Among

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...

and Eastern-Rite Catholic Christians, holy water is blessed in the church and given to the faithful to drink at home when needed and to bless their homes. In the weeks following the Feast of Epiphany, clergy visit the homes of parishioners and conduct a service of blessing using the holy water that was blessed on the Feast of Theophany. For

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

, the water is sanctified with a special blessing. Throughout the centuries, there have been many springs of water that have been believed by members of the Orthodox Church to be miraculous. Some still flow to this day, such as the one at Pochaev Lavra in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

, and the Life-Giving Spring of the

Theotokos ''Theotokos'' ( Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or '' Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations a ...

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

(commemorated annually with the blessing of holy water on

Bright Friday Easter Friday, or Bright Friday, is the Friday after the Christian festival of Easter. At times, this name has been confused with Good Friday,For example, the songEaster Friday" by Simone Richardson, 2006. Published by Emu Music. which falls ...

). Although Eastern Orthodox do not normally bless themselves with holy water upon entering a church like Catholics do, a quantity of holy water is typically kept in a

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a " sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design. In mo ...

placed in the

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narth ...

(entrance) of the church, where it is available for anyone who would like to take some of it home with them. It is customary for Orthodox to drink holy water, to use it in their cooking and to sprinkle their houses with it. Often, when objects are blessed in the church (such as the palms on

Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Hol ...

Icons An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most c ...

or sacred vessels) the blessing is completed by a triple sprinkling with holy water using the words, "This (''name of item'') is blessed by the sprinkling of this holy water, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Holy water is sometimes sprinkled on items or people when they are blessed outside the church building, as part of the prayers of blessing. In Russia, it is common for Orthodox Christians to bring newly bought cars to the church for blessing. Holy water is sprinkled inside and out, as well as under the hood. Similarly, in

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U ...

, the fishing boats are sprinkled with holy water at the start of the fishing season as the priest prays for the crews' safety and success. Some Catholics also have a priest bless their cars or homes with holy water as a way of invoking God's blessing and protection.

Blessings

The consecration of water on the Theophany

Orthodox Christians most often bless themselves with holy water by drinking it. It is traditional to keep a quantity of it at home, and many Orthodox Christians will drink a small amount daily with their morning prayers. It may also be used for informal blessings when no clergy are present. For example, parents might bless their children with holy water before they leave the house for school or play. It is also often taken with prayer in times of distress or

temptation Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment that threatens long-term goals.Webb, J.R. (Sep 2014). Incorporating Spirituality into Psychology of temptation: Conceptualization, measurement, and clinical implications. Sp ...

. There are two rites for blessing holy water: the Great Blessing of Waters which is held on the Feast of Theophany, and the Lesser Blessing of Waters which is conducted according to need during the rest of the year. Both forms are based upon the Rite of Baptism. Certain feast days call for the blessing of Holy Water as part of their liturgical observance. The use of holy water is based on the

Baptism of Jesus The baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist is a major event in the life of Jesus which is described in the three synoptic Gospels of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark and Luke). It is considered to have taken place at Al-Maghtas (also called Bet ...

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

in the River Jordan, and the Orthodox interpretation of this event. In their view, John's baptism was a baptism of repentance, and the people came to have their sins washed away by the water. Since Jesus had no sin, but was God incarnate, his baptism had the effect not of washing away Jesus' sins, but of blessing the water, making it holy—and with it all of creation, so that it may be used fully for its original created purpose to be an instrument of life. Jesus' baptism is commemorated in the Eastern Orthodox churches at the Feast of Theophany (literally "manifestation of God") on January 6 (for those Orthodox Christians who use the

Julian Calendar The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandri ...

, January 6 falls on the

Gregorian Calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years d ...

date of January 19). At the

Vespers Vespers is a service of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic (both Latin and Eastern), Lutheran, and Anglican liturgies. The word for this fixed prayer time comes from the Latin , mea ...

of this feast, a font of holy water is typically blessed in the church, to provide holy water for the parish's use in the coming year. The next morning, after the

Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy ( grc-gre, Θεία Λειτουργία, Theia Leitourgia) or Holy Liturgy is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite, developed from the Antiochene Rite of Christian liturgy which is that of the Ecumenical Patriarchate ...

a procession goes from the church to a nearby river, lake or other body of water, to bless that water as well. This represents the redemption of all creation as part of humanity's salvation. In the following weeks, the priest typically visits the homes of the members of the parish and leads prayers of blessing for their families, homes (and even pets), sprinkling them with holy water. Again, this practice is meant to visibly represent God's sanctifying work in all parts of the people's lives.

