Usage of holy water received in Church

[Scott]

What is the purpose of holy water and when did the Church begin to teach this? What purpose does holy water serve in exorcisms and why is it used in such cases?

[Timothy Farrell]

Asking the purpose of Holy water is a western idea that everything must have some concrete purpose to validate its existence.
Holy water is almost more useful than water. Holy water is water that has had priest and parish agree in prayer that Holiness of God would enter into the water in some way. We know from relics that the Holiness of God does not dissipate with time or use but remain resident and powerful in the vessel containing it.
Some uses of Holy Water that I have heard or seen.
Drinking three sips at the beginning of the day, to bless your day a little.
Sprinkling some on the garden to help the crops grow.
Washing wounds
Taking a piece of altar bread and holy water as a type of communion each day.
People controlled by demons could not stand contact with the water. In some cases it seemed to burn them until the demon was cast out of them.
Sprinkling some in every room at the blessing of a house.
Taking some when sick to promote healing and rapid recovery.
Having a small vial of Holy Water on the Icon stand at home.
There are many more ways to use the Holy water but i must move on.

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

Asking the purpose of Holy water is a western idea that everything must have some concrete purpose to validate its existence.
Holy water is almost more useful than water. Holy water is water that has had priest and parish agree in prayer that Holiness of God would enter into the water in some way. We know from relics that the Holiness of God does not dissipate with time or use but remain resident and powerful in the vessel containing it.
Some uses of Holy Water that I have heard or seen.
Drinking three sips at the beginning of the day, to bless your day a little.
Sprinkling some on the garden to help the crops grow.
Washing wounds
Taking a piece of altar bread and holy water as a type of communion each day.
People controlled by demons could not stand contact with the water. In some cases it seemed to burn them until the demon was cast out of them.
Sprinkling some in every room at the blessing of a house.
Taking some when sick to promote healing and rapid recovery.
Having a small vial of Holy Water on the Icon stand at home.
There are many more ways to use the Holy water but i must move on.

There are some nice ideas here about how Holy Water is used. Today for example those of us who are celebrating the feast of the Dormition may bless herbs at the end of the Liturgy. For this we say a prayer and then bless them with Holy Water.

One thing we need to be careful about though is to not mistake the custom of partaking of Antidoron and Holy Water as being a type of Communion, ie the Eucharist. Antidoron is the remaining pieces of bread that come from the proskomedia at the Liturgy; it's blessed due to it's having come from the loaves used for the preparation of the Liturgy. But it is not equal to the Eucharist since only the bread which is used for the Lamb at the Liturgy becomes the Eucharist which is partaken of by the communing faithful and one of the celebrants at the end of Liturgy.

Maybe a helpful way to think about the difference is: blessed things like Water, bread, herbs, etc refers to creation restored within God's Kingdom. In turn the faithful can share in and partake of this.

The Eucharist however is the Body & Blood of Christ and refers to communion by the faithful with the Incarnate Christ.

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Caleb Shoemaker]

We received a small vial of holy water from our priest before moving. I have used it to bless bedrooms, and even put a little on some rather nasty bug bites. What should we be doing with it? Is it right to drink it? Is it right to bless our house with it? I feel a little lost.

[Niko T.]

It is right to drink Holy Water, but the tradition is to do so after morning prayers, before having eaten breakfast (some differences may exist regarding the "Great Agiasmo" from Theophany, but that's a different discussion). I believe it is also good to annoint yourself with it (or Holy Oil) if you are sick. As for blessing your house, I don't think it is bad, but the tradition that I have seen is to ask the priest come bless your house, car, place of work, etc. This is done annually after Theophany, but you can ask your priest to come any time.