sacrament summary

sacrament, Religious action or symbol in which spiritual power is believed to be transmitted through material elements or the performance of ritual. The concept is ancient; prehistoric people believed that they could advantageously influence events in the natural world, such as weather patterns, through the performance of ritual. The word sacramentum was used in Roman law and later became an oath of allegiance soldiers swore in a sacred place. Sacraments are primarily associated with Christianity, and Christian theologians as early as St. Augustine focused on the proper definition of sacrament. Among Christians, sacraments are said to derive from practices instituted by Jesus, such as baptism and the Lord’s Supper. There are seven sacraments of Roman Catholicism, as codified by St. Thomas Aquinas and promulgated by the Council of Trent: baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, penance, anointing of the sick, ordination, and matrimony. Eastern Orthodoxy generally accepts seven sacraments, though no council accepted by the Eastern Orthodox Church ever defined the number of sacraments. In most Protestant churches, only baptism and the Lord’s Supper are recognized as sacraments, as the understanding of sacrament differs from that of the Roman Catholic Church. See also samskara.