church Sacraments" |access-date=10 January 2011 |archive-date=21 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721182231/http://www.nacopts.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=29 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ethiopianorthodox.org/english/dogma/sacramentintro.html|title=The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church|website=www.ethiopianorthodox.org|access-date=2020-01-04}}</ref> and the [[Armenian Orthodox Church]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://armenianchurchsydney.org.au/learning/church-sacraments/|title=Church Sacraments – Armenian Apostolic Church of Holy Resurrection|language=en-AU|access-date=2020-01-04}}</ref>

==Hussite Church and Moravian Church==
{{expand section|date=January 2021}}
The [[Czechoslovak Hussite Church]] recognizes seven sacraments: [[baptism]], [[eucharist]], [[penance]], [[confirmation]], [[Christian views on marriage|holy matrimony]], [[holy orders]], and [[anointing of the sick]].<ref name="Roytová2016">{{cite web |last1=Roytová |first1=Libuše |title=Spiritual service |url=https://www.svmikulas.cz/en/spiritual-service.html |publisher=Saint Nicolas Church |language=en |date=15 June 2016}}</ref>

The [[Moravian Church]] administers the sacraments of baptism and eucharist, as well as the rites of confirmation, holy matrimony, and holy orders.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rites and Sacraments of the Moravian Church |url=https://www.moravian.org/what-we-believe/rites-and-sacraments-of-the-moravian-church/ |publisher=[[Moravian Church]] |access-date=27 November 2020 |language=en |date=2010}}</ref>

==Lutheranism==
{{Main|Lutheran sacraments}}
[[File:AugsburgConfessionArticle7OftheChurch.jpg|thumb|The Church is the congregation of saints, in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered.

- [[Augsburg Confession]]<ref>See [http://www.bookofconcord.org/augsburgconfession.php#article7 Augsburg Confession, Article 7, Of the Church] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311215248/https://bookofconcord.org/augsburg-confession/#article7 |date=11 March 2021 }}</ref>]]
Lutherans hold that sacraments are [[Sacred#Holiness in Protestantism|sacred]] acts of divine institution.<ref>{{bibleverse||Matthew|28:19|50}}, {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|11:23–25|50}}, {{bibleverse||Matthew|26:26–28|50}}, {{bibleverse||Mark|14:22–24|50}}, {{bibleverse||Luke|22:19–20|50}}, {{Cite book |last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://www.ctsfw.edu/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt |title=Outlines Of Doctrinal Theology |page=161 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121113340/http://www.ctsfw.edu/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt |archive-date=21 January 2012}}</ref> Whenever they are properly administered by the use of the physical component commanded by God<ref>{{bibleverse||Ephesians|5:27|50}}, {{bibleverse||John|3:5|50}}, {{bibleverse||John|3:23|50}}, {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|10:16|50}}, {{Cite book |last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://www.ctsfw.edu/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt |title=Outlines Of Doctrinal Theology |page=162 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121113340/http://www.ctsfw.edu/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt |archive-date=21 January 2012}}</ref> along with the divine words of institution,<ref>{{bibleverse||Ephesians|5:26|50}}, {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|10:16|50}}, {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|11:24–25|50}}, {{Cite book |last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://www.ctsfw.edu/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt |title=Outlines Of Doctrinal Theology |page=162 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121113340/http://www.ctsfw.edu/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt |archive-date=21 January 2012}}</ref> God is, in a way specific to each sacrament, present with the Word and physical component.<ref>{{bibleverse||Matthew|3:16–17|50}}, {{bibleverse||John|3:5|50}}, {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|11:19|50}}, {{Cite book |last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://www.ctsfw.edu/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt |title=Outlines Of Doctrinal Theology |page=162 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121113340/http://www.ctsfw.edu/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt |archive-date=21 January 2012}}</ref> He earnestly offers to all who receive the sacrament<ref>{{bibleverse||Luke|7:30|50}}, {{bibleverse||Luke|22:19–20|50}}, {{Cite book |last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://www.ctsfw.edu/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt |title=Outlines Of Doctrinal Theology |page=162 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121113340/http://www.ctsfw.edu/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt |archive-date=21 January 2012  }}</ref> forgiveness of sins<ref>{{bibleverse||Acts|21:16|50}}, {{bibleverse||Acts|2:38|50}}, {{bibleverse||Luke|3:3|50}}, {{bibleverse||Ephesians|5:26|50}}, {{bibleverse|1|Peter|3:21|50}}, {{bibleverse||Galatians|3:26–27|50}}, {{bibleverse||Matthew|26:28|50}}, {{Cite book |last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://www.ctsfw.edu/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt |title=Outlines Of Doctrinal Theology |page=163 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121113340/http://www.ctsfw.edu/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt |archive-date=21 January 2012  }}</ref> and eternal salvation.<ref>{{bibleverse|1|Peter|3:21|50}}, {{bibleverse||Titus|3:5|50}}, {{Cite book |last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://www.ctsfw.edu/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt |title=Outlines Of Doctrinal Theology |page=163 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121113340/http://www.ctsfw.edu/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt |archive-date=21 January 2012  }}</ref> He also works in the recipients to get them to accept these blessings and to increase the assurance of their possession.<ref>{{bibleverse||Titus|3:5|50}}, {{bibleverse||John|3:5|50}}, {{Cite book |last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://www.ctsfw.edu/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt |title=Outlines Of Doctrinal Theology |page=163 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121113340/http://www.ctsfw.edu/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt |archive-date=21 January 2012  }}</ref>

