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Rituals

Anointing of the Sick

Also Known As Extreme Unction The older Western name, in general use before the Second Vatican Council restored the wider practice and the present title.
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Origin 50 to 1972 CE

The sacrament of the anointing of the seriously ill with blessed oil, with prayer for healing of body and soul and the forgiveness of sins. It is not only a deathbed rite: since the Second Vatican Council the Catholic Church has stressed that it is for any of the faithful gravely ill or weakened by age, and may be repeated. This distinguishes it from the Last Rites, which is the deathbed combination of penance, this anointing, and viaticum, the final communion.

Facts
Origins
Origin PeriodSourced to the subject's own account
50 to 1972 CE 1
Origin PeriodSourced to the subject's own account
Reformed and renamed at the Second Vatican Council in 1972 1
Place of Origin
The eastern Mediterranean, in the apostolic Church 1
Sourced to the subject's own accountOrigin traced to the apostolic-era Letter of James (matching origin-period-start-year, 50); the Second Vatican Council that renamed and reformed the rite (matching origin-period-end-year, 1972) met in Rome.
Historical Origin
The Epistle of James, in the Holy Bible, instructs that elders be called to pray over the sick and anoint them with oil in the Lord's name, the passage churches that practice this rite point to as its scriptural basis. 2
Practice
Who Performs ItSourced to the subject's own account
Clergy or ordained officiants 1
ObligationSourced to the subject's own account
Recommended and meritorious, not required 1Tradition: Roman Catholicism
Frequency
As the occasion requires 1
Sourced to the subject's own accountAs the occasion requires: it may be received more than once, whenever illness is serious
Solitary or CommunalSourced to the subject's own account
Performed by an officiant for a recipient 1
Liturgical and Scriptural RoleSourced to the subject's own account
Roman Catholic teaching counts it among the seven sacraments, administered to a member of the faithful who has begun to be in danger of death from illness or old age, and no longer reserved to the moment of death alone. 1
Meaning
Literal Meaning
The sacrament's older Latin name, extrema unctio, literally means last anointing. The renaming adopted after the Second Vatican Council deliberately drops that limiting sense, since the sacrament's own theology holds it is for anyone gravely ill or weakened by age, not only for the moment of death. 3
Attributions
Purpose
Anointing of the Sick, using consecrated oil to pray for healing and strength for a seriously ill or dying person, is one of the seven sacraments recognised by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. 3
Form
Implements and MaterialsSourced to the subject's own account
Blessed oil, the oil of the sick 1
Learn More
Oil for the Gravely Ill

The Anointing of the Sick is the rite of anointing the seriously ill or dying with blessed oil, accompanied by prayer for the healing of body and soul and the forgiveness of sins. Its scriptural warrant is the passage in the Letter of James directing that the sick call for the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.

For much of the medieval and early modern period the rite was administered chiefly at the point of death and came to be known as extreme unction, the last anointing; the modern Catholic Church, especially since the Second Vatican Council, has restored its broader use for the seriously ill rather than the dying only, and counts it among the seven sacraments. The Eastern Orthodox observe a parallel sacrament of anointing (euchelaion). Many Protestant churches also practise anointing and prayer for the sick, generally without regarding it as a sacrament, drawing on the same passage of James.

Individual Bedside Rite, or Whole Congregation Together

Catholic practice administers this sacrament to one sick person at a time, typically at a bedside or in a private setting suited to that individual's illness, a pattern of individual, occasion by occasion administration that has remained the norm even as the sacrament's theology has shifted to encourage offering it more readily to anyone facing serious illness rather than reserving it for the point of death.

Eastern Orthodox tradition observes the same underlying anointing, known there as holy unction or by the Greek term euchelaion, but has historically also given it a distinctly communal form largely without a Western equivalent: many Orthodox parishes hold a general service of holy unction for the whole gathered congregation together, most characteristically on the Wednesday of Holy Week, at which all present, not only those currently seriously ill, come forward to be anointed as part of the parish's shared preparation for Pascha, treating the sacrament as a corporate act of the assembled church addressing sin and infirmity broadly rather than only as a rite for a specific sick individual. This communal Holy Wednesday unction sits alongside, rather than replacing, the more individual anointing an Orthodox priest will also perform for a particular sick or dying person on request, so Orthodox practice maintains both the individual and communal forms side by side in a way Western Catholic practice, centered almost entirely on individual administration, generally does not.

Cross-Tradition Connections

Belongs to Tradition

Anglican Communion, Denominations

Kept across the provinces of the Anglican Communion. The Prayer Book provides for the visitation and the anointing of the sick, and the Articles decline to number it among the two sacraments of the gospel.

Anglicanism, Denominations

The Prayer Book provides for the visitation and the anointing of the sick, and the Articles decline to number it among the two sacraments of the gospel.

Source The Book of Common PrayerChurch of England; ed. Brian Cummings
Armenian Apostolic Church, Denominations

Kept in the Armenian Apostolic Church. Anointing of the sick is kept as a mystery of the church, administered to the living faithful and not reserved to the dying.

Christianity, Religions
Source The Holy BibleAnonymous (multiple authors)
Church of Cyprus, Denominations

Kept in the Church of Cyprus, autocephalous since the Council of Ephesus in 431. Holy Unction is one of the seven mysteries and is administered to the living faithful in general, most publicly on Holy Wednesday, and not to the dying alone.

