“May Christ bless this house”

Revd Julie Mintern blesses Lambourn Primary School

“It was super to see staff at Lambourn CE Primary school – when I blessed the school yesterday.

We prayed that God would bless the school, all who come in and go out, virtually or in person. That holy angels would defend and protect each and every child, family, staff member and the governing body of the school. Amen

Even though we can’t hold our daily collective worship you are all in my prayers. Blessing homes and buildings, like churches and schools goes back to Medieval times and takes place at Epiphany. Epiphany means an appearing or showing and is the season when we celebrate the visit of the three kings to Jesus. As we said to caretaker Rich – look at the new graffiti! Seriously we pray for God’s blessing upon the school and the whole community!”

Revd Julie Mintern

Either on Twelfth Night (5 January) or on Epiphany Day (6 January) itself many Christians chalk their doors with a pattern such as

20+C+M+B+21

The numbers refer to the calendar year, the crosses stand for Christ and the letters have a two-fold significance: C, M and B are the initials for the traditional names of the three wise men, also known as the Magi (Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar), they are also an abbreviation of the Latin blessing Christus mansionem benedicat (May Christ bless this house).

This Christian custom of marking the door has a biblical precedent as the Israelites in the Old Testament marked their doors in order to be saved from death:

Exodus 12 (21-23)
Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb.

Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. Not one of you shall go out the door of his house until morning.

When the LORD goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.

The Epiphanytide practice serves to protect Christian homes from evil spirits until the next Epiphany Day, at which time the custom is repeated. This custom seems especially appropriate this year in the presence of the ever rising number of coronavirus patients and sadly, deaths.