Are these acceptable definitions?\u00a0 In many ways, they are.\u00a0 However, these definitions leave us with some questions.\u00a0 For example, is a bagel you may have eaten for breakfast a visible sign of an invisible reality?\u00a0 Of course!\u2014It is a very visible, tangible, and tasty sign of the blessings that God bestows upon the labors of farmers and bakers.\u00a0 And what about the prayer service before the beginning of this Conference\u2014is it a sacrament?\u00a0 According to the definition of St. Filaret, yes, since it is an act through which God\u2019s grace works mysteriously upon man.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut wait,\u201d you may say, \u201cAren\u2019t there only seven sacraments?\u201d\u00a0 We will return to this question, but first, I will dare to offer yet another definition of what a sacrament is.<\/p>\n
Let us define a sacrament as a place and time where a willful act of God intersects with a willful act of man.\u00a0 In other words, a sacrament is when God and man work together.<\/p>\n
What are they trying to accomplish?\u00a0 Well, we know what God is trying to accomplish\u2014the salvation of man, and even more precisely, theosis<\/em>.\u00a0 So, when God and man co-labor in the process of theosis<\/em>, this act is a sacrament. In the sixteenth century, the Roman Catholic Council of Trent decreed that there were seven sacraments, and they are the same sacraments that we find in the Orthodox Law of God<\/em> books or the Catechism<\/em> of St. Filaret: baptism, chrismation, confession, Communion (or Eucharist), unction, matrimony, and ordination.\u00a0 This list came into the Orthodox tradition from the Latin West, and became a convenient and neatly-packaged reference for Sunday-school textbooks and popular catechisms.\u00a0 Unlike the Roman Catholic Church, however, which excommunicates anyone who says that there are fewer or more than seven sacraments, Orthodox authors have named as few as two and as many as ten sacraments without any claims of exclusivity.<\/p>\n Indeed, if a sacrament is a collaborative act of God and man in the process of theosis<\/em>, then monastic vows, for example, are also a sacrament, and so is the blessing of water.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, after several generations of children learning the list of seven sacraments in their Sunday school lessons, many Orthodox people equate the sacraments with a list of seven rites or rituals of the Church, which are not only relatively rare (how often, for example, do you get baptized or married), but also may not be for everyone (for example, women cannot be ordained, and monastics cannot be married).\u00a0 So, let us next try to talk about some of the sacraments in ways that make them relevant for all of us throughout our lives.<\/p>\n Many Orthodox lay people and even some clergy believe that once a person has been baptized as an infant, he remains Orthodox for the rest of his life.\u00a0 This really should be the case, but often it is not.\u00a0 Baptism is the entrance into the Church\u2014both as the mystical Body of Christ and as a human institution established by God.\u00a0 But neither one of these is a prison, and anyone is free to leave at any time.\u00a0 In fact, every one of us through sin leaves the Church and is no longer in the Body of Christ.\u00a0 Recall the words of a prayer you hear during confession: \u201cReconcile and unite him with Your holy Church\u2026\u201d\u00a0 It is because, through sin, we become enemies of the Church, we are no longer in Christ\u2019s Body, we break our baptismal vows and defile our baptismal garment.\u00a0 And we have to reconcile and unite again through repentance.\u00a0 Thus, baptism, while a singular event indeed, places obligations on our entire life; much like planting a seed is a singular event, but growing a tree requires effort and patience.<\/p>\n Many people understand confession also as a singular and sometimes rare event.\u00a0 Some only go to confession once a year (which, by the way, I would consider an abomination).\u00a0 Others may confess more often and even more or less regularly\u2026\u00a0 But let us replace the word \u201cconfession\u201d with the word \u201crepentance.\u201d\u00a0 What is the difference?\u00a0 Imagine a thief who proudly tells his friend about all the things he has stolen, and then goes and steals some more.\u00a0 He has just confessed his sins\u2014undoubtedly.\u00a0 But has he repented?\u00a0 Now imagine a Christian who goes to confession, names all his sins\u2014he is well aware of them\u2014and then goes and continues to live in sin.\u00a0 Can this be considered a sacrament?\u00a0 Obviously not.\u00a0 While God is ready to erase the sins from this person\u2019s life, the person does not want them erased, he wants to keep them.\u00a0 He confesses them without any resolve to change his life, that is to say, without repentance.