In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen.

Introduction

The expression “the Seven Mysteries” signifies that they are seven in number. These are the holy mysteries through which the grace of God is bestowed upon the faithful. By participation in them, man receives spiritual life, healing, holiness, and communion with God.

Proverbs 9:1

They are called “mysteries” because they are divine mysteries. Outwardly, they are rites performed in the Church and visible to the bodily eye; inwardly, however, they impart the invisible grace of God. Unless a man partakes of these mysteries, he cannot even see, much less enter, the Kingdom of God.

John 3:3 and 5

These sacred ministrations are performed through the blessing and prayer of the priest, who serves as the steward of God. These are the mysteries known, believed, and practiced in the ancient Church. They are recognized as those which are not repeated and those which are repeated. Through these mysteries we partake of the grace which we have received from God in Christ Jesus through the power of the Cross.

These mysteries are listed below:

1. The Mystery of Baptism

In addition to what has already been stated, this mystery is numbered among the non-repeatable mysteries.

+ Baptism is birth from the Holy Trinity.

+ Baptism is the door by which one enters into every other mystery.

+ There is one baptism for the remission of sins, as the orthodox Fathers have taught in the Prayer of Faith.

Through baptism, a man is born again unto spiritual birth, and this leads to spiritual growth. Therefore, those who are thus born ought to know that they have a spiritual father; that their heavenly food is His Body and His Blood; that their spiritual garment is the Word of God and good conduct; that angels and saints are their guardians; and that their heavenly inheritance is the Kingdom of Heaven. Understanding this, they ought to live the remainder of their earthly life for these things.

Ezekiel 36:25 / Romans 6:3–4 / 1 Corinthians 6:11

2. The Mystery of Chrismation

Chrismation is the mystery performed immediately after baptism. It is not merely an ordinary anointing, but a seal that bestows the grace of the Holy Spirit and confirms our sonship.

This holy anointing was, from the beginning, prepared from fragrant plants of many kinds, compounded or distilled into oil, and it is blessed and consecrated with special prayer by the Patriarch and the bishops.

+ By this, when a new church is built, both it and its sacred vessels are anointed and consecrated.

+ By this also kings are anointed and established in their royal dignity.

+ This too is numbered among the non-repeatable mysteries.

Exodus 30:22–30 / 1 Samuel 10:1 / 1 John 2:20 and 27

3. The Mystery of Holy Communion

Holy Communion is the sacrament by which the faithful draw near to God and enter into communion with Him.

+ Holy Communion is that by which one draws near, approaches, and is joined.

+ It is the offering by which the faithful participate in the divine life.

In the New Covenant, the faithful do not offer to God sacrifices of grain or animals, apart from the Body and Blood of His Son Jesus Christ.

Therefore, the faithful draw near to their God bearing this full and perfect sacrifice, and He also draws near to receive the offering and to grant the reward. For this reason it is called that by which there is approach and communion.

+ This is the crown and completion of all the mysteries.

+ Therefore, we Christians, being as we ought, proclaim and bear witness to His death and His resurrection until the day of His Coming, and with perfect faith continue to celebrate this mystery as we await our Lord.

John 6:27 and 53 / 1 Corinthians 11:26 / John 4:14 / Hebrews 9:14

4. The Mystery of Holy Ordination

The word for this mystery in the Church’s liturgical language refers to priesthood or ministry. The related words mean priest or minister, and to serve or to minister.

+ This also belongs to the non-repeatable mysteries.

+ Holy Ordination is the rank of ministry which bishops confer, transmit, and appoint through the laying on of hands.

This mystery of Holy Ordination is the great authority of God: it is not only the power of binding and loosing and the key that opens the Kingdom of God, but also that by which all the other mysteries of the Church are administered, honored, and sanctified. Through it man is reconciled to God, and by it there is authority even to judge rulers and angels.

Matthew 16:19 and 19:28 / John 20:23 / 1 Timothy 4:14 / 1 Corinthians 6:3 / 2 Corinthians 5:18–20

5. The Mystery of Penance

The word used for this mystery carries the sense of repenting, being sorry, and turning back. It refers to sorrow for sin and a return to God.

+ In this mystery, the believer confesses his sins before the priest and receives the forgiveness of sins through the authority which Christ gave to His apostles.

+ This mystery is performed for the remission of any sin committed after baptism.

+ Therefore, every person is bound from time to time to enter into repentance, to grieve over his evil deeds, and to turn back from them.

+ Through this mystery of Penance, every man receives from his Creator the forgiveness of sins and becomes a partaker of His grace and blessing.

