The Sacraments

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What are the sacraments?

The sacraments are particularly important and significant Christian ceremonies. Many Christians think of the sacraments as sign's of God's love - a special holy action that shows a religious truth. For some Christians, for example Catholics, sacraments are more than just signs - they are 'effective' signs, which means that they bring about the thing that they symbolise. For instance, baptism is not just a sign of forgiveness of sins, it actually brings about the forgiveness of sins.

For something to be a sacrament, it has to be officially recognised by the Church as having been established by Jesus. Churches differ on this matter. Therefore, some ceremonies, like marriage, might be carried out in all churches, but might not be considered an official sacrament in all churches.

The sacraments recognised by different groups

Various denominations within the Church have different views on the sacraments. The biggest denominations are the Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Churches. In turn, Protestants are divided into groups, such as Anglicans (including the Church of England) and Non-Conformists (e.g. Quakers, Methodists, Salvation Army and Baptists).

The Catholic council of Trent (1545-1563) agreed that there were seven sacraments. The Orthodox Church also recognises seven sacraments. In contrast, the Church of England met in 1562 to agree the 39 Articles of Religion, and Article 25 stated that the Church of England would only recognise two sacraments - baptism and the eucharist. In some Protestant churches, for example Salvation Army and Quakers, no sacraments are officially recognised.

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39 Articles of Religion

In the mid-16th century, the Church of England had recently split from the Catholic Church, and was feeling the influence of various Protestant denominations. Therefore, 1562, the Bishops and Archbishops of England came together to discuss matters of belief. Their eventual agreed beliefs would be published under the heading of the 39 Articles. The Articles cover heaven, hell, baptism, creeds and much more, but the Articles also make some strong statements against various areas of Catholic belief. From that point onwards, priests of the Church of England would need to agree to the 39 Articles before they could be ordained.

Celebrating the sacraments

The sacraments have two important aspects:

physical side - this can be felt, touched, seen, smelled or tasted, as, for example, the bread and wine in the eucharist

spiritual side - each sacrament brings a spiritual blessing to the person involved

Each sacrament has its own special ceremony, which includes some or all of the following features: saying prayers, singing hymns, making vows, or promises, listening to Bible readings, listening to a sermon.

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Baptism

Baptism is the ceremony in which a person formally becomes a member of the Church. It was commanded by Jesus in Matthew 28:19.

The Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican Churches all celebrate baptism of infants (babies and young children). The Quakers and Salvation Army do not have formal baptism at all. The Baptist Church baptises people it considers old enough to decide for themselves that they want to be baptised.

In an infant baptism, a priest pours water three times on the child's head to show that the Trinity has come into their life and that their sins have been washed away. The child's parents and godparents publicly declare their beliefs, and hold a lighted candle to symbolise that they and the child have passed from the darkness of sin into the light of Jesus. In the Catholic Church, the candle is lit from the Paschal candle as a sign of faith in the resurrection of Jesus. The child is then welcomed as a member of the Church.

Some denominations, for example the Baptist and Pentecostal Churches, do not celebrate infant baptism, and instead baptise people when they are adults. This is because they believe baptism is a choice that should be made as an adult. They do celebrate the birth of infants, however, and will usually have a 'dedication' service in which the parents and the Church community promise to bring up the child according to Christian values.