Strict and full of love and mercy, the gaze of saints from ancient icons, the soft warm light of candles, fragrant censer, a font filled with blessed water, white clothes of a baby, the solemn and lofty voice of a priest uttering the words of prayer, quiet and exciting singing of the choir ... From the moment of baptism a new life of the believer begins, an invisible connection with God is established. The newly baptized person enters the bosom of the church, is “spiritually born” into the light. Baptism is the very first and most important sacrament in the life of a Christian; it is inextricably linked with another sacrament - anointing. And if almost everyone heard about baptism, few know about the latter. What is the point? What is anointing in the church? Read more in the article.
The meaning of the sacraments in the church
One of the fundamental parts of the life of the church and the Christian is the sacraments.
A sacrament is a ritual through which an invisible divine grace is transmitted to a person through visible rites.
All the sacraments of the Christian church have common features:
- God's establishment is the institution of the sacraments by God himself.
- The inner, hidden side is the invisible grace that is transmitted to the Christian during the sacrament.
- The external, formalized side is the ritual order necessary for a weak person, visible and perceived actions that allow us to perceive invisible grace.
In contrast to the rites performed during the performance of the sacraments (for example, the blessing of water, the incense of the temple), which were formed and developed naturally over the centuries, the sacraments are considered established by God.
Sacraments of the Orthodox Church
In total, the Orthodox tradition establishes seven sacraments through which believers and those who partake of the sacraments receive various divine gifts:
- Sacrament of baptism - the baptized person is dipped three times in a font or doused with water with prayers. The newly baptized is forgiven for his former sins, and a communion with the Church takes place.
- The mystery of anointing in Orthodoxy is the application of the holy world to certain parts of the body. The gift of the Holy Spirit is transmitted to the anointed one, instructing him on the path of spiritual self-improvement.
- The sacrament of repentance is the Christian's sincere repentance of his sins, a complete confession to the confessor as a type of the Lord. Confessed sins are repented of the sinner.
- The sacrament of communion (another name is the Eucharist) - communion with the Holy Gifts, sanctified and prepared in a special way, with wine and bread, symbolizing the Body and Blood of Christ; He who participates is united with the Lord.
- The sacrament of unholy (or unification) - the human body is anointed with oil (oil). The believer is given deliverance from various ailments.
- The sacrament of marriage (known as wedding) is the conclusion of a church union between husband and wife. A born family is given a divine blessing.
- The sacrament of the priesthood (also called consecration) is consecration to the clergy. The opportunity is given to participate independently in the sacraments of the church, to conduct rituals and to perform services.
The Gospel texts contain a direct reference to the three sacraments - baptism, repentance, and communion; the God-established origin of the rest of the sacraments is attested to by other books of scripture and the writings of the first teachers of the church.
The relationship of the sacrament of baptism and anointing
How are the sacrament of baptism and the sacrament of anointing? Both of them have always been closely connected in church tradition. Baptism cleanses and frees a person from the burden of original sin and many personal sins, and anointing grants the grace of the Holy Spirit, allowing you to live according to church commandments and canons.
From the 4th century, anointing is performed immediately after baptism. Both of these sacraments can be performed only once in a person’s life.
The meaning of anointing
The Orthodox catechism (a collection of basic principles of faith) explains the essence of the sacrament in this way: “Anointing is a sacrament in which, when anointed by the sanctified world of the body parts, in the name of the Holy Spirit, gifts of the Holy Spirit are given that promote growth and strengthen spiritual life.”
Personal pentecost
Sometimes the sacrament of anointing is called the personal Pentecost of man. You can understand the meaning of this phrase by remembering the pages of the gospel.
On the fiftieth day after the resurrection of Christ, the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles in the form of fiery flames of fire. They immediately felt the effect of divine grace - they were filled with divine love for people and Christ, their willingness to devote themselves to serving them. They gained the ability to speak languages previously unknown to them, which allowed them to conduct sermons in different corners of the earth.
In the sacrament of anointing, the same thing happens to a person that the apostles experienced. The external form of this phenomenon has changed - the flame now replaces the cruciform anointing with the world, but the inner side, the meaning of the sacrament remained unchanged - the descent of the Holy Spirit and the sanctification of the Christian through the received grace.
The history of the establishment of the rite
In the early years of the spread of Christianity, the sacrament of anointing had a completely different form.
The Christians of the first centuries received a blessed gift through prayers and personal laying on the heads of the converts by the apostles.
However, the spread of Christianity and the growing number of believers greatly impeded the personal participation of the apostles in the blessing of each convert. Therefore, at the turn of the 3rd and 4th centuries, the external ritual side of the sacrament of anointing was changed. Now, instead of the apostolic rulership, certain parts of the body were anointed with the world. Confirmation - this was a sacrament, which was accompanied by prayers and the imposition of the sign of the Cross (in Greek, "sphragis" - seal). The right to make anointing with the world was vested in the bishops and elders of the church, appointed by the apostles.
