Study Guide: The Seven Sacraments of the Orthodox Church

Book: Introducing the Orthodox Church: Its Faith and Life by Anthony M. Coniaris
Chapter 12: The Seven Sacraments of the Orthodox Church

Summary

• The Orthodox Church calls sacraments mysteries (mysteria), because they are not merely rites or ceremonies but genuine encounters with the living God — moments where the divine breaks through into the material world through specific, tangible acts of water, oil, bread, wine, and touch.
• A sacrament is a visible sign of an invisible grace. In each sacrament, an outward, material element (water, oil, bread and wine) is the vehicle through which God communicates His grace. This reflects the Incarnation itself: God using matter to convey spirit.
• The Orthodox Church traditionally numbers seven sacraments: Baptism, Chrismation, Holy Eucharist, Penance/Confession, Holy Matrimony, Holy Unction, and Holy Orders. Beyond these, the Church also recognizes many other sanctifying acts (blessings, monastic tonsure, etc.) that partake of the sacramental character.
• Each sacrament is a personal encounter with Christ — not merely an administrative procedure or a religious formality, but a living meeting with the risen Lord who acts in and through His Church.
• Sacraments require faith and obedience. They are not magic. Grace offered can be resisted or rejected. The sacraments open a door; the Christian must walk through it with repentance, faith, and ongoing cooperation with God's grace.
• Baptism is the sacrament of new birth: immersion in water (thrice, in the name of the Trinity) by which the baptized person dies to the old life and rises to new life in Christ. Original sin is washed away and the restored image of God is conferred.
• Chrismation (Confirmation) immediately follows Baptism in the Orthodox Church. The newly baptized is anointed with the Holy Myron on forehead, eyes, nostrils, lips, ears, chest, hands, and feet — each a personal Pentecost, sealing the gift of the Holy Spirit.
• Holy Communion is the central mystery of the Church's life: the Body and Blood of Christ, truly present under the forms of bread and wine, offered to the faithful as the medicine of immortality, the pledge of eternal life, and the source and summit of the Christian life.
• Holy Matrimony is a sacrament — not merely a social contract but a sacred union in which the couple receives the grace to live together as a reflection of Christ's love for the Church, journeying together toward theosis.
• The Layman in Orthodox theology is not a passive spectator but a full member of the royal priesthood, participating in the priestly offering of the Eucharist and bearing responsibility for the life and mission of the Church.

Key Themes and Sections

1. What Is a Sacrament? (Mysterion)

The Greek word mysterion (mystery) captures the Orthodox understanding far better than the Latin sacramentum. A mystery is not merely something unknown, but something that is simultaneously revealed and inexhaustible — a window into the divine reality that can never be fully grasped by the human mind. In each sacrament, the eternal God enters time; the invisible makes itself present through the visible.

The Western definition — "an outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible grace" — is accurate but incomplete. For Orthodoxy, the sacraments are not merely signs pointing to grace but actual conveyances of grace. The water of Baptism does not merely symbolize cleansing; it effects it. The bread and wine do not merely represent the Body and Blood; they become them.

2. Number of Sacraments

The Orthodox Church acknowledges seven principal sacraments:

Beyond these seven, the Church performs many other sanctifying acts — monastic tonsure, the blessing of water, of homes, of fields — all of which partake of the sacramental character without being numbered among the seven.

3. Sacraments as Personal Encounter with Christ

St. Leo the Great wrote: "What was visible in our Redeemer has now passed over into the sacraments." The sacraments are the way the risen and ascended Christ continues to be present and active in His Church. To receive a sacrament is to encounter the living Lord personally. This is why the sacraments cannot be treated as mere religious customs or ethnic traditions: they are the living Christ offering Himself to His people.

4. Need for Faith and Obedience

Grace is never coercive. The sacraments are powerful means of grace, but they require human cooperation — faith, repentance, and obedience. The grain of wheat must fall into good soil to bear fruit. The Orthodox understanding resists both the extreme of sacramental automatism (the idea that the ritual itself, regardless of disposition, produces its effect) and the Protestant extreme of reducing sacraments to mere symbols or memorials dependent entirely on individual faith.