[[Melanchthon]]'s ''[[Apology of the Augsburg Confession]]'' defines sacraments, according to the German text, as "outward signs and ceremonies that have God's command and have an attached divine promise of graces". His Latin text was shorter: "rites that have the command of God, and to which is added a promise of grace".<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=8HsrAAAAYAAJ&q=Apologia+Confessionis+Augustanae Apologia Augustanae Confessionis |quote=die äußerlichen Zeichen und Ceremonien, die da haben Gottes Befehl und haben eine angehefte göttlichen Zusage der Gnaden (p. 367); ritus, qui habent mandatum dei et quibus addita est promissio gratiae]</ref> This strict definition narrowed the number of sacraments down to three: [[Baptism#Reformation|Holy Baptism]], the [[Eucharist in the Lutheran Church|Eucharist]], and [[Confession in the Lutheran Church|Holy Absolution]].<ref name="1999Haffner">{{cite book|last=Haffner|first=Paul|title=The Sacramental Mystery|year=1999|publisher=Gracewing Publishing|language=en|isbn=9780852444764|page=11|quote=The [[Augsburg Confession]] drawn up by Melanchton, one of Luther's disciples admitted only three sacraments, Baptism, Communion, and Penance. Melanchton left the way open for the other five sacred signs to be considered as "secondary sacraments". However, Zwingli, Calvin and most of the later Reformed tradition accepted only Baptism and the Lord's Supper as sacraments, but in a highly symbolic sense.}}</ref><ref name="Smith1911"/> Lutherans do not dogmatically define the exact number of sacraments.<ref>The [[Apology of the Augsburg Confession]] XIII, 2: "We believe we have the duty not to neglect any of the rites and ceremonies instituted in Scripture, whatever their number. We do not think it makes much difference if, for purposes of teaching, the enumeration varies, provided what is handed down in Scripture is preserved" (cf. Theodore G. Tappert, trans. and ed., ''The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church'', (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1959), 211).</ref> Luther's initial statement in his Large Catechism speaks of two sacraments,<ref>[[Luther's Large Catechism]] IV, 1: "We have now finished the three chief parts of the common Christian doctrine. Besides these we have yet to speak of '''our two Sacraments''' instituted by Christ, of which also every Christian ought to have at least an ordinary, brief instruction, because without them there can be no Christian; although, alas! hitherto no instruction concerning them has been given" (emphasis added; cf. Theodore G. Tappert, trans. and ed., ''The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church'', (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1959), 733).</ref> Baptism and the Eucharist, in addition to Confession and Absolution,<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2020:23;&version=47; John 20:23] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221122101033/https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2020:23;&version=ESV |date=22 November 2022 }}, and Engelder, T.E.W., [https://archive.org/details/MN41551ucmf_1 Popular Symbolics]. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 112–3, Part XXVI "The Ministry", paragraph 156.</ref> "the third sacrament".<ref>[[Luther's Large Catechism]] IV, 74–75: "And here you see that Baptism, both in its power and signification, comprehends also the '''third Sacrament, which has been called repentance''', as it is really nothing else than Baptism" (emphasis added; cf. Theodore G. Tappert, trans. and ed., ''The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church'', (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1959), 751).</ref> The definition of sacrament in the [[Apology of the Augsburg Confession]] lists Absolution as one of them.<ref>The [[Apology of the Augsburg Confession]] XIII, 3, 4: "If we define the sacraments as rites, which have the command of God and to which the promise of grace has been added, it is easy to determine what the sacraments are, properly speaking. For humanly instituted rites are not sacraments, properly speaking, because human beings do not have the authority to promise grace. Therefore signs instituted without the command of God are not sure signs of grace, even though they perhaps serve to teach or admonish the common folk. Therefore, the sacraments are actually baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and absolution (the sacrament of repentance)" (cf. Tappert, 211). [http://www.bookofconcord.com/augsburgdefense/12_sacraments.html Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article 13, Of the Number and Use of the Sacraments] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121042812/http://bookofconcord.com/augsburgdefense/12_sacraments.html |date=21 November 2008 }}</ref> It is important to note that although Lutherans do not consider the other four rites as sacraments, they are still retained and used in the Lutheran church. Luther himself around the time of his marriage and afterwards became one of the greatest champions of [[Marriage]] (Holy Matrimony), and the other two ([[Confirmation]] and [[Ordination]]) were kept in the Lutheran Church for purposes of good order. Within Lutheranism, the sacraments are a [[Means of Grace]], and, together with the [[Bible|Word of God]], empower the Church for mission.<ref>Use and Means of Grace, Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress Press, 1997, 56</ref>

