Prayer before the consecration of a house with Epiphany water

When moving to a new place of residence, it is worth removing the negative energy of the room. It happens that before this there were often quarrels in it, people were swearing, or something bad happened in the house. In such a situation, the new owner will not feel good. Prayer for the consecration of an apartment can bring positive energy.

Self-blessing of an apartment - tips and rules

The consecration of a home is a grace-filled rite that allows a believer to free his home from negative energy that accumulates within its walls due to quarrels, insults, bad words and experiences. It allows you to protect your home from dark forces, as well as receive consolation and spiritual cleansing, confirm your faith and involvement in the church. It is best to entrust this ritual to a clergyman, but you can do it on your own. There are different ways to consecrate an apartment with holy water yourself, recognized by the church. There are also several rules for conducting the ceremony and preparing for it.

What is needed for an independent ritual?

How to properly consecrate a house yourself? The most important point is the strength of faith and the righteousness of a person’s life. Of course, the one who begins to perform the ceremony must be baptized.

The first thing to do is to obtain the approval of the clergyman, in other words, to receive the priest’s blessing. You need to discuss the details of the ceremony with the clergyman and decide on the method of conducting it.

Without the blessing of a clergyman, you cannot think about how to consecrate a house yourself. The performance of a ceremony by a person who has not received a blessing will have no force.

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.

Properties of water collected on Epiphany night

Not everyone understands why water is holy for Epiphany. Surprisingly, it acquires special properties on January 18 and 19. Scientists studied agiasma and came to the conclusion that it still differs from the usual structure, as well as rheological and electromagnetic characteristics. It contains charged ions. If you make ice from it, it will have a different crystal structure from that made from ordinary water.

Agiasma does not deteriorate. It remains fresh for a long time and does not acquire any unpleasant odors. She has the ability to heal and give strength. It is believed that people who drink it regularly draw closer to God and their faith strengthens. There were known cases when, with the help of agiasma, it was possible to cure even very serious illnesses.

Is it necessary to perform a ritual at all?

Often the home is sanctified before moving in, so that new residents enter into an atmosphere of holiness, purity and God's blessing. During the ritual, special grace descends on the house, ensuring a calm, peaceful and prosperous life in it, spiritually healing and blessing people for righteous deeds, protecting them from everything bad and introducing them to faith.

The source of negative energy is people, their thoughts and actions, aggression, anger, revenge, passion for the occult and superstitions, and negative information received through the media. Therefore, in any home it would not be superfluous to have consecration or at least regular sprinkling with holy water, which you can do yourself.

Signs that a home needs cleansing and blessing:

something often breaks or breaks in it;
healthy plants die and animals do not take root;
it is impossible to concentrate on the task at hand even in complete solitude and silence;
people often get sick, and especially children;
there are parasites (mice, cockroaches, ants);
conflict situations and fights constantly occur;
paranormal phenomena are observed (extraneous sounds are present, objects are moving, etc.);
there is no feeling of comfort, coziness, security in your own home, there is an inexplicable fear.

When buying an old house, is it better to consecrate or cleanse?

Before consecrating a purchased house, either on your own or by inviting a clergyman, you need to find out whether this ritual has already been performed. Of course, if the house is new, then there can be no doubt that it is not forbidden to carry out the consecration. But when purchasing an old house, this issue becomes important. This is exactly what any priest will ask a parishioner who comes to him for approval, support and blessing.

Church canons strictly prohibit re-consecration. It is generally accepted that such an action is blasphemy. After all, since the dwelling has already been consecrated, it means that it is under the jurisdiction of the Lord and under his protection. Repeated sanctification is nothing more than a manifestation of distrust in the Lord, an expression of doubt in Himself.

If the property being purchased had a single owner, it will not be particularly difficult to find out whether the house was consecrated. But if you buy an old home that has changed many generations of owners, for example, a village house built at the beginning of the last century, then it is almost impossible to find out whether it was consecrated. Even if the owners of the house were generations of convinced atheists, political workers or social activists of the local collective farm, one cannot miss the possibility that one of the owners could conduct a secret rite of consecration. Therefore, it is better to cleanse such houses from filth and evil, and not to sanctify them.

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.

What does sanctification require?

Every human action in this world has its consequences. Such an important act as the consecration of one’s home is no exception. This act obliges the people who committed it to live in piety and purity, both moral and everyday. After all, when they consecrate their home, they enthusiastically entrust their home to the Lord. They must take care of it accordingly, that is, as if it were a house that belongs to God, into which he can look at any moment.

You cannot sin in such a home. We must not forget about maintaining cleanliness and order. You cannot indulge in idleness and blasphemy. In other words, the consecration of housing is not only important from an energy point of view, it also serves as a powerful incentive for people. It is a core that does not allow them to indulge in idle laziness and wallow in the dirt, not only spiritual or moral, but also the most ordinary. After all, in a house entrusted to the Lord, one cannot ignore a layer of dust or unwashed window panes, a pile of unwashed laundry, a dirty stove and abandoned garbage.

