Editing Eastern Orthodox Church (section)

== Holy mysteries (sacraments) ==

The [[Byzantine Rite]] is used for the administration of the "Holy mysteries" or seven sacraments in [[Eastern Orthodox Christianity]]; among these are [[Holy Communion]] (the most direct connection), [[baptism]], [[Chrismation]], [[Confession (religion)|confession]], [[unction]], [[Marriage in the Eastern Orthodox Church|matrimony]], and [[ordination]], as well as [[Benediction|blessings]], [[Exorcism in Christianity|exorcisms]], and other occasions.<ref name=oupbr>{{Cite book| publisher = Oxford University Press| isbn = 978-0-19-866262-4| title = The Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages| chapter = Byzantine rite| access-date = 2018-07-25| date = 2010-01-01| chapter-url = http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198662624.001.0001/acref-9780198662624-e-1083| archive-date = July 25, 2018| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180725122812/http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198662624.001.0001/acref-9780198662624-e-1083| url-status = live}}</ref>

While the Catholic Church numbers seven sacraments, and many Protestant groups list two (baptism and the Eucharist) or even none, the Eastern Orthodox do not limit the number. However, for the sake of convenience, [[catechism]]s of the Eastern Orthodox Church will often speak of the "seven great mysteries". The term "sacrament" also properly applies to other sacred actions such as [[Eastern Christian monasticism|monastic]] [[tonsure]] or the blessing of [[Holy water in Eastern Christianity|holy water]], and involves [[Religious fasting#Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy|fasting]], [[Alms#In Eastern Christianity|almsgiving]], or an act as simple as lighting a candle, [[Religious use of incense#Christianity|burning incense]], praying or asking God's blessing on food.{{sfn|Ware|1993|pp=274–277}}

=== Baptism ===
[[File:GreekOrthodoxBaptism1.jpg|thumb|right|An Eastern Orthodox baptism]]

[[Baptism]] is the mystery which transforms the old and sinful person into a new and pure one; the old life, the sins, any mistakes made are gone and a clean slate is given. Through baptism a person is united to the [[Body of Christ]] by becoming a member of the Eastern Orthodox Church. During the service, [[Holy water in Eastern Christianity|water]] is blessed. The catechumen is fully immersed in the water three times in the name of the Trinity. This is considered to be a death of the "old man" by participation in the crucifixion and burial of Christ, and a rebirth into new life in Christ by participation in his resurrection.{{sfn|Ware|1993|pp=277–278}}

Properly, the mystery of baptism is administered by bishops and priests; however, [[Emergency baptism|in emergencies any Eastern Orthodox Christian can baptise]].{{sfn|Ware|1993|p=278}}

=== Chrismation ===

[[Chrismation]] (sometimes called [[confirmation]]) is the mystery by which a baptised person is granted the gift of the [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|Holy Spirit]] through anointing with Holy [[Chrism]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://oca.org/OCchapter.asp?SID=2&ID=52 |title=The Orthodox Faith |author=Fr. Thomas Hopko |year=1981 |publisher=St. Vladimir's Seminary Press |access-date=11 November 2013 |archive-date=25 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111025114723/http://oca.org/OCchapter.asp?SID=2&ID=52 |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{sfn|Ware|1993|pp=278–279}} It is normally given immediately after baptism as part of the same service, but is also used to receive lapsed members of the Eastern Orthodox Church.{{sfn|Harakas|1987|pp=56–57}} As baptism is a person's participation in the death and resurrection of Christ, so Chrismation is a person's participation in the coming of the Holy Spirit at [[Pentecost]].<ref name=ware1993p279>{{harvnb|Ware|1993|p=279}}.</ref>

A baptised and chrismated Eastern Orthodox Christian is a full member of the church and may receive the Eucharist regardless of age.<ref name=ware1993p279/>

The creation of Chrism may be accomplished by any bishop at any time, but usually is done only once a year, often when a synod of bishops convenes for its annual meeting. Some autocephalous churches get their chrism from others. Anointing with it substitutes for the laying-on of hands described in the [[New Testament]], even when an instrument such as a brush is used.{{sfn|Harakas|1987|p=57}}

=== Holy Communion (Eucharist) ===
[[File:Liturgy St James 1.jpg|thumb|Eucharistic elements prepared for the Divine Liturgy|alt=]]

[[Holy Communion]] is given only to baptised and chrismated Eastern Orthodox Christians who have prepared by fasting, prayer and confession. The priest will administer the gifts with a spoon, called a "cochlear", directly into the recipient's mouth from the chalice.{{sfn|Ware|1993|p=287}} From baptism young infants and children are carried to the chalice to receive holy communion.<ref name="ware1993p279" />

=== Marriage ===
{{main|Marriage in the Eastern Orthodox Church}}
[[File:Wedding of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna by Laurits Tuxen (1895-6, Royal coll.).jpg |thumb|upright=1.15|The wedding of Tsar [[Nicholas II of Russia]]]]

