Historical Development of the Seven Sacraments in the Western Catholic Church

1. UNDERSTANDING SACRAMENTS THROUGH
HISTORY OF SACRAMENTOLOGY
Periods Key Figures/ Significance Sacraments
Descriptions
1. Pre-Christian Gk. “mysterion” These rites called “mysterion” Gk. “mysterion”
Writings  This term is used by Greeks were used to insure
in the description of new birth and vitality after
cultic rites (Mithras, death.
Isis and Osiris).
 This was used also For Plato, tangible things were
by Plato, an ancient symbols of heavenly reality and
Greek philosopher the initiated learned secret
(c. 428-347 B.C.) teachings which brought them
wisdom.
2. Scriptures “mysterion” It refers to God’s saving action “mysterion”
enacted in history which gives
Old Testament wisdom to save (Wis. 6:22); the
 Its meaning is wisdom revealed looks toward
broader than that of an eschatological mysterion that
the sacraments, as God will reveal (Dan. 2:28, 47).
we know them
today.
Synoptics It refers to “the secrets of the
Kingdom of Heaven” (Mt.
13:11; Mk. 4:11; Lk. 8:10),
which Jesus reveals through
parables.
Pauline Literature It often refers to Christ, (1Cor. While the rites of
2:7-10; Rom. 16:25-26; Col. Baptism and
1:26-27, 4:3; Eph. 1:9-10, 3:3- Eucharist are
12; 1Tim. 3:16) who reveals the known in the N.T.
divine will to save all people, era (Acts 2:41; 1
who Himself is the mystery Cor. 11:17-34) and
through whom all things are their usage is
restored, and who dwells in reflected in the
those who believe. Christ N.T. texts, neither
crucified is the supreme of them is called
manifestation of God’s wisdom sacrament at that
(1Cor. 2:1f.; Col 2:2). time.

2. 3. Patristic Age Runs from near the end
of the first century of
the Christian era until
roughly the middle of
the eight.
a. Apostolic They are so called Sacramentology emerged in
Fathers because of their their writings. Their polemic
nearness to the time of against the Gnostics (Gk. Gnosis
the apostles. This or “revealed knowledge,” they
period extends promised a secret knowledge of
from the earliest the divine realm) and the
writer to around the Manichees (an ancient religion)
middle of the second brought about the earliest
century. systematic reflection on the
sacraments.
b. The Or defenders of the
Apologists Faith:
1. Justin Martyr He describes the reality of both Baptism and Holy
(d. 165) baptism and eucharist but he Eucharist
does not use the word
sacrament.
The baptized are called “reborn”
and “enlightened.”
2. Tertullian He introduces the term “Sacrament,”
(c. 160-220) sacrament into Christian means Christian
language when speaking about initiation.
Christian initiation. For him,
sacramentum means a sacred Sacramentum
action, object or means. In is the Latin for
sacramental rites, there is a two- Sacrament.
fold reality in their visible
dimension: element and word.
Word is the word of God which
has a determinative role in
sacraments as to the things used
in their celebration.

3. c. 4th & 5th Patristic authors dealt Their works described the Rites of initiation
centuries with the question of the various rites of initiation and (with some
sacraments in their elaborated on their meaning. developed
catechetical instructions Some terms used at this time catechetical
delivered for the would influence later theological Instructions)
candidates for Christian reflection: typos (symbol) and
initiation. Cyril of aletheia (reality). While no
Jerusalem, Ambrose of systematic doctrine of
Milan, John sacraments has yet evolved,
Chrysostom and these catecheses evidenced the
Theodore of Mopsuestia important role which
are examples of commentary on the rites plays in
Patristic authors. understanding what the
sacraments are.
St. Augustine (d. 430) He reflects a fluid notion of O.T. Sacraments:
sacrament and mystery, which rituals of
words he allies closely with the circumcision,
terms figura, allegoria, sacrifices,
prophetia, symbolum, etc. offerings, the
temple altars,
All sacraments pertain to the pasch, anointing,
magnum sacramentum- etc.
mysterium, Christ and the
Church. Augustine does not N.T. Sacraments:
develop a systematic treatment baptism, eucharist,
of sacramental doctrine but he the paschal
leaves a terminology and mystery,
understanding about sacraments imposition of
which later theologians would hands, ordination,
develop. He calls sacrament a the Lord’s prayer,
sacred sign, a signaculum, a symbol of faith,
visible work. He introduces the feasts, etc.
term res in connection with
sacramentum to distinguish
between the sacrament of
Christ’s body and the reality or
effect of the sacrament when
received. Reality or res means
the ultimate effect of the
eucharist, that is, the grace of
union with Christ.
For Augustine, sacraments are
effective because Christ and the
Holy Spirit act through them. He

