Church & Sacraments: Sacraments in General

by Prof. O. M. Mathew Oruvattithara

1. "If thou wilt be saved......" Martin Luther

Martin Luther, the Augustinian monk turned reformer, who nailed ninetyfive theses at the door of the Cathedral of Wittenburg in Germany, did not nail the telling thesis that the secrets of the sacred Ecclesia are mediated to the mortals through Sacraments. Though adamant to reform certain repulsive religious rituals, he was ardent enough to replenish the roots of religion. It is on record that Luther asserted, "if thou wilt be saved, thou must begin with the faith of the sacraments". This is quoted by Dr. Whale, in his book 'Christian Doctrine'. Luther knew very well that the Scripture and the Traditions cum the Sacraments are the warp and woof of the fabric of the Ecclesia which is an eternal 'extension of the Incarnation'. Therefore he held that the same 'Word of God' is manifested in the 'Preaching' and the 'Sacraments'. In essence it was his view that they belong together and form one corpus. If Luther had acknowledged only baptism, penance and the eucharist as the three 'dominical' 'Sacraments' and had not approved 'confirmation or chrism', 'matrimony', 'holy orders' and 'unction' as sacraments it is a sad story. May be, he detected or discerned in them, certain 'degenerate' dogmas of the Roman Papacy, his bete noire. Be that as it may.

2. The Divine Link of Sacraments - Contention of Calvin

The wonder is that the more radical revolutionary John Calvin too, subscribed himself to the view that Sacraments are seals or confirmation of the promise of God to mankind in Christ. 'Institute' IV: 14, of Calvin, is a classic commentary on the divine origin of the Sacraments. Unabashingly he proclaims, "there is never any sacrament without any antecedent promise of God, to which it is subjoined as an appendix'. Although Calvin had accepted only Baptism and the Eucharist as Sacraments, what is significant is that he readily recognized the link of the Sacraments with the Divine. Prejudices apart, it has to be approved that the 'Reformers' affirmed the objective reality of the Divine presence in the Sacraments. The assertion of the 'Oxford movement' which made rapid strides a few decades ago and evoked enthusiastic response from the educated youngsters of England, may be referred to as a conclusion of this argument. In the preface to their first volume of the 'Tract for the Times', it is candidly clarified that the"Sacraments, not preaching, are the sources of Divine Grace". It is experience, that man does not get full spiritual satisfaction from 'preached' word alone. He wants 'visible signs' too to quench his quest after the metaphysical and the mystical. Herein lies the value of the Sacraments. As is very concisely put in the treatise, 'The Christian Sacrament' by James. S. Candlish, 'Sacraments are signs and means of grace'. Concisely this is the theology of the Sacraments.

3. The Alpha and the Omega of Christ's Ministry

Even the eventful episodes of the public ministry of Lord Jesus Himself, would vouch voluminously on the necessity and efficacy of the Sacraments. It is conceded, that Jesus never used the word 'Sacraments' as the term signifies today. It must be added at the same time that He solemnised certain actions without specifing them 'Sacraments'. As was His usual way of doing things, He solemnised these 'actions' for the glory of God. In modern theological terminology, many of His such actions are 'Sacraments'. The alpha and the omega of His ministry are accentuated respectively by the Sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist. As these two are vividly recorded in the Gospels they are identified as 'Gospel Sacraments', even by the Reformers.

4. "The Highest Cannot Be Spoken..."

The starting and the finishing of Christ's public life by 'Sacraments' cannot be a streak. Jesus knew very well, what the poet Goethe of Germany generalised eighteen centuries later; "the highest cannot be spoken. It can only be acted". So Jesus sheepishly submitted Himself to John the Baptist, to be immersed in the waters of river Jordan and be initiated into public ministry. When 'His hour' drew nigh, He broke the bread, drank the wine from the chalice, and instituted the Holy Eucharist, amidst the awe-striken and amazed Apostles. Verily, His actions spoke louder than words. There is a rationale for His actions. The ordinary run of mankind can neither apprehend nor appreciate abstract metaphysical concepts. The average man would accept and acknowledge them only when presented in palpable and perceivable forms. This is what Jesus performed by 'instituting the Sacraments'. The description, 'instituted by Christ' is not to be taken in the literal sense. It is not meant that Jesus provided the phrases and gestures to each and every Sacrament. Nor does it signify that the historical Jesus instituted the Sacraments at a specific period or at a particular time. Are they then the contrivances of the Church? No. Reference must be made to the comment of the theologian, F.D. Joret, in the book 'the Eucharist and the Confessional'. "The Sacraments are not ecclesiastical inventions; Jesus Himself is their author. The Church has done nothing more than to formulate and adapt to the needs of the time, the expressive signs which Her founder had entrusted to Her".

