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Sacramental theology and ordinances

What is sacramental theology and ordinances?

Sacramental theology is the study of baptism, the Lord's Supper and other rites that some traditions call sacraments or holy mysteries and others ordinances. It asks what each tradition calls these rites, how many it counts, how it reads the texts behind them, what it holds they effect, and where the traditions divide. No word for the rites is neutral.

  • 167Sources
  • 17Traditions
  • 16Dated entries
  • 16Minutes

Study v1.1, 30 October 2026

Sacramental theology and ordinances

At a glance

Why it matters for reading Scripture

Baptism, the Lord's Supper and the other rites, which some traditions call sacraments and others ordinances. The traditions divide on them.

What the study found

Nearly every tradition keeps baptism and the Lord's Supper but counts its rites differently: seven sacraments or mysteries in the Catholic and Eastern churches, two in most Protestant churches, ordinances for Baptists, none for Quakers.

Where traditions divide

They divide on how the rites relate to grace and faith, on infant or believers' baptism, on how Christ is present, and on who presides and receives.

How the traditions compare

  • Catholic Church

    Counts seven sacraments, defined at the Council of Florence in 1439 and fixed by canon at Trent in 1547, and groups them as sacraments of initiation, of healing and at the service of communion and mission.

    The sacraments are efficacious signs of grace that act ex opere operato, "by the very fact of the action's being performed", while their fruit depends on the disposition of the one who receives them. In the Eucharist the bread and wine are changed in substance, a change the Church calls transubstantiation, and the Mass makes present the one sacrifice of the cross. Infants are baptized by immersion or pouring, and the Latin Church admits children to Communion at the age of reason.

    Sources1–10

  • Eastern Orthodox Church

    Calls the rites holy mysteries and usually counts seven, while holding that the number was never formally fixed; the Orthodox Church in America presents the counting itself as adopted from Roman Catholic usage.

    Initiation is one rite: the candidate is baptized by triple immersion, chrismated and given Communion at once, infants as well as adults. It holds that the gifts are changed by the invocation of the Holy Spirit and that the manner of the change cannot be searched out; the Confession of Dositheus (1672) taught transubstantiation, as Philip Schaff reads it, while Thomas Hopko's The Orthodox Faith does not use the word. The Greek Orthodox cathedral in Chicago opens Communion only to baptized, chrismated and practicing members of the Orthodox Church.

    Sources11–19

  • Oriental Orthodox churches

    The Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, Ethiopian and Malankara churches each count seven, though the Malankara church sees no rigid division between the wider and narrower senses of the word sacrament.

    The Coptic, Syriac, Armenian and Ethiopian churches give baptism, anointing with the holy Myron and Communion together, and the Coptic and Ethiopian churches keep a custom of 40 days for the baptism of boys and 80 for girls. The Catholic and Oriental Orthodox document of 2022 records that the Catholic Church recognizes all Oriental Orthodox baptisms, while recognition in the other direction varies.

    Sources20–28

  • Assyrian Church of the East

    Holds seven sacraments of a different content, after Abdisho of Nisibis (1298): the Priesthood, Baptism, the Oil of Unction, the Eucharist, Absolution, the Holy Leaven and the Sign of the Cross.

    Its Holy Synod affirmed this list in 2001, but no magisterial closure of the number was established, and marriage stands outside Abdisho's list. The Holy Leaven, renewed on Holy Thursday, is held necessary for a valid Qurbana. In 2001 the Catholic Church's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith concluded that the Anaphora of Addai and Mari, which has no explicit institution narrative, can be considered valid.

    Sources29–32

  • Lutheran

    Counts Baptism and the Lord's Supper as sacraments, and the Apology of the Augsburg Confession counts Absolution as a third, saying that "no prudent man will strive greatly concerning the number or the term".

    It teaches a sacramental union in which Christ's body and blood are given "under the bread, with the bread, in the bread" and received orally, by the unworthy too. Lutheran writers reject the label consubstantiation. Infants are baptized, and baptism, in the Small Catechism's words, "works forgiveness of sins"; later Lutherans hold it ordinarily, not absolutely, necessary.

