On Mon, 23 Nov 1998, Karen Jolly wrote:
> to local practices. Or, could we even go so far as to suggest that holy
> waters became a much more Christian practice than anything else, and the
> establishment of holy wells and springs in Europe has more to do with
> Christianity than the pre-Christian religions ever made of it?
I'd just like to contribute a spontaneous, undeveloped thought inspired
by the discussion (with no prior knowledge of the subject). It strikes
me that one reason for the prevalence of Christian holy wells, even where
there is no pre-existing pagan tradition, might be the needs of early
missionaries for convenient places to baptize. I don't know anything
about how holy water might have been blessed in those days or even
whether there was any predisposition to designate some water holy for the
purpose of baptism. But it seems entirely reasonable that missionaries
would want to establish a church near a source of water and that they may
have been in the habit of blessing the water when it was used for
sacramental purposes.
Jo Ann
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