Fr. Vasyl will be available for house blessings after January 9. 2023. Please email the office if you would like him to bless your home: sscyrilmethodius@gmail.com
It is customary, to invite your Priest to bless your home with the Holy Water sanctified on Theophany (the feast which commemorates the Baptism of the Lord in the Jordan River). The Church teaches us to sanctify everything: dwellings, places of work, all our pursuits, and the fruits of our labor. The home blessing at Theophany represents a renewal of our lives in Christ. Washed in the baptismal waters, our homes become temples of the Holy Spirit for the fulfillment of the will of our Heavenly Father. A house can be blessed at any time, but the usual season for yearly blessings is from Theophany until the beginning of the Lenten Triodion, which begins four Sundays before Great Fast begins.
PROPERS: Theophany_House_Blessing
(When a priest visits, there is a pious custom in some places that the family makes a donation to the priest for gas and other expenses. This is appreciated, but it should not be thought of as a requirement. The scripture tells us “Freely you have received, freely give”. The priest comes to the home because he wants God’s blessing to be upon it, and to know those in his flock better and to be available to them.)
THE BYZANTINE RITE CELEBRATION of THE FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY OF OUR LORD with the Traditional BLESSING OF THE WATER and the BLESSING OF HOMES (from the Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgy): https://archpitt.org/the-byzantine-rite-celebration-of-the-feast-of-the-epiphany-of-our-lord-with-the-traditional-blessing-of-the-water-and-the-blessing-of-homes/#:~:text=Theologically%20speaking%2C%20the%20blessing%20of,and%20those%20living%20in%20it.