    Sources33–41

  • Reformed and Presbyterian

    Count two sacraments, "holy signs and seals of the covenant of grace", whose grace is conferred not by any power in them but by the working of the Holy Spirit.

    Calvin taught that believers truly partake of Christ's body by the Spirit while the body remains in heaven, and the Westminster Confession calls this feeding real but spiritual, not corporal. Infants of believing parents are baptized on the covenant argument from circumcision, and dipping is not necessary.

    Sources42–45

  • Zwinglian

    Huldrych Zwingli defined a sacrament as "an initiatory ceremony or a pledging" and, on Schaff's account, read "is" in the words of institution as "signifies".

    As Schaff summarizes him, he treated the sacraments as signs and seals that confirm but do not create the thing signified, so the label "mere memorialist" is contested. At Marburg in 1529 he and Luther agreed on fourteen articles but not on whether Christ's body and blood are corporally present in the bread and wine.

    Sources46–49

  • Anglican

    The Thirty-nine Articles count two sacraments of the Gospel and hold that the five "commonly called Sacraments" are not to be counted as such.

    They call the sacraments "certain sure witnesses and effectual signs of grace", and hold that the body of Christ is received "only after an heavenly and spiritual manner", by faith. The Episcopal Church's 1979 Catechism names confirmation, ordination, matrimony, reconciliation and unction "Other sacramental rites which evolved in the Church".

    Sources50–51

  • Methodist and Wesleyan

    The United Methodist Articles carry the Anglican count of two, while John Wesley's wider category, the means of grace, names prayer, searching the Scriptures and the Lord's Supper.

    This Holy Mystery (2004) affirms "the real, personal, living presence of Jesus Christ" and keeps an open table at which children of all ages are welcome. Infants and adults are baptized by sprinkling, pouring or immersion.

    Sources52–55

  • Baptist

    Baptist confessions call baptism and the Lord's Supper ordinances, appointed by Christ "the only lawgiver".

    The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 defines baptism as "the immersion of a believer in water" and calls the Supper "a symbolic act of obedience" by which members memorialize the death of the Redeemer. The Second London Confession (1689) still holds that worthy receivers "spiritually receive, and feed upon Christ crucified". Free Will Baptists and some Primitive Baptist associations count footwashing as a third ordinance.

    Sources56–60

  • Anabaptist, Mennonite and Brethren

    The Schleitheim Confession (1527) gives baptism to those who have learned repentance and excludes all infant baptism.

    The Dordrecht Confession (1632) adds the washing of the saints' feet, and the Church of the Brethren keeps it within a love feast and baptizes by trine immersion. The Mennonite confession of 1995 prefers the word "sign", and the GAMEO article on ordinances calls Mennonite use of "sacraments" misleading.

    Sources61–65

  • Pentecostal

    Most Pentecostal churches count two ordinances, the baptism of believers by immersion and the Lord's Supper, and some, such as the Church of God in Christ, add footwashing.

    Oneness Pentecostals, of whom the United Pentecostal Church International is the main body, baptize "in the name of Jesus Christ". Since the early 2000s some Pentecostal scholars, among them Daniel Tomberlin, have argued for the word sacrament from inside the tradition.

    Sources66–70

  • Seventh-day Adventist

    Keeps baptism by immersion after an affirmation of faith, and the Lord's Supper with footwashing, the "ordinance of humility", within the communion service.

    The service is "open to all believing Christians", and most Adventists understand the Passover fruit of the vine as unfermented grape juice.

    Sources71–72

  • Restoration churches

    The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) celebrates the Lord's Supper in weekly worship at a table open to all followers of Jesus Christ, and describes baptism as a choice made by the person.

    For the Churches of Christ, which have no central body, one congregational voice holds that the immersion of a believer is necessary for forgiveness of sins.

    Sources73–75

  • Religious Society of Friends

    Keeps no outward sacraments: Robert Barclay's Apology (1678) holds one inward baptism of the Spirit and an inward communion, and treats the outward rites as figures.

