sacrament

/ˈsækrəmənt/

/ˈsækrəmɛnt/

Other forms: sacraments

A sacrament is a religious ceremony or rite. Sacraments are important holy events to members of that religion.

Different religions recognize different sacraments. If you're a Protestant, you might attend a baptism, yet if you're Roman Catholic, you would include confirmation and matrimony among the various ceremonies you attend. Usually a holy person like a priest or minister needs to perform a sacrament. A less religious definition of this word is to think of a sacrament as something that is sacred or mysterious: a serious baseball fan might think of visiting Fenway Park as a sacrament.

Definitions of sacrament

1. noun

   a formal religious ceremony conferring a specific grace on those who receive it; the two Protestant ceremonies are baptism and the Lord's Supper; in the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church there are seven traditional rites accepted as instituted by Jesus: baptism and confirmation and Holy Eucharist and penance and holy orders and matrimony and extreme unction
   types:

   Eucharist, Eucharistic liturgy, Holy Eucharist, Holy Sacrament, Liturgy, Lord's Supper, sacrament of the Eucharist

   a Christian sacrament commemorating the Last Supper by consecrating bread and wine

   matrimony

   the ceremony or sacrament of marriage

   baptism

   a Christian sacrament signifying spiritual cleansing and rebirth

   confirmation

   a sacrament admitting a baptized person to full participation in the church

   penance

   a Catholic sacrament; repentance and confession and atonement and absolution

   anointing of the sick, extreme unction, last rites

   a Catholic sacrament; a priest anoints a dying person with oil and prays for salvation

   holy order

   the sacrament of ordination

   affusion

   the act of baptizing someone by pouring water on their head

   aspersion, sprinkling

   the act of sprinkling water in baptism (rare)

   christening

   giving a Christian name at baptism

   immersion

   a form of baptism in which part or all of a person's body is submerged

   confession

   (Roman Catholic Church) the act of a penitent disclosing his sinfulness before a priest in the sacrament of penance in the hope of absolution

   type of:

   religious ceremony, religious ritual

   a ceremony having religious meaning