17 July 1998
The Pious Priests and Deacons
of the Holy Diocese of
Denver
Beloved in the Lord,
Is any among you sick? 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. (James 5:14)
At our recent Clergy Syndesmos during the thirty-fourth Clergy-Laity Congress in Orlando, Florida the issue of Holy Unction and its proper administration was brought up. Accordingly, I am providing you with the following guidelines.
The Mystery of Holy Unction is the healing sacrament of the Church. It is usually conducted in the homes of church members who are seriously ill. Because of the loving kindness of the Church and Her concern for Her children, the sacrament found its way to Holy Week where it is conducted annually on Holy Wednesday. Unfortunately, it has taken the place of the beautiful Bridegroom Service of Holy Wednesday evening in many of our parishes, which is actually the Orthros of the Divine Liturgy of the Last Supper on Holy Thursday morning.
The Mystery was introduced by the Church into Holy Wednesday so that the faithful would be prepared physically and spiritually to experience with a pure heart the holy passion of our Lord. The administering of the Mystery only to Orthodox Christians is for the healing of all maladies of soul and body as well as for the forgiveness of their sins. The remaining Holy Unction is kept by the priest for his healing ministry throughout the year.
This Mystery should be celebrated on Holy Wednesday afternoon especially in the larger parishes, so that the Bridegroom Service of that evening may become familiar to the people. Actually nothing prohibits the priest from anointing the faithful during the evening Bridegroom Service at the appropriate times, using the Holy Unction from the afternoon service.
Just as we do not give Holy Communion to the faithful to take home, neither do we give Holy Unction so that they would administer it either to themselves or to other family members. As you know, the Mysteries are always administered by the clergy.
It may be that some of the faithful are confused by the similarity of "holy oil" taken from the kandili hanging before certain icons or the relics of saints, which is often given to the pious faithful. This oil is taken home, much like holy water, and is similarly used when a member of the family is ill or troubled.
On Holy Wednesday, the Holy Unction should be administered by the priest (a deacon may assist just as he does in the distribution of Holy Communion). This is best done using a brush; Orthodox religious supply stores sell brushes specially made for this purpose with wood or metal handles. An appropriate, good-quality small artist's brush with a wood handle such as those sold in hobby stores for painting pictures and the like may also be used.
The practice of using disposable cotton swabs (Q-tips) is impractical. Moreover, the custom of placing the used cotton swab in a plastic bag to be taken home by the faithful is not appropriate. There is no reason for doing this since the Mystery is administered by the clergy, and in addition this cotton saturated with Holy Unction is all too often disregarded or simply thrown away in the trash.
We have an obligation to clearly teach the faithful about the difference between Holy Unction and the holy oils received from places of pious veneration. The former should be handled as we do Holy Communion and the latter like holy water.
In the distribution of Holy Unction and Holy Communion to the sick, it should be noted that the services for these are short and simple. Just as we do not celebrate the Divine Liturgy in a hospital room every time we give communion to the sick, neither do we celebrate the full Service Mystery of Holy Unction when we anoint them. Unfortunately one recent Service Book widely used in our Church erroneously suggests that the Mystery of Holy Unction can be celebrated with one Epistle, one Gospel, and one Prayer (rather than the customary seven) when anointing the sick. This is not correct and can be considered play-acting. Both in communing and anointing the sick we are "distributing" or administering sacraments that are reserved from a prior celebration of the Mystery.
A useful order for anointing the sick could be as follows:
Trisagion Prayers (Blessed is our God.., Holy God"..., etc.)
Troparion (Quick to aid ...)
Prayer of Healing and Forgiveness (Hoky Father ... everty illness and sickness...)
Prayer of Anointing (Lord Jesus Christ, Physician of our souls...)
Dismissal (Christ our true God...)
Similarly, a useful order for communing the sick could be as follows:
Trisagion Prayers (Blessed is our God.., Holy God"..., etc.)
Prayer of Healing and Forgiveness (Master, almight, physician;...)
Prayers Before Communion (I believe Lord, ... Of Your Mystical Supper...)
Communion (The servant of God ...)
Thanksgiving Prayer (We thank You, master Who loves mankinf...)
Dismissal (Christ our true God...)
With Paternal Blessings,
+Metropolitan Isaiah
Presiding Hierarch
of
the Diocese of Denver