“Come, then, King and Lover of mankind and sanctify this water through the descent of the Holy Spirit.”
(Rite of the Solemn Blessing of Water The Great Water-Blessing)
Closely connected with the feast of the Theophany is the Great Water-Blessing or Blessing of Jordan Water. This sacred tradition of the Eastern Church can be traced back to the first centuries of Christianity. In the course of time, different rites developed for the Great Water-Blessing on the feast of the Theophanies. From earliest times our people have greatly cherished the custom of the Great Water-Blessing (Blessing of Jordan Water). The people attached great significance of the Blessed Jordan Water which they kept in their homes as something possessing great sanctifying powers. Here we shall consider the history of the Great Water-Blessing (Jordan Water), its rites, and its holiness.
History of the Great Water-Blessing
The Eastern Church distinguishes between a small and a great blessing of water. The small blessing of water takes place on the first of August, on the feast of Mid-Pentecost, the feast of the patron saint, and on other occasions. In Greece, there exists the custom of sanctifying water by using a small blessing every month.
The Great or Jordan Water-Blessing is performed twice a year: on the vigil and on the feast of the Theophany. In the first centuries, solemn baptism of Catechumens took place on the eve of the great feast days, such as the Pasch (Easter), the Descent of the Holy Spirit or Theophany. The blessing of water was associated with this rite of baptism. Some historians are of the opinion that the Great Water-Blessing on the eve of the feast of the Theophany was not intended to commemorate the baptism of Christ, but was meant only for the baptism of the catechumens. This is evident in the first prayer of the Jordan Water-Blessing which is almost identical to the prayer of blessing of water at baptism.
The first four centuries do not give us clear information regarding the time when the blessing of Jordan water took place. In his sermon on the feast of the Theophany St. John Chrysostom speaks of a water blessing at midnight, “for on this day,” he says, “Christ was baptized and sanctified the nature of water.” Ever since the fifth century, the blessing of water has generally been performed on the Eve of the Theophany. The Historians George Cedrenus (12c) and Theodore the Lector testify that the Patriarch Peter, contemporary of Emperor Zenon (474-491), was the first to introduce the custom of blessing water towards the evening of the Eve of the Theophany. Jacob of Edessa (5c) followed suit.
In the first millennium of the Eastern Church, only one Jordan Water-Blessing took place and this occurred on the Eve of the feast. The ancient Greek Typicons and sources speak of one water blessing. The Greek Typicon of the Sinai library dating from the twelfth century prescribes the blessing of water only on the Eve of the feast of the Theophany. Regarding the feast itself, it states: “After Matins, there is no second blessing of water.” The Typicon of the patriarchal library of Jerusalem of the fourteenth century notes: “You must also know that in the Typicon of the Great Church (that is, of Constantinople) one water blessing is prescribed, namely, on the Eve of the feast. The Typicons of the Studite monastery and of Jerusalem prescribe one water blessing, for Christ was baptized only once, not twice.”
The custom of blessing water twice dates from the eleventh century: on the Eve and on the day of the feast. This custom of a twofold blessing became a general law in the thirteenth century. The Typicon of the Venetian library of the year 1387 prescribed two water blessings: on the Eve and on the day of the feast. This custom of a twofold blessing became a general law in the thirteenth century. The Typicon of the Venetian library of the year 1387 prescribed two water blessings: on the Eve and on the day of the feast after the Great Doxology. The Typicon of St. Andrew Skete on Mt. Athos, of the fifteenth century, speaks of a Great Water-Blessing on the Eve after the Prayer behind the Ambo and on the feast, after the Matins service. The reason for the twofold water blessing was that the water blessing on the Eve of the feast was regarded as a symbol of the former practice of baptizing the catechumens, while the water blessing on the day of the feast was performed in memory of Christ’s baptism in the river Jor- dan. Hence, the first water blessing, as a rule, took place in the vestibule of the Church, where in former times the catechumens were baptized, while the water blessing on the day of the feast took place outside the church, at rivers, springs or wells. The Synod of Lviv (1891) directed that the rite of water blessing be carried out both on the Eve and on the day of the Feast of the Theophany.
The Rites of the Great Water-Blessing
The ceremonies of the Great Water-Blessing took hundreds of years to develop. We do not know the form of the original rite of the Jordan Water-Blessing. Jacob of Edessa bore witness that the prayer “Great are You, O Lord…” came from St. Proclus, Patriarch of Constantinople (434-446); the stichera “The voice of the Lord cries over the waters” and the prayer “O Trinity, transcendent in essence…” from Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem (†c641). Of the Great Water-Blessing the Barberini Euchologion from the eighth- ninth century has only the Great Ektenia which is different from our present day one, and three prayers. The Typicon of the Great Church of the ninth-tenth century notes that, toward the end of the Liturgy, the cantors sing the troparion “The Voice of the Lord” and while it is being sung, all go to the baptistry in the narthex (or vestibule) of the Church. Here the deacon sings the ektenia and the patriarch reads the prayer for the sanctification of the water and blesses the water; three readings follow, and with the singing of the troparion the rite of water-blessing is concluded..
From the thirteenth century, the rite of Water-Blessing became somewhat like our own, and in the fourteenth- sixteenth centuries, the rite of the Great Water-Blessing assumed its present form.