4. maintains that baptism and
certain other sacraments have
permanent effects: later theology
would call this the sacramental
character. For Augustine, a
sacrament is a celebration in
which the things
commemorated, the passion of
Christ, are applied. He teaches
that sacraments are instituted by
Christ after the resurrection.
4. 6th – 12th
Centuries. Isidore of Seville (d. He was clearly influenced by There are three
636) Augustine. He contends that sacraments:
beneath the covering of bodily baptism, chrism
things used in these sacred and eucharist.
actions “the divine power works
secretly the salvation proper to
these same sacraments”; these
are fruitful when administered in
the church by the Holy Spirit
who works the effects of
sacraments.
Carolingian reform (2nd Two problems arise:
half of 8th Century)  How to describe sacraments
sought to unify in a way that preserved their
liturgical practices in reality as both symbolic and
the Western Church and real at the same time. By this
to insure codification in time the notion of symbol
all area of church life. had lost its meaning as
something real, and the
This is the reform language of substance was
brought by used to describe what was
Charlemagne (742-814 real. From this time on
AD). theologians search for a
satisfactory explanation of
how sacraments are both
signs and realities at the
same time.
 Theologians also continue to
distinguish sacraments from
other sacred rites and to
determine their number.

5. Peter Damian (d. 1072) There are 12
sacraments:
- baptism,
- chrismation,
- anointing of the
sick,
- anointing of a
bishop,
- a king,
- canons,
- monks and
- hermits,
- the dedication of a
church,
- penance,
- consecration of
virgins and
- matrimony.
Peter Abelard (d. 1142) He distinguished between major He listed 5
and minor sacraments: the sacraments:
spiritual are the major Baptism,
sacraments, the minor are not. chrismation,
eucharist,
anointing, and
matrimony.
St. Bernard (d. 1154) For him, there are
eleven sacraments,
including the
washing of the feet.
New definitions of The Augustinian formula
sacrament developed. sacrum signum was adjusted to
sacrae rei signum, i.e., a
sacrament is a sacred sign
because it is the sign of a sacred
reality.
Huge of St. Victor (d. He maintained that the key to The restriction of
1141) interpreting sacraments was the number of
God’s interventions in history, sacraments to seven
especially in creation and the (7) was still
incarnation. He notes the things unknown at this
that are sacraments in the strict point. Huge
sense since not every sign of a counted such rites

6. sacred thing is a sacrament. He as the use of holy
writes that a sacrament “is a water or blessed
corporeal or material element set ashes, the
before the external senses, consecration of
representing by similitude, monks and burial as
signifying by institution and “receptacles of
containing by sanctification, grace.”
some invisible and spiritual
grace.” He contextualized his
treatment of sacraments by
speaking about the incarnation
and the church as the body of
Christ.
Berengar denies the true It leads to the formulation of the
presence of Christ in the expression res et sacramentum
eucharist. in the 12th century. Res
(Augustine) signifies the grace
of union with Christ as the
ultimate effect of eucharistic
participation.
Huge of St. Victor and These theologians added
Peter Lombard (12th c.), sacramentum et res to the
endorsed by Pope sacramentum tantum. Innocent
Innocent III at the III stated that the form of the
beginning of the 13th c. eucharist was bread and wine (a
sacrament and not the reality),
the truth is of the body and
blood (both sacrament and
reality) and the power is of unity
and charity (reality).
During this period sacraments
continued to be understood as
self-expressions of the church
and as part of how the divine
economy of salvation is
experienced in the present.
12th century Sacrament. The dominant theme is the
notion of sacrament as a remedy
for sin.
Peter Lombard He states that “a sacrament is He determined that
(d. 1160) properly so called because it is a there are seven (7)

