Sacramental theology is the belief that God bestows grace on humanity through certain external acts instituted Christ, according to Roman Catholicism and some other Christian groups. Baptism, Eucharist, Reconciliation, Confirmation, Marriage, Holy Orders, and Anointing of the Sick are the seven sacraments in Roman Catholicism. While some Christian groups recognize at least some of these sacraments, many others refer to them as “ordinances” rather than sacraments and have differing views on the grace expressed through them.
During the Middle Ages, sacramental theology emerged. The word sacrament comes from the Latin word sacramentum, which means “that which produces holiness.” It was first used as a translation of the Greek musterion, or “mystery,” in Christian theology. Some early church writers used the term sacrament to refer to the “sacrament of labor” or the “sacrament of the Lord’s prayer,” neither of which has been recognized as one of the church’s official sacraments. The sacraments were defined Augustine in the fifth century A.D. as the “visible form of invisible grace.” Later, Thomas Aquinas refined this definition to refer specifically to the acts of sanctification ordained Christ, and this is the definition that is still used today.
The sacraments, according to sacramental theology, are not only symbols of sanctification, but also the means which sanctification is attained. The Catholic Eucharist, or Communion ceremony, is the best-known example of this, in which bread and wine are believed to literally become the body and blood of Christ, rather than merely symbols of them. Transsubstantiation is the term for this belief. The believer who eats and drinks the literal body and blood of Christ is sanctified, or made holy, as a result of transubstantiation.
In some form or another, all major Christian groups practice baptism and communion, and some also recognize confirmation and marriage as church rites. Rather than sacramental theology, many Protestants teach “ordinance theology.” Baptism, communion, and other church practices, according to this belief, are not the actual means which humans receive grace, but rather a representation or reminder of grace received through faith. Some Protestants believe Catholic sacramental theology is flawed because it implies salvation works rather than faith. They may also refer to the water used for baptism or the bread used for communion as representations of holy objects rather than as holy objects in and of themselves.