Ex Opere Operato

Definition and Meaning

The Korean term sahyoron translates the Latin ex opere operato ("by the work performed"). The element sahyo means "the efficacy of the work itself." The doctrine holds that the efficacy of a sacrament does not depend on the holiness or worthiness of the person administering it. A sacrament is efficacious when it is rightly performed according to the form Christ instituted and the intention of the Church. The opposing view, which holds that efficacy depends on the condition of the person performing the act, is called ex opere operantis (Korean inhyoron, "efficacy of the person").

Biblical and Historical Background

The debate began in earnest in the early fourth century with the Donatist controversy in North Africa. During persecution under the Roman Empire, some clergy had surrendered the Scriptures to the authorities. The Donatists claimed that baptisms and ordinations performed by such clergy were invalid. In response, Augustine held that the true minister of the sacraments is Christ, and he therefore argued that baptism administered even by an unworthy person is valid. Passages such as 1 Corinthians 3:6–7, which teaches that it is God who gives the increase, are often cited in support of this argument.

In the sixteenth century, the Catholic Church affirmed at the Council of Trent that the sacraments confer grace ex opere operato. Catholic teaching also attaches conditions: the proper form and the minister's intention must be present, and the recipient must not place an obstacle in the way.

The Reformers responded in two ways. They generally agreed in separating the minister's worthiness from the sacrament's efficacy. The Augsburg Confession declares that sacraments administered by evil men are nonetheless efficacious, and it condemns the Donatists. At the same time, it rejects the teaching that one is justified by the act itself without faith. The Westminster Confession of Faith states that the efficacy of a sacrament depends not upon the piety or intention of the one who administers it, but upon the work of the Holy Spirit and the word of institution.

Practice in the Korean Church

The term sahyoron is not part of the everyday vocabulary of Korean Protestantism. It is used mainly in seminary courses on dogmatics and in explanations of Catholic doctrine.

Nevertheless, the principle bears on actual pastoral practice. One such question is whether a baptism must be readministered when the pastor who performed it is later deposed or resigns because of misconduct. Many Korean Presbyterian, Methodist, and Holiness churches tend not to regard a baptism as invalid solely because of problems with the minister's qualifications. The Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England, which the Anglican Church of Korea follows, include an article stating that the unworthiness of ministers does not hinder the effect of the sacrament.

Protestant denominations generally do not use the term ex opere operato. Instead, they explain the efficacy of the sacraments in connection with faith and the work of the Holy Spirit.

The practice among Baptists of rebaptizing by immersion those who received infant baptism in other denominations is a separate issue. It concerns not the minister's qualifications but a judgment about the recipient's profession of faith and the mode of baptism. For details, see the article Baptism and Immersion.