Seven Sacraments

Definition and Meaning

The Seven Sacraments are the seven rites that the Catholic Church professes to be visible signs conveying the grace of God. In Korean, Catholics use the term seongsa (聖事) where Protestants use seongnye (聖禮), both rendered "sacrament" in English. The seven sacraments are as follows:

• Baptism: the rite of entry into the community of faith
• Confirmation: the rite that strengthens the grace of the Holy Spirit in those who have been baptized
• Eucharist: the rite corresponding to Protestant Communion
• Penance: the rite in which sins are confessed to a priest and forgiveness is pronounced; also called the Sacrament of Reconciliation
• Anointing of the Sick: the rite of anointing the sick with oil and praying for them
• Holy Orders: the rite by which deacons, priests, and bishops are ordained
• Matrimony: the rite of marriage

The Eastern Orthodox Church also counts seven sacraments (or mysteries), although it reportedly does not limit their number to seven as strictly as the Catholic Church does.

Biblical and Historical Background

The Catholic Church cites various Scripture passages as the basis for each sacrament: Acts 8:14–17 for Confirmation, John 20:22–23 for Penance, James 5:14–15 for the Anointing of the Sick, and 1 Timothy 4:14 for Holy Orders. The New Testament word "mystery" (mysterion) was rendered sacramentum in the Latin Vulgate, and the concept of "sacrament" derives from this term. Ephesians 5:32 is frequently cited as the basis for regarding marriage as a sacrament.

The systematization of the sacraments as seven is generally attributed to the Sentences of the twelfth-century theologian Peter Lombard. The Council of Florence (1439) later taught the seven sacraments, and the Council of Trent (1547) defined them as dogma.

During the Reformation, Martin Luther criticized the sevenfold sacramental system in The Babylonian Captivity of the Church (1520). John Calvin and other Reformers likewise recognized as sacraments only Baptism and the Lord's Supper, which the Gospels record as having been directly instituted by Christ. The Westminster Confession of Faith also limits the sacraments to these two.

Practice in the Korean Church

• Presbyterian, Methodist, Holiness, Full Gospel, and other churches: Most Korean Protestant denominations administer two sacraments, Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Practices corresponding to the remaining rites of the Seven Sacraments are observed as ceremonies rather than as sacraments. Examples include confirmation (admission to membership), wedding services, the laying on of hands and ordination and installation services, and pastoral visitation and prayer for the sick.
• Baptists tend to understand baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper not as sacraments that convey grace but as "ordinances" observed in obedience to Christ's command.
• The Anglican Church of Korea, following the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, regards Baptism and the Eucharist as the sacraments of the Gospel, while Confirmation, confession, marriage, ordination, and the anointing of the sick are administered as sacramental rites. For this reason, it uses the term "sacrament" more broadly than most other Protestant churches.

The Catholic Church in Korea places the Seven Sacraments at the center of the believer's life. When Protestants encounter Catholic terms such as "Eucharist" or "confession," an awareness of these differences can aid mutual understanding.