Sacrament

Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)

the military oath taken by every Roman soldier, pledging him to obey his commander and not to desert his standard; hence, an oath or ceremony involving an obligation. In Protestant theology the Church of England and the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States define a sacrament as "an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace given unto us, ordained by Christ Himself, as a means whereby we receive the same and a pledge to assure us thereof." They recognize two only as generally necessary to salvation, Baptism and the Supper of the Lord. Article xxv. says that they were ordained by Christ not only to be badges or tokens of Christian men's profession, but also, or rather, to be sure signs of grace and God's good good will toward us, by which He strengthens our faith in Him. They have a wholesome effect or operation only to those who worthily receive them; unworthy recipients purchase to themselves damnation (I Cor. xi. 29. The Revised Version has "judgment.") The Westminster Confession of Faith teaches essentially the same doctrine. It considers sacraments to be and seals of the covenant of "holy signs gns grace" (ch. xxvii.). Other Protestant formulas are substantially the same. In Roman theology, a visible sign, instituted by Christ, which confers ex opere operato (by the performance of the act) sanctifying grace on man. Matter, form and a minister acting with the intention of doing what the Church does are necessary to the valid administration of a sacrament. Besides sanctifying grace, sacraments confer sacramental grace that is, they aid the suscipient in a special manner to attain the end for which each sacrament was instituted. The Council of Trent (sess. vii., can. 1) defines that the Sacraments of the New Law were instituted by our Lord, and are neither more nor fewer than seven in number: Baptism, confirmation, eucharist, penance, extreme unction, holy orders, and matrimony. The first five are necessary for all Christians, the last two are necessary only for the community. Baptism, confirmation, and orders imprint a character on their subject and cannot be repeated without sacrilege. The term sacraments of the old law has been adopted to signify circumcision, the paschal lamb, the ordination of priests and Levites, etc., of the Mosaic economy.