Many will hear that the Orthodox
Church has seven sacraments. However, this is a contested idea. Nicolas Zernov
explains the truth about the number of sacraments within Orthodoxy, stating
that:
“The number of its sacraments has
never been stated, nor has a precise definition ever been given of their
‘matter’ and ‘form’ or of the authority underlying each, as was done in the
West during the Middle Ages. In the seventeenth century, by way of imitation of
the Latin Church, the idea of seven sacraments was introduced into the Eastern
Catechisms, but this number does not correspond with Orthodox tradition, for
the Service Books contain more sacraments than seven”[1].
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