    Britain Yearly Meeting holds that outward sacraments, however valid for others, "are not, in our experience, necessary for the operation of God's grace".

    Sources76–77

  • The Salvation Army

    Does not practice baptism and the Eucharist "as such", sees "the whole of life as a sacrament" and holds that no external observance is essential to salvation.

    Andrew Miller's doctoral thesis dates William Booth's abandoning of the practice of the sacraments to 1883. It keeps rites of its own, among them the Mercy Seat and the dedication of infants.

    Sources78–81

  • African Initiated Churches

    Cannot be given a single count, and many are largely paperless churches, so much of what is known of their rites comes from scholars' fieldwork.

    Many give water a place wider than baptism, and Apostolic, Zionist, Ethiopian and Messianic churches regard river baptism as the real baptism. Some, such as the Harrist Church, keep baptism and Communion, while the African Church of the Holy Spirit baptizes in the Spirit and does not celebrate Holy Communion.

    Sources82–86

How the field developed

  1. Second Temple
    1st century

    The Didache, the earliest church order on baptism in the sources, directs baptism in the threefold name in living water, or water poured thrice on the head, and admits only the baptized to the Eucharist. Its date is disputed, from 65 to 80 or before 100 to Harnack's 131 to 160, and Niederwimmer's publisher traces its origins to the first century.878889

  2. Early church
    153 to 155

    Justin Martyr's First Apology gives the first full description of baptism and the Eucharist addressed to outsiders: the food is received "not as common bread and common drink" but as "the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh".909192

  3. Early church
    200 to 206

    Tertullian's On Baptism opens "Happy is our sacrament of water", an early Latin use of sacramentum for baptism, and counsels delaying the baptism of little children.9394

  4. Early church
    256 or 258

    The Seventh Council of Carthage under Cyprian holds that heretics "must be baptized and sanctified by the baptism of the Church"; the Catholic Encyclopedia dates it September 256 and the Ante-Nicene Fathers text 1 September 258.9596

  5. Late antiquity
    About 347 or 348

    Cyril of Jerusalem's lectures tell the newly baptized that "the seeming bread is not bread, though sensible to taste, but the Body of Christ".979899

  6. Late antiquity
    About 400

    Augustine, writing against the Donatists, holds that the grace of baptism can be conferred outside the Catholic communion and that returning schismatics are not rebaptized.100101

  7. Medieval
    831

    Paschasius Radbertus writes De corpore et sanguine Domini, opening the first controversy devoted to the Eucharist, and Ratramnus of Corbie replies at the request of Charles the Bald.102103

  8. Medieval
    About 1150

    Peter Lombard's Sentences enumerate seven sacraments; the Catholic Encyclopedia dates them 1145 to 1151 or about 1150, Britannica 1148 to 1151.104105106

  9. Medieval
    11 to 30 November 1215

    The Fourth Lateran Council teaches that the bread and wine are "changed in substance, by God's power, into his body and blood", and requires the faithful to confess at least once a year and to receive the Eucharist at least at Easter.6

  10. Medieval
    22 November 1439

    The Council of Florence's bull of union with the Armenians, Exsultate Deo, names seven sacraments, each completed by matter, form and a minister intending to do what the Church does.1107

  11. Reformation
    Early October 1520

    Luther's The Babylonian Captivity of the Church denies that there are seven sacraments, holds for the present to three, and by its close, speaking "with perfect accuracy", to two, Baptism and the Bread.108109110

  12. Reformation
    1 to 4 October 1529

    At the Marburg Colloquy Luther and Zwingli agree on fourteen articles but cannot agree whether the true body and blood of Christ are corporally present in the bread and wine; the sources date the colloquy 1 to 4 or 2 to 4 October.11111249

  13. Reformation
    1547 to 1563

    The Council of Trent fixes seven sacraments by canon in 1547, calls the eucharistic change "suitably and properly" transubstantiation in 1551 and defines the Mass as a propitiatory sacrifice in 1562.2113114

