HOLY WATER

in the Eastern Christian churches and the Roman Catholic Church, special water that has been blessed and is used to bless churches, homes, and articles of devotion. A natural symbol of purification, water has been used by religious peoples, both primitive and advanced, as a means of removing uncleanness, either ritual or moral. In the early Christian community the living water of rivers and streams was preferred for Baptism and apparently received no special blessing. By the time of the 4th century the still waters of the baptismal font or pool were exorcised and blessed with the sign of the cross. Other water was blessed for the use of the faithful as a means of warding off the unclean spirit and as a safeguard against sickness and disease. In the course of time, this blessed, or holy, water was used as a reminder of Baptism by the faithful on entering the church and by the celebrant in sprinkling the congregation before the Sunday mass.