laying of hands
Blessing through contact
Laying of hands is a ritual gesture in which a person places their hands on another's head or body, typically to confer blessing, healing, or spiritual authority.
The practice appears across many religious traditions—Christian ordination, faith healing services, confirmation rites: The bishop performed the laying of hands on the new deacons.
It symbolizes the transfer of divine power or grace through physical touch.
- blessingPrayer seeking divine favor
- healingRestoration of health
- faith healingTreatment through religious practice
- ordinationClergy appointment ceremony
- anointingCeremonial oil application
prayer · prayer circle · touch · consecration · ritual · priest · ceremony · holy · holy spirit · sacred · minister · spirit · faith · power · transfer · episcopal · chrism · invocation
- ritualsritual, rite, ceremony, sacrament, blessing
- ritual gesturesgenuflect, genuflection, prostration, bowing, kneeling
- tribal healingmedicine man, medicine woman, traditional healers, healer, curandero
- ordinationholy orders, ordination ceremony, ordained minister, ordinand, priesthood
- Temple sacrificessacrifices, burnt offering, sin offering, peace offering, drink offering
- pilgrimage ritescircumambulation, prostration, ritual bathing, ritual washing, kora
laying of handsmedical treatment
Care for illness
surgery · evidence-based medicine · chemotherapy · clinical treatment · drug therapy
laying of handsexcommunication
Formal barring from sacraments
anathema · cursing · shunning · defrocking · banishment
laying, laid, lays, layers, layered, layering, overlay, overlaid, outlay