The Eucharist (Holy Communion, Mass, or the Lord's Supper), is the means by which Christ becomes present to the Christian community gathered in his name. It is the central act of gathered worship, renewing the Body of Christ as the Church through the reception of the Body of Christ as the Blessed Sacrament, his spiritual body and blood. The matter consists of bread and wine, and the form is the Eucharistic Prayer. In this sacrament, Christ is both encountered and incorporated. As such, the Eucharistic action looks backward as a memorial of Christ's sacrifice, forward as a foretaste of the heavenly banquet, and to the present as an Incarnation of Christ in the lives of the community and of individual believers.

Confirmation is derived from the Latin word confirmare - to strengthen. In this sense, confirmation involves the reaffirmation of faith through the strengthening and renewal of one's baptismal vows accomplished through prayer and the laying on of hands by a bishop. Traditionally, baptism and confirmation were a unified rite, with the bishop performing both activities. With the proliferation of the faith in Europe during the early Middle Ages, the rite became separated. In recent centuries, it has been seen as an opportunity for those baptised as infants to make an adult profession of faith, and to affirm the vows made on their behalf. Until very recently, it was also a precondition to participation in the Eucharist throughout the Communion. Several provinces now view baptism as sufficient for accessing the grace of all the sacraments, since it is the means of initiation into the faith. Many baptised as adults still participate in confirmation as a way of completing the ancient rite of initiation, or because they have been received into the Communion from other denominations.

Holy Matrimony is the blessing of a union between a man and woman acknowledging the presence and grace of God in the life of the couple. The form is manifested as the vows (contrary to popular belief, the blessing and exchanging of rings is customary, and not necessary for the rite of matrimony to be valid). In marriage, the husband and wife seek God's blessing, and through the mediation of the priest, the prayer is answered. Although the couple is thus generally regarded as the ministers of the sacrament through their voluntary exchange of vows, the sacrament must be celebrated under the presidency of a priest, who witnesses and mediates the prayers. Matrimony was the last sacrament added, having arisen as a result of civil necessity in the Middle Ages in order to regularize intimate relationships and legitimize children.

Ordination, or Holy Orders, is the setting aside of individuals to specific ministries in the Church, namely that of deacon, priest, and bishop. The matter and form are the laying on of hands by a bishop and prayers. Originally, there were two orders: deacons and bishops; however, the expansion of the Church following its legitimization by Constantine the Great led to the development of the presbyterate. In this sense, priests are essentially delegates of the bishop to minister to congregations in which the bishop cannot be physically present. Deacons have always had the role of being "the church in the world," administering to the pastoral needs of the community and assisting the priest in worship (usually by proclaiming the Gospel and "setting the table" of the altar). The bishop is the chief pastor of a diocese, and consecration as an archbishop does not involve transition into a new order, but rather signifies the taking on of additional episcopal responsibilities as a metropolitan or primate.

References