The universal church highlights seven Sacraments which it recognises as special and effective signs of God's grace in the world. The two primary and universal Sacraments are Holy Baptism and Holy Eucharist (Communion), the other five are Marriage, Confession, Anointing, Ordination and Confirmation. These seven rites continue to be formative in Anglo-Catholic and mainstream Anglican identity and spirituality, and are therefore central to the witness to the Christian life at S. Michael's.
'What was visible in Christ has now passed over into the sacraments of the Church'
St Leo the Great
'Sacraments are the powerful instruments of God to eternal life. For as our natural body consisteth in the union of the body with the soul, so our life supernatural is in the union of the soul with God'
Richard Hooker
'It is vital to affirm that the sacraments effect what they signify and are means of grace'
The House of Bishops, The Eucharist: Sacrament of Unity
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EUCHARIST
'And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me’. And likewise the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant of my blood’
St Luke 22.19,20
'The Eucharist stands at the very heart of the life, worship and mission of the Christian Church'
Archbishops of Canterbury and York, The Eucharist: Sacrament of Unity
'Belief in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist is clearly taught in the Church of England’s eucharistic Theology'
The House of Bishops, The Eucharist: Sacrament of Unity
BAPTISM
'Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching th
em to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.'St Matthew 28.19,20
'Baptism is God’s most beautiful and magnificent gift … because it is conferred on those who bring nothing of their own'
St Gregory Nazianzus
'Our ‘drowning’ in the water of baptism, where we believe we die to sin and are raised to new life, unites us to Christ’s dying and rising …'
Common Worship
CONFIRMATION
'Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit; for it had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit'
Acts 8.14-17
'It is necessary for him that has been baptized also to be anointed, so that by his having received chrism, that is, the anointing, he can become the anointed of God and have within him the grace of Christ'
St Cyprian of Carthage
'Remember then that you received the seal of the Spirit; the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and godliness, and the spirit of holy fear in the presence of God. Guard what you have received'
St Ambrose of Milan
ANOINTING OF THE SICK
'And they cast out many demons, and anointed many that were sick and healed them'
Mark 6.13
'Is any among you sick? Let him call for the presbyters of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord'
Epistle of St James 5.14
'I anoint you in the name of God who gives you life. Receive Christ’s forgiveness, his healing and his love'
Common Worship
ORDINATION
'This is why I left you in Crete, that you might amend what was defective, and appoint presbyters in every town as I directed you'
Titus 1.5
'Let all respect the deacons as Jesus Christ, even as the bishop is a type of the Father, and the presbyters as a council of God and college of apostles'
St Ignatius of Antioch
'The Church of England holds and teaches that from the apostles’ time there have been these orders in Christ’s Church: bishops, priests, and deacons'
The Canons of the Church of England
MATRIMONY
'From the beginning of creation, “God made them male and female.” “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one put asunder'
St Mark 10.6-9
'How beautiful is the marriage of two Christians: two who are one in hope, one in desire, one in the way of life they follow, one in the religion they practice. They are as brother and sister, both servants of the same Master. Nothing divides them, either in flesh or in spirit'
Tertullian
'The Bible teaches us that marriage is a gift of God in creation and a means of his grace, a holy mystery in which man and woman become one flesh'
Common Worship
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
'Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed'
Epistle of St James 5.16
'… embrace, as a shipwrecked man, the protection of some plank. This will draw you forth when sunk in the waves of sins, and will bear you forward into the port of the divine mercy'
Tertullian
'May the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ and his infinite merits, whatsoever good you have done and evil you have endured, heal you of your sins, help you to grow in holiness and bring you to eternal life. Go in peace'
Book of Common Prayer, 1662