HOLY WATER, CONSECRED BY THE SMALL RIGHT,
which happens at all prayer services and holidays (except Epiphany). Epiphany water is different from other holy water and is called a great shrine.
There are many cases of relief from illnesses with the help of holy water. Her healing properties Medicine does not deny it either. But how to use holy water in Everyday life?
- You should drink holy water in the morning on an empty stomach. or in the evening before bed (but not from the general container).
- At very serious illness or if a person is in a state of intense spiritual struggle, despondency, it can be drunk in unlimited quantities, regardless of food intake.
- After drinking, you need to pray for healing.
- For pain or just a sore spot, you can apply a compress moistened with holy water.
- Holy water is usually consumed with prayer:
“Lord, my God, may Your holy gift and Your holy water be for the remission of my sins, for the enlightenment of my mind, for the strengthening of my mental and physical strength, for the health of my soul and body, for the subjugation of my passions and infirmities according to Your infinite mercy through the prayers of Your Most Pure Mother and all Your saints. Amen."
- Holy water has enormous healing powers. There are known cases when a few drops of such water, poured into the mouth of an unconscious patient, brought him to his senses and changed the course of the disease. But this does not mean that you do not need to see a doctor. Special property Holy water is that, added even in small quantities to ordinary water, it imparts beneficial properties to it.
- Holy water should be stored near the icon or behind the icon.. TJust please write or label the bottle accordingly. Be careful that your loved ones do not accidentally pour out holy water or use it irreverently.You cannot store such water in the refrigerator. You should not keep it near food.
- This water is not given to animals.
- You can only sprinkle it on your home (while reading a prayer), a car, or some other thing, also clothes, and even pets.
- If the water has spoiled, it must be poured into a river or other natural spring. Holy water should not be poured into a sink or drain. Holy waterdo not splash out on the ground. It is poured into an “untrampled” place, that is, to the place where people do not walk (don't tramplefeet) and dogs do not run. You can pour water into the river, you can flower pot, you can go to a clean place under a tree.
HOLY WATER SHOULD NOT ONLY BE STORED CAREFULLY, BUT ALSO BE USED REGULARLY.
- It is unacceptable to keep water “in reserve” forever if it was brought from the temple once for Epiphany according to the principle “so that it is in the house, because everyone has it.” This is a kind of imprisonment of the shrine. The grace of holy water does not decrease, no matter how long it is stored, but people who do not turn to the shrine are robbing themselves.
- One day blessed water always is. In the case when we have little holy water left, but we need some significant amount, we can add holy water to regular water. All water will be sanctified.
Finally, the most important:
Holy water will not bring us any benefit if we spend our lives away from God. If we want to feel God in our lives, to feel His help, His participation in our affairs, we must become Christians not only in name, but in essence.
To be a Christian means:
Fulfill God's commandments, love God and neighbors;
Participate in church Sacraments and perform home prayer;
Work on correcting your soul.
May the Lord help us, no matter how far we are from the house of our Heavenly Father, to return to Him.
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Arriving at an Orthodox church on the feast of the Epiphany, you will notice large cluster people. Usually there are many fewer people at the Liturgy, and on this holiday there are queues near the churches. IN major cities they can stretch for several hundred meters and be in several rows. People want to get holy water.
Holy water is water that acquires God's grace as a result of the rite of blessing of water being performed over it. Water changes its properties, but not of a physical nature (that is, it remains the same liquid without taste, color or smell), but of a supernatural nature. So, for example, it does not spoil for a long time, helps in the treatment of various diseases of both body and soul. There are known cases when psychiatrists in pre-revolutionary Russia first of all gave a newly admitted patient two glasses of water. One contained plain water, and the other contained holy water. If the patient could drink from both glasses, the psychiatrist continued the treatment. But if a person drank plain water, but began to spit, squirm, swear, and refuse to drink from another glass, then the psychiatrist handed the patient over to the priest. Because treating demonic possession is not the domain of psychiatry.
It happens that holy water is stored in the pantry, refrigerator, mezzanine and other inappropriate places. Holy water should be treated with reverence and fear of God, like any other shrine, and kept in a red corner along with icons and. The vessel for holy water must be glass.
