Quintessence of Religious Doctrines - Malankarasyriac Voice

21On the Holy Sacraments 41 42Quintessence of Religious Doctrinesof Jericho. The members led a communal life, in meditationand other religious pursuits. Baptism is the rite of initiation.The theology of baptism is that through it the candidate putson Christ. Syrian Fathers relate baptism with the Motherhoodof the Church. Mor Ephrem the Syrian, develops this idea bysaying that the baptismal font is the womb of the MotherChurch. For Paul, immersion into the baptismal water andarousing from it represented dying and resurrecting withChrist.2. Eucharist.Ref.: Jn. 6:53. Jesus said to them, “I am telling you thetruth; if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Manand drink his blood, you will not have life inyourselves.” (G.N.B.)CommentEucharist, like baptism has been considered as an antiquesacrament. The last supper of Lord Jesus was the firstEucharist. Even before St. Paul’s epistles or gospels werewritten, this sacrament had come to be ceremoniouslyobserved by the Christian community. Ignatius of Antiocheulogises the Eucharist as the bond among Christians andlink with Christ. Mor Ephrem uses the imagery of the burningcoal, taken from the vision of the prophet Isaiah. He goes onto describe it as the medicine of immortality. If this sacramentis the conclusive event of Christ’s public ministry, it is theinauguration of the public functioning of the Church or theEcclesia. The Church hails it as the sacrament of thesacraments. Various names, like thanks giving, sacrifice, HolyCommunion etc. are employed to denote this sacrament.3. Confession.Ref.: Jas. 5:16. So then confess your sins to one another,and pray for one another so that you will be healed.The prayer of a good person has a powerful effect.(L.B.)CommentConfession is sometimes referred to as the rite of penanceor reconciliation. In this sacrament man admits and Godacquits. To explain; the sinner repents and God replenishesthat child of His by his abundant grace. When the createdregrets the Creator responds. Syrian Fathers like MorEphrem frequently speak of sin as a wound which requireshealing and Christ as the healer par excellence. Theologicallythe effect of confession is that sins and their imprints arecompletely wiped off by confession. Once Jesus forgives thesins, He forgets them forever.4. Chrismation.Ref.: 1Jn. 2:27. As long as His Spirit remains in you, youdo not need anyone to teach you... (G.N.B.)CommentChrismation is the sacrament that fortifies one with the holySpirit to fight temptation. It was contended by Oriental Fatherslike Cyril of Alexandria that when anointed by the Holy oil orChrism the baptized received the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit,noted already in this book. According to the Church Fathers,the Holy Spirit was symbolised by objects like air, fire, dove,oil, etc.. Cyril of Jerusalem contends that just as Jesusreceived the Spirit in the form of a dove, so the oil anointedon the baptised provides sanctification by the spirit to thebaptised candidate.5. Holy Orders.Ref.: Heb. 5:4. Only God can choose a priest and God isthe one who chose Aaron. (L.B.)CommentThe seed of Christian priesthood is Christ Himself. ‘Priest’ isthe icon of Christ. The calling or vocation that Jesus made toPeter and the Apostles was one to be performed in perpetuityuntil the ‘Parousia’. So the priests are endowed with theauthority and spiritual grace for the ministration of all other