Laying on of hands

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A 1946 laying on of hands ceremony at the Pentecostal Church of God in Lejunior, Kentucky.

The laying on of hands is a religious practice found throughout the world in varying forms. In Christian churches, this practice is used as both a symbolic and formal method of invoking the Holy Spirit during baptisms, healing services, blessings, and ordination of priests, ministers, elders, deacons, and other church officers, along with a variety of other church sacraments and holy ceremonies.

1 History
2 See also
3 References

[edit] History

[edit] Judaism

In a larger context, the Christian tradition of the laying on of hands has its roots in Jewish beliefs and practices. In biblical times the laying on of hands was an action which conferred blessing or authority. To wit, Isaac blessed his son Jacob by laying hands (Genesis 27), and Aaron and the High Priests who succeeded him transferred the sins of the Children of Israel to a sacrificial goat (Leviticus 16:21). Finally, in the Old Testament priests were ordained by the laying on of hands.

[edit] Christianity

At priestly ordination the Catholic bishop imposes hands upon the deacon who is by that action and the form of the consecratory preface ordained to the priesthood. The red chasuble the ordinand is wearing is pinned up until the laying on of hands.

In the New Testament the laying on of hands was associated with the receiving of the Holy Spirit (See Acts 8:14-19). Initially the Apostles laid hands on new believers as well as believers who were called to a particular service. (See Acts 6:5). In the early church, the practice continued and is still used in a wide variety of church ceremonies, such as the ceremony of confirmation, where a bishop, priest, or minister lays hands on the confirmand and prays for them to receive the Holy Spirit. Many churches also lay hands on a person when commissioning them to particular work, such as missionary or pastoral service.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the chrism which is used at chrismation and the anointing of sovereigns is believed to be descended directly from oil which the Apostles blessed and laid their hands on. This is added to as needed by the Primates of the Autocephalous Churches, and is dispersed to priests for their use in administering the Sacred Mysteries (Sacraments). The presentation of this chrism which has received the laying on of hands, together with an antimension is the manner in which a bishop bestows faculties upon a priest under his omophorion (i.e., under his authority).

Patriarch Alexius II of Moscow and All Russia together with other bishops consecrate a new bishop. The ordination of a bishop—and thus the continuation of apostolic succession—takes place through a ritual centered on the laying on of hands (Cheirotonia) and prayer. A Gospel Book is placed over the bishop-elect's head, and then the consecrating bishops place their hands on the Gospel.

The Orthodox also use laying on of hands for the ordination (called Cheirotonia) of the higher clergy (bishops, priests and deacons) which is distinguished from the blessing (called Cheirothesia) of the lower clergy (taper bearers, readers and subdeacons). Priests and deacons receive the laying on of hands by a single bishop, bishops are consecrated by three or more bishops. The laying on of hands is also performed at the end of the Mystery (Sacrament) of Unction. This Mystery is usually performed by seven priests. Six of the priests lay their hands on a Gospel Book which has been placed over the head of the one being anointed, while the senior priest reads a prayer.

In its healing form, the laying on of hands is based on biblical precedent set by Jesus. This is a popular Jesuit ceremony in which prayer for forgiveness is often the prelude that along with the cleansing of one's spirit, creates union with the Holy Spirit. Both Christian and non-Christian faith healers will lay hands on people when praying for healing, and often the name of Jesus is invoked as the spiritual agency through which the healing of physical ailments is believed to be obtained.

In the Latter Day Saint (LDS) movement, a Patriarchal blessing is given by the laying on of hands of a Patriarch (also called an Evangelist) to a church member. The recipient must have previously received a recommend for the blessing from their bishop, which is only given after an interview to determine the recipient's worthiness. The purpose of a patriarchal blessing is (1) to identify the tribe of Israel to which a Latter-day Saint belongs, (2) to bless the member with knowledge and spiritual gifts, (3) to give advice or help to the individual (often this includes foretelling of possible future events, opportunities, and temptations). Within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a patriarchal blessing is considered to be actual revelation for the recipient, with the promises made in the blessing considered conditional upon the recipient's obedience to gospel principles.

[edit] European monarchs

"The royal gift of healing": Charles II of England depicted in a popular contemporary print.

The laying on of hands, known as "the Divine Touch," was performed by kings in England and France, and was believed to cure scrofula, a name given to a number of skin diseases. The rite of the king's touch began in France with Robert II the Pious, but legend later attributed the practice to Clovis as Merovingian founder of the Holy Roman kingdom, and Edward the Confessor in England. The belief continued to be common throughout the Middle Ages but began to die out with the Enlightenment. Queen Anne was the last British monarch to claim to possess this divine ability, though the Jacobite pretenders also claimed to do so. The French monarchy continued to believe and perform the act up until the French Revolution. The act was usually performed at large ceremonies, often at Easter or other holy days.

[edit] Catharism and other heretical Christian sects

A Cathar Perfect, the highest initiate in the Cathar hierarchy after spending time as a Listener and then Believer, had to undergo a rigorous training of three years before being inducted as a member of the spirtual elite of the now defunct religious movement. This took place during a ceremony in which various Scriptural extracts were quoted, including, most particularly, the opening verses of the Gospel of John. The ceremony was completed by a ritual laying on of hands as the candidate vowed to abjure the world and accept the Holy Spirit. At this point, the Perfecti believed, the Holy Spirit was able to descend and dwell within the new Perfect - hence the austere lifestyle needed to provide a pure dwelling place for the Spirit. Once in this state of housing the Holy Spirit within themselves, the Perfect were believed to have become "trans-material" or semi-angelic, not yet released from the confines of the body but containing within them an enhanced spirituality which linked them to God even in this world, as expressed in the Gospel of Luke. The Cathars were decimated and annihilated as a sect during the Roman Catholic Church's Albigensian Crusade in 1208, which killed tens of thousands of people and is considered the first recorded European genocide.