==Anglicanism and Methodism==
{{Main|Anglican sacraments}}
[[Anglican]] and [[Methodist]] sacramental theology reflects its dual roots in the [[Catholicism|Catholic]] tradition and the [[Protestant Reformation]]. The Catholic heritage is perhaps most strongly asserted in the importance Anglicanism and Methodism places on the sacraments as a means of [[Divine grace|grace]] and [[sanctification]],<ref name="Jr2014">{{cite book|last=Yrigoyen|first=Charles Jr. |title=T&T Clark Companion to Methodism|date=25 September 2014|publisher=[[T&T Clark]]|language=en|isbn=9780567290779|page=259|quote=Baptism and eucharist are 'not only badges or tokens of Christian men's profession,' (Anglican and Methodist). ... They are that, but they are also 'certain sure witnesses and effectual signs of grace' (Anglican), or 'certain signs of grace and of God's good will toward us' (Methodist) ... Thereby, they not only 'quicken but also strengthen and confirm our faith.' ... they are 'means of grace,' a point agreed on in other sources by both Anglicans and Methodists. Sacraments are thus seen as being 'from above' That is, they are divine acts directed toward humanity as a way of ultimately sanctifying us.}}</ref> while the Reformed tradition has contributed a marked insistence on "lively faith" and "worthy reception". Anglican and Catholic theologians participating in an Anglican/Catholic Joint Preparatory Commission declared that they had "reached substantial agreement on the doctrine of the Eucharist".<ref>See [http://www.prounione.urbe.it/dia-int/arcic/doc/e_arcic_eucharist.html Windsor Statement on Eucharistic Doctrine from the Anglican-Catholic International Consultation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181017012613/http://www.prounione.urbe.it/dia-int/arcic/doc/e_arcic_eucharist.html |date=17 October 2018 }} and [http://www.prounione.urbe.it/dia-int/arcic/doc/e_arcic_elucid_euch.html Elucidation of the ARCIC Windsor Statement] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181008082332/http://www.prounione.urbe.it/dia-int/arcic/doc/e_arcic_elucid_euch.html |date=8 October 2018 }}. Accessed 15 October 2007.</ref> Similarly, Methodist/Catholic Dialogue has affirmed that "Methodists and Catholics affirm the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. This reality does not depend on the experience of the communicant, although it is only by faith that we become aware of Christ's presence."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://worldmethodistcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Roman-Catholic-Dialogue-Synthesis-Report.pdf|title=Synthesis, Together to Holiness: 40 Years of Methodist and Catholic Dialogue|year=2010|publisher=World Methodist Council|page=23|language=en|access-date=15 May 2016}}</ref> The Catholic Church and the [[World Methodist Council]] jointly understand the word "sacrament" as referring not only to the sacraments considered here, but also to Christ and the Church.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/meth-council-docs/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_20060604_seoul-report_en.html|title=The Grace Given You in Christ: Catholics and Methodists Reflect Further on the Church (The Seoul Report), Report of the Joint Commission for Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the World Methodist Council|year=2006|language=en|access-date=15 May 2016|quote=The idea of a sacrament is ideally suited to holding together internal and external, visible and spiritual, and both Catholics and Methodists have begun to speak of the Church itself in a sacramental way. Christ himself is "the primary sacrament", and, as the company of those who have been incorporated into Christ and nourished by the life-giving Holy Spirit, "the Church may analogously be thought of in a sacramental way." United Methodists and Catholics both proclaim that the church itself is sacramental, because it effects and signifies the presence of Christ in the world of today.}}</ref>

