О священном Таинстве святого елея, или о елеосвящении

Since illnesses are inevitable for all people in life, it should be said about the Sacrament of holy oil, given for the remission of sins and our healing, and for the sake of giving Divine mercy (ελέους). This Sacrament was transmitted from the Savior to the Apostles as a sign of philanthropy and mercy. The Church sacredly observes him, as we were taught by the Apostle James (James 5:14–15), whom Paul calls the brother of the Lord. Jacob was God's brother both by carnal kinship and by imitation of deeds. He received the greatest gift and was the first after Christ to be named and become a hierarch. Therefore, as soon as one of the brethren falls into physical or mental weakness, let him immediately call the elders of the Church, because they, and not the deacons, have received the power to perform the Sacraments. 247. Why is the Sacrament of Anointing performed by seven presbyters or sometimes, due to a lack of priests, by three Brother of God Jacob does not speak about their number, but according to tradition, seven are called to perform the Sacrament, I think, in accordance with the sevenfold number of the gifts of the Spirit, counted in Isaiah (Isaiah 11:2), or in accordance with those seven priests of the Old Testament who, by the command of God, went around Jericho seven times with trumpets and destroyed its walls. Now the seven priests seem to want to overthrow the evil city and the strong walls of the heights of sin. Or as if, imitating the prophet Elisha, who prostrated himself over the child of the Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4:8-37), they wanted, having prayed seven times for the dead soul, to revive it, as Elisha did with the youth, who prostrated himself over him seven times and prayed seven times. Or as if, like Elijah, who, having prayed seven times, again opened the sky, which he had once closed for human sins, and brought down rain, they were going to resolve the sinful drought and open the sky, like Peter, giving the afflicted the key of grace and, like rain, bringing down the mercy of forgiveness from God. This is, in my opinion, the meaning of the sevenfold number of elders. But in other cases, due to the lack of the required number of elders, only three are called. And this should not be condemned, because, firstly, this is done for the sake of the power of the Trinity, and secondly, and in remembrance of the testimony and preaching of the Trinity through the prophet Elijah, who once raised the dead son of the widow of Sarepta, having prayed three times and prostrated himself over him three times. Some convene more than seven priests, as a testimony of greater faith and zeal. But there is no need to go deep into research about their number, since this is not said in Scripture. However, although it is not written, it is necessary to observe the ancient tradition and there must be seven, as the ancient custom requires. Only according to circumstances - less than three, but everything must be pronounced, what is handed down to be pronounced, because all fatherly traditions are from the Spirit. 248. About the fact that the power of holy oil is the greatest What follows from the Sacrament? Look: its consequences are the greatest. “Is any of you sick, let him call the elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord,” says the Apostle James. “And the prayer of faith will heal the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up” - not people, but the Lord, because the sick person is clothed with the grace of the Lord’s sanctification. But the sick person will receive even more: “and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him” (James 5:14–15). Do you see the power of this ritual? It cures illnesses, raises the sick, and forgives sins. 249. About the innovation of the Latins regarding the consecration of oil The Latins, with their innovations, perverted the teaching about this Sacrament. They say that since sins are forgiven through this Sacrament, the blessing of oil should not be performed on the sick, but only on the dying, so that someone, having been healed, does not begin to sin again. Oh madness! The Brother of God says: “the prayer of faith will heal the sick and the Lord will raise him,” but the Latins say that he will die. Look, the dependent word is always connected in meaning to the following: “and if he committed sins, they will be forgiven him,” that is, in an obvious way, so that he would be healed and rise. This is also made clear by the Savior, who said to the paralytic: “Your sins are forgiven... Arise... and walk” (Matthew 9:2, 6). And: “Behold, thou art whole: let no one sin, lest any worse befall him” (John 5:14). And they think contrary to the Savior and His apostles and say that oil should be taught not to those who can rebel, but to those who are dying. Therefore, being called by those in need, they perform this Sacrament not according to apostolic tradition, but according to their own will. The Holy Gospel says: “and many sick were anointed