This Sacrament also has another name: Blessing of Anointing. The people have great prejudices and misconceptions on the topic of this ritual. Others believe that Unction in Orthodoxy is only suitable for people close to death, or that death necessarily follows after it. And others believe in the inevitable healing of an illness after the first visit to the ritual. Below we will analyze the concept from a church point of view.

The essence of the ritual

The sacred act acquired its name from the number of priests performing this ritual, that is, conciliarly.

Ordinary people are often interested in the question: “How is the sacrament of unction performed?” The ritual consists of anointing a person’s body with specific consecrated oil (oil) in order to invoke God’s grace, driving away mental and physical weakness. In addition, a believer who has undergone this ritual receives forgiveness of his sinful actions, which, due to our rudeness and relaxation, unnoticed, passed by our consciousness. For example, a person can simply forget about his crime or not know that the act is one.

About sins:

Interesting! Unction is a rite that finds its purpose already in apostolic times. The Apostle James claims that church elders, praying over the sick and anointing him with oil, were an instrument of the Lord, who has the power to cure the terminally ill and forgive all sins.

In the history of ministry, there are a colossal number of examples of divine healing after the sacrament of unction. People recovered completely after the sacrament physically and mentally. However, there is no absolute guarantee that the ritual will help everyone.

Unction is a sacred rite for the purpose of getting rid of sins and illnesses; it is performed by seven clergy. This number has a symbolic meaning for the completeness of the Orthodox Church. The sacrament consists of reading exactly seven passages from the apostolic instructions, telling about miraculous healings, repentance, compassion and the need to trust in the power of the Almighty. After each petition, in prayerful humility, the patient is anointed with oil seven times.

Important! The Church allows one priest to perform the Sacrament of Unction, but only if he is capable of performing the rite on behalf of the cathedral.

Sacrament of Unction

History of origin

This ritual, like many others, owes its appearance to Gospel times. Jesus Christ himself established it by calling his disciples and giving them power over devilish creatures. The apostles went around and preached sincere repentance, cast out demons from the bodies of the sick, and anointed them with oil. Evidence of these words is found on the pages of the Gospel of Mark, therefore it is argued that the sacred rite existed before Calvary and helped the physically and mentally ill.

The Apostle James also mentions the sacrament of consecration of oil in his authoritative letter.

Since the 15th century A special liturgical rite was introduced for the sacrament, which determined the sequence of the unction process itself. The order was constantly changing, becoming more wide-ranging and fixed.

• In the III-IV centuries. the prayers included pure requests to God to make the oil healing when anointed and consumed. The service at that time was carried out by bishops.
• Byzantine divine services of the 8th century. differ in a well-thought-out sequence of procedures. Unction in Orthodoxy begins with an appeal to the Holy Father, the healer of every sick soul. The first words are called by the church the formula of this sacrament.
• Blessing of oil has long been perceived as a sacred action in both Orthodoxy and Catholicism. The tradition of performing exactly seven rituals came to the teachings of the East from the Western Church.

When to turn to the sacrament

The Blessing of Anointing is performed on Orthodox Christians over seven years of age who are physically and mentally ill. The latter include severe psychological disorders (dejection, grief and complete despair). Orthodoxy calls the causes of these states unrepentant sins, often unconscious to people. The clergy claim that unction in the church is intended not only for seriously ill people, but also for relatively healthy people.

Important! Blessing of oil is unacceptable if a person is unconscious or behaves aggressively.

Healthy people are recommended to undergo this ritual no more than once a year. The most suitable time here is Lent. At this time, the chances of being completely healed and receiving forgiveness of sinful activities increase. However, a person needs to know that Orthodox unction in itself is not required to deliver from sins and illnesses, but if prayers to the Lord are made from a pure heart, the chances increase many times over.

About repentance for sins:

Principles of the ritual

Before the unction, believers should take communion and confess to the clergy. These conditions must be repeated after the ritual. It is recommended to purchase a candle, and if the unction takes place during Lent, observe it to the best of your ability. Church ministers prepare specific items for the sacred sacrament.

The ritual requires the presence of the following things:

• A table (lectern) covered with a clean tablecloth.
• Grains of any cereal placed on a dish. It is a symbol of a healthy life, physical and spiritual renewal.
• Seven candles.
• A special vessel where the oil will be illuminated.
• Seven sticks wrapped in cotton wool.
• Vegetable or olive oil.
• A small amount of wine symbolizing the blood of Christ.
• The Gospel and the cross are also necessary in the ritual process.

Traditionally, the Sacrament of Unction is carried out in a church; an exception may be when a priest comes to the home of infirm Orthodox Christians. If the patient does not have the opportunity to attend church, the priests themselves visit him in his home. The procedure is practically no different from that in a monastery or church. All relatives, who will also be anointed, participate at home.

Before the start of the ceremony in the temple, parishioners light the candles they brought. The sacrament of unction is divided into three stages - the singing of a prayer service, the illumination of oil and anointing.

Sacrament of Unction

How is the ceremony currently performed?

The rules for conducting modern Blessing of Anointing differ significantly from the ancient method. This gives rise to numerous prejudices and mistrust on the part of some people.

• The first part is characterized by prayers and a listing of the names of those who came. Unction begins with a phrase praising Our Father. Further, the ritual resembles the morning service of Lent in a shortened version.
• The second part of the sacrament of unction is filled with the procedure of consecrating the anointing oil. Wine, symbolizing the blood of the Lord, and vegetable oil are mixed in a separate vessel. After this, candles are lit, and the priest reads a special prayer to give the oil the qualities of divine healing.
• In conclusion, the ministers of the church read the apostolic epistles, pray for the forgiveness of sinful acts and the recovery of the sick, and anoint all those gathered for the sacrament. The last part is repeated seven times, but each time a different passage from the Gospel is pronounced. Next, the parishioners surround the priests, who pray and apply an open holy book to each person’s forehead. The believer must kiss the Scripture and bow to everyone present.

Actions after the ritual

Having undergone unction, the Orthodox believer is obliged to take communion and take the cereals used at the moments of the sacrament and the blessed oil to his own home. These remnants are added to food, and areas that require treatment are anointed with oil. However, in ancient times there were different rules. The church forbade taking away the remains of cereals and oil with them - they were simply burned.

Important! Currently, food is thrown into the fire if it remains before the start of a new sacrament.

Parishioners who have undergone the rite of unction with a clear conscience note significant emotional relief. Physical condition also improves. The Church assures that daily prayers, parishes and constant blessing of oil contribute to the healing of the body.

People need to abandon the stereotype that the ritual is intended only for seriously ill people. This opinion is a relic of the past and is completely inconsistent with Holy Scripture. The apostles sought precisely healing during the rite of unction, and not the “last anointing.”

Many parishioners perceive the sacrament as a way of inevitable recovery, but, for the most part, they do not confess or receive communion at all. This is fraught with a decrease in faith in a person who was counting on a miracle and who did not receive the desired healing result. The clergy note: “Healing is a gift from the All-Good Lord, and not a physical result of an action.” Only those who sincerely turn their attention to purification and forgiveness receive a miraculous reward.

People who feel their imminent death have a fear of the Sacrament of Unction. They assume that they will leave the world immediately after the ceremony, but the terms of life are determined by the Creator, and the soul needs to take care of the transition to the abode of the Lord, confessing and receiving communion. In the event of approaching death, the rite of unction is obligatory for the dying person.

