According to popular belief, only a churchman can consecrate something, whether it be a house or a ship, a person who is in the dignity and serves the Lord. That is, in order to sanctify the house, you need a priest.
But is it? Is it always necessary to invite a clergyman? Is it possible to sprinkle holy water in the corners and read a prayer of protection? Such questions arise in the minds of many people who have purchased or built their own housing.
When is it necessary to sanctify?
Thinking about how to consecrate a house, people involuntarily ask themselves a question about whether to do it. In our country, for many decades, the church did not participate in human life. Accordingly, the houses were not consecrated, and the children were not baptized, while people lived very well. Something like this is argued by many newly minted property owners who do not quite know who to turn to for consecration and who believe that this is a complex and troublesome process.
Indeed, it is not always necessary to consecrate a house, but only in certain situations. Consecration should be resorted to if in a purchased house:
- a crime has occurred;
- people lived poorly, went bankrupt, the family broke up or the children died;
- there were many seriously ill among past owners;
- sinful, godless or satanic affairs were going on;
- there were fires, basement flooding, regular subsidence of the roof.
Of course, no one will tell buyers about all this. Therefore, you need to pay attention and listen to your intuition. The main reason for the consecration of the home is a deep conviction of the need for this, an irrational inexplicable desire to consecrate the premises. Such sensations cannot be ignored, and if they arise, it is necessary to sanctify.
When is it impossible to sanctify?
When thinking about how to bless a house, many people ask themselves questions about the circumstances under which this cannot be done. There are many superstitions among the people. For example, someone is convinced that it is impossible to conduct rituals in fasting. Others are convinced that a woman who is a member of the family may have critical days as an obstacle to consecration. Still others believe that if one of the family members is not baptized, then the house cannot be blessed. There are other beliefs.
However, all this is not true. Neither critical days, nor the absence of a cross on the neck of one of the relatives, nor the posts interfere with the consecration of the house. As any priest will say, even Lent is not an obstacle to the consecration of a home.
The only thing that can prevent the consecration of the acquired house is the rite already held. The dwelling is consecrated only once, subsequently it is only cleansed. Rituals with holy water, church candles and prayers, conducted both by clergy and independently, are aimed at cleansing the home.
Can I sanctify myself?
Contrary to the widespread belief in the need for an invitation for this priestly rite, the church does not forbid to conduct it independently. The answer of the clergy to the question of whether it is possible to sanctify the house themselves will be affirmative.
Of course, one can not always conduct the rite of blessing on one's own. Moreover, not everyone. People often confuse the rites of consecration of a home with the rituals for its purification. There are no obstacles and conditions for independent cleaning of home premises. But the possibility of consecrating housing on their own still has limitations.
What is needed for an independent rite?
How to consecrate the house yourself? The most important point is the strength of faith and the righteousness of human life. Of course, the one who will conduct the rite must be baptized.
The first thing to do is to secure the approval of the clergyman, in other words, to receive a blessing from the priest. With the clergyman it is necessary to discuss the details of the rite, to determine the method of its conduct.
Without the blessing of the clergyman, it is impossible to think about how to bless the house yourself. Conducting the rite by a person who has not received a blessing will not have power.
What are the rite options?
How to bless the house yourself? There are two options. In the first version, the ceremony is carried out using church candles. The second uses holy water.
Which of the ways to bless the home should be used, it is necessary to determine together with the clergyman, during the discussion of the future ritual. It is not worth neglecting the advice of the priest, but in the event that there is an internal conviction that it is necessary to sanctify with water or just with candles, this should be discussed.
Which rite is better?
Consecration of the home by the laity with candles is much less popular than with water. This is a very common belief that they sanctify with water and purify it with candles. In fact, you can use either one or the other for an independent ritual to consecrate living quarters.
The methods have no advantages over each other. But there are some nuances that determine the choice in the case when there is no firm internal preference or if the priest does not recommend a specific method for any reason.
In the rite with the use of candles, a prayer is read to Nicholas the Wonderworker. A person who is about to bless a house with a candle prays before the rite to this saint. The ritual itself is recommended on Thursdays.
In a rite of passage with water, a layman turns to the Lord himself. The rite is recommended to be held on Sunday, after praying to Jesus.
What prayer should be read during sanctification?
