Why the holy water is called the "holy"? In general, what the "sanctity"? When we were about someone saying: "he was a saint", we mean that this person is nothing but goodness, does not, leading respectable lives. There is no evil: no envy, no greed, no aggression. And rightly so, because the sanctity of - freedom from evil. But not only. Many of those who deliberately wanted to become a saint, becomes even more sinful. No wonder they say: "paved with good intentions The road to hell." Holiness can not take "unceremoniously". Even if a person is a lifetime to perform only the right thing and bring only good, it still will not automatically a saint. On the contrary, it can destroy your soul and the souls of those who are close to him. The fact that the human notion of correctness and of the good greatly distorted. Remember the adage: "How many people, so many opinions? For one person is good one for another - another. Here's an example. Whether the government should protect children? - The answer is obvious. If it does, whether it is right? - Yes. Is this good? - Also yes. But life somehow everything goes differently. In many Western countries, where laws are strictly enforced to protect children, there is a huge problem of education. A friend of mine, who moved to Canada, said that there a law ... prohibits children cry. Not in the literal sense: crying children, of course, they can. But for this, parents have a solid chance to pay a fine or even imprisonment. And the parents, that child is not brought them to "scrip, and the prison, trying in every possible way to appease him ... it ends with the fact that children, quickly realizing what was happening, begin to blackmail the parents: that if something goes wrong - will go to the police. Here is a "good" exists in the world. Is it better than evil? This is the same evil, but perhaps even worse. In the Gospel of Luke tells the parable of the swept chamber - when out of the room drove an evil spirit, but left empty chamber, and the spirit is found and brought back seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and the latter was more bitter than the first. Often, the human "good" is a swept upper chamber, where a small sweep evil, but settled on the white space even more evil. That's why holiness - it's not just freedom from evil. It has little in common with our notion of honesty. Often the saints - true saints - made from the perspective of the world, frankly, no respectable business. For example, St. Vital Alexandria spent all his money on prostitutes .... What is a general contempt: because Vitali was a monk, and had no right to go to whores. Nobody wanted to give him a hand, and one young man met a monk at the whore, even hit him. But no man before his death knew that after Vitali led prostitute to his cell, he gave her money, saying: "Take this night do not sin." After that went to the desert and prayed for her God. Many of these women and then completely changed their lifestyles, and some even become saints ... On the basis of their correction, they were silent, because St. Vital forbade them to talk about it. When one of them broke the oath, then lapsed into madness - and it was for confirmation of the Alexandrians "terrible sin of the monk." Only after the death of the woman warrior was healed by touching his body. Holiness - is not good and not ostentatious ostentatious piety. Holiness - is the Holy Spirit, who leads a man. And this spirit of freedom. He, according to the Apostle, "breathes where it wills." Only the presence of the Holy Spirit in a person can make him a saint. The first inhabitants of paradise became a robber - a man who all his life performed just evils. Does he not deserve sanctity, but by recognizing their sins and to open themselves to God, became the first in the history of Christian saints.

Holy water is called a "saint" because it is home to the Spirit of God. He settles into it through the prayers of the priest, but that does not mean that with only one prayer to "make" water sanctified. Holy water can not be intentionally "cook", "programmed", "charge". Profoundly mistaken are those who believe that water takes some special physical and chemical properties "of the vibration of words of prayer." Prayer, of course, affect the structure of water (about this - later). But prayer can not force the Holy Spirit to move in the water. Prayer - this is a request, but the Spirit resolves itself: reply to this request or not. At midnight on Epiphany (from 18 to 19 January) all the water on the planet becomes a saint. In the sea, lakes, rivers, springs, wells. Even ordinary tap water at this point sanctified. Many people who do not have a chance to go to the temple and collect the holy water, take this midnight water from available sources. And get the holy water, while above it, no one had read the prayers and does not perform any rituals. How did this happen? No one can say, even priests. One thing is: the holy is nothing but pure water. In the spirit of contaminated water is not coming off. Blessing of the Waters - a mystery that makes himself God. A mystery why is called a mystery, that it is hidden from everyone. Although some people do manage to touch it. Here's what he wrote in his memoirs, Metropolitan Benjamin (Fedchenkov):

"In the Altai region had to baptize a pagan. It was in the temple. Godfather was his uncle baptized. And at a time when the priest consecrated water in the tub and began to speak, the words "Sam and now come and sanctify this water by Thy Holy Spirit," the procession with all the spontaneity of nature dityati shouted: "This happened to me? And to me was "What did he see? With the dome of the church fell into the water and fire as it melted in it ... Then I was told about this miracle of the bishop, and he appointed a commission to study accomplished a miracle. In this commission and was appointed Archimandrite Innocent, later bishop. All in accuracy was confirmed under oath. Consequently, and now at the baptism, and in general with the blessing of water takes place the same effect as the Holy Spirit. Another recall another case, narrated to me by an eyewitness. In Paris, the Council of Bishops, on the day of the Epiphany blessing of the waters made. And when those same words from the barrel jumped demons in visible human form. It's my own eyes saw my friend know and writer PK Ivanov, a man of extraordinary piety, especially long-term survivor and godlessness. "

Holy water - a mysterious shrine, in which dwells the Holy Spirit. This is not an aqueous solution of silver, not programmed water. Even a few drops of water of St added to ordinary drinking water, sanctify it. Spirit week - and if he is in a single molecule means that all water is sacred. But the Spirit can and leave the water if the person is unworthy to treat it. That is why the holy water to cherish and treat her like a shrine. And then it really is water of immortality.