Advice! If you are late for the procession, those who have at least once undergone the consecration of oil are allowed to take part in it. However, clergy recommend postponing participation.

Differences between Confirmation and Unction

The Church separates these two concepts as completely different.

Confirmation is carried out immediately after Baptism and is intended for cultivation and strengthening in spiritual self-improvement. The sacrament is performed separately if it is directed towards a person who has a different religion.

Attention! Both the Blessing of Oil and Confirmation should be distinguished from the All-Night Vigil - the evening services before a major holiday. People often mistake preparatory work for some kind of sacred act. The all-night anointing and blessing of cereals is not a sacrament.

Blessing of Unction (unction) is a church sacrament aimed at healing ailments and getting rid of the consequences of sinful acts. By sincerely repenting during the ritual, a person gets a chance to gain health and a spiritual connection with the Creator. During the ritual, the parishioner is not required to have any special skills; he simply must show humility and frankness.

Unction is carried out both in the temple and in the house, but always under the command of a clergyman.

Watch the video about the unction

About the sacraments. Sacrament of Anointing

THE CONCEPT OF THE SACRAMENT

Blessing of oil is a sacrament in which, when anointing the body with oil, the grace of God is invoked on the sick person, healing mental and physical infirmities (Catechism).

The Sacrament of the Blessing of Unction is also called “holy oil”, “anointing of oil” and “prayer oil” (from the Greek euhelaion), but more often “unction”, “unction of oil” - after the meeting, “council” of elders, whom the Apostle James commanded to gather to perform the sacrament Oil.

The Sacrament of the Blessing of Anointing is the main grace-filled remedy that the Orthodox Church gives to the sick and suffering for relief, healing of illness and for preparation for a Christian, peaceful and shameless death.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SACRAMENT

The beginning of anointing with oil as a sacrament was laid by the Lord Himself, according to whose commandment His disciples, healing the souls of people with the saving preaching of the Gospel, also healed the bodies of the sick with the anointing of oil: “I anointed many sick people with oil, and healed the woman” (Mark 6:13). And in the order of the sacrament it is said: “Thy holy anointing, O Lover of Mankind, was mercifully commanded by Thy apostle to perform Thy infirm servants.”

Initially, the sacrament was performed, like anointing, through the laying on of the hands of the performer (Mark 16:18; Acts 28:8-9). The memory of this way of performing the sacrament was also preserved in our Trebnik - in the prayer read after the sacrament was performed while laying the Gospel, like the hand of the Lord, on the head of the sick person. In the apostolic age, the laying on of hands for healing was replaced by anointing with oil, just as the laying on of hands to impart the Holy Spirit to the newly baptized was replaced by anointing, and the right to perform the sacrament was also granted to the elders. This practice of performing the sacrament in apostolic times is clearly presented in the letter of the Apostle James (5, 14-16).

After the apostles, many writers of the 1st-5th centuries testify to the celebration of the Sacrament of Anointing in the Church of Christ, namely: in the 2nd-3rd centuries - Dionysius the Areopagite, Tertullian and Origen; Thus, Origen, explaining the words of St. James: “Is anyone sick in you”, mentions the laying on of hands by the elder on the sick; in the 4th century John Chrysostom speaks about the sacrament, and in V the historian Sozomen speaks. The apostolic tradition of the Sacrament of Anointing was preserved not only among Orthodox and Catholics, but also among Nestorians and Monophysites, excommunicated from the Church in the 5th century.

NUMBER OF PERFORMERS OF THE SACRAMENT

According to the commandment of St. James, the sacrament of the Blessing of Unction is performed by a council of elders. Usually this council is composed of seven presbyters, and the sequence of the sacrament in our Breviary is adapted to this number. The number seven in this case, according to the blessed one. Simeon of Thessalonica, is related either to the number of gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned by the prophet. Isaiah, or the number of walks of the priests around Jericho, or with the number of prayers and worship of Elisha at the resurrection of the boy of the Somanite widow (2 Kings.

4, 35), or with the number of prayers of the prophet. Elijah, with whom the sky was opened and rain poured down (1 Kings 18:43), or, finally, in accordance with the number of Naaman’s sevenfold immersion in the water of the Jordan, after which he was cleansed.

The historical basis of the septenary number can be believed in the custom of ancient Christians, in particular elders, to visit the sick to pray for them for seven days in a row, and this number, thus, constituted a full circle of grace-filled healing.

But the Church allows three or two presbyters to perform the Sacrament of Anointing. In extreme cases, one priest is allowed to perform the sacrament, provided, however, that he performs the sacrament on behalf of the council of priests and says all the prayers, as many as there are. The New Tablet says in this regard: “In extreme need, one priest who performs the Sacrament of Anointing does so with the power of the entire Church, of which he is a servant and of which he represents himself: for all the power of the Church is contained in one priest.”

ON WHOM IS THE SACRAMENT PERFORMED?

The Sacrament of Anointing is performed on the sick at home or in church. In ancient times, sick people who could get up from their beds and walk, with the help of others, were brought or brought to the temple in order to obtain consolation for the suffering soul in a sacred place and restore health to the body through the sacrament. Sometimes they themselves remained for several days in the church vestibule and spent days and nights there, awaiting the blessed help of anointing with sacred oil. There were cases when those who were healthy among those present, “to receive a spiritual blessing or to assuage some minor illness, began this spiritual healing.”

In ancient times, in Rus', we attached great importance to the sacrament, considering it one of the most effective remedies against any disease, especially against any type of possession.

The sacrament can be performed not only on the seriously ill, but also on those generally infirm and feeling exhausted (decrepit elders, etc.). But the sacrament, as a rule, is not performed on healthy people. During the Synodal period, only as an exception, on Maundy Thursday, according to the ancient church custom of the Greek and Russian Churches, the bishops performed the blessing of oil on the healthy in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, in the Moscow Assumption Cathedral and other places; “on Holy Thursday,” says Saint Demetrius of Rostov, “at supper, Christ established the New Covenant of His Body and Blood: for this reason and for this mystery, it is not indecent to receive communion, even if it is for a healthy person who does not know the day and hour of his death.” On the other hand, when performing the consecration of oil on Maundy Thursday over healthy bodies, the words of St. James: “Is any of you sick” (James 5:14) - are taken in a broad sense, that is, here we mean not only those who are physically sick, but also those who suffer mentally - having sorrow, despondency, heaviness from sinful passions and etc. Bearing in mind such a broad understanding of the sacrament of the Blessing of Anointing, in the Optina Hermitage and the Sergius Skete of the Kaluga Region it was performed for pilgrims two to three times a week.

The sick person receiving the sacrament must be prepared to receive it by confession, and after or before the consecration of oil, the sick person receives the Holy Mysteries. In case of mortal danger, the patient must be confessed and receive communion before the blessing of oil (Orthodox confession. 118 questions).

PURPOSE AND SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SACRAMENT OF ANOINTING

The Blessing of Oil, as the name itself shows (Greek elaioa - oil; eleos - mercy), is the sacrament of oil, established for the purpose of delivering a person from illness and forgiveness of sins. This dual purpose finds its justification in the Christian view of the nature of bodily illness.

