The Role Of Sacraments

From Fr. Jordan Stratford's blog: Living Gnosticism: 20 Questions

6. If the sacraments don’t lead to gnosis, automatically or even eventually, what’s the role/need for the sacraments in Gnosticism?

A.

The Seven Sacraments of the church are to be recognized as ceremonial for the most part, and ritualistic as a lesser part. While the sacraments themselves do not confer gnosis, knowledge, grace, or wisdom, they are understood to be a symbolic manifestation of such, and should thereby be treated as an important step in the spiritual life of the subject.

If there were no sacraments, Divine awareness would still be extant. However, as a traditional practice, and as a guide for the seeker, the sacraments are in place to allow those seeking the path a way to allow themselves in a conscious manner to succumb to the fruits of Divine grace. I would equate it to turning the TV off to think clearly.

So the Seven Sacraments, while not necessarily needed, are not altogether useless either. From a traditional standpoint, they serve the goal of being a way to ceremonially proceed through the spiritual life.

I've been looking more into the sacraments from a traditional standpoint in my studies with the AJC. There's a big emphasis on the sacramental tradition, and I'm slowly understanding more of this "churchy" stuff. I hope to better understand the role that the sacraments play as I continue my lessons and hope I can portray a better understanding to the community.