The Sacraments of the church are what transmit the grace of the Holy Spirit to the individual. The Holy Spirit’s sanctifying and deifying energy is actualized in the services of the Church especially in holy Baptism, Penance and the Divine Eucharist. It is fulfilled and completed with prayer and love.[1]
Sacraments are not viewed as either magic or a mere act; rather they are perceived as a cosmic “pass-over” in which man passes to God in the deepest union. Man is restored and he, being the king of creation (that is, bearing the image of God), all those elements (wheat, wine, oil, water, etc.,), which make up the Sacraments, are restored through him to their initial order and meaning: to be a cosmic transparency of Divine immediacy of God-with-us. These symbolic ceremonies bestow Divine Grace upon the believer through the believer’s lifetime. But, in order to receive the Divine Grace bestowed by God through the Sacraments of the Church, our work must be to totally surrender our consciousness to the truth that God’s presence is alive in us as well as in all elements of life, and that our life is part of cosmic unity. [2]
There are various Sacraments among them: Baptism; Chrismation (Confirmation); Holy Communion; Penance; Ordination; Matrimony; and Unction. The mystery that leads us into the true life of the Church is holy Baptism. Through this Sacrament, we become members of the Church, members of the body of Christ and we begin traveling the road to Theosis.[3]
At the time of Baptism, the person receives three Sacraments: Baptism, Chrismation, and then Holy Communion. By the end of the Baptismal service, the newly baptized person has a new life in Christ, is pure and without sin and a full member of the Church, the Kingdom of God, and can participate fully in the Sacramental life of the Church. The Baptism itself is a Sacrament that cleanses us from the original sin of Adam and Eve. It gives us a new life of Grace, makes us Christians, Children of God, and heirs of the Kingdom of heaven. In Roman’s Chapter 6, St. Paul tells the faithful about Baptism and it’s important meaning to them. He grounds freedom from sin in the Sacrament of Baptism by saying that Christ accomplished an actual and real death to sin on the Cross; and that is what Baptism is to us, an actual and real death to sin, the ability to be free from it. Christ was buried for us and we are buried with Him through Baptism. Through Baptism, our old mortal nature is replaced by a renewed nature of living righteously. When a physical body dies, it has no response to the environment around it; when one is Baptized, the person dies with Christ through the Sacrament and should not respond to sin. The newly Baptized person has been made dead to sin and alive to God. Holy Baptism grants true life. Through this Mystery, we receive the Holy Spirit. St. Gregory of Nyssa wrote that “that which creates life in those who are baptized is the spirit, concerning which the Lord said with His own voice: the Spirit is the giver of life.[4] Through Holy Baptism, human beings become gods.[5] St. Gregory says that the Holy Spirit “divinizes the person who is baptized.” St. John Chrysostom wrote that through the washing of regeneration, the Holy Spirit transfigures believers into gods; and, St. Dionysios the Areopagite teaches that through the mystery of Holy Baptism the faithful are gathered into one unified Theosis and are brought together into one united and divine society. The Mystery of Baptism weaves together death and life, the burial and resurrection of the Lord and is often called the “service of divine birth”, “the washing of regeneration” and our “first resurrection.”[6]
Our goal after Baptism is to remain free from sin by remaining dead to it; to remain in our theosis, divine state as given us by the Holy Spirit at Holy Baptism, until the Lord’s Second Coming. In our Baptism, we are also raised with Christ to share His Resurrection; a newness of life and bodily resurrection with Him in the eternal Kingdom. In Roman’s 6:12 St. Paul says “Do not let sin reign…” implying that sin does not have power over us, it is something we allow by our own free will. Living in the world makes humans beings to live in the passions that make them distant from God. The Holy Fathers say “World” is an inclusive name, which is identified with the passions, that is, a betrayal of our true nature; and denial of the “world” (passions) is a return of the soul to its true self, a restoration of our spiritual existence, which turns us back to God.[7]
Through the Church, Christ heals us of the damage we do to ourselves after Baptism because our mortal bodies prefer pleasure and are weak; but, we do have control over that through the help of the Holy Spirit, we can work at becoming strong and avoiding sin. For in Christ through His holy church, we are restored to what God intended human nature to be. In Roman’s 6:17 we learn that those who work at living in their Baptism, are alive from the dead. Baptism is the beginning of eternal life. It provides us with a good conscience toward God as St. Peters writes in 1 Pet. 3:21. In Galations 3:27, we have the familiar hymn sung at every Orthodox Baptismal Service and other services of the Church during the year: “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” In Galations 4:6-7, St. Paul refers to a continuous growing growth into adoption, becoming an heir of God through Christ. This growth into adoption is another way to think of achieving Deification – to become by Grace what God is by nature. The Holy Trinity through the Church is involved in this continuous process of transformation. To become sons of God by Grace, one must believe in the Holy Trinity.
