The Holy Orthodox Church has in store many ways for the sanctification and salvation of its faithful. Besides the seven Divine Sacraments through which the redeeming grace of the Holy Spirit unceasingly streams, the Church has instituted one more way of descending the sanctifying grace of God upon us. It is the Agiasmos or Holy Water.

The Blessing of Water is performed by an Orthodox Bishop or Priest through designated traditional services. There are Greater and Lesser Blessings of Water. The Lesser Blessing of Water can be performed on any day throughout the year in the Church, home or any special place. The Greater Blessing of Water is performed on the Feast of the Epiphany of our Lord (January 19).

In the Service of the Blessing of Water, we pray to God to bless the water so that the faithful who partake of it may be cured and cleansed. For this reason, many people use the blessed water during spiritual and physical illnesses. Icons, homes and other objects are blessed and sanctified through sprinkling with Holy Water and prescribed prayers.

According to the Services, Holy Water has the following characteristics:

• It is refreshment to the people who drink it throughout the year.
• It is a blessing to homes sprinkled with it.
• It is a protection against the devil and it is unapproachable to satanic powers.
• It is a cure for illness.
• It cleanses from evil lusts.
• It is forgiveness of sins and a source of imperishability to the faithful who sprinkle themselves with it.
• It is a cleansing of soul and body to those who drink it.

A man whose mind is not yet poisoned by present materialistic intellectualism believes in the above characteristics of Holy Water. He knows that through the blessed water at Baptism he entered the Church of Christ for the first time, and so became an heir to the Kingdom of God. Therefore, he receives Holy Water with reverence and piety.

It is a special privilege to have your priest perform the Service of Blessing of Water in your home. God's blessing is asked for those who dwell there, the home is blessed and family life is again given the opportunity for redemption of sin by the grace of God.

At the Feast of Epiphany of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the faithful usually come to Church and take a bottle of Holy Water to their homes. In some parishes it has been a standing practice that during the Epiphany season, the Priest visits the homes of his flock. He distributes the Holy Water, and in a Holy Service blesses their homes with it.

There is another practice during Great Lent when the Priest visits his parishioners at their homes and performs the Lesser Blessing of Water. In some regions it is customary that the same service be performed before the Patron Saint Day Observance so that the hostess may prepare the Kolach with Holy Water.

The purposes of the Holy Tradition are:

• That God will mercifully hear the prayers which are offered by the family.
• That the Almighty and Eternal Lord will send His holy angels to protect, save, watch, visit and safeguard the family members from evil powers.
• That the faithful who are sprinkled with Holy Water may be free from every unclean and satanic action.
• That the air in the home may be clean and healthy.
• That all strange powers which may create insecurity to the family will be removed by the grace of God.

The Holy Water is reverently kept at home in a clean bottle. It is a proven fact that Holy Water will remain clean and incorruptible. At the end of the year, or after the blessing, if the family does not wish to keep the Holy Water, it is appropriate to pour it over a plant, flower, under a tree or anyplace where it will not be stepped on.

When the Priest comes to a home to perform such a Service, it is appropriate for the host family to be prepared in the following manner:

• The house should be clean and in order.
• The Vigil (if there is one before the Icon) should be lit.
• There should be a candle with matches beside it.
• A plate or bowl with a little water should be placed on the table, turned toward the East and the Icon.
• A list of names of the living members.
• Doors of the rooms where you wish the Priest to enter and sprinkle should be kept open.