Article XXV of the ''[[Thirty-Nine Articles]]'' in Anglicanism and Article XVI of the ''[[Articles of Religion (Methodist)|Articles of Religion]]'' in Methodism<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-worship/worship/book-of-common-prayer/articles-of-religion.aspx#XXV | title=Join us in Daily Prayer | access-date=21 March 2012 | archive-date=29 May 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140529194129/http://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-worship/worship/book-of-common-prayer/articles-of-religion.aspx#XXV | url-status=dead }}</ref> recognise only two sacraments (Baptism and the Supper of the Lord) since these are the only ones ordained by Christ in the Gospel. The article continues stating that "Those five commonly called Sacraments ... are not to be counted for Sacraments of the Gospel ... but have not the like nature of Sacraments with Baptism and the Lord's Supper, for they have not any visible sign or ceremony ordained by God." These phrases have led to a debate as to whether the five are to be called sacraments or not. A recent author writes that the Anglican Church gives "sacramental value to the other five recognized by the Catholic and Orthodox Churches" but these "do not reveal those essential aspects of redemption to which Baptism and Communion point".<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | title=Word and Sacrament | encyclopedia=Celebrating the Anglican Way | publisher=Hodder and Stoughton | author=Seddon, Philip | editor=Bunting, Ian | year=1996 | location=London | page=101}}</ref> Some Anglicans maintain that the use of "commonly" implies that the others can legitimately be called sacraments (perhaps more exactly "Sacraments of the Church" as opposed to "Sacraments of the Gospel"); others object that at the time the Articles were written "commonly" meant "inaccurately" and point out that the [[Book of Common Prayer|Prayer Book]] refers to the creeds "commonly called the Apostles' Creed" and the "Athanasian" where both attributions are historically incorrect.<ref>{{cite book | title=The Principles of Theology | publisher=Church Book Room Press | author=Griffith Thomas, W.H. | year=1963 | location=London | pages=353}}</ref>

