WHAT THINGS ARE AND ARE NOT 
TO BE BLESSED

© 2003 by Orchid Land Publications

[20030419]

     It has been shown (notably by Dr. G. Gabriel) that the Fathers held that icons, crosses, the Altar vessels, etc. are so inherently holy that they should not be "blessed."  It is otherwise with water (cf. the Blessings at Baptism and on the Festival of the Theophany), bread, houses, and so on.  There may be categories concerning which one may entertain doubt--e.g. the eucharistic vestments.  It is customary at seminaries for the students to line up to have their cassocks blessed at the beginning of their studies.
     It seems clear that blessing inherently holy things was something borrowed from the West during the four-century Latin captivity of Orthodoxy (when the Balkans were under Muslim rule).

     Further details and Patristic quotations are invited and will be welcome.

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