<\/p>\n The word \u201crepentance\u201d has a Latin root which does not reflect the full meaning of the Orthodox concept.\u00a0 The Greek equivalent\u2014\u03bc\u03b5\u03c4\u03ac\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9\u03b1<\/em>\u2014means the changing of one\u2019s mind, of not remaining the same. Therefore, to repent is to resolve to turn away from sin and to make an effort not to return to sin.\u00a0 And it is here\u2014within the union of God\u2019s will and act to erase our sins and our will and act to turn away from sin\u2014that the sacrament takes place.\u00a0 Thus, the sacrament of repentance is not limited to listing our sins before a priest and receiving an absolution, but continues into the following minutes, hours, days, weeks and the rest of our changed and changing life.<\/p>\n Similarly, Holy Communion is not only that moment in church when we actually receive the Body and Blood of Christ into our mouth and swallow it.\u00a0 The Latin word communio<\/em> means \u201csharing in common,\u201d that is, the sharing in the nature and life of Christ\u2019s Body, becoming one with it; as Apostle Paul said, \u201cit is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me\u201d (Gal. 2:20 NRSV).\u00a0 Note that the Apostle used the word \u201clives\u201d\u2014not \u201cvisits\u201d or \u201cstops by for a brief moment,\u201d but \u201clives.\u201d\u00a0 You know the popular folk wisdom, \u201cYou are what you eat.\u201d\u00a0 We partake of the Body of Christ in order to become the Body of Christ.\u00a0 In a prayer during the Liturgy, a priest asks God to send down His Holy Spirit upon us (first and foremost!) and then upon the Holy Gifts which are set forth.\u00a0 And this\u2014our becoming the Body of Christ\u2014is to be not just for a minute or for a day, but quite literally for eternity.\u00a0 In this way, Communion is outside of time, and we are to be in Communion with Christ not only when we partake in church, but also the next day, and the next, and the next, and right now as we sit here listening to this talk.<\/p>\n This same principle of the sacraments not being limited by the constraints of the ecclesiastical rites and rituals associated with them, but instead permeating the entirety of a Christian life can be applied to the rest of the sacraments on the \u201cofficial\u201d list, although we will not discuss all of them here.\u00a0 But as a last example, let us take a look at a sacrament which is seemingly not for everyone\u2014marriage.\u00a0 Indeed, some people get married, yet others do not.<\/p>\n Scripturally, a marriage between a man and a woman is an icon of the great mystery of Christ and the Church (see Eph. 5:32).\u00a0 In fact, to speak about this mystery, Apostle Paul used the very words with which God established the sacrament of marriage between a man and a woman: \u201c\u2026and the two will become one flesh\u201d (Eph. 5:31 cf<\/em>. Gen. 2:24).\u00a0 This should immediately remind us of the sacrament we discussed earlier, Holy Communion, but also of baptism and confession as they help us enter into and remain in the Body of Christ\u2014the two will become one flesh.<\/p>\n In fact, uniting with Christ is the central goal of Christian life, and, by extension, the main purpose behind every sacrament of the Church.\u00a0 The sacrament of marriage is one icon of the mystery of Christ and the Church, but there are others.\u00a0 Monasticism, for example, is also a living icon of a man\u2019s or woman\u2019s union with Christ, and likewise is a life devoted to selfless and sacrificial service to others, which, by the way, is also the oft-forgotten essence of marriage between a man and a woman.<\/p>\n All Christians are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb\u2014not as guests or spectators, but as partakers, as members of the holy and unblemished Bride, the Church; to be united with the Divine Bridegroom into one flesh, the Body of Christ.<\/p>\n Whether some marry or remain single, follow the path of monasticism or remain in the world\u2014every one of us is called to be partakers of the sacramental marriage of Christ and His Church.\u00a0 And our earthly participation in the icon of this divine sacrament is not limited to the few minutes that we wear our wedding crowns during a church ceremony, but is a life-long commitment which continues into eternity with Christ.<\/p>\n As we talked about the various sacraments of the Church, you may have noticed that we kept saying the same thing and often using the very same words.\u00a0 I am not trying to talk in circles, but it may appear that way.\u00a0 Perhaps, this is because there is really only one sacrament\u2014the sacrament of being in the Body of the Risen Christ, the sacrament of theosis<\/em>.<\/p>\n Every sacrament of the Church, every prayer, every rite and ritual, every reading and hymn has the goal of showing us the way and giving us the strength to be in the Body of Christ.