with oil and healed” (Mark 6:13), and they say that it should be taught not so that the sick would be healed, but so that they would be incurable and die. Human! You do not know the meaning of the Sacraments and, to your detriment, you are mistaken. For the Gospel and the brother of the Lord who gave it say that oil is given to the sick so that they, having received forgiveness of sins through the anointing, may arise, as the Savior said to the first and second paralytic. For He said to each of them: “Your sins are forgiven,” showing by this that illnesses occur due to sins. 250. About the fact that the oil used during the consecration of oil is not the same as that which is anointed with the dead However, the dead are also anointed with oil, as the divine Dionysius says, in the manner of anointing with the original oil in baptism. Dionysius explains the reason: whoever rested holyly and honestly in Christ has accomplished the feat for which he was anointed before, for which he is now anointed with oil. All this is done in the name of Christ, both for the sealing of those who have departed in Christ, and for the sanctification of the departed, who labored for the sake of Christ and lived piously. This is also done in their honor, because they lived according to Christ, a sign of which is the consecrated anointing oil. In this regard, oil and holy myrrh are poured instead on the relics of the martyrs, placed under the Divine Throne, as in a tomb, because the most perfect must be poured on the perfect. 251. About the fact that oil is poured on the deceased monks, and ashes from the censer are poured on the laity That's what we do. We pour oil on the brothers who have died in Christ. However, not the holy oil that is taught to the living and about which the brother of God speaks, but from the lamp located in the church, and mainly in the altar. We do not bury a single monk except by pouring oil from a lamp on his remains, which was consecrated by burning before the Lord. And on the deceased worldly brethren in Christ, before we sprinkle simple earth, we pour ashes from the censer in a cross shape, as sacred and consecrated with the sign of the cross through incense, committing, according to the Divine definition, consecrated in Christ to the consecrated earth, in which he will remain until the resurrection. Some of the pious people perform the Sacrament of Anointing on themselves during their lifetime, to propitiate God for themselves and for the sake of the final remission of sins. And if they are close to death, then this is still done. Those lying down are anointed by their relatives for the sake of the most sacred sealing of the venerable remains of the departed, and honor and sanctification. Because those who labored are worthy of being honored with sacred anointing, and those who lived according to Christ need to be sealed with the seal of Christ; and therefore, when burying them, oil is poured on them, calling on God's mercy. This is the purpose of holy oil, when it is given to the living, so that life is left to them and purification is imparted, and not at all that these living will certainly die and not think about recovery. For oil is taught primarily for this purpose, so that the Lord would restore those who are anointed and forgive them their sins. And you can perform the consecration of oil on the same person at any time, and not just once, because it is said: “Confess your faults to one another,” obviously, at all times, and not once, and: “Pray for each other so that you may be healed” (James 5:16), - not just once, but constantly, because we fall constantly. For the last anointing, oil is taken from a lamp burning in the church, for the sake of sealing and consecrating the remains of the departed, since they were previously cleansed and consecrated in the Sacraments of Christ: baptism, confirmation and terrible communion. Some, however, perform the sacred rite of oil on those who have fallen asleep in Christ, which some of the bishops prohibit, since this is not stated in Scripture, while others do not, because it is performed on souls. For my part, I researched as much as I could and found that performing the anointing mentioned above is commendable, and therefore those who wish to do so should not be prevented. However, although there is one holy oil, and not many, and its sacred rite is one, and it is one of the seven Sacraments, which was bequeathed by the Savior and the apostles and about which, as we mentioned, the Gospel speaks: “many sick people were anointed with oil and healed” (Mark 6:13), and the brother of God writes in his conciliar letter, but for the dead, oil is offered for the propitiation and glory of God, so that to ask for mercy and forgiveness for those who have departed, just as in the church and in the tombs wax candles, incense, etc. are offered for them. Bringing all this as gifts, we intercede for those who have departed, and they receive Divine mercy, as the Church that performs this teaches and as almost all the fathers write, and especially