The source of bodily diseases, according to this view, lies in sin, and the first prediction about diseases in the human race appeared after the fall of the first people. When a paralytic was brought to the Savior for healing from an illness, He directly draws attention to the source of the illness and says: “Son, your sins are forgiven you” (Mark 2:3-11). Sin and bodily weakness are placed in exactly the same relationship in St. James, who, having spoken about the healing of the sick through anointing with oil and prayer, notes that at the same time the healed person’s sins are also forgiven (James 5:15).

It cannot be stated unconditionally that all diseases without exception are a direct consequence of sin; There are illnesses sent by the Providence of God for the purpose of testing or improving faith and hope in God, improvement in piety and virtuous life, etc.; such was, for example, the illness of Job, the illness of a blind man to whom the Savior said: “Neither he nor his parents sinned, but this was so that the works of God might be revealed in him” (John 9:3). However, most diseases are recognized in Christianity as a consequence of sin, as we see from many places in the Gospel (Matthew 9:2; John 5:14).

The idea of ​​this connection between sin and illness is clearly evident in the Orthodox sacrament of Anointing. In the rite of blessing of oil, prayers are read both for the healing of the sick and for deliverance from sins, “from passions, from defilement of the flesh and spirit and all evil.”

In the prayers of the canon, the cause of illness is also indicated by the demonic influence on a person, the action of demons on the body, both direct and through sins.

This breadth of purpose (“healing of soul and body,” as well as preparation for eternity) distinguishes the consecration of oil of the Orthodox Church from the Catholic one. According to the teachings of Catholicism, the only purpose of the consecration of oil is to get rid of sins and prepare for a peaceful death, but not at all to heal from illness; therefore, it is performed among Catholics only on people who are hopelessly ill and close to death. Regarding the incorrectness of such a Catholic understanding of the sacrament, Bl. Simeon of Thessalonica, pointing out that Catholics “think contrary to the Savior and His Apostles,” incorrectly interpreting the relevant passages of Holy Scripture (James 5:14-15; cf. John 5:14; Mark 6:13). Such a misunderstanding of the sacrament is sometimes encountered among our believers, who believe that only the dying should be guided by this sacrament.

Here it is necessary to make a reservation, namely in the sense that the sacrament cannot also be understood as something that replaces the “tree of life” and must necessarily give recovery.

The patient may have different conditions:

When he has already matured spiritually for eternity, or when the continuation of his life is no longer useful to him from the point of view of his eternal salvation, and the Lord, by His inscrutable good Providence and omniscience, leads a person to the transition to eternity.

But there may be another state of the patient, when he has not yet matured spiritually, is still far from Christian spirituality. For such a person it is necessary to continue the sorrowful path of earthly life in the conditions of this existence, to suffer and fight here on earth with his sinfulness, which he was unable and did not have time to do. And in relation to such a patient, the prayer of the Church for his mental health and physical recovery is especially applicable and effective. And the illness itself should serve as a turning point for the soul, an impetus for an internal spiritual revolution through repentance. And according to the faith of the Church, mental recovery is closely related to physical recovery itself.

Illness can be sent by God and people of high spiritual life for their spiritual benefit, for their salvation and improvement.

The Blessing of Unction is usually preceded by confession. Thus, in a spiritual sense, consecration of oil is closely related to repentance. This does not mean that repentance in itself is an insufficient sacrament, but only a sick person due to weakness cannot fulfill all the conditions of true repentance. At the sacrament of the Blessing of Anointing, a whole council of His servants stands before the Lord for the exhausted sick person and, with the prayer of faith on behalf of the entire Church, begs God to grant the sick person, along with bodily health, remission of sins.

At the same time, for the sake of the prayers of the Church, the sick person is absolved of special sins, the resolution of which he could not receive in the sacrament of Repentance, namely:

old sins, forgotten and unconfessed, provided, however, that the patient is in a general repentant mood;

sins of “bewilderment” and sins of ignorance;

sins that were the cause of the disease, but the sick person did not know about them;

sins that the patient, due to his grave weakness, is not able to tell his confessor at the moment or cannot now atone for with good deeds.

All these and similar sins, as the blessed one writes. Simeon of Thessalonica, by the grace of God the sick are released through the sacrament of Anointing.

rites of the Sacrament of Anointing

To perform the sacrament, a table is provided, and on it is a dish with wheat, a cross and the Gospel. Grains of wheat symbolically point to new life - after recovery, and after the general resurrection (John 12:24; 1 Cor. 15:36-38), and the cross and the Gospel - to the presence of Jesus Christ Himself.

An empty vessel is placed on top of the wheat (“idle kandilo,” i.e., an empty lamp), into which oil is poured, serving as a visible sign of the grace of healing (Mark 6:13), in combination with wine, in imitation of the medicine used mentioned in the Gospel parable of the Samaritan (Luke 10:34). Around the vessel, seven pods (“pods,” or sticks entwined with cotton paper or cotton wool) are placed in the wheat for anointing. Usually seven lighted candles are inserted here around the vessel, thereby depicting the sevenfold number of performers of the sacrament.

The following of the Holy Oil includes three parts: prayer singing, blessing of oil and anointing with oil itself.

First part(before the Great Litany) is a prayer song and is a reduction of Matins, performed on days of fasting and repentance.

Priests in phelonions stand near the table; they, like everyone present during the sacrament, have lit candles. The first of the priests, having showered the table (and the oil on it), the icons and all the people, turning to the east or towards the icons, utters the exclamation: “Blessed is our God...”.

After the usual beginning - the Trisagion and the Lord's Prayer - the 142nd Psalm is read, which is an abbreviation of the Six Psalms, and the small litany that occurs at Matins is pronounced.

Then Alleluia is sung in the 6th tone (instead of “God is the Lord”), as in the time of repentance, and the penitential troparia: “Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us.”

After this, the 50th Psalm is read and the canon is sung: “Sea of ​​the Black Deep” - Arseny, Bishop of Corfu (IX century). The chorus to the troparions of the canon is not indicated in the Trebnik. In the ancient Trebniks of the Moscow edition the chorus is indicated:

“Merciful Lord, hear the prayer of Your servants who pray to You.”

Sometimes a slightly modified refrain from the Breviary of Peter Mogila is used:

“Much merciful Lord, hear us sinners who pray to You.”

In the South Russian Trebniks there is another refrain:

“Hear us, Lord, hear us, Master, hear us, Holy One.”

(This chorus, following the instructions of the Lviv Trebnik1695, they also sing in Kyiv with every anointing of the sick.)

After the 3rd, 6th and 9th songs of the canon there is a small litany.

After the canon, “It is worthy to eat” is sung, the exapostilary is read, and then the stichera are sung. In the canon and stichera, the sick person asks the Lord for healing from ailments and diseases of the soul and body.

After the stichera the following is read: The Trisagion according to Our Father - and the troparion is sung: “The only one who is swift in intercession is Christ.” Then follows the second part of the rite of the sacrament - the consecration of the oil.

Second part. The deacon (or first priest) pronounces the litany: “Let us pray to the Lord in peace,” in which petitions are attached for the blessing of the oil by the power and action and influx of the Holy Spirit.