The prayer that helps to sanctify the house is a combination of the psalms of the 90th and 100th, between which there is an unspoken appeal to the Lord. In this way the clergy consecrate their homes. The priests first read Psalm 90. Then they turn to themselves to the Lord with a request to protect and bless the living quarters, and at the end they read Psalm 100.
However, in how to sanctify the house of a layman, deviations from the accepted ritual order are permissible. Prayers that will be read at consecration should be discussed with the clergyman. Psalms are difficult to read, so when they conduct the consecration independently, they usually read Our Father and other prayers.
When buying an old house, is it better to sanctify or clean?
Before you consecrate the house you bought, on your own or by inviting a clergyman, you need to find out if this rite has already been performed. Of course, if the house is new, then there can be no doubt that holding the blessing is not forbidden. But when acquiring an old home, this issue becomes important. This is exactly what any priest of a parishioner who comes to him for approval, support and blessing will ask.
Church canons strictly prohibit re-consecration. It is generally accepted that such an action is blasphemy. After all, once the dwelling has already been consecrated, it means that it is under the jurisdiction of the Lord and under his protection. Repeated sanctification is nothing more than a manifestation of distrust of the Lord, an expression of doubt in himself.
In the event that the property purchased was the sole owner, it will not be particularly difficult to find out if the house was consecrated. But if you buy an old dwelling that has replaced many generations of owners, for example, a village house built at the beginning of the last century, then to find out if it was practically consecrated. Even if the owners of the house were generations of staunch atheists, political workers, or community activists from the local collective farm, one should not miss the chance that one of the owners could conduct a secret rite of consecration. Therefore, it is better to clean such houses from filth and evil, and not to sanctify.
How is the rite with candles performed?
There is nothing complicated about how to sanctify a house with candles. Candles must be purchased at the church trading shop in every church. Three to face Nicholas the Wonderworker, and three more to conduct the ceremony.
It is recommended that the house be blessed this way on Thursday. Before proceeding to the ritual, one should place a candle in front of the image of the Miracle Worker and pray to him, asking for blessings and help in implementing his plan.
You can pray to the Miracle Worker as follows:
Blessed Nicholas the Wonderworker, father. Bless me, servant of God (proper name) for a great deed. Give me strength and free me from doubt. Save and increase the firmness of my faith. Give rest to my soul and lordship thoughts. Help in the consecration of my habitation and the betrayal of walls and shelter in the hands of the Lord, under the protection of the Most High and at the mercy of his great, amen
The procedure for the house is as follows:
- the lit candle is held in the right hand;
- go around all rooms clockwise;
- baptize every corner, threshold, passage and walls;
- read prayers.
Before you begin the ceremony, you should discuss with the priest how many times you have to conduct it. The traditional belief is to perform the ritual three Thursdays in a row. However, if the house is new and devoid of filth, and pious people have entered it, a single round with a candle and prayers may be enough.
How is the rite with water performed?
In how to sanctify the house with holy water, there is also nothing complicated. Having secured the blessing of a priest, on Sunday you should come to the service of the temple, pray to the Lord, asking for his help in conducting the ceremony. Also in the church you need to take the holy water necessary for the ritual.
Actions in the home are as follows:
- pour water into a large and convenient dish, for example, a bowl;
- go around the premises clockwise;
- spray water on every corner, passage, jambs, walls;
- fingers need to be folded as they do for the sign of the Cross;
- throughout the rite to read prayers.
If there is a Red Corner in the house or if you plan to equip it, you should start the detour from it.
What does sanctification require?
Any human action in this world has its consequences. Such an important act as the consecration of one's own home is no exception. This act obliges the people who committed it to live in piety and purity, both moral and everyday. After all, when they bless the habitation, they enthusiastically hand over their house to the Lord. Accordingly, they should take care of him, that is, like a house belonging to God, in which he can look at any moment.
In such a dwelling one cannot sin. We must not forget about maintaining cleanliness and order. You can not indulge in idleness and blasphemy. In other words, the consecration of housing is not only important from an energy point of view, it also serves as a powerful incentive for people. It is the core that does not allow them to indulge in idle laziness and wallow in the mud not only spiritual or moral, but also the most ordinary. Indeed, in a house handed over to the Lord, one should not give up a hand on a layer of dust or unwashed windowpanes, a pile of laundry, a dirty stove and abandoned garbage.
Thus, the consecration of a home disciplines a person. It does not allow him to βspreadβ on the sofa, which means that it is a blessing not only for the soul, but also for simple everyday mundane life.