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“They went and preached that men should repent:
they cast out many devils, and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them”.
(Mark 6.12-13)

Sacrament of Holy Unction (Anointing of the Sick) was committed at the St. John of Shanghai Church on Thursday of the sixth week of Lent, at 5.00 p.m.

Sacrament is called Holy Unction as it is carried out by assembly of seven elders. Correspondingly, the ordinance has seven readings from the Apostle, seven readings from the Gospel, seven prayers and seven anointments. The number seven is elected as a sign of seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, and in conformity with seven prayers of St. Elias, by which he infer the heaven, and in accordance with the seven-time dip of Naaman in Jordan, after which he was cleared from leprosy.

The Unction was carried out by Bishop Tikhon (Vasilkovsky) with hieromonks Filaret, Seraphim, Alypius and elder Alexander (Veberov)

“Brothers and sisters – Bishop Tikhon appealed to the flock – the number of the priesthood in our church is close to seven, and there was a time when this beautiful temple was under construction – then Bishop Alexey served several hours to anoint each parishioner for seven times. The mercy of God to us is great, but we also must apply diligence and adequately prepare for the bright holiday of all holidays – the Easter. I urge you to attend all the upcoming worships and to work for the glory of God, preparing our Temple for the holiday”.

Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is useful for the Orthodox not only because this sacrament prayers can heal the sick person, if it is God's council, but not least – the person receives forgiveness of sins, which pass by our consciousness.

Often having sinned, we immediately forget it, or do not believe it is a sin or do not notice it. However unconscious sins are still sins, they burden our soul, and it is necessary to clear from them. This is especially important for our generation living in the man made world.

His Beatitude Metropolitan Vitalius writes as follows: “in our time of extremely advanced technology everything contributes to the intensity and strength of sin. We see, hear, feel more during one week than our great-grandparents – during five years. Instantly we join the events around the globe over the air. From such a pile of feelings, thoughts and senses, our soul is just weak. In the sacrament of confession, we even don’t think about repenting of hardened habits, which seem innocent to us, we do not repent of our numerous and unconscious mental complexes; and we do not repent of involuntary sins, numerous superstitions, we do not repent of sins forgotten, which are still a heavy burden in our souls”.



Therefore it is especially important to be cleansed of sins in the last days of Lent prior to the Holy Week, when we approach to the holiday of holidays, to the very purpose of the whole dispensation of God, to our spiritual rebirth with Christ.