After the litany, the first of the priests reads the “Prayer over the candil with oil,” in which he asks God to consecrate the oil and make it healing for the anointed one. The rest of the priests also read this prayer quietly, just as during the invocation of the Holy Spirit in the sacrament of the Eucharist during the cathedral service.

During the reading of this prayer (“the prayer from the priests is a great prayer”), troparia are sung - to Christ the Savior, the Apostle James, St. Nicholas, Demetrius the Myrrh-Streaming, the healer Panteleimon, the holy unmercenaries, the Apostle John the Theologian and the Most Holy Theotokos. Next comes the third part - the performance of the Sacrament of Anointing itself.

The third part The Blessings of Anointings consist of seven readings from the Gospel, seven prayers and seven anointings with holy oil, with the same final prayer being said.

Let us imagine this seven-fold repeated part of the sequence of the sacrament in the form of a diagram.

Deacon: Let's remember.

Another priest: Peace to all.

Chorus: And to your spirit.

Deacon: Wisdom, let's hear it.

Reader (and choir): Prokeimenon.

Deacon: Wisdom.

Reader: Apostle's title.

Deacon: Let's remember.

Priest (after reading the Apostle): Peace be with you.

Reader: And to your spirit.

Chorus: Alleluia (three times).

Priest: Wisdom, forgive us, let us hear the Holy Gospel, peace to all.

Chorus: And to your spirit.

Priest: From... The Holy Gospel reading.

Chorus: Glory to You, Lord...

After the Gospel, the litany is the same all seven times: “Have mercy on us, O God...”.

And after the exclamation, each time the next priest reads a special prayer in the hearing of everyone for the granting of healing and forgiveness of sins to the sick person.

Then the sick person is anointed with oil while reading the (final) prayer:

“Holy Father, Physician of souls and bodies...” (Anointing occurs after the words: “Heal Thy servant...”). Since the anointing is performed while reading this prayer, the priest needs to know it by heart.

This final prayer is said seven times at each of the seven anointings.

When reading this prayer, “the priest takes up a pod, and having soaked (it) in the holy oil, he anoints the sick person in the shape of a cross - on the forehead, on the nostrils, on the cheeks, on the lips, on the peres, on the hands on both countries” (Trebnik), vol. e. anoints those parts of the body through which sin most conveniently enters the human soul. After each anointing, according to the instructions of the ancient Trebniks, it is necessary to wipe off the parts of the body anointed with holy oil with paper or cotton wool.

This order, according to the number of performers of the sacrament, is repeated seven times, and each time other prokemenas, the Apostle, the Gospel and a prayer adapted to them are read after the special litany. (After each anointing, it is customary to extinguish one of the seven candles stuck in the wheat.)

After the seventh anointing, the Gospel is placed on the head of the sick person, in writing downwards, as if by the hand of the Lord Himself. The priests support the Gospel (with their left hands), and the leading priest at this time (without laying on hands) reads a prayer of permission for all to hear, which says:

“Holy King... I do not lay my sinful hand on the head of him who came to You in sins... but Your strong and strong hand, even in this Holy Gospel, which my fellow servants hold on the head of Your servant...”

Thus, other priests also take part in this prayer, read by the leading priest, and in the sacred rite.

Usually, while reading a prayer, the patient repeats: “Lord, have mercy.” The Gospel taken from the patient's head is given to him to kiss.

Then the deacon pronounces the abbreviated special litany: “Have mercy on us, O God,” and troparia are sung to the holy unmercenaries and the Most Holy Theotokos.

And there is a dismissal, during which the holy Apostle James is remembered, who bequeathed the blessing of oil on the sick (see Breviary).

At the end of the rite, the one who has received the sacrament asks for blessings and forgiveness from the priests.

REDUCED RITE OF THE SACRAMENT OF ANOINTING IN THE CASE OF THE DANGER OF IMMEDIATE DEATH OF THE SICK

If a priest is called to perform the sacrament of the Blessing of Anointing on a sick person who is in mortal danger, then he must first confess the sick person and immediately after confession, administer the Holy Mysteries to him, and only after that perform the Blessing of Anointing on him. For a dangerously ill person, a priest can shorten the rite of blessing of oil, “but for the sake of the prayers of God, the grace given by this mystery is deprived, repose” (Trebnik of Peter the Mogila).

In this case, according to the instructions of the Trebnik of Peter Mohyla, the priest, after the usual beginning, leaving the psalms, canon and troparia, begins the sacrament with a peaceful litany, then reads:

prayer over oil,

Apostle and Gospel

first prayer (abbreviated) after the Gospel

and anoints the sick according to custom

with the recitation of the closing prayer.

The sacrament is considered complete if the priest, after consecrating the oil, manages to read the final prayer over the sick person at least once and perform anointing with holy oil.

If the patient does not die after the first anointing, then he must make up for what was lost first (psalms, canon, troparia, etc.), and then read the second Apostle, the second Gospel, prayers and the second anointing and complete the rite of the sacrament.

If the sick person dies during the sacrament, the priest must immediately stop performing the consecration of oil.

The oil remaining from the anointing cannot be used for any other anointing, but must be burned (usually in a temple in lamps or in a censer), or, if the patient dies, it is poured crosswise on him by the priest during burial. The pods and grains are also burned in a kiln or censer.

On the performance of the sacrament of the Blessing of Anointing on Easter and Bright Week, instructions are given in Bulgakov, “Handbook for Priests and Church Ministers.”

HISTORY OF THE RITE OF THE SACRAMENT OF ANOINTING

The consecration of oil received its form and composition gradually, like all other types of church services. At first, in the first centuries, it was not complicated, consisting of several psalms and several prayers during the consecration of oil and when anointing the body with oil. This was probably supplemented by readings from the Apostle and the Gospel and, in conclusion, a prayer with the laying on of hands on the head of the sick person, anointed with oil.

In the IV and V centuries. The works of Saints Basil the Great and John Chrysostom on the organization of divine services also touched upon the sacrament of the Blessing of Anointing. At least there is no doubt that one of the prayers now read when anointing the sick with holy oil: “We thank You, Lord our God,” belongs to Basil the Great (6th), and the other: “Lord our God” (5th). general account) - belongs to John Chrysostom.

In the following of Gregory the Great, six prayers are given.

Around the 7th century, the reading of seven prayers, or the singing of seven penitential psalms, befitting the sacrament, began to come into use. And in general, at this time, the influence of the septenary number on the construction of the rite of consecration of oil becomes noticeable. In the 9th century, a canon was compiled by Arsenius, Bishop of Corfu, and there were already seven prayers said during anointing, although some of them are shorter than those currently existing.

Of the prayers existing in the current succession of holy oil, the most ancient are:

Our first prayer after the consecration of the oil is “Lord, by mercy and bounty...”;

third prayer when anointing the sick: “Master Almighty, Holy King...”

and, finally, the final prayer: “HOLY FATHER, HEALER OF SOUL AND BODY...”, found for the first time in the rite of the 9th century. According to Simeon of Thessalonica, back in the 15th century. it was read secretly during the blessing of oil. The reading of this prayer during all seven anointings became part of church practice in later times - in the 14th-16th centuries.

Anointing with consecrated oil is used by Orthodox Christians in many circumstances. It is taught both before baptism and from the lamps glowing before St. relics and icons, and with blessings at all-night vigils before great holidays, and for the healing of evils and diseases (St. Ephraim the Syrian, Homily 148). But this kind of anointing is not a sacrament.