How to take holy water and prosphora. There is a very good pious tradition of drinking holy water and prosphora on an empty stomach, after reading morning prayers. Moreover, in almost every prayer book you can find special prayers before drinking holy water and prosphora.
The priest also uses holy water to consecrate objects and premises. A layman can sprinkle holy water on his home, personal plot, place of work. To do this, you need to either purchase a small sprinkler, or make it from plant branches, which then cannot be thrown away, but taken to the temple or burned. The asper is lowered into the water and they make cross-shaped strokes from top to bottom and from left to right, while singing (or reading, if they are completely unable to remember the melody) the troparion to Baptism or the troparion Life-giving Cross The Lord's.
How to take holy water when you are sick? Well, firstly, as described above, and secondly, you can anoint the sore spot with holy water. Take a brush, dip it in holy water and draw a cross on the sore. This is done not for magical reasons, but in order to come into contact with the shrine and receive healing through the action of the grace of the Lord.
In the history of the Church there are many examples of God's saints, through whose prayers the Lord endowed holy water, springs, lakes, and wells with miraculous properties. These saints even now, being in another world, intercede for people before the Almighty. Therefore, many Orthodox Christians strive to visit the places of their exploits or resting places in order to venerate the shrine. From pilgrimage trips, believers bring blessed prosphora, butter, and water. When taking holy water from Seraphim of Sarov or any other righteous person, you should not pour it into ten-liter cans. You need to take a maximum of half a liter. At home, pour into a larger container and add regular water. By the way, you can add water from different holy sources to one vessel with holy water.
In this article:
The evil eye is a negative energy program that differs from damage not only in the strength of its impact, but also in the method of induction. Such negativity is formed under the influence of any negative feelings and emotions of a person, for example, due to jealousy or envy. Bad feelings contribute to accumulation negative energy, which, when reaching a certain volume, can break out and cause harm to other people.
For many centuries, Holy water has been considered one of the most effective means from the evil eye and other types of negativity. Blessed water can be used both together with other methods of combating negative energy, and separately.
In addition, there are a number of cleansing magical rituals, for which you will need a liquid charged with church energy.
What is the evil eye and how to fight it
The evil eye is sometimes considered a type of damage, but this is completely incorrect, because such negativity can be caused without bad intent, and by people who do not even think about causing harm to someone. Because of this, the evil eye is the most common type of negative energy, to which any person, without exception, can become a victim.
The evil eye is enough weak form negative energy, and it’s quite easy to deal with it. In most cases, a believer will be able to get rid of negative influences with the help of prayers, icons and holy water alone.
What is holy water
Holy water is water taken from consecrated springs or churches. You can charge water with Christian pure energy yourself; to do this, just put it in a vessel with clean water sanctified pectoral cross and read the Lord's Prayer seven times. Many churchmen say that water charged in this way is not truly consecrated, since only the servants of the Lord have sufficient power to perform this ritual.
Their opinion can be easily explained, because they do not want the common man to understand that all the power lies in his very faith, and priests, churches and domes are just bright cover, but not the essence of Orthodoxy and Christianity in general.
Jesus Christ taught people faith and told them not to make idols for themselves, not to worship idols, but this is exactly what some dishonest worshipers are trying to achieve today.
You can indeed make (charge) holy water yourself, but this is only available to sincere believers who do not doubt their faith and never deviate from it.
In the matter of consecrating water, an important role is played not by who performs the ritual, but by the time of the ancient rite. It is best to charge the liquid with energy in large Orthodox holidays, especially at Epiphany, because Epiphany water has long been considered unique.
Even in our age of progress, many local residents believe that stocking up Epiphany water plenty - this is their sacred duty, and it’s hard to argue with this belief, because such miraculous water can always come in handy. This liquid can be used not only to cleanse the body and soul of negative energy, but also to get rid of a variety of diseases.
Holy water is a panacea for many ills
What was previously treated with holy water?
Our ancestors have used holy water for centuries to treat a variety of diseases. Some evidence of such use and miraculous healing has survived to this day. It is known that in Ryazan region Holy water was even used for snake bites. During Palm Matins, holy water was infused on willow buds, and it was this liquid that made it possible to fight the poison.
