The Sacramental Life

Episcopal Church worship, our Liturgy, is sacramental. The basic description of a sacrament is "An outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace." We believe that God has promised to humanity that we would have access to divine grace, the free gift of God's blessing that frees us from sin, strengthens us to do good work, and leads us deeper into the life of faith. 

Of course, God's grace flows into the world in an endless number of ways, and we don't put a limit on how God works in our lives. We do trust that God's grace is promised and assured in the sacraments of the Church, through the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit. Through the prayer of the church, we trust that God's grace and blessings descend upon us by participation in the sacraments.

Episcopalians hold a range of theological views on the number of sacraments. Some maintain the medieval position, inherited from Anglicanism's Western Church heritage, that there are seven sacraments as listed below. Some prefer the view that emerged out of the Reformation that states that there are only two sacraments instituted by Jesus Christ: Holy Eucharist and Baptism. The other five are, however, recognized as "sacramental rites" of the church that nevertheless convey God's blessing.

The sacramental rites of the Church are:

• Baptism
• Holy Eucharist, also called Holy Communion, the Lord's Supper, the Divine Liturgy, and Mass.
  
• Confirmation
• Unction (Anointing of the Sick)
  
• Confession/Reconciliation
  
• Holy Matrimony, also called Marriage
• Ordination

Although it is technically not a sacrament, the church also has rites for the last stage of our life on this earth, and our entry to the afterlife. See our page on The rite of Christian Burial.