This post results from expressed interest in different understandings of sacraments by various Christian denominations. The investigation is complicated because there are many churches, and the beliefs of church members sometimes vary significantly from the official positions of denomination leadership. But the issue for this post is not what church members believe but what their organizations declare as truth.
Way Too Many Churches
I’m pretty sure that 1st Century Saints Peter and Paul didn’t perceive a time when there would be a wide variety of established Christian churches with varying theologies. I’m also pretty sure that Reformation leaders Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Henry 8th(?), Wesley, and Knox didn’t perceive a time when there would be a variety of Lutheran, Reformed, Methodist, Episcopalian, and Presbyterian churches to choose from. But that is what we are faced with in the 21st century.
Probably all those church founders would be unsurprised to find independent churches led by one person springing up in abandoned buildings in the 21st Century. That was a problem even in the 1st Century according to the New Testament. For example, 1 Timothy 1:18-20. For any who are interested in more examples of problem churches, a pastor of an independent church published an extensive list HERE.
What’s the Point?
The point of all this so far is just to say that, for the sake of simplicity and brevity, discussion of sacraments in various churches in this post will be confined to the Catholic Church, The Episcopal Church (TEC), the Evangelical Lutheran Church, The United Methodist Church, The Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), and the Southern Baptist Convention. With respect to the understandings of these churches about sacramental theology, I quote them exactly, offering no twist or slant of my own.
The Catholic Church Sacraments
The seven sacraments identified by the Catholic Church are fundamental to the theology of the Church. Sacrament appears more than 400 times in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
The statements below are from the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Catholic Sacraments in General
1131 The sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. the visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament. They bear fruit in those who receive them with the required dispositions.
1210 Christ instituted the sacraments of the new law. There are seven: Baptism, Confirmation (or Chrismation), the Eucharist, Penance, the Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Matrimony. the seven sacraments touch all the stages and all the important moments of Christian life:1 they give birth and increase, healing and mission to the Christian’s life of faith. There is thus a certain resemblance between the stages of natural life and the stages of the spiritual life.
The Catholic Sacrament of Baptism
1213 Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit (vitae spiritualis ianua),4 and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission: “Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water in the word.”5
The Catholic Sacrament of the Eucharist
1322 The holy Eucharist completes Christian initiation. Those who have been raised to the dignity of the royal priesthood by Baptism and configured more deeply to Christ by Confirmation participate with the whole community in the Lord’s own sacrifice by means of the Eucharist.
1323 “At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his Body and Blood. This he did in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until he should come again, and so to entrust to his beloved Spouse, the Church, a memorial of his death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a Paschal banquet ‘in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us.'”133
1324 The Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life.”134 “The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch.”135
1353 In the epiclesis, the Church asks the Father to send his Holy Spirit (or the power of his blessing178) on the bread and wine, so that by his power they may become the body and blood of Jesus Christ and so that those who take part in the Eucharist may be one body and one spirit (some liturgical traditions put the epiclesis after the anamnesis). In the institution narrative, the power of the words and the action of Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit, make sacramentally present under the species of bread and wine Christ’s body and blood, his sacrifice offered on the cross once for all.
1376 The Council of Trent summarizes the Catholic faith by declaring: “Because Christ our Redeemer said that it was truly his body that he was offering under the species of bread, it has always been the conviction of the Church of God, and this holy Council now declares again, that by the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood. This change the holy Catholic Church has fittingly and properly called transubstantiation.
The Episcopal Church Sacraments
Statement below is from the church website:
Our Anglican tradition recognizes sacraments as “outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace.” (The Book of Common Prayer, p. 857) Holy Baptism and the Eucharist (or Holy Communion) are the two great sacraments given by Christ to his Church.
In the case of Baptism, the outward and visible sign is water, in which the person is baptized in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; the inward and spiritual grace is union with Christ in his death and resurrection, birth into God’s family the Church, forgiveness of sins, and new life in the Holy Spirit. In the case of the Eucharist, the outward and visible sign is bread and wine, given and received according to Christ’s command. The inward and spiritual grace is the Body and Blood of Christ given to his people and received by faith.
