With the blessings of His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, on February 08, 2016 Saint Michael the Archangel Orthodox Mission in Pakistan has started the house blessing of Orthodox Christian families in Pakistan. Fr. Joseph Farooq is blessing the houses of parishioners going from door to door by following the practice of the Orthodox Church. The Orthodox Families like this spiritual practice very much and feel the spiritual renewal for their families.
It is the practice of Orthodox Church for centuries that priest visits the orthodox families blesses the houses of orthodox families. The family is considered an extension of the church and the home a “little church”. This service is performed by the priest and according to the practice of the Russian Orthodox Church, the holy water, holy oil, and incense are used and a lesson from the holy Gospel is read. All the rooms of the house are sprinkled with holy water and each of the four outer walls are anointed with the sign of the Cross with holy oil, a candle placed before them, and after the censing of the house, the lesson from the Holy Gospel is read. At the conclusion of the blessing, the inhabitants are blessed with holy water.
Houses are traditionally blessed with water blessed at the Feast of Theophany, during the time from Theophany until the beginning of the Lenten Triodion, which begins four Sundays before Great Lent begins. This is not a hard and fast rule, but an appropriate principle to follow. So the houses of the orthodox families can be bless by priest at any time of the on the request of the parishioners.
The house blessing shows the connection of strong spiritual unity of orthodox families with orthodox traditions and the Faith.
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