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In Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, holy water is water which is holy, having been blessed by a priest or bishop.
1 Roman Catholic holy water
Holy water figures in Roman Catholic rituals of exorcism. It is also the usual water used in baptisms that occur in a church; however, the use of specifically consecrated water is not required for a valid baptism under Roman Catholic religious law.
A quantity of holy water is typically kept in a font, an item of church architecture that typically appears in a baptistery; a smaller font, called a stoup, may be placed near the entrance of the church. Roman Catholics bless themselves when entering the church by dipping their fingers in the holy water and making the sign of the cross. Holy water is also sometimes sprinkled upon the congregation during the Mass; this is called aspersion.
In the theologyTheology is literally rational discourse concerning God ( Greek θεος, theos "God", + λογος, logos "rational discourse"). By extension, it also refers to the study of other religious topics. of Roman Catholicism, holy water is a sacramental , a "sacred sign which bear(s) a resemblance to the sacraments." Holy water recalls the sacrament of baptism. See the Catechism of the Catholic ChurchThe Catechism of the Catholic Church (abbreviation: CCC) is an official exposition of the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, first published in French in 1992 with the authorization of Pope John Paul II. To correspond exactly with the official text i, ss. 1667, 1668
1.1 Varieties of holy water
Roman Catholic rituals distinguish four different kinds of holy water. There are:
- Holy water per se, of the kind found in the stoup, which has been blessed with a small amount of saltFor other meanings of the word salt see salt (disambiguation In chemistry, a salt is a composed of positively charged cations and negatively charged anions, so that the product is neutral and without a net charge. They are typically the product of a chemi as a preservative. This is the holy water used in aspersions and blessings;
- Baptismal holy water, to which a slight amount of chrism and the oil of catechumens has been added, used in church baptisms;
- Gregorian water, also called "water of consecration"; small amounts of wineThis article is about the beverage. See WINE for an article about the software of the same name. Wine is an alcoholic beverage typically made by fermentation of grapes. The word comes from Greek omicron;ινο&sigmaf through Latin vinum, (bot, salt, and ashAsh is: The solid residue left after something has burned, usually wood and plant material (such as tobacco). It consists mainly of carbonates and bicarbonates of metals in the original organic material the metals that primarily compose the ash of the anaes are added to it, and it is used by bishops at the consecration of a church; and
- Easter water, which is distributed to the faithful on EasterEaster is generally accounted the most important holiday of the Christian year, observed March or April each year to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead (after his death by crucifixion; see Good Friday), which Christians believe happened at Sunday for use at home.
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