The Sacraments

There are three pillars that support the New Apostolic Church’s understanding of salvation for the departed. The first one is the answer to the question: “What does God desire?” — The Bible has a great deal to say on that subject, namely that all human beings are to be saved.

Sacraments for the departed? That only makes sense if people can still change in death. Judging by the teachings of their church, the majority of Christians believe in a chance in the afterlife. But there are big differences between the churches.

Sacraments for the dead? It would be unthinkable without the immortality of the soul. Yet this notion is only beginning to evolve in the Bible. Here is how today’s understanding of an afterlife came into being.

The dead are not truly dead—at least not for God. For God there is no dividing line between life on earth and life in the hereafter. That is what Christians believe, and that is also what the Bible states. Here is an overview of how sacramental acts are dispensed for the dead.

Sealing is a sacrament with a history. And its roots can be traced back to the early Christian centuries. Here is an overview of the ten articles in our series on this topic and a look ahead on what is up next.

When asked how a Christian receives the Holy Spirit, the New Apostolic Church’s answer to the question is: through Holy Sealing. Our sacramental understanding and its points of reference in the Bible and in church history are detailed below.

Is Holy Sealing a heritage of the Catholic Apostolic Church? The term as such perhaps, but not necessarily what we associate with it. Here is some more on the ins and outs in the history of the New Apostolic Church.

From a spontaneous flash of inspiration to the regulating apostolic hand: this is how the Catholic Apostolic Church developed its sealing. The theological foundation only developed over time—and not always uniformly.

It happened in 1840/41: the apostle unity fell apart and so did the masterplan. The charismatic movement had to reinvent itself as a church. Here is the background to sealing in the Catholic Apostolic Church.

The Catholic practice of confirmation as a sacrament was only accorded a few quiet centuries. But then the reformers came along and sought to anchor the Christian rite of initiation in the act of baptism alone—and nevertheless instituted their own practice of confirmation in the process.

The rebirth out of water and Spirit: what began as a rite in two parts developed into two independent sacraments. The catalyst was the overwhelming success of Christendom.

How does the believer receive the Holy Spirit? The Bible remains ambiguous and leaves quite a few gaps with respect to this question. Answers begin to develop of the early church. And this foundation stands to this day.