In the Novgorod region, Epiphany water has long been held in special esteem; it was used to treat bruises and abrasions, and was also used to lubricate any injuries on the body. In addition, it was believed that such water was the only reliable medicine for diseases in infants. Of course, today we should not forget about modern medicines, because they really can save lives.
In Rus', holy water was used not only for external and internal use. It is from then on that the tradition has survived to this day. Epiphany bathing in the ice hole, because before this the reservoir is consecrated, which means we can say that people are bathing in already holy water.
It is believed that swimming in an ice hole on Epiphany can save a person from any disease, even the most serious. Moreover, even completely healthy people are lowered into the ice hole for preventive purposes. The most amazing thing is that after such bathing there are practically no cases of colds, even for sick people cold water does not bring any complications.
Holy water today
Blessed water still retains its miraculous properties. In addition to Epiphany water, Jordan water collected on January 18, Sretenskaya water collected on February 15, and Spasovskaya water collected on August 19 are also suitable for fighting the evil eye and damage.
In order to get rid of simple evil eye Sometimes it’s enough just to sprinkle holy water on a sick person and let him drink a few sips. Small children, among other things, need to be washed with holy water and their heads moistened with it.
This method- very good flushing of household negativity If the evil eye is strong, you can use the ritual with a bath. Dial half a bath warm water, with a temperature of 36-38 degrees Celsius, and then pour some blessed water into the bath crosswise. After this, sit in the bath and read any conspiracies you know against negativity or prayers, the well-known “Our Father” will do. If after taking a bath you notice a rash or even bruises on your body, then do not be alarmed, these are good signs indicating the beginning of the process of cleansing the body of negative induced energy. In addition, you can add a few tablespoons of salt to the bath.
There are many folk superstitions about how to use and what holy water helps with:
- The best remedy for all types of spoilage is water taken from three different springs before sunrise;
- from springs and springs the water will be the cleanest and healthiest;
- Water that flows in the direction of the sun, that is, from east to west, helps well against any disease;
- clay helps purify water, therefore water from a spring or river with a clay bed will be healthier than water taken from a reservoir with a stone bed;
- water that flows down from a hill has an additional advantage;
- Water that flows from a spring and is open to the wind and sun will help protect against witchcraft;
- The human body best absorbs fresh food well water, especially if before use it sits for a day in a new clay jug with an open neck;
- holy water helps well against insomnia; for sound sleep, you can make compresses on the forehead with cold liquid;
- Warm foot baths that add non-alcoholic acid will help relieve headaches. a large number of holy water;
- To prevent bedbugs in the house, sprinkle beds and all bedding with holy water.
Holy water is one of the most powerful sources of Christian energy. At correct use, this liquid can help in a variety of life situations, ranging from manifestations of negative magical energy to difficulties in personal life and illness.
It is only important to remember that holy water will have power only if you yourself believe in this power, in the power of God. True believers in any situation will not need other sources otherworldly force, except for the icon, holy water and prayer.
Holy water is no different in its composition and origin from any other water. It acquires its healing and miraculous properties thanks to the performance of a special sacrament over it - the service of water blessing.
For the first time a person encounters consecrated water during Baptism- he is dipped three times into a font filled with holy water. It washes away sinful impurity from a person and revives him to spiritual communion with the Savior.
In addition, it is often used to perform the rite of consecration of premises and during religious services. Water is an extraordinary element. It can carry both healing power and destruction.
Until now, science cannot explain why a person who has swam in an ice hole for Epiphany almost never gets sick. And ablution in Maundy Thursday leads to healing from various diseases.
IN Christian tradition the use of this shrine dates back to the 2nd century AD. For the first time, the custom of consecrating homes with it was introduced by Pope Alexander the First. This ritual was described in the Acts of the Apostle Peter.
At the end of the 2nd - beginning of the 3rd century, the blessing of water before baptism began. The same tradition was described in detail in the works of St. John Chrysostom. However, the saint did not report anything about performing any rituals or reading prayers over the water. Holiness was determined by the date of the feast of the Epiphany, and everyone could dial in vessel of holy water from any source or a reservoir located near the temple.