<\/p>\n Indeed, our very life\u2014from the first \u201cBlessed is our God\u2026\u201d to the last \u201cAmen!\u201d\u2014has only one question: \u201cDo you unite yourself to Christ?\u201d and only one correct answer: \u201cI do unite myself to Christ!\u201d\u00a0 These words are not only or even primarily a part of the Rite of Making of a Catechumen, but must resonate through the whole Christian life.\u00a0 It is this continuous union with Christ which allowed Apostle Paul to say: \u201cit is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me\u201d (Gal. 2:20) and Saint John of Kronstadt to speak of his life in Christ.\u00a0 This is not some feel-good expression\u2014his literally was a life in Christ<\/em>.\u00a0 So, there is only one virtue\u2014being in the Body of Christ.\u00a0 Likewise, there is really only one sin\u2014being separated from Christ.\u00a0 Whatever in our lives makes us unlike Christ, distorts His image in us\u2014that is the sin.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, very often the question of \u201cwhat would Jesus do\u201d becomes quite confusing.\u00a0 In fact, some people have such a two-dimensional picture of Christ in their minds that it becomes absolutely impossible to even imagine what this two-dimensional character would do when faced with a real four-dimensional world.<\/p>\n But let us not forget that Christ took our human nature upon Himself not in order to sanctify two-dimensional icons of Himself, holy as they may be, but in order to heal, restore, and sanctify the very human nature\u2014in all of its complexity.<\/p>\n When Christ enters into us\u2014in the same way that He entered into Apostle Paul, Saint John of Kronstadt, and all other Christian saints\u2014this union affects the entirety of human life: our comings-in and goings-out, our prayers to God and conversations with friends, our partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ in Church and the everyday family supper.<\/p>\n According to Plato, Socrates once remarked that the unexamined life is not worth living.\u00a0 What is an unexamined life?\u00a0 Imagine doing absolutely nothing and just waiting for a day to end\u2026 one day, two days\u2026\u00a0 Or imagine living from one party to another, from entertainment to entertainment, with nothing in between\u2014well, work, school, the usual boring stuff, waiting for a year to hurry up and go by, so we can go on that next vacation.\u00a0 Mechanical, thoughtless life on autopilot: eat-work-sleep.\u00a0 Now imagine thinking about God only once or twice a day, or once or twice a week, or even once or twice a year.<\/p>\n But what are we supposed to do?\u00a0 Sing psalms in Church Slavonic in the shower?\u00a0 Well, that is not really such a bad idea.\u00a0 In any case, to my taste, it is better than singing the latest tune by Justin Bieber.\u00a0 But the larger point is that anything in life can and should be done with intention and prayer.\u00a0 And this is not only a matter of some inner spiritual condition, but also a very outward and visceral action.\u00a0 We are not a mechanical compilation of parts\u2014body, soul, spirit\u2014all put together with some screws and glue.\u00a0 Rather, we are wholesome beings\u2014what our body does \/ affects our soul, and the mouth speaks what the heart is full of (Matt. 12:34; Like 6:45).<\/p>\n Consider, for example, the words of Joshua, son of Sirach: \u201cIn all thy works, remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin\u201d (7:40 DRA).\u00a0 This verse speaks of the whole human being\u2014body, soul, and spirit.\u00a0 \u201cIn all thy works\u201d\u2014with your hands, feet, even your mouth; \u201cremember your last end\u201d\u2014remember with your mind, let the memory of death guide your soul; \u201cand thou shalt never sin\u201d\u2014your spiritual compass, that part of you which points toward God, will remain true.<\/p>\n Likewise, the Apostle Paul writes: \u201cPray without ceasing\u201d (1 Thess. 5:17 KJV).\u00a0 Sometimes, people interpret this verse as speaking not about prayer in the way that most people usually understand it\u2014the act of communicating with God through worship, petitions, or contemplations\u2014but as speaking about the highest levels of the art of noetic labors, and thus unattainable for most people just like the highest levels of most other arts.<\/p>\n Perhaps, this is a valid interpretation\u2014I don\u2019t know; I have not achieved the highest levels of the noetic arts.\u00a0 But reading Paul\u2019s epistle, another interpretation comes to mind.\u00a0 Is it not likely that the Apostle is speaking about the simple everyday things pertaining to the life of any Christian, simply about the Christian life and mindset?\u00a0 Here is the larger context (14-18):<\/p>\n Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.