5. Word Turned to Flesh

When the Apostles became filled with the Holy Spirit, they imbibed the true spirit, significance and substance of the actions of their Master. Thereupon, they concretised His teachings and parables. As their Master was the 'Word turned flesh' to found the Ecclesia, the Apostles and their successors, the bishops turned the words of their Master to 'flesh' in the form of Sacraments to fortify the Ecclesia. Here, in their actions, they invoked the 'dominical' magisterium that they had received from Christ, the High Priest in the order of Melchezedok. Thus were sown the seeds of the 'other' sacraments. As a born jew and well-versed in the words of Torah and in the wisdom of the Talmud of Judaism, Jesus must have been well conversant with the rabbinic canon, that whatever the representatives do is on the explicit authority of their master. So, once it is acknowledged that the Church is founded by Christ as His Sacrament, or as Vat II qualifies, 'the primordial sacrament' it would logically entail that the Sacraments which the Church 're-enact' must have the sufferance and sanctification of the Founder Himself. On examination it can be detected that almost all the Sacraments accepted by the Roman and Orthodox Churches have their root or 'idea' or 'substance' in an act or instruction of Jesus. Similar is the case regarding the 'inexplicables', expressed by the terms, 'the mysteries' or 'Raza' used by the Assyrian Church of the East. Thus it must be admitted that these Sacraments are not the shallow and shadowy specifications of the Church but the mandates of Christ Himself. Truly, they are not the dictates of the Ecclesia but the dispensation of the Trinitarian God. To put it in theological terminology, the Church is only the efficient cause, the Triune God being the primary cause. In this context it must be emphasised that while the Church sponsors the Sacraments, the Sacraments in their turn seal the Church. In other words, the Sacraments are both the fort and forte of the Ecclesia. According to Rev. Sr. Dr. Sophy Rose, "The Church, on the one hand, is the vehicle of Sacraments, and on the other hand, the Sacraments are the means of sanctification of the Church".

6. Life Is Not an Essay on Logic

The Sacraments may be considered to be mere re-enactment of a drama without any logical basis and hence of little value by the sceptic and the secularly set. Yet, the sustaining spiritual strength and vitality in the life of the Ecclesia is from the sanctification She receives through the Sacraments. The Sacraments are assuredly the inevitable or indispensable essentials of Ecclesial life and Christian charity. It is becoming evident that faith cannot be maintained by a parade of high sounding words, haranguing and hymn singing. As in the past, so in the present too, the 'Reformers' are falling under the spell of Sacraments. The affirmation of the Methodist theologian, James F. White in his 'Introduction to Christian Worship' is of relevance here. "Much of Christianity today is in a stage of recovery of the early practices and concepts". Why? History affords the answer. Human history is proof that logic and life seldom go hand in hand; they are strange bed fellows. Life is not an essay on logic. Nor logic a lullaby on life. As the Syrian Orthodox Theologian, Bishop Paulose Mar Gregorius observes in the book 'Joy of Freedom', "that which is beyond logic and exact concepts must find expression in the words and in action by rubrics". Very true. Man is in need of a body language besides the vocal one to actualise the Sacraments. Thereby, he or she may comprehend the spiritual truths at least partially. Sacraments involve words. Still the use of actions and the attuning of other objects are more important in 'Sacraments'. For, they impunge on other senses and delve down deep into the conscious and subconscious levels of the human psyche. John Macquarrie opines in the treatise cited earlier, "The Word needs the concretness and breadth of sacraments, while the sacraments need the conceptual and the intelligible structure afforded by the Word". Here is an undertone to emulate the early ecclesial Fathers. For, they had cleared all their doubts about the Sacraments by continuous contemplation and constant cogitation.

