A holy water font or stoup is a vessel containing

holy water Holy water is water that has been blessed by a member of the clergy or a religious figure, or derived from a well or spring considered holy. The use for cleansing prior to a baptism and spiritual cleansing is common in several religions, from ...

which is generally placed near the entrance of a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

. It is often placed at the base of a crucifix or other

Christian art Christian art is sacred art which uses subjects, themes, and imagery from Christianity. Most Christian groups use or have used art to some extent, including early Christian art and architecture and Christian media. Images of Jesus and narrative ...

. It is used in

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, as well as many

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

and

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

churches, to make the

sign of the cross Making the sign of the cross (), also known as blessing oneself or crossing oneself, is both a prayer and a ritual blessing made by members of some branches of Christianity. It is a very significant prayer because Christians are acknowledging ...

using the holy water upon entrance of the church. Holy water is blessed by a priest or a deacon, and its usage by Christians serves as a reminder of their

baptismal vows Baptismal vows are the renunciations required of an adult candidate for baptism just before the sacrament is conferred. In the case of an infant baptism they are given by the godparents (sponsors) or parents themselves. In many Christian denomin ...

. The holy water font is a derivative of the cantharus, which has been used by Christians since the time of the

early Church Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the historical era of the Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Christianity spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and bey ...

to perform ablutions before entering the church (while these are no longer normative in Western Christianity, canthari are found at the entrance of certain

Oriental Orthodox The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysitism, Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 50 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches adhere to the Nicene Christian ...

and

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

churches).

Gallery

File:Colonna - la Maddalena acquasantiera 1050336.JPG, Holy water font in Santa Maria Maddalena, Rome, Italy File:Stoups pondy cathedral.jpg, A carved stoup at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral,

Pondicherry Pondicherry, officially known as Puducherry, is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of the Puducherry (union territory), Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the southeast coast of Indi ...

, India File:Stoup, Kilbeck Church.jpg, Carved stoup at the entrance of the Church of St Mary and St David, Kilpeck, England File:Holy Water Font at Saint Elizabeth of Hungary Church, Paris, France.jpg, Holy water font at Saint Elizabeth of Hungary Church, Paris, France.

References

External links

"Holy Water Fonts" Catholic Encyclopedia article
Baptismal fonts {{Church-architecture-stub

Gallery

See also

References

External links