Great Blessing of Waters at Theophany

1 Sanok, Blessing of the holy water at San River

On the Great Feast of Theophany, holy water is blessed twice: at the conclusion of the

on the eve of the feast, and on morning of the feast itself. After

processing Processing is a free graphical library and integrated development environment (IDE) built for the electronic arts, new media art, and visual design communities with the purpose of teaching non-programmers the fundamentals of computer programming ...

to the place where the vessel of water is prepared, to the singing of appropriate troparia (hymns) of the Theophany, there are a group of

Scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pra ...

readings (, , , and ), culminating in the baptism account from the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

of Saint Mark () followed by the Great Litany. This is sung just as at the beginning of the Divine Liturgy, but with the following additional petitions which make clear what is being asked of God and what the use, purpose, and blessing of the water is believed to entail.

:That these waters may be sanctified by the power, and effectual operation, and descent of the
Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...
, let us pray to the Lord. :That there may descend upon these waters the cleansing operation of the super-substantial
Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...
, let us pray to the Lord. :That he will endue them with the
grace Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninc ...
of redemption, the blessing of Jordan, the might, and operation, and descent of the Holy Spirit, let us pray to the Lord. :That
Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehoo ...
may speedily be crushed under our feet, and that every evil counsel directed against us may be brought to naught, let us pray to the Lord. :That the Lord our God will free us from every attack and temptation of the enemy, and make us worthy of the good things which he hath promised, let us pray to the Lord. :That he will illumine us with the light of understanding and of piety, and with the descent of the Holy Spirit, let us pray to the Lord. :That the Lord our God will send down the blessing of Jordan, and sanctify these waters, let us pray to the Lord. :That this water may be unto the bestowing of
sanctification Sanctification (or in its verb form, sanctify) literally means "to set apart for special use or purpose", that is, to make holy or sacred (compare la, sanctus). Therefore, sanctification refers to the state or process of being set apart, i.e. ...
; unto the remission of sins; unto the healing of
soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...
and body; and unto every expedient service, let us pray to the Lord. :That this water may be a fountain welling forth unto life eternal, let us pray to the Lord. :That it may manifest itself effectual unto the averting of every machination of our foes, whether visible or invisible, let us pray to the Lord. :For those who shall draw of it and take of it unto the sanctification of their homes, let us pray to the Lord. :That it may be for the purification of the souls and bodies of all those who, with faith, shall draw and partake of it, let us pray to the Lord. :That he will graciously enable us to perfect sanctification by participation in these waters, through the invisible manifestation of the Holy Spirit, let us pray to the Lord.

Then, following a lengthy set of didactic prayers that expound on the nature of the feast and summarize

salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...

history, praising God's creation of and mastery over the elements, the priest makes the

Sign of the Cross Making the sign of the cross ( la, signum crucis), or blessing oneself or crossing oneself, is a ritual blessing made by members of some branches of Christianity. This blessing is made by the tracing of an upright cross or + across the body with ...

over the water with his hand and prays specifically for the blessing to be invoked upon it. At the climax of the service, he immerses the hand cross into the water three times in imitation of Christ's baptism to the singing of the festal troparion:

:When Thou wast baptized in the Jordan, O Lord, ::The worship of the Trinity was made manifest. :For the voice of the Father bore witness to Thee, ::And called Thee His beloved Son. :And the Spirit, in the form of a dove, ::Confirmed the truthfulness of His word. :O Christ God, Who hast revealed Thyself, ::And hast enlightened the world, glory be to Thee!

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

:Εν Ιορδάνη βαπτιζομένου Σου, Κύριε, ::Η της Τριάδος εφανερώθη προσκύνησις. :Του γαρ γεννήτορος η φωνή προσεμαρτύρει Σοι, ::αγαπητόν Σε Υιόν ονομάζουσα. :Και το Πνεύμα εν είδει περιστεράς, ::Εβεβαίου του λόγου το ασφαλές. :Ο επιφανής, Χριστέ, ο Θεός, ::Και τον κόσμον φωτίσας, δοξα Σοι

The priest then blesses the entire church and congregation with the newly consecrated water. All come forward to be sprinkled over the head with the Theophany Water as they kiss the hand cross, and to drink some of it. The priest will then set out to bless the homes of all of the faithful with Theophany Water. In large parishes, this process will take some time. However, the priest must bless all of the houses of the faithful before the beginning of

Great Lent Great Lent, or the Great Fast, ( Greek: Μεγάλη Τεσσαρακοστή or Μεγάλη Νηστεία, meaning "Great 40 Days," and "Great Fast," respectively) is the most important fasting season of the church year within many denomin ...

