Did you ever wish that Father Christmas would show up in the middle of an adventure and give you the exact gifts you needed for the road ahead, just like he did in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe? That pretty much exactly aligns with the Christian concept of the sacraments—there are seven sacraments in the teaching of the Anglican church (the church C.S. Lewis attended), and all seven appear in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
Lewis told us that The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is about spiritual journeys. At the core, it’s a book about how human beings grow. How do we become better people? There are places where Aslan shows up and helps the characters to progress (we’ll look at these in two weeks), and there are gifts that Aslan has given us that help along the way, too.
I’m going to aim for simplicity rather than precision in this article…when we’ve spent two thousand years explaining, exploring, debating, and adding context to a concept it can get a bit overwhelming. But if you have questions, corrections, or conversations you’d like to have in the comments, I’m up for that.
So: What is a sacrament? Most Christian definitions will say something like, “an important ritual or rite that imparts divine grace” or “a visible sign of an inward grace.” For simplicity’s sake I’ll say it like this: it’s a gift from God to human beings that allows us to experience God’s presence. Each sacrament may have a different purpose or role in life, or a different sort of gift imparted through it. The important thing here is that, in terms of Christian belief, these are rites that bring a gift from God.
In the Anglican church there are seven sacraments (two of which are considered “Gospel sacraments” meaning that they were instituted by Jesus himself and are a part of the salvation process). All seven, as mentioned above, appear in Dawn Treader. They are: communion (also called the Eucharist or the Lord’s Supper, among other names), baptism, confirmation, ordination, reconciliation, anointing of the sick, and matrimony.
Communion and baptism are considered the most important of these sacraments in the Anglican church, and Lewis put them at the center as well. In Mere Christianity he writes, “There are three things which spread the Christ life to us: baptism, belief and that mysterious action which different Christians call by different names: Holy Communion, the Mass, the Lord’s Supper…”
Communion
Let’s start with communion, a sacrament that Lewis spends a bit of time on in Dawn Treader. Christians have argued what precisely this gift from God means, but it’s a Christian extension of the Passover meal from Jewish tradition. Jesus, at the Passover meal before he was killed, takes the bread and wine and says they are his body and blood, and tells his followers to “do this in remembrance of me.” In Christian tradition, this has become a deeply meaningful ritual in which we remember the things God has done for us (especially the sacrifice of Jesus), and a place where the community forgives one another (we have been forgiven by God and thus should forgive each other) and enters into even deeper community with each other.
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As Caspian’s crew comes to the beginning of the end of the world, they find a long table where a “king’s feast” is replenished every day with food delivered by birds from the sun (somewhere near Aslan’s country). There they discover three of the lords, who had fallen asleep at the table, and near them is a knife of stone. It is called, we are told “Aslan’s Table” and it has been set here for “those who have come so far.”
The three lords have fallen asleep because they quarreled at the table – the exact opposite of what communion is designed to do – and one of them took up the Stone Knife and went to use it against his fellows, and at once they all fell asleep. This knife was the same knife used to kill Aslan at the Stone Table once upon a time. The three lords have brought discord to a table of unity, and rather than remembering the sacrifice of Aslan, they are misusing it to bring harm to one another, and so they are punished for it.
There is no doubt Lewis is referring to a writing of Saint Paul (one of the early followers of Jesus) who wrote that some were partaking of communion in an “unworthy manner” and that as a result God had punished some of them by causing them to “fall asleep,” a common metaphor Paul used when talking about someone dying (I Corinthians 11:27-34).
(Also, do note that it’s our spiritual example Reepicheep who is first to eat and drink at Aslan’s Table!)
Baptism
Baptism is another clearly present sacrament in Dawn Treader. Christian baptism comes directly from the Jewish tradition. It’s a rite of spiritual rebirth, and in the Christian tradition is about the moment where someone enters into relationship with God and finds new life. It’s a rite about repentance (acknowledging wrong things you have done and working to become the sort of person who will not do those things again) and new beginnings. In baptism, the old person you used to be is washed away, and one comes out of the water completely reborn, “a new creation.”
Eustace, of course, is the one who gets baptized in Dawn Treader.
