« His Grace Bishop Matthew of Sourozh celebrated the Sacrament of Unction at the Dormition Cathedral in London »

On the evening of Thursday, April 18, 2024, the next Sacrament of Unction was celebrated at the Dormition Cathedral in London, which was headed by the Rector of the Cathedral, the Right Reverend Bishop Matthew of Sourozh.

Concelebrating with His Grace were Archpriest Maxim Nikolsky, Dean of the diocesan district of South-East England, Archpriest Vitaly Polishchuk, Secretary of the Sourozh diocese, Archpriest Dimitry Nedostupenko, clergy of the UOC temporarily staying on the territory of the Sourozh diocese, and Protodeacon Vadim Santsevitch.

After the Sacrament was performed, Archpriest Vitaly Polishchuk delivered a sermon.

The next unction will take place on Thursday, April 25 at 18:00.

Unction is a Sacrament in which, when anointing the body with oil, the grace of God is invoked on a person, healing spiritual and physical ailments.  The history of the Sacrament goes back to the Apostles, who, having received from Jesus Christ the power to heal diseases, “anointed many who were sick with oil and healed them” (Mark 6:13).

During the celebration of the Sacrament, seven texts from the Apostolic Epistles and seven from the Gospel are read.  After each reading, the priest anoints the forehead, cheeks, chest and hands of the person receiving the unction with consecrated oil.  At the end of the last reading of the Holy Scriptures, he places the opened Gospel on the head of the sick person and prays for the forgiveness of his sins.

In the Sacrament of Unction, a person receives forgiveness of forgotten or unconscious sins, so not only sick people, but also healthy people try to resort to it at least once a year.

Blessing of oil requires faith and repentance from a person.  After or before the Sacrament of Unction, Orthodox Christians, as a rule, try to confess and receive communion.  Wanting to be healed of an illness, a person must first get rid of his sins.

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