Immediately after the individual has been baptized, the newly baptized person receives another Sacrament, the Sacrament of Chrismation (Confirmation). Chrismation is an anointing of the person with Holy Chrism (a special holy oil that has been prepared by the Bishop). Through this Sacrament, the person who has been made pure and sinless through the Sacrament of Baptism receives all the gifts of the Holy Spirit and becomes a perfect Christian.
Immediately following Chrismation, the newly baptized person then receives Holy Communion so by the end of the Baptismal service, the newly baptized person is a member of the Kingdom of God through His Holy Church and can partake fully in the sacramental life of the Church.
After the Sacrament of Baptism, the person goes out in the world to live his life as a Christian. This is hard because the world is filled with temptations, which can lead the new Christian astray easily. Leading them into sin and separation from God. Man has to continually work at his salvation all through his life to avoid this type of fall. Repentance is now the first step on the road to Theosis. Repentance is the second birth that God grants to us through Baptism. It is a way for us to return to the Father from sin. Repentance is the fruit of the grace of Baptism. It is grace itself.[8] The human person acquires it and makes it their own with effort and struggle. True repentance causes tears from the depth of the soul. These tears cleanse the heart and wipe away great sins. With tears of repentance, the soul tastes the comforting experience of the Spirit. Thus each day the soul is strengthened on it’s journey toward Theosis.[9]
The completion of repentance is the Sacrament of Holy Confession. Just like repentance, confession has no end. They are mysteries that may be constantly repeated. The Spiritual Father will advise and guide the person, and by denying our own will and consequently being humbled, we accept the guidance of our Spiritual Father in all things pertaining to the course of our spiritual life.[10]
After Baptism and Repentance is the Mystery of the Holy Eucharist. The Mystery of the Holy Eucharist unites us, in a mystical manner with God. The Holy Mystery of the Body and Blood is a concrete realization of the unity of human nature with Christ and unity with all the members of the Church.[11] The work of the renewal and Theosis of human beings, which was performed once through Holy Baptism, is continued by the Eucharist, which is constantly repeated. The Eucharist strengthens the faithful and unites us with the Savior, which leads us toward Theosis. Through the Holy Eucharist, we are transformed into what we receive; our souls are cleansed, elevated, sanctified and made incorruptible.[12]
The Sacrament of Holy Communion is offered at every Divine Liturgy for which the faithful prepare to receive according to the Canons of the Church; the Sacrament of Penance is the Sacrament through which the sins committed after Baptism are forgiven; the Sacrament of Holy Unction is the Sacrament through which we obtain the grace of spiritual and physical healing; and, the other Sacraments are imparted to us as we live our Christian life on earth such as the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony for those who choose to work at their Salvation by serving the Lord through a married life in the world; and, the Sacrament of Holy Ordination for those who would choose to work at their Salvation by serving the Lord through the Holy Orders of the Church. Besides the Divine Liturgy other prayer services are conducted regularly throughout the Church year to strengthen us and encourage us to remain faithful to the Lord and do God’s Will rather than our own.
The Church helps us to continually work at walking in the newness of life after our Baptism through the Sacraments. Through the Church, we can have an intimate and continual communion with God, it allows the person to cooperate in obedience to God as He leads the person by the power of the Holy Spirit. As such, the body becomes the “follower” and not the leader controlling the person’s ability to deal with the passions of the flesh. The person chooses the way of the Spirit and works at deliberately putting to death sinful deeds and continually renewing his baptismal Theosis.
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[1] Op. Cit., Partakers of Divine Nature, pp.37-38
[2] Op. Cit., Out of the Depths Have I Cried, p.52
[3] Op. Cit., Partakers of Divine Nature, p.43
[4] St. Gregory of Nyssa, Concerning the Holy Spirit, p. 45, 1325A
[5] Op.Cit., Partakers of Divine Nature, Archimandrite, p. 47
[6] Ibid., p. 48
[7] Ibid., p. 50
[8] Ibid., pp. 51-52
[9] Ibid., p. 53
[10] Ibid., p. 56
[11] Ibid.
[12] Ibid., pp.59-60
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