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Good evening Pater. I hope you are well and in good health. My question to you is this. 20 years ago the Priest who buried my mother visited me and asked me if I wanted a reading and a blessing of my home to which I said of course I would. He took ordinary tap water from my kitchen went into the garden cut some laurels and proceeded with the blessing around the house. After he had finished dispensing his blessing there was some "holy water" left over and he told me to put it in a bottle and use it whenever. Which I did and still have that same holy water today 20 years later. In July this year I went to Apostolos Andreas Monastery and as is our custom I brought a bottle of holy water from the church. Recently when using this holy water I noticed that it's turning algae green at the bottom of the bottle. Is there an explanation for this? The 20 year old agiasmo is as clear today and yet the one from Apostolos Andreas is turning green? I look forward to your answer Pater and thank you in advance if you can explain this to me.
Answer to Question 253
You say that the priest 20 years ago took tap water and some laurel leaves and proceeded to bless your house. If he didn't say the service for the blessing of the waters to make it into Holy Water then he didn't bless your house, but conned you into thinking it became holy water all by itself. But even without the service he may have had some holy water with him and added it to the tap water thereby making it all holy water. There are two types of holy water which in Greek we call Agiasmos and Agiasma. Agiasmos is the holy water that is blessed and Agiasma is the water that flows from the spring near the monastery which people take as a blessing, but does not necessarily mean that it is blessed. I would pour the agiasma into a plant pot and after twenty years I think it’s about time you did the same to the agiasmos and call a priest to come and bless your house again.
Same member In sorry Pater maybe I didn't explain it very well. It goes without saying, the Priest carried out the readings and the blessing of the water. Of course he did and my family were in attendance. If the water had not been blessed it would have grown moss in 20 years. It is as clear today as it was then and I will continue to use it in times of need. Are you telling me that the agiasma from Apostolos Andreas was not blessed because I took if from the spring?
Answer According to tradition the spring flowed with water after St. Andrew hit the rock and miraculously the water flowed from the rock and even healed a blind boy after washing with the water, but there is a difference between that water and the water blessed and sanctified through the blessing of a priest.
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