Lexic.us

Definition of Sacrament

1. Noun. A formal religious ceremony conferring a specific grace on those who receive it; the two Protestant ceremonies are baptism and the Lord's Supper; in the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church there are seven traditional rites accepted as instituted by Jesus: baptism and confirmation and Holy Eucharist and penance and holy orders and matrimony and extreme unction.

Definition of Sacrament

1. n. The oath of allegiance taken by Roman soldiers; hence, a sacred ceremony used to impress an obligation; a solemn oath-taking; an oath.

2. v. t. To bind by an oath.

Definition of Sacrament

1. Noun. (Christianity) A sacred act or ceremony in Christianity. In Roman Catholic theology, a '''sacrament''' is defined as "an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace." ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Sacrament

1. [n -S]

Medical Definition of Sacrament

1. 1. The oath of allegiance taken by Roman soldiers; hence, a sacred ceremony used to impress an obligation; a solemn oath-taking; an oath. "I'll take the sacrament on't." (Shak) 2. The pledge or token of an oath or solemn cobenant; a sacred thing; a mystery. "God sometimes sent a light of fire, and pillar of a cloud . . . And the sacrament of a rainbow, to guide his people through their portion of sorrows." (Jer. Taylor) 3. One of the solemn religious ordinances enjoined by Christ, the head of the Christian church, to be observed by his followers; hence, specifically, the eucharist; the Lord's Supper. Synonym: Sacrament, Eucharist. Protestants apply the term sacrament to baptism and the Lord's Supper, especially the latter. The R. Cath. And Greek churches have five other sacraments, viz, confirmation, penance, holy orders, matrimony, and extreme unction. As sacrament denotes an oath or vow, the word has been applied by way of emphasis to the Lord's Supper, where the most sacred vows are renewed by the Christian in commemorating the death of his Redeemer. Eucharist denotes the giving of thanks; and this term also has been applied to the same ordinance, as expressing the grateful remembrance of Christ's sufferings and death. "Some receive the sacrament as a means to procure great graces and blessings; others as an eucharist and an office of thanksgiving for what they have received." Origin: L. Sacramentum an oath, a sacred thing, a mystery, a sacrament, fr. Sacrare to declare as sacred, sacer sacred: cf. F. Sacrament. See Sacred. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Sacrament

Literary usage of Sacrament

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The History of the Reformation of the Church of England by Gilbert Burnet, Edward Nares (1843)
"Whether (hit word sacrament, be and ought tu the leren ... sacrament, should be attributed to the «even only ; for the old Authors never prescribed any ..."

2. The Confessions of St. Augustine by Augustine, Thomas, Edward Bouverie Pusey, William Benham (1909)
"Grant, O Lord God my Saviour, that with coming often to Thy mysteries the zeal of my devotion may increase. CHAPTER V Of the dignity of this sacrament, ..."

3. The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge: Embracing by Johann Jakob Herzog, Philip Schaff, Albert Hauck (1910)
"He comes to the distinction between sacrament and sacrifice in quest. 79, art. 5. To the query whether all punishment for sin is remitted by this sacrament, ..."

4. The Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the by Charles George Herbermann (1913)
"When all conditions required by Divino and ecclesiastical law are complied with, the sacrament is received validly and licitly. If all conditions required ..."

5. History of Dogma by Adolf von Harnack (1899)
"Like the former sacrament, this one also encroaches, in the particular ... The expediency of declaring marriage a sacrament, and thereby bringing this ..."

6. The Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the by Charles George Herbermann (1913)
"When all conditions required by Divine and ecclesiastical law are complied with, the sacrament is received validly and licitly. If all conditions required ..."

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