. In monasteries the

Hegumen Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen ( el, ἡγούμενος, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns is called a hegumenia ...

(Superior) will bless the cells of all of the

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedic ...

s. Orthodox Christianity teaches that the Great Blessing of Waters actually changes the nature of the water, and that water so blessed is no longer corruptible, but remains fresh for many years. The Great Blessing of Waters is normally only blessed at this one time of the year; however, at the

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 ...

of a church, a Great Blessing of Waters will often precede the service.

Lesser Blessing of Waters

The Lesser Blessing is called "lesser" not because it is shorter (in fact, it isn't), but because it does not have the same solemnity as the Great Blessing, and does not necessarily change the nature of the water. While much is the same, the rite begins with Psalm 142 ( LXX) and the hymns to the Theophany of the Great Blessing are replaced in the Lesser Blessing with hymns to the

. The scriptural readings are different (, ), and the special petitions at the Great Litany are different: :That these waters may be sanctified by the power, and effectual operation, and descent of the Holy Spirit, let us pray to the Lord. :That there may descend upon these waters the cleansing operation of the super-substantial Trinity, let us pray to the Lord. :That this water may be unto the healing of souls and bodies, and unto the banishing of every hostile power, let us pray to the Lord. :That the Lord our God will send down the blessing of Jordan, and sanctify these waters, let us pray to the Lord. :For all those who entreat of God's aid and protection, let us pray to the Lord. :That he will illumine us with the light of understanding, with the consubstantial Trinity, let us pray to the Lord. :That the Lord our God will show us forth sons and heirs of his kingdom, through partaking of and sprinkling with these waters, let us pray to the Lord. Constantin Daniel Stahi - Natură moartă – Apă sfinţită (1882)

Constantin Daniel Stahi - Natură moartă – Apă sfinţită (1882)

Then the priest says a prayer very similar to the one used at Theophany, but when he immerses the hand cross into the water three times, instead of singing the troparion of Theophany, he sings the troparion of the Cross:

Save, O Lord, Thy people and bless Thine inheritance, granting unto the faithful victory over enemies. And by the power of Thy Cross, do Thou preserve Thy commonwealth.

The Lesser Blessing of Waters may be performed according to need. It is specifically called for on August 1 (the feast of the Procession of the Cross); on Bright Friday (Friday in Easter Week) which is the feast of the Theotokos of th
"Life-giving Spring"
and on the Feast of

Mid-Pentecost Mid-Pentecost or Midfeast, also Meso-Pentecost (from gr, Μεσοπεντηκοστή); russian: Преполове́ние Пятидеся́тницы is a feast day which occurs during the Paschal season in the Eastern Orthodox Church and tho ...

, when all of the fields are blessed. There is also a tradition of blessing Holy Water on the first day of each month. Though there is no special blessing said over it, the water used for the

Washing of Feet Maundy (from Old French ''mandé'', from Latin ''mandatum'' meaning "command"), or Washing of the Saints' Feet, Washing of the Feet, or Pedelavium or Pedilavium, is a religious rite observed by various Christian denominations. The Latin wor ...

Maundy Thursday Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday (also known as Great and Holy Thursday, Holy and Great Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Sheer Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries, among other names) is the day during Holy Week that commemorates the Washing of th ...

could be considered a form of holy water, in that the

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

or Hegumen will bless the faithful with it at the end of the ceremony. Among the Coptics, this water ''is'' blessed with the cross before the Washing of Feet. The Coptics also sprinkle the faithful with holy water on

, and at the end of every Divine Liturgy.

References

* (Mother) Mary; Ware, (Archimandrite) Kallistos (Tr.)(1998). ''The Festal Menaion'' (reprint), pp 348–359. South Canaan: St. Tikhon's Seminary Press. . * Isabel Florence Hapgood (Tr., Ed.)(1983). ''Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic Church'' (6th ed.), pp 189–197. Englewood: Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese. * ''Collectio Rituum ad instar appendicis Ritualis Romani pro dioecesibus Statuum Foederatorum Americae Septentrionalis''. Milwaukee, Bruce (1954)

Notes

External links