An Introduction to the History of Western EuropeRobinson, James Harvey
History
An Introduction to the History of Western Europe
Robinson, James Harvey
Europe -- History
It was Peter Lombard who first distinctly formulated the doctrine of the
seven sacraments. His teachings did not claim, of course, to be more
than an orderly statement and reconciliation of the various opinions
which he found in the Scriptures and the church fathers; but his
interpretations and definitions constituted a new basis for mediæval
theology. Before his time the word _sacramentum_ (that is, something
sacred, a mystery) was applied to a variety of sacred things, for
example, baptism, the cross, Lent, holy water, etc. But Peter Lombard
states that there are seven sacraments, to wit: baptism, confirmation,
extreme unction, marriage, penance, ordination, and the Lord's Supper.
Through these sacraments all righteousness either has its beginning, or
when begun is increased, or if lost is regained. They are essential to
salvation, and no one can be saved except through them.[142]
[Sidenote: Baptism.]
[Sidenote: Confirmation.]
[Sidenote: Extreme unction.]
[Sidenote: Marriage.]
[Sidenote: Penance.]
[Sidenote: Ordination.]
[Sidenote: The Lord's Supper, or Holy Eucharist.]
By means of the sacraments the Church accompanied the faithful through
life. By baptism all the sin due to Adam's fall was washed away; through
that door alone could a soul enter the spiritual life. With the holy oil
and the balsam, typifying the fragrance of righteousness, which were
rubbed upon the forehead of the boy or girl at confirmation by the
bishop, the young were strengthened so that they might boldly confess
the name of the Lord. If the believer fell perilously ill, the priest
anointed him with oil in the name of the Lord and by this sacrament of
extreme unction expelled all vestiges of former sin and refreshed the
spirit of the dying. Through the priest alone might marriage be
sanctified; and when the bonds were once legally contracted they might
never be sundered. If evil desire, which baptism lessened but did not
remove, led the Christian into deadly sin, as it constantly did, the
Church, through the sacrament of penance, reconciled him once more with
God and saved him from the jaws of hell. For the priest, through the
sacrament of ordination, received the most exalted prerogative of
forgiving sins. He enjoyed, too, the awful power and privilege of
performing the miracle of the Mass,--of offering up Christ anew for the
remission of the sinner's guilt.
[Sidenote: The sacrament of penance.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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