Editing Swedenborgianism (section)

== Sacraments ==
{{see also|Sacrament}}

=== Baptism and Eucharist ===
The New Church has two primary sacraments: [[baptism]] and the [[Eucharist]] (also known as communion, or holy supper). These external rituals symbolise inner, spiritual life.<ref>AC, n. 1083(2), TCR, n. 669.</ref> Baptism signifies entrance into Christianity and reformation of the mind, where falseness is replaced by truth. Although believers should be baptised at the age of reason (to make a decision to follow Jesus), Swedenborg said that baptised infants receive a guardian angel to guide them into the Christian faith.<ref>TCR, n. 677–678.</ref>

=== Marriage ===
Marriage is a personal sacrament of the New Church, and its administration by a priest is desirable but not essential. According to Swedenborg, marriage should be administered by a priest "because marriages, considered in themselves, are spiritual, and thence holy; for they descend from the heavenly marriage of good and truth, and things conjugial correspond to the divine marriage of the Lord and the church; and hence they are from the Lord himself."<ref>Swedenborg, Emanuel. ''The Delights of Wisdom pertaining to Marriage Love'' (ML), 1768. Rotch Edition. New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1907, in ''The Divine Revelation of the New Jerusalem'' (2012), n. 308.</ref>

Married love is founded in religion, since both originate from God. Without a religious foundation, a marriage can turn cold.<ref>ML, n. 238–243.</ref> According to the New Church, man is a form of truth and woman is a form of love; the two make one. Married love comes directly from heaven, and celibacy interferes with this.<ref>ML, n. 54.</ref> Therefore, marriage is preferable to celibacy.<ref>ML, n. 156.</ref> Marriage is considered a union of souls, and this can only exist between one man and one woman.<ref>ML, n.482</ref>

Contrary to mainstream Christian beliefs, Swedenborg did not condemn all sexual activity between those who were not married. While he was particularly against [[infidelity]], Swedenborg believed that all erotic love between a man and a woman – even that which arose within unpropitious circumstances – still had the potential to develop into true conjugal love. He also believed that not all married couples necessarily experience conjugal love.<ref>{{cite web |last=Lines |first=Richard |title=Eros, Sexuality & The Spirit |url=http://www.swedenborgstudy.com/articles/marriage/rl02.htm |website=Swedenborg Study |access-date=13 February 2022}}</ref>