Holy Water, in the Roman Catholic, as also in the Greek, Russian, and oriental churches, signifies water blessed by a priest or bishop for certain religious uses. Water is, almost of its own nature, a fitting symbol of purity; and accordingly, in most of the ancient religions, the use of lustral or purifying water not only formed part of the public worship, but also entered largely into the personal acts of sanctification prescribed to individuals. The Jewish law contained many provisions to the same effect; and our Lord, by establishing baptism with water as the necessary form of initiation into the religion instituted by him, gave his sanction to the use. The usage of sprinkling the hands and face with water before entering the sanctuary, prescribed in the Jewish law for those ceremonially unclean, was very early adopted in the Christian church. It is expressly mentioned by
Tertullian in the end of the 2d century. And that the water so employed was blessed by the priests we learn from St Jerome, among others, and from the Apostolic Constitutions. Although it is difficult to fix the precise time, it cannot be doubted that the practice of mingling salt with the water is of very ancient origin. In the Western Church there is a solemn blessing of water in the service of Holy Saturday, but the ceremonial is repeated by the priest whenever necessary. Holy water is placed in Benitiers (q.v.) at the doors of churches that worshippers may sprinkle themselves with it; before high mass on Sundays the celebrant sprinkles the people with holy water; and it is used in nearly every blessing given by the church. Instructed Catholics regard the use of holy water chiefly as a means of suggesting to the mind the necessity of internal purity; and although it is supposed to derive from the blessing a special efficacy for this end, yet this efficacy is held to be mainly subjective and of a character entirely distinct from that ascribed to the sacramental rites of the church. See BENE-DICTION.