  14. Modern
    16 March 1672

    The Synod of Jerusalem, in the Confession of Dositheus, declares the Evangelical Mysteries to be seven and holds that "baptism is necessary even for infants".115

  15. Modern
    15 January 1982

    Faith and Order adopts Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry at Lima, Peru; it calls baptism "an unrepeatable act" and confesses "Christ's real, living and active presence in the eucharist".116117

  16. Modern
    23 June 2022

    The Catholic and Oriental Orthodox dialogue issues The Sacraments in the Life of the Church at Rome: the Catholic Church recognizes the validity of all Oriental Orthodox baptisms, while "In certain contexts, the Coptic Orthodox Church practices rebaptism of Catholics."28

How to study sacramental theology and ordinances

The questions it asks

  • What does each tradition call its central rites: sacrament, holy mystery, ordinance, rite or sign?1041156
  • How many rites does each tradition count, and is that number defined, customary or not counted at all?
  • How does each tradition read the biblical texts, from the command to baptize in Matthew 28 to the anointing of the sick in James 5?
  • What does baptism effect, who may receive it, and how is it given?
  • How is Christ present in the Lord's Supper, in what sense is it a sacrifice, and who is admitted to the table?
  • Does a rite work by the act performed or through the faith of the one who receives it, who may preside, is baptism necessary, and do children come to the table?

Its method

Start

  1. Describe each tradition from its own confessions, catechisms, canons, statements and official pages, and mark an outside account as such.

  2. Name each rite in the words of the church that keeps it, since no word for the rites is neutral64118.

  3. Give each biblical text in its own wording, with the version named, before setting out how each tradition reads it.

  4. Attribute every claim about what a rite effects, and report a judgment that a rite is valid as the judgment of the church that makes it, on its own terms119.

  5. Where sources disagree, give both readings with their sources, and choose between them only where one is plainly better attested.

  6. Keep a commission's agreed statement apart from the teaching of the churches: ARCIC's Windsor Statement claimed substantial agreement on the Eucharist, while the Catholic Response of 1991 judged that it was not yet possible to say so120121.

  7. Distinguish a church's custom from an exceptionless rule, as with the 40 and 80 day periods for baptism in the Coptic and Ethiopian churches2526.

  8. Follow the teaching through its history in date order, report disputed dates with both sources, and mark plainly where a text could not be opened.

What to read

Its primary witnesses

  • The early church orders, the Didache and the Apostolic Tradition87122.
  • The Fathers, among them Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Cyril of Jerusalem and Augustine929499123.
  • The decrees of the councils, from the Fourth Lateran Council through Florence and Trent to the Second Vatican Council612124.
  • The Reformation catechisms and confessions: Luther's catechisms, the Augsburg Confession and its Apology, the Formula of Concord, the Heidelberg Catechism, the Westminster Confession, the Thirty-nine Articles and the Second London Baptist Confession35125333645425056.
  • The Anabaptist confessions of Schleitheim (1527) and Dordrecht (1632)6162.
  • The Orthodox confessions of Peter Mogila and Dositheus, and Abdisho of Nisibis's Marganitha (1298)12611529.
  • The liturgies, among them the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom and the Books of Common Prayer of 1662 and 197916127128.
  • The present teaching of the churches, such as the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Code of Canon Law and the Baptist Faith and Message 20004857.
  • The ecumenical texts: Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (1982), One Baptism: Towards Mutual Recognition (2011) and the bilateral dialogues117129.

Standard reference works

  • Lewis and Short's A Latin Dictionary and Thayer's Greek lexicon, for sacramentum and mysterion130131.
  • The Catholic Encyclopedia, whose articles on the sacraments, rites and mystery run through the field104132133.
  • Philip Schaff's Creeds of Christendom, for the texts and dates of the confessions134135.
  • Schaff's History of the Christian Church, for the eucharistic controversy of Zwingli and Luther4847.
  • The Encyclopedia of Eastern Orthodox Christianity and The A to Z of the Orthodox Church (2010)136137.
  • The Mennonite Encyclopedia and GAMEO, for the Anabaptist ordinances and footwashing13865.
  • The Jewish Encyclopedia, for the Passover, circumcision and the Jewish washings139140141.
  • The Dictionary of African Christian Biography, for the Harrist churches142.
  • The Religion Stylebook, a journalists' guide to each body's own terms, which is a starting point and not an authority on doctrine118143.

