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Archiver > ESSEX-UK > 2005-12 > 1133562009
From: "Colleen" <>
Subject: Re: "Holy water" [was: Padlocked font covers - to keep witches out]
Date: Fri, 2 Dec 2005 22:20:09 -0000
References: <003b01c5f6ab$9e6c10d0$0202a8c0@Vaio> <000001c5f751$04d7f280$cea52f50@oemcomputer>
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Lamb" <>
Thanks for this interesting posting, David. Presumably the Vicar General or
his Bishop consecrated the holy water and it was then transported to the
churches, rather than the VG and Bishop travelling round to each church? The
old All Saints Church at Tolleshunt Knights has been taken over by the Greek
church and its manse is now a Greek Monastery. I'm going to call in there
when I next go to view the inside of the church, must ask them what they do
now. The church still has the old baptismal font where my DICE grandmother
and a number of her brothers and sisters were baptised, the fact that all of
my gt grandparents' children survived has always amazed me, but even more so
now I know how long the holy water was stored.
Colleen
> "In the Greek Church, holy water is usually consecrated by the bishop or
> his
> vicar-general on the eve of the Epiphany. No salt is employed, and they
> regard the use of it by the Latins as a grievous and unauthorized
> corruption. The Greeks perform the ceremony on January 6, the day on which
> they believe that Christ was baptized by John, and twice a year it is
> usual
> to drink a portion, viz. at the end of the midnight mass of Christmas and
> on
> the feast of Epiphany."
>
> There seems to be a minor discrepancy between "the eve of the Epiphany"
> and
> "January 6" as Epiphany itself is on 06 January, so "the eve of the
> Epiphany" would be 05 January. Anyway, by Christmas, the water would have
> been stored for almost a whole year. I wonder how many people were ill or
> died after drinking it!
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