Around 1148 the Ipatian Chronicle mentions the Jordan Water-Blessing in our native Ukraine, and calls it “Vodokhryschi” (Voda-water; khrystyty to baptise) or “Water-baptism” that is, the baptism of water. Originally, it took place in our Church only on the vigil of the feast of the Theophany. Only after our Church in the fourteenth century began using the Jerusalem Typicon, instead of the Studite Typicon, did she adopt the two water-blessings. Maxim the Greek (†1556), defends the new custom according to which water-blessing took place on the day of the feast itself at the river or spring. The liturgicon of Metropolitan Cyprian (†1406) already had the present rite of Jordan Water-Blessing.
In time, there developed in our Ukrainian Church certain rites connected with the Great Water-Blessing which the Greeks or other Slavonic Typicons do not have. The Greek Typicons speak only of a threefold cruciform submersion of the cross in the water at the end of the Water-Blessing. The Russian rite of the Great Water-Blessing has, besides this, a three-fold blessing of the water with the hand. The Euchologion of Metropolitan Peter Mohyla of the year 1646, prescribes that after the first prayer the water be blessed three times cruciformly, i.e., by making the sign of the cross in the water with a burning candle; after the second prayer that it be breathed upon three times cruciformly, (i.e. each time the priest breaths upon the water, he makes the sign of the cross with his head), and after the third prayer – that it be blessed with the hand submerged in the water. According to the present-day custom we use for the blessing not one, but three three-branched burning candlesticks which we submerge into the water three times. The rite of the Jordan Water-Blessing ends with a threefold cruciform blessing of the water with the cross by submerging it into the water, while the troparion “O Lord when you had been baptized in the Jordan…” is being sung. After the Water-Blessing, the priest sprinkles the people with the holy water. Our people had a beautiful custom of erecting a cross of ice at the river where the water-blessing took place.
The Jordan Water The Very Sacred Object
From very ancient times the Eastern Church has regarded the sanctified Jordan water as a great sacramental, possessing miraculous powers for healing both soul and body. In a sermon on the feast of the Theophany St. John Chrysostom says: “This is the day on which Christ was baptized and blessed the substance of waters. For this reason, at midnight of this feast, the faithful take water home and keep it throughout the year. It is interesting to note that this blessed water is not spoiled for a long time; it remains fresh even for two or three years, and after such a long period its quality does not differ from the water recently brought from the well.” The Greek Church calls the Jordan water “mega hagiasma” which signifies “something very sacred”.
In antiquity there prevailed the custom in the Church that those who were unable to receive Holy Communion for some reason or other were given the Jordan Water to drink. Our people cherished the Jordan Water with such devotion that they observed a strict fast up to the time of its blessing and received it, fasting, as they would Holy Communion. Our people sprinkled all their buildings and the whole farm with this water to drive away every impure spirit from their land. Even today in foreign countries where Ukrainians have settled, they gladly receive the priest who blesses and sanctifies their homes with Jordan Water.
The content of the prayers and rites of the Great Water- Blessing best reflect the faith of our Eastern Church in the power and blessing of Jordan Water. In these prayers we repeatedly call upon the Holy Spirit to come down upon the water, to purify and sanctify it, and impart to it a healing power for the benefit of soul and body. The Great Ektenia at the blessing of the water has as many as twenty-six petitions, among which we find the following: “that these waters may be sanctified by the power, operation and descent of the Holy Spirit”, “that there may descend upon these waters the puri- fying action of the most substantial Trinity”, “that this water may be endowed with the grace of redemption, the blessing of the Jordan, through the power and action and descent of the Holy Spirit”, “that we be enlightened by the light of understanding and of piety through the descent of the Holy Spirit”, “that it may serve as a purification of the souls and bodies of all those who, with faith, shall draw and partake of it”, “that it be a gift of sanctification, deliverance from sin, healing of soul and body, and for every other benefit.”
The very beautiful and profound prayers of the Jordan Water-Blessing extol the Most Holy Trinity and entreat the Holy Spirit to come down and Himself sanctify the water. Here the significance, power, and sanctity of the Jordan Water-Blessing is emphasized. The following example may help us understand the significance of these prayers: “Today the waters of the river Jordan are changed into healing by the coming of the Lord. Today the sins of mankind are washed away by the waters of the Jordan. Today paradise has been opened to mankind and the Sun of righteousness shines down upon us… Today we are delivered from ancient lamentation and like a new Israel, we are saved. Today we are delivered from darkness and illuminated with the light of the knowledge of God… Today whole creation is brightened… Therefore, O King and Lover of mankind, come and sanctify this water through the descent of your Holy Spirit. And confer upon it the grace of redemption, and the blessing of Jordan. Make it a font of incorruptibility, a gift of sanctification, a remission of sins, a healing of sickness, a destroyer of demons, render it inaccessible to the adverse powers, and make it full of the power of Angels, so that all who draw from it and partake of it may be blessed in their souls and bodies, healed of their sufferings, sanctified in their homes, and they may receive every befitting grace… Grant sanctification, blessing, cleansing and health to all those who touch it, who sprinkle themselves with it or partake of it.”