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Course 21 · Lesson 5.3

Oil: anointing of the sick, chrismation, confirmation and ordination

11 minute read

Lessons in this course

Course 21 outline

Module 1: The Theology of Worship

  1. What liturgy is: the word, the idea and the debate
  2. Worship in the Old and New Testaments
  3. Praying and believing: how worship shapes doctrine and doctrine shapes worship
  4. Word, sacrament and sign across the traditions

Module 2: How Christian Liturgy Developed

  1. The earliest descriptions: the Didache, Justin Martyr and the early church orders
  2. The liturgical families of East and West
  3. The Reformation and the revision of worship
  4. Liturgical renewal in the twentieth century

Module 3: The Christian Year: Calendars, Feasts and Fasts

  1. Sunday, the week and the hours of the day
  2. Easter, Holy Week and the dispute over the date
  3. Advent, Christmas and Epiphany
  4. Lent, the Orthodox fasting seasons and Protestant approaches to fasting
  5. Saints days and the second cycle of the calendar

Module 4: Sacred Space and Sacred Images

  1. From house church to basilica: the development of church buildings
  2. The meaning of church buildings: altar, table, orientation and the Orthodox and Gothic examples
  3. Icons and the Incarnation: John of Damascus and the Second Council of Nicaea
  4. Images and the Reformation: Lutheran, Reformed and Anglican approaches

Module 5: Material Signs: Incense, Water, Oil and Blessings

  1. Incense: Scripture, temple worship and its use in the churches
  2. Water: baptism, the renewal of baptismal vows and holy water
  3. Oil: anointing of the sick, chrismation, confirmation and ordination
  4. Blessings: what the church means when it blesses a person, a house or an object
  5. Sacraments and sacramentals: the Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant vocabulary

Module 6: Popular Piety and Devotional Practice

  1. What popular piety is, and why scholars take it seriously
  2. Pilgrimage, relics, medals and pious objects
  3. The rosary, the Stations of the Cross, litanies and akathists
  4. How the churches have regulated and corrected popular devotion

Module 7: Telling Tradition from Superstition

  1. What the theologians mean by superstition, and why the line is hard to draw
  2. A method: source, date, doctrine, authority and consequence
  3. Case studies: apocryphal legends, magical formulas and invented history
  4. Honesty and respect in judging other people’s devotion

All courses

Program / Course 21: Liturgical Theology / Lesson 5.3

What you will learn

  • Describe the biblical uses of anointing oil for priests, kings, healing and the title Christ.
  • Compare Catholic and Orthodox sacramental anointing with Protestant approaches to James 5:14.
  • Explain the relation of chrismation and confirmation to baptism.
  • State what a person can do alone, and what cautions apply to anointing for healing.

The big idea

Oil in the Bible marks someone set apart for God or in need of healing. Priests and kings were anointed, and the word Christ means the Anointed One. The church uses oil in several rites: the anointing of the sick, which James 5:14 describes, the chrismation or confirmation that follows baptism, and ordination. The traditions disagree on how many of these are sacraments and who may anoint. They agree that oil is a sign of the Spirit’s work and not a replacement for medical care.

Key terms

Anointing
Applying oil to a person or thing as a sign of being set apart, strengthened or healed.
Christ (Christos) and Messiah
Greek and Hebrew words meaning the anointed one.
Chrism (myron)
Oil mixed with fragrant substances and consecrated by a bishop (in the West) or by the head of a church (in the East), used in baptism, confirmation and ordination.
Chrismation
The Eastern name for the anointing with chrism given directly after baptism, which completes Christian initiation.
Confirmation
In the West, the rite in which a baptized person is anointed with chrism and prayed for by a bishop, or a priest authorized by him, for the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Anointing of the sick
The Catholic sacrament in which a priest anoints a seriously ill person with oil and prays for them. Formerly called extreme unction.
Euchelaion (holy unction)
The Orthodox rite of prayer and anointing for the sick, in Greek meaning prayer oil.

