Anglican sacraments
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Like other churches in the Catholic tradition, the Anglican Communion recognises the importance of partaking in the sacraments to liturgy, sanctification, and salvation.
Anglicans recognise two sacraments - Baptism and the Holy Eucharist - as having been ordained by Christ ("sacraments of the Gospel," as Article XXV of the Thirty-Nine Articles describes them). As such, they are the only two considered necessary for salvation. Five other acts are regarded variously as full sacraments by Anglo-Catholic Anglicans or as "sacramental rites" by evangelical Anglicans, with varied opinion among broad church and liberal Anglicans.
Altogether, the seven are:
- Baptism
- Holy Eucharist (also called Holy Communion or Mass or, less frequently, the Lord's Supper)
- Confession and absolution
- Confirmation (in Eastern Catholic Churches and the Orthodox Church, equivalent to chrismation)
- Holy Matrimony
- Holy Orders (also called Ordination)
- Anointing of the Sick (also called Healing or Unction.)
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[edit] Characteristics of sacraments
As defined by the 16th Century Anglican divine, Richard Hooker, a sacrament is "an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace." It thus has the effect of conveying sanctification on the individual participating in the sacramental action.
Sacraments have both form and matter. A form is the verbal and physical liturgical action, while the matter refers to any material objects used (e.g., water and chrism in baptism; bread and wine in the Eucharist, etc.). Not all the ritual and objects used in sacramental worship can be defined as the form and matter — the necessities are articulated in the rubrics of Anglican prayer books.
A rite that has the intended sacramental effect is a valid sacrament. Anglicans hold that only a priest properly ordained by a bishop or a bishop consecrated by other bishops can perform valid sacramental actions (the exception is baptism, which can be performed by a layperson in cases of emergency). To be validly ordered, all Anglican clergy must be ordained and/or consecrated by bishops whose own consecration can be traced to the Apostles (see Apostolic succession). Anglicans differ as to whether the sacraments received from clergy who are not ordained in this tradition have been validly performed and received.
Three of the seven sacraments may be received only once in a lifetime because they make an indelible sacramental character on the recipient's soul: baptism, confirmation, and ordination to a particular order (for example, a person who has been ordained a deacon can be ordained a priest, but cannot again receive the diaconal ordination). In case of uncertainty about whether a person has received one of those three sacraments at an earlier time, he or she may receive the sacrament conditionally. In a conditional baptism, the minister of the sacrament, rather than saying "I baptise you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," says "If you are not baptized, I baptize you" etc.
[edit] Baptism
Baptism is the sacrament by which one is initiated into the Christian faith. The sacrament thus has the effect of receiving the individual into the household of God, allowing them to receive the grace of the other sacraments. The matter consists of the water and chrism, and the form are the words of baptism (the Trinitarian formula). The intention of baptism is threefold: a renunciation of sin and of all that which is opposed to the will of God (articulated by vows); a statement of belief in God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (articulated by the recitation of the Apostles' Creed or Nicene Creed); and a commitment to follow Christ as Lord and Saviour (again, signified by vows). The effect of baptism is the reception of the Holy Spirit.
[edit] Eucharist
The Eucharist (Holy Communion, Mass, or the Lord's Supper), is the means by which Christ becomes present to the Christian community gathered in his name. It is the central act of gathered worship, renewing the Body of Christ as the Church through the reception of the Body of Christ as the Blessed Sacrament, his spiritual body and blood. The matter consists of bread and wine, and the form is the Eucharistic Prayer. In this sacrament, Christ is both encountered and incorporated. As such, the Eucharistic action looks backward as a memorial of Christ's sacrifice, forward as a foretaste of the heavenly banquet, and to the present as an Incarnation of Christ in the lives of the community and of individual believers.
