Human needs water in everyday life. But there is also a special, holy water, which is a church shrine and has a higher purpose. She can heal, and believers treat her with reverence.
Holy water is considered an image of God's grace. It cleanses believers from spiritual defilement, strengthens their strength and spirit.
In the Orthodox Church there is a great and a small consecration of water. Small water illumination is performed throughout the year during prayer services and the Sacraments of Baptism, and the great or Epiphany - only once a year at Epiphany. It is called great because of the special solemnity of the rite and is performed at the end of the liturgy according to the charter. The great consecration of water is accompanied by a procession of the cross to the springs, which is called the “procession to Jordan”.
The Monk Seraphim of Sarov, every time after the confession of the pilgrims, always gave them a drink from the cup of Epiphany water. When someone was sick. The holy elder blessed him to take a tablespoon of this water every hour and said that there was no stronger medicine than holy water.
In Orthodox Christianity, it is customary to drink holy water in small quantities on an empty stomach, along with a piece of prosphora. First of all, this refers to Agiasma, Epiphany water, consecrated the day before and on the very feast of Epiphany. It is received with faith and prayer and heals bodily diseases.
They sprinkle holy water on their home to drive out evil spirits.
It is believed that holy water never deteriorates and can stand for a very long time. Its special properties include the fact that by adding even an insignificant amount of holy water to ordinary water, you can transfer beneficial properties to it, and it also becomes a saint.
Although it is customary to drink Epiphany water on an empty stomach, but with a special need for God's help: in times of serious illness and the temptation of evil forces, you can and should take it at any time.
If holy water is treated with reverence, it will remain fresh and pleasant to the taste for a long time. They keep it in a separate place, preferably on the home altar, next to the iconostasis.
