The Tribune

History was made in the Anglican Church on Monday when for the first time a special Holy Week service was held in Freeport. This was the Mass of the Holy Chrism and the Renewal of Liturgical Vows by the clergy. There was a time in the Anglican diocese when this service was held on Maundy Thursday and reserved for members of the clergy only. Then the late Bishop Michael H. Eldon saw fit to bring the service to the general membership of the church to enhance their appreciation of the rich history and legacy of the church.

Traditionally, the Mass of the Chrism is only held in the Cathedral Church of any diocese during Holy Week. It has traditionally been reserved for Christ Church Cathedral in Nassau. However, the clergy in the Northern Archdeaconry petitioned Bishop Laish Boyd with a view to having the service brought to Grand Bahama. So continuing in the visionary style of Bishop Eldon, the current Diocesan Bishop agreed to set a new precedent of bringing this historic service to the largest Anglican community outside of New Providence. And Grand Bahama responded in an overwhelming fashion by filling the Pro-Cathedral of Christ the King with a capacity crowd.

The word “chrism” has a Greek origin and means anointing. Anointing with oils goes back to the first century Christians (James 5:14 - 16) and has its proper place in the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, unction (the anointing of the sick), ordination of priests, consecration of bishops, solemn consecration of certain items set apart for worship such as altars, and in some instances, at the coronation of the monarchy.

During the service three separate oils were blessed which include the oil of the sick, the oil of the catechumens, and the Holy Chrism.

“The rite of anointing those who are sick in mind or body, those about to undergo surgery, and those nearing death, is one of God’s gifts available to the people through the priests and is a sacrament in itself. Those who receive it can be confident that God will respond to the prayer of faith,” said a church representative. 
A ‘catechumen’ is somebody who is preparing to become a Christian, so this oil is generally used during Holy Baptism. At Baptism, Christians are born of water and of the spirit. The oil is a symbol which points to the gift of the holy spirit, and comes to the newly baptised as it did upon Christ at his baptism in the Jordan River.

“This anointing also reminds us that we are made inheritors of the kingdom of God. This is the same oil that is used at coronations of kings and queens.”

The Holy Chrism is used to anoint persons at their confirmation, clergy at their ordination, and the consecration of altars, sacred vessels and buildings. Consecrations means “to be set apart for God’s purposes” so bishops at their consecration are also anointed with the Holy Chrism. This particular oil differs from the others in that it is a blend of olive oil with a scented balsam.

The other significant event taking place in the service was the renewal of vows by the clergy. They were reminded that they also share in the sacrificial ministry of Christ who gave himself up to death for the salvation of the world. They were called to a life of service under the pastoral direction of the bishop, a life of prayer and study, and a commitment to the persons under their charge to minister the word of God and the Sacraments of the New Covenant so that the reconciling love of Christ may be known and received.

The Chief Celebrant and Preacher was the Diocesan Bishop Right Reverend Laish Z. Boyd, Sr., who in his sermon expounded on the significance of the service as a way of imparting God’s divine grace through sacraments and blessing along with the work of the holy spirit. And for the clergy he posed three questions with suggested answers:
“Where does the call on the clergy come from? It comes from God who expects them to be faithful and committed to that call. What are we working towards? The focus should be on God’s goals and not individual ambitions, regardless of the challenges that may arise. How do we get to God’s goals? These are achieved with God’s help because it is His work that they are doing and when skills and experience increase, bringing with them a degree of success, they must avoid the tendency to become prideful but remain humble because it is through Christ’s strength that they can do all things,” he said.