Anglicans are also divided as to the effects of the sacraments.<ref name="Seddon, Philip 1996 100">{{cite encyclopedia | title=Word and Sacrament | encyclopedia=Celebrating the Anglican Way | publisher=Hodder and Stoughton | author=Seddon, Philip | editor=Bunting, Ian | year=1996 | location=London | page=100}}</ref> Some hold views similar to the Catholic ''[[ex opere operato]]'' theory. Article XXVI (entitled ''Of the unworthiness of ministers which hinders not the effect of the Sacrament'') states that the "ministration of the Word and Sacraments" is not done in the name of the minister, "neither is the effect of Christ's ordinance taken away by their wickedness," since the sacraments have their effect "because of Christ's intention and promise, although they be ministered by evil men". As in Catholic theology, the worthiness or unworthiness of the recipient is of great importance.<ref>[http://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-worship/worship/book-of-common-prayer/articles-of-religion.aspx#XXVI Article XXVI ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140529194129/http://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-worship/worship/book-of-common-prayer/articles-of-religion.aspx#XXVI |date=29 May 2014 }}</ref> Article XXV in the ''Thirty-Nine Articles'' of Anglicanism and Article XVI in the ''Articles of Religion'' in Methodism states: "And in such only as worthily receive the [sacraments], they have a wholesome effect and operation: but they that receive them unworthily purchase for themselves damnation,"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/join-us-daily-prayer|title=Join us in Daily Prayer, Article XXV|website=The Church of England|language=en|access-date=2020-01-04}}</ref> and Article XXVIII in Anglicanism's ''Thirty-Nine Articles'' (Article XVIII in Methodism's ''Articles of Religion'') on the Lord's Supper affirms "to such as rightly, worthily, and with faith, receive the same, the Bread which we break is a partaking of the Body of Christ".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/join-us-daily-prayer|title=Join us in Daily Prayer, Article XXVIII|website=The Church of England|language=en|access-date=2020-01-04}}</ref> In the Exhortations of the Prayer Book rite, the worthy communicant is bidden to "prepare himself by examination of conscience, repentance and amendment of life and above all to ensure that he is in love and charity with his neighbours" and those who are not "are warned to withdraw".<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | title=The Worthy Communicant | encyclopedia=Thomas Cranmer | publisher=Turnstone Ventures | author=Bates, Hugh | editor=Johnson, Margot | year=1990 | location=Durham (UK) | pages=106f}}</ref>

This particular question was fiercely debated in the 19th century arguments over [[Baptismal Regeneration]], culminating in the [[Gorham Case]], wherein the [[Church of England]] decided in favor of Baptismal Regeneration, but the secular court overruled them.<ref>{{cite book | title=The Oxford Movement in Context | publisher=CUP | last=Nockles | first=Peter B. | year=1997 | location=Cambridge (UK) | pages=228–235}}</ref>

==Reformed (Continental Reformed, Congregationalist, and Presbyterian)==
[[File:A Scottish Sacrament.jpg|thumb|right|Henry John Dobson's ''A Scottish Sacrament'']]
[[John Calvin]] defined a sacrament as an earthly sign associated with a promise from God. He accepted only [[Reformed worship|two sacraments]] as valid under the new covenant: baptism and the Lord's Supper. He and all [[Reformed church|Reformed]] theologians following him completely rejected the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation and the treatment of the Supper as a sacrifice. He also could not accept the Lutheran doctrine of sacramental union in which Christ was "in, with and under" the elements.

