Churches with a different 7 sacraments?

[DL82]

The East and West agree that there are 7 sacraments, yet I have heard some say that the East have a different 7, for example the Assyrians consider the Holy Leaven and the Sign of the Cross a sacrament, but don’t consider Marriage a sacrament, and some Eastern/Oriental churches consider monastic tonsure or icons to be sacramental?

Is this true of the Churches in union with Rome too? Have I missed something here? Do these churches consider the West to be deficient because we lack some of the sacraments?

 

[bpbasilphx]

Orthodoxy freqequently speaks of 7 Mysteries for confenience, though it’s never been a doctrinal definition as such.

Imperial Anointing has been called a Mystery, though the Chrism is identically that used for Chrismation, and the formula is the same: The Seal of the Gift of the Holy Spirit, this time, given for autocratic rule in Christ’s name.

Fr. Sebastian, a Serbian theologian, once opined that in Orthdoxy, that one could justly say there are either many sacraments, or one–the Church Herself, who is the Pan-mystery that embraces them all.

 

[Eastern_Guy]

Orthodoxy freqequently speaks of 7 Mysteries for confenience, though it’s never been a doctrinal definition as such.

Imperial Anointing has been called a Mystery, though the Chrism is identically that used for Chrismation, and the formula is the same: The Seal of the Gift of the Holy Spirit, this time, given for autocratic rule in Christ’s name.

Fr. Sebastian, a Serbian theologian, once opined that in Orthdoxy, that one could justly say there are either many sacraments, or one–the Church Herself, who is the Pan-mystery that embraces them all.

I believe I’ve heard the same thing and that the EO considers everything done within the church is a sacrament and is not limited to only 7.

 

[twf]

Fr. Sebastian, a Serbian theologian, once opined that in Orthdoxy, that one could justly say there are either many sacraments, or one–the Church Herself, who is the Pan-mystery that embraces them all.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church also describes the Church as a sacrament…so this idea is universal to Christianity. All Christian life is to be sacramental, firmly rooted in the Eucharist (which Latins call the “source of summit” of the faith)…the Church, as the body of Christ, is an extension of the Incarnation.

 

[Deacon_Ed]

I think it more accurate to say that Catholicism (East and West) and Orthodoxy have identified the seven major sacrament/mysteries. Clearly there are others such as the Church herself. So both East and West look beyond the major seven. Early lists of sacraments in the Church included many of what today the West calls sacramentals. We have to remember that sacramental theology is a relatively late development in the Church, so many things were called sacraments at one time that no longer are.

Because the East is less likely to provide definitive lists, there is a tendency to be a little more flexible in calling things sacraments.

Deacon Ed

 

[Peter_J]

The East and West agree that there are 7 sacraments, yet I have heard some say that the East have a different 7, for example the Assyrians consider the Holy Leaven and the Sign of the Cross a sacrament, but don’t consider Marriage a sacrament, and some Eastern/Oriental churches consider monastic tonsure or icons to be sacramental?

I would suggest the section Orthodox Worship: The Sacraments from Bishop Kallistos’ book, The Orthodox Church.

 

[jimmy]

Sometimes easterners will say there are seven sacraments but it is not a definition. Life itself is sacramental. A sacrament or mystery is something that contains the power of God. The west has defined a sacrament as a visible sign of an invisible reality. In that sense, anywhere where God is acting there is the concept of sacrament. God acts through you so you are a sacrament to the world. If another man sees God in your life and he is converted that is the essence of the sacrament. The man has encountered God. You can encounter God anywhere in life no matter what your situation is so you will always find sacraments.

Really, there is not that much difference between the east and the west(atleast according to the expression of modern theologians like Pope Benedict) on sacramental theology. The only real difference is that the west defines that the seven as supperior to the others. Some Orthodox might say there are an infinite number and some might say there are seven and some might say there are only two or three or whatever. There is no boundary in the east on what might be a sacrament.