7. Evolution of the Terms 'Mysterion' and 'Sacramentum'

The Apostolic Fathers realised fully the significance of the words and deeds of Christ. Therefore they evolved certain rites and eventually couched them in signs and symbols. Subsequently they christened them 'Sacraments'. Here again, it is to be admitted that, this term is not Biblical as it is not seen anywhere in the Bible. Nonetheless rites which are 'sacraments' in 'kind' and 'type' are seen in the OT. Circumcision, Passover and Sacrificial cultus, which all are based on the Sinai Covenant are a few examples. Originally, the word used in the NT, for what we signify today 'Sacraments', was the Greek word 'mysterion', meaning mystery in the English language. 'Mysterion' denoted the pagan cults people were initiated into. St. Paul's writings develop the meaning in different ways. Of which, two, namely sacred secret and its manifestations are basic. Eusebius of Caesarea, who is acknowledged the father of 'Church History', took up this word mysterion and called baptism by it. The term 'Sacrament' is the English derivation of the Latin 'Sacramentum'. This word is derived from the root 'sacrare' which could mean, a thing or person or object constituted by divine right or a function reserved for public authority. Sacramentum was used to signify the person who performed the consecration, the act of consceration itself and the things consecrated. Also, it meant the religious ceremony of the Latin speaking primitive peoples, on the occasion of proclaiming allegiance to their commander, country, emperor or gods. The Roman soldiers added flavour to this function. Tertullian adopted the word 'sacramentus' as an equivalent of the Greek 'mysterion' and treated baptism as a sacrament as Eusebius did. This was quite a natural sequel of the legal temperament of Tertullian. As in the 'sacramentum', he discerned in baptism also, the element of promise of fidelity; of course, not to the earthly emperor but to the heavenly Emperor, Christ. Therefore, the personal pledge of baptism is to be the dominating factor in the life of every Christian.

8. Old Wine in New Bottles

The number of Sacraments has varied from two to twelve or to thirty, as some say, during the early and medieval periods of Ecclesial history. On the authority of Dr. J.N.D. Kelly's, scholarly treatise, 'Early Christian Doctrines', the following facts may be adduced. Cyril of Jerusalem, Ambrose of Rome and Cyril of Alexandria, considered, 'baptism', 'chrism' and the 'eucharist' only, as Sacraments. For Gregory of Nyssa and John Chrysostom, 'holy orders' and 'penance' too were Sacraments. As for Augustine, Kelly opines, "anything might be a sacrament which is a token, natural or conventional, of divine reality. So he can include under the term such rites as the 'blessed salt' handed to the catechumens, baptismal exorcism and the formal tradition of instructing creed and the Lord's prayer to catechumens... On the other hand, he speaks of the few most salutary sacraments of the Gospel. The instances he gives are Baptism and the Eucharist". From the fifth century downwards, the trend towards recognizing seven rituals as major ones is seen in Church circles. Yet, it was only with the absolute assertion of Archbishop Peter Lombard of France, that Western Christianity fixed the number at seven. Besides explaining Sacraments, Lombard effected the distinction between sacraments and sacramentals. Upholding Augustinian doctrine, Lombard contended that while Sacraments are vehicles or signs carrying and conveying divine grace to men, sacramentals are simply signs sans grace. Nevertheless, sacramentals too are part of the sign language of the Liturgy. They include a wide variety of rites instituted by the Church. Sometimes they are referred to as "little sacraments". Their primary aim is of course to dispose men to receive the spiritual effects of Sacraments. Occasionally, they are employed to aid men in their temporal or worldly needs. Thus, there are prayers for health, rain, harvest, house warming etc. Their efficacy depends upon the intercession of the Church. The distinction between Sacraments and sacramentals must be clear enough. Sacraments are instituted by Christ directly or on derived authority by His successors, as concretisation of the instructions of their Lord and Master, Christ. In other words, Sacraments are instituted immediately or mediately by Christ. Their effect is the direct flow of grace without the intercession of the Church. Whereas, 'sacramentals' are ecclesially instituted and require the mediation or impetration of the Church for effectiveness. Lombard enumerated as examples, holy water, prayers and religious objects, as 'grace' is absent in them. The fourth Lateran Council officially named and enumerated the seven sacraments. They are Baptism, Chrism, Penance, Marriage, Holy Orders, Unction and Eucharist. Since then, these are accepted as such by the Roman Church. The Orthodox Churches, by and large accept these seven; the Assyrian Church of the East, however, has not acknowledged Marriage and Unction as Sacraments. But, 'Holy Leaven' and the 'Sign of the Cross', are Sacraments to this Church, according to part II of the booklet 'The history and doctrine of this most ancient Church of the East'. The Reform Churches do not recognize this list of seven, for want of Biblical evidence of them being instituted by 'historical' Christ. Curiously however, there is no unanimity of opinion among the Reform Churches on the number. While Luther recognized baptism, penance and the eucharist, Calvin acknowledged only baptism and the eucharist. The 'unrecognized' 'sacraments' are recognized by the Reformers as 'religious ceremonies', only, even while acknowledging them to have been established by 'divine ordinances'. A wit is constrained to comment, 'what is there in the new name; is it not the old wine in new bottles'. An important point is overlooked by some, while commenting on the stance of 'conservative' Churches. When the Roman and the Orthodox Churches uphold that the 'Sacraments', other than baptism and the holy Eucharist, too are 'instituted' by Christ, it is not to be taken as mentioned earlier, in the literal sense that the 'historical' Jesus established them by 'word of mouth' or a direct act. Quite contrarily, what is conveyed is that they are the gifts of God the Father, Son and the Spirit, through the Apostles and their successors, the bishops. In simple terms, Jesus implanted the idea of these Sacraments in His beloved Apostles, through adequate actions and parables to develop in the fullness of time. In modern phraseology, it may be called the doctrine of 'implied authority'. The findings of John Macquarrie go a long way to resolve the dispute over the sacraments among the Conservative, the Reform, Episcopal and the Congregational Churches in Christendom. He points out that the modern Biblical scholarship hesitates to pronounce with certainty, just what Christ had instituted and what had arisen in the evolution of the Church. So he argues that the distinction between the so called 'dominical sacraments and the other sacraments becomes indefinite'.

