Can the Holy Sacraments be classified or numbered?

Though the number of the Sacraments is not limited, the chief sacraments are seven. All sacraments are perfected through Holy Qurbana. Customarily in the Orthodox Church, we speak of Seven Main or chief Sacraments.

The Church Fathers themselves disagreed as to the actual number- some said two, some six, some ten, and there were even those who said seven, but differed among themselves as to what constituted that seven. Many other sacramental acts, such as the Blessing of Waters, and the Blessing of any object, for example, possess the same criteria as the earlier definition of sacrament. In any case, the number seven has no absolute dogmatic significance in our Orthodox theology, but is used only for teaching convenience.

The sacraments are built upon the idea and theological principle of the good creation: that God created the world and he saw that what he made was “very good,” as it says in Genesis. In other words, it isn’t just the spiritual side of human life that is good whereas the material, physical life is evil.

The Sacraments, as they are traditionally numbered as seven. We must note that this number was first fixed in the 16th Century, in the Councils of Trent, by the Roman Catholic Church. During the Councils of Trent, both Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition were declared authoritative to determine the number. The special importance to the number seven in the New Testament and Old Testament could have been the reason why seven was selected.
Number 3 stands for the Holy Trinity – the Creator and 4 for creation. So, adding three and four given seven a indicating the unification of the Creator and creation.
Creator (3) + creation (4) = 7

Significance of Number Seven

1. The first use of the number 7 in the Bible relates to the creation week in Genesis 1. God spends six days creating the heavens and the earth, and then rests on the seventh day. This is our template for the seven-day week, observed around the world to this day. The seventh day was to be “set apart” for Israel; the Sabbath was a holy day of rest (Deut. 5: 12).  Thus, right at the start of the Bible, the number 7 is identified with something being “finished” or “complete.” From then on, 7 is often regarded as completeness or divine perfection.  So, we see the command for animals to be at least seven days old before being used for sacrifice (Exodus 22: 30).

2. The command for leprous Naaman to bathe in the Jordan River seven times to effect complete cleansing (2 Kings 5: 10). The command for Joshua to march around Jericho for seven days (and on the seventh day to make seven circuits) and for seven priests blow seven trumpets outside the city walls (Joshua 6: 3-4).
In these instances, 7 signifies a completion of some kind: a divine mandate is fulfilled.

3. The number seven also frequently accompanies the fulfillment of promises or oaths. The Hebrew word for swearing an oath (shaba) and the Hebrew word for seven (sheba) both derive from the Hebrew word meaning satisfaction or fullness (sabaa). In Genesis, God promises not to destroy the Earth again with a flood and commemorate this covenant with the rainbow, which is comprised of seven colors (Genesis 9:8-15). Later in Genesis, we learn that Abraham swore an oath of ownership over a well of water (Genesis 21:22-31). Abraham satisfied the oath with a gift of seven lambs and named the site of the oath “Beersheba,” which interchangeably means “well of the oath” or  “well of seven.”

4. Jesus again used seven metaphors to describe Himself, as the path to our salvation, the perfect reward for a good and faithful servant. Jesus tells us He is: I AM the Bread of Life (Jn. 6: 35, 48, 51); I AM the Light of the World (Jn. 8: 12; 9: 5); I AM the Door/Gate (Jn. 10: 7, 9); I AM the Good Shepherd (Jn. 10: 11, 14); I AM the Resurrection and the Life (Jn. 11:  25). I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life (Jn. 14: 6); I AM the True Vine (Jn. 15: 1, 5).
5. In the book of Revelations there is a frequent use of the number seven: 7 Churches (1: 4, 11), 7 spirits (1:4), 7 golden stands (1:12); 7 stars (1:16); 7 seals (5:1); 7 eyes & 7 eyes (5: 6); 7 trumpets (8: 2); 7 thunders (10: 3); 7 signs (12: 1-3; 13: 13-14; 15: 1; 16:14; 19: 20); 7 plagues (15: 6); 7 crowns (12: 3); 7 golden bowls (15: 7); 7 hills (17: 9); 7 kings (17: 10)….. In these instances, 7 signifies a completion of some kind: a divine mandate is fulfilled

Significance of Number Four

Number 4 stands for the Creation
Four is the number of the great elements—earth, air, fire, and water. Four are the regions/directions of the earth—north, south, east, and west. Four are the divisions of the day—morning, noon, evening, and midnight. Four are the seasons of the year—spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Four tributaries that watered the Garden of Eden – Pishon, Gihon, Tigris and Euphrates

Sacraments can be classified into:-

• Receiving Sacraments
• Sanctifying Sacrament (Consecrational).

The number of sacrament cannot be numbered or fixed, however the major or main sacraments are seven in number:-

The Receiving Sacraments: –

1. Holy Baptism
2. Holy Chrismation or Mooron
3. Holy Confession
4. Holy Qurbana or Eucharist
5. Holy Orders
6. Holy Matrimony
7. Holy Anointing of the sick

The Consecrational Sacraments: –
Church and Thablaitha Sanctification, consecration of Holy Mooron etc.

The Compulsory Sacraments: –
There are five compulsory sacraments. They are:- Holy Baptism, Holy Chrismation or Mooron, Holy Confession, Holy Qurbana or Eucharist, Holy Anointing of the sick.

The Holy Sacraments that can be repeated: – Holy Confession, Holy Qurbana or Eucharist, and Holy Anointing of the sick {Holy Matrimony in very exceptional cases only}

The Optional Sacraments:
They are:- Holy Matrimony and Holy Orders.
The Holy Sacraments which can be received only once: –Holy Baptism, Holy Chrismation or Mooron and Holy Orders.

The Healing Sacraments:
Holy Confession and Holy Anointing of the sick.

The Sacraments of Initiation to Christianity: – Holy Baptism is the first Sacrament of the Sacraments by which we become members of the Church and the one sacrament by which we enter the Kingdom of God.

The Important Factors for Efficacy and Validity of the Sacraments: –

• All sacraments should have Biblical divine basis and foundations.
• The minister who officiates the sacraments should be validly ordained disciplinely appointed through Apostolic succession.
• The recipients are all faithful believers of Orthodox faith having the right intentions of receiving the Sacraments.
• Only those material instructed by Jesus can be used.

Who can receive all the Sacraments?
A married priest receives all the seven Sacraments.

We have other Sacraments (koodhashakal) like Blessing of Waters, and the Blessing of any object that can are included as sacraments