<\/em><\/p>\n See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.<\/em><\/p>\n Rejoice evermore.<\/em><\/p>\n Pray without ceasing.<\/em><\/p>\n In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.<\/em><\/p>\n Of course, giving thanks could be seen as another one of the noetic arts, or it can be as simple as thanking God for everything\u2014not only those things which seem pleasing to us, but also those which are as bitter as medicine and as painful as surgery.\u00a0 Indeed, a doctor takes a knife and cuts into our flesh, and yet we say, \u201cThank you, doctor!\u201d and actually feel grateful, albeit sore for a while.<\/p>\n But let us take another look at the words of the Scripture: \u201cin all thy works,\u201d \u201cever follow,\u201d \u201cevermore,\u201d \u201cwithout ceasing,\u201d \u201cin every thing\u2026\u201d\u00a0 Is this not an admonition to pay careful attention to every single moment of our lives?\u00a0 Sounds daunting, does it not?\u00a0 In reality, this is rather simple and starts with very small steps.\u00a0 For example, many people use a telephone\u2014they call their friends and family, answer when it is ringing\u2014all without too much thought.\u00a0 Really, it is such a commonplace experience that we don\u2019t think twice about it.\u00a0 I know one person who makes the sign of the cross every time before picking up the telephone.\u00a0 How beautiful and meaningful!\u00a0 How simple!\u2014a pause, a short prayer, a realization that the interaction about to take place is within the sacred space and time of human life.\u00a0 Life examined\u2026\u00a0 We all take showers, right?\u00a0\u00a0 I once read of a person who recited only one short verse from Psalm 50 (51 in Masoretic enumeration): \u201cPurge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow\u201d (7 KJV).\u00a0 Again, how beautiful in its simplicity!<\/p>\n A life sanctified, a life as a sacrament\u2014is this not what the Church teaches us?\u00a0 Our bodies and souls are washed in the waters of holy baptism; our cars and homes sanctified with holy water; our eyes, ears and mouths sealed with holy chrism\u2014a Christian is a special vessel separated, set aside for service to God (cf<\/em>. 1 Peter 2:9).<\/p>\n Why do you think we wear a cross at all times?\u00a0 For the same reason that there is a cross on any church\u2014to signify that this is not a barn or a warehouse, but a sacred temple of God.\u00a0 Clearly, in this short talk we cannot discuss a human life in any detail, but in conclusion, I would like to mention only two aspects of our daily routines which are already marked by the Church as sacred.<\/p>\n We all eat, often without giving much consideration to the act of eating\u2014we get hungry, so we eat.\u00a0 However, eating is one of the most ancient sacred acts known to men.\u00a0 Through eating Adam and Eve fell away from God, and through eating Christ enters into us in Communion.\u00a0 Cain and Abel offered food that they raised as a sacrifice to God.\u00a0 Abraham fed the three divine visitors.\u00a0 When the prodigal son returned home, the father ordered that a meal be prepared.\u00a0 And the union of Christ and man is often symbolized by a feast.<\/p>\n We pray before and after each meal.\u00a0 Prayers mark the sacred and separate it from the profane.\u00a0 Thus, mealtime is sacred time, a sacred rite.\u00a0 Put simply, mealtime is an icon: earthly bread nourishes and sustains our bodies as Christ, the heavenly bread, nourishes and sustains our souls.\u00a0 And every meal is in some way sacramental inasmuch as it gives us a visible symbol of an invisible reality.\u00a0 And just as with painted images there are holy icons and then there are caricatures, so it is with meals\u2014there are sacred times and then there are caricatures.<\/p>\n We sometimes feel that the sacred time in our day is the time of prayer.\u00a0 We treat prayer as some form of an obligation: 15 minutes for God, the rest of the day for myself.\u00a0 Indeed, we often misunderstand religious obligations and see them in the same way as we see our social obligations.\u00a0 Let\u2019s take a look at taxes, for example: we give a certain portion of our income to the government because it needs funds for various programs, and we keep the rest for our own needs.\u00a0 Clearly, with God it is not the same.\u00a0 God does not actually need our tithes, and he does not need our prayers.\u00a0 On the contrary, we offer our first fruits to God in order that all of our earthly labors will be sanctified.\u00a0 Everything we own and, by the way, everything we eat is sacred because it is sacrificial\u2014it has been sanctified by our offering of the first and best to God.\u00a0 Likewise, we offer morning and evening prayers to God in order that our whole day may be holy, peaceful and sinless.