In
Catholicism,
Lutheranism,
Anglicanism,
Eastern Orthodoxy,
Oriental Orthodoxy and some other
churches, holy water is water that has been sanctified by a
priest for the purpose of baptism, for the
blessing of persons, places, and objects, or as a means of repelling evil.
History The
Apostolic Constitutions, whose texts date to , attribute the precept of using holy water to the
Apostle Matthew. It is plausible that the earliest Christians may have used water for
expiatory and
purificatory purposes in a way analogous to
its employment in Jewish Law ("And he shall take holy water in an earthen vessel, and he shall cast a little earth of the pavement of the tabernacle into it", Numbers 5:17). Yet in many cases, the water used for the
sacrament of
Baptism was flowing water, sea- or river-water, which — in the view of the
Catholic Church — could not receive the same blessing as that water contained in the baptisteries. However, Eastern Orthodox Christians perform the same blessing, whether in a baptistery or at an outdoor body of water.
Use and storage Sprinkling with holy water is used as a
sacramental that recalls
baptism. In the West, the blessing of the water is traditionally accompanied by exorcism and by the addition of exorcised and
blessed salt. ) at the church of
Santa Maria degli Angeli,
Rome Holy water is kept in the
holy water font, which is typically located at the entrance to the church (or sometimes in a separate room or building called a
baptistery). Smaller vessels, called
stoups, are usually placed at the entrances of the church, to enable people to bless themselves with it on entering. In the Middle Ages Christians esteemed the power of holy water so highly that in some places fonts had locked covers to prevent the theft of holy water for unauthorized
magic practices. The Constitutions of
Archbishop Edmund Rich (1236) prescribe that: "Fonts are to be kept under lock and key, because of witchcraft (
sortilege). Similarly the
chrism and sacred oil are kept locked up."
Proper disposal In Catholicism, holy water, as well as the water used during the washing of the priest's hands at Mass, is not allowed to be disposed of in regular plumbing. Roman Catholic churches will usually have a special basin (a ) that leads directly into the ground for the purpose of proper disposal. A hinged lid is kept over the holy water basin to distinguish it from a regular sink basin, which is often just beside it. Items that contained holy water are separated, drained of the holy water, and then washed in a regular manner in the adjacent sink.
Hygiene Holy water fonts have been identified as a potential source of bacterial and viral infection. In the late-19th century,
bacteriologists found
staphylococci,
streptococci,
coli bacilli,
Loeffler's bacillus, and other bacteria in samples of holy water taken from a church in
Sassari, Italy. In a study performed in 1995, 13 samples were taken when a burn patient acquired a bacterial infection after exposure to holy water. The samples in that study were shown to have a "wide range of bacterial species", some of which could cause infection in humans. During the
swine-flu epidemic of 2009,
Bishop John Steinbock of
Fresno, California, recommended that "holy water should not be in the fonts" for fear of spreading infections. Also in response to the swine flu, an automatic, motion-detecting holy-water dispenser was invented and installed in an Italian church in 2009. In 2020, because of the
COVID-19 pandemic,
Episcopal Conferences directed that holy water be removed from the fonts or stoups.
Christian traditions Roman Catholics Sacramental and sanctification A blessing, as a prayer, is a
sacramental. By blessing water, Catholic priests praise God and ask for his grace. The Sunday liturgy may begin with the Rite of Blessing and Sprinkling Holy Water, in which holy water is sprinkled upon the congregation; this is called "aspersion" (from the Latin, , "to sprinkle"). This ceremony dates back to the 9th century. An "aspergill" or
aspergillum is a brush or branch used to sprinkle the water. An is the vessel which holds the holy water and into which the aspergillum is dipped, though elaborate
Ottonian examples are known as .
Blessed salt may be added to the water where it is customary to do so. The Catholic Church teaches this use of holy water and making a sign of the cross when entering a church reflects a renewal of baptism, a cleansing of
venial sin, as well as providing protection against evil. It is sometimes accompanied by the following prayer: Some Catholics believe that water from specific shrines (such as
Lourdes) can bring healing – although that water is not the same as typical holy water found in parishes, since it has not been blessed by a
priest.
Formula The traditional Latin formula for blessing the water is as follows: A priest may choose from three other formulae found in the
Book of Blessings for blessing water. They are to be accompanied by the priest blessing the water with the
sign of the cross. They are as follows:
V. Blessed are you, Lord, all-powerful God, who in Christ, the living water of salvation, blessed and transformed us. Grant that when we are sprinkled with this water or make use of it, we will be refreshed inwardly by the power of the Holy Spirit and continue to walk in the new life we received at Baptism. We ask this though Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.
V. Lord, holy Father, look with kindness on your children redeemed by your Son and born to a new life by water and the Holy Spirit. Grant that those who are sprinkled with this water may be renewed in body and spirit and may make a pure offering of their service to you. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.
V. O God, the Creator of all things, by water and the Holy Spirit you have given the universe its beauty and fashioned us in your own image.
R. Bless and purify your Church.
V. O Christ the Lord, from your pierced side you gave us your sacraments as fountains of salvation.
R. Bless and purify your Church.
V. Priest: O Holy Spirit, giver of life, from the baptismal font of the Church you have formed us into a new creation in the waters of rebirth.