According to the Christian historian Theodore the Reader, who lived in the 5th-6th centuries. , for the first time, the consecration of water with the help of a prayer similar to the Eucharistic was introduced by Peter Gnafevs, who occupied the chair of the Antiochian Church at that time.
Peter Gnafevs allegedly came up with the idea of performing the sacrament of consecration right in the temple in the presence of all the people. During the temple service on the Feast of the Epiphany, prayer invocations were made over the waters, and the Mother of God was mentioned. At every liturgy the Creed was read. All this information was confirmed by another historian Christian Church from Byzantium - Nikephoros Callistus Xanthopulos, who lived in the 16th century.
Gradually, from Antioch, the rite of the Epiphany blessing of water spread to all Orthodox churches of Byzantium. It became a mandatory requirement that the ritual be performed by a priest or bishop.
Blessing of water is usually divided into great and small. The Great Blessing of the Water is performed only on the Feast of the Epiphany ( Epiphany Christmas Eve) or the Baptism of the Lord itself. The water obtained on this holiday is considered the most powerful and healing and is also called agiasma. On this day all water from any source acquires sacred properties.
Small water blessings are carried out repeatedly throughout the year.
The Great Blessing of Water is usually called due to the special solemnity of the rite. The sacrament itself became a prototype of the washing of sins and the sanctification of the water itself.
According to the Charter, the Great Blessing of Water is performed at the end of the liturgy after the completion of the prayer behind the pulpit on the feast of Epiphany itself. In addition, water can be blessed on the eve of Epiphany (this happens on January 18).
Directly on the day of Epiphany, the consecration ritual is carried out with a solemn religious procession. This procession takes place to the springs and is known as the March to the Jordan.
Three-ringed water is also made at Epiphany, which, according to many people, has incredible power. To do this, agiasma is collected in three temples so that the bell ringing of one is not heard in the other. It must be brought home in complete silence and poured into a single vessel.
It has long been noticed that the water that is collected on this holiday lasts for years and does not lose its freshness and its healing qualities. If ordinary pure water is diluted with such water, the latter also acquires miraculous properties. This is explained by the fact that holy water has harmonized structure. She has unique abilities and powerful miraculous energy.
Researchers have conducted a large number of experiments that have confirmed these properties. It was noticed that if you wash your face with such water and drink a few sips with faith and prayer, human energy improves significantly.
This has a positive effect on overall health and mental balance.
Areas of water use
Agiasma can be used in several ways:
- You can simply drink it. In this case, drinking water from a common vessel is not allowed. Each person should use a separate glass.
- You can sprinkle your home or the place where you work.
- If you have been exposed to someone else's negative impact(evil eye) - ordinary washing with holy water can help. Both children and adults can wash themselves with such a shrine.
- If the evil eye is very strong or damage has been caused, you can take a bath. In this case, there is no need to remove the pectoral cross.
It is best to store sacred water in separate vessel. You can stick an inscription on it so that you do not accidentally use it for other purposes. You can also get a special vessel for the shrine. They are sold in church shops.
It is very important to remember that it must be handled with extreme care and precision. If the container has been standing for a very long time and the contents have acquired a greenish tint, it is best to pour it into any natural source. Under no circumstances should it be poured into the sewer system. If water is poured onto the ground, it should be in a place where animals and people do not walk. You can pour it into the grass in a flowerbed, where there is a clean place under bushes and trees, or into a pot with a houseplant.
Sometimes it happens that water becomes unusable for internal use. It is best to pour it into an open “non-stagnant” body of water - a river or stream. The dishes in which the shrine was kept should not be used for household purposes.
If this happens, this is a serious reason to think about it and begin to lead a more righteous and pious life.
How to drink holy water correctly
In order for water to fully reveal its wonderful properties, you need to drink it subject to some rules:
- You can drink it in the morning on an empty stomach or before bedtime. evening time. You need to pour a small amount of liquid into your own separate container.
- If necessary, you can ingest any amount of water without restrictions. You can drink regardless of whether you ate food the day before.