Background

Exodus 30:22-33 gives a recipe for holy anointing oil, used to consecrate the tabernacle and its priests. Samuel anoints Saul and David as kings (1 Samuel 10:1; 16:13). The prophets look for an anointed deliverer, the Messiah, whom the New Testament identifies with Jesus (Luke 4:18, quoting Isaiah 61:1). Mark 6:13 says that the disciples anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them. James 5:14-15 says: “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick.”

Early Christians used oil in baptism and healing. Hippolytus’s Apostolic Tradition, with the cautions noted earlier about its date, gives prayers for blessing oil. In the fourth and fifth centuries anointing after baptism became a distinct rite in many places, in the East conferred immediately by the priest, and in the West reserved to the bishop, which is the origin of confirmation as a separate rite.

Step-by-step explanation

Step 1: Anointing of the sick

The Catholic Church teaches that anointing of the sick is a sacrament instituted by Christ and attested in the Letter of James. Trent defined that it is to be given by priests. After Vatican II the church stressed that it is for those who are seriously ill or weakened by age, not only for the dying, and it may be received more than once. Orthodox churches celebrate holy unction as a mystery of healing in body and soul, with several priests ideally taking part, and many parishes offer it to all the faithful on Holy Wednesday. Anglicans of some traditions offer anointing as a sacramental, and the Church of England has services for it. Lutherans have rites for the sick that may include anointing but do not count it as a sacrament.

Step 2: Reformed, evangelical and Pentecostal views

Calvin held that the anointing in James and Mark belonged to the age of miracles and has ended, so that the church should pray for the sick but not anoint as a sacrament. Many Reformed and Baptist churches today hold that the elders pray for the sick and may anoint as a symbol, and that the oil is a sign of the Spirit and not a medicine. Pentecostal and charismatic churches commonly anoint with oil for healing as an act of faith. Others interpret James as meaning oil used as a medicine of the day, which the elders were to apply while praying. Each tradition thus reads the same passage in its own way.

Step 3: Chrismation and confirmation

In the Orthodox Church the priest anoints the newly baptized with the chrism blessed by the head of the local church, on the forehead, eyes, ears and other places, saying, The seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit. In the Catholic Church, confirmation is received at a later age in the Latin rite, although Eastern Catholic churches follow the Eastern practice. It is normally administered by a bishop. The Church of England and other Anglican churches also have confirmation by a bishop, and Lutheran churches practice a confirmation of baptismal vows without counting it as a sacrament. Reformed and Baptist churches have no sacramental confirmation, though some hold a public profession of faith. The differing practices arise from different readings of Acts 8:14-17 and 19:1-6, where the Spirit is given after baptism.

Step 4: Ordination and other uses

In Catholic and Orthodox ordination, the bishop lays on hands, and the Catholic rite includes anointing the hands of priests and the head of bishops. Anglican ordination uses prayer and the laying on of hands, with anointing in only some rites. Oil is also used for anointing monarchs, as at the coronation of British monarchs, a custom drawn from Israel’s kings. The consecration of churches and altars may involve chrism. Many churches have a tradition of blessing oil, including the Catholic oil of the sick, blessed by a bishop at the Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday.

Step 5: What a person can do alone

A believer may pray for the sick, privately or with family. In some traditions, an ordinary Christian may anoint a family member with a plain olive oil and a prayer as a simple act of faith, as in Pentecostal and many other churches. In Catholic and Orthodox teaching the sacrament of the anointing of the sick is administered by a priest, and a layperson cannot confer it. The churches advise that anointing never replaces medical treatment, and it is wrong to promise cures or to charge money for anointing oil. Claims about particular oils from places or persons, sold with promises of results, should be examined carefully and not accepted without support from church teaching.

  1. What does this tradition say anointing signifies?
  2. Who may administer it, and who may receive it?
  3. How does this tradition read James 5:14-15?
  4. Does it count the anointing as a sacrament, a sacramental or a custom?
  5. What promises, if any, does the church make about results?
  6. How should the rite relate to medical care?