9. Sacramental Theology - Its Beginnings - Augustine, Isidore and Theodore

Inspite of identifying and naming Sacraments, a systematic sacramental theology was not fully formed either by the Eastern or Western Fathers, during the fourth and fifth centuries. It is true that certain ideas which were to full and fructify in the medieval period did emerge in this era. Western Christians seem to have approved the formula of Augustine and of Isidore of Pelusium. Augustine assumed that Sacraments are the "visible signs of the invisible grace" of the Blessed Trinity. But the fifth century prelate Isidore insisted upon the secret nature of the Sacraments. Combining the doctrines of Augustine and Isidore, Theodore of Mopsuestia enunciated a new dogma. "Every sacrament", he pointed out, "is the indication, by means of signs and symbols, of invisible and ineffable realities". The Syrian Orthodox Christian theology on Sacraments in general can be concisely put as follows. "Sacraments are also called mysteries". So mention the Orthodox Archbishop, Gheevarghese Dionysius Vattasseril, in the catechetical manual 'Mathopadesasaram'. They have significance beyond the comprehension of the senses and hence to be realised through the inner eyes, by fixing them on the Lord. The Syrian tradition holds that one gets access to the "Sacrament-mysteries" through the blessing of the Holy Spirit.

10. The Sacraments Represent and Re-Present Christ

Even though the 'Mother Church' did not define Sacraments in the medieval period or since, but has inchoatively dealt with their characteristics, discreet doctrines of Sacramental theologies were promulgated in the middle ages. The theologians emphasised that the Lord has chosen His bride, the Church, as the primary Sacrament because She is the 'spring of sanctification' and salvation. Further, Christ has entrusted the Ecclesia with the power to sanctify all those who approach Her. Sacraments are obviously the means of grace. As Pope Leo XIII has said in Sermo 74 'Whatever visible in Christ has passed over to the Sacraments of the Church". The essence of this theology is exquisitely presented by John Macquarrie. "The Church represents and re-presents Christ. She represents Christ in its ministry; re-presents Christ in the sense of making Him present in the world. Sacraments are the vehicles which re-present Christ, or bring the primordial revelation, into the present experience of the community." God manifests and presents Himself through the phenomena called Sacraments and through this epiphany grants grace and confers wholeness. It should not be forgotten that the 'Preached Word' too performs this, in another manner. In other words, both the Sacraments and the 'Preached Word' have their specific roles in making the presence of the Being among the community. Two 'acts' in the Eucharistic celebration illustrate this: when the Gospel is read during the Eucharist, the 'Book' is elevated, to make it the focal point of the Divine presence; at 'consecration', the 'Host' is elevated, to make it the focus.

