Unction is a holy mystery in which a priest or a bishop, by anointing a sick person with consecrated oil, asks, together with the Church, for God's grace which heals the sickness of the soul and the body.

During his earthly life, Our Lord Jesus Christ raised the dead, exorcised evil spirits and gave new life to the souls blinded by sin, bearing witness in so doing to the perfection of Divine Love and giving a perfect example of compassion. When sending forth His disciples to preach the Word of God, Our Lord expressly commanded them to heal the sick (Matth. 10, 1). In doing so, the Apostles anointed the sick with oil (Mark 6, 13), and later the faithful were taught to do so in all Churches. Apostle James speaks of this commandment in these words: "Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the Church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him." (James 5, 14-15).

The mystery of unction is served so that these ancient commandments may be fulfilled. In addition to the healing of the body, the remission of sins is also prayed for during the mystery of unction, for most maladies of the body are caused by sin, as sin is, indeed, the sickness of the spirit. Many of the Teachers of the Church point out that in the mystery of unction it is, above all, the forgotten sins which are forgiven.

The mystery of unction should be served by seven priests, which shows that the care for the sick and compassion are the responsibility of the Church as a whole. The very number seven is the symbol of the Church and of its plenitude. For this reason, the act itself of the anointing of the sick person and the prayers for the remission of that person's sins are repeated seven times. There are also seven readings from the Epistles and seven from the Gospels. They all tell of repentance, of healing, of the absolute necessity to believe and put one's trust in God and to be compassionate and charitable.

Those who listen to the Word of God during the mystery of unction are led to understand that help one gives to those who suffer is also the way to one's own salvation. The priest anoints various parts of the face, the breast and the hands of the sick person, saying the prayer: “Holy Father, Physician of souls and bodies, … heal Thy servant (name), free him from the fetters of the bodily and spiritual sickness and give him renewed life by the grace of Thy Christ."

At the conclusion of the mystery, the priest places the open Gospel on the head of the sick person, the text facing downwards, and pronounces the prayer of absolution.

If circumstances require it, the mystery of unction may be served by fewer priests, or even by one priest alone. The Church knows of countless cases of speedy and sometimes instantaneous recovery due to the grace of this mystery. If the sick person dies, the Orthodox faithful believe that through the mystery of unction the dying person receives the help of God's grace in the terrible transition to the other world. Nevertheless, this mystery is on no account to be considered the mystery of the preparation for death. No, this is above all a mystery of healing and of the Church’s sharing in the suffering of one of her members through her compassionate love.

It became a practice of the Russian Church to serve this mystery also over those who are healthy, performing this service in the church itself during the Holy Week. For everyone needs the forgiveness of his or her forgotten sins, and no one can consider him or herself truly healthy.

© «Parish life», April 1986