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Ablution in Christianity

Christ washing the feet of the Apostles, by Giotto di Bondone (Cappella Scrovegni a Padova).
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In Christianity, ablution is a prescribed washing of part or all of the body or possessions, such as clothing or ceremonial objects, with the intent of purification or dedication.[1] In Christianity, both baptism and footwashing are forms of ablution. Prior to praying the canonical hours at seven fixed prayer times, Oriental Orthodox Christians wash their hands and face (cf. Agpeya, Shehimo).[2][3] In liturgical churches, ablution can refer to purifying fingers or vessels related to the Eucharist.[4] In the New Testament, washing also occurs in reference to rites of Judaism[5] part of the action of a healing by Jesus,[6] the preparation of a body for burial,[7] the washing of nets by fishermen,[8] a person's personal washing of the face to appear in public,[9] the cleansing of an injured person's wounds,[10] Pontius Pilate's washing of his hands as a symbolic claim of innocence[11] and foot washing,[12] which is a rite within the Christian Churches.[13][14] According to the Gospel of Matthew, Pontius Pilate declared himself innocent of the blood of Jesus by washing his hands.[15] This act of Pilate may not, however, have been borrowed from the custom of the Jews. The same practice was common among the Greeks and Romans.

According to Christian tradition, the Pharisees carried the practice of ablution to great excess.[16] The Gospel of Mark refers to their ceremonial ablutions: "For the Pharisees…wash their hands 'oft'"[17] or, more accurately, "with the fist" (R.V., "diligently"); or, as Theophylact of Bulgaria explains it, "up to the elbow," referring to the actual word used in the Greek New Testament, πυγμή pygmē, which refers to the arm from the elbow to the tips of the fingers.[18][19] In the Book of Acts, Paul and other men performed ablution before entering the Temple in Jerusalem: "Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them."[20]

In the Old Testament, ablution was considered a prerequisite to approaching God, whether by means of sacrifice, prayer, or entering a holy place.[21] Around the time of Tertullian, an early Church Father, it was customary for Christians to wash their hands (manulavium), head (capitilavium) and feet (pedilavium) before prayer, as well as before receiving Holy Communion.[22] The rite of footwashing employed a basin of water and linen towels, done in the imitation of Christ (as recorded by the early Christian apologist Tertullian).[23] Churches from the time of Constantine the Great were thus built with an exonarthex that included a cantharus where Christians would wash their hands, face and feet before entering the worship space.[24][22] The practice of ablutions before prayer and worship in Christianity symbolizes "separation from sins of the spirit and surrender to the Lord."[22]

The Bible has many rituals of purification relating to menstruation, childbirth, sexual relations, nocturnal emission, unusual bodily fluids, skin disease, death, and animal sacrifices. The Biblical rituals of purification ranging in areas from the mundane private rituals of personal hygiene and toilet etiquette to the complex public rituals of social etiquette.[25] John Chrysostom, a prominent Church Father of Christianity revered in the Orthodox, Nestorian, Catholic, Lutheran and Anglican traditions, taught that people should wash their hands before picking up a copy of the Bible (he enjoined women to wear a headcovering if they were not already veiled at home prior to touching the Bible). This is to show respect for the Bible and in the Middle East and in the Indian subcontinent, Christians place their copies of Scripture in a rehal to have it rest in an elevated position.[26] The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church prescribes several kinds of hand washing for example after leaving the latrine, lavatory or bathhouse, or before prayer, or after eating a meal.[27] The women in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church are prohibited from entering the church temple during menses; and the men do not enter a church the day after they have had intercourse with their wives.[28]

Christianity has always placed a strong emphasis on hygiene.[29] The early Church denounced the mixed bathing prevalent in Roman pools, as well as the pagan custom of women naked bathing in front of men; as such the Didascalia Apostolorum, an early Christian manual, enjoined believing men and women to use baths that were separated by gender, which contributed to hygiene and good health according to the Church Father Clement of Alexandria.[30][31] The Church also built public bathing facilities that were separate for both sexes near monasteries and pilgrimage sites; also, the popes situated baths within church basilicas and monasteries since the early Middle Ages.[32] Pope Gregory the Great urged his followers on value of bathing as a bodily need.[33] Contrary to popular belief[34] bathing and sanitation were not lost in Europe with the collapse of the Roman Empire.[35][36] Soapmaking first became an established trade during the so-called "Dark Ages". The Romans used scented oils (mostly from Egypt), among other alternatives. By the mid-19th century, the English urbanised middle classes had formed an ideology of cleanliness that ranked alongside typical Victorian concepts, such as Christianity, respectability and social progress.[37] The Salvation Army has adopted movement of the deployment of the personal hygiene,[38] and by providing personal hygiene products.[39][40]

