The Great Agiasma

The Church of the Lord rests on the seven holy mysteries as on the seven pillars of Solomon. Here every stone was laid by the Saviour and carved by Him. For “Wisdom hath builded her house.” It is the house of God, so not a single stone in its wall should be loosened. Our worthy forebears guarded the holy mysteries of the Church and her traditions with great reverence. And they are called mysteries because, although the prayers are performed openly by the clergy, the divine grace acts hidden from men.

Besides the seven chief mysteries there are also lesser sacred rites, though by the grace of God no less powerful. Such is the blessing of water by the order of the Great Agiasma, which Mother Church has appointed for Vespers of Theophany. At this time ordinary water, through the priest's prayer, is sanctified and acquires miraculous power. Christians have a special trust in it. Every morning when they do not receive the Body and Blood of the Lord, they drink water of the Great Agiasma, so as not to grow weak spiritually.

The Georgians of old too had great faith in the water blessed on this day. It is said that even ordinary water drawn on Theophany does not go bad. They believed that on this day the water of every river, stream and gorge was given the same grace as was given to the Jordan at the Saviour's baptism. In some villages an old custom survives even now: on Theophany, before dawn, in silence (without uttering a word), people fill their jugs three times in the gorge or river and pour them out on the spot. And some carry this water to a grave and sprinkle it — in this way, as it were, sharing with their departed too the joy of the Theophany.

Blessed is he who trusts the Lord like a child! But if the worm of unbelief has got into a soul intended for immortality, that person will certainly be taught by God — either through a revelation or through a trial.

Here are two stories about lack of faith:

In 1909 in Petersburg, on the recommendation of a sanitary commission, an order was issued that the Great Agiasma be performed over boiled water. Huge barrels filled with boiled water were brought into the churches, and the prayer of the blessing of the waters was read over them. And this happened not in some province, but in the centre of the empire, under the rule not of a pagan but of a Christian Tsar!

Only Bishop Kirill of Gdov did not obey the order.

Here is what the “Petersburg Gazette” wrote at the time: “The watchman of the Lavra had prepared in advance a huge oak vat and several barrels of unboiled water for the blessing of the waters, while the police, on the orders of the city governor, instructed the owner of a local tavern to boil 50 buckets of water for the blessing of the waters in the Alexander Nevsky church. The water was ready in an hour. When the police learned that unboiled water had been poured into the oak vat, they demanded that it be replaced with boiled. The steward of the Lavra was at a loss and hurried to Metropolitan Anthony, but he was not let in — he was told the metropolitan was very busy. The steward came back and on his own authority had the water replaced.

There was enough boiled water for everyone, except that it had not had time to cool, and it was handed out hot. This greatly outraged the congregation. When the boiled water was brought in and poured into the barrels, many even left the Liturgy.

This happened on the eve of Theophany; and on the feast itself (in the Russian tradition water is blessed on the day of Theophany too) the clergy of the Lavra refused to set up a barrel of boiled water on the bank of the Neva and bless it. The ice was cut through, and Metropolitan Kirill of Gdov, of blessed memory, together with the archimandrites of the Lavra, blessed the river according to the rite, although the police did everything in their power to see that not a single worshipper was present at the blessing of the waters.”

Metropolitan Anthony, under whom this sacrilege took place, soon died. His death was terrible: for ten days he lay unconscious, taking leave of life every day. When he died, his body was carried around the Lavra during the funeral. Suddenly a whirlwind sprang up, tore the crown from the dead man's head, flung it into the crowd and then carried it off without trace.

Truly, to whom much is given, of him much shall be required.

And this story happened in Georgia in our own time. In Meskheti, in a most beautiful spot, stands the Chulevi Monastery. To its north-east a waterfall comes tumbling down. It was this water that used to be blessed at Theophany. So it was that year too. A great many worshippers flocked to the monastery. It was very cold and there was snow on the ground, but this did not stop the people. The ice by the waterfall was broken, and Father Stephane (now a bishop) performed the blessing by the order of the Great Agiasma. When the prayer was over, everyone went into the water and washed. A young married couple had brought their two-month-old baby. The little one was ill. The doctors no longer had any hope of saving him… The parents immersed him in the water too.

Only Natia did not want to wash — she was afraid of catching cold.

After the washing there was to be a meal. Natia did not wait but hurried off home.

A miracle happened: the dying child revived and soon recovered completely. But that night Natia came down with a fever and was ill for a long time. Little was given her, little was required of her, and, unlike the hierarch, she was taught by God only a little.