11. Channels of Grace

The Episcopal Churches hold that Sacraments are the sure sources of the powers that emanate from the ever living and life giving corpus of Christ, which is visible in the form of the Ecclesia. More than words, Sacramental 'acts' bring more 'grace' because of the inherent effectiveness. Realising this, the Roman, Reform and Orthodox Churches began to teach that Sacraments are actions of the Trinitarian God, through the instrumentality of the Ecclesia. Another instruction was that in the Sacraments, the faithful come into full communication with God and communion with His mysteries. This is what is delineated by Rev. Fr. Herbert Mc Cabe in the "Teaching of the Catholic Church". "In the sacraments" he suggests "God shows us what He does and does what He shows us". In brief, the Church developed the theology that the Sacraments are verily the channels of God's grace. They are the means for Divine blessings. The grace of Christ touches the heart of everyone, with an invitation soliciting an affectionate response of just one single emotively surcharged word 'Abba' or 'Father'. This loving response is the essence of worship, despite its many manifest forms. That is why, it is often reiterated that through Sacraments, worship reaches its transcendental dimensions or becomes 'god intoxication'. In ordinary words, worship will be worth its name only at this stage. The response is possible, of course, only from the faithful and the 'meek in heart' or from those who wait and listen. In fact, faith is the foundational quality for an effective existence in the Ecclesia. Faith, however, is not the result of any action of any of the cognitive faculties of man. It is said to be an existential attitude of the individual, which negativates the crises in the apparent temporality in human life. Through faith, to adopt the aphorism of Aquinas, as taken from the 'Office of Corpus Christi', "we perceive within ourselves the fruit of redemption". In other words, even while 'accepting facticity' or the hard harshness of the world, man is encouraged by faith, towards 'commitment' to fulfil the inherent potentiality. So faith is neither a luxury nor a comfort; but a necessity for human existence. As Bonhoeffer insists in "Letters and papers from Prison", faith is not for the extremities of life, but for its centre. It is experience that faith arises from the feeling of awe; an awe not about the working of the Universe, but regarding the very Universe itself, into which the individual is thrown, as it were. Not the how, but the phenomenon called the Universe is the root mystery which compels and impels the individual to tread along the path of faith. In other words faith is the hope and attempt of man to co-operate with the 'whole being'. After all, man is only a junior partner in the mighty enterprise called 'the Universe'. As Karl Heim points out in the book, 'Christian Faith and Natural Science', "if we were to think of the millions of years of earthy history, as compressed within twentyfour hours, then, we would have to say that man has appeared on the scene only twenty two seconds before midnight". The Ecclesia holds the doctrine that faith is deepened as well as widened by the Sacraments. In Sacraments the divine presence is 'focused', because, the heart of every Sacrament is God's gift of Himself to the individual through His only begotten Son, the 'sacraficial lamb' and by the Spirit. The whole is, of course, a mystery that is at once overwhelming and fascinating.

12. 'Ex Opere Operato'

