The Sacraments

Three years and 66 parts later… The series on the sacraments has given us a lot of food for thought on theology and history in general and on New Apostolic specialties in particular. As a final instalment, here is an overview with dozens of links.

Sacraments for the dead, this is a special feature of our New Apostolic faith. This is an aspect in our sacrament series that we could not have done without. In fourteen articles we examined the doctrine, how it is practised, and explored its history. In conclusion, here is an overview.

Acts in this world for the beyond. Why would this even be necessary? Jesus Christ Himself set the example by coming into this world to bring salvation to the living and the dead. This also marks the nature of the sacraments.

It has been called the structural law of biblical salvation history: the principle of substitution. Even the New Apostolic Church’s understanding of salvation for the departed is founded upon this. Following is the story of where the fundamental model originates—and where it ultimately leads.

Is the divine service for the departed some sort of spiritualistic practice? Hardly! Anyone who claims such a thing would be contradicting the facts! After all, scholarship sees these two as polar opposites in several decisive points.

Sacraments can also be of help to the departed. This is not only professed by the New Apostolic faith, but is also taught in the Catholic Church and in Orthodox Christianity. Following is a look at the bigger picture.

It looks no different than usual: Apostles dispense the sacraments—this time to two designated ministers—and the congregation stands and prays along silently. And yet, this is a highly solemn moment that has touched the faithful for generations.

Things got off to a turbulent start. But step by step the New Apostolic Church has put order into its sacraments for the departed. Once the practical part had been brought into line, the theory followed suit. Here is the history in fast-forward mode.

Can the departed receive salvation too? The question is as old as Christianity itself. The answer of the New Apostolic Church is not even all that new—and nevertheless, it is unusual. Here is the story of how the sacraments for the departed came to be dispensed.

Vicarious baptism is a biblical pillar that supports the New Apostolic Church’s conception of salvation for the departed. An episcopal council is said to have forbidden it. This is how the story usually goes, but it is not quite correct. Here is the background and how it came to the decision.

There is one particular Bible verse that has been giving interpreters a lot of headaches—and for the last 1,800 years to boot. And yet it is precisely this passage that constitutes the third pillar supporting the New Apostolic Church’s conception of salvation for the departed. Ultimately it boils down to a question of the power of a sacrament.

God wants to help all human beings, both the living and the dead. This conviction can already be found among the earliest Christians and is confirmed by the biblical motif of Christ’s descent into the realm of the dead—and corroborates the New Apostolic concept of the departed.