In the western region they use the refrain: “Have mercy on me (us), Lord, for I am weak (we are weak).” This refrain was used in ancient times, in the 13th-16th centuries, in the “Prayer Canon for the Sick.”

In the Breviary of Peter the Mogila, after each song it is indicated to sing the following confusion: “Rise from illness Your servant, O Merciful One, as we zealously resort to You, to the Merciful Deliverer, the Master of all, the Lord Jesus.”

If the blessing of oil is performed not on one, but on several sick people, then during the anointing of St. the stichera ch. is sung with oil. 8 (practice in Kyiv):

“Lord, Thy Cross has given us a weapon against the devil, for it trembles and shakes, unable to bear to look at its power, as it raises the dead, and abolishes death. For this reason we worship Your burial and resurrection.”

Or the chorus is sung: “Hear us, Lord, hear us, Master, hear us, Holy One.”

If the blessing of oil is performed by one priest, then the last words should be replaced as follows: “... even in this Holy Gospel, which lies on the head of Your servant.”

According to the Breviary of Peter the Mogila, after the sick person asks for blessings and forgiveness from the performers of the sacrament, the primate and with him all the other priests answer: “May the Merciful God forgive all your sins and bless and have mercy on you with His bounties and raise you up from the bed of your illness, and He will make you healthy, He who is blessed forever, amen.” And the “leading priest” speaks a brief edification to the patient.

Liturgics: Sacraments and Rites.

17 / 03 / 2006

The sacrament of healing the soul and body - these words can convey the essence of the sacrament, which is known among us as Unction, and in church books is more often called Blessing of Anointing. The name "unction" comes from the practice of performing this sacrament by several priests - a "cathedral".

Blessing of oil is a Sacrament in which, when anointing the body with oil, the grace of God is invoked on the sick person, healing spiritual and physical infirmities (Long Catechism). It is also called prayer oil and unction.

The Sacrament of the Blessing of Anointing was, without a doubt, established by Jesus Christ Himself (see Mark 16:18). The apostles, preaching the teachings of Jesus Christ throughout the universe, met people obsessed with all sorts of physical and mental ailments. Having prayed to God in front of others, and sometimes calling on Him for help in their souls, in the name of God they healed all the sick, who only among them had faith in the power of God. Healing was also given through the faith of relatives, as well as acquaintances of the patient, who interceded for him before the apostles.

The apostles left the shepherds of the Church - bishops and elders - as their successors. They entrusted to them all their power, which they themselves received from Jesus Christ. So, they commanded them to teach others, to baptize, to absolve them from sins, and so on. The apostles also gave the shepherds of the Church the power to heal the sick upon remission of their sins. For this purpose they established the Sacrament of Anointing, which we often call unction. The Apostle James tells Christians about this Sacrament: “Is any of you sick, let him call the elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will heal the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will forgive him” (James 5: 14 - 15). Since then, Christians have celebrated the Sacrament of Anointing.

Initially it was accomplished through the laying on of hands by the performer (see Acts 28:8 - 9). The memory of this image of the celebration of the Sacrament is also preserved in our Breviary - in the prayer read after the completion of the Sacrament with the laying of the Gospel, like the hand of the Lord, on the head of the sick person. Already in the apostolic age, the laying on of hands for healing was replaced by anointing with oil, just as the laying on of hands to communicate the Holy Spirit to the newly baptized was replaced by anointing and the right to perform the Sacraments was also granted to the elders. This practice of performing the Sacrament in apostolic times is clearly presented in the letter of the Apostle James (5, 14 - 16). We also have testimonies from the holy fathers of subsequent centuries about the performance of the Sacrament of Anointing.

St. Irenaeus (+140) refers to the use of holy oil, which was poured on the faithful who were ready to pass on to eternal life, when oil mixed with water was anointed on their heads, so that their souls would not be captured or detained by the prince of this world. St. Hippolytus (+ c. 200 - 204), in his interpretation of the prophet Daniel, addressing not those preparing for Holy Baptism, but those who have sinned after Baptism, invites them to use oil, “in order to present to God an immaculate body and so that you may light your lamps waiting for the groom." St. Aphraates (+ 338), bishop and abbot of the monastery of Mar Mattea, mentioning all the Sacraments, writes: “Holy oil, the image of the sacrament of life, creates Christians, priests, anoints kings, prophets, enlightens darkness, anoints the sick, raises up the penitent.” In Lavsaik there are several cases of anointing with oil by Anthony the Great, two Macarii and the Monk Isidore, who were all in the priestly rank. Saint Serapion, Bishop of Tmuite (282 - 366), a friend of Saint Athanasius the Great, left us a prayer over the oil, which says: “We pray to our God, Source of all power and authority, to the Savior of all men, Father of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, look upon to our prayer and sent down from the heights of heaven the grace of Your Only Begotten Son, Lord and our Savior Jesus Christ, onto this oil, so that all who are anointed with it and all who are now coming here may be delivered from every disease, the evil demon and from every unclean spirit.”

From Byzantium, the Sacrament of Unction came to us in the Russian Church almost in the form in which it is celebrated today. Researcher of ancient church rites I. Snegirev writes: “For devotees of the sacred rites of the Orthodox Church, we note that in the year there is no world-making (in Moscow), the washing of feet is performed in the Assumption Cathedral; but every year this great day (Great Thursday) was marked there after Matins by the performance of the Sacrament of Anointing, or Unction. During this solemn and touching sacred rite, after the deacons have read the seven Apostles, and the bishop has read the seven Gospels... the bishop anoints himself and those serving with consecrated oil combined with red wine, and the presbyters anoint those present.” On these days, Unction was performed on everyone and in the Cathedral of St. Sophia in Novgorod.

His Grace Innocent, Archbishop of Kherson, performed unction over all the besieged during the siege of Odessa, and, the chronicler notes, none of those who received him were harmed. Our great saint Demetrius of Rostov states that “on Holy Thursday even healthy people can take it, because on this great and holy day at the Supper Christ established a new covenant with His Body and Blood; therefore, a healthy person who does not know either the day or the hour of his death can partake of this mystery.”

Under the influence of Protestant rationalism and Western scholasticism, which left their mark on our theological school, the Sacrament of Unction began to be understood, if not entirely according to Western teaching, as a dying “last anointing,” then, in any case, as a Sacrament taught for serious illnesses, and that is ancient the custom of teaching it once a year on Holy Thursday or on Holy Saturday to all Christians began to be either completely denied as never having existed, or allowed once a year and only at cathedral councils, and certainly carried out by the bishops themselves.

Having fallen under the influence of Western theological schools, we have unwittingly adopted both their way of thinking and their emotional feeling. In the West, for centuries, Unction was viewed as the “last anointing,” which at one time was openly called the “sacrament of death,” and in the Middle Ages, those who received it were deprived of the right to make wills as they were already dead. Such an attitude towards this Sacrament imposed. he is stamped with fear and horror, which has partly passed on to us, and among the common people has given rise to the most incredible superstitions.

