04/06/2022
This article introduces some practices broadly applicable to multiple Christian denominations. The rites and ceremonies of a particular denomination will be described in the article on that tradition.
The most important Christian rituals are called sacraments, sacred rites that convey God's sacred power or grace. Baptism and Eucharist are the two most important sacraments, and are practiced by most Christians. In many Protestant communities, these two rites are not called sacraments, but ordinances, and are usually understood not to be channels of grace so much as acts of commemoration and symbolic identification with Christ.
Baptism, the Christian rite of initiation, is a ritual cleansing with water. Being observant Jews, the early Christians integrated the ancient Jewish practice of ritual bathing into Christian practice (e.g., Leviticus 14:8). Baptism was also used to initiate converts to Judaism, and the Essenes, contemporaries of Jesus, practiced a daily ritual of bathing. According to accounts in the Gospels, John the Baptizer, who baptized his followers as a sign of repentance, baptized Jesus as well. Jesus later instructed his followers to baptize others. For early Christians, baptism was a sign of moral purification, the beginning of new and eternal life, and an indication of the Christian's readiness for the coming Kingdom of God.
Beliefs about the Eucharist vary greatly among Christians. Some churches, most notably the Roman Catholic Church and, with less specificity, the Eastern Orthodox churches, believe that upon blessing the bread and wine in the ritual of the Eucharist, these food items literally become the body and blood of Jesus or embody his presence in a special way. Other denominations interpret the rite symbolically, believing that eating the bread and drinking the wine memorialize the sacrificial action of Christ.
In the Christian view, death is a passage to the eternal life promised by Christ. The funeral rite combines the sorrow of loss with the joy and confidence Christians feel in the promise of the resurrection. At the funeral, Christians recall the brevity of life and the destiny of the soul, renewing their hope in the promise of resurrection and eternal life. While burial was the convention among Christians for many centuries, modern Christians may choose cremation as an alternative.
Remembrance rituals include lighting a candle or saying prayers for the departed soul. Unlike some religions, Christians have no prescribed period of mourning for the dead.
