Rites and Rituals of the Coptic Orthodox Church

Dictionary of Coptic Orthodox Church Terms and Terminology

Holy Sacrament of the Unction of the Sick

 

* The sacramental use of anointing the sick with oil, symbolic of the act of cleansing and healing.

* One of the seven sacraments of the church, after the teachings of St. James the apostle: "Is any among you sick? Let him call for the priests 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 save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven" Jam. 5:14-15.

* It is instituted by the apostles, through Jesus Christ who, as attested by Mark 6:13, "they...anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them", and we have discussed this issue before here on st-takla.org in other sections. One learns that the practice was carried out by the disciples and apostles to fulfill what Christ had assigned them to do.

* It is called a "lamp," for seven lamps are lit during the recite of these prayers.

* The priest prays together with the sick person's family.

Jump to letter index page
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z 

---