7. sign of the grace of God and the “sacraments of the
expression of invisible grace, so New Law”:
that it bears its image and its baptism,
cause. confirmation, the
Thus, begin the notion of cause bread of blessing,
and causality into the definition i.e., the eucharist,
of sacrament. penance, extreme
A sacrament is invisibilis unction, orders,
gratiae visibilis forma, i.e., a marriage.
sacrament is the visible form of
an invisible grace, and that a Significance of
sacrament efficit quod figurat, seven:
i.e., a sacrament produces [the  A significant
effect] which it represents. number of
completion,
Beginning of the hylomorphic totality and
interpretation of sacramental inclusiveness
sign: (eg. 7 days of
 function of “matter” to the creation in Gen)
sensible things used in the  It is the sum of
celebration, three, the
 function of “form” to the symbol for the
words that accompany the divine, and
application of matter to the four, a symbol
subject of the sacrament. of cosmic
As a result, the terms valid and perfection (or
invalid appear in connection the three
with the sacraments. persons in God
and the four
There came also the emergence seasons).
of the principles of  Thus, the seven
ex opere operato (by the work sacraments
done) means that sacraments are demonstrate
effective by means of the God’s saving
sacramental rite itself not presence at all
because of the worthiness of the times.
minister or participant and not
just ex opere operantis (by the
work of the doer) which means
that the effectiveness of
sacraments depends on the
moral rectitude of minister or
participant. It is from Lombard’s
works that the formula emerged,
“the intention of doing what the
church does.”

8. 5. 13th – 16th Thomas Aquinas With him, Catholic teaching on The 7 Sacraments
Centuries. (d. Mar. 7, 1274) the notion of sacrament are appropriate and
advances far beyond anything significant for each
that had yet been achieved. of them deals with
For him, the function of a facet of human
sacraments is to initiate, restore, life.
preserve or intensify the life of
grace in believers.
He describes a sacrament as the
sign (Augustine) of the
Incarnate Word, His passion and
resurrection, which sanctifies
the participant.
The effects of sacraments are
not only remedies for sin. They
produce new life, the life of
Christ in the Church.
The Council of Florence Gives the first authoritative The 7 Sacraments
(1438-1445) statement of the church on are maintained and
sacrament. based on the
Thomasian
perspective.
The Council of Trent The Council Fathers did not
(1545-1563) intend to formulate a systematic
doctrinal summary on
sacraments. Instead, they dealt
with individual areas of concern
brought about because of the
Reformers’ criticisms. Hence,
the statement of Trent was said
to be clarifications on
controversial matters, but not a
systematic treatment of
sacraments.
6. 16th – 19th While much Post- The 7 Sacraments
Century. Tridentine theology become definite in
followed the Council’s terms of:
Teaching with - Number (i.e. 7)
commentaries and - Efficaciousness
catechisms, some works - Institution by
of this period dealt with Christ
issues raised by the - Matter and Form
Reformers. - Role of the
Ordained

