Changes

The Latin influence of There has never been a universal declaration within the seventeenth century is the reason Orthodox Church that the Church fixed these there are only seven as only official sacraments. Earlier, Early Orthodox writers varied as to the number of sacraments: [[John of Damascus]] lists only two; [[Dionysius the Areopagite]] lists six; Joasaph, Metropolitan of Ephesus (fifteenth century), ten; and some Byzantine theologians who list seven sacraments differ on the items in their list. The 15th decree of The Confession of Dositheus from the Synod of Jerusalem (A.D. 1672) says, "We believe that there are in the Church Evangelical Mysteries [i.e., Sacraments of the Gospel Dispensation], and that they are seven. For a less or a greater number of the Mysteries we have not in the Church; since any number of the Mysteries other than seven is the product of heretical madness. And the seven of them were instituted in the Sacred Gospel, and are gathered from the same, like the other dogmas of the Catholic Faith."

* the rites for a [[Monasticism|monastic profession]]