We should be ashamed to hold on to medieval misconceptions about this Sacrament. We must return to the patristic thought of Unction as the Sacrament of healing for our sins, which are the source of all illnesses - physical and mental. It is necessary to return to the ancient practice of unction of all, sanctified by Tradition, during Holy Week. Let the monasteries, the true guardians of the purity of faith, serve here as an indication of the right path. On Mount Athos, on Holy Thursday, this Sacrament is still performed over all the inhabitants. In our time of amazing technical capabilities, everything contributes to an increase in the intensity and tension of impulses to sin. We see, hear, feel more in one week than our great-grandfathers did in five years. In one instant, over the airwaves, we are connected to the events of the entire globe; In our rapid, almost lightning-fast movement, we perceive a lot of impressions, and through television we see almost everything that is happening on our already boring Earth. Our soul is exhausted from such a pile-up of feelings, thoughts and simply sensations. In the Sacrament of Confession, it does not even occur to us to repent of ingrained habits that seem innocent to us. We do not repent of countless involuntary sins, countless superstitions that bring us countless troubles, for superstition is a kind of self-curse; we do not repent of forgotten sins, which, however, lie as a heavy burden on our souls. We often live in an atmosphere full of lies, counterfeiting the good opinion about ourselves that people have mistakenly formed about us. We play in life like good actors, without thinking at all about the falsity and sinfulness of such a state. From all sides we are tempted to “go to a distant country,” and these temptations sometimes take incredible, intricate forms, and we, due to the coarseness of our hearts and inattention, fall into the traps of the enemy of the human race. Before such a strong onslaught of our passions, our internal and external enemy, strong means are needed, and how desirable it would be to revive everywhere in our Church the ancient custom of once a year, by the grace of God, washing away all this mire of sins, tearing apart the thin web of the devil and doing this on holy days the days of Holy Week, when, purified by fasting and intense prayer, we approach the very goal of God’s entire economy, our spiritual resurrection together with Christ to the extent and with the power with which we cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. Number of celebrants of the Sacrament According to the commandment of the Apostle James, the Sacrament of Unction is performed by a council of elders, which explains the name of the Sacrament of unction. Usually this council is composed of seven presbyters, to which number the following of the Sacrament is adapted and in our Service Book. The number seven in this case, according to St. Simeon of Thessalonica, has a relationship with the number of gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned by St. Isaiah, or with the number of bishops’ walks around Jericho, or with the number of prayers of the Monk Elijah, with which the sky was opened and rain poured down (see 1 Kings 18:43). The historical basis of the septenary number can be believed in the custom of ancient Christians, in particular elders, to visit the sick for seven days in a row, which number thus constituted a full circle of grace-filled healing.

However, the Sacrament can be performed by two or three presbyters. In case of extreme need, it is performed by one priest, but on behalf of the council of presbyters.

Performing the Sacrament

The Blessing of Anointing is performed on Orthodox people over seven years of age. Usually it is performed in a temple, but for seriously ill people it can be taught at home. The sacrament can be repeated over the same person, but not during the same continuously ongoing illness. The Blessing of Anointing is not performed on patients who are in an unconscious state, or on violent mental patients. A priest cannot perform the Sacrament on himself.

The following of the Sacrament includes three parts: prayer singing; preparation of the substance for anointing and the anointing itself. The first part is a reduction of Matins, performed on days of fasting and repentance. After the usual initial morning prayers, Psalm 142, which represents an abbreviation of the Six Psalms, and the litany that occurs at Matins, “Alleluia” is sung instead of “God the Lord,” as in the time of repentance. Next, the repentant troparia are sung, Psalm 50 is read, which at Matins is placed before the canon, and the Canon “Sea of ​​the Red Deep” is sung. After the canon, in stichera, healing is asked from the Lord for the sick. Then the substance for the Sacrament is consecrated. The consecration of the oil is accomplished through a litany, which includes petitions for the blessing of the oil through the power, action and influx of the Holy Spirit, and a prayer read by all priests. During the reading of this prayer, troparions are sung: three to the Lord Jesus Christ, two to the Apostle James, one each to St. Nicholas, the myrrh-streamer Demetrius, the healer Panteleimon, the unmercenaries, the Apostle John the Theologian, and the final troparion to the Most Holy Theotokos. Next comes the third part - the performance of the Sacrament itself. Its order is as follows: the Apostle and the Gospel are read with the usual accessories; a special litany for the sick person and a prayer for him are pronounced and a cross-shaped anointing of the sick person with consecrated oil is performed on the forehead, nostrils, cheeks, lips, forearms and hands on both sides while reading a prayer for healing to God the Father with an invocation in the prayers of the Most Holy Theotokos, the chosen and all saints

This order, according to the number of performers of the Sacrament, is repeated seven times, and each time the apostolic and gospel readings and the prayer adapted to them after the special litany change. In the apostolic and gospel readings, various circumstances related to the Sacrament are remembered. After the seventh anointing, the Gospel is placed on the head of the sick person, in writing downwards, as if by the hand of the Lord Himself. The gospel is supported by the priests, and the leader at that time reads the prayer of permission. Next, an abbreviated strict litany is pronounced, troparia to the unmercenary and to the Mother of God are sung, and there is a dismissal, at which the holy Apostle James is remembered. At the end of the rite, the one who has received the Sacrament asks for blessing and forgiveness from the priests. To perform the Sacrament, a table is provided, and on it a dish of wheat, a cross and the Gospel are placed. Grains of wheat symbolically point to new life - after recovery or after the general resurrection (see John 12:24; 1 Cor. 15:36 - 38), and the cross and the Gospel - to the presence of Jesus Christ Himself. An empty vessel (idle kandilo) is placed on the wheat, which is then filled with consecrated oil combined with wine, in imitation of the medicine used by the Samaritan mentioned in the Gospel parable (see Lk 10:34). Around the vessel, seven pods wrapped in paper (cotton) are placed in the wheat for anointing and the same number of lighted candles. The sacred rite opens with censing around the table, the entire temple or house, and those around the table. When unction is combined with confession and communion of the sick person, the “Sequence of Confession” is performed first, then the Blessing of Anointing and finally the Communion of the Holy Mysteries. In case of mortal danger, in order not to deprive the patient of his last Communion, immediately after confession the abbreviated rite of Communion is performed (Trebnik, Chapter 14) and then, if the patient has not yet lost consciousness, the Sacrament of Anointing is performed, which can begin with the litany “Let us pray to the Lord in peace... " The sacrament is considered completed if the priest, after consecrating the oil, manages to read the secret prayer over the sick person at least once and anoint the parts of the body indicated in the Breviary. The sacrament is not performed on patients who are in an unconscious state, as well as on violent mental patients. In addition, the priest is forbidden to perform the Blessing of Anointing on himself. The custom of pouring consecrated oil on the body of a person who died after Unction does not find confirmation in the practice of the ancient Church, for it serves to anoint the living, not the dead. Therefore, this custom should not be followed. In the absence of mortal danger for the patient, there is no reason to combine the Blessing of Anointing with Communion, however, preliminary confession and repentance are desirable.