5. Baptism

Baptism is the sacrament of new birth and initiation into the Body of Christ. The Orthodox practice is triple immersion — three plungings into water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — symbolizing burial and resurrection with Christ (Romans 6:3-4). In Baptism:

• Original sin is forgiven and the stain of ancestral sin is washed away
• The person is united with Christ's death and resurrection
• The restored image of God is conferred
• The baptized becomes a member of the Body of Christ

Orthodox Baptism is administered to infants as well as adults. Infant Baptism expresses the conviction that God's grace is not limited by human understanding — even a child can belong to Christ and bear His image.

6. Chrismation

Immediately following Baptism, the newly illumined receives Chrismation — anointing with the Holy Myron on thirty-three parts of the body, each accompanied by the words: "The seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit." This is the personal Pentecost of each Christian: the gift of the Holy Spirit poured out upon the individual, equipping them for the Christian life. It corresponds to what Western Christianity calls Confirmation, but is administered immediately at Baptism rather than years later.

7. Penance/Confession

Confession (Exomologesis) is the sacrament of healing and reconciliation. The Orthodox confessor is not a judge but a physician. The priest does not pronounce absolution in his own authority but as a witness — the sinner confesses to God in the presence of the priest, who then pronounces God's absolution. The sacrament heals the wounds of sin, restores communion with God and the Church, and provides the epitimia (spiritual direction) needed for continued growth.

8. Holy Eucharist

The Holy Eucharist is the sacrament of sacraments — the center and summit of Orthodox liturgical life. In the Liturgy, the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ through the action of the Holy Spirit (epiclesis). The Orthodox Church affirms the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist — not as a philosophical theory (like the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation) but as a mystery confessed in faith. The faithful receive Holy Communion as:

• The medicine of immortality
• The pledge and foretaste of the Kingdom
• True union with the Body of Christ
• Nourishment for the journey toward theosis

Preparation for Holy Communion includes fasting, prayer, Confession, and reconciliation with others.

9. Holy Matrimony

Marriage in the Orthodox Church is a sacrament — not merely a civil contract blessed by the Church, but a sacred union through which the couple receives divine grace. The Orthodox marriage service centers on the crowning of the couple: the man and woman are crowned as king and queen of their household, a little kingdom ordered toward the Kingdom of God. Together they are to become a living icon of Christ's love for His Church.

On Birth Control: The Orthodox Church affirms the procreative purpose of marriage, and generally views artificial contraception with caution. However, the tradition allows for pastoral guidance in specific circumstances.

On Divorce: The Orthodox Church regards marriage as indissoluble in principle, but in recognition of human weakness ("hardness of heart"), permits a second or third marriage in certain circumstances — with penance. It does not grant "annulments" as if the marriage never existed.

10. Holy Unction

Holy Unction (Euchelaion) is the sacrament of healing — for both body and soul. James 5:14-15 is the scriptural foundation. Seven priests ideally preside, anointing the sick person with blessed oil and reading seven Epistle/Gospel pairings. The sacrament is not "Last Rites" for the dying only — it is offered to any Christian who is ill. The Church administers it publicly in Holy Week so that all the faithful may receive it.

11. Holy Orders

Through Holy Orders (Cheirotonia, "the laying on of hands"), men are ordained as bishops, presbyters (priests), or deacons. The bishop is the successor of the Apostles and the head of the local Church. The priest acts in the bishop's name. The deacon assists in the Liturgy and in service. Orders are conferred by a bishop's laying on of hands, in unbroken succession from the Apostles.

12. The Layman in Orthodox Theology

The layman is not a passive spectator or a "non-ordained" Christian who merely watches the clergy perform the sacraments. The Orthodox laity are members of the royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9), offering together with the priest the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving in the Eucharist. The theological term laos (people) refers to the entire People of God — clergy and laity together constitute the Church. The laity bear responsibility for the Church's life: they may exercise a check on heresy, participate in councils, and are co-responsible for the faith.