9. Ministers
Melchior Cano (d. He dealt with the faith-
1560) sacrament question debated at
the Council. He affirmed that
the sacraments are undoubtedly
necessary but in the same
measure in which and explicit
faith, expressed in sensible
signs, is necessary for a person
to be saved.
Robert Bellarmine (d. Spoke of the necessity of faith
1621) for the efficaciousness of
sacraments.
Suarez (d. 1617) His work represented a kind of
manual that noted the
Reformers’ objections and then
presented the analysis and
comment of the scholastics.
19th century Works on sacraments began to
development appear and they reflected the
revival of interest in scripture,
patristics, and in the history of
theology.
7. 20th Century A certain liturgical This was the main stimulus
movement arose in this within the Church for the
period. contemporary renewal of
sacramental practice and for a
revived understanding of
sacraments.
Liturgical scholars in the late
19th c. and early 20th c.
reawakened the importance of
liturgy as public worship which
by its nature required the active
participation of the participants.
Benedictine monks These monks were the main
contributors to the success of the
movement especially in the
publication of important works
on sacramental teaching and in
the celebration of the liturgy.

10. New Approaches:
These are the results of
the works of recent
theologians as
influenced by the
liturgical movement.
 The language of Christ is the original sacrament
encounter and (ursakrament) and the church is
phenomenology. the ground sacrament
(Raymond (grundsakrament) of the seven
Vaillancourt and ecclesial acts.
Kenan Osborne) This approach signals a shift
from emphasizing Christ’s
presence in sacraments to the
community’s transformation
through sacraments. It also
marks a shift from emphasizing
sacraments as things to
sacraments as event.
 Symbolism. States that sacraments are
(Louis-Marie essentially symbolic actions that
Chauvet and David affect participants on many
Power) levels with their ambiguity and
polyvalence.
Sacraments are respected as real
symbolic encounters. In the
sacraments, God reveals and
grants salvation through Christ’s
paschal mystery in symbolic
acts and words; at the same time
the Church worships God
through Christ empowered by
the Holy Spirit by means of
active participation in gestural
speech and symbolic action.
 Secularization Sacraments are viewed as strong
theologies. moments of God’s self-
(influenced by disclosure which occur
Rahner) throughout human life.
Human nature has been
redeemed and grace is always
available to redeemed creation

11. through Christ.
Sacraments are not the exclusive
channels of God’s grace. Yet
they are central moments and
privileged means of
encountering God through
Christ.
 Liberation Tried to determine the life
theologies. relation of sacramental
(Juan Luis Segundo) participation.
Too facile celebration of
sacraments can numb
consciences to the social and
political realities of living the
christian life. The challenge,
which engagement in sacrament
entails, is to live the justice and
peace of God’s kingdom which
is experienced in sacraments.
Some post-Vatican II The fact that some Christians no
developments. longer participate regularly in
sacraments because they see
little or no value in them led
theologians to attempt to
articulate the importance of
sacraments such as the
relationship of evangelization
and sacramental practice; the
relationship between
sacramental celebration and a
vibrant experience of Church
life; question of prerequisite
faith for admission to
sacraments; and method
employed in the Rite of
Christian Initiation for Adults a
model to follow in other
sacraments.
Official bilateral and multilateral
dialogues on the sacraments in
ways that are often grounded in
the tradition which had been
neglected in the post-

12. Reformation era. E.g., the
revival of the term Anamnesis as
a way of describing the
memorial experienced in
sacraments and of transcending
the terms of disagreement over
the Eucharist between
Protestants and Roman Catholic
Churches.
The restoration of the Word to a
position of prominence in the
revised sacramental rites since
the Catholic and Protestant
congregations share the same
Word in worship. Karl Rahner
argues that sharing in the Word
is to share in what sacraments
are at their foundation, signs of
God’s self-communication and
self-revelation.
The traditional maxim lex Understanding the
orandi, lex credendi (the law of 7 Sacraments is
prayer establishes the law of beyond text and
belief) has been revived so that prayer. This is to
the liturgy becomes a major consider the
source of theological reflection. meaning of gesture,
The clear reference to the Spirit symbol, singing
in almost all sacramental and silence.
formulas and examples of the
Eastern tradition in
understanding sacraments as the
work of the Holy Spirit helps
Western theology today to
address its absence in its
interpretation of sacraments.
Satisfactory approach to the
study of sacraments in the Post-
Conciliar Church is still a work
in progress.