Ligonių patepimas : biblinės ištakos ir ansktyvosios bažnyčios praktika

Abstract

Sacrament of Anointing of the sick in comparison with the other sacraments, passed a long and rather complicated history. Anointing ritual has very old roots in Near East cultures. The most interesting thing to as is Judish - Christian roots of this Sacrament. We can see from historical facts that anointing with oil in old Israel was used in secular use and in religious use too. Jesus and his apostols gave the new meaning to this ritual which was already known in the old world. From the analysis of these biblical facts we can say, that Jesus Christ made the healing service, the mission of which he gave to his apostals. They made this service very widely. Jacob’s letter gives the facts, that in apostolic Church fot the fulfilment of this mission was used the anointing with oil ritual. Though the history of post - apostolic Church gives not many facts about the sacrament of Anointing of the sick, but from the liturgical texts and other historical facts, it is seen that this sacrament was practiced rather widely. The analysis of patristic texts shows that calling for power of Christ, the official members of the Church made the anointing ritual for the sick, also the sick Christians made the anointing themselves with the oil blessed by bishop. We can see the tendency in Church doctrines that the sick Christians for anointing sacrament usually addressed to the official members of the Church. This tendency was, perhaps, because it was wanted to preserve the Christians from local magical healers’ rituals, witch had the differend doctrines of Christian faith. In IV - V th ages the healing understanding in Church was deeply influenced by a gnostic and manicheical phylosophy, witch derogated the dignity of human body. The leaders of the Christians told the people not to pay attention to the physical recovery, during which process they loose their souls. Step by step, the Anointing of the sick in VI th age loses the biblical and patristical reason. Influenced by secular phylosophical minds, the Church starts thinking, that physical siccness or illness is the same as the punishment of God. In the historical flow the Church began to loosed the unders tanding what is the essence of the Christ healing service. That is, the Sacrament of the sick, in its deepest meaning, is used toprolong the healing service of Jesus, with time lost this healing accent and started to concentrate almost exceptionally on the preparation of a person to death.