Poor Eustace has realized that he was a dragon. He is crying and very sorry about it, and feeling terrible. Aslan appears to him and tells him to follow, and takes him to a garden in the mountains where there is a bubbling well. It’s a sort of marble well, with steps descending into it. In Jewish tradition, a baptism is always done in “living water” (i.e. running water)… this is not a well, it’s a mikveh (some Christians would call it a “baptismal font”). In Judaism and early Christian tradition, baptisms were always done naked…how can you be born wearing clothes or earrings or jewelry? That’s what happens here as well. All of Eustace’s old, dragonish self is peeled off, and he enters the sacramental waters. When he comes out on the other side, he’s dressed in fresh clothing, and he’s a brand new person.
So, baptism brings the gift of forgiveness and new life from God, and communion brings the gift of remembrance and forgiveness from our human community.
Confirmation
Confirmation is closely connected to baptism in church tradition. In churches that baptize young children or infants, it’s a time when someone makes their personal commitment to the faith…a time when they make it their own, rather than something chosen for them through the faith of their parents.
In most Christian denominations, the idea of confirmation is that it’s a time of strengthening your faith, a moment when you make a public declaration of following God. It’s also a time when the faith community says, “Yes, this person is one of ours.” They affirm that, yes, this is someone who is in relationship with God. It’s confirmation of that person’s faith. Depending on your tradition, it might also be a time when you would say the presence of God becomes more present in your life (through the Holy Spirit) or the time that you have now officially entered into the “battle between light and darkness.”
In Anglican tradition, confirmation not only “confirms” a baptism (i.e. this person truly has come into relationship with God) but it’s the official entrance to the church, and is usually overseen by a bishop.
Now, interestingly, in Narnia we have to remember that the church and the government are the same thing. The ministers of Aslan’s wishes in Narnia are the Kings and Queens and those they put in authority. There are no bishops or popes (although “High King Peter” obviously has some parallels).
So it’s not surprising that Eustace’s confirmation comes at the hands of one of the highest ranking members of Aslan’s church: Edmund.
Eustace tells Edmund the story of his baptism, and Edmund recognizes it for what it is immediately. When Eustace says it might have been a dream, Edmund assures him that it was not.
“What do you think it was, then?” Eustace asks.
“I think you’ve met Aslan,” Edmund replies, confirming that Eustace’s experience was real and true. He has honestly, truly, met Aslan. He’s part of the community of faith now, those who know and follow Aslan.
I love this scene. It’s one of the moments where we see just how much Edmund has grown over the course of these three books. He comforts Eustace by saying, “You were only an ass, I was a traitor.” And when Eustace asks for more knowledge of Aslan, Edmund shares a little theological speech: “He is the great Lion, the son of the Emperor over Sea, who saved me and saved Narnia. We’ve all seen him. Lucy sees him most often. And it may be Aslan’s country we are sailing to.”
Then they watch the sunrise together, and they return to the community where there is “great rejoicing.” Note, too, that from this moment Eustace becomes a warrior for Aslan, even though he’s not particularly effective. It’s not much later that he’s breaking Caspian’s second-best sword against a sea monster.
Ordination
Ordination is the process in the Anglican church in which someone receives their “holy orders.” This is how people become priests, deacons, or bishops. I’m going to simplify here, but the main idea is: Priests take on the authority of the bishop and are the spiritual leaders in places where the bishop is physically absent. Deacons take care of the physical needs of the people. (Priests care for the spiritual needs, deacons for the physical…though there is overlap.) In the Anglican church, one can still marry after becoming a priest, and in many parts of the church women as well as men can be ordained. The bishop lays their hands on the person being ordained and prays over them. There’s an acknowledgement of their new role, and a conferring of authority.
Which is exactly what happens when Caspian demotes the lazy and slave-allowing Gumpas and installs Lord Bern as his regent in the Lone Islands. Remember, again, that the government of Narnia is the church of Narnia, too.
Bern kneels “with his hands between the King’s hands” and he takes the oath to “govern the Lone Islands in accordance with the old customs, rights, usages and laws of Narnia.” And Caspian decides not to make him just a governor, for “we have had enough of governors” and makes him, instead, part of the royal leadership of Narnia by making Bern Duke of the Lone Islands.
