A sacrament is a Christian rite which is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence, number and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of the reality of God, as well as a channel for God's grace. Many denominations, including the Catholic, Lutheran, Moravian, Reformed (Continental Reformed, Presbyterian, and Congregationalist traditions), Anglican, Methodist and Baptist, hold to the definition of sacrament formulated by Augustine of Hippo: an outward sign of an inward grace, that has been instituted by Jesus Christ. Sacraments signify God's grace in a way that is outwardly observable to the participant.
The Catholic Church, Hussite Church and the Old Catholic Church recognize seven sacraments: Baptism, Penance (Reconciliation or Confession), Eucharist (or Holy Communion), Confirmation, Marriage (Matrimony), Holy Orders, and Anointing of the Sick (Extreme Unction). The Eastern Churches, such as the Eastern Orthodox Church and Oriental Orthodox Church as well as the Eastern Catholic Churches, recognize these as the seven major sacraments, but also apply the words sacred mysteries corresponding to Greek word, (), and also to rites that in the Western tradition are called sacramentals and to other realities, such as the Church itself.Sacramental Rites in the Coptic Orthodox Church . Copticchurch.net. 4 August 2016. Many Protestant denominations, such as those within the Reformed tradition, preach just two sacraments instituted by Christ: the Eucharist (or Holy Communion) and Baptism. The Lutheran sacraments include these two, often adding Confession (and Absolution) as a third sacrament. Anglican and Methodist teaching is that "there are two Sacraments ordained of Christ our Lord in the Gospel, that is to say, Baptism and the Supper of the Lord", and that "those five commonly called Sacraments, that is to say, Confirmation, Penance, Orders, Matrimony, and Extreme Unction, are not to be counted for Sacraments of the Gospel."Thirty-Nine Articles, Article XXVArticles of Religion (Methodist), Article XVI
Some traditions, such as the Religious Society of Friends do not observe any of the rites, or, in the case of the Plymouth Brethren, hold that they are simply reminders or commendable practices that do not impart actual grace—not sacraments but "ordinances" pertaining to certain aspects of the Christian faith.Jeffrey Gros, Thomas F. Best, Lorelei F. Fuchs (editors), Growth in Agreement III: International Dialogue Texts and Agreed Statements, 1998–2005 (Eerdmans 2008 ), p. 352
Generic meaning An example of the generic meaning of "sacrament" can be seen in the work of theologian Edward Schillebeeckx: Christ, the sacrament of the encounter with God,Schillebeeckx, E., Christ, the sacrament of the encounter with God (1987), The Second Vatican Council referred to "the wondrous sacrament of the whole Church",Holy See, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy: Sacrosanctum Concilium , paragraph 5, published on 4 December 1963, accessed on 26 April 2025 and Pope Francis spoke of Jesus' love for humankind as a sacrament: "his human emotions became the sacrament of that infinite and endless love".Pope Francis, Dilexit nos, paragraph 60, published on 24 October 2024, accessed on 19 December 2024
Etymology The English word is derived indirectly from the Ecclesiastical Latin , from the Latin (), itself derive from the Latin (). In Ancient Rome, the term meant a soldier's oath of allegiance. Tertullian, a 3rd-century Christian writer, suggested that just as the soldier's oath was a sign of the beginning of a new life, so too was initiation into the Christian community through baptism and Eucharist.
Summary table +DenominationBaptismConfirmationHoly CommunionPenanceMarriageHoly ordersAnointing of the sickHoly LeavenSign of the crossCatholicEastern Orthodox (Chrismation)Oriental Orthodox (Chrismation)Church of the East (Chrismation)HussiteMoravianLutheranAnglo-CatholicismBroad Church AnglicanismCenter Church AnglicanismEvangelical AnglicanismMethodismReformedBaptistsIrvingism (Holy Sealing)Latter-Day Saints
Catholicism
Catholic theology enumerates seven sacraments:Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1210 Baptism, Confirmation (Chrismation), Eucharist (Communion), Penance (Reconciliation, Confession), Matrimony (Marriage), Holy Orders (ordination to the diaconate, priesthood, or episcopate) and Anointing of the Sick (before the Second Vatican Council generally called Extreme Unction). The list of seven sacraments already given by the Second Council of Lyon (1274) and the Council of Florence (1439) was reaffirmed by the Council of Trent (1545–1563), which stated:
During the Middle Ages, sacramental records were in Latin. Even after the Reformation, many ecclesiastical leaders continued using this practice into the 20th century. On occasion, Protestant ministers followed the same practice. Since W was not part of the Latin alphabet, scribes only used it when dealing with names or places. In addition, names were modified to fit a "Latin mold". For instance, the name Joseph would be rendered as Iosephus or Josephus.