Thus, consecrating a home disciplines a person. It prevents it from “spreading” over the sofa, which means it is a blessing not only for the soul, but also for simple everyday worldly life.

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.

Which ritual is better?

Consecration of a home by the laity with the help of candles is much less popular than with the use of water. This is a very common belief that water sanctifies and candles purify. In fact, to independently conduct a ritual for the consecration of residential premises, you can use both.

The methods have no advantages over each other. But there are some nuances that determine the choice in the case when there is no strong internal preference or the priest, for some reason, does not recommend a specific method.

In a ritual using candles, a prayer to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is read. A person who is going to consecrate a house with a candle prays to this saint before the ceremony. The ritual itself is recommended to be performed on Thursdays.

During the ritual with water, the layman turns to the Lord himself. It is recommended to carry out the ritual on Sunday, after praying to Jesus.

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.

Prayer for receiving baptismal water

The Blessing of Water is a great sacrament. Rituals are held only on January 18 and 19. At this time people gather in temples. These days everything in churches is beautifully decorated. Clergymen in festive attire. The service begins with prayers and chants. Ordinary people do not need to know the texts by heart.

It is advisable to pray for the acceptance of baptismal water: “At Your baptism in the Jordan, Lord, the worship of the Trinity was revealed: for the voice of the Parent testified about You, calling You beloved Son, and the Spirit in the form of a dove confirmed His words as immutable. O Christ the God who appeared and enlightened the world, glory to Thee!” It is considered final during the blessing of water. With these words, people seem to accept agiasma and confirm that they believe in its unusual properties.

How to properly sanctify a house with Epiphany water

At least once a year, the home should be sprinkled with baptismal water - Agiasma, taken after the Great Jordanian Blessing of Water. It is diluted by adding a little to a simple consecrated liquid.

The process itself is no different from sprinkling with holy water. The only difference is that you can start spraying the house with Agiasma from the front door, moving around the room from left to right. The door or window must be left open. During the process, the same prayers are read as when sprinkling with blessed water from the temple.

On what day, January 18 or 19, 2022, should you collect Epiphany water?

People often ask when to collect Epiphany water: January 18 or 19. Some people think that some date is preferable. In fact, there is no particular difference. You can do this whenever it is convenient.

Some believers collect water on January 18 and 19. They store it in separate bottles. There is no prohibition on this matter. But such a division is not necessary. This water can be easily mixed.

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.

Source

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.

Blessing of water for Epiphany in 2022

Epiphany is one of the main Christian holidays of Orthodox believers, during which the Great Blessing of Water takes place. Swimming on this day can heal many diseases. It is believed that during this ritual a person joins God. During Epiphany, all water has healing properties. It is called agiasma. But the one that has been consecrated is considered especially valuable. People take it home, and then store it all year and use it for its intended purpose.

Blessing of water is the name of a church rite that originates from deep Christian antiquity. The water is sanctified by immersing the cross three times. At the same time, church employees read prayers. After the ceremony, people can swim in the water if the ritual is carried out near lakes or fonts, or collect it in jars, bottles or special canisters.

People are already asking when the water blessing is in 2022. There is no exact time. On January 18, the ceremony is carried out in the afternoon. You can find out all the information in advance in the temple. At the appointed time, you should come to the church and stand for the service, and then get water or go with the procession to the reservoir, to the ice hole. This is not done in all churches, but only in the largest ones.

On a note!
On January 19, the water will also be blessed in the morning. You can come to the temple for a service or come back later just to pray and collect agiasma.

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.

We consecrate housing

It is customary to consecrate a house or apartment after it has been built, after moving, after renovations have been completed, or if some unfavorable events have occurred, for example, robbery, violence, murder or some other evil.

In the event that a home has been desecrated, invite a priest, and he will carry out the consecration procedure, call upon the grace of the Holy Spirit, and the Lord will visit you and your family again.

Why can holy water spoil?

How to consecrate a home with the help of Father

It is believed that only a servant of the Lord God can perform the ceremony correctly. All priests have passed the sacrament of the Priesthood and are endowed with divine rights that allow them to conduct church rites. But before inviting Father, a believer needs to prepare:

Prepare your home for the ceremony. Clean and clean the home;
Prepare icons and candles;
Prepare the place where the priest will stand;
Prepare a table on which holy things will lie: a cross, a cup of oil, a vessel with holy water, the Gospel, sprinkles, church candles.

How to drink holy water?

Before starting, the priest paints an image of a cross on each of the four walls. During the sacrament, he reads the Gospel, anoints the crosses with oil and sprinkles the entire room with holy water. At the end, a sermon is read to all those present.

You can perform the consecration ritual on any day when it is convenient for you and Father; the duration of the ceremony is 30-60 minutes.

If you want to make a donation in gratitude, you can find out the generally accepted donation amount at the nearest temple or make a contribution according to your capabilities.

The presence of a clergyman in your home is a great blessing!

When he enters the house, ask for a blessing, and at the end of the ceremony, talk in a calm atmosphere on spiritual topics, ask any questions you have, and ask for help in solving internal problems.

