Orthodox theology regards the sacraments as sacred actions through which the encounter between God and the human person takes place. In them our union with God, in so far as it is possible in this earthly life, is realized; the grace of God comes down upon us and sanctifies our entire nature, both soul and body.
The sacrament of Baptism is the door into the Church, the Kingdom of grace. It is with Baptism that Christian life begins. Baptism is the frontier that separates the members of Christ's Body from those who are outside it. In Baptism the human person is arrayed in Christ, following the words of St Paul which are sung as the newly-baptized is led around the baptismal font: For as many of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ' (Gal.3:27). In Baptism the human person dies to his sinful life and rises again to new spiritual life.
The sacrament of Chrismation was established in apostolic times. In the early Church every newly-baptized Christian received a blessing and the gift of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands by an apostle or a bishop. The Book of Acts relates how Peter and John laid hands on women from Samaria so that they could receive the Holy Spirit, 'for it had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus' (Acts 8:16).
The Eucharist (Greek eucharistia , 'thanksgiving'), or the sacrament of Holy Communion, is 'the sacrament of sacraments', 'the mystery of mysteries'. The Eucharist has a central significance in the life of the Church and of every Christian. It is not merely one of many sacred actions or 'a means of receiving grace': it is the very heart of the Church, her foundation, without which the existence of the Church cannot be imagined.
'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand' (Matt.3:2). With these words, first uttered by St John the Baptist, Jesus Christ began His own mission (Matt.4:17). Christianity was from the very beginning a call to repentance, to conversion, to a 'change of mind' ( metanoia ). A radical transformation of one's entire way of life and thought, a renovation of the mind and senses, a rejection of sinful deeds and thoughts, a transfiguration of the human person: these are the main elements of Christ's message.
The human person was created with an incorruptible and immortal body. After the Fall it lost these qualities and became corruptible and mortal. According to St Gregory the Theologian, the human person 'put on the garment of sin, which is our coarse flesh, and became a body-bearer'. Illness and disease became a part of human life.
The love that exists between a man and a woman is an important theme in many books of Scripture. The Book of Genesis, in particular, tells us of holy and pious couples, such as Abraham and Sarrah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Rachel. A special blessing, bestowed on these couples by the Lord, was made manifest in the multiplication of their descendants. Love is praised in the Song of Songs, a book which, in spite of all allegorical and mystical interpretations in patristic tradition, does not lose its literal meaning.
The sacrament of Priesthood includes three liturgical rites of ordination: to the episcopate, to the priesthood and to the diaconate.
In the Orthodox Church the rite of monastic tonsure has a sacramental character. It is called a 'sacrament' ('mystery') by Dionysius the Areopagite and other early Christian authors. It is also called a 'sacrament' in the rite itself. Like Baptism, it is death to fleshly life and a birth into a new, spiritual mode of existence. Like Chrismation, it is the seal and sign of being elected by God. Like Marriage, it is the betrothal with the Heavenly Bridegroom, Christ. Like Priesthood, it is a consecration for ministry to God. Like the Eucharist, it is union with Christ.
From the very beginning, the Christian Church has lived in the expectation of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. This belief is based on the words of our Lord, Who, shortly before His death on the Cross, promised His disciples that He would come again. Belief in the Second Coming of Christ is also reflected in the Catholic Epistles, as well as in the Pauline corpus.
'Death is a great mystery', says St Ignaty Brianchaninov. 'It is the birth of the human person from transient life into eternity'. Christianity does not consider death as an end: on the contrary, death is the beginning of a new life, to which earthly life is but a preparation. The human person was created for eternity; in Paradise he was fed from the 'tree of life' and was immortal. After the fall, however, the way to the 'tree of life' was blocked, and he became mortal and temporal.
At the moment of death, the soul leaves the body and enters its new mode of existence. It does not lose its memory or its ability to think or to feel, but departs to the other world loaded with the burden of its life, with memories of its past and an accountability for its sins.
'Fathers and teachers! I ask: What is Hell? I answer: Suffering on account of the impossibility to love any longer'. These are the words of Elder Zosima, Dostoyevsky's celebrated monk in The Brothers Karamazov.
Paradise is not a place, it is rather a state of the soul. Just as Hell is a suffering on account of the impossibility to love, Paradise is bliss that derives from the abundance of love and light. He who has been united to Christ participates completely and integrally in Paradise.
The above texts are taken from the 'Online Orthodox Catechism' by Bishop Hilarion (Alfeyev), as adapted from his book, The Mystery of Faith. These materials are copyright by the author, and are used here with permission. They must not be reproduced in any manner, including reproduction on another website.
