ORTHODOX BELIEFS AND SACRAMENTS
The Orthodox and Catholic Churches recognize seven sacraments: christening, receiving communion, confession, unction, matrimony, anointing oil consecration, priesthood. Officially these seven sacraments were adopted by the Catholic Church in Lion in 1279, and some time later they were established in the Orthodox cult too.
Orthodox worship God in Trinity glorifying equally the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Orthodox believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God, begotten before all ages, and that He is of one essence with the Father. Orthodox believe that Christ incarnate is truly man, like us in all respects except sin. Orthodox worship the Holy Spirit as Lord and Life-giver who proceeds from the Father.
Orthodox honor and venerate the saints and ask their intercession before God. Of the saints, Mary, the Mother of God, holds a special place "More honorable than the Cherubim and beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim."
Baptism and Chrismation are the two sacraments essential to enter into the saving shelter of the Church. Baptism by triple immersion washes away our sins and restores the image of Adam. With Chrismation, we receive the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, becoming partakers of the fulness of Christ.
In the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, Orthodox partake of the true Body and Blood of Christ in the form of bread and wine for the remission of sins, the healing of body and soul, and for life eternal.
Confession is the fourth essential sacrament for the life of all Christians. In confession, Christ gives us, through our father confessor, the forgiveness of the sins we commit after Baptism if we truly repent of them.
Ordination, Marriage, and Holy Unction complete the seven Sacraments of Orthodoxy. By the laying-on of hands, a bishop transmits Divine Grace to the person being ordained, linking him - through the continuing flow of Grace that descended on the Apostles at Pentecost -to the uninterrupted succession of Orthodox clergy.
Divine Grace sanctifies the union of two people in matrimony. (Orthodox parish priests are usually married; bishops now come from the Church's monastic tradition.)
The sacrament of Holy Unction heals infirmities of body and soul.
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