In addition to these two, there are other spiritual markers in our journey of faith that can serve as means of grace. These include:
- Confirmation: the adult affirmation of our baptismal vows
- Reconciliation of a Penitent: private confession
- Matrimony: Christian marriage
- Orders: ordination to the diaconate, priesthood, or episcopacy
- Unction: anointing those who are sick or dying with holy oil
The Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) Sacraments
The ELCA has an impressive document, The Use of the Means of Grace. Contents and page numbers are:
5. The Triune God and the Means of Grace
11. Proclamation of the Word and the Christian Assembly
19. Holy Baptism and the Christian Assembly
35. Holy Communion and the Christian Assembly
55. The Means of Grace and Christian Mission
60. Study Helps
Note that significant space in the book is given to Baptism and Communion, the two identified sacraments of the Lutheran Church.
There is also the Lutheran Small Catechism which includes this: “sacraments are the “means” by which God gives faith (Holy Baptism) and strengthens faith (Holy Communion). For that reason they are placed in a very special category called “Means of Grace.”
The theological emphasis of the ELCA is Word and Sacrament, Word filling pages 11-18 and Sacraments filling pages 19-54 of the document, The Use of the Means of Grace.
The Baptism statement below is Page 22 of The Use of the Means of Grace.
BAPTISM IS ONCE FOR ALL – Principle 16 – A person is baptized once. Because of the unfailing nature of God’s promise, and because of God’s once-for-all action in Christ, Baptism is not repeated.
Background 16A – Baptism is a sign and testimony of God ‘s grace, awakening and creating faith. The faith of the one being baptized “does not constitute Baptism but receives it. . . “”Everything depends upon the Word and commandment of God.
Application 16B – “Re-baptism” is to be avoided since it causes doubt, focusing attention on the always-failing adequacy of our action or our faith. Baptized persons who come to new depth of conviction in faith are invited to an Affirmation of Baptism in the life of the congregation.’
Application 16c – There may be occasions when people are uncertain about whether or not they have been baptized. Pastors, after supportive con versation and pastoral discernment, may choose to proceed with the baptism. The practice of this church and its congregations needs to incorporate the person into the community and its ongoing catechesis and to proclaim the sure grace of God in Christ, avoiding any sense of Baptism being repeated.
The Eucharist statement below is Page 37 of The Use of the Means of Grace.
JESUS CHRIST IS TRULY PRESENT IN THIS SACRAMENT – Principle 33 – In this sacrament the crucified and risen Christ is present, giving his true body and blood as food and drink. This real presence is a mystery.
Background 33A – The Augsburg Confession states: “It is taught among us that the true body and blood of Christ are really present in the Supper of our Lord under the form of bread and wine and are there distributed and received.” The Apology of the Augsburg Confession adds: “We are talking about the presence of the living Christ, knowing that death no longer has dominion over him.'”
Background 33B “The `how’ of Christ’s presence remains as inexplicable in the sacrament as elsewhere. It is a presence that remains `hidden’ even though visible media are used in the sacrament. The earthly element is . . . a fit vehicle of the divine presence and it, too, the common stuff of our daily life, participates in the new creation which has already begun.”
The United Methodist Church Sacraments
The following statement are from the United Methodist Church website:
The United Methodist Church recognizes two sacraments, baptism and communion. These two acts have a special place in the church because Jesus commanded them and participated in them.
Through the years, Christians have used other sacramental acts to draw closer to God. While we do not recognize these others as sacraments, we participate in many of them in some way.
In the following articles, we explore how United Methodists understand baptism, communion, and rites and rituals other Christian churches view as sacraments.
How United Methodists Understand Baptism: In the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, “we are initiated into Christ’s holy church, … incorporated into God’s mighty acts of salvation and given new birth through water and the Spirit,” the Introduction to the Baptismal Covenant says. “All this is God’s gift, offered to us without price.”
Because baptism is an act of God, initiating us into the universal church, “the sacrament is to be received by an individual only once,” By Water and the Spirit states.
One Sacrament, Several Names: The Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion and the Eucharist are all names for this sacrament celebrated by United Methodists. Each of these names highlights an aspect of this act of worship.
According to This Holy Mystery, The United Methodist Church’s official document on communion, “The Lord’s Supper reminds us that Jesus Christ is the host and that we participate at Christ’s invitation.” Jesus invites us to take part in the special meal he ate with his disciples the night before his crucifixion, and other meals he shared in homes and on hillsides.
“The term Holy Communion invites us to focus on the self-giving of the Holy God which makes the sacrament an occasion of grace, and on the holiness of our communion with God and one another,” This Holy Mystery continues.