[edit] Confession and absolution
Confession and absolution is the sacrament by which one is restored to God when one's relationship with God has been broken by sin. The form is the words of absolution, which may be accompanied by the sign of the cross. Confession and absolution is normally done corporately (the congregation invited to confess their sins, a moment of silent prayer while the congregation does so, a spoken general confession, and the words of absolution). Individuals, however, can and do also participate in aural confession, privately meeting with a priest to confess his or her sins, during which time the priest can provide both counselling, urge reconciliation with parties that have been sinned against, and suggest certain spiritual disciplines (penance). Unlike the Roman Catholic tradition, Anglican clergy do not typically require acts of penance as a precondition to receiving absolution; rather, such acts are intended to be healing and preventative. The priest is bound by the seal of confession. This binds the priest to never speak of what he or she has heard in the confessional to anyone.
[edit] Confirmation
Confirmation is derived from the Latin word confirmare - to strengthen. In this sense, confirmation involves the reaffirmation of faith through the strengthening and renewal of one's baptismal vows accomplished through prayer and the laying on of hands by a bishop. Traditionally, baptism and confirmation were a unified rite, with the bishop performing both activities. With the proliferation of the faith in Europe during the early Middle Ages, the rite became separated. In recent centuries, it has been seen as an opportunity for those baptised as infants to make an adult profession of faith, and to affirm the vows made on their behalf. Until very recently, it was also a precondition to participation in the Eucharist throughout the Communion. Several provinces now view baptism as sufficient for accessing the grace of all the sacraments, since it is the means of initiation into the faith. Many baptised as adults still participate in confirmation as a way of completing the ancient rite of initiation, or because they have been received into the Communion from other denominations.
[edit] Matrimony
Holy Matrimony is the blessing of a union between a man and woman (though this model is questioned in contemporary Queer theology), acknowledging the presence and grace of God in the life of the couple. The form is manifested as the vows (contrary to popular belief, the blessing and exchanging of rings is customary, and not necessary for the rite of matrimony to be valid). In marriage, the husband and wife seek God's blessing, and through the mediation of the priest, the prayer is answered. Although the couple are thus generally regarded as the ministers of the sacrament through their voluntary exchange of vows, the sacrament must be celebrated under the presidency of a priest, who witnesses and mediates the prayers. Matrimony was the last sacrament added, having arisen as a result of civil necessity in the Middle Ages in order to regularise intimate relationships and legitimize children. In many parts of the Anglican Communion, there is provision to bless civil marriages (on the understanding that a couple cannot be married twice); and in some dioceses there is also provision for the blessing of same-sex unions.
[edit] Holy Orders
Ordination, or Holy Orders, is the setting aside of individuals to specific ministries in the Church, namely that of deacon, priest, and bishop. The matter and form are the laying on of hands by a bishop and prayers. From the beginning of the Church these were the three orders. In this sense, priests are essentially delegates of the bishop to minister to congregations in which the bishop cannot be physically present. Deacons have always had the role of being "the church in the world," administering to the pastoral needs of the community and assisting the priest in worship (usually by proclaiming the Gospel and preparing the altar and credence table). The bishop is the chief pastor of a diocese, and consecration as an archbishop does not involve transition into a new order, but rather signifies the taking on of additional episcopal responsibilities as a metropolitan or primate.
In keeping with the ancient practice, the Anglican Communion (like the Eastern Orthodox communion) has never required clerical celibacy. In a small number of places within the Communion, women are allowed to be ordained, and in a few liberal diocese there are female bishops. Some of the other diocese do not recognise their authority.
[edit] Anointing of the Sick
The Anointing of the Sick is an act of healing through prayer and sacrament, conveyed on both the sick and the dying, where it is classically called Extreme Unction. The matter consists of laying on of hands and/or anointing with oil; while the form consists of prayers. In this sacrament, the priest acts as a mediator of Christ's grace, and will frequently administer the consecrated bread (and sometimes wine) as a part of the sacramental action.
[edit] References
- Anglican Church of Canada, Book of Common Prayer. Toronto, 1962.
- Dom Gregory Dix, The Shape of the Liturgy, 2nd ed. London, 1945.
- Arthur Michael Ramsey, The Gospel and the Catholic Church, 2nd ed. London, 1956.
- Ian Stuchbery, This is Our Faith: A Guide to Life and Belief for Anglicans. Toronto, 1990
- Stephen Sykes and John Booty (eds.), The Study of Anglicanism. London, 1988.