Scholarship referenced in this study

The works below shaped the field and are cited in this study, from the earliest to the most recent. Hover over a book, or select it, to see its author and the sources behind it.

  • 1945The Shape of the LiturgyGregory DixThe Shape of the Liturgy (1945)Gregory DixSources144
  • 1961Kirche und SakramenteKarl RahnerKirche und Sakramente (1961)Karl RahnerSources145
  • 1962The Mystery of Christian Worship and Other WritingsOdo CaselThe Mystery of Christian Worship and Other Writings (1962)Odo CaselSources146–147
  • 1967John Calvin, the Church and the EucharistKilian McDonnellJohn Calvin, the Church and the Eucharist (1967)Kilian McDonnellSources148
  • 1971Eucharist and EschatologyGeoffrey WainwrightEucharist and Eschatology (1971)Geoffrey WainwrightSources149
  • 1978The Shape of Baptism: The Rite of Christian InitiationAidan KavanaghThe Shape of Baptism: The Rite of Christian Initiation (1978)Aidan KavanaghSources150
  • 1985Being as Communion: Studies in Personhood and the ChurchJohn D. ZizioulasBeing as Communion: Studies in Personhood and the Church (1985)John D. ZizioulasSources151
  • 1993Grace and Gratitude: The Eucharistic Theology of John CalvinB. A. GerrishGrace and Gratitude: The Eucharistic Theology of John Calvin (1993)B. A. GerrishSources152
  • 1997Worship as Body Language: Introduction to Christian Worship: An African OrientationElochukwu E. UzukwuWorship as Body Language: Introduction to Christian Worship: An African Orientation (1997)Elochukwu E. UzukwuSources153
  • 1998The Didache: A CommentaryKurt NiederwimmerThe Didache: A Commentary (1998)Kurt NiederwimmerSources89
  • 1999The Rites of Christian Initiation: Their Evolution and InterpretationMaxwell E. JohnsonThe Rites of Christian Initiation: Their Evolution and Interpretation (1999)Maxwell E. JohnsonSources154
  • 2006Encountering God at the Altar: The Sacraments in Pentecostal WorshipDaniel TomberlinEncountering God at the Altar: The Sacraments in Pentecostal Worship (2006)Daniel TomberlinSources70

Listed because this study draws on their published work; no association with or endorsement of Numa Verse is implied. Suggest a correction.

Key terms

The words that carry the most weight in this field, each defined from the sources of this study. Turn a card over to read its definition.

In classical Latin a sum deposited in a lawsuit or a soldier's oath; in the Latin Bible it renders the Greek mysterion, and Calvin gives Augustine's short definition as "a visible sign of a sacred thing, or a visible form of an invisible grace"130155.

The Eastern churches' own name for the rites, which accept "sacrament" as an equivalent11156.

A rite appointed by Christ, the word stressing institution and command; it entered English confessions through the Westminster Standards and leads in the Baptist confessions435665.

In Catholic teaching, a sacred sign instituted by the Church, such as a blessing, which disposes people to receive grace but does not confer it in the way the sacraments do157.

"By the very fact of the action's being performed": the Catholic teaching that a sacrament is effective because God acts in it, its fruit depending on the disposition of the one who receives5.

The Catholic name for the change of the substance of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, a change of substance and not a physical change7113.

The Lutheran term for the union of the bread's unchanged essence with Christ's body; Lutheran writers reject the label consubstantiation3637.

The invocation of the Holy Spirit on the gifts, which Eastern liturgies place after the words of institution16158.

The anointing with holy myron that the Eastern churches give together with baptism; the Catechism of the Catholic Church gives it as another name for Confirmation14159.

