On the feast of the Epiphany, on January 6, the Rite of Consecration of Water was traditionally held on Rynok Square in Lviv. As last year, the water was consecrated by military chaplains of various denominations who spiritually accompany our servicemen. During the day, Lviv residents can come to Rynok Square and take holy water to their homes.
“Despite everything, we keep our good traditions. Today is such a solemn moment when all of us – chaplains of all denominations – consecrate water in the city center, which every resident can then take home. Fathers will also sprinkle the offices of the city council. Indeed, God’s spirit and God’s power are what we really need today for our Victory,” said Andriy Sadovy, the mayor of Lviv.
The military chaplain and chaplain of the Lviv City Council, Father Andriy Sydanych, thanked all the fathers and residents for the joint prayer and emphasized that holy water has the healing power to cleanse us from the inside, and therefore it should be consumed, not immersed in it.
“Today, in the central square of our city, we can pray to God together and ask Him to bless us all, to bless this water so that it will be for the healing of our souls and bodies. Thank you all for praying together.
Let’s remember that Epiphany is a special day when we thank God for always being with us. This holiday shows that God comes and gives himself in full, showing the entire Holy Trinity: God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, let’s also remember that this tradition of immersing in water is not ours, because water should cleanse us, first of all, from the inside, so we should consume it. Let’s run to this healing water with special faith in God and for our Ukraine, for our army,” noted Father Andriy Sydanych, chaplain of the Lviv City Council.
After the consecration of the water, the chaplains blessed and sprinkled all the people who came to the Market Square. After that, the fathers traditionally sprinkled the offices of the Lviv City Council with holy water.
As every year, every willing resident of the city can come to Rynok Square during the day and take holy water home. For this, a large tank with a volume of 1500 liters was installed.