EUCHELAION

( Gr. ) The oil of prayer . To such penitents (in the Greek Church) as are conscious of the guilt of any mortal sin, as adultery, fornication, or pride, is administered the sacrament of τὸ εὐχέλαιον , Euchelaion , which is performed by the bishop, or archbishop, a isted by seven priests, and begins with this prayer, “O Lord, who with the oil of thy mercies hast healed the wounds of our souls, do thou sanctify this oil, that those who are anointed therewith may be freed from their infirmities, and from all corporeal and spiritual evils.” This oil of prayer is pure and unmixed oil, without any other composition; a quantity whereof, sufficient to serve for the whole year, is consecrated, on Wednesday in the Holy Week, by the archbishop, or bishop. The Euchelaion of the Greek answers to the Extreme Unction of the Romanists. In the administration of this oil of prayer , the priest dips some cotton at the end of a stick, and therewith anoints the penitent, in the form of a cro , on the forehead, on the chin, on each cheek, and on the backs and palms of the hands: after which he repeats this prayer—“Holy Father, physician of souls and bodies, who hast sent thine only Son Jesus Christ , healing infirmities and sins, to free us from death; heal this thy servant of corporeal and spiritual infirmities, and give him salvation and the grace of thy Christ , through the prayers of our more than holy lady, the mother of God , the eternal Virgin, through the a istance of the glorious, celestial, and incorporeal powers, through the virtue of the holy and life-giving cro , of the holy and glorious prophet, the forerunner, John the Baptist, and of the holy and glorious apostles.”— Ricaut.