Proverbs 28:13 / 1 John 1:8–10 / Luke 5:14 / James 5:16

6. The Mystery of Holy Matrimony

Holy Matrimony is the sacramental prayer performed by the priest in the Church when one man and one woman, by mutual agreement and by their own free choice and consent, enter into marriage. Through it their union is confirmed, and grace is granted to them by God for their oneness.

This rite is also called Crowning, because crowns are placed upon the heads of the bridegroom and the bride, signifying that they are crowned, adorned, and receive honor.

+ In this mystery, man and woman are joined in the Church in holy marriage through the holy blessing, and God makes them one.

Matthew 19:3–9 / Ephesians 5:28–31 / 1 Corinthians 7:2–4 and 10–11

7. The Mystery of Holy Unction

Holy Unction is the mystery by which those who are sick receive healing through prayer and holy anointing.

In the Old Testament, oil is a sign of healing. Those afflicted with sickness, confined to bed, or wounded by various misfortunes call for the elders of the Church, that is, the priests, and according to the law and the rite they perform this mystery for them, and they are healed of their infirmities.

+ This anointing has no relation to the anointing performed after baptism.

It is a distinct mystery in itself, by which not only those who are sick in body, but also those who are sick in soul, receive healing.

Isaiah 1:6 / Luke 10:34 / Mark 6:13 / James 5:13–15

Conclusion

Thus, the spiritual life is founded upon these seven mysteries of the Church, and by them it is strengthened. Therefore, it is the spiritual duty of all to know them, to make them known, to practice them, and to see that they are practiced, so that every child of man may enter through these doors and be established in them.

2 Peter 1:10

May the goodness of God and the intercession of our Mother, Our Lady, remain and abide with us forever.

በአብ፣ በወልድ፣ በመንፈስ ቅዱስ፣ ሥም በአንድ አምላክ ። አሜን።

መግቢያ

“ሰባቱ ምሥጢራት” የሚለው ቃል በቁጥር ሰባት መሆናቸውን ያመለክታል። እነዚህ ለምእመናን የእግዚአብሔር ጸጋ የሚሰጥባቸው ቅዱሳን ምስጢራት ናቸው። በእነርሱ ተሳትፎ ሰው መንፈሳዊ ሕይወት፣ መፈወስ፣ ቅድስና እና ከእግዚአብሔር ጋር ኅብረትን ያገኛል። ምሳሌ 9:-1

“ምስጢራት” ተብለው የሚጠሩበት ምክንያቱ የመለኮታዊ ምስጢሮች በመሆናቸው ነው። በውጭ ሲታዩ በቤተ ክርስቲያን የሚፈጸሙ በሥጋዊው አይን የሚታዩ ሥርዓቶች ናቸው፤ በውስጣቸው ግን የማይታየውን የእግዚአብሔር ጸጋ ያሰጣሉ።ሰው ከእኚህ ምሥጢራት ካልተሳተፈ መንግስተ እግዚአብሔርን እንኳን መግባት ሊያይ አይችልም::ዮሐንስ 3:-3 እና5

እነዚህም አገልግሎቶች የሚፈጸሙት በእግዚአብሔር እንደራሴ በሆነው በካህኑ ቡራኬ እና ጸሎት አማካኝነት ነው::

በጥንታውያን ቤተክርስቲያን ሁሉ የታወቁ የታመነባቸው እና የሚሰራባቸውም እነዚህ ናቸው::

የማይደገሙ እና የሚደገሙ በመባል ይታወቃሉ::

እነዚህም ምሥጢራት በመስቀሉ ኃይል በክርስቶስ ኢየሱስ ከእግዚአብሔር ያገኘነውን ጸጋ የምንካፈልባቸው መንገዶች ናቸው::

ምሥጢራቱም ከዚህ በታች ተዘርዝረዋል::

1. ምሥጢረ ጥምቀት

ባለፈው ከተገለጸው ይመልከቱ በተጨማሪም:- ይህ ከማይደገሙ ምሥጢራት ውስጥ ይመደባል::

+ ይኸውም ጥምቀት ከሥላሴ መወለድ ነው::

+ ጥምቀት ወደ ማንኛውም ምሥጢር ለመግባት በር ነው::

+ ኃጢአትን የምታስተሰርይ ጥምቀት አንዲት ናት ሃይማኖታቸው የቀና አባቶች በጸሎተ ሃይማኖት እንዳስተማሩ::