A rock
In the Holy Land, in Jerusalem, there is a shrine known to the world as the Stone of Anointing. According to the Gospel, this is exactly the stone on which the Body of the Savior was laid after removing Him from the cross. The followers of Christ — Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus — washed the body of the Lord upon the stone with incense, preparing it for burial. For safety, the real stone of anointing in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is covered with a slab of pink marble, but even through the stove it exudes a world that many pilgrims collect to heal from ailments.
Holy world
Translated from ancient Greek, “miro” means “incense oil”. According to various sources, the amount of ingredients needed to prepare the world used in the sacrament ranges from 35 to 75. Such an abundance of world constituents is related to the huge number of virtues that a true Christian should possess. The basis of the world is white grape wine, pure olive oil and a variety of aromatic substances and oils.
At the dawn of Christianity, only the apostles had the right to prepare and consecrate the world, later the bishops appointed by them. Today in the Russian Orthodox Church only the Patriarch can prepare and consecrate the world.
Preparation and consecration of the world
In Russia, the process of preparing and consecrating the world takes place once every two years. Preparation of all the necessary ingredients begins with Holy Cross week - the fourth week of Lent. All the necessary ingredients are sprinkled with blessed water, a mixture of olive oil and wine is brewed. The aromatic components of the world are crushed, poured with a finished mixture of oil and wine. Then the world stands until the end of Lent. On Holy Monday, the Patriarch consecrates everything that is used for making (both ingredients and vessels), personally ignites the flame under the cooked boilers. Jamming is accompanied by constant reading of the gospel. On Maundy Thursday, the world is sanctified, and it mixes with the world sanctified in previous years. This mixing has been going on for many centuries. Thanks to this, the world today contains part of the substance, cooked back in the days of the apostles. Then the finished and consecrated world is distributed to all the parishes of the Church.
Rite value
The visible side of the sacrament is the priest applying peace to the forehead, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, chest, palms and feet of a person. Moreover, each time he says: “The seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit. Amen".
Why are these parts of the body chosen for the ceremony? The answer to this question is given by the works of the church saints.
The miro used in the anointing sanctifies the whole person: by anointing the forehead, cleanses the mind and thoughts, through the anointing of the senses (eyes, nose, mouth and ears), sets the path to salvation, adjusts to the perception of all the pious, by anointing the chest gives divine love and sanctifies the senses and desires, through the anointing of hands and feet, blesses on charitable deeds and actions, calls to follow the commandments of the Lord throughout the course of life.
Ritual side of the sacrament
Anointing is a sacrament that consists of four stages: anointing with the world, walking around the font, washing the holy world, and cutting hair.
At the end of the sacrament of baptism (ends with a robe in white robes), the clergyman reads a prayer and puts peace on certain parts of the body that must be wiped dry. Drawing a holy world, the priest figuratively draws a cross. Before bathing, no one should touch the anointed parts of the body.
Then the newly baptized with a lit candle and his godparents (according to church tradition, they are called perceivers) three times march around the font, moving towards the sun, counterclockwise, as all religious processions are made. Symbolically, this means entering into eternal life, granted by the sacraments performed, as well as their eternal indestructible power.
Rites of the eighth day
The washing of the holy world at the dawn of the formation of the Christian faith took place on the eighth day after the sacrament. Moreover, the newly baptized wore white baptismal clothes for a week without taking off. He visited the temple, partaking of the secrets of the church and worship; during this period the first communion of the primitive Christian took place. Today, the rites of the eighth day are performed on the day of baptism and anointing. The priest pronounces the words of prayer, asking God for help in preserving the seal of the Holy Spirit unscathed and asking to protect the new member from the harmful effects of evil forces. Then he sprinkles the anointed with the words of an ancient prayer: “Yes, you were justified (old sins were forgiven), you were enlightened (stood on the path of the Orthodox faith), you were sanctified (during the first communion), you were washed in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God” . After that, the bath is washed with a sponge moistened in clean water with anointed parts of the body.
After asking the Lord for a blessing for a new member of the church, the clergyman cuts the hair on the head of the newly baptized person - the back of the head, forehead, right and left sides. A cross-shaped hair cutting repeats the procedure for applying blessings to the head. Symbolically, the ritual of anointing means that a person voluntarily surrenders to God, is ready to sacrifice himself.
The clipped hair is rolled into a lump of wax and lowered into the baptismal font.
Confirmation is the second most important (after baptism) sacrament in the life of any Christian. Unfortunately, today many do not know the meaning of this sacrament. And not everyone knows about the very existence of this sacrament. Meanwhile, anointing is a sacrament that allows a person to begin to lead a full spiritual life in the bosom of the Orthodox Church.