After consecration, it is advisable to give up gambling, smoking, drinking alcohol, scandals, and the like. It’s better to pray regularly, light candles, listen to church music and read spiritual literature.

The church also advises regularly sprinkling rooms with holy water and invoking the name of the Lord in order to maintain the purity of the home.

How can you use holy water?

Cleaning an apartment with a church candle and holy water: how to sanctify it yourself

If it is not possible to invite a priest to your house, you can try to perform the ritual of consecration with holy water yourself. For everything to be successful, you need to go to church the day before and receive a blessing.

You can perform the ceremony yourself. For the ceremony you will need:

prayer book;
icons;
bowl of holy water.

If you don’t have anything from this list, you need to buy it at the church store.

You need to start from the red corner - this is the corner in the main room, located diagonally from the entrance; according to the rules, the iconostasis should be located there. If there is no iconostasis, place at least one icon there.

The cup of holy water should be taken in the left hand, and with the right hand with the words: “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen”, sprinkle water on the corner in a cross shape and move on, going around all the rooms clockwise and sprinkling the walls, ceilings and all corners.

Then go around the kitchen and hallway in the same way. In the bathroom, sprinkle only the walls; you cannot do anything in the toilet.

The following prayers are read:

Before starting - Prayer for blessing the work, during - “Our Father”, “May God rise again” or Psalm 90, you can also read “May God rise again...”,

After going around all the rooms, read the prayer to the Life-Giving Cross and Prayers of Thanksgiving.

Please note the following:

The main thing is a person's faith in God. A person must believe in the Lord God with all his heart, regularly attend church and attend services on Saturdays and Sundays;
Do not break the commandments, get rid of bad habits, never wish harm to your neighbor;
Do not swear in the house and do not let negative energy in;
When saying prayers, do not think about outsiders, always turn to God, the Holy Mother of God, the Guardian Angels and all the Saints.

If all this is present in people’s lives, then it will be easier for them to keep not only their home clean, but also their heart and soul.

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.

In what cases is it necessary to consecrate?

When thinking about how to consecrate a house, people involuntarily wonder whether it is necessary to do this. In our country, the church did not participate in human life for many decades. Accordingly, houses were not consecrated and children were not baptized, but people lived quite well. Many new property owners think something like this, not quite sure who to turn to for consecration and believing that this process is complex and troublesome.

Indeed, it is not always necessary to consecrate a house, but only in certain situations. Consecration should be resorted to if in the purchased house:

a crime has occurred;
people lived poorly, went bankrupt, families broke up or children died;
there were many seriously ill people among the previous owners;
sinful, godless or satanic deeds were happening;
there were fires, basement flooding, and regular roof subsidence.

Of course, no one will tell buyers about all this. Therefore, you need to pay attention and listen to your intuition. The main reason for consecrating a home is a deep conviction in the necessity of this, an irrational, inexplicable desire to consecrate the premises. Such sensations cannot be ignored, and if they arise, they must be sanctified.

Texts of prayers

In fact, to bless a home, it is enough to know just one prayer: “Our Father.” This is what our Lord, Jesus Christ, commanded to his disciples. If household members know other prayers, this will be a plus.

Main

“Our Father who art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen".

Life-giving Cross

The prayer to the Life-Giving or Honest Cross is read in addition to the main prayer:

“May God rise again, and may His enemies be scattered, and may those who hate Him flee from His presence. As smoke disappears, let them disappear; just as wax melts in the face of fire, so let demons perish from the face of those who love God and signify themselves with the sign of the cross, and who say in joy: Rejoice, Most Honorable and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, drive away the demons by force on you of our Lord Jesus Christ, who descended into hell and straightened the power the devil, and who gave us His Honest Cross to drive away every adversary. O Most Honest and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord! Help me with the Holy Virgin Mary and with all the saints forever. Amen".

Thanks

Prayers of thanks are read by the whole family at the end of the ritual. In these prayers, the family thanks God for the blessing and participation in the sacrament of consecration. Jesus Christ Himself told His disciples that if people gather in His name, He is certainly among them, as the Apostle Luke testified to this.

“Be grateful to Thy unworthy servants, O Lord, for Thy great blessings upon us; we glorify Thee, bless, thank Thee, sing and magnify Thy compassion, and slavishly cry out to Thee in love: O our Benefactor, glory to Thee.”

“Thy blessings and gifts, as a servant of indecency, having been vouchsafed, O Master, we diligently flow to You, we offer thanksgiving according to our strength, and we glorify You, as the Benefactor and Creator, crying out: glory to You, All-Bounteous God. Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.”

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.

The meaning of the ritual

The basis of Orthodox church rituals is the desire to spiritualize human activity. Throughout his life, a believer must ask the Lord for his help and blessing. It is also good when the actions of the person asking are aimed at benefiting others.

The Orthodox call sanctification the rituals introduced by the church to fill life with divine grace. When a person sanctifies a house and the things belonging to it, he testifies to his trust in the Lord and confirms the belief that everything happens according to the will of the Almighty. With the help of prayer, any action becomes a sacred act. With its help, the church sanctifies everything necessary for the life of the person asking.