Anointing of the Sick, known also by other names, is distinguished from other forms of religious anointing or " unction " ( an older term with the same meaning ) in that it is intended, as its name indicates, for the benefit of a sick person.

The normal order of administration is: first Penance ( if the dying person is physically unable to confess, absolution, conditional on the existence of contrition, is given ); next, Anointing ; finally, Viaticum ( if the person can receive it ).

An extensive account of the teaching of the Catholic Church on Anointing of the Sick is given in Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1499 – 1532.

Anointing of the Sick is one of the seven Sacraments recognized by the Catholic Church, and is associated with not only bodily healing but also forgiveness of sins.

In some dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church it is customary for the bishop to visit each parish or region of the diocese some time during Great Lent and give Anointing for the faithful, together with the local clergy.

Just inside the entrance is The Stone of Anointing, also known as The Stone of Unction, which tradition claims to be the spot where Jesus ' body was prepared for burial by Joseph of Arimathea.

These are the sacraments of Anointing of the Sick ( which, in spite of not being reserved for the dying, is sometimes mistakenly supposed to be what is meant by " the last rites "), Penance and the Eucharist.

If all three are administered immediately one after another, the normal order of administration is: first Penance then Anointing, then Viaticum.

In the Roman Ritual's Pastoral Care of the Sick: Rites of Anointing and Viaticum, Viaticum is the only sacrament dealt with in Part II: Pastoral Care of the Dying.

The sacraments of Anointing of the Sick ( Extreme Unction ) and Confirmation or Chrismation are also administered by priests, though in the Western tradition Confirmation is ordinarily celebrated by a bishop.

Anointing is sometimes also called anting because of a similar behavior in birds.

The sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is often administered immediately before giving Viaticum if a priest is available to do so.

Anointing is also used to aid persons within negative cycles — illnesses, demonic possession or streaks of " bad luck ".

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anointing of an Orthodox Sovereign is considered a Sacred Mystery ( Sacrament ).

The same Myron which is used in Chrismation is used for the Anointing of the Monarch.

Anointing is part of the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, and the Oil of the Infirm is used for this.

Other rites such as Confirmation, Ordination, Holy Matrimony, Funerals, and Anointing of the Sick are performed but are not considered sacraments.

They may not administer Penance ( Reconciliation ), Anointing of the Sick ( Extreme Unction ), or function as an ordained celebrant or concelebrant of the Mass ( by virtue of their office and their training and institution, they may act, if the need arises, as altar servers, lectors, ushers, porters, or Eucharistic ministers of the Cup, and if need be, the Host ).

Anointing may also be given during Forgiveness Vespers and Great Week, on Great and Holy Wednesday, to all who are prepared.

Anointing need not be associated with grave illness or imminent danger of death.

Unlike the Anointing of the Sick, Viaticum may be administered by a priest, deacon or extraordinarily ( and only in special circumstances ) by a lay minister, using the reserved Blessed Sacrament.

Biographer Ezra Squier Tipple wrote: " If to speak with authority as the accredited messenger of God ; to have credentials which bear the seal of heaven ... if when he lifted the trumpet to his lips the Almighty blew the blast ; if to be conscious of an ever-present sense of God, God the Summoner, God the Anointing One, God the Judge, and to project it into speech which would make his hearers tremble, melt them with terror, and cause them to fall as dead men ; if to be and do all this would entitle a man to be called a great preacher, then Asbury was a great preacher.

The Stone of the Anointing, believed to be the place where Jesus ' body was prepared for burial.

In Roman Catholicism, for example, the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is one of the three that used to be called " the last rites ," because it was administered to someone who was dying.

The beliefs of the Schwarzenau Brethren include triune baptism, which provides that the candidate kneel in water and be immersed, face first, three times in the name of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit ; the New Testament as the infallible guide in spiritual matters ; communion service celebrated in the evening, accompanied by the love feast ; the ceremony of the washing of feet ; the salutation of the Holy kiss ; prayer and Anointing with oil over the sick ; and Nonresistance.

:# Anointing and blessing of the sick and afflicted: These ordinances may be performed on an individual as needed.

Baptism, Penance, and Anointing of the Sick may be administered because they, like Viaticum, are helpful to ensuring salvation for the dying.

This canon allows Catholics who are unable to approach a Catholic minister to receive, under certain conditions, the sacraments of Reconciliation, Eucharist and Anointing of the Sick from " non-Catholic ministers ministers in whose Churches these sacraments are valid ", and declares it licit for Catholic priests to administer the same three sacraments to members of Churches which the Holy See judges to be in the same condition in regard to the sacraments as the Eastern Churches, if they ask for the sacraments of their own accord and are properly disposed.

It believes cannabis to be one of the main ingredients in the original Anointing Oil, as described in the Bible.

However if the Anointing of the Sick is given with Viaticum, in exceptional circumstances or an emergency, it may be given then.

Anointing of the sick and reconciliation are celebrated regularly at communal events, and may be requested individually at any time.

After four days, in spite of the conviction of the doctor and his parents that he would get better, Dominic asked that he be given the Anointing of the Sick in preparation for death.

When the Temple was to be rebuilt they would then need that very same Holy Anointing Oil to anoint the priests prior to their service in the Third Temple as well as to anoint the furnishings of the mishkin.

The Bearing of the body, showing Christ's body being carried to his tomb, and the Anointing of Christ's body, showing the body laid flat on the top of the tomb or a similarly-shaped " anointing-stone " are other scenes that may be shown.

The Roman Rite Anointing of the Sick, as revised in 1972, puts greater stress than in the immediately preceding centuries on the sacrament's aspect of healing, and points to the place sickness holds in the normal life of Christians and its part in the redemptive work of the Church.

Detail of Seven Sacraments Altarpiece | The Seven Sacraments ( 1445 ) by Roger van der Weyden showing the sacrament of Extreme Unction or Anointing of the Sick.

As the sacrament of Marriage gives grace for the married state, the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick gives grace for the state into which people enter through sickness.

The special grace of the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick has as its effects:

The Catholic and Orthodox Churches consider invalid as a sacrament the administration of Anointing of the Sick by such chaplains, who in the eyes of those Churches are not validly ordained priests.

Before his execution, McVeigh took the Catholic sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick.

The Ecclesia Gnostica recognizes five initiatory sacraments as listed in the Gospel of Philip: Baptism, Chrism or Confirmation, Eucharist, Redemption ( sacrament ) and Bride-Chamber, with the additional two sustaining sacraments of Holy Orders and Anointing of the Sick.

It is not usually given as part of the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick.