From our article you will learn how to independently perform the ceremony of consecrating your home, car and workplace with holy water.
We all know that our thoughts, with a strong desire, can materialize into reality. The most unpleasant thing is that this applies to both our dreams and our worries. It has long been proven that if a person is afraid of some kind of disease, then sooner or later he will develop it. In addition, anger, envy and swearing have a negative effect on a person.
If there is a lot of negative energy in the house in which a family lives, then it will inevitably begin to poison people’s lives. That is why it is extremely important to clear the space around you of negativity several times a year. You can carry out the cleansing ritual with the help of Epiphany water and a church candle.
Holy water at home, how to use holy water
Water brought from church washes away sin and gives new life. It is a mandatory attribute at all services and is indispensable for the consecration of housing, cars, and objects. Without it, not a single religious procession or consecration on a holiday can take place.
Water can only be holy if it is consecrated in church during the liturgy by a clergyman. It is impossible to carry out such a ceremony yourself. What you “make” yourself will be enchanted water, which you use as needed, but no more.
If there is no shrine in the house, it is empty, life in it does not have God's blessing. She is accepted with faith and prayers; she is a healer for soul and body.
- Using the shrine for household needs:
- Take for those who are sick, a spoon several times a day;
- They sprinkle on relatives who are going on a trip, to an important event, an exam, an interview, etc.;
- They sprinkle children on the first of September, blessing them with new achievements, successes, knowledge;
- The threshold of the home and all the rooms are blessed;
- If the water has an odor, you can water your indoor plants or pour it under a fruit-bearing tree;
- The Holy Fathers lament. Don’t take water from the church on Epiphany with a bucket; a small bottle is enough. A small drop of water brought can sanctify a bucket from a well or any available one;
- The priests remind that the Law of God prohibits giving baptism water to livestock and pets. An exception may be cases when they are plagued by fatal diseases. Then you can add a couple of drops to your general drink. Sprinkling of sick and healthy pets is allowed;
- You should not add water while bathing; such actions desecrate all good beginnings. Washing is recommended for adults and children;
- Only weapons that are kept in the house for protection, such as guns, are allowed to be blessed;
- Brought from baptism, you need to share it with your neighbors. By showing God's mercy to your loved ones and relatives, you become closer to the Lord, bestow a piece of Him, fulfill His word;
- Once brought into the house, it does not require disinfection by freezing or sterilization by boiling. She is cleansed by the Word of God and the cross;
- Blessed water can and should be drunk on critical days, for those who were not allowed to confession and communion;
- Epiphany water is stored until the next baptism. What is important is not the ritual of taking it, what is important is confession and communion on this great day;
- This water is used to drink drunk people and sober their minds.
Before drinking Epiphany or other blessed waters, the following prayer is read:
The prayer is read at every beginning before using the consecrated waters. You can use not only Epiphany, Jordan, but also consecrated for the Savior, Easter, Candlemas, Bright Week, and other holidays on which the rite of consecration of water takes place.
A prayer that is read when consecrating an apartment on your own
O holy saint of God Blasie! In the contrition and humility of our hearts, we fall before you and pray: shine upon us, darkened by the slander of the enemy, with the light of grace from above, so that walking in it, we will not stumble our feet on a stone.
You, as a vessel chosen in honor and filled with the grace of God, we pray: grant us, sinners, the desired acceptance from your fulfillment, and heal our mental and physical ulcers, and ask the Lord for forgiveness of our sin and for our mental and physical health, salvation beneficial We always glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and your merciful intercession for our souls and bodies, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
When taking holy water:
consecrated in church
The church distributes water to all parishioners throughout the year. It is consecrated in a small rite at every service. The rite of great consecration takes place only on the feast of Epiphany. All water brought from the Holy Abode of God is consecrated and has the same power.
holy water for baptism
On Epiphany there is a great rite of consecration. They begin to rule on the 18th, after the service you can get some Jordanian water. But after the night and early 19th, the entire Orthodox world brings home Epiphany.
Which house or apartment is considered unclean?
From the point of view of the church, a home is considered unclean in which in the past or now they indulge in debauchery, drink, take drugs, swear, and fight. In addition, housing where a murder or suicide was committed falls into this category.
Such a house has negative energy and, perhaps, demons live in it, so it is uncomfortable and even dangerous to live here. Such a dwelling especially needs to be sanctified in order to drive out the dark force and call on God's blessing. The cleansing of an unclean house should be entrusted to a church minister.
Holy water and candle for blessing
To carry out the consecration ceremony, you must adhere to the following rules:
- One-day fast on the eve of consecration;
- It is advisable to attend the early service, confess and receive communion. They go to work on an empty stomach. Before confession and communion, you cannot even drink water;
- If it is not possible to stand the service and confess, skip this condition;
- Buy 6 candles from the church shop;
- We light one at the face of Jesus, the Mother of God, and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. We pray at each icon, asking for blessings and intercession, help in cleaning the home;
- We carry three candles into the house;
- If you find yourself at a festive liturgy, wait until the end and take water blessed by the small rite. If not and the service is already over, buy it at the temple shop;
- When you come home, tie a scarf (for women) and begin the ritual;
- Light a candle with matches and start walking around the house to the right. You need to go around all corners, openings, jambs, including windows. If soot is visible somewhere, or a flame is crackling, linger until it completely subsides. Finish your walk where you started, at the door;
- Afterwards, sprinkle everything with the prepared water;
Supposed to read:
Cleaning is repeated three times in a row, only on Thursdays. In subsequent times, you need to adhere to fasting; if you don’t go out to visit the temple, you read a series of prayers. At the end of this act, a prayer of gratitude.
How to prepare a home for consecration
You need to carefully prepare for the ceremony. To do this, do the following:
- Thoroughly clean the home, change bed linen, empty the house of garbage, broken things and other rubbish.
- If there are no baptized people in the family, at least one person needs to be baptized. Only those who have undergone the sacrament of baptism can consecrate a house with holy water, otherwise the ritual will have no effect.
- Cleanse yourself physically and spiritually. To do this, you need to pray, fast, attend church, avoid foul language, bad habits, and do not abuse alcohol. Before the ceremony, all family members must wash themselves thoroughly.
- Install the home iconostasis and prepare the “red corner”. There should be no unnecessary items, decorative candles (only church candles) and artificial flowers.
- We need to prepare our relatives: explain what is happening, set them up for proper behavior. If the ceremony is performed by a priest, upon arrival you need to ask him for a blessing, and after the ceremony, venerate the cross.
- If family members do not wear crosses in everyday life, they must be put on before the ritual.
How to bless a car with holy water
A car today has long ceased to be a luxury. It is an integral part of our lives; we spend a lot of time in it. It is also worth understanding that riding it is quite dangerous. You can protect yourself with icons, prayer and a special rite of consecration of vehicles. Transport includes everything you can ride on, except a bicycle.
For consecration, the transport must be driven to the church. The priest does not travel for such events. A series of prayers are read, the vehicle is blessed inside, outside, and under the hood. An icon, maybe a cross, is attached to the interior.
The priest will tell you some rules that must be strictly followed after the rite of consecration:
- There is no smoking inside the car;
- Adhere to traffic rules;
- Being irresponsible on the road, breaking rules, risking your own and others’ lives is a mortal sin. If all this begins to happen in a consecrated car, the driver has no forgiveness;
First of all, we protect not the car, but our own soul. The rite of consecration implies a general prayer, in which, in addition to the priest, the driver himself and people close to him participate.
If it is not possible to bring the car to the priest, you can carry out the rite of consecration yourself. It will not be possible to replace those strong prayers that are read by the priest. But for the time being, until you have the opportunity to come to the church, this method is a lifeline. A strongly religious person can perform such a ritual.
For the ceremony you need to have a candle purchased in the church. It must be set on fire with matches, and the car goes around in a circle (clockwise) three times.
At this time the following prayers are read:
Text of prayers:
It wouldn’t hurt at all if, before leaving home or going on a long journey, you read prayers that protect the driver himself, for example:
Consecration - what is it?
Consecration is a religious rite (requirement) of dedicating material objects to God (sacralization) in order to receive his blessing. In Orthodoxy, in this way water, holy gifts, crosses, clothing, food, buildings, and vehicles are purified from the action of the devil and demons.
As a result of the ritual, the consecrated object is intended for good deeds and becomes involved in worship. Thus, after the ritual, any room becomes suitable for prayer and is likened to a temple.
It is believed that consecration cleanses the space, protects it and even gives it healing properties. The ritual is carried out using holy, Epiphany or Sretensky water, and living fire. It is carried out by the priest once - before moving in, but if necessary (for example, after an unpleasant event or repair work) it can be repeated.