Church of England, Denominations

Kept in the Church of England, the province from which the Prayer Book tradition comes. The Prayer Book provides for the visitation and the anointing of the sick, and the Articles decline to number it among the two sacraments of the gospel.

Church of Greece, Denominations

Kept in the Church of Greece. Holy Unction is one of the seven mysteries and is administered to the living faithful in general, most publicly on Holy Wednesday, and not to the dying alone.

Church of Ireland, Denominations

Kept in the Church of Ireland. The Prayer Book provides for the visitation and the anointing of the sick, and the Articles decline to number it among the two sacraments of the gospel.

Coptic Orthodoxy, Denominations

Kept in the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Anointing of the sick is kept as a mystery of the church, administered to the living faithful and not reserved to the dying.

Eastern Orthodoxy, Denominations

Holy Unction is one of the seven mysteries and is administered to the living faithful in general, most publicly on Holy Wednesday, and not to the dying alone.

Source Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic ChurchIsabel Florence Hapgood (compiler and translator)
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, Denominations

Kept in the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the see of first honour among the Orthodox churches. Holy Unction is one of the seven mysteries and is administered to the living faithful in general, most publicly on Holy Wednesday, and not to the dying alone.

Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Denominations

Kept in the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church. Anointing of the sick is kept as a mystery of the church, administered to the living faithful and not reserved to the dying.

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Denominations

Kept in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. Anointing of the sick is kept as a mystery of the church, administered to the living faithful and not reserved to the dying.

Georgian Orthodox Church, Denominations

Kept in the Georgian Orthodox Church, which has used its own language and script in worship since the fifth century. Holy Unction is one of the seven mysteries and is administered to the living faithful in general, most publicly on Holy Wednesday, and not to the dying alone.

Greek Orthodox Church, Denominations

Kept in the Greek Orthodox churches. Holy Unction is one of the seven mysteries and is administered to the living faithful in general, most publicly on Holy Wednesday, and not to the dying alone.

Oriental Orthodoxy, Denominations

Anointing of the sick is kept as a mystery of the church, administered to the living faithful and not reserved to the dying.

Source The Egyptian or Coptic Church: A Detailed Description of Her Liturgical ServicesO. H. E. KHS-Burmester
Roman Catholicism, Denominations

Since the Second Vatican Council the anointing has been offered to the seriously ill rather than only to the dying, and it may be received more than once.

Source Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd editionHoly Seethe holders' own account
Romanian Orthodox Church, Denominations

Kept in the Romanian Orthodox Church, the one Orthodox church of the Byzantine tradition whose language is Romance. Holy Unction is one of the seven mysteries and is administered to the living faithful in general, most publicly on Holy Wednesday, and not to the dying alone.

Russian Orthodox Church, Denominations

Kept in the Russian Orthodox Church, in the Slavonic recension of the Byzantine books. Holy Unction is one of the seven mysteries and is administered to the living faithful in general, most publicly on Holy Wednesday, and not to the dying alone.

Serbian Orthodox Church, Denominations

Kept in the Serbian Orthodox Church. Holy Unction is one of the seven mysteries and is administered to the living faithful in general, most publicly on Holy Wednesday, and not to the dying alone.

The Episcopal Church, Denominations

Kept in the Episcopal Church, whose own Prayer Book descends from the Scottish rather than the English line. The Prayer Book provides for the visitation and the anointing of the sick, and the Articles decline to number it among the two sacraments of the gospel.

Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Denominations

Kept in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Holy Unction is one of the seven mysteries and is administered to the living faithful in general, most publicly on Holy Wednesday, and not to the dying alone.

Conducted By

Priest, Religious Offices

The anointing of the sick is reserved to a priest.

Source The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd revised editionF. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone (eds.)
Priest, Religious Roles & Titles
Source The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd revised editionF. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone (eds.)

Held Differently

Charismatic Movement, Religious Movements

Prayer for healing with the laying on of hands is offered by members of a congregation alongside the sacramental anointing, and it is offered for ordinary sickness and not only at the point of death.

Source Malines Document I: Theological and Pastoral Orientations on the Catholic Charismatic RenewalLeon-Joseph Suenens

Related To

Pastoral Care of the Sick, Practices
Source The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd revised editionF. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone (eds.)
Viaticum, Rituals

The twentieth century reform put communion after the anointing, so that the anointing is no longer the final sacrament.

Source Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd editionHoly Seethe holders' own account

Ritual Implements

Chrism, Sacred Objects & Ritual Items
Source The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd revised editionF. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone (eds.)
Sources
1. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd edition
Holy See, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997Catechism of the Catholic Church, on the Anointing of the Sickthe holders' own accountView the Source
1. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd edition
Holy See, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997The Anointing of the Sick, restored by Vatican IIthe holders' own accountView the Source
2. The Holy Bible
Anonymous (multiple authors), Robert Barker, 1611James 5:14-15View the Source
3. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd revised edition
F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone (eds.), Oxford University Press, 2005The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, s.v. unctionView the Source
The Book of Common Prayer
Church of England; ed. Brian Cummings, Oxford University Press (Oxford World's Classics), 2011View the Source
The Egyptian or Coptic Church: A Detailed Description of Her Liturgical Services
O. H. E. KHS-Burmester, Societe d'Archeologie Copte, Cairo, 1967View the Source
Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic Church
Isabel Florence Hapgood (compiler and translator), Houghton Mifflin, 1906View the Source
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