  1. ^ "ablution." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Ablution
  2. ^ Mary Cecil, 2nd Baroness Amherst of Hackney (1906). A Sketch of Egyptian History from the Earliest Times to the Present Day. Methuen. p. 399. Prayers 7 times a day are enjoined, and the most strict among the Copts recite one of more of the Psalms of David each time they pray. They always wash their hands and faces before devotions, and turn to the East.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Tadros, Emile (2015). Reconstruction the Origins of the Coptic Church through its Liturgy. McMaster Divinity College. p. 16. The Coptic Church observes strict practices concerning circumcision, rituals surrounding menstruation, weekly two-days fasting, 40 ablution, and many other rituals.
  4. ^ "ablution." ReligionWriters.com (Stylebook A) 2009. 28 Jun. 2009 <"Stylebook: A | ReligionWriters". Archived from the original on 2009-06-05. Retrieved 2009-06-28.>
  5. ^ (Matthew 15:2, Mark 7:3–4, cf. "unwashed" Mt. 15:20, Mk. 7:2, Lk. 11:38
  6. ^ Jn. 9:7, Jn. 9:11, Jn. 9:15
  7. ^ Acts 9:37
  8. ^ Lk. 5:2
  9. ^ Matt. 6:17
  10. ^ Acts 16:33
  11. ^ Matt. 27:24
  12. ^ Jn. 13:5–14, 1 Tim. 5:10
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference AMN2022 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Bromiley, Geoffrey W. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Revised edition (1979). ISBN 0-8028-3781-6
  15. ^ Matthew 27:24
  16. ^ Matt. 23:25
  17. ^ Mark 7:1–5
  18. ^ Theophylact of Bulgaria, Blessed (1993), The Explanation of the Holy Gospel According to St. Mark, House Springs, MO: Chrysostomos Press, p. 58, ISBN 0-9635183-3-X
  19. ^ Compare also Mark 7:4; Leviticus 6:28; Leviticus 11:32–36; Leviticus 15:22
  20. ^ Acts 21:26
  21. ^ Exodus 19:10, Exodus 30:19–21, Leviticus 8:6,Numbers 8:21, etc.
  22. ^ a b c Ferguson, Everett (2013). Encyclopedia of Early Christianity: Second Edition. Routledge. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-136-61158-2.
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference Stutzman was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ Ian Bradley (2012). Water: A Spiritual History. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4411-6767-5. It was probably out of the Jewish rite that the practice developed among early Christians, especially in the east, of washing their hands and feet before going into church. Early Christian basilicas had a fountain for ablutions, known as cantharus or phiala, and usually placed in the centre of the atrium. They are still found in some Eastern Orthodox churches, notably at the monastery of Laura at Mount Athos, where the phiala is an imposing structure in front of the entrance covered by a dome resting on eight pillars. In several Orthodox churches today worshippers take off heir shoes and wash their feet before entering the church just as Muslims do before going into a mosque.
  25. ^ Riches, John (2000). The Bible: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. ch. 1. ISBN 978-0192853431.
  26. ^ Trader, Alexis (18 October 2022). "Modesty, History, Veils, and Head-coverings". Orthodox Church in America.
  27. ^ "Is the Church of Ethiopia a Judaic Church?" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-01-15.
  28. ^ The Liturgy of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
  29. ^ Warsh, Cheryl Krasnick (2006). Children's Health Issues in Historical Perspective. Veronica Strong-Boag. Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press. p. 315. ISBN 9780889209121. ... From Fleming's perspective, the transition to Christianity required a good dose of personal and public hygiene ...
  30. ^ Gibson, Margaret Dunlop (1903). The Didascalia Apostolorum in English. C.J. Clay. pp. 9–10.
  31. ^ Warsh, Cheryl Krasnick (2006). Children's Health Issues in Historical Perspective. Veronica Strong-Boag. Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press. p. 315. ISBN 9780889209121. ... Thus bathing also was considered a part of good health practice. For example, Tertullian attended the baths and believed them hygienic. Clement of Alexandria, while condemning excesses, had given guidelines for Christians who wished to attend the baths ...
  32. ^ Thurlkill, Mary (2016). Sacred Scents in Early Christianity and Islam: Studies in Body and Religion. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 6–11. ISBN 978-0739174531. ... Clement of Alexandria (d. c. 215 CE) allowed that bathing contributed to good health and hygiene ... Christian skeptics could not easily dissuade the baths' practical popularity, however; popes continued to build baths situated within church basilicas and monasteries throughout the early medieval period ...
  33. ^ Squatriti, Paolo (2002). Water and Society in Early Medieval Italy, AD 400–1000, Parti 400–1000. Cambridge University Press. p. 54. ISBN 9780521522069. ... but baths were normally considered therapeutic until the days of Gregory the Great, who understood virtuous bathing to be bathing "on account of the needs of body" ...
  34. ^ "The Bad Old Days – Weddings & Hygiene". Archived from the original on 2017-01-30. Retrieved 2016-01-15.
  35. ^ The Great Famine (1315–1317) and the Black Death (1346–1351)
  36. ^ Middle Ages Hygiene
  37. ^ Eveleigh, Bogs (2002). Baths and Basins: The Story of Domestic Sanitation. Stroud, England: Sutton.
  38. ^ History of The Salvation Army – Social Services of Greater New York, retrieved 30 January 2007. Archived 7 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  39. ^ Hallelujah Lads and Lasses: Remaking the Salvation Army in America, 1880–1930
  40. ^ Christianity in Action: The History of the International Salvation Army p. 16

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