R. Bless and purify your Church.
Protection against evil , by
Rubens, 1615 In his book
The Externals of the Catholic Church, originally published in 1917, Fr. John F. Sullivan writes: The prayers said over the water are addressed to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, that through the power of the Blessed
Trinity the spirits of evil may be utterly expelled from this world and lose all influence over mankind. Then God is besought to bless the water, that it may be effective in driving out
devils and in curing diseases; that wherever it is sprinkled there may be freedom from pestilence and from the snares of
Satan. Catholic saints have written about the power of holy water as a force that repels evil. Saint
Teresa of Avila (1515-1582), a
Doctor of the Church who reported
visions of Jesus and Mary, believed fervently in the power of holy water and stated that she used it with success to repel evil and temptations. She wrote: The 20th-century
nun and
mystic Saint Faustina in her diary (paragraph 601) said she once sprinkled a dying sister with holy water to drive away demons. Although this was wrong to do, since it was the priest's duty, she remarked, "holy water is indeed of great help to the dying". In
Holy Water and Its Significance for Catholics, Cistercian priest Henry Theiler states that in addition to being a strong force in repelling evil, holy water has the twofold benefit of providing
grace for both body and soul. The new excludes the
exorcism prayer on the water. Exorcised and
blessed salt has traditionally been added to the holy water as well. Priests can continue to use the older form if they wish as confirmed by Pope Benedict XVI in , which states "What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too".
Eastern Christians , 1921 Among the
Eastern Orthodox and the
Byzantine Rite Catholics, holy water is used frequently in rites of
blessing and
exorcism, and the water for baptism is always sanctified with a special blessing. There are two rites for blessing holy water: the "Great Blessing of Waters", which is held on the
Feast of
Theophany and at baptisms, and the "Lesser Blessing of Waters" which is conducted according to need and local custom during the rest of the year, certain feast days calling for the Lesser Blessing of Waters as part of their liturgical observance. Both forms are based upon the Rite of Baptism. After the blessing of holy water the faithful are sprinkled with it and each drinks some of it. Holy water is drunk by the faithful after it is blessed and it is a common custom for the pious to drink holy water every morning. In the monasteries of
Mount Athos holy water is always drunk in conjunction with consuming
antidoron. Eastern Orthodox do not typically bless themselves with holy water upon entering a church as Western Catholics do, but a quantity of holy water is often kept in a
font placed in the
narthex (entrance) of the church, available for anyone who would like to partake of it or to take some of it home. After the annual Great Blessing of Waters at
Theophany (also known as
Epiphany), the priest goes to the homes of the faithful within his parish and, in predominantly Orthodox lands, to the buildings throughout town, and blesses them with holy water. When blessing objects such as the palms on
Palm Sunday,
Paschal eggs and other foods for
Easter, candles, or liturgical instruments and sacred vessels (at least in some traditions, such as in that of the Georgian Orthodox Church,
icons and crosses must also be blessed, as they are not considered intrinsically holy and redeemed), 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." Throughout the centuries, members of the Orthodox Church have believed many springs of water to be miraculous. Some still flow, such as the one at
Pochaev Lavra in
Ukraine, and the Life-Giving Spring of the
Theotokos in
Constantinople (commemorated on
Bright Friday).
Anglicans Although "Holy water" is not a term used in official rites of the
Church of England, font water is sanctified in the Church of England baptism rite. In contrast, the
Episcopal Church (United States) does expressly mention the optional use of holy water in some recent liturgies of blessing. More generally, the use of water within
High Church Anglicanism or
Anglo-Catholicism adheres closely to Roman Catholic practice. In many Anglican churches baptismal water is used for the
asperges. A widely used Anglo-Catholic manual,
Ritual Notes, first published by A. R. Mowbray in 1894, discusses the blessing and use of holy water. In addition to "the pious custom" of blessing oneself on entering and leaving a church "in memory of our baptism and in token of the purity of heart with which we should worship Almighty God", the book commends that "Holy water should be obtained from the parish priest, may be (and indeed should be) taken away and kept for use privately by the faithful in their homes." An English translation of the traditional rite for the blessing of water and
salt, including the exorcisms, was included in the
Anglican Missal. Shorter forms are found in ''A Priest's Handbook
by Dennis G. Michno, and Ceremonies of the Eucharist'' by Howard E. Galley. Some parishes use a stoup, basin, or font to make holy water available for the faithful to use in blessing themselves, making the
sign of the cross upon entering the
church. In the
Book of Occasional Services of the
Episcopal Church (United States), in the rite for Restoring of Things Profaned, the bishop or priest while processing around the church or chapel recites
Psalm 118 with the
antiphon : A rubric directs that as each profaned object is addressed, "it may be symbolically cleansed by the use of signs of purification, such as water or incense."
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Holy water is important to the
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and regarded as healing from demonic possession and for treating sick people, particularly in cases of mental illness. It can be consumed or poured over someone supposed to be afflicted by harmful things. A majority of studies show that many Ethiopians prefer holy water for biomedical purposes, especially for treatment of
HIV/AIDS. Pilgrims visit different monasteries such as Tsadkane Mariam and Entoto Kidane Mehret to acquire holy water. Besides, holy water also used for Ethiopian Orthodox holidays such as
Timkat (Epiphany) where Christians gather at notable squares and churches and priests bless holy water and spatter them. In
Gondar, the
Fasilides Bath is used to bathe and represents the
Jordan River.
Lutherans The use of holy water in some synods of
Lutheranism is for the
baptism of infants and new members of the church. The water is believed to be blessed by God, as it is used in a
sacrament. The water is applied to the forehead of the laity being baptised and the minister performs the
sign of the cross. Lutherans tend to have baptismal water fonts near the entrance of the church. Other synods do not use holy water but do typically treat the water used for baptisms in a respectful manner.
Methodists In the
Methodist tradition, Holy Baptism is often administered by sprinkling or pouring holy water over the candidate. The official Baptismal Liturgy, as well as the liturgy for Reaffirmation of Baptism commonly done through asperges, has a prayer for the blessing of this water: == Other religions ==