LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Sacraments
built 222 days ago
The Sacraments of the Orthodox Church are composed of prayers, hymns, scripture lessons, gestures and processions. Many parts of the services date back to the time of the Apostles. The Orthodox Church has avoided reducing the Sacraments to a particular formula or action. Often, a whole series of sacred acts make up a Sacrament. Most of the Sacraments use a portion of the material of creation as an outward and visible sign of God's revelation. Water, oil, bread and wine are but a few of the many elements which the Orthodox Church employs in her Worship.
Source:
Sacraments are means by which the church receives God’s grace. They are tangible expressions of God’s presence in the world. They are means whereby humans can catch some glimpse of the reality of God, who is ever near, yet not fully known. In the sacraments, believers meet God in specific, unique ways.
Source:
The Sacraments of initiation always are concluded with the distribution of Holy Communion to the newly-baptized. Ideally, this takes place within the celebration of the Divine Liturgy. This practice reveals that Orthodoxy views children from their infancy as important members of the Church. There is never a time when the young are not part of God's people.
Source:
The Sacraments have been numbered variously throughout history, but all of the rites can be traced back to Jesus in some way. Typically Roman Catholics and Orthodox put the number at seven, although both Churches apply the term "sacrament" to events and entities outside the classical seven, including to the Church herself. The Eastern Churches are far less likely to officially number them, although because seven is a mystical number, many Easterners are content with it. Similarly, many Catholic Christians see sacrament-like events, or perhaps sacramentals, or sacramental experiences, everywhere that God uses the Incarnation-redeemed physical world to further the mystery of His salvation and grace. Nature, sounds, smells, people, music, words, etc, can all be sacrament-like signs, although the term "sacrament" is generally reserved for those rites in which God's grace is promised.
Source:
Sacraments are to be celebrated in the context of your faith community – the community where you worship. With that in mind, the diocese has established a policy that all children receive sacraments in the parish where the family is registered rather than with their fellow students. If you are registered at St. Andrew’s, you and your child will participate in St. Andrew’s sacramental preparation program. This program is NOT the same as the regular Faith Development program which is for children who are not enrolled in Catholic schools. This means all children enrolled in public schools, private schools, Catholic schools, and home-based programs prepare in exactly the same process. This preparation relies on parent participation and encourages and enables parents to be the “primary catechists” of their children.
Source:
There are two common extremes regarding the understanding and practice of the sacraments. The first is that some tend to over-emphasize them, believing that a person is saved or kept by observing them. This is error because salvation is "by grace through faith, not of works" (Ephesians 2:8). Others tend to under-emphasize the importance of the sacraments as though they are optional. In doing this, some end up neglecting them all together. Both of these extremes are error.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
Sacraments