A term wider than sacrament in several traditions; John Wesley understood by it "outward signs, words, or actions, ordained of God"5343.

Where it sits

Builds on

Sacramental theology and ordinances

Leads to

Questions people ask

It depends on the church: the Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, Reformed and Methodist churches speak of sacraments and the Eastern churches of holy mysteries, while Baptists, many Pentecostals, Adventists and Brethren speak of ordinances4345042521156677163. Each word carries a claim: "ordinance" stresses Christ's institution, and the Westminster Standards use it of the sacraments too6543. The Church: Towards a Common Vision (2013) suggests the difference may be one of emphasis160.

The Catholic Church defines seven, the Eastern Orthodox usually count seven without having fixed the number, and the Church of the East holds seven of a different content21230. Most Protestant churches count two, the Lutheran Apology allows Absolution as a third, several churches add footwashing, and the Friends and The Salvation Army keep no outward sacraments5033687779.

The traditions answer in different ways: the Catholic Church teaches a change of substance, the Orthodox a change by the Holy Spirit whose manner is not explained, Lutherans a sacramental union, the Reformed a spiritual feeding on Christ by faith, and the Baptist Faith and Message a symbolic act of obedience11315364257. Lutherans and Catholics "can together affirm the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Lord's Supper", in the words of From Conflict to Communion (2013), while The Church: Towards a Common Vision lists the presence of Christ among questions still open161160.

Largely, though not in every case: the Catholic Ecumenical Directory holds baptism by immersion or pouring with the Trinitarian formula valid of itself, and Catholics and Methodists give full recognition to each other's baptism162163. Eleven member churches of the German Council of Churches mutually recognized baptism on 29 April 2007164. Some churches require baptism of those baptized as infants, on the view that an infant's baptism is not a true baptism, and in 2020 the Catholic Church held invalid a baptism given with the words "We baptize"129165.

The Catholic Catechism teaches that God "has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments", and the Confession of Dositheus calls baptism of the highest necessity166115. The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod holds it ordinarily but not absolutely necessary, the Westminster Confession that grace is not inseparably annexed to it, and Southern Baptists make it a prerequisite to church membership, not a condition of salvation414257. The Friends and The Salvation Army hold that no outward observance is essential16778.