Key Quotes

"What was visible in our Redeemer has now passed over into the sacraments." — St. Leo the Great

"The sacraments do not merely symbolize or point to grace; they convey it. Through visible things, God bestows invisible gifts." — Nicholas Cabasilas

"The liturgy is the very life of the Church. It is not something the Church does — it is something the Church is." — Fr. Alexander Schmemann

"Baptism is the gate into the Church. Through it we become members of the Body of Christ and heirs of the Kingdom." — Bp. Kallistos Ware

"The Church does not merely preach about Christ; she makes Him present. The Eucharist is the supreme moment of that presence." — Fr. George Florovsky

Discussion Questions

• The Orthodox Church calls the sacraments mysteries rather than merely sacraments. What is gained by this language? What does it communicate about the nature of the divine encounter in the sacraments?
• Each sacrament uses a material element — water, oil, bread, wine. What does this tell us about the Orthodox understanding of matter and the physical world? How does the Incarnation ground this?
• Baptism involves triple immersion — death and resurrection with Christ. How should this understanding of Baptism shape a Christian's daily identity and self-understanding?
• Chrismation is described as the "personal Pentecost" of each Christian. If the Holy Spirit has been poured out upon us in Chrismation, what does this mean for how we approach the spiritual life?
• The Orthodox view of Confession presents the priest as a physician, not a judge. How does this image change the psychology of approaching Confession? What courage and humility does genuine confession require?
• The Eucharist is the "medicine of immortality." What does it mean to receive the Body and Blood of Christ as medicine? What are we being healed of?
• Holy Matrimony is a sacrament — not merely a social arrangement. How should the understanding of marriage as a path toward theosis change how couples relate to one another through difficulty?
• Holy Unction is for the sick — not just the dying. What does it say about the Orthodox Church's view of healing that she has a sacrament specifically for illness?
• The Orthodox laity are described as members of the royal priesthood, co-responsible for the Church's life. In practice, what does this mean? How should laypeople exercise this priestly responsibility?
• Fr. Schmemann says the liturgy is not something the Church does but something the Church is. What implications does this have for how we approach worship? For what happens when Christians stop participating in the sacraments?

Key Scripture References

• Romans 6:3-4 — Baptism as burial and resurrection with Christ
• John 3:5 — "Born of water and the Spirit"
• Acts 2:38 — Baptism for the forgiveness of sins
• 1 Peter 2:9 — The royal priesthood of the laity
• John 6:53-56 — "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man..."
• James 5:14-15 — Holy Unction for the sick
• Ephesians 5:22-32 — Marriage as an image of Christ and the Church
• 2 Corinthians 5:17-18 — Reconciliation/Confession
• Matthew 18:18 — "Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven" (Confession)
• Acts 6:6; 13:3; 1 Timothy 4:14 — The laying on of hands (Holy Orders)

Key Terms

• Mysterion (Greek: "mystery") — The Orthodox term for sacrament; conveys that these are not merely rites but genuine divine-human encounters
• Chrismation — The sacrament of anointing with Holy Myron, the personal Pentecost of the baptized; given immediately after Baptism
• Holy Myron — The specially blessed oil used in Chrismation, prepared by patriarchs and sent to all Orthodox churches
• Eucharistia (Greek: "thanksgiving") — The Holy Eucharist; the central sacrament of the Church's life
• Epiclesis (Greek: "invocation") — The prayer in the Liturgy calling upon the Holy Spirit to transform the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ
• Exomologesis (Greek: "full acknowledgment") — Confession/Penance; the sacrament of healing and reconciliation
• Epitimia (Greek) — The spiritual discipline or penance given after Confession as medicine for the soul
• Cheirotonia (Greek: "stretching out of the hand") — The laying on of hands; the sacrament of Holy Orders
• Euchelaion (Greek: "oil of prayer") — Holy Unction; the sacrament of healing through anointing with oil
• Laos (Greek: "people") — The entire People of God; laypeople as members of the royal priesthood
• Oikonomia (Greek: "economy," "household management") — The pastoral principle allowing flexibility in applying Church canons to specific human situations

For Further Reading

• For the Life of the World — Fr. Alexander Schmemann
• The Life in Christ — Nicholas Cabasilas
• The Orthodox Church — Bp. Kallistos Ware
• The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church — Vladimir Lossky