Gifts sent to the Sacrament of Anointing

As can be seen from the words of the Apostle James (5, 14 - 15), in the Sacrament of the Blessing of Unction two Divine gifts are sent to people from above. The first gift is physical healing. During unction, the presbyter of the Church or priest prays for the sick person and anoints him with consecrated Oil, just as the apostles prayed and sometimes anointed them with oil when healing the sick. In addition, at the unction, the relatives and acquaintances of the patient gather, who, together with the presbyter, also pray for his health. Finally, the patient himself prays, as much as his strength allows. And the common prayer of faith saves the sick person, and the Lord heals him, because not one person is praying here, but many, and even the presbyter himself, who has been given the power to intercede before God for people. And the Lord Himself promised to fulfill the request if two or three asked Him for something. He said: “Truly I also tell you that if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven” (Matthew 18:19). Moreover, all those who pray, of course, must have proper faith and hope in God, which is why it is said: “The prayer of faith will heal the sick” (James 5:15).

The second gift that is sent to the sick person in the Sacrament of Anointing is the remission of sins. For the Apostle said: “If he [the sick person] has committed sins, they will be forgiven him” (James 5:15). Of course, in this case a person must show heartfelt contrition for his iniquities. He must bring to mind his entire life, all his lies, all the insults he has done to anyone. Having remembered all this, he must repent of his untruths from the bottom of his heart and ask God to forgive them. At the same time, he himself must forgive his neighbors, which of them is guilty of what against him, who has offended him in some way. For he must firmly remember the words of Jesus Christ, with which He taught people to pray to the Almighty: “And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). The patient must certainly fulfill all this, for this is what he desires from people. God Himself.

Who recovers after the Sacrament of Anointing and why?

The recovery of people from illness after unction often takes place before our eyes. The person gradually becomes better and better, and he soon recovers completely. This is often invisible to us: we think that the patient got up on his own, recovered on his own; in fact, the healing power of prayer helped here. It is not for nothing that it is said: “And the prayer of faith will heal the sick and raise him up. Lord..." (James 5:15). The word of God is not in vain, “for with God no word will fail” (Luke 1:37). And if the Lord, through His Apostle, said that He would heal the sick person in the Blessing of Anointing, then when after the Blessing of Anointing the sick person recovers, it follows that he recovers not on his own, but because the Lord helped him.

True, not all those who were unctioned recover. Some of them die. But this still does not mean saying or thinking that unction does not help the sick person.

The kind of relief in dying suffering that can follow the performance of this Sacrament is evidenced by the case described by the village priest Broyakovsky. One of his pious parishioners, Paraskeva, who was going to service early in the morning on the day of the Holy Great Martyr Barbara, was bitten by a mad dog a few steps from the temple, causing a large wound on her cheek. The bitten woman was immediately taken to a healer in a neighboring village. The priest, who learned about the incident only a few days later, had the intention of sending the victim to a bacteriological station. But her family opposed this, reassured by the fact that the wound had healed and the patient was feeling well. And indeed, already on December 19, she was fasting in her church, although she looked too gloomy. And five days later, the victim’s son came to the priest and said that his mother felt bad and asked him to come immediately and “cheat” her. Early the next morning, the priest found the patient lying on the stove and muttering something incoherently. While waiting for the church warden, he learned that the patient undoubtedly had rabies or, in other words, hydrophobia. For four days she refused to eat food, and especially water, and was terribly afraid of the cold, as a result of which she was always on the stove. During the ceremony, the patient sat on a bench. Her gaze was wild and wandering, so that she could not concentrate on one subject and behaved extremely restlessly: she would either utter some indistinct words, or suddenly, quite consciously and clearly, pronounce the words of prayer, very often make the sign of the cross in particular excitement , impetuously and earnestly. From time to time she cast unfriendly glances at her relatives, and at this time a terrible gnashing of teeth was heard. Obviously, she was mentally affected and greatly depressed by the awareness of her terrible situation. After reading the first Gospel, the patient, with terrible effort, gnashing her teeth, barely forced herself to kiss the holy book. Despite the fact that the husband and son were holding the hands of the tossing sick woman, the priest had great difficulty in anointing her body. And a new miracle of God’s mercy happened. At the end of the ritual, the patient completely calmed down. The grace of God, imparted by Him in the Sacrament of the Blessing of Unction, healed her spiritual infirmities. She stood up, bowed to the priest at the waist and said: Thank you, father, that you did not refuse to bring order to my soul. Some time after the unction with oil, Paraskeva asked for water, washed herself with it and drank. And in the evening, at six o’clock, she asked for food. At about 10-11 at night, the sick woman asked for her children, blessed them, and after that, shamelessly and peace, despite the difficult loss for them, they tearfully thanked the Lord God that he did not allow the disease to develop to its extreme degree and gave it to the sufferer, who was a true Christian in life , Christian death, but, being guided by the Holy Mysteries, she went to the Lord.

Without daring to unravel the secrets of God's Providence about human destinies, we can say the following about the death that occurred after the Sacrament of Unction.

Firstly, sometimes both the one who is about to receive unction and his relatives, who are preparing him for this Sacrament, do not do what is necessary for his recovery. Recovery requires faith in God's help and earnest petition either on the part of the patient himself or on the part of those interceding for him. For the healing Christ was, is and will be one and the same and demanded, demands and will demand the same from everyone in their healing. But what He requires often does not happen either to the patient himself or to those around him. The sick person often begins to receive unction because this is the custom among people, this is the custom. For the same reason, relatives and also acquaintances are often present at the unction of the sick: It’s not good not to be there, it’s a shame from people!” Consequently, none of those present at the unction had either sufficient faith or earnest petition. And without this, there is no recovery. For it is said that the prayer of faith, that is, faith combined with prayer, heals the sick.

Secondly, sometimes God does not send recovery to a person and for the benefit of the person himself. Perhaps, if a person recovered, he would become a great villain and sinner, and his soul would perish. God, knowing in advance what will happen next and how a person will live in the future, takes him to himself. After all, man cannot see this; the ways of God’s Providence are incomprehensible to him. You just need to firmly believe that God is good and does everything for the good of His creation! Thirdly, after unction, sometimes a person dies and because he needs it, it is time to die. God laid down an immutable law for every person to die someday: we see this ourselves. And if after unction a person always recovered, then he could never die, which is contrary to the will of God. Recovery from illness is a great gift, because every person wants to live longer. But an even greater gift is the remission of sins. This gift makes a person pure and opens the door to the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven is the most precious treasure, which a person must continually seek throughout his entire earthly life. Therefore, Orthodox Christians, do not be afraid to resort to the Sacrament of Anointing. When someone gets sick, let him receive unction without delay. And during the unction, let the sick person and his relatives pray with faith and hope for God’s mercy. By faith, God will fulfill their common desire. If the patient sees that the will of God is calling him to Himself, then he has nothing to grieve in the last minutes of his life: a blissful life is being prepared for him in the Kingdom of Heaven. Nevertheless, it must be said once again that unction very often brings a person recovery.

Man was created with a light, pure, incorruptible and immortal body. After the Fall, it lost these properties and became material, corruptible and mortal. Man “put on leather vestments—heavy flesh—and became a corpse-bearer,” as St. Gregory the Theologian says. 201 Diseases have entered human life. According to the teachings of the Church, the causes of all diseases are rooted in the general sinfulness of man: sin entered his nature, like some kind of devilish poison, desecrating and poisoning him. And if death is a consequence of sin (“ sin committed gives birth to death »; Jacob 1:15), then illness is between the sin it follows and the death it precedes. Although all diseases arise from different causes, they have one common root - the corruption of human nature after the Fall. As the Monk Simeon the New Theologian says, “doctors who treat people’s bodies... cannot in any way cure the basic natural disease of the body, that is, corruption; they try in different ways to restore the body... to health, but it again falls into another disease.” 202 Therefore, according to the thought of St. Simeon, human nature needs a true doctor who can heal it from corruption: such a doctor is Christ.