\u00a0 In other words, the sacred time of the day is not the time of prayer, but the time which is marked, framed, crowned by prayer\u2014that is to say, the whole day itself.\u00a0 A good example may be a beautiful chalice: as sacred and beautiful as it may be, it\u2019s what\u2019s inside that matters.\u00a0 Or a beautiful temple\u2014it is sanctified not by gold and glitter, but by the presence of God; and without God inside, it is merely a museum of architecture and fine arts.\u00a0 Think about it next time when you want to hurry up and finish your prayers so that you can get on with your day.<\/p>\n Another important aspect of prayer is that it keeps us in touch with God, person to Person, reminds us that we are not alone, that that which we see is not all that there is.\u00a0 Of course, this only works if prayer is constant or at least frequent.\u00a0 Some may be surprised, but the early Christians did not have the Jordanville Prayer Book<\/em>.\u00a0 Instead, they said much shorter prayer rules much more frequently\u2014up to five times a day or more at specific hours.\u00a0 The prayer rule probably consisted of the Lord\u2019s Prayer. Perhaps, an interesting echo of the practice of short but frequent prayers can be found in our Evening Prayer Rule\u2014the Prayer of Saint John Chrysostom with a short supplication for every hour of the day.\u00a0 It is unclear whether Saint John ever followed a rule of saying one petition every single hour of the day, or whether he did what we now do\u2014read through the whole list in a few minutes, but our divine services also follow a set pattern throughout the day: the first hour (6 a.m.), the third hour (9 a.m.), the sixth hour (12 a.m.), the ninth hour (3 p.m.), and then vespers (6 p.m.).<\/p>\n The modern industrial world has been built in such a way that for most working people it would be impossible to recite a ten- or fifteen-minute prayer rule three or five times a day.\u00a0 But the ancients did not do this either.\u00a0 What if we tried to do what they did\u2014the Lord\u2019s Prayer?\u00a0 Or, perhaps, something even shorter\u2014the Jesus Prayer?\u00a0 Could we do that five times a day?<\/p>\n If you are a Christian, then you do not believe that your life is an accident, a meaningless, purposeless, random peak of a cosmic probability wave.\u00a0 You know that your purpose is to become the Body of Christ.\u00a0 You know that your life is a sacrament, not unlike the Eucharist.\u00a0 Grains of wheat grow from the earth, shaped and fashioned through much labor to be offered to God and to become His Body.\u00a0 Likewise a human life: taken from the earth, shaped and fashioned through much labor to become an offering to God and His Body.\u00a0 And just as there are differences between different liturgical traditions, different people found different ways to live their lives as a sacred offering to God.<\/p>\n Perhaps it is less important whether you sing psalms in the shower or not, recite the Lord\u2019s Prayer three times a day or five\u2014what is important is that you live your life as a sacrament, as an icon, and not as a caricature.<\/p>\n Rector of the Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia Orthodox Church in Mulino, Oregon (Western American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Chruch)<\/strong><\/p>\n A talk given at St. Herman Orthodox Youth Conference on 24 December 2011 in Ottawa, Canada<\/p>\n Source: http:\/\/frsergei.wordpress.com\/2011\/12\/24\/life-as-a-sacrament\/<\/a><\/p>\n Translated by parisheners of the Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church in Vancouver, BC, Canada.<\/p>\n http:\/\/russianorthodoxchurch.ca\/<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We all know of the sacraments of the Church and recognize them as certain events or milestones in our Christian lives: we get baptized, we prepare for confession and Communion, get married, and some may get ordained to the holy priesthood\u2026
\nWhy is this duality so important?\u00a0 Because, without the will and participation of God, all we get are acts or works of men.\u00a0 And without the will and participation of man, what we get is a miracle performed by God alone.\u00a0 It is only when the two acts come together that we get a sacrament.<\/p>\nHow Many Sacraments Are There?<\/h2>\n
Baptism<\/h2>\n
Confession<\/h2>\n
Communion<\/h2>\n
Matrimony<\/h2>\n
\u201cThe unexamined life is not worth living\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Mealtime<\/h2>\n
Daily Prayers<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/russianorthodoxchurch.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/frsergei_001.jpg\" "\\"Fr.")
<\/a>Fr. Sergei Sveshnikov<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nThese important markers provide us with the time and place to be face-to-face with God, to unite with Him within His Holy Church, His Body. But what about the rest of our life? Continue reading