Ceremonies

4.4. Great Blessing of Waters

The use of holy water is based on the Baptism of Jesus by St. John the Baptist in the River Jordan. In the Orthodox interpretation, St. John performed 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 of blessing the water, making it holy. The rites of Greater and Lesser Blessing of Waters have been established by the Church to reproduce the miracle of Christ. Holy water is used throughout Christendom as a way of invoking God's blessing and protection.

The Baptism of Jesus is commemorated by the Eastern Orthodox Church on the Great Feast of Theophany. On this occasion, holy water is blessed twice: at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy on the eve of the feast, and on morning of the feast itself.

The service includes singing hymns of the Theophany and selected Scripture readings (Isaiah 35:1-10, Isaiah 55:1-13, Isaiah 12:3-6, and 1 Corinthians 10:1-4), culminating in the baptism account from the Gospel of Saint Mark (1:9-11) followed by the Great Litany. The clergy and the faithful then form a procession led by the cross to the nearest body of living water.

Following a lengthy set of didactic prayers that expound on the nature of the feast and recounts the Salvation history, praising God's creation of and mastery over the elements, the priest makes the Sign of the Cross over the water with his hand and prays specifically for the blessing to be invoked upon it. At the climax of the service, the priest casts a cross in the waters. A number of volunteers dive to recover the cross. The person who gets the cross first swims back and returns it to the priest, who then delivers a special blessing to the swimmer and their household.

If the cross freezes inside the water, it is believed that the year will be healthy and fruitful. All the faithful wash at the spot where the cross was cast in the waters and the sick are sprinkled with the blessed water to be healed by its miraculous powers.

In Bulgarian folk tradition, it was customary that only young men dived in the water to recover the cross. However, the Orthodox Church does not explicitly prohibit women from participating in ritual.

After the cross has been recovered, the priest blesses the entire church and congregation with the newly consecrated water. All come forward to be sprinkled over the head with the Holy Water as they kiss the cross. The priest then sets out to bless the homes of all of the faithful with the sanctified water. In monasteries the Hegumen blesses the cells of all of the monks.

Christian Orthodox theology teaches that the Great Blessing of Waters rite actually changes the nature of the water so that the blessed water is no longer corruptible and remains fresh for many years. This miracle has been attested to as early as St. John Chrysostom.

The Great Blessing of Waters is normally performed only once during the year – on the Great Feast of Theophany. However, at the consecration of a temple, a Great Blessing of Waters will often precede the service.

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