+በጥምቀት ሰው መንፈሳዊ ልደትን ዳግመኛ ይወለዳል እና መንፈሳዊ እድገትን ያስከትላል ስለዚህ ተወላጆቹ መንፈሳዊ አባት እዳላቸው አውቀው ሰማያዊ መብል ሥጋውን እና ደሙን መንፈሳዊ ልብስ ቃለ እግዚአብሔር እና መልካም ምግባር ጠባቂዎች መላእክት እና ቅዱሳን ሰማያዊት ርስት መንግስተ ሠማያት መኖራቸውን በማስተዋል በምድር ቀሪ ሕይወታቸውን ለዚህ ሊኖሩ ይገባቸዋል:: ሕዝ 36:-25 ሮሜ 6:-3-4 /1ኛ ቆሮ 6:11

2. ምስጢረ ሜሮን

ሜሮን ማለት ቅብአት ማለት ሲሆን ቃሉም ግሪክኛ ነው ።

ከጥምቀት ቀጥሎ ወዲያው የሚፈጸም ምስጢር ነው :: እርሱም እንደ ማንኛውም ቅብአት ሳይሆን ጸጋ መንፈስ ቅዱስን የሚያሰጥ ልጅነትን የሚያረጋግጥ ማህተም ነው::

ይህም ሜሮን የተባለ ቅብአት ለመጀመሪያ ግዜ ልዩልዩ ሽቱነት ካላቸው ዕጽዋቶች ተቀምሞ ወይም ነጥሮ የሚወጣ ቅባት ሲሆን በፓትርያሪክ እና በሊቃነ ጳጳሳቱ ልዩ ጸሎት ይባረካል ይከብራል::

+በዚህ አዲስ ቤተክርስቲያን ሲሰራ ንዋየ ቅድሳቱም በዚህ ተቀብተው ይከብራሉ::

+ ነገስታቱም ለቤተ መንግስት በዚህ ተቀብተው ይነግሳሉ::

+ይህም ከማይደገሙ ምስጢራት ይመደባል:: ዘጸአት 30:-22-30 1ኛ ሳሙ10:-1 /1ኛ ዮሐንስ2:-20እና 27

3. ምሥጢረ ቁርባን

+ቁርባን የሱርስት ቃል ነው መባ ስጦታ አምሀ ማለት ነው::

+ቁርባን ማለት መቅረቢያ ,መቀራረቢያ :መገናኛ ማለት ነው::

+ጽርአውያን <<አምላካዊት ሱታፌ >><<አምላካዊት ደስታ >> በማለት ይጠሩታል::

+ በአዲስ ኪዳን አማንያኑ ለእግዚአብሔር የሚያቀርቡት የእህል ወይም የእንስሳት መስዋት የለም ከልጁ ከኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ ሥጋ እና ደም በቀር::

+ስለሆነም ምእመናን ይህንን ምሉእ እና ፍጽም መስዋዕት ይዘው ወደ አምላካቸው ይቀርባሉ እርሱም ስጦታውን ለመቀበል ዋጋም ለመስጠት ይቀርባል ስለዚህም መቀራረቢያ መገናኛ ተባለ።

+ይህ የምስጢራት ሁሉ መደምደሚያ (አክሊል)ነው::

+ ስለዚህ እኛ ክርስቲያኖች እንደሚገባን ሆነን እስከ እለተ ምጽአት ሞቱን ትንሳኤውን እየተናገርን (እየመሰከርን)በፍጹም እምነት ይህን ምሥጢር እየፈጸምን ጌታችንን እንጠብቃለን ።ዮሐን6:-27 እና 53/1ኛ ቆሮን11:-26/ ዮሐን4:-14/ዕብራ 9:-14

4. ምስጢረ ክህትት

የቃሉ ትርጉም <<ተክህነ >>አገለገለ <<ካህን>> አገልጋይ <<ክህነት>> አገልግሎት ማለት ይሆናል።

+ ይህም ከማይደገሙ ምሥጢራት ወገን ነው።

+ ክህነት ማለት ጳጳሳት በአንብሮተ እድ (እጅ በመጫን)የሚያስተላልፉት የሚፈጽሙት የሚሾሙት የክህነት(የአገልግሎት) ማአረግ ነው::

+ይህውም ምሥጢረ ክህነት የማሰር እና የመፍታት ,የመንግስተ እግዚአብሔር ቁልፍ መክፈቻ ከመሆኑም በላይ ሌላውንም የቤተክርስቲያን ምሥጢራት ሁሉ የሚያከብር እና የሚቀድስ ,ሰው እና እግዚአብሔርን የሚያስታርቁበት በገዢዎች እና በመላእክት ሳይቀር መፍረድ የሚያስችል ታላቅ ስልጣነ እግዚአብሔር ነው::ማቴዎ 16:-19እና19:-28/ዮሐን20:-23/1ኛ ጢሞቲ4:-14 /1ኛ ቆሮን6:-3 /2ኛ ቆሮን5:-18-20