Mention must be made of yet another couple of theories which were put forth by theologians. In the first place, it is taken as axiomatic that Triune God is the principal cause, while the officiator is only the instrumental cause of God, for effecting Sacraments. St. Chrysostom wrote in his homily 2 on 2 Tim, "the priest's function is simply to open his mouth, and it is God who accomplishes what is done". He continues in a classic comment: "The eucharistic oblation remains the same, whether Paul or Peter offers it". It can be construed that the same would be the effect in baptism as well. Augustine also argued in the same line. He contended that a Sacrament will be valid whether Peter offered it or Judas offered it. To sum up, the Sacrament is not rendered invalid even if the minister administering is misfit. The second theory that was developed was on the operative factor or the link between the spiritual grace and the visible sign. Two views emerged. A few Fathers concluded that it was the formula per se or itself, invoked by the agent which constitutes the link. Formula included 'actions' too besides the words uttered. So they developed the theory that the 'formula' is a vehicle of grace with saving power. Another view was that the Holy Ghost responds to the formula, descends upon the 'matter' and thus transforms it into Sacrament. Theodore of Mopsuestia, in his homily Cat: 16, seems to blend these two theories. He substantiates it by taking the case of the Eucharist. The net result of these two theories was the formulation of the theological doctrine on 'Sacraments' known as 'ex opere operato'. This expression was officially adopted by the Roman Church, in the Council of Trent. It may be summarised as follows. The grace conveyed through the 'sacraments' is absolutely the gift of God the merciful, without involving in any way the merit of the minister. There is a corollary. It is the result of the potency of God's words pronounced in the form of the sacramental formula. Thus Sacraments came to be treated as sacred signs which actually and automatically actualise the grace they signify. The Reformers argued that the Sacraments do not bring any result simply through the objective performance of the rites. They added that it is not like the inoculation doing the healing work. Precisely for this reason, Protestantism declared that a gross objectivism may degenerate into superstition. Quite true. So, Reformers insisted that faith of the recipient is a necessary condition for the efficacy of the Sacraments. Therefore, the Reformers in their 'Article of Religion', published in 1553, denounced this doctrine of 'ex opere operato'. The divergence between Rome and the Reformists seems to come forth from a flagrant misunderstanding or lack of appreciation of the other's perspective!. It is wrong to suppose that the Roman doctrine requires 'no faith' at all from the recipient. What Cardinal Bellarmine has expressed is to be quoted here. "Good will, faith and penitence are necessary in the adult communicant, not as the active cause of sacramental grace, nor as efficacy to the sacrament. These dispositions merely remove the obstacles which might hinder its efficacy". Equally erroneous it is, to think that Protestantism proclaims Salvation as arising from faith alone, as if repudiating the efficacy of 'gospel-Sacraments'. Eventhough it does not subscribe itself to the Roman theory, what XXVII-3 of the 'Westminister Confession' specifies is a testimony to this stand. It says, "neither does the efficacy of a Sacrament depend upon the piety or intention of him that doth administer it, but upon the work of the Spirit and the Word of Institution". Rightly interpreted, both the branches believe both in 'faith', the subjective aspect, and the objective factor, 'Sacraments'. The natural formula will be "while faith fortifies, sacrament sanctifies". This stand will be acceptable to the Orthodox fraternity as well. The reflection of a layman on this subtle theological distinction would be that while Reformers make 'faith' a condition precedent for the efficacy of the Sacraments, Rome upholds faith as a condition co-essential with the reception of Sacraments. It is contended so, because, Sacraments have significance only as the redeeming work of Christ on the faithful. Theologically expressed, Sacraments have an existential-ontological basis. Anyway in 1563, just after a decade of the denunciation of 'ex opere operato' the objection was withdrawn by Lutheranism. Those who know the working of human psyche would treat this development as quite an inevitable one, as they are aware that man is incorrigibly Sacrament-oriented.

13. Sacraments Are What Sacraments Do

In the backdrop of the 'divine origin' theory of the Sacraments and because of the lack of a definition, the ecclesiological conclusion would be that Sacraments are what Sacraments do. This contention of course is not one clothed in mere verbosity, but buttressed by Biblical passages, patristic proclamations and practices of the pious people. What the Anglican theologian Owen C. Thomas suggests in his work 'Introduction to Theology', is reproduced here: "theology of sacraments is based on various Christian doctrines, of God, Creation, Humanity, History and Church". Viewed from the full span of 'Salvation History', 'Sacraments' are its commemoration in such a way that what is signified is received by the community. Sacraments are explained as rites offering spiritual and sacred dimensions to events and vocations of life. By way of illustration, the Church pointed out, that matrimony is linked to a call to fidelity, holy orders to service to society, penance to peace efforts. Also, it was argued that Sacraments satisfy the basic but divergent psycho-physical human needs like, belonging , hope, health, healing, gregariousness and the insatiable craving for immortality. Naturally, as the wisest psychologist and psychiatrist would do, the 'One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic' 'Mother Church', categorised the Sacraments on the basis of their bearings on man's terrestial and celestial lives. Thus, there are Sacraments for the beginning of life, for its middle and for its end; for those in the secular and spiritual ways. So, there are Sacraments of initiation, healing, service and immortality. Baptism and Chrism belong to the first group, Penance and Unction to the second list, Holy Orders and Matrimony to the category of service. Obviously the Eucharist is for effecting everlasting life and eternal felicity. To realise all these, one must break into from the visible to the invisible, from signs to the things signified and from the Sacraments to the mysteries, as the Ecclesial teachings elucidate. From the level of an ordinary believer, it may be suggested that Sacraments arouse curiosity and lead to enquiry. They clearly show that something more is meant by them than the eye sees and the ear hears. The rewarding result will be the fruition of faith, which is the foundation of Christian life. The Christian Fathers were no lotus eaters. They knew the systole and diastole of human 'heart' or of the 'mind', if that usage is permissible. Every aspect of human life is linked with a Sacrament and no aspect is left unsanctified and unsublimated by a Sacrament. Concisely, Church's Sacramental system spans the whole life of man. They provide appropriate means for realizing the divine presence in every situation of life. Moreover in Sacraments, man gives his whole-hearted worship. To put it conversely, worship is consummated in Sacraments. Sacraments are the sign posts for man in his odyssey here and excursion hereafter. Sacraments can be referred to as stages on the "pilgrims' progress" along the path of faith. Herein lies the eschatological significance of the Sacraments. They are the pointers of the fulfilment of 'Salvation History'. Therefore, they are called the 'food for the wayfarers'. Quite naturally this is 'distributed' with the benediction to receive them in peace, as are emphatically pronounced and proclaimed in the Syrian Liturgical Texts and misals.