Reconciliation
I won’t spend a long time on this one, because we’ll have some overlap in the next article, but the sacrament of reconciliation is about confession (expressing what I’ve done wrong) and absolution (complete forgiveness). The idea here is that when someone admits wrongdoing and expresses regret, that relationship to both God and humanity can be restored. This is a key theme of Lewis’s idea of how spiritual growth happens, and nearly every major character in the book goes through this at least one time before the end. But I think my favorite example is the scene that occurs after Lucy misuses a magic book to spy on her friends back home on Earth.
Aslan points out her bad behavior, and after a moment of quibbling about the definition, Lucy admits she’s done the wrong thing. She was spying, and she has misjudged her friend. Lucy says she is sorry, and Aslan tells her that he will still be in relationship with her. She asks him to tell her the beautiful story she saw in the book and he says he’ll tell it to her “for years and years.”
There’s an important note about Christian theology related to forgiveness here, too: Lucy is worried that there will be consequences for her poor behavior. She’s worried that she won’t be able to forget the overheard conversation she’s heard, and that she’s ruined a good friendship unnecessarily. Aslan makes it clear that’s a possibility: forgiveness and reconciliation doesn’t mean freedom from consequences.
Anointing of the Sick
“Anointing” is the act of pouring oil on someone, and there are a lot of reasons this is done in religious expression (and again, for the Christian churches this comes from Jewish practice). It can be a way to welcome someone into a new role, to invite the presence of God, or to show that something has been set aside for service to God. In fact, both the words Christ (in Greek) and Messiah (in Hebrew) mean “anointed one.”
The anointing of the sick is a rite of healing. The idea is that we are inviting God to heal those who are touched by the oil, and we pray for God’s intervention. Unlike in Narnia, it’s not magic (i.e. the expectation is not that God will always heal)…in fact, the rite is sometimes called “extreme unction” when done with those who are dying; it’s a prayer for them as they move on into God’s country.
Lucy performs this sacrament twice in this book, first when Eustace is seasick: it only takes a drop and he feels better. And then again when he is a dragon, and his arm is irritated by the gold band that made him a dragon in the first place. That time, “[t]he magic fluid reduced the swelling and eased the pain a little but it could not dissolve the gold.”
The sacrament does not guarantee healing, but hopefully brings at least an ease to pain for the person for whom we pray.
Holy Matrimony
Last, and presumably not least, comes “holy matrimony.” Marriage is, according to both Jewish and Christian tradition, a gift God has given to all humanity, not only to people of faith or people of Jewish or Christian faith. We are told in the final paragraphs of Dawn Treader that, “Caspian married Ramandu’s daughter and they all reached Narnia in the end, and she became a great queen and the mother and grandmother of great kings.”
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And there they are! The seven gifts (or sacraments) of Aslan to his followers, given so that they can experience the presence of the great lion in their every day lives and in their journey toward Aslan’s Country. Looking forward to your thoughts, questions, and further discussion in the comments!
Matt Mikalatos is the author of the YA fantasy The Crescent Stone. You can follow him on Twitter or connect on Facebook.
I think you did a nice job explaining the various Christian views and how they relate back to Jewish traditions. I definitely had not picked up on these when I read this as a young teen.
@1 whitespine. Thanks! I realize this article was a bit of a deeper dive into the underlying theology Lewis was working with, but I figured aside from the baptism scene they might not have been obvious.
Thank you! This is a fantastic examination of symbolic references, and I definitely hadn’t picked up on most these. (Though I’m from one of the less…ritual-heavy?…denominations of Christianity so I was really only familiar with communion, baptism, and marriage as sacraments.) Your posts add so much to my understanding of these books.
Its worth pointing out that the Seder and Mikvah mean very different things to Jews than the Mass and Baptism mean to Christians. Obviously, Lewis was writing a very Christian story.
The Anglican church officially recognises only two sacraments:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglican_sacraments
https://anglicancompass.com/sacramental-theology/
(As a lay minister in the church of England, I can confirm this).
@@.-@ DG. Yes, definitely!