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  1. 1Bulla Exultate Deo, Florence, 22 November 1439, Latin (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/content/eugenius-iv/la/documents/bulla-exultate-deo-22-nov-1439.html (opens in a new tab)
  2. 2Council of Trent, Seventh Session, Canons on the Sacraments in General (Papal Encyclicals Online)https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/trent/seventh-session.htm (opens in a new tab)
  3. 3Catechism of the Catholic Church, paras. 1210 to 1211 (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/content/catechism/en/part_two/section_two.html (opens in a new tab)
  4. 4Catechism of the Catholic Church, paras. 1131 to 1134 (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P35.HTM (opens in a new tab)
  5. 5Catechism of the Catholic Church, paras. 1127 to 1129 (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P33.HTM (opens in a new tab)
  6. 6Fourth Lateran Council (1215), canons (Papal Encyclicals Online)https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/ecum12-2.htm (opens in a new tab)
  7. 7Catechism of the Catholic Church, paras. 1356 to 1381 (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P41.HTM (opens in a new tab)
  8. 8Code of Canon Law (1983), Book IV, canons 834 to 878 (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib4-cann834-878_en.html (opens in a new tab)
  9. 9Catechism of the Catholic Church, paras. 1246 to 1255 (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P3K.HTM (opens in a new tab)
  10. 10Catechism of the Catholic Church, How is the Sacrament of Baptism Celebrated? (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P3J.HTM (opens in a new tab)
  11. 11The Sacraments, The Orthodox Faith vol. II (Orthodox Church in America)https://oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/worship/the-sacraments/the-sacraments (opens in a new tab)
  12. 12Sacraments and Planning (St Vasilios Greek Orthodox Church, Peabody)https://www.stvasilios.org/orthodox_faith/sacraments (opens in a new tab)
  13. 13Baptism, The Orthodox Faith vol. II (Orthodox Church in America)https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/worship/the-sacraments/baptism (opens in a new tab)
  14. 14Chrismation, The Orthodox Faith vol. II (Orthodox Church in America)https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/worship/the-sacraments/chrismation (opens in a new tab)
  15. 15John of Damascus, Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book IV (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/33044.htm (opens in a new tab)
  16. 16The Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom (Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America)https://www.goarch.org/-/the-divine-liturgy-of-saint-john-chrysostom (opens in a new tab)
  17. 17Synod of Jerusalem and Confession of Dositheus, Creeds of Christendom vol. 1, Philip Schaff (CCEL)https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/creeds1.v.vii.html (opens in a new tab)
  18. 18Holy Eucharist, The Orthodox Faith vol. II, Thomas Hopko (Orthodox Church in America)https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/worship/the-sacraments/holy-eucharist (opens in a new tab)
  19. 19Liturgy (Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Chicago)https://www.annunciationcathedralchicago.org/about-orthodoxy/liturgy (opens in a new tab)
  20. 20Introduction to the Coptic Church, Bishop Mettaous (copticchurch.net)https://www.copticchurch.net/introduction-to-the-coptic-church (opens in a new tab)
  21. 21Articles (Syriac Orthodox Archdiocese of the Western United States)https://www.soc-wus.org/Articles.htm (opens in a new tab)
  22. 22Sacraments (Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America)https://armenianchurch.us/sacraments (opens in a new tab)
  23. 23Dogma and Doctrine (Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church)https://www.ethiopianorthodox.org/english/faith.html (opens in a new tab)
  24. 24The Number of the Mysteries (Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, Northeast American Diocese)https://www.neamericandiocese.org/menu/main-menu/the-number-of-the-mysteries/59 (opens in a new tab)
  25. 25Baptism, Bishop Mettaous (copticchurch.net)https://copticchurch.net/introduction-to-the-coptic-church/sacraments/1_baptism (opens in a new tab)
  26. 26The Faith of the Church (Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church)https://www.ethiopianorthodox.org/english/dogma/faith.html (opens in a new tab)
  27. 27Baptism (Syriac Orthodox Archdiocese of the Western United States)http://soc-wus.org/ar%20bapt.htm (opens in a new tab)
  28. 28The Sacraments in the Life of the Church, Rome, 23 June 2022 (Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity)https://www.christianunity.va/content/unitacristiani/en/dialoghi/sezione-orientale/chiese-ortodosse-orientali/commissione-mista-internazionale-per-il-dialogo-teologico-tra-la/documenti-di-dialogo/en.html (opens in a new tab)
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  30. 30Common Statement on Sacramental Life, 24 November 2017 (Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity)https://www.christianunity.va/content/unitacristiani/en/dialoghi/sezione-orientale/chiesa-assira-dell-oriente/commissione-internazionale-di-dialogo-tra-la-chiesa-cattolica-e-/documenti/testo-in-inglese1.html (opens in a new tab)
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  164. 164Taufe, theme page (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Christlicher Kirchen in Deutschland)https://www.oekumene-ack.de/themen/theologische-reflexion/taufe/ (opens in a new tab)
  165. 165Responses to questions on the validity of Baptism conferred with the formula 'We baptize you', and Doctrinal Note, 24 June 2020 (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_cdf_doc_20200624_responsum-nota-battesimo_en.html (opens in a new tab)
  166. 166Catechism of the Catholic Church, paras. 1257 to 1261 (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P3M.HTM (opens in a new tab)
  167. 167Quaker faith & practice, chapter 27 (Britain Yearly Meeting)https://qfp.quaker.org.uk/chapter/27/ (opens in a new tab)

Page record

Reviewed and approved by Duane Herholdt, BA (Theology), Chief Executive Officer, Numa Verse

Study version: v1.1, 30 October 2026 (theology map v1.27)

Last reviewed: 9 November 2026

How these pages are made

  • 9 November 2026: First draft from the approved assessment v1.1.