Holy water font

Holy water font in Rome, Italy
Carved stoup at the entrance of Church of St Mary and St David, Kilpeck, England

A holy water font or stoup is a vessel containing holy water generally placed near the entrance of a church. It is used in the Catholic Church, Anglican Church, and some Lutheran churches to make the Sign of the Cross using the holy water upon entrance of the church.[1] Holy water is blessed by a priest or a deacon, and many Christians believe it to be a reminder of the baptismal promises.[2]

References

  1. Bertacchini, E. (1 January 2014). A New Perspective on the Production and Evolution of Cultures. Content Publishers. p. 183. ISBN 9781490272306. A holy water font is a vessel containing holy water generally placed near the entrance of a church. It is used in Roman Catholic and Lutheran churches, as well as some Anglican churches to make the sign of the cross using the holy water upon entrance and exit.
  2. Gould, Meredith (1 September 2009). Why is There a Menorah on the Altar?: Jewish Roots of Christian Worship. Church Publishing, Inc. p. 71. ISBN 9781596272194. Many Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican/Episcopal churches customarily sprinkle the assembly with water each Sunday during Easter. In liturgical churches, funeral services are begun by sprinkling water over the coffin. Getting sprinkled with holy water during liturgy is supposed to remind you of baptism.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stoups.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/18/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.