The Esoteric Meaning Of The Seven Sacraments

An excerpt from the beginning. ACCORDING to the Orthodox definition, the Sacraments are "Ordained means of Grace, necessary to salvation, instruments of Eternal Life, which - through outward and visible signs- transfer to the Faithful inward and spiritual Grace." How is it that these divinely-appointed ordinances of Grace, which ought to bind together the Members of the Church, have turned into veritable apples of discord? The reason is very simple. The Sacraments have gradually lost their original signification, and have degenerated into mere ritual functions. As they repeatedly failed to transfer the immense benefits which they were appointed to transmit, these glaring failures gave birth to grave doubts concerning their efficacy. At the Reformation five of the Sacraments were simply discarded as "not necessary to Salvation." Luther went so far as to style the Sacrament of Confirmation a "FIRMELUNG," which word signifies FRAUD or CHEAT. If he had had the slightest notion of the Inner Meaning of the Sacraments, he would not have handled the pruning-knife with such deplorable alacrity. One thing is certain: no Reformation could have occurred if the Church of Rome had retained possession of the Sacred Gnosis. Knowledge of the esoteric signification of the Mysteries was in ancient times called "the Power of the Keys" (potestas clavicum). This power has long ago ceased to be the appanage of Orthodox Christianity. During the first centuries of the Christian era this knowledge remained in the hands of different Secret Societies, which were on this account terribly persecuted by the Orthodox Priesthood. In our days the Church has lost the faculty of inflicting bodily injury to those who do not share her views, but the "Odium Theologicum" still subsists Christians are still requested to "detest, abhor, and condemn" certain opinions, which are declared to be "wicked heresies."

Excerpt from The Esoteric Meaning of the Seven Sacraments The Esoteric Meaning of the Seven Sacraments was written by Princess Karadja in 1910. This is a 78 page book, containing 16871 words and 2 pictures. Search Inside is enabled for this title. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.