the truly great and sacred Athanasius, who writes about wax candles and oil that they should be offered for the dead, despite the fact that from the fire they turn into ashes or smoke. Candles mean full fruitfulness, and oil is, as it were, a sacrifice to God for the departed, and therefore Saint Athanasius commands to bring them. It is also not forbidden to light candles at the coffins of the dead and to bring oil along with sacred prayers for them, because by lighting candles and bringing incense, we pray for them before God - and this is the custom in the Church. But let us consider what relates to the consecration of oil. 252. About performing the Blessing of Oil So, as we said, seven elders gather. When they put on sacred clothes, signifying the grace of the Spirit resting in them, and when the first of them, who is the image of Christ, the Head of all, blesses, then the canon begins for the one on whom the holy anointing is performed. At the end of the canon, there follows a litany for the sick person and dismissal, after which the sick person asks for forgiveness from everyone, making three prostrations to the ground in honor of the Trinity (every gift of Whose is perfect) and as evidence that the forgiveness he received in repentance is from the Trinity (for everything is approved by Her). And the priests say forgiveness to him three times. Then, when the first priest blesses again, the litany is read: “Let us pray to the Lord in peace,” which is proclaimed at every sacred rite, as encompassing everything that should be prayed for, and in which the sacred rite itself is mentioned and peace and mercy are asked from God. After the exclamation and praise of the merciful Lord, while singing troparions containing petitions to God for the sending of mercy, the presbyters take turns, starting with the first, say a prayer for oil and the oil is poured into a lamp or some other vessel. Seven lamps are lit above it, according to the number of priests, both as an image of the gifts of the Spirit, and as a sign that through the holy oil, as it were, Divine enlightenment is accomplished and that all fruitfulness and pure sacrifice are offered to God, so that we may receive His mercy. The priest reads the following prayer: “Lord, by your mercy and mercies heal our wounds,” because this Sacrament reminds us of the healing of that Samaritan beaten by robbers, whom Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary, healed with wine and oil, that is, with His blood and bounty. Therefore, some pour wine into the vessel before the oil, and a prayer is read that a blessing may descend on the oil, that it may be for the anointed one for healing, for the removal of all passion, bodily illness and defilement of the flesh and spiritual, and in general for the removal of all evil, or all sin and wickedness, so that through the anointed one the name of God Himself in the Trinity may be glorified. At the end of the troparions and after all the priests have said a prayer, the first priest stands up again and reads the second prayer, the final one. 253. Why are there two prayers in all the Sacraments? Because in all the Sacraments, as in the Blessing of Anointing, two consummatory prayers mean two natures in Jesus, who, being indescribable, incorporeal and ineffable, took on flesh for our sake and became accessible to touch, and communicated with people, invariably being God, in order to sanctify us in two ways: both in relation to our invisible side and in relation to the visible. I mean in relation to the soul and body. 254. That the Sacraments are dual: they are material and spiritual, according to us, whose nature is dual This is the establishment of the Lord, so that the Sacraments, on the one hand, are based on the visible and material, since we ourselves are bodily, and on the other hand, so that they remain mental, hidden, filled with invisible grace - for the sake of our spirit. For in the Sacraments we are cleansed and enlightened in body and soul, we become partakers of healing and, at the same time, sanctification. For this reason, in the Sacrament of holy oil there are two final prayers, as in holy baptism, and in the consecration of water, and in anointing, as well as during ordination and monastic tonsure. So, during the Sacrament, as soon as all the priests say the first prayer and perform the Divine sign of the cross, the first priest reads the second prayer in order to seal the oil, and with it all the priests seal it. The prayer reads like this: “Beginless, Eternal, Holy of Holies” - a wondrous beginning! That is: You are from the beginning and always merciful and have no succession, because You are always the unchanging Father with Your Son and Spirit. You are the Holy of Holies, that is, the only Holy One and the Sanctification of those who are sanctified, and we are sinners and full of all uncleanness, since we have received the beginning and are changeable. And further: “You, by Your mercy, sent down Your Only Begotten Son, who heals all our illnesses and passions, sent down Your