The primary consecration of the home is performed by the priest according to a special rite, consisting of prayers calling God's blessing into the home. The ritual is accompanied by drawing an image of a cross on the walls, anointing them with oil, and sprinkling them with blessed water.
A clergyman is also invited if there is a need to expel evil spirits - demons - from the house. If there are no signs of evil spirits, sprinkling the premises with holy water after special preparation can be carried out by a layman.
What else do you need to know
It should be understood that the consecration of an apartment or house is not a magical ritual, thanks to which all its residents will immediately begin to live well. It is not enough to sanctify the home; it is necessary to completely change the way of life for the better so that the Holy Spirit does not leave this house. Those family members who have not been baptized must be baptized and give up bad habits: smoking, drinking alcohol, using swear words, quarrels and other things that destroy peace in the family.
If the house is renovated in the future, you should not remove the part of the wallpaper where the crosses were painted. They cannot be re-glued or painted a second time, because the ceremony of consecrating a home is carried out once in one room. It will not be possible to call a clergyman again for a similar purpose.
The meaning of ritual in Orthodoxy
Some people often wonder whether it is so important to consecrate a home if believers live in it and do not do any evil? The Church believes that the consecration of a house is an invitation of the Holy Spirit to a place where people gather to live and build their family happiness. As Hieromonk Job (Gumerov) said: “God blesses not just one person, but also any of his undertakings: education, creating a family, raising children, work and all his good deeds. We should also ask for a blessing for the house in which we are to live.”
On the other hand, if people, even after the consecration of the house, continue to live in sin, quarrel over trifles, indulge in various temptations, ignore what the Lord commanded us, then no blessing and rituals will help maintain harmony in the family and drive out demons from the house. The sacrament of sanctification must be a complement to the original decent lifestyle in Christ.
How does the consecration ritual take place?
The consecration of the home occurs within 30-60 minutes. For the first half hour, the priest conducts a blessing, the rest of the time is devoted to talking with members of the household.
The sacrament is carried out in the following order:
- The priest prepares the necessary church attributes for the ritual, and says a prayer to the Lord, asking for his blessing.
- At this time, the family stands opposite him in a semicircle, bowing their heads.
- The priest begins to read a special rite for the consecration of the house.
- Starting from the east wall, he attaches a sticker with the image of Calvary to it or draws it himself, covering it with oil (blessed oil and wine).
- Moving from the eastern wall to the southern one, and then clockwise, he sanctifies each wall.
- Then the entire apartment is sprinkled with holy water.
After the ritual, the priest conducts a conversation in the style of explaining that the Holy Spirit is now in this home and the residents of this house should lead a decent lifestyle. At the end of the entire process, the head of the family should thank the priest for his work, for this is what Jesus Christ commanded, saying that every work should be rewarded.
If the owner is uncomfortable asking a question about the amount of the donation, the church minister who sells candles in the temple will tell you about it.
Preparing the house for the arrival of the clergyman
Household members should take seriously the visit of a clergyman to their home. You should behave politely, with restraint, and avoid familiarity. When addressing a priest, you should avoid slang expressions, because the Lord Himself will speak through him on this day.
The home should be put in order, the windows should be washed, everything unnecessary should be removed from the rooms, so that nothing interferes with the priest’s movement around the house. It is also necessary to place a table covered with a clean tablecloth next to the room where the prayers will be read. Place the blessed candles in a glass filled with salt or rice. During the ritual, the priest will need to draw crosses on all 4 walls of the house; these places must be cleared of furniture.
What is needed to perform the ritual
To carry out the ceremony, you need to stock up on blessed water, which can be taken from any temple, where it is given away for free or sold for little money. Water blessed for the holidays will also work.
It is worth considering that from long-term storage it loses some of its properties and accumulates negative energy at home, so it is best to use fresh water for sprinkling. In addition, you will need a bowl, preferably a new one, chalk, church candles, a brush, and blessed oil.
What to do after the ceremony
After the consecration, a prayer-address to the Hieromartyr Basil of Sebastia is read. The house needs to be closed and left for a while. If the ceremony went well, the residents of the house will have a good mood, peace of mind and peace. They will feel cozy and comfortable.
In order for the blessing of the home to remain effective as long as possible, the family's lifestyle must be close to spiritually correct. It is important to avoid negative energy and emotions, avoiding quarrels, conflicts, foul language, bad habits and other sins. You need to regularly visit the temple, show sincere faith in God, learn to love and help your neighbors, reject envy, anger and other bad thoughts, and keep the sacred commandments.
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