Examples

Holy unction

On Holy Wednesday an Orthodox parish gathers for the service of unction. Each person comes to the priests, who anoint the forehead and hands with blessed oil. The church teaches that this is for the healing of soul and body, and it is offered to all who wish, not only the gravely ill.

A hospital visit

A Catholic priest visits an elderly man before surgery, anoints his forehead and hands with the oil of the sick, and prays. The man’s family is present. The sacrament does not replace the surgery, and he is encouraged to follow his doctor’s advice.

An elders’ prayer

A Baptist elder visits a sick woman, reads James 5, puts a drop of oil on her forehead and prays for healing. The church holds this as an act of obedience and does not claim that oil works by itself. She also continues her treatment.

Different perspectives

Catholic

Anointing of the sick is a sacrament that gives strength, peace and, if God wills, bodily healing. Confirmation completes baptism and is a separate sacrament.

Orthodox

Chrismation is received at once after baptism, and holy unction is a mystery of healing. Both are administered by priests with oil blessed by a bishop or head of church.

Lutheran and Anglican

Anointing the sick is permitted and used in many places as a sacramental or pastoral rite. Confirmation is a rite of the church and in Anglican churches is administered by bishops.

Reformed

The apostolic anointing was tied to miraculous gifts, and the church now prays for the sick without making anointing a sacrament, though practice varies and some elders still anoint.

Pentecostal and charismatic

Anointing with oil and prayer is a biblical practice for healing and may be done by elders or by believers. It is an act of faith, which expects God to act but does not make God’s action depend on the oil.

Why it matters

Oil is one of the most commonly commercialized religious objects, so understanding what the churches actually teach is a protection against exaggerated claims. It also shows how a single biblical text, James 5, can lead to different practices, and how the churches handle the relation between prayer and medicine.

Common misunderstandings

Misunderstanding: Extreme unction is only for those about to die.

Correction: Since Vatican II the Catholic Church has stressed that the anointing of the sick is for those seriously ill or weakened by age, and may be repeated.

Misunderstanding: Anointing oil is a medicine or a magical substance.

Correction: In the churches, it is a sign of the Spirit’s work, with prayer. No church teaches that the oil itself heals, and none says to refuse medical care.

Misunderstanding: All Christians confirm in the same way.

Correction: Orthodox chrismation is given at baptism, Catholic confirmation later by a bishop, Lutheran confirmation is a profession of faith and many Protestants do not confirm.

Misunderstanding: Protestants reject anointing.

Correction: Some do, but many Anglicans, Lutherans, Baptists and Pentecostals practice it in some form, although they do not agree on its meaning.

Knowledge check

What does James 5:14-15 say, and how do the traditions read it?

It tells the sick to call the elders, who are to pray and anoint with oil in the Lord’s name. Catholics and Orthodox see a sacrament of the sick. Calvin and many Reformed see an apostolic gift of healing that has ceased. Pentecostals practice it for healing, and many Baptists treat it as an act of obedience.

What is chrismation, and how does it differ from confirmation?

Chrismation is the Eastern anointing with chrism given by the priest immediately after baptism. Confirmation in the Latin church is a separate rite given later by a bishop. Both express the gift of the Holy Spirit.

What is the meaning of the title Christ?

Christos is Greek for anointed one, translating the Hebrew Messiah. Jesus is confessed as the one anointed by God as prophet, priest and king.

What cautions apply to anointing oil?

It should not replace medical care, promises of cure should not be made, and oil should not be sold with claims of power. The church sacrament belongs to the church, administered by a priest in Catholic and Orthodox teaching.

Think it through

  1. What is the difference between praying for healing and expecting a cure?
  2. Why might a church limit who may anoint?
  3. How does Luke 4:18 shape your view of the title Christ?
  4. How would you speak to a friend considering expensive anointing oil sold with promises?

Independent assignment

Three readings of James 5

In your own notebook, write 400 to 600 words. State how a Catholic, a Reformed and a Pentecostal reader would each interpret James 5:14-15, using the course library where you can. Say which parts of the text each emphasizes and which they find hardest. Then state one practical caution that all three would accept. Do not send this to anyone.

Further study