The Sacraments of the Church

the Sacraments of the Church from the Coptic Orthodox perspective, clarifying the essential distinction between the word “mystery” as divine knowledge and its ecclesiastical meaning as a means of receiving divine grace.

🕊️ First: The Meaning of the Word “Mystery”

His Holiness Pope Shenouda III explains that the word “mystery” in the Holy Bible is used in two ways:

• Mysteries of knowledge: divine truths that were hidden and later revealed by God, such as redemption, incarnation, the Trinity, and the mystery of godliness.

• Mysteries of grace: the seven Church sacraments, through which unseen divine grace is granted by visible acts.

🕊️ Second: The Nature of the Church Sacraments

The Church sacraments are:

• An unseen divine grace.

• Given through a visible action (such as water, oil, bread, and wine).

• Their true source is the Holy Spirit, not human effort.

The priest performs the visible act, while the hidden and real work is accomplished by the Holy Spirit.

🕊️ Third: The Role of the Holy Spirit and the Priesthood

• The Holy Spirit is the true actor in all sacraments:
  He gives new birth in Baptism, dwells in Chrismation, grants forgiveness in Confession, transforms the offerings in the Eucharist, and bestows authority in the Priesthood.

• The priest is not the giver of grace but God’s steward and servant of the sacrament.

• Therefore, the sacraments are not human actions, but divine works carried out through the Church.

🕊️ Fourth: Sacraments and Forgiveness

All sacraments share a fundamental element: the forgiveness of sins:

• In Baptism, original sin and previous sins are forgiven.

• In Confession, actual sins are forgiven.

• In the Anointing of the Sick, sins are forgiven together with healing.

• All this is granted through the merits of Christ’s blood in the sacrifice of the Cross.

🕊️ Fifth: Oil and Its Spiritual Symbolism

His Holiness explains the importance of Holy Myron oil:

• The oil used in Baptism sanctifies the water.

• The oil of Chrismation sanctifies the person and grants the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

• Oil is a constant symbol of the work of the Holy Spirit, as seen in the candle, the lamp, and the wise virgins.
  A person can only be enlightened when the Holy Spirit actively works within him.

✨ Spiritual Conclusion

The Church sacraments are divine channels of salvation, through which we receive God’s grace and the merits of the Cross. The Church is a community in which the Holy Spirit lives and works, making its children the light of the world—not by their own strength, but by the power of God dwelling in them.

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