The Great Blessings Of Water In The Orthodox Church

The orthodox Christianity (such as Catholic tradition) asserts that there is only one God, not three gods. Furthermore, it states that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit compose of only one God, implying that the three divine Persons are distinct in the way they relate to each other (Mere Catholicism).

When I sit and think about water, these are some sentiments that stream from me: water, an oasis of cool relief for my throat, when sand dunes and wandering Bedouin nomads migrate on the desert of my tongue; the last days of elementary school when the tease of a late spring swim hints at the summer to come, and the time spent slipping the bonds of my corporeal existence, floating in that ethereal substance; of the cool shade of broad leafed trees drawing water up to their verdant canopy to their aquatic reservoir, sharing a respite from the unforgiving heat of an afternoon sun. Water flows through most of my happiest

The first meaning of Orthodoxy was “true teaching,” which means that the Orthodox Church believed that tradition was the most important way to practice their tradition. However, the Greek Orthodox church prefers to define Orthodoxy as “true praise.” This means that they think praising and glorifying God through certain activities is more meaningful. The Greek Orthodox church also puts an emphasis on the Holy Trinity and believes that the Holy Spirit can unite humans with Jesus Christ (Fitzgerald 2590). The fundamental ideas of Greek Orthodox include tradition, baptism, Eucharist, and Theosis. St. George’s church in Des Moines embodies these central practices and even engenders their own specific ways to practice Christianity.

Water can be identified as a symbol that embodies the very essence of Kate Chopin’s The Awakening. This “feminist” novel depicts the life of Edna Pontellier and explores the many daunting themes of identity, women and their roles in society, and independence; all of which, during the nineteenth century, were extremely sensitive and daring topics. In a nutshell, the novel is truly about her “awakening”, which is portended by its title. What allows this is water, which stands to represent Edna’s awakening. It is no coincidence that much of her time at Grand Isle was spent at the beach or in the water, or that her infamous death was due to drowning. Similarities like these do not just occur: they give purpose to the novel’s plot and meaning.

Water.  It expresses its’ power in the form of hurricanes and flash floods.  It displays its gentleness, washing dirt off a child's scabbed knee.  Water has been used to quench the thirst of many longing throats; and it has been the cause of death to those who unfavorably crossed its path.  It possesses the power of total destruction, yet it holds the bases of all life.  Generally, water has symbolized cleanliness and renewal.  In the Bible, water was used in Baptism, cleansing the soul of original sin and offering a new life in the light of God.  Water in itself is a natural purifier, washing the dirt from our bodies. Water is a symbol of

For Orthodox Christians the significance of the sacrament of baptism is in the entry into the church as members of body of Christ. It is the ‘new birth ‘by which we die to the world, and are raised with Christ to external life. It is through baptism

Water is something that is seen as solely necessary for human beings to stay hydrated, but the novels being mentioned in this paper describe water as being something more. Praisesong for the Widow by Paule Marshall, Krik? Krak! by Edwidge Danticat and Masters of the Dew by Jacques Roumain all depict water as being something that helps with liberation, recovery and new life.

Rituals and ceremonies are the practical aspects of Christianity, which involve customary acts of special, deliberate and repeatable patterns of behaviour through the use of words, actions and symbols (Coleman, 2006). Rituals and ceremonies solidify the relationship between Christians and God as they present a practical, symbolic and comprehensible expression of their underlying beliefs (Morrissey, 2010). Baptism is the ritual of initiation into Christianity, which in essence, is initiation into a life of positive living modelled on Christ. Baptism is held within a congregation of the body of Christ where they vow to spiritually nurture the child or adult being baptised (RCA, 2012). The symbology of the water in baptism encompasses the cleansing of an individual, and it is a practical element of the ritual, which underpins a broader idea of initiating a living adherent into the religion. Another ritual present in all Christian denominations is prayer, which the baptised

