a formal religious act conferring a specific grace on those who receive it; the Protestant sacraments are baptism and the Lord's Supper; in the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church there are seven traditional rites accepted as instituted by Jesus: baptism and confirmation and Holy Eucharist and penance and holy orders and matrimony and extreme unction
a visible sign of a sacred thing; in the late medieval church there were deemed to be seven sacraments, representing life cycle rituals; baptism, confirmation, Eucharist, ordination, marriage, confession and extreme unction
Literally, "an oath of allegiance " The Latin word used to translate the Greek word mysterion in the New Testament; thus, it came to mean, in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, any one of the seven rites believed to have been instituted by Jesus and regarded as a means of grace: namely, baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist (communion), penance, holy orders, matrimony, and the anointing of the sick Most Protestant churches have two sacraments: communion and baptism The Churches of God, rejecting the premise that grace is contained in the act, have "ordinances" instead of sacraments See "The Ordinances "
One of the solemn religious ordinances enjoined by Christ, the head of the Christian church, to be observed by his followers; hence, specifically, the eucharist; the Lord's Supper
In purely historical terms, a church service or rite which was held to have been instituted by Jesus Christ himself Although Roman Catholic theology and church practice recognize seven such sacraments (baptism, confirmation, eucharist, marriage, ordination, penance, and unction), Protestant theologians generally argue that only two (baptism and eucharist) were to be found in the New Testament itself See pp 427-47
{i} (Christianity) religious ceremony or ritual believed to have been instituted by Jesus and viewed as a symbol of grace (such as baptism, matrimony, etc.); Holy Communion, holy bread
The "outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace, given by Christ as sure and certain means by which we receive that grace," according to the catechism
"A solemn religious ceremony to which several degrees of authority and significance are attached Rome has seven sacraments, but the Protestant churches, being less prosperous, feel that they can afford only two, and these of inferior sanctity Some of the smaller sects have no sacraments at all -- for which mean economy they will indubitably be damned " [DD]
A visible manifestation of the word The bread and wine in the Lord's Supper are considered sacraments in that they are visible manifestations of the covenant promise of our Lord: "In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you '" (Luke 22: 20) God, in the OT, used visible signs along with His spoken word These visible signs, then, were considered to have significance "Among the OT sacraments the rites of circumcision and the Passover were stressed as being the OT counterparts of baptism (Col 1: 10-12) and the Lord's Supper (1 Cor 5: 7) "
(Gr Mysterion, Sl Tainstvo) The outward and visible part of religion consisting of various ceremonies, words and symbolisms, producing an invisible action by the Holy Spirit that confers grace on an individual All Sacraments were instituted by Christ for the salvation of the believer (see separate sections on the Sacraments and the Saramental Life in the Ortodox Church)
A divinely institued outward and visible sign of inward and spiritual graces given to Christians There are seven sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Mass (Eucharist), Confession, Holy Orders (for clergy), Matrimony (for laity), and Extreme Unction
Defined by St Augustine as 'the visible form of invisible grace', it was in this period applied widely to any sacred action or thing within the life of the church; later on in the medieval period the term came to be used much more restrictedly of seven actions (baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, penance, extreme unction - anointing with holy oil at the point of death -, orders and marriage) The conveying of sacraments in return for money or other considerations is simony
a religious ceremony or act of the Christian Church regarded as an outward and visible sign of inward and spiritual grace applied to the seven rites of baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, penance, extreme unction, ordination, and matrimony
An outward sign of something special and holy The Roman Catholics, Orthodox and the Anglicans believe in 7 sacraments Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, holy orders, forgiveness of sins, anointing of the sick, and Marriage Most Protestant churches celebrate only the first two of these as sacraments
In the Roman Catholic church, the Sacrament is the holy bread eaten at the Eucharist. In the Anglican church, the Sacrament is the holy bread and wine taken at Holy Communion. Religious action or symbol in which spiritual power is believed to be transmitted through material elements or the performance of ritual. The concept is ancient; prehistoric people believed that they could advantageously influence events in the natural world, such as weather patterns, through the performance of ritual. The word sacramentum was used in Roman law and later became an oath of allegiance soldiers swore in a sacred place. The sacrament is primarily associated with Christianity, and Christian theologians as early as St. Augustine focused on the proper definition of sacrament. Among Christians, sacraments are said to derive from practices instituted by Jesus, such as baptism, the washing of the feet, and the casting out of demons. There are seven sacraments of Roman Catholicism, as codified by St. Thomas Aquinas and promulgated by the Council of Trent: baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, penance, anointing of the sick, ordination, and matrimony. The Eastern Orthodox church generally accepts seven sacraments, even though no council accepted by the Orthodox church ever defined the number of sacraments. In most Protestant churches, however, only baptism and the Lord's Supper are recognized as sacraments, as the understanding of sacrament differs from that of the Roman Catholic church. See also samskara