The Catholic Church indicates that the sacraments are necessary for salvation, though not every sacrament is necessary for every individual. The Church applies this teaching even to the sacrament of baptism, the gateway to the other sacraments. It states that "Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament." But it adds: "God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments," and accordingly, "since Christ died for the salvation of all, those can be saved without Baptism who die for the faith (Baptism of blood). Catechumens and all those who, even without knowing Christ and the Church, still (under the impulse of grace) sincerely seek God and strive to do his will can also be saved without Baptism (Baptism of desire). The Church in her liturgy entrusts children who die without Baptism to the mercy of God."
In the teaching of the Catholic Church, "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."
While the sacraments in the Catholic Church are regarded as means of Divine Grace, the Catholic definition of a sacrament is an event in Christian life that is both spiritual and physical. The seven Catholic sacraments have been separated into three groups. The first three Sacraments of Initiation are Baptism, Communion, and Confirmation. The two Healing Sacraments are Anointing of the Sick and Penance. The two Sacraments of Vocation are Matrimony and Holy Orders.
The Church teaches that the effect of the sacraments comes ex opere operato, by the very fact of being administered, regardless of the personal holiness of the minister administering it.New Catholic Dictionary However, as indicated in this definition of the sacraments given by the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a recipient's own lack of proper disposition to receive the grace conveyed can block a sacrament's effectiveness in that person. The sacraments presuppose faith and, through their words and ritual elements, nourish, strengthen and give expression to faith.Sacrosanctum Concilium, 59, quoted in Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1123
Though not every individual has to receive every sacrament, the Church affirms that for believers the sacraments are necessary for salvation. Through each of them, Christ bestows that sacrament's particular healing and transforming grace of the Holy Spirit, making them participants in the divine nature through union with Christ.
Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy
The Eastern Orthodox tradition does not limit the number of sacraments to seven, holding that anything the Church does as Church is in some sense sacramental. However, it recognizes these seven as "the major sacraments" which are completed by many other blessings and special services. Some lists of the sacraments taken from the Church Fathers include the consecration of a church, monastic tonsure, and the burial of the dead.Meyendorff, J. (1979). The Sacraments in the Orthodox Church, in Byzantine Theology. Obtained online at More specifically, for the Eastern Orthodox the term "sacrament" is a term which seeks to classify something that may, according to Orthodox thought, be impossible to classify. The Orthodox communion's preferred term is "Sacred Mystery", and the Orthodox communion has refrained from attempting to determine absolutely the exact form, number and effect of the sacraments, accepting simply that these elements are unknowable to all except God. On a broad level, the mysteries are an affirmation of the goodness of created matter, and are an emphatic declaration of what that matter was originally created to be.
Despite this broad view, Orthodox divines do write about there being seven "principal" mysteries. On a specific level, while not systematically limiting the mysteries to seven, the most profound Mystery is the Eucharist or Synaxis, in which the partakers, by participation in the liturgy and receiving the consecrated bread and wine (understood to have become the body and blood of Christ) directly communicate with God. No claim is made to understand how exactly this happens. The Eastern Orthodox merely state: "This appears to be in the form of bread and wine, but God has told me it is His Body and Blood. I will take what He says as a 'mystery' and not attempt to rationalize it to my limited mind".Holy Eucharist obtained online at http://www.orthodoxy.org.au/eng/index.php?p=74
The seven sacraments are also accepted by Oriental Orthodoxy, including the Coptic Orthodox Church, Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and the Armenian Orthodox Church.
Hussite Church and Moravian Church
The Czechoslovak Hussite Church recognizes seven sacraments: baptism, eucharist, penance, confirmation, holy matrimony, holy orders, and anointing of the sick.
The Moravian Church administers the sacraments of baptism and eucharist, as well as the rites of confirmation, holy matrimony, and holy orders.
Lutheranism
Lutherans hold that sacraments are sacred acts of divine institution., , , , , Whenever they are properly administered by the use of the physical component commanded by God, , , , along with the divine words of institution,, , , God is, in a way specific to each sacrament, present with the Word and physical component., , , He earnestly offers to all who receive the sacrament, , forgiveness of sins, , , , , , , and eternal salvation., , He also works in the recipients to get them to accept these blessings and to increase the assurance of their possession., ,