5. . ምሥጢረ ንስሓ

ንስሓ ማለት ነሰሐ ተጸጸተ :ተመለሰ ካለው ግእዝ ቃል የወጣ ነው::

+በዚህ ምስጢር ምእመኑ ኃጢአቱን በካህን ፊት ይናዘዛል እና በክርስቶስ ለሐዋርያቱ በተሰጠው ሥልጣን የኃጢአት ስርየት ይቀበላል።

+ ይህም ምሥጢር ከጥምቀት በኻላ የተሰራውን ማንኛውንም ኃጥአት ለማስተስረይ ይከናወናል::

+ ስለዚህ ማንኛውም ሰው በየግዜው ንስሓ መግባት ከክፉው ሥራው መጸጸት እና መመለስ ግድ አለበት::

+ በዚኸ በምሥጢረ ንስሓ አማካኝነት ሰው ሁሉ ከፈጣሪ የኃጢአት ይቅርታን ያገኛል ጸጋውን በረከቱን ይታደላል::ምሳሌ28:-13 /1ኛ ዮሐን 1:-8-10 /ሉቃ 5:-14/ ያዕቆብ 5:-16

6. ምስጢረ ተክሊል(ክርስቲያናዊ ጋብቻ)

+ ምሥጢረ ተክሊል ማለት አንድ ወንድ ከአንድ ሴት ጋር ተስማምተው በነጻ ምርጫቸው እና ፈቃዳቸው በሚያደርጉት ጋብቻ (ከብካብ)ላይ ካህኑ በቤተክርስቲያን ተገኝቶ ስምምነታቸውን በማጽናት ስለ አንድነታቸው ከእግዚአብሔር ዘንድ ጸጋ እዲሰጣቸው የሚፈጽመው ምስጢራዊ ጸሎት ነው::

+ተከለለ ተቀዳጀ ዘውድ አክሊል ደፋ የአረቦን ክብር ተቀበለ ለማለት በሙሽራው እና በሙሽሪት ራስ ላይ የሚደፋውን አክሊል በማየት የወጣ ሥም ይመስላል:: ጸሎቱም ይህንን ተከትሎ ሥርአተ (ጸሎተ)ተክሊል ተብሎአል::

+በዚህ ምሥጢር ወንድና ሴት በቤተ ክርስቲያን በቅዱሱ በረከት በተቀደሰ ጋብቻ ይጣመራሉ እግዚአብሔርም አንድ ያደርጋቸዋል።ማቴ 19:-3-9 ኤፌሶ 5:-28-31 1ኛ ቆሮንቶ 7:-2-4 እና 10-11

7. ምሥጢረ ቀንዲል

በላቲን ቋንቋ ፍጹም መብራት ማለት ነው::

በብሉይ ኪዳን ዘይት የፈውስ ምልክት ነው ::በደዌ ዳኛ በአልጋ ቁራኛ የተያዙ በልዩ ልዩ አደጋ የቆሰሉ ህሙማን የቤተክርስቲያን ሽማግሌዎች ካህናትን ጠርተው እንደ ህጉ እንደሥርአቱ ይህን ምሥጢር ይፈጽሙላቸዋል ከደዌያቸው ይፈወሳሉ::

+ ይህ ቅብአት በአዲስ ኪዳን ከጥምቀት በኃላ ከሚፈጸመው ቅብአ ሜሮን ጋር ምንም ግንኙነት የለውም :: ራሱን የቻለ ህሙማነ ሥጋ ብቻ ሳይሆን ህሙማነ ነፍስም የሚፈወሱበት ምሥጢር ቀንዲል ይባላል:: ኢሳ 1:-6 ሉቃስ 10:-34 ማር 6:-13 ያዕቆብ 5:-13-15

ማጠቃለያ

እንግዲህ መንፈሳዊ ህይወት በነዚህ በሰባቱ ምሥጢራተ ቤተክርስቲያን ይመሠረታል በነዚህም ይጸናል:: ስለዚህ እያንዳንዱ የሰው ልጅ በነዚህ በርነት እንዲገባ በነዚህ እንዲጸና ሁሉም የማወቅ የማሳወቅ የመፈጸም እና የማስፈጸም መንፈሳዊ ግዴታ አለበት:: 2ኛ ጴጥሮ1:-10

የእግዚአብሔር ቸርነት የእናታችን የእመቤታችን አማላጅነት ከእኛ ጋር ለዘልዓለም ጸንቶ ይኑር ይቆየን::