- After the liquid has been drunk, it is necessary to read a special prayer for healing. It helps treat many chronic ailments.
- Can be used as a compress, which is applied to a sore spot.
- Before taking water blessed on the feast of Epiphany, you will need to read a special prayer and make the sign of the blessing upon yourself sign of the cross.
When accepting a shrine, you must ensure that not a drop is spilled. And sincere faith in the power and help of the Almighty is very important.
Consecration and cleansing of housing
It often happens that strangers become overly interested in the details of your life. This can be done either consciously or completely arbitrarily, seeing your successes and achievements.
Some people will show sincere joy and wish you prosperity, while others may be jealous. To avoid such undesirable effects on your home and life in general, you can sprinkle your house or apartment.
In addition, you can sprinkle other things that may become the subject of envy - for example, new car. However, your home ranks high on this list. After all, it is in our home that we spend a significant part of our time. Our relationships with family and friends are greatly influenced by the atmosphere in the house. However, it also happens that a negative impact was left by the previous owners.
To perform a cleansing ritual, use holy water and a candle. It is necessary to walk around the home in a circle from east to west, making the sign of the cross on the corners and walls and saying at the same time “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” The best way to do this is to use the water that you collected in church on the feast of the Epiphany.
How to get rid of the evil eye of a child
Young children are very often exposed negative influence from outside(evil eye). Very often the mother is at a loss and does not know how to behave if the baby is crying and cannot calm down. In this case, holy water can also come to the rescue. If a child has been exposed to the evil eye during his first years of life, he can be washed and wiped with the hem of his mother’s dress or shirt:
- You can perform a symbolic ritual of washing the baby. Then they go to the threshold of their house and say the prayer “Our Father”. You can give your child a small amount of water to drink. Even if you boil it, it will not lose its wonderful qualities. After such a simple treatment, the baby very quickly calms down and falls asleep.
- There is another ritual to remove the evil eye from young children. To carry it out, the mother takes a small amount of water into her mouth and stands in the doorway so that the threshold is between her feet. You need to say the following words to yourself: “Like water from a tooth, so let all reproaches and admonitions go away from the baby (name). Then the child's face is washed three times and wiped dry with the wrong side of the hem of the mother's dress.
- To perform another ritual, agiasma must be spilled on the floor. At the same time, the following words are slandered at her: “Water from the top of the head, sorrow from the baby. Wherever it came from, it merged there. Whoever attacks a child with malice will return with writhing. Amen".
All these simple rituals allow you to very quickly bring the child back to peace and remove negative energy effects.
If blessed water “didn’t help”
Some people, wondering how to properly drink holy water at home, fear that it will not have its healing effect. As Saint Theophan the Recluse wrote: “All God’s grace that comes from consecrated objects - the Cross, icons, relics, bread - has miraculous power only in relation to those who are worthy of this grace. This can be achieved through humility and prayers of repentance, serving goodness and doing mercy. If there is none of this, no grace will help. Shrines do not act “automatically,” like magical talismans, and do not benefit those who are wicked, have no virtues and are ready to turn any shrine into a meme.”
According to the works of the Venerable Archimandrite Ambrose (Ermakov), today one can observe countless cases miraculous healings. However, sacred water will give healing only to those who accept it with pious prayer and living faith in the Lord and the power of the Holy Church. To receive help and healing, you must have a sincere intention to change your life, repent and find salvation. The Lord's miracles happen only where they are expected for the purpose of salvation, and not out of idle curiosity. For the shrine to be useful, it is necessary to keep your thoughts, soul and actions pure..
There is a widespread belief that if you swim in an ice hole during the feast of the Epiphany, it will allow you to baptized people cleanse yourself from all sins. This is a misconception. Swimming in Jordan is just a good old tradition. TO church sacraments she has nothing to do with it. It is possible to be freed from all sins and to be reconciled with the Lord and the Church only as a result of prayers, repentance and confession in the temple of God.
Attention, TODAY only!