The [[Westminster Confession of Faith]] also limits the sacraments to baptism and the Lord's Supper. Sacraments are denoted "signs and seals of the covenant of grace".<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web |title= Westminster Confession of Faith |url=http://www.ccel.org/creeds/westminster-confession.txt |at= Ch. XXVII Sec. 1}}</ref> Westminster speaks of "a sacramental relation, or a sacramental union, between the sign and the thing signified; whence it comes to pass that the names and effects of the one are attributed to the other".<ref>{{cite web |title= Westminster Confession of Faith |url=http://www.ccel.org/creeds/westminster-confession.txt |at= Ch. XXVII Sec. 2}}</ref> Baptism is for infant children of believers as well as believers, as it is for all the Reformed except [[Particular Baptists]] and some [[Congregationalists]]. Baptism admits the baptized into the [[visible church]], and in it all the benefits of Christ are offered to the baptized.<ref name="autogenerated1"/> On the Lord's supper, Westminster takes a position between Lutheran sacramental union and Zwinglian memorialism: "the Lord's supper really and indeed, yet not carnally and corporally, but spiritually, receive and feed upon Christ crucified, and all benefits of his death: the body and blood of Christ being then not corporally or carnally in, with, or under the bread and wine; yet, as really, but spiritually, present to the faith of believers in that ordinance as the elements themselves are to their outward senses."<ref>{{cite web |title= Westminster Confession of Faith |url=http://www.ccel.org/creeds/westminster-confession.txt |at= Ch. XXVII Sec. 7}}</ref>

==Baptists==
In the [[Baptist]] tradition, both the terms "sacrament" and "ordinance" have been used in reference to Baptism and the Lord's Supper.<ref>{{cite web |title=Orthodox Creed |url=https://baptiststudiesonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/orthodox-creed.pdf |publisher=[[California Baptist University]] |access-date=2 July 2025 |at=XXVII. Article. |quote= These two Sacraments, (viz.) Baptism, and the Lord's Supper, are Ordinances of Positive, Soveraign, and holy Institution |date=1679}}</ref>

==Irvingism==
[[Irvingian]] denominations such as the [[New Apostolic Church]] teach three sacraments: [[Baptism]], [[Holy Communion]] and [[New Apostolic Church#Holy Sealing|Holy Sealing]].<ref name="Whalen1981">{{cite book |last1=Whalen |first1=William Joseph |title=Minority Religions in America |date=1981 |publisher=Alba House |isbn=978-0-8189-0413-4 |page=104 |language=English}}</ref><ref name="Nomos1992">{{cite book |title=Decisions of the Bundesverfassungsgericht (Federal Constitutional Court) Federal Republic of Germany |date=1992 |publisher=Nomos |isbn=978-3-8329-2132-3 |page=6 |language=English}}</ref>