@5. Philippa Chapman. Two “sacraments of the gospel” which are actual sacraments, and the other rites are “sacramental” without being sacraments of the gospel, meaning not necessary for salvation but still vehicles of grace for God’s people. Is that right? I’ve heard other Anglican ministers differentiate as “sacraments of the gospel” vs. “sacraments of the church.” https://anglicancompass.com/what-do-anglicans-believe-about-the-sacraments-baptism-holy-communion-confirmation-ordination-marriage-absolution-anointing-of-the-sick/
@6 I’m Episcopalian, U.S. version of the Anglican church. I once heard it said from the pulpit “There are seven sacraments: baptism and the Eucharist.”
There are some Anglo-Catholics (Anglicans who like the trappings of the Roman Church) who might say there are more than 2 sacraments, but the 39 Articles of Religion (the official summary of Anglican doctrine) are very clear:
Article 25
Sacraments ordained of Christ be not only badges or tokens of Christian men’s profession, but rather they be certain sure witnesses, and effectual signs of grace, and God’s good will towards us, by the which he doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken, but also strengthen and confirm our Faith in him.
There are two Sacraments ordained of Christ our Lord in the Gospel, that is to say, Baptism, and the Supper of the Lord.
Those five commonly called Sacraments, that is to say, Confirmation, Penance, Orders, Matrimony, and extreme Unction, are not to be counted for Sacraments of the Gospel, being such as have grown partly of the corrupt following of the Apostles, partly are states of life allowed in the Scriptures; but yet have not like nature of Sacraments with Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper, for that they have not any visible sign or ceremony ordained of God.
Oh, and I should say thanks Matt for these essays. I’ve been enjoying them!
As a kid, it seemed strange that the witch’s knife should be there on the magic feasting table. But, when you think of it as a sacrament, it makes sense. Here is a divine gift from Aslan (in the form of food) by the memorial of Aslan’s sacrifice.
@7 Kimberly Israel. Hahahaha I love that. Perfect.
@8/9 phonos. Thank you for sharing that, great point. I’m not Anglican, so of course all the Anglican voices here should be amplified. I think all Anglicans are in agreement regardless that baptism and communion are by far the most important. I think we can include Lewis in that, obviously.
@10 Ellynne. Yes! This was my first time understanding it as well. One thing that bothers me though, is that Lewis doesn’t mention bread on the table at all? It seems like an obvious thing to do, and he does mention the wine.
Kudos to Mr. Mikalatos for understanding reconciliation and forgiveness more profoundly than the majority of current churches. His line ” … that she’s ruined a good friendship unnecessarily. Aslan makes it clear that’s a possibility: forgiveness and reconciliation doesn’t mean freedom from consequences”. The sacrament is not to expiate the sin but to restore harmony to the community and to the sinner. As my husband says if he were receiving confession from a murder or a child abuser — you have committed a grievous sin and caused harm. You must turn yourself in to the authorities in order to receive forgiveness.
Then there is the sacrament ignored by everyone except by some once a year: Maundy Thursday and the washing of the feet.
Anglicans (speaking as an american anglo-catholic one) tended to be better about not throwing the baby out with the bathwater than many other reformation types. But Article 25 was one of the lesser moments, as is 17; thankfully we have better moments too like Hooker’s Learned Discorse.
I often use the moment where Eustace meets Aslan to talk about God’s incredible grace and mercy, and the absolutely helpless state of our spirituality. Eustace cannot get that dragon skin off by himself. There is nothing we can do to cover or atone for our own sin. It is only Aslan’s effort to remove the skin that does any good, and it is only by the work of Christ, by the grace of God, that we can have our sin removed. Eustace’s observation that it hurt but it felt good at once is so true of confession as well. It hurts, we’re afraid, but ultimately there is nothing for it but that we lay down our pride and allow the Holy Spirit to do his job there. And the tangible mercy of God we find in baptism, that cleansing water and identification in Christ that cements us as a new creation, it’s just beautiful storytelling and imagery.
But what nails it is the conversation with Edmund afterwards. There is no better person to whom Eustace could have told his story while it was still raw inside him. Edmund is someone for whom the work of Aslan has been deeply personal, his whole life. He knows what it is to be forgiven and transformed by mercy and grace. He knows how it feels to be welcomed into the family of Aslan and to hear the Lion himself say, “Well done.” This is likely the moment the confirms that there is no need for Edmund to return to Narnia. Having understood Aslan’s intentions, it will be easier for him to find Aslan in our country. And Eustace has completely changed, in a way that Edmund had changed. Both boys, upon first hearing the name of Aslan, were filled with dread, hatred even. But now they are glad for the Lion, thankful for his presence and his work. Now they can enjoy him and even his name being spoken.