January 19 is one of the days on which everyone Orthodox churches crowded to capacity, because it is on this day that the Church celebrates the Baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ and ancient tradition The consecration of water is performed, which is called the Great Blessing of Water. Unfortunately, this one religious holiday accompanied by a trail of various folk superstitions that have no basis in church tradition. Together with the cleric of the Saratov Church of the Supreme Apostles Peter and Paul, priest Vasily KUTSENKO, we will try to consider the most common superstitions in order to understand how to treat holy water and what to do with it according to church tradition.
1. There is “Epiphany” water (blessed on January 18, on Epiphany Eve) and “Epiphany” water (blessed on January 19, the very day of the Epiphany).The Great Blessing of Water is performed twice, this is true. The first blessing of water is on the eve of the Epiphany holiday, January 18, on Epiphany Eve, and the second on the day of the holiday itself. But there is no difference in this water, because on both January 18 and 19 the same rite (that is, sequence of prayers) of water blessing is used. Water consecrated according to this rite is called the Great Agiasma, that is, the Great Shrine. There is no separate “Epiphany” and separate “Epiphany” water, but only the Great Hagiasma. In liturgical books Orthodox Church The feast of the Epiphany is called “Holy Epiphany, the Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The word "Epiphany" is a short expression of the events that occurred during the Baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist on the Jordan River. The Gospel of Matthew describes it this way: “Having been baptized, Jesus immediately came out of the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and John saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and descending on Him. And behold, a voice from heaven said: This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:16-17). That is, Baptism was a manifestation of Divine glory and confirmation of the Sonship of God of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is difficult to accurately answer the question of what the practice of two water blessings is connected with. It is known that already in the 6th century in Palestine there was a tradition of consecrating water in the Jordan River on the eve and on the day of the feast of Epiphany. IN Ancient Rus' there was a custom, which is still preserved in some places, to perform the Great Blessing of Water on January 18 in the temple, and on January 19 outside the temple, organizing procession to a specially prepared ice hole - Jordan.
2. On the day of the Baptism of the Lord, having plunged into an ice font or doused yourself with water, you can consider yourself baptized and wear a cross.
Indeed, there is a tradition of swimming in an ice hole on the feast of the Epiphany. But this is precisely bathing, and not the Sacrament of Baptism. Although, if you get acquainted with the history of the feast of the Epiphany, you can see that this particular day used to be the day on which adults were baptized. A person who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for a certain time prepared to accept the Sacrament of Baptism, which was a new birth for life with God and entry into the Church. Such people were called catechumens. They studied Holy Bible and basics Christian faith and prepared to repent of all their sins before accepting Baptism, because the adoption of Christianity must begin with repentance, that is, with a change in life. Therefore, Baptism without repentance was simply impossible. And so, on the feast of the Epiphany of the Lord, the bishop performed the Sacrament of Baptism for adults. Such baptisms were also performed on the eve of the Nativity of Christ, on Holy Saturday (the Saturday before Easter), on Easter itself and on the Feast of Pentecost, which is also called the day of the Holy Trinity or the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles. The Great Blessing of Water on the day of the Epiphany is a reminder for modern Christians of the ancient baptism of catechumens. But we must remember that the reception of the Sacrament of Baptism was preceded by preparation, repentance of sins and confirmation of the sincerity of one’s intentions before the church community. Therefore, it cannot be said that plunging into the Jordan hole and receiving Baptism are the same thing.
3. By swimming in an ice hole on Epiphany night, you can get rid of all diseases, sins and the evil eye. If you get sick during the year, you need to drink Epiphany water for healing.
It is necessary to place emphasis: separately - illness and sin, separately - the evil eye. The evil eye, damage and the like are superstitions. And you need to get rid of only one thing - belief in superstition. Christians believe in God, and not in evil eyes, damage, love spells, etc. When we turn to God in prayer, we ask that God protect us from evil. For example, in the prayer “Our Father” there are the words: “Deliver us from the evil one,” that is, from the devil. Devil - fallen Angel who opposes God and wants to turn people away from God, that’s why we ask God to deliver us from the devil and all the evil that he is trying to sow in people. If a person sincerely believes in God, in the fact that the Lord God protects believers from all evil, then at the same time it is impossible to believe in damage, the evil eye, and the like.
