I don’t know much about the Eastern churches. Are the 7 great mysteries the same as the sacraments?I’ll leave it to others to cite documents from prior to Trent, but the answer to the question is pretty clear from the Eastern churches, who have always considered matrimony to be one of the 7 great mysteries. Since the Eastern churches split off 500 years before Trent, it’s hard to argue that matrimony was not considered a sacrament.
Nonetheless, it may be true that no binding Church teaching on the matter existed until Trent. There are a number of other things such as the funeral rite that were considered sacraments by some people. At the same time, if we had to list which sacraments had the weakest claim to that status, matrimony might be near the top, being present in the Bible long before Christ, and being present in the secular world as a legal contract. So I’m not clear how old is the concept that there are exactly seven sacraments, and that they are our current list of seven.
All sacraments were institute by Christ.I’ve heard from a couple of sources, including at least one priest, that matrimony was not raised to the level of a sacrament until the Council of Trent. I’ve also heard the opposit, that is, that it has always been one of the sacraments. What I’ve never seen is any documentation, from Church documents, to support either position. Does anyone know of any references to matrimony as a sacrament prior to Trent? Thanks.
Thanks, Evan.See newadvent.org/cathen/09707a.htm
which states
The Council of Florence, in the Decree for the Armenians, had already declared: “The seventh sacrament is matrimony, which is a figure of the union of Christ, and the Church, according to the words of the Apostle: This is a great sacrament, but I speak in Christ and in the Church.’”
And Innocent IV, in the profession of faith prescribed for the Waldensians (18 December, 1208), includes matrimony among the sacraments (Denzinger-Bannwart, “Enchiridion”, n. 424).
The acceptance of the sacraments administered in the Church had been prescribed in general in the following words: “And we by no means reject the sacraments which are administered in it (the Roman Catholic Church), with the co-operation of the inestimable and invisible power of the Holy Ghost, even though they be administered by a sinful priest, provided the Church recognizes him”, the formula then takes up each sacrament in particular, touching especially on those points which the Waldensians had denied: “Therefore we approve of baptism of children . . . confirmation administered by the bishop . . . the sacrifice of the Eucharist. . . . We believe that pardon is granted by God to penitent sinners . . . we hold in honour the anointing of the sick with consecrated oil . . . we do not deny that carnal marriages are to be contracted, according to the words of the Apostle.”
Yes, mysterion is Greek, saramentum is Latin.I don’t know much about the Eastern churches. Are the 7 great mysteries the same as the sacraments?
ThanksYes, mysterion is Greek, saramentum is Latin.