==Latter-day Saints==
{{Main|Ordinance (Latter Day Saints)}}
{{distinguish|Sacrament (LDS Church)|Sacrament (Community of Christ)}}
Members of the [[Latter-day Saint movement]] often use the word "[[Ordinance (Mormonism)|ordinance]]" in the place of the word "sacrament", but the actual theology is sacramental in nature.<ref name="Sacrament">{{cite web|last1=Pixton|first1=Paul B.|title=Sacrament|url=http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Sacrament|website=The Encyclopedia of Mormonism|publisher=Brigham Young University|access-date=6 July 2014|archive-date=10 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010064500/http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Sacrament|url-status=dead}}</ref> Latter-day Saint ordinances are understood as conferring an invisible form of grace of a saving nature and are required for [[salvation]] and [[Exaltation (Mormonism)|exaltation]]. Latter-day Saints often use the word "[[Sacrament (LDS Church)|sacrament]]" to refer specifically to the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, also known as the [[Eucharist|Lord's Supper]], in which participants eat bread and drink wine (or water, since the late 1800s) as tokens of the flesh and blood of Christ.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/topics/sacrament?lang=eng&old=true |title=Sacrament |author=<!--Not stated--> 
|website=ChurchofJesusChrist.org |publisher=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |access-date=18 April 2020 }}</ref> In Latter-day Saint congregations, the sacrament is normally provided every Sunday as part of the [[sacrament meeting]] and, like other Latter-day Saint ordinances such as baptism and confirmation, is considered an essential and sacred rite.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Oaks|first1=Dallin H.|title=Sacrament Meeting and the Sacrament|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2008/10/sacrament-meeting-and-the-sacrament?lang=eng|website=ChurchofJesusChrist.org|publisher=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|access-date=6 July 2014}}</ref><ref name="Sacrament"/> Latter-day Saint ordinances which are considered "saving" include baptism, confirmation, sacrament of the Lord's Supper (Eucharist), ordination (for males), [[initiatory]] (called [[Chrismation]] in other Christian traditions), endowment (similar to a monastic initiation involving the taking of vows and reception of priestly clothing), and marriage.<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/duties-and-blessings-of-the-priesthood-basic-manual-for-priesthood-holders-part-b/priesthood-and-church-government/lesson-4-the-purpose-of-priesthood-ordinances?lang=eng
|title=The Purpose of Priesthood Ordinances |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=ChurchofJesusChrist.org
|publisher=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |access-date=18 April 2020 }}</ref> In the [[Community of Christ]], eight sacraments are recognized, including "baptism, confirmation, blessing of children, the Lord's Supper, [[Priesthood (Community of Christ)|ordination]], marriage, the [[Patriarchal blessing|Evangelist Blessing]], and administration to the sick".<ref name="Chryssides2012">{{cite book|last=Chryssides|first=George D.|title=Historical Dictionary of New Religious Movements|year=2012|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|language=en |isbn=9780810861947|page=98|quote=The Community of Christ acknowledges the Book of Mormon and ''Doctrines and Covenants'', but they do not replace the Bible, which now tends to be used exclusively during worship as the church's Scripture. Congregations roughly follow the mainstream churches' Revised Common Lectionary. From the 1960s, doctrinal reassessment took place, and the Community of Christ affirms the doctrine of the Trinity and acknowledges eight sacraments: baptism, confirmation, blessing of children, the Lord's Supper, ordination, marriage, the Evangelist Blessing, and administration to the sick.}}</ref>

==Other traditions==
[[File:Methodistcommunion6.jpg|right|thumb|The Eucharist is considered a sacrament, ordinance, or equivalent in most Christian denominations.]]

The enumeration, naming, understanding, and the adoption of the sacraments formally vary according to [[religious denomination|denomination]], although the finer theological distinctions are not always understood and may not even be known to many of the faithful. Many [[Protestants]] and other post-Reformation traditions affirm Luther's definition and have only Baptism and Eucharist (or Communion or the Lord's Supper) as sacraments, while others see the ritual as merely symbolic, and still others do not have a sacramental dimension at all.{{citation needed|date=November 2008}}

In addition to the traditional seven sacraments, other rituals have been considered sacraments by some Christian traditions. In particular, [[feet washing|foot washing]] as seen in [[Anabaptist]], [[Schwarzenau Brethren]] groups or [[True Jesus Church]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tjc.org/catLanding.aspx?tab=follow&catno=follow06 |title=Archived copy |access-date=2009-09-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091013224121/http://www.tjc.org/catLanding.aspx?tab=follow&catno=follow06 |archive-date=13 October 2009  }}</ref> and the hearing of the Gospel, as understood by a few Christian groups (such as the [[Polish National Catholic Church]] of America<ref>[http://www.hierarchy.religare.ru/h-nacion-pncc.html Польская национальная католическая церковь] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326015258/http://www.hierarchy.religare.ru/h-nacion-pncc.html |date=26 March 2012 }} {{in lang|ru}}</ref>), have been considered sacraments by some churches. The [[Assyrian Church of the East]] holds the [[Holy Leaven]] and the [[sign of the cross]] as sacraments.<ref>{{Cite book | chapter = The Sacrament of the Holy Leaven (Malkā) in the Assyrian Church of the East | title = The Anaphoral Genesis of the Institution Narrative in Light of the Anaphora of Addai and Mari | last = Royel | first = Mar Awa | chapter-url = https://www.academia.edu/12388908 | editor-first = Cesare | editor-last=Giraudo | isbn = 978-88-97789-34-5 | year = 2013 | publisher = Edizioni Orientalia Christiana | location = Rome | page = 363 }}</ref>