As to the other sacraments, I’m very thankful for the opportunity to think about Dawn Treader this way. I wrote a paper once that pointed out the journey of sanctification the characters make in this book, but this was something fun that I’ve never considered. Voyage of the Dawn Treader is easily my favorite of the Chronicles, mainly because there is so much character growth in each adventurous episode. Aslan is ever-present, and he wants the children to become more than what they are, and he is watching out for them every step of the way. It’s brilliant writing.
I’m an Orthodox Jew, not a Christian, so I can’t speak to the symbolism of the sacraments (and I greatly appreciated seeing it and its relation to The Voyage of the Dawn Treader elucidated here). But I can quibble on a few points about Jewish practice and belief.
This is not the case. Only the ritual immersion for the purification of a Zav (Traditionally translated as “one who has gonorrhea”) requires “living water”. Otherwise, immersion can be done in either flowing water from a natural source (a Ma’ayan, spring) or a still pool of collected rain water (a Mikveh, literally a “gathering”). In fact a Mikveh, a collection of waters, is not valid if it flows (because the water isn’t really pooled), and a natural body of water (such as a lake) is not valid if it does not flow, because it might be that most of the water collected is in fact from rainwater or other non-spring sources (EDIT: this was incorrect, I confused an issue about rivers). In practice, almost all Jews who ritually immerse use Mikvaos, not Ma’ayanim (due to the fact that natural springs aren’t accessible everywhere, but a Mikveh can be built anywhere). Living water” IS required for the purification processes of a Metzora (traditionally translated as “leper” even though the symptoms described don’t really match with leprosy) and one who contracts corpse-impurity, but that’s to be sprinkled on them, not immersed in.
I’m not sure this is the case. Jewish law sees non-Jewish marriages as having the force of custom, not law. Meaning, they can be enacted or ended at will, without any legal or ritual action necessary (other than coupling or separation). And while Jewish tradition is full of discussion about the importance of marriage, the husband-wife relationship, family, and the household, I don’t think there’s any discussion of what marriage means for non-Jews. Not that many of the statements couldn’t apply just as well as they do to Jews, just that I don’t think traditional Jewish sources see themselves as pertaining to those outside the Jewish community most of the time. I’d be interested to see a source for what you wrote here, just because it’s very striking to me.
@15 Imitorar. Hey thanks for the clarifications! Can you help me understand the difference between aa spring and living water? My understanding was that a spring and living water would be the same thing, but I would love to get that straightened out and understand it better.
For clarity what I thought was true was:
* Living (i.e. running) water
* “Dead” water (still water, like a cistern)
Let me reach out to my rabbi friend who explained the marriage thing to me and see if he’ll pop in here to give it to us directly. My understanding (from his point of view) was that because the covenant of marriage was given pre-Judaism and pre-Israel, it was one of the things that was a gift to all humanity (unlike the Torah). He thinks it’s really funny when Christians are all hung up on the ten commandments because (as he said) “that’s not for them.”
This is a great picture, too, of how indebted Christian metaphor and ritual is to Judaism, and how often we know not-so-much about the origins and current practice.
I always considered Eustace’s de-dragoning as a picture of salvation, not baptism.
Indeed they are. I apologize if what I wrote implied that there were 3 categories (Mayim Chaim/living water, Ma’ayan/spring, Mikveh/pool). There are not, and Mayim Chaim and a Ma’ayan are in fact the same thing. I didn’t realize when I wrote that I’d implied they weren’t the same thing, so thanks for pointing that out. The only difference is that Mayim Chaim is a Biblical term and Ma’ayan is the term used in the Talmud and Rabbinic literature, but they both refer to a natural spring. “Dead water” isn’t really a category we use, to my knowledge.
Ah, I think I see what was meant. I was looking at the question from the perspective of how Judaism considers non-Jewish marriages legally, not etiologically. Right, the statements about marriage and man and wife at the end of Genesis 2 imply relevance to all of mankind. I’d agree with your friend about Christians and the Ten Commandments, but that speaks to general differences on issues of particularism and universalism between Christianity and Judaism.