The elements of this practice equip the individual to perform this ritual in a successful manner and allow adherents to be disciples of the Lord in the Christian community. The use of water signifies the spiritual cleansing of the individual and reflects the discussion of rebirth through water in the Gospel of John - “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water” (3:5). The use of water also unifies the individual with the ministry of Christ as we take part in the same ceremony as him. The bible highlights the eternal connection established with the Christian community as the word stresses the importance of this practice. Furthermore, the white garment symbolises the pure and virtuous nature of this ritual and signifies the releasing from the chains of sin and being reborn into a new life with Christ. Pope Francis’ statement that the “people of God have become missionary disciples” highlights the communal aspect of baptism and its contribution to Christianity as a living tradition as it is the individuals moral duty to baptise non-believers and unite them with the Christian community. The Gospel of John reinforces this obligation and the importance of baptism for the individual and the community as a whole in “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Mttw

The film “The Water Diviner” is to a large extent historically accurate. The story takes you on an adventure about a father (Joshua Connor) who lost his three sons in Gallipoli. The movie is to some extent realistic as it’s based on a real father who travelled from Gallipoli to Australia to find his son’s bodies. The film is also realistic as it uses the correct weapon and armoury that they used in the real battle and it is based on a real battle (Gallipoli). There is also unrealistic in the movie. This includes how somehow the Father can “sense” where his son’s bodies lay.

“Water is important to people who do not have it, and the same is true to control,” (Didion). The article, “Holy Water” by Joan Didion draws parallelism to the controlling or lack of control of water by metaphorically comparing water to life. Analyzing the possibility of how people are taking water for granted, especially where rainfall is extremely sparse, Didion touches on how supply and demand of a natural resource is solely dependent on its availability and whether or not it is immediately needed. Didion’s use of tone, appealing to emotions, gathering the audience to develop a trust, and providing a direct insight into her purpose allows the reader to recognize the importance water has within the planet.

Just as Christ was crucified and died, our submersion in water symbolizes us too dying with him. In turn, our removal from the water symbolizes our rebirth and connection with Christ giving us our first divine-human encounter. The depth of such an act clearly portrays how vital of a part cleansing of sins by way of water is important and used in our faith since the beginning of time and an example of initiation into Christ’s life. Water has, since the beginning of time, been used to symbolize cleansing and new beginnings and in turn a major reason why this sign is seen as such in the symbolic ritual.

Water is a necessity for life. Beloved’s rebirth holds the entire meaning of life within water. “A fully dressed woman walked out of the water (50)”. Although Beloved was murdered she continues to live

This oneness with each other and with nature created strong communal bonds within Russia. In 988 Prince Vladimir of Kiev was baptized and he decreed that the Kievan land would adopt Eastern Christianity.(Massie, 23) Although the Russians people changed religions they carried on their core beliefs they went from viewing the Mother Earth as the source of life to venerating Mary as the Virgin of Motherhood. The reason Vladimir decided to convert to Christianity was because of the immense beauty his men saw when they visited the Cathedral of Hagia Sophia, This desire for beauty was translated into beautiful Russian art and music. The Orthodox liturgy continually inspired poetry, music and art, for, unlike the Catholic liturgy in the West, it was from the beginning the possession of the whole Christian people, who worshiped together in their native Slavic tongue. (Massie, 28) An example of this is the Icon of the Virgin of Vladimir from the early 12th century, and icon that depicts Mary holding Jesus as a baby.(Massie 43)

To start with, the theme of the poem is that water is a necessity to life and is a precious gift. This gift is known as a “Blessing”. To begin with, there is a lack of water in which the poem takes place. Imtiaz starts the poem off strong stating right away how “The skin cracks like a pod” (1). Human skin becomes dry and cracked when it is not moisturized. A pod is useless when it is dries up and becomes fragile because of the deficiency of water. The pod links to human skin because water keeps the skin hydrated and helps the body function. In addition, the villagers in the poem value water. When the municipal pipes explode, “silver crashes to the ground” (9). To the villagers, the water shines like silver. The villagers worship the