laying on hands
Therapeutic physical contact
Laying on 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 power.
The practice appears across religious traditions—Christian healing services, ordination ceremonies, confirmation rites.
The faith healer performed a laying on of hands.
The phrase sometimes appears skeptically: She doesn't believe the laying on of hands cured her uncle's cancer.
- healingRestoration of health
- faith healingTreatment through religious practice
- anointingCeremonial oil application
- blessingPrayer seeking divine favor
- prayerAddress to deity
prayer service · faith · touch · palms · ritual · holy · holy spirit · ordination · consecration · spiritual · spiritual healing · priest · minister · warmth · energy · energy transfer · channeling · imposition
- healing practicesacupressure, holistic healing, Ayurveda, self-healing, chiropractic
- ritualsritual, rite, ceremony, sacrament, blessing
- worshippraying, congregational prayer, adoration, praise God, evening prayer
- alternative medicineacupuncture, acupressure, Ayurveda, ayurveda, homeopathy
- Biblical Supernaturalsorcery, witchcraft, magic, demons, exorcism
- Black ChurchBaptist church, gospel choir, pastor, preacher, deacons
laying on handssurgery
Invasive medical procedure
evidence-based medicine · medical treatment · medicine · chemotherapy · medical intervention
laying on handsexcommunication
Formal barring from sacraments
anathema · curse · damnation · shunning · malediction
laying, laid, lays, layers, layering, hand, hands, handed, handing