From the Eastern Orthodox perspective, marriage is one of the holy mysteries or sacraments. As well as in many other Christian traditions, for example in Catholicism, it serves to unite a woman and a man in eternal union and love before God, with the purpose of following Christ and his Gospel and raising up a faithful, holy family through their holy union.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_02021994_families_en.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110405033300/https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_02021994_families_en.html|url-status=dead|title=Letter to Families by Pope John Paul II|archive-date=5 April 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| author = John Meyendorff | title = Marriage: An Orthodox Perspective | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=YSSCUO1tonkC&pg=PA13| year = 1975 | publisher = St. Vladimir's Seminary Press | isbn = 978-0-913836-05-7| page = 13 | access-date = 20 February 2016 }}</ref> The church understands marriage to be the union of one man and one woman, and certain Orthodox leaders have spoken out strongly in opposition to the civil institution of [[same-sex marriage]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://saintandrew.net/documents/FINALOrthodoxBishopsProp8Statement.pdf |title = Statement of Orthodox Christian Bishops |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610200407/http://saintandrew.net/documents/FINALOrthodoxBishopsProp8Statement.pdf |archive-date = 10 June 2011 |url-status = dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oca.org/news/590 |title=OCA Reaffirms SCOBA Statement in Wake of Massachusetts Same-Sex Marriage Ruling |date=17 May 2004 |access-date=4 August 2010}}</ref>

[[File:Greek Orthodox wedding in Tripodes, Naxos, 119259.JPG|thumb|upright=1.15|Greek Orthodox wedding]]
Jesus said that "when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven" (Mk 12:25). For the Orthodox Christian this passage should not be understood to imply that Christian marriage will not remain a reality in the Kingdom, but points to the fact that relations will not be "fleshy", but "spiritual".<ref name=meyendorff70/> Love between wife and husband, as an icon of relationship between Christ and church, is eternal.<ref name=meyendorff70>{{cite book| author = John Meyendorff | title = Marriage: An Orthodox Perspective | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=YSSCUO1tonkC&pg=PA18| year = 1975 | publisher = St. Vladimir's Seminary Press | isbn = 978-0-913836-05-7| page = 18 | access-date = 20 February 2016 }}</ref>

The church does recognise that there are rare occasions when it is better that couples do separate, but there is no official recognition of civil divorces. For the Eastern Orthodox, to say that marriage is indissoluble means that it should not be broken, the violation of such a union, perceived as holy, being an offence resulting from either adultery or the prolonged absence of one of the partners. Thus, permitting remarriage is an act of compassion of the church towards sinful man.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.orthodoxresearchinstitute.org/articles/liturgics/athenagoras_remarriage.htm|title=Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage in the Orthodox Church: Economia and Pastoral Guidance|publisher=The Orthodox research Institute|author=Mgr. Athenagoras Peckstadt, Bishop of Sinope|date=18 May 2005|access-date=19 November 2008}}</ref>

=== Holy orders ===

[[Image:Kheirotonia.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Eastern Orthodox [[subdeacon]] being ordained to the [[diaconate]]. The [[bishop]] has placed his [[omophorion]] and right hand on the head of the candidate and is reading the ''Prayer of [[Christian laying on of hands|Cheirotonia]]''.]]

Widowed priests and [[deacon]]s may not remarry and it is common for such members of the clergy to retire to a monastery (see [[clerical celibacy]]). This is also true of widowed wives of clergy, who do not remarry and become nuns when their children are grown. Only men are allowed to receive [[holy orders]], although [[deaconess]]es had both liturgical and pastoral functions within the church.<ref name="Karras">{{cite journal |last= Karras |first= Valerie A. |title= Female Deacons in the Byzantine Church |pages= 272–316 |date= June 2004 |journal= Church History |volume= 73 |issue= 2 |doi= 10.1017/S000964070010928X |s2cid= 161817885 |issn= 0009-6407
}}</ref>

In 2016, the Holy Synod of the [[Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria]] voted to reinstate the [[Deaconess|female diaconate]]; in the following year, it ordained six sub-deaconesses in the [[Democratic Republic of Congo]]. In 2024 the Patriarchate ordained its first female deacon, Angelic Molen, in Zimbabwe, making her the first female deacon in the Eastern Orthodox Church.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://international.la-croix.com/religion/breaking-with-tradition-greek-orthodox-church-ordains-first-woman-deacon-in-africa|title=Breaking with tradition, Greek Orthodox Church ordains first woman deacon in Africa|date=13 May 2024|website=La croix international}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Barillas |first=Martin |date=2024-05-09 |title=Orthodox Church Ordains Female Deacon |url=https://www.ncregister.com/cna/orthodox-church-ordains-female-deacon |access-date= |website=[[National Catholic Register]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.christiancentury.org/news/eastern-orthodox-church-ordains-zimbabwean-woman-its-first-deaconess|title=Eastern Orthodox Church ordains Zimbabwean woman as its first deaconess|website=The Christian Century}}</ref> This move was met with criticism from other autocephalous Orthodox church leaders, such as the [[Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America]]'s [[Saba Esber|Metropolitan Saba Esber]],<ref>{{Cite news |url= https://www.antiochian.org/regulararticle/2052 |first= Saba |last= Isper |title=What is the Goal? |website= [[Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America]]}}</ref> and Archpriest John Whiteford of the [[ROCOR]],<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://orthochristian.com/160402.html |website= [[Pravoslavie.ru|Orthochristian.com]] |title= DEACONESSES, FEMALE DEACONS, AND THE AGENDA OF THE ST. PHOEBE CENTER |first= John |last= Whiteford}}</ref> who criticized the move as being politically motivated and did not accurately reflect the historical use of deaconesses in the Eastern Orthodox Church.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://youtube.com/video/UkclE1KD5fw |website= YouTube |title= Female Priests? Women Deacons Refuted by Fr John Whiteford -Jay Dyer|date= 17 October 2023 }}</ref>