Church sacraments are understood as certain sacraments, during which a special divine grace descends on a person. There are seven sacraments in the Orthodox Church, these include: baptism, anointing, repentance (confession), the Eucharist (communion), unction (blessing of the holy oil), wedding and priesthood (ordination to the priesthood).
For a person who wants to become a member of the Christian church, holy baptism is necessary. During this sacrament, a person is adopted (adopted) by God, enters into the society of people who believe in the Holy Trinity, united by a single hierarchy. In the sacrament of baptism, all sins are forgiven to a person (the original sin is "erased" from infants), therefore, the one who is baptized becomes a saint for a time until the moment of the next sin.
In modern times in Russia, together with the sacrament of baptism, chrismation is performed. During this sacred ceremony, a person is given a special divine grace that helps the baptized to grow in a spiritual sense. This grace gives a person strength for spiritual improvement and personal feat of faith.
After baptism, a person gradually loses his holiness, since there is not a single person who remains without sin. That is why for the Orthodox, the sacrament of repentance (confession) is so necessary, during which a person repents of his sins before God, and the priest reads a prayer of absolution over the repentant. In the sacrament of repentance, the Christian again purifies his soul.
The sacrament of the Eucharist consists in a Christian eating the true Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ under the guise of bread and wine. In this sacrament, a person in a mystical, but real and effective way unites with God. Jesus Christ spoke of the need for the sacrament of the sacrament, proclaiming to people that without the sacrament a person "has no life in himself."
Unction is another sacrament of the Orthodox Church. In it, a person is given divine grace, capable of healing various diseases and ailments of the soul and body. Also, according to the teachings of the Orthodox Church, forgotten sins are forgiven in the sacrament of unction.
Couples resort to the sacrament of weddings in order to receive God's blessing for living together, having and raising children in the Orthodox faith. In this sacrament, the spouses become one. From now on they have everything in common.
The last Orthodox sacrament is the priesthood (ordination to the priesthood). This sacrament is performed by the bishop of the church. During the ordination, the bishop puts his hands on the head of the candidate for priesthood and reads a specific prayer. During the sacrament of ordination, special divine grace is given, elevating a person to the sacred church dignity.