Since some post-Reformation denominations do not regard clergy as having a classically [[sacerdotalism|sacerdotal]] or priestly function, they avoid the term "sacrament", preferring the terms "sacerdotal function", "ordinance", or "tradition". This belief invests the efficacy of the ''ordinance'' in the obedience and participation of the believer and the witness of the presiding minister and the congregation. This view stems from a highly developed concept of the [[priesthood of all believers]]. In this sense, the believer himself or herself performs the sacerdotal role.{{citation needed|date=November 2008}}

[[Plymouth Brethren]] and [[Pentecostals]], among certain other [[Christian denominations]], use the word ''[[Ordinance (Christianity)|ordinance]]'' rather than ''sacrament'' because of certain [[sacerdotalism|sacerdotal]] ideas connected, in their view, with the word ''sacrament''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/subdivisions/pentecostal_4.shtml |title=BBC: Religion and Ethics: Pentecostalism |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |date=2009-07-02 |access-date=2008-11-25}}</ref><ref name="Gunn2004">{{cite web |last1=Gunn |first1=James |title=Specific Ordinances: Baptism and the Lord's Supper {{!}} Plymouth Brethren Writings |url=https://plymouthbrethren.org/article/6338 |publisher=Plymouth Brethren Writings |access-date=2 July 2025 |date=2004}}</ref> These churches argue that the word ''ordinance'' points to the ordaining authority of [[Christ]] which lies behind the practice.

===Non-sacramental churches===
Some denominations do not have a sacramental dimension (or equivalent) at all. The [[Salvation Army]] does not practice formal sacraments for a variety of reasons, including a belief that it is better to concentrate on the reality behind the symbols; however, it does not forbid its members from receiving sacraments in other denominations.<ref>[http://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/uki/www_uki.nsf/vw-dynamic-arrays/C28E39B2CA06E8F98025708A003D9FAC?openDocument The Salvation Army: Why does The Salvation Army not baptise or hold communion?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080930084328/http://www1.salvationarmy.org.uk/uki/www_uki.nsf/vw-dynamic-arrays/C28E39B2CA06E8F98025708A003D9FAC?openDocument |date=30 September 2008 }}.</ref>

The [[Quakers]] (Religious Society of Friends) also do not practice formal sacraments, believing that all activities should be considered holy. Rather, they are focused on an inward transformation of one's whole life. Some Quakers use the words "Baptism" and "Communion" to describe the experience of Christ's presence and his ministry in worship.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.edengrace.org/sacraments.htm|date=11 December 2003|first=Eden|last=Grace|title=Reflection on what Quakers bring to the ecumenical table}}</ref>

The [[Clancularii]] were an [[Anabaptist]] group in the 16th century who reasoned that because religion was seated in the heart, there was no need of any outward expression through the sacraments.<ref name="CBTEL">{{cite encyclopedia |first1=John |last1=M’Clintock |first2=James |last2=Strong |article=Clancularii |title=Cyclopædia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature |volume=Supplement Vol. 1, A-CN |location=New York |publisher=Harper & Brothers |year=1885 |page=957 |oclc=174522651 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.ah3cvc;view=1up;seq=969}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==See also==
* [[Filakto]]
* [[Sacramental bread]]

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Wiktionary}} 
*{{Cite Catholic Encyclopedia |wstitle=Sacraments |volume=13 |first=Daniel Joseph  |last=Kennedy}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081208070225/http://www.reephambenefice.org.uk/ministry.html Exploring the Sacraments in Anglican Ministry]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081007192219/http://www.lasvegasorthodox.com/library/Orthodox_doctrine/sacrament.htm The Sacraments in the Orthodox Church]

{{Christian theology}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Sacraments| ]]
[[Category:Methodism]]
[[Category:Sacraments of the Catholic Church]]
[[Category:Anglican sacraments]]
[[Category:Lutheran sacraments and rites]]
[[Category:Christian terminology]]