When accepting Epiphany water (like any other shrine, for example, prosphora or blessed oil- oil) a person can pray to the Lord that this shrine would serve him as a means of healing from illnesses. In the rite of the Great Blessing of Water there are the following words: “Let us pray to the Lord for the gift of this water of consecration, for the removal of sins, for the healing of soul and body, and for every good benefit” (Russian translation: “So that this water of consecration may become a gift, deliverance from sins, for healing of soul and body and fit for every useful work, let us pray to the Lord." We ask that through the use of agiasma a person receives the grace of God, cleansing sins and healing mental and physical infirmities. But all this is not some kind of mechanical or automatic action: I drank water - and everything immediately became fine. What is needed here is faith and hope in God.
If we understand some words (for example, “today - that is, today, now - the waters are sanctified by nature ...") from the rite of the Great Blessing of Waters in a broad sense, then we can say that the consecration of all waters actually occurs. But again, it is important to understand that this does not happen on its own, but through the prayers of the Church. The Church asks that the Lord God sanctify the waters, give His grace-filled power to cleanse and sanctify the nature of the water. Unfortunately, it often happens that many come to the temple specifically for water, without participating in the service of the feast of the Epiphany. It turns out that Epiphany water becomes an end in itself. And this is wrong. First of all, we must glorify God for his good deeds to the human race, which He revealed through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who took upon Himself the sins of the whole world, because it is in memory of the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan that the consecration of water is carried out.
5. Epiphany water never spoils.
There is testimony from St. John Chrysostom, who lived in the 4th century: “On this holiday, everyone, having drawn water, brings it home and keeps it all year... The essence of this water does not deteriorate over time, but... for a whole year, and often for two or three years it remains intact and fresh and after such a long time is not inferior to waters just taken from springs.” But it also happens that Epiphany water can spoil. This happens either due to careless storage, an irreverent attitude towards the shrine, or due to some other completely natural reasons. In this case, you need to pour holy water into an untrodden place (in churches there are special “dry wells” for this purpose).
6. You need to add Epiphany water to the bath in which babies are bathed so that they do not get sick.
I think this is also one of the superstitions. Every person can get sick. And great saints suffered from physical illnesses. For example, Venerable Seraphim Sarovsky could not straighten his back due to the injury. He was attacked by robbers and severely beaten. Saint Matrona of Moscow was blind from birth until the end of her days. No one forbids giving holy Epiphany water to infants (it is still better to drink holy water), including during illness. But in Once again it is necessary to recall that the use of a shrine is not a mechanism, but an action that requires faith and hope in God.
There is a tradition: to sprinkle houses, plots and everything that is there with water taken from the temple on the day of the Epiphany. Therefore, it is quite possible to sprinkle your home and household items with Epiphany water. At the same time, you can sing or read the troparion (the main hymn) of the holiday: “I am baptized in the Jordan, Lord...”.
It is forbidden. This superstition is probably also due to a misunderstanding of church traditions. Water consecrated on the feast of Epiphany, even being a Great Shrine, as has already been said, still cannot replace the communion of the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Although, for example, there are certain similarities in the practice of Communion and drinking agiasma - you need to take communion and drink agiasma on an empty stomach. This emphasizes the special attitude towards water blessed for Epiphany. According to the rules of the Church, the Great Hagiasma was recommended to be used as spiritual consolation for people who, for various reasons, were excommunicated from the Sacrament of Communion, that is, it was not a question of a complete and equivalent replacement, but only of spiritual consolation.
8. And a simple person can sanctify water on his own by reading prayers over it.
Indeed, the prayers of the Great Blessing of Water, like all other church prayers, are performed on behalf of the entire Church. The priest, calling believers to prayer, says: “Let us pray to the Lord in peace!” (Russian translation: “In peace, that is, in a peaceful state, let us pray to the Lord!”) - we will pray, that is, all those who are at the service. Believers are not observers of what is happening, but living participants in worship, together with the clergy, offering a single prayer to God. Therefore, we can say that each believer participates in sanctification through his own prayer, which becomes the single prayer of the entire Church. Therefore, in order to participate in the Great Blessing of Water, each of us can come to the church service on January 19.
Newspaper "Saratov Panorama" No. 2 (930)