So, I tend to save certain Tor articles for later reading if I have a feeling they’ll be particularly meaty, and this series is one of them.
I have to say I never thought I’d be getting in to sacramental theology here on Tor, but I have to say, despite being a (mostly) lifelong Catholic (for which all of these are true Sacraments) I 100% never caught this. But then, when I read Narnia I was basically reading it for the story.
Catholics do find all seven of these Sacraments pretty important, but even in the Catholic church the Eucharist is the pinnacle (or ‘the source and summit of our faith’ as I believe it was Pope John Paul II who wrote in an encyclical), although Baptism is also pretty key. Anyway, kind of bittersweet to be talking about all this at a time when so many of us are currently denied the Sacraments.
Regarding Reconciliation THANK YOU for bringing up the aspect of consequences. I think it’s Dietrick Bonhoeffer (not Catholic, but I love what he says about this) who talks about ‘cheap grace’ which is basically this concept that once you’re forgiven that’s it, and there’s no other consequence. I see some of this in the theology of other denominations (although I definitely see people in all denominations do this), as well as in tough conversations nationally about things like race, injustice, abuse, etc. Forgiveness/Reconciliation is often used as a cudgel by those who are manipulative (be in in a religious sense, or just in toxic relationships). (Rachael Denhollender is another person I follow who has written/done some amazing things specifically about this topic and abuse in the church). In the Catholic tradition it’s why there is the concept of penance, atonement, purgatory, etc.
@13 – so, just speaking from my Catholic perspective, but Holy Thursday and the washing of feet is basically rolled into the establishment of the priesthood and the Eucharist. It’s definitely an important day for us (it kicks off the Triduum, actually, which is basically the holiest 3 days of the calendar), although I don’t know that the foot washing specifically is part of that (although it is part of the traditional service).
@8 – “being such as have grown partly of the corrupt following of the Apostles” – ha, I can’t help but wonder if that’s a bit of a jab :)
@18 – thank you for your comments/explanations. I find them quite interesting. Agreed that there is a lot we are beholden to in terms of Jewish symbolism/ritual/belief but at this point we don’t understand a lot of it (especially as Judaism has also evolved since that time). There’s kind of a well-intentioned trend among some Christian (of various denominations) circles to do Seders or celebrate other Jewish holidays, but my understanding (from friends who are Catholic but come from a Jewish tradition) is this is only okay if you’re actually a part of this tradition honestly. Otherwise, it’s not for you (nor does it really bear any similarity to what it would have been in Jesus’ day anyway – and there’s also debate as to whether or not the Last Supper was a Seder).
Back to the story: reading this sentence: “He is the great Lion, the son of the Emperor over Sea, who saved me and saved Narnia.” – something that strikes me is the emphasis placed on ‘who saved me’ before who saved Narnia, pointing to the deeply personal nature of Edmund’s salvation here. It’s a lovely image.
@17 Mach. Yes, absolutely, and Lewis would be happy with that reading for sure. In some Christian tradition, baptism is linked very closely with salvation and in some is a necessary component. Baptism and salvation were very closely linked for Lewis.
@18 Imitorar. Thank you! Great insights and much appreciated.
@19 Lisamarie. Thank you so much for this comment, and for the kind compliment about saving these articles for later. I also love Rachael Denhollander! She’s doing some really amazing work.
@13: “Anglicans (speaking as an american anglo-catholic one) tended to be better about not throwing the baby out with the bathwater than many other reformation types”
…Surely that’s “not throwing the baby out with the font water”?!
Oh dear, once we start debating Anglican theology… most Anglicans see the 39 Articles as essentially historical. There’s a division between the more protestant and more catholic wings. I think the most common view of the sacraments might be that two are Sacraments of the Gospel and the rest are sort-of sacraments. Lewis didn’t stick the Anglican formulae, notably he believed strongly in Purgatory which is denied by the 39 Articles, so I don’t think we can use official Anglican teaching as a sure guide to his meaning.
On there being consequences even after you are forgiven. I don’t know what Anglican rules are, but in the Catholic Church it is not the case (as often asserted) that a criminal would have to give themselves up to receive absolution. The priest would encourage it but absolution cannot be made conditional on anything except repentance. Penance can include restitution but not confession to the police.