Holy Spirit and sanctified this oil.” Immediately after this, the first priest seals the anointed one (and after him the others) and continues: “Do also to your anointed servant for complete remission of his sins” - a truly greatest gift! And he continues: “For the sanctification of soul and body” - this is the second greatest grace! “as an inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven” - this is the final gift: our salvation and inheritance of the Kingdom and glory of God. Where do we get such a benefit from? “For you are the God of mercy and love for mankind,” says the priest and with a cry he glorifies the Father with the Son and the Spirit. Thus, the oil is already sanctified and possesses Divine power, and everything asked for in prayer is granted to those who are anointed with it in faith. For all the words of prayers are valid when they are pronounced by a priest who has the grace of God through the power of ordination. After the prayer, the apostolic words of James, the brother of God, are immediately read, clearly demonstrating where we got this tradition from. Then “Hallelujah” is sung as a sign that the descent of God’s grace has taken place and that the Gospel heralds the coming of the Lord. Therefore, for His glory and for the sake of our sanctification, we are given fragrant incense, imparting Divine grace. Following this, the first priest reads the Gospel over the head of the one for whom the sacred rite is being performed, in order to protect him from everything hostile, and also as a blessing to him, to purify his mind and all feelings. After the Gospel, a prayer of petition is read for the forgiveness of his sins and for the healing of body and soul - this is the first prayer, and it is pronounced out loud. At this time, other priests also pray, and after it, in accordance with what has already been explained, another prayer is secretly read - also for health and remission of sins. It calls upon the Holy Father, the Physician of souls and bodies, who sent His Only Begotten Son into the world, healing every disease and freeing us from death. He is called to heal His fallen servant from every illness that holds him by the grace of His Christ and to revive him through the intercession of the Mother of God and all His saints. The priest pronounces this prayer by placing his hand on the head of the penitent, showing that he, too, is performing healing, imitating the Lord, who laid his hand on the weak and healed with touch. And that he acts by the power of God's grace, being sanctified by the laying on of hands, cleansing and sanctifying by the touch of the hand. At the end of the prayer, he anoints the patient’s forehead with oil in a cross shape for the sake of correcting internal thoughts, anoints the sensory organs located on the face, and, finally, the hands, cleansing the person being healed from evil intentions and actions, and strengthening with holy oil and the sign of the cross, and completely sanctifying. With each sealing, the priest adds the words: “our help is in the name of the Lord,” testifying that help comes not from anyone else, but from the merciful God. Having made the sign of the cross with his hand, the priest moves away, while he kisses the hand that gave him consecration. Then other priests, one after another, do the same. So, the first two prayers are said to perform and consecrate the oil, and the last two are prayers of supplication for the anointed one and are offered to God for the healing of soul and body. The first prayer is read loudly by the priests in turn, just as the conceptions of the Apostle and the Gospel are read, and they all participate in this way. And the second prayer: “Holy Father,” is pronounced, as already said, secretly and by all the priests, which indicates a unanimous petition. This prayer calls upon all the saints as helpers with a common Intercessor - the All-Holy Mother of God. Then follows the final exclamation, completing the sacred rite and expressing the subject of the prayers: “For You are the source of healing, our God.” Thus, when the forehead is anointed by all the priests, the mind is sanctified. Then the face is anointed with a cross - to consecrate the sensory organs. And finally, when the priests sanctify their hands with holy oil in the name of the merciful Christ, then they cleanse the darkened feelings, and through prayers they cleanse the soul, and through the sign of the cross and grace they impart complete sanctification. So, each priest performs, as we said, the entire rite, the deacon or reader reads the Apostle, and the priest reads the Gospel. Then he - the first sacred prayer out loud, and the second, during anointing, secretly. Finally, having imprinted the anointed one with his right hand, which the one who received the blessing kisses, the clergy depart. After everyone has completed the ritual, during the great litany, the first priest again reads the final prayer over the head of the one receiving the anointing - the prayer of permission, and all the other priests touch the