Resource Page: House Blessings

Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptised by him.
And John tried to prevent Him, saying "I need to be baptised by You, and are You coming to me?"
But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness."
Then he allowed Him.
When He had been baptised, Jesus came up immediately from the water;
and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.
And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

The Gospel of Matthew, 3:13-17

Orthodox Christians celebrate the baptism of Jesus (Theophany) in January, our church celebrates it the 19th January.

During the Theophany service the priest will bless a large container of water which he prays over and blesses it, making it Holy Water.

The priest then uses this water to bless the congregation and for house blessings.

Our parishioners are encouraged to bring along an appropriate water bottle to take some of the Holy Water home with them, this water can be drunk each day, typically in the morning after morning prayers.

After the Theophany service the priest will go around to the houses of his congregation and bless them with Holy Water.  

Though house blessings are usually done following Theophany they can also done when Orthodox Christian's move house.

The blessing of the home takes place with prayer and the sprinkling of Holy Water.

The priest, at this annual visit, asks God to have mercy on the house, to rid it of every evil and to fill if with every blessing. Everyone of the house, prays together for the living and the dead of the family, and all who live and have lived in the house. They all sing the hymn of salvation and process from room to room while the priest blesses the house.

How to prepare for your house blessing:

• Let Fr Andrew know that you would like a house blessing.  See the below form.
• Open doors - open the doors to all of the rooms in your house that you would like blessed.
• Bowl - have a bowl that Holy Water can be placed into ready to go.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude for any contributions given to Fr Andrew during house blessings, this money will go directly toward the renovation building project.

How to book a house blessing:

To book a house blessing, please click here.