Finally, “Eucharist, from the Greek word for thanksgiving, reminds us that the sacrament is thanksgiving to God for the gifts of creation and salvation.”
Our communion liturgy begins with words spoken on Jesus’ behalf inviting “all who love him, who earnestly repent of their sin, and seek to live in peace with one another.”
There are no conditions for church membership or completion of a class required.
The baptized present are all invited, even if they belong to a different church. Those not baptized are not barred from receiving, but “should be counseled and nurtured toward baptism as soon as possible,” This Holy Mystery advises.
In addition, there is no minimum age. Even baptized infants are invited. The Rev. Taylor Burton-Edwards, former director of worship resources with Discipleship Ministries of The United Methodist Church, explains, “To whatever degree they’re able to participate in the Great Thanksgiving — even if that’s simply being held in their mother’s arms while they sleep — they are there. They are part of what we are all doing together, so they are welcome to receive.”
The Presbyterian Church USA Sacraments
The following quotes are from the PCUSA Website.
The Reformed tradition understands Baptism and the Lord’s Supper to be Sacraments, instituted by God and commended by Christ. Sacraments are signs of the real presence and power of Christ in the Church, symbols of God’s action. Through the Sacraments, God seals believers in redemption, renews their identity as the people of God, and marks them for service.
“The sacrament of baptism, the sign and seal of God’s grace and our response, is the foundational recognition of Christian commitment. It is appropriately celebrated following the reading and the proclaiming of the Word and shall include statements concerning the biblical meaning of baptism, the responsibility to be assumed by those desiring baptism for themselves or their children and the nurture to be undertaken by the church.
Those desiring the sacrament of baptism for their children or for themselves shall make vows that (a) profess their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, (b) renounce evil and affirm their reliance on God’s grace, (c) declare their intention to participate actively and responsibly in the worship and mission of the church, (d) declare their intention to provide for the Christian nurture of their child. The congregation shall (e) profess its faith, using the Apostles’ Creed, (f) voice its support of the baptized, (g) express its willingness to take responsibility for the nurture of those baptized. An elder may lead the congregation in these professions and affirmations.
The Presbyterian/Reformed understanding of the Lord’s Supper is one of thanksgiving and remembrance for the self-offering of Jesus Christ once and for all time on a cross in Jerusalem. Christ’s perfect sacrifice of love and service is not re-enacted or re-actualized at the Lord’s Supper; rather, in the joyful feast of eucharistic celebration, we offer our praise and thanksgiving to God for this amazing gift. Furthermore, the sacrament Christ instituted for his remembrance takes the form of a simple meal — a sharing of bread and wine. Therefore, it is Presbyterian practice to refer to the Lord’s table rather than an altar.
To be sure, the memorial (or anamnesis) of Christ’s death and resurrection is an integral part of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. This is one of several theological themes implicit in the eucharistic meal. Others include thanksgiving to God for the gifts and goodness of creation, prayer for the fruitful reception of the sacrament through the Holy Spirit, the communion of the faithful in the presence of Christ, and the anticipation or foretaste of the heavenly banquet in the kingdom of God. Around the symbol of the “table” there is room for this rich feast of sacramental meaning.
The Lord’s Supper, particularly prominent in Presbyterian/Reformed tradition, emphasizes Christ’s institution of the sacrament, and connects the meal with its celebration on the Lord’s Day (Sunday). Eucharist, from a Greek word meaning “to give thanks,” emphasizes the essential nature of the sacrament as an offering of thanksgiving for the gift of God’s grace in Jesus Christ; this term tends to have more currency in ecumenical and Roman Catholic discussion.
Holy Communion originally referred to a specific part of the eucharistic liturgy — the sharing of bread and wine — and a particular aspect of its theological meaning — the fellowship of the Body of Christ; over time and in some circles, however, this term has come to stand in for the sacrament as a whole.
The Southern Baptist Convention Sacraments
The quote below from sbc.net states the fundamental position of Southern Baptists which guides all the statements of belief.
“Baptists cherish and defend religious liberty and deny the right of any secular or religious authority to impose a confession of faith upon a church or body of churches. We honor the principles of soul competency and the priesthood of believers, affirming together both our liberty in Christ and our accountability to each other under the Word of God.
A search of sbc.net for sacrament revealed no hits.
For the post which sparked the question leading to this post, see Mysterious Sacraments.