Blessing

Blessing of the Cross

Holy water blessing

• In the Jewish tradition, the blessing ( Brahâ - Heb. ברכה ) is a prayer wish for success, happiness, and longevity for a person. The custom of blessing people originates from ancient times and is probably based on the blessing that God gave to our first parents according to the Bible ( Genesis 1:28 ; Genesis 9: 1 ). Before the death of the patriarchs, they solemnly blessed their children and descendants ( Genesis 27: 27–29 ). As for the rite of blessing, among the Jews it consisted of raising the right hand or both hands and laying them on the head of the blessed one ( Genesis 48:15 ; Lev. 9:22 ). Jesus Christ used the same visible sign when he blessed some children ( Mark 10:16 ) and all his disciples during His ascension to heaven ( Luke 24:50 ). The symbol of blessing in Kabbalah is the letter “ Bet ” ( Heb. ב) ^[2] .
• The blessing of priests (coenes), more precisely - in the modern world, a blessing from people belonging to the clan coenim (priests). The blessing is carried out from antiquity to the present day in accordance with the text of the Book of Number / Bemidbar (במדבר) (chap. 6, v. 24 - 26): “May the Lord bless you and save you. May the LORD look upon you with his bright face and have mercy on you! May God turn his face to you and give you peace! ”At the same time, the koens (priests) take off their shoes and spread their fingers - blessing each hand with an open palm (five) with both hands.

• In Orthodox Christianity :
  • The blessing (praise) of God, performed by bishops , priests or laity and accompanied by an external sign with a right (usually) hand, which is laid first on the forehead , then on the stomach , on the right and left shoulder of a person, depicting through this sign of the cross . Action is necessary so that for a person who, through the priest, asks for something from God, the Lord Himself gives a blessing. Thus, God blesses man through the fact that man himself first blesses God. This is the model used in the Bible. For the Greeks, the priest says with blessing: “O Kyrios,” that is, “the Lord . ” This is a shortened version of the answer: “The Lord is blessed” ^[3] . In modern Greek tradition, the right hand only extends toward the blessed.

• • The cry of the priest or bishop by whom the service begins. Exclamations are distinguished: liturgy ( “Blessed Kingdom ...” ; they also begin the rite of baptism and the rite of marriage ), All-night Vigil and Matins ( “Glory to the Holy ...” ) and the usual ( “Blessed is our God always and now ...” ; before the rest of the divine services) .
  • The overshadowing of the sign of the faithful by one ( priest ) or two ( bishop ) hands in a naming congestion at certain moments of the service with the cry “Peace to all” and others.
  • The blessing of coliva ^[4] and some other items.
  • In speech usage also means the permission of the hierarchy to carry out an action. By the blessing of the patriarch, the Synod, the diocesan bishop, churches are built and consecrated, rituals and other things begin.
  • A blessing is a “good word” (wish, parting words, prayer, petition for someone, etc.) in relation to the one who asks (as an example: “father, bless” - father, say a good word). A certain woman was tormented, terribly tormented by an unclean spirit. As soon as she accepted the blessing of Epiphanius , she got rid of this misfortune. ^[five]

• In the Roman rite of the Roman Catholic Church, it always makes sense to invoke the grace of God on people, objects or certain actions, in particular:
  • Fall with the sign of the faithful. It is performed by a priest or bishop at the end of the Mass and other services with the words "In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit . "
  • The priest invoking God's grace to the beginning of any work, so the priest can bless before traveling, the beginning of study, etc.
  • The blessing of objects of both religious and household purposes (in the West, the term “blessing” in this sense corresponds to the eastern term “sanctification”) - water , crosses, icons, dwellings, etc. The blessing of some objects may be part of other services, for example , at the Easter service the Easter fire and the Easter candle lit from it are blessed.

Historically, the texts of the blessings of the Roman rite were collected in a separate book called the Benedictal . An exception was the blessings that were part of other services; they were published in the missal , along with the rest of the text of the service. In 1984, the most recent Benedictional (De benedictionibus) was published.

In Protestantism

In Protestantism, the emphasis is not on the fact that a blessing is just a “wish for blessings,” but on the fact that blessing is a special state of human life that God gives to his children. This condition is characterized by success in spiritual life (supporters of the “gospel of prosperity”, including charismatics, add it in material as well), general well-being, insights into spiritual truths hidden in the Bible, ability to apply the truths of Scripture in everyday life for the benefit of those who accept the Good News etc.

In Arabic, the “blessing” is “baraka” (hence the names such as “Mubarak” and others). The blessing begins the day of the Muslim and is accompanied by daily activities. Usually, the word “blessing” (“baraka”) along with the words “Salam alaikum” (“Peace be upon you”) is included in the everyday mutual greetings of the inhabitants of Muslim countries. The reading of the First Surah of the Quran “Opening” (“Fatih”) is also considered by believers as a blessing.

Hindu pujas (services) usually have one of the most important goals - to attract blessings to participants in these ritual activities. For this, mantras are used, services with lamps (aarti) among the faces of Vishnu and his avatars, as well as Lakshmi, Shiva and other devas.

In Buddhism, being blessed is considered a being devoid of passions and hatred. Buddhists bless the words in Sanskrit "Sarva mangalam" ("May all be blessed."). There are rituals (primarily the reading of the Sutras - the Words of the Buddha) designed to invoke a blessing on those participating in these rituals.

For Slavic peoples, no important event of a family or business nature could take place without the blessing of a priest and a father, mother, or master in the household.

A particularly important role is played by the blessing in the wedding ceremony, which is repeated several times in it and everything is in a very solemn form. The first blessing usually takes place in the groom's house, when the elders come to him, and then go to marry the girl. In the Uman region, this blessing happened as follows:

“Mother takes bread, a piece of salt is stunned at him, and father picks up images from the wall. Both of them stand at the table, or in the middle of the room, or sit down so that father is on the right and mother is on the left. The guy kneels in front of them and tells his father:

- Bless me, father!

- Bless the second time!

- Bless the third time!

Each time, the father replies:

- May God bless you! And baptizes him in a way.

The guy gets up every time, kisses the image of both father in the hand, and father and mother kiss him on the head. Then they change places and the father takes the bread, and the mother takes the image, and the ceremony is repeated again three times.

Sometimes the image is laid on the table, and blessed with bread. " (Matt. Ukr. EVN., NOSH. XIX, 153).

• A curse

• Petrovsky A.V. Blessing // Orthodox Theological Encyclopedia . - SPb. : Edition of Petrograd. Appendix to the spiritual journal "Wanderer", 1901. - T. 2. - St. 652

• Blessing // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• Art. bless (unavailable link) (unavailable link from 06/14/2016 [1162 days]) in the Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov
• Website Blessing. Priest answers to questions