Greener than Oz, Part IV
The rivers have lifted up, O Lord, the rivers have lifted up their voices.
The rivers will lift up their waves, at the voices of many waters.
Wonderful are the surgings of the sea, wonderful on high is the Lord.
Those verses are from Psalm 92; they describe how the waters of the earth participate in the worship of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
In this most recent series of posts, we’ve been taking a look at how we humans lead all the creatures of this planet in that kind of worship. That’s one of our primary responsibilities as High Priests of the Most Holy Trinity, and in this article, we’re going to focus on water.
Of course, water is present at the very beginning and the very end of Holy Scripture. In Genesis 1.2, we hear “the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters”; in Revelation 22.1, we are told about “the pure river of the water of life” that is “clear as crystal”. But water is also present in each and every Orthodox temple.
If you check out the renderings for our temple, you’ll see that our baptismal font is going to be a prominent feature in the nave. That’s because we want everyone who enters that building to be immediately reminded of the Holy Mystery by which we enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
That font will be adorned with carvings by Martin Earle, and the themes of those carvings will be drawn from passages of Holy Scripture that feature water: the Ark of Noah (Genesis 6-9); the Crossing of the Red Sea (Exodus 14); the Healing of Naaman (2 Kings 5); Jonah and the Whale (The Book of the Prophet Jonah).
And unlike a great many Orthodox communities, we do not serve private baptisms; the entire parish is always involved, so that beautiful font—and the water in it—is going to be at the very center of the life of our community.
But water is already at the very center of the Orthodox Liturgical Year, because, in Orthodox Land, after Easter, the second great feast of the year is not Christmas; it’s Theophany. At Theophany—which happens on January 6—we celebrate the Baptism of our Lord and Master, and a major part of that celebration is The Blessing of the Waters.
There is an indoor version of that service and an outdoor version of that service. The outdoor version takes place at a local body of water. Here in Texas, that’s usually a lake, though there are some parishes down on the coast. But we all gather at the edge of the water; we sing hymns and offer a blessing, and, often, there are all sorts of other activities, like cross-diving and cookouts.
As you probably already surmised, the indoor version takes place back at the temple, and, in that service, we sanctify water—we make it holy—so folks can take it home and use it throughout the year. The service itself is simply stunning. Here are a few lines from one of the prayers that we offer:
“And may this water be unto all those who shall draw it, and shall partake of it unto the purification of their souls and bodies, unto the healing of their passions, unto the sanctification of their houses, and unto every expedient service. For Thou art our God, who through water and the Spirit renewed our nature, which had fallen into decay through sin. For Thou art our God, who with water didst drown sin in the days of Noah. For Thou art our God, who by the sea, through Moses, didst set free from slavery to Pharaoh the Hebrew race. For Thou art our God, who didst cleave the rock in the wilderness, so that water poured forth, and who made the floods to well forth abundantly; and didst satisfy Thy thirsty people.”
Those in attendance at the service bring special containers for the Holy Water, and they take home as much as they can, because, for us Orthodox, Holy Water is basically the WD-40 of the Spiritual Life. In fact, we use it for pretty much everything. If someone is feeling sick, we anoint them with Holy Water before we head to the Urgent Care; if an appliance is acting up, we get out the Holy Water before we call the repair guy; if we get a new laptop, we put some Holy Water on it to dedicate the device to the uses of righteousness.
In the weeks following Theophany, Orthodox priests bless the homes of their parishioners. The Holy Water that was blessed during the feast is also used in those services, so that water becomes the means by which everything that we own is connected with and dedicated to the service of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: every article of clothing, all the kitchen stuff, each toy, each tool, the beds, the books, all of it.
But water is not only going to be at the center of our new temple; it’s not only at one of the centerpieces of our Liturgical Year; water is also at the very heart of what we do each time we offer the Divine Liturgy. Because after the Holy Gifts have been consecrated, the deacon brings a small pitcher of hot water to the altar, and here’s what happens next:
Deacon: Bless, master, the hot water.
Priest: Blessed is the fervor of Thy saints, always now and ever and unto ages of ages.
Deacon (as he pours the water into the chalice): The fervor of faith, full of the Holy Spirit.
Depending on what sources you consult, that hot water represents the water that flowed from the side of Christ Jesus at the crucifixion and the warmth of the presence of the Holy Spirit, but you don’t have to choose between those perspectives, and the bottom line is that water is present and participant at one of the most intimate moments in our worship of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
All of this was foretold by the Holy Prophet Ezekiel in his vision of the Heavenly Temple:
“Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar. Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side…Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.” (47.1-2;7-9)
And, honestly, I think, in addition to all the 80s nerdy angst, that’s what The Talking Heads were actually singing about in Once in a Lifetime: “into the silent water/under the rocks and stones…”
“Into the blue again…” that’s the primal way that water participates in the Orthodox spiritual life. And if you’d like to participate along with us and all the creatures of the natural world, just go ahead and subscribe to this Substack or recommend it to a friend. Better yet, get in touch with us and we’ll let you know what you can do to help us move forward in our new temple project. You can donate to the building program here: Give Now.