Таїнства Церкви і таїнство Церкви: від кількості до єдності у Христі

Анотація

Статтю присвячено витлумаченню змісту вчення Православної Церкви про таїнства. Значну увагу приділено богословському дискурсу щодо кількості таїнств, їх морально-ціннісного потенціалу та сотеріологічного значення в контексті православного вчення про природу та місію Церкви Христової.

In our time, we observe extreme individualization of the sacraments. Most of them began to be considered as separate acts committed on individual members of the Church. A person who wants to satisfy his religious needs «orders» one or another sacrament, and the priest who performs it becomes the «executor» of this order. The sacraments turn into «occasional offices» as a result. The organic connection with other members of the church is lost. This determines the relevance of the study of the basic principles of the Orthodox understanding of the sacraments of the Church and their connection with the mystery of our salvation in the Church of Christ. The purpose of the article is to show the content of the teachings of the Orthodox Church about the sacraments and to consider the connection of the sacraments of the Church with the mystery of our salvation in the Church of Christ in the modern context. Tasks:
• consider, in general terms, the term sacrament and its understanding in Orthodox theology;
• characterize the sacraments and how they are perceived in the modern world;
• show the Holy Fathers’ perception of the sacraments in Christianity.
The need of our modern Christian life is to focus on the essence of the sacraments and their connection with the mystery of Salvation and not to consider them merely as an instrument of personal blessing without regard to the community of believers. We must realize that the world was created for man as a means of communion with God. This was also the original essence of food and the act of consuming it in paradise. The fall of man was that he fell in love with the world as such, limited by itself, not permeated with the presence of God. He became an individual and selfish creature. And the sacraments help to get rid of this autonomous way of life through the commonality of life with other members of the church. When we talk about the sacraments, we must realize that this is something open to our understanding, but not fully revealed. With the help of symbols they lead us to relationships with the Living God, and these relationships open to us a new reality of existence not only here on earth, but also show that the concept «already here» indicates that everything was here, and the sacraments helped us to see this.