reading priest with their hands, like collaborators and co-prayerists. Therefore, in prayer he mentions them, his fellow servants and co-presbyters. Then, having loudly shouted about God as the God of those who repent and who repents of our evils and having given due praise, he performs the prayer of dismissal. The one who convened them and on whom the sacred act was performed, again after this bows to the priests and asks them for forgiveness three times, receives it from everyone and is assured that he has received absolution. Finally, he listens from the first priest and the instruction that now, having received absolution, he must be careful and not sin again. This was precisely the Savior’s address to the first of the two paralytics of the Gospel, and therefore the sanctified one, bowing his head, as if listening to the teaching, receives blessings from everyone. And the priests leave. This is what should have been said about holy oil. 255. What is accomplished through holy oil Every Christian should try to anoint himself with oil, and call upon the priests of God, and ask them to pray for him and anoint him with oil. For it is known how many of the greatest Divine gifts the holy oil contains: it contains deliverance from illnesses, remission of sins, it is an instrument of sanctification, divine strengthening and, finally, it leads to the Kingdom of Heaven. And let no one who is unwise say: this is just oil, and what power can it have, being taken from an oil plant? Yes, it is oil, but it is blessed by the invocation of the name of God, because where God is called upon, everything is Divine and everything contains the power of God, and especially where the invocation of God is carried out by people sanctified by God. And priests are persons sanctified by God, who have received the power of God through ordination. Therefore, oil, as blessed by the priests through the invocation of God, is divine, and holy, and filled with the Divine grace of the Holy Spirit, just as the water of baptism is, of course, water, but one that is filled with the Spirit, and cleanses souls, and transforms a person, and adopts him to God, and makes him sinless. Simple water, by its nature, can only cleanse the body of impurity and quench thirst, but consecrated water, together with the body, cleanses the soul, sanctifies and transforms it, and spiritually irrigates it, and makes it adopted by God. Likewise, ordinary myrrh is fragrant and delights the senses only when they are anointed with it or hold it in their possession, but holy myrrh revives and renews us in the Spirit, fills us with the fragrance of His gifts and gives us the seal and breath of grace in Christ, Who is the living Myrrh. It bestows not as a simple ointment, but as an ointment that through sacred rites has become a holy ointment, containing the grace of the Spirit. Likewise, the oil for consecration is holy oil, like a sacramental oil, and is filled with Divine power. He, anointing sensually, enlightens and sanctifies souls, strengthens both physically and spiritually, heals wounds, destroys diseases, cleanses us from sinful impurity and has the power to give us God’s mercy and propitiate Him. 256. That the holy oil remaining after anointing should be preserved And therefore we must preserve and honor it, and not neglect it at all. For, as I know regarding oil (as well as the most divine water of baptism), some, who do not understand the meaning of the holy mystery or are careless, use the remaining oil as they please and often throw it away as unnecessary or give it to animals. And many people don’t care about that. But let these careless people know what a heavy guilt this is, let them think about this. If consecrated water revives and transforms a person and without it no one can be a Christian; if oil heals and grants remission of sins, and for the sake of man the Holy Spirit deigns to descend on water and oil, and for his healing and correction deigns to unite with water and oil, as well as with other created objects and substances, then is not the one who pours them out and tramples on them worthy of condemnation and punishment? Or does he not deserve censure who neglects them, and carelessly pours them out, and consumes them at random, and does not honor the fact that the power of God overshadowed them, and that the name of God was called upon them, and the sign of His cross was made with a consecrated hand? Let the careless one know that he will be condemned and hear from the Lord: “Look, you despisers, marvel and disappear” (Acts 13:41). But so that this does not happen, but on the contrary, so that, by glorifying God in His gifts, we ourselves may be glorified by God, Whom heaven and earth glorify, and with whose glory all things are filled, as the Angels sing, and so that we may abundantly participate in the reward for reverence and veneration of divine objects, let us honor these substances as holy and treat them properly, trying to keep them in a separate and worthy place. For: “His rest will be glory” (Is. 11:10), says