Sacrament

Sacrament. The word is derived from the Latin sacramentum, which was used to translate the Greek μυστήριον (‘mystery’) in the Latin NT; sacraments are thus the means by which Christians partake in the ‘mystery of Christ’. This participation is accomplished through certain symbolic acts (e.g. the washing of Baptism, the meal of the Eucharist).

The scope of the word has varied. St Augustine, who defined it as a ‘visible form of invisible grace’, applied it to such formulae as the Creed and the Lord's Prayer, and this wide connotation was usual in the first millennium. In the 12th cent. W. theology narrowed the meaning by regarding institution by Christ as an essential characteristic. In Peter Lombard's Sentences the seven sacraments which have become traditional in the W. are enumerated, i.e. Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Orders, and Matrimony. Other symbolic rites came to be called ‘sacramentals’ (q.v.). Despite the importance of the notion of Dominical institution, in several cases no occasion of such institution by Christ is apparent; such institution had to be held to be implicit. In modern times there has been more emphasis on the Church as the fundamental sacrament of Christ in which the commonly enumerated sacraments are implicit.

In the Middle Ages a distinction was made between the ‘matter’ and ‘form’ of the sacraments, the matter being the material element (e.g. the bread and wine in the Eucharist) and the form the consecratory words (‘This is my Body’, ‘This is My Blood’). Despite problems, the distinction became the norm in W. theology until the mid-20th cent. According to such an approach, the right matter and the right form, used with the right intention, are necessary for the validity of the sacrament; where these are present, the performance of the act is sufficient to ensure that the sacrament will normally convey grace, since the validity of the sacrament is, according to Catholic theology, independent of the worthiness of the minister. Nevertheless, they do not convey grace if the recipient is not rightly disposed. In the rites authorized since the Second Vatican Council (1962–5) there has been increased emphasis on the ‘word’; a Bible reading and homily form a normal part of sacramental celebration. The ‘word’ is thus more than the ‘form’ of the sacrament; rather it effects an encounter with the Word of Christ by which the mind and heart are opened to the incoming grace of God. Three of the sacraments, Baptism, Confirmation, and Orders, are held to implant an abiding mark or character on the soul and therefore cannot be repeated. In Protestantism, though the technicalities of sacramental theology are less developed, great importance is attached to Baptism and the Eucharist or Lord's Supper, and their reception is taken very seriously. See also the entries on the separate Sacraments; also ‘BAPTISM, EUCHARIST, AND MINISTRY’.