A conditional sacrament or sacrament ''sub conditione'' ("under condition") is in some

Christian denominations Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

sacrament A sacrament is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments ...

administered "on the condition that the faithful eceiving it isable and legitimately entitled to receive the sacrament". An example of conditional sacrament is conditional baptism. Conditional sacraments are practised by the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Church of England, and Methodism. Conditional sacraments are usually performed when there is doubt the previous sacrament(s) was (were) performed or valid, as receiving some specific sacraments more than once is considered impossible in the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Catholic Church

If there is doubt concerning the ability of a person to receive any sacrament, the sacrament can be administered conditionally, whether the person is supposed to have already received said sacrament or not. In the Catholic Church, the sacraments which, due to their sacramental character, cannot be repeated and can conditionally administered are "the sacraments of baptism,

confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...

and

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

". It is a custom in the Catholic Church to express the conditionality of the sacrament of the conditional sacrament, either audibly or mentally. For example, the person performing the ritual will add the condition "if you are capable" to the sacrament's formula; or in the case of a conditional baptism, the person performing the ritual will add "If you are not baptised" before conferring the conditional baptism. Indeed, it is not necessary to express verbally the conditionality. However, the conditionality "should be expressed audibly when reasons for doubt about the condition of the subject are public. The purpose of the condition is to avoid scandal or confusion in the faithful and, out of reverence for the sacraments, to avoid subjecting them to the possibility of invalidity".

Eastern Orthodox Church

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, sacraments which cannot be repeated and can conditionally administered include baptism and chrismation.

Church of England

In the Church of England, sacraments which cannot be repeated and can conditionally administered include baptism.

Methodist Churches

In Methodism, baptisms are conditionally administered in cases of doubt concerning their validity.

Independent sacramental movement

According to the Utrecht Old Catholic priest Bernard Vignot, conditional

consecration Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

is "very common" within the independent sacramental movement (ISM). The practice of receiving conditional consecration is either performed by ISM bishops who want to receive as many lines of

apostolic succession Apostolic succession is the method whereby the ministry of the Christian Church is held to be derived from the apostles by a continuous succession, which has usually been associated with a claim that the succession is through a series of bish ...

of various origins as possible, or by ISM clergy who doubt the validity of their holy order and "want to avoid any questioning".

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