During His earthly life, Christ performed many healings. He often asked those who turned to Him for help: “Do you believe that I can do this?” (Matt. 9:28). Healing the body from illness, He also healed the soul from the most terrible illness - unbelief. Christ pointed to the culprit of all mental and physical illnesses - the devil: about the crumpled woman He says that she was “bound by Satan” ( OK. 13:16). The apostles and many saints also performed healings.

To help the sick, already in apostolic times there was a Sacrament, which later received the name of the Blessing of Anointing. The Apostle James speaks about him in his Epistle: “If any of you is sick, let him call the elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will heal the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will forgive him.” (Jacob 5:14–15). It is clear that we are not talking about the usual anointing with oil (oil), which was practiced by the Jews, who saw a healing remedy in oil, but about a special church sacrament, since the healing property here is attributed not to the oil, but to the “prayer of faith” performed by the elders.

Basically, the sacrament of Anointing in the Eastern Church has retained those main features that are indicated by the Apostle James: it is performed by seven elders (in practice, often less - two or three), seven apostolic and evangelical conceptions are read, anointing the sick person with oil seven times, and a prayer of permission is read. The Church believes that in the sacrament of the Blessing of Anointing, the sick, according to the words of the Apostle James, are forgiven of their sins. This, however, does not mean that the Blessing of Anointing can replace Confession; usually this Sacrament is performed after Confession and Communion.

The opinion that when performing the Blessing of Anointing, forgotten sins are forgiven, that is, those not mentioned in Confession, is also unfounded. Confession, as we said above, means complete and complete forgiveness and justification of a person, if it is brought sincerely, with contrition and a desire to improve. The view of the Blessing of Anointing as a kind of completion of Confession contradicts the meaning and idea of ​​both sacraments. As a result of such a distorted understanding, completely healthy people sometimes resort to the Blessing of Anointing, hoping to receive forgiveness of forgotten (or even hidden in confession) sins. Prayers for someone lying “on a sick bed” in this case lose all meaning.

The meaning of the Sacrament of Healing, which can be called the Blessing of Unction, is even more distorted by a view in which it is perceived as a dying parting word or “last anointing.” A similar view was widespread in the Roman Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council and from there penetrated into some Eastern Churches. The reason for this view, as Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann thinks, is the fact that the Blessing of Anointing does not guarantee healing. “But we know,” he writes, “that every Sacrament is always a transition and transformation... They asked Christ for healing, and He forgave sins. They looked to Him for “help” for our earthly life, and He transformed it, putting it into communion with God. Yes, He healed diseases and raised the dead, but those healed and resurrected by Him remained subject to the inexorable law of dying and death... True healing of a person does not consist in restoration - for a while! - his physical health, but in changing, truly transforming, his perception of illness, suffering and death itself... The purpose of the Sacrament is to change the very understanding, the very acceptance of suffering and illness, to accept them as a gift of the suffering of Christ, transformed by Him into victory” 203

In this sense, we can say that the Blessing of Anointing introduces the sick person to the sufferings of Christ, making the disease itself a saving and healing remedy for spiritual death. Many saints gratefully accepted the illnesses sent to them as an opportunity to get rid of torment in the next century. As the Church teaches, God always strives to turn evil into good: illness, which in itself is evil, can bring good to a person who, thanks to it, participates in the suffering of Christ and is resurrected to a new life. There are cases when illness forced a person to change his sinful life and take the path of repentance leading to God.

Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev)

The prayer of faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will raise him up

Orthodox Christians who are overcome by mental or physical illness need the sacrament of unction or consecration of oil. According to the priests, illness is the boundary between humanity and death.

An illness can also be sent down as a test. Unction is a ritual that strengthens the spiritual state, a request for help and mercy. Blessing of oil takes its name from the word “oil” - olive oil, which is used to anoint the sick. Unction comes from the word cathedral, since previously it was necessary for the service to be conducted by 7 clergy.

Since when did the consecration of oil become a sacrament?

Wine and olive oil have been used for healing since ancient times. The apostles healed the sick by anointing with oil through receiving the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In the early Church, the service was conducted by three apostles - as a symbol of the Divine Trinity.

The service was short - 5-6 prayers were read. Initially, the sacrament of anointing was performed outside the church; after the 14th century, the ritual began to be performed in the church.

Previously, the service was held for seven days.

How is the Sacrament of Anointing performed?

The ritual can be performed by clergy for one patient or for a large number of people. Most often, people gather in church for healing in the second and sixth weeks of Great Lent; in large churches, the Sacrament of Anointing is celebrated every week.

It begins with reading prayers and the Gospel. Psalm 142 and 50 are read. During the reading of a special prayer - litany, the names of all the sick are listed.

After this, the oil is blessed and all those present are anointed. The oil is applied in a cross pattern to the face, hands and lips of those present. All actions are repeated seven times.

The service ends with the worshipers lowering their heads as a sign of repentance, and the Holy Father raising the revealed Gospel above everyone. The holy book is held with the text facing down. Another uses prayer to ask God for mercy for those gathered.

If necessary, the service can be conducted by one person. The process is lengthy, lasting about two hours. For healthy people, it is advisable not to undergo unction regularly and preferably.

If necessary, a priest can come to perform unction at home or in a hospital or other institution. In this case, the priest first talks with the patient, confesses him, and prays with him.

To perform the ritual, seven candles are lit, placed in a bowl of wheat, symbolizing eternal life. A vessel with oil is placed in the center of the bowl, to which red wine is added.

It is a symbol of the blood of Christ. During the sacrament of anointing, the sick person is also anointed 7 times. All household members usually participate in the unction, since the illness affects everyone around. After unction, an Orthodox Christian needs to take communion.

Rules of the Sacrament of Anointing

Children are allowed to attend unction only after 7 years of age; usually teenagers come to unction. Little ones are not given unction because their souls are pure. Women also cannot take part in the service during certain periods.

You can also receive unction if you have illnesses of the soul - depression, despondency, but in a state of insanity and unconsciousness, patients are not allowed to the Sacrament of Anointing.

The clergyman makes the decision on admission to the consecration of oil.

Many Orthodox Christians have a biased attitude towards unction. It is believed that it is performed only for the dying. Because of this, the priest is not invited to the house of the sick person.

Participation in the ritual can alleviate the condition of the infirm, facilitate the transition to another world, relieving them of torment. Pre-death repentance facilitates the ordeal of the soul after death. All those taking part in the Sacrament of Anointing note a clear change in their state of mind for the better.

In the process of the sacrament of consecration of oil, in contrast to repentance, the Orthodox are absolved of those sins that he does not remember or thinks that his actions do not contain sin. Many people expect a miracle, but there is no mysticism in the Orthodox Church. All is in God's hands.

There is no need to prepare for it in any special way. But there is no point in formally participating in the service. Everyone experiences relief after the service, but healing requires awareness of the sinful cause of the disease and sincere repentance.