14. Constitutive Elements of the Sacraments

A Sacrament has two constitutive elements. So construed, the 'Church Fathers' of the first three centuries. They did so, from certain NT passages. To name a few, Mt 26, Mt 28, Acts 6, Acts 8, Jas 5, 1 Tim 4. They called the two constituents 'objects' and 'prayers'. Obviously the former was material and the latter spiritual. Although 'prayer' is not an element in the material sense, it is treated here as a constitive or 'element' or factor theologically. Water used in Baptism and the bread as well as the wine of the Eucharist are objects. 'Prayer' or the spiritual element sanctifies the 'objects'. In the Augustinian period, the two factors were named 'Word and the Element'. The former signified the spiritual formula while the latter denoted the materials used in the Sacraments. With the influence of Aquinas becoming very dominant, the Roman Church replaced these terms by two new technical ones. They are "matter and form". Here, one notices the influence of 'hylomorphism' and of the philosophy of Aristotle. 'Hylomorphism' is the theory that the primordial substance in the Universe is 'matter'. Aristotle in his theory had postulated that any visible substance contained both 'matter' and 'form'. In ordinary parlance, they are the 'material' with which things are made of and secondly the 'essence' which underlies the matter. When applied in Sacramental theology, 'matter', stands for the 'outward and visible sign', while 'form' signifies the inward and spiritual grace resulting from the formula. The analytical Aquinas effected such a distinction in all the Sacraments. A very important point is to be considered in this context. The 'matter' for each Sacrament as well as the 'symbols' or 'forms' are specified by the Church. They are not to be altered by the option of the officiator. Why so? The answer is that, Sacraments are rooted in 'Christ-events'. The Church did not 'choose' the symbols of water, oil, bread or wine on Her volition or choice or liking. They were 'chosen and given' by Christ Himself or in some cases through deep reflection on the mysteries by His successors, who were surcharged and surfeited by the Spirit. By way of explanation, it is to be asserted that the 'matter' and the 'symbols' are not arbitrary; they are intrinsic essentials for the particular function signified by the specified Sacrament. What William Temple, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said, is to be reproduced here. "The materials, act as the vehicle, the expression and instruments of the spiritual and not as its enemy". Rejection of this theory of the Church would result in schisms and heresies, undermining the notae of the Church. Church of England calls a Sacrament 'regular', if it is performed in accordance with the general rules laid down by competent authority for the due administration of the Sacraments. In Episcopal Churches this would refer to the constitution, canon and ecclesial instruction. Thus, regularity is a matter of Church discipline. Generally, the Roman, the Reform, the Orthodox and the Assyrian, hold as a doctrine that any Sacrament would be a valid one, when three conditions are fulfilled. They are 'proper' 'matter', 'form' and 'minister'. The proper minister condition is called the 'intention' of the minister. That implies that there must be bonafide intention on the minister to do what the Church asks. True, it is a subjective condition. Yet it can be objectively assessed by what apparently appears and purports to be the Sacraments of the Church. Finally, a Sacrament can be adjudged efficacious in so far as it effects the purpose for which Jesus Christ instituted that Sacrament.

Next: THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS

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Published with the permission of the Author. This web site may not be reproduced in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the author. This book was first published in December 2001 -- Moran 'Etho Series No.16 --Publishers:- ST. EPHREM ECUMENICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE (SEERI) Baker Hill, Kottayam, Kerala, India. Pin- 686 001