How did Greek-speaking churches refer to what the Latin Church calls sacraments?
In the Greek Church and all of the churches of the East,
Sacraments are the physical symbols of the communion of God with
His people. These Sacraments consist of and are not limited to
Confession of Sins, Baptism, Chrismation and Communion.
The reason that the Sacraments are not limited to these afore
mentioned Sacraments is that in the church of the East, Sacraments
are infinite like the rays of the Sun. Life in the Eastern church
is Sacramental. Everything from how you get out of bed, how you say
your prayers, what you do when you are feasting or fasting, how you
treat your wife and kids, driving your car, doing your work,
talking to your neighbors, how you sleep is considered sacramental.
It is a sacramental life, because you live a life devoted to
acquiring communion with God.
Symbolism is treated differently in the East than the definition
most of us in the West understand. Symbolism is that which we use
to bring past events into the present, or that it is present with
us as we act upon it. In that sense, the Sacraments take on life
and shape of that which happened, which is happening through the
sanctification of time and physical space.
The use of Sacraments in the Greek Church refers to the life of
the Church as a living "organism" that flourishes as the bride of
Christ, in this world, bringing about the growth and continuance of
His Kingdom, here on earth as it is in Heaven, whose truth is
protected by the Holy Spirit and defended by "a great cloud of
witnesses".