Scripture. Raise your children in reverence. The Church prays that those who love all things divine and the beauty of the house of God and its accessories will be glorified by Divine power and glory. - Truly so, holy lord. You taught us that it is necessary, useful, and must honor holy and divine consecrated things, and that it is a very serious sin to neglect such divine and sacred objects! – It is very necessary, brother, as we said and as we admonish you. And mocking what is sacred is the greatest negligence and grave guilt. But not only do many neglect these objects, but also the splendor of the church and pulpit, the terrible altar, the consecrated vessels and, I think, the terrible Mysteries themselves. For during sacred communion, many, not properly understanding how divine the Holy Gifts are, partake of them as it happens, without any attention, leave particles and drops of the Gifts in the sacred vessels or take them out without due reverence. Likewise, with the Presanctified Gifts, saved for the needs of the faithful and called Divine Reserve Gifts, others act carelessly. But these Gifts constitute the truly true, living and only reserve. However, although they honor it, and accept it, and preserve it as much as possible, it is not as a living and required reserve, but, scary to say, they allow it to decay, and touch it as it happens, and put it where it should not. And many have little talk about it, and only a few care about it. “This frightens us, sir.” But what happens if something unexpected happens against your will? 257. That the mistakes of priests should be corrected by bishops – If something happens that is not befitting a servant of the Church, then this is God’s permission. But even if he did the job to the best of his ability, and was attentive to himself, and careful, and something unexpected happened, then even then he must repent and confess to the bishop, because this is the duty of the priests, and such priests must be corrected by the bishops. However, leniency should be shown for involuntary mistakes, because the priest was not completely careless or inattentive, but what happened happened unexpectedly and as a result of delusion. If everything happened due to negligence, neglect, due to insufficient attention to the matter and complete carelessness, then this is a grave guilt, and the sinner must be corrected by great penance, even if he properly repented and sincerely mourned his sin. But let us now move on to sacred prayers to complete our studies. “What remains for us, holy lord, is to learn about prayers: to find out the number and purpose of the sacred prayers transmitted to us by the Church. Fulfill our good desire to learn about them. – Your jealousy and curiosity are commendable. This is the kindest thing, as well as the goal of goodness. Only my strength is insufficient, as I often used to say. Deciding, out of love for you, to do something that is beyond my strength, I am afraid that I will philosophize about what is beyond my strength, touch on things that are unattainable and talk about what exceeds my abilities. However, for the sake of love, I will not hesitate to answer your question, as far as my meager information and my poor mind will allow me, although, perhaps, it will seem to someone that I will say something more appropriate and without knowing the matter. Every deed done for the sake of love for Christ and brothers is holy. For my part, I lovingly beg everyone who is talking about this to accept, for the sake of love, what will be written by me, and give it to the brothers to read if there is anything useful in what is written and said in accordance with the divine teachers of the Church. If anything wrong is noticed, I ask someone who knows the matter well to correct it. I sincerely want to be corrected, and I earnestly ask for this, wanting to remain in obedience to our Mother Church and to our fathers and brothers in Christ. It’s not that we consider the brethren themselves to have no need for correction (we just don’t want to pass on our knowledge to them as if they were perfect) - no, we speak for the sake of the brethren who are forced to ask questions by necessity. We speak as having a duty to give answers according to the power that resides in us, although it surpasses us - the power of the great grace of the Spirit. By the Church of Christ, by Divine election, we are appointed to speak in the words of the Spirit about sacred decrees and dogmas, to reason about the most sacred ecclesiastical rites, to reveal their meaning and significance to brothers who ask questions, to answer according to Scripture and exhort them to saving deeds. That is why we decide to speak as the Scripture says. If one of the brothers, more knowledgeable, considers it necessary to correct what was said, then let him correct it. We desire this, humbly and willingly submitting to the Church of Christ, and we ask for this with love. So, in answer to your question, we will say first of all about the Divine prayers of the Church. You might be interested in: