LAYING ON OF HANDS. – A liturgical rite of rich symbolism and frequent use in the Church. In Greek the technical term for it is
it may at first deceive regarding the actual contribution of originality in style. This, represented by imposing buildings and urban layouts abroad (Paris, St. Petersburg, in which ul
1910, pp. 32-25). However, from the recognized universal use of the so-called laying on of hands in various religions, it is not permissible to conclude to necessary influences or mutual dependence, unless this is historically proven. The easy symbolism of the rite suffices to explain its diffusion: similarly to what occurs with the rite of ablution, which many religions use to signify interior purification. As the Angelic Doctor writes, *Sum. theol.*, 3°, q. 84, a. 4, ad 1: «Cum manus sit organum organorum, ut dicitur 3 De Anima, omnia opera attribuuntur manibus». It is therefore obvious that the laying on of hands is the spontaneous symbol and thus commonly adopted to indicate either the transmission of virtue or the application of power; and it is to this fundamental symbolism that the uses of the laying on of hands in different religions are connected. However, it is historically certain that the Church derived the rite of the laying on of hands, enriching it with new meanings, from Jewish ceremonial, through the use that Jesus and the Apostles made of II.
II. THE LAYING ON OF HANDS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. – It is found: a) as a rite of blessing: Gen. 48, 14-20, where Jacob blesses Ephraim and Manasseh: «Extendens manum dexteram, posuit super caput Ephraim...»; sinistram autem super caput Manasse»; Lev. 9, 22 says of Aaron: «Extendens manus ad populum, benedixit ei...»; b) as a rite of consecration to God, or of persons: Num. 8, 10 establishes regarding the Levites: «Cumque levitae fuerint coram Domino, ponent filii Israel manus super eos»; or of victims for sacrifice: Ex. 29, 10-11: «Imponent Aaron et filii eius manus super caput vituli, et macabris eum in conspectu Domini»; Lev. 16, 20-21, for the sacrifice of the scapegoat it is prescribed: «Offerat hircum viventem, et posita utraque manu super caput eius, confiteatur omnes iniquitates filiorum Israel»; other examples ibid. 1, 4; 3, 2; 4, 4-24. 29.33; 8, 14.18.22; 16, 21; Num. 8, 12; II Par. 29, 23, etc. This laying on of hands upon the victim, according to the nature of the sacrifice, was performed either by the high priest (cf. Lev. 16, 21), or by simple priests (cf. ibid. 4, 4; 8, 14.18.22), or by the Levites (cf. Num. 8, 12), or by the elders of the people (cf. Lev. 4, 15), or by the entire assembly present (cf. II Par. 29, 23), or generally by those on whose initiative and for whose benefit certain sacrifices were offered (cf. Lev. 1, 4; peace-offering; ibid. 3, 2.8.13: peace sacrifice; ibid. 4, 4.24.29.33: sin offering). c) As a rite of investiture or conferral of power: Num. 27, 18-20, when God commands Moses to appoint Joshua as his successor, He says to him: «Tolle Josue... et pone manum tuam super eum»; and indeed Moses, obeying the divine command, did so: «Impositis capiti Josue manibus...». It is well known, moreover, that the members of the Sanhedrin were ordained with the laying on of hands (cf. J. Z. Lauterbach, *Ordination*, in *The Jewish Encyclopedia*, IX, pp. 428-29). d) As a rite of oath-taking, it is indicated in Dan. 13, 34, where it is said that before pronouncing their accusations against Susanna, the two judges «posuerunt manus suas super caput eius».
III. THE LAYING ON OF HANDS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. – During the years of His public life, Jesus often laid His hands. First, to heal the sick: Mk. 6, 5 says in a general way that during His stay in Nazareth, the Lord «paucos infirmos impositis manibus curavit»; also in Lk. 4, 40, regarding the various sick brought to Jesus on the occasion of His visit to Capernaum, it is said in general terms: «At ille singulis manus imponens curabat eos». There are then many particular cases, reported by the Evangelists, in which Jesus performed healing by laying on His hands: cf. ibid. 13, 13: healing of a woman withered; Mt. 8, 3; Mk. 1, 41; Lk. 5, 13: healing of a leper; Mk. 5, 23, Jairus, regarding his sick daughter, thus prays to Jesus: «Filia mea in extremis est, veni, impone manum super eum ut salva sit»; also those who bring a deaf-mute to the Lord to be healed (ibid. 7, 32) pray to Jesus «ut imponat illi manum». One can therefore understand the admiring observation of the inhabitants of Nazareth about the healing power exercised by Jesus through the laying on of hands, as thus reported (ibid. 6, 2): «Unde huic... virtutes tales quae per manus eius efficiantur?». Finally, Jesus Himself foretells (ibid. 16, 18) regarding His disciples: «Super aegros manus imponent et bene habebunt».
But Jesus also used the laying on of hands to bless: Mt. 19, 13 says that children were brought to the Lord «ut manus eius imponere et oraret». And acceding to this desire, Jesus, as is read in Mk. 10, 16, draws the little ones to His breast «et imponens manus super illos, benedicet eos»; according to Lk. 24, 50, before ascending to heaven, Jesus blessed the Apostles by stretching out His hands over them: «Elevatis manibus suis, benedixit eis».
Following the example of Jesus, and in accordance with the promise He made, the Apostles also used the laying on of hands to heal the sick: in Acts 9, 12.17, it is narrated that Ananias restored Paul’s sight «imponens ei manus»; ibid. 28, 8 it is read that Paul healed the father of the governor of Malta «cum... imposuisset ei manus»; ibid. 5, 12 it is said, in general terms, that many wonders were done among the people «per manus Apostolorum»; ibid. 19, 11 it is read that God worked extraordinary miracles «per manum Pauli».
But it is especially as a rite of blessing or consecration that the laying on of hands is used by the Apostles. It is by laying on hands that they give the Holy Spirit to the newly baptized; cf. ibid. 8, 17.19: communication of the Holy Spirit to the Samaritans by Peter and John; ibid. 19, 7: Paul gives the Holy Spirit to the converts of Ephesus. It is by laying on hands that they ordain ministers who are to be their helpers or successors in the administration or government of the new Church: cf. ibid. 6, 6: ordination of the first deacons; ibid. 13, 3: consecration of Paul and Barnabas; I Tim. 4, 14; II Tim. 1, 6: consecration of Timothy as bishop. And it is this use of the laying on of hands, made from the beginning, by different Apostles, in different places and at different times, without any shadow of dispute or doubt, that sufficiently demonstrates how it was in dependence on an explicit will of Jesus that the Apostles, in giving the Holy Spirit (Confirmation) and in constituting ministers for the governance of the Church (Order), used the rite of the laying on of hands.
It also seems that the Apostles used the laying on of hands for the reconciliation of sinners (Penance)
Hands. This judgment is based on the words of St Paul in 1 Tim 5:22: « Manus cito nemini imposueris, neque communicaveris peccatis alienis »; these words are understood not as referring to the ordination of sacred ministers—since the Apostle has already spoken of them in chap. 3—but rather to the reconciliation of sinners, of whom he treats at length in chap. 5, in relation to the manner in which Timothy should act in repressing the various disorders or abuses that had arisen in the Church. Finally, it is held, with good reason, that for Extreme Unction, according to the text of Jas 5:14, the Apostles used the laying on of hands together with the anointing. This hypothesis is confirmed by the fact that Origen, in *In Lev.*, hom. 2, 4, reads « imponant ei manum » instead of « orent super eum » in the text of St James.
IV. THE LAYING ON OF HANDS IN ANCIENT LITURGY
Transmitted by Christ to the Apostles and frequently used by them, the laying on of hands holds particular importance in ancient liturgy, where it fulfils a primary function. It is indeed employed as a frequent gesture of blessing, so much so that the term ‘blessing’ is in antiquity often synonymous with the laying on of hands. It is also used in exorcisms: thus Origen, in *In librum Iesu Nave*, hom. 24, 1, speaks of « exorcistarum invocationes, orationes, ieiunia... et exorcistarum manus impositione vehementius imposita super immundos spiritus ». But its use is especially evident in the administration of all the Sacraments, so much so that in early Christian antiquity it was considered the pre-eminent liturgical gesture.
Thus, with regard to Baptism, it was by the laying on of hands that catechumens were first admitted; Sulpicius Severus writes of St Martin: « Imposita universis manu, catechumenos fecit » (*Dial.*, 2, 4). It was by the laying on of hands that catechumens were dismissed at the end of the first part of the Mass: cf. *Canones Hippolyti*, can. 69: « Doctor imponat catechumenis manum antequam illos demittat ». During the days of immediate preparation for Baptism, frequent layings on of hands were customary: « Manus impositione crebra examinati », say the *Statuta Ecclesiae antiqua*, can. 23. Finally, the laying on of hands was renewed in the very act of administering Baptism; this is evident from the *Traditio Apostolica* of Hippolytus (ed. cit., p. 176) and from the Ordo of 1766, which drew upon II. In this work, indeed, concerning the bishop who is to be consecrated, it is said that he must recite the eucharistic prayer « imponens manum in oblationem... ».
In Penance, the laying on of hands was the rite that customarily accompanied the absolution of penitents. In the correspondence of St Cyprian, frequent mention is made of this rite in connection with the controversy over the reconciliation of the lapsed: *Epist.*, 16, 2: « Cum in minoribus peccatis agunt peccatores poenitentiam iusto temporis... et per manus porc... et per manus »; *Epist.*, 17, 2: « Nec ad communionem venire quis possit nisi prius illi ab episcopo et clero manus fuerit imposita »; cf. *Epist.*, 15, 1; *Epist.*, 18, 1; *Epist.*, 19, 2, etc. St Jerome, *Adv. Luciferianos*, 5, thus describes the ministry of reconciliation of the priest: « Sacerdos imponit manum subiecto... atque ita eum... altario reconciliat ». Moreover, for those subjected to public penance, the laying on of hands was the gesture by which they were dismissed after having taken part in the portion of the Eucharistic liturgy granted to them: cf. St Augustine, *Sermo* 232, 7, 8: « Abundant hic poenitentes: quando illis imponitur manus, fit ordo longissimus ». Even for the particular reconciliation of heretics, Pope St Stephen, in his letter to Cyprian (*Epist. Cyp.*, 74, 1), in the 3rd century, presents the laying on of hands as a traditional rite: « Si qui a quacumque haeresi venient ad vos, nihil innovetur nisi quod traditum est, ut manus illis imponatur in poenitentiam ».
As for the use of the laying on of hands in Extreme Unction, the testimony of Origen has already been cited. Another testimony may be found in the double expression « benedicere et tangere chrismate » that occurs in this connection in the letter of St Innocent I to Decentius, bishop of Gubbio (*Denz-U*, 99); it seems, in fact, that the term ‘blessing’ is to be understood there as synonymous with ‘laying on of hands’.
With regard to the Sacrament of Order, it is well known how the laying on of hands was, in early Christian antiquity, the rite of ordination for bishops, priests, and deacons. It was only in the early Middle Ages that, in order more clearly to express the power conferred by each Order, the Church added to this rite the so-called tradition of the instruments, that is, the handing over of those objects that were to serve the newly ordained in the exercise of the power received in ordination.
In Matrimony, although there is no formal testimony for the use of the laying on of hands, many authors admit it, given the noted equivalence of the terms ‘blessing’ and ‘laying on of hands’. In the celebration of Matrimony, according to Tertullian, *Ad uxorem*, 2, 9, such a ‘blessing’ was required, when he writes: « Unde sufficiamus ad enarrandam felicitatem eius Matrimonii, quod Ecclesia conciliat, et confirmat oblatio, et obsignat benedictio? ». This equivalence of the two terms for Matrimony is confirmed by the fact that the *Statuta Ecclesiae antiqua* (PL 56, 887-89) use the word ‘blessing’ not only for the ritual of sacred ordinations—which certainly require the laying on of hands—but also for Matrimony; whereas for the minor Orders, for which the laying on of hands is not used, the word does not occur.
V. THE LAYING ON OF HANDS IN MODERN LITURGY
The evolution of liturgical rites over the centuries has seemed to diminish the ancient importance of the laying on of hands. In some rites it has indeed disappeared altogether; in others it has become less evident with the introduction of new ceremonies. In reality, the laying on of hands is still in use, besides in certain blessings (cf. *Pontificale Romanum*, *Benedictio Abbatis*), also in some exorcisms; the formula, however, that the bishop uses in ordaining exorcists: « Habete potestatem imponendis manus super energumenos » is rather a reminder of the ancient ritual for performing exorcisms.
With regard to the Sacraments, for Baptism the Roman Ritual preserves the laying on of hands in the preparatory rites; it occurs twice in the rite for the Baptism of infants (cf. *Ordo Baptismi parvolorum*, nn. 5, 9), while for adults it is also employed in the exorcisms that precede the administration of the Sacrament (cf. *Ordo Baptismi adultorum*, nn. 17, 19, 21).
In Confirmation, besides an initial imposition and extension of the hands at the beginning of the rite, there is a second imposition that is performed together with the anointing of the forehead, as prescribed in the new edition of the Roman Ritual, *Appendix, De Confirmatione*: « Imposita manu dextera super caput confirmandi, producit pollice signum Crucis in fronte ».
In the modern celebration of the Eucharist there is a laying on of hands before the consecration at the prayer ‘Hanc igitur oblationem’, which the priest, according to the rubric, must recite « tenens manus expansas super oblata ». This recalls in some way the ancient laying on of hands used in the consecration of the Eucharist.
The laying on of hands of ancient liturgy for the administration of Penance is recalled in the prescription of the Ritual, *Absolutionis forma communis*, n. 2, that the priest must hold his right hand raised towards the penitent while reciting the prayer ‘Indulgentiam, absolutionem etc.’: « Dextera versus paenitentem elevata ».
In the administration of Extreme Unction, the ancient gesture of the so-called *impositio manuum* (i. d. m.) in the Roman Ritual, *Ordo ministrandi sacramentum E. U.*, n. 7, is only recalled in the prayer preceding the anointing of the sick, where it is said: “Extinguatur in te omnis virtus diaboli per impositionem manuum nostrarum.”
The *i. d. m.* is still in use in the ordination of deacons, priests, and bishops, though it is now accompanied by various other rites, among which the rite of the “tradition of the instruments” holds the greatest historical and doctrinal importance.
In the ritual for the celebration of Matrimony, no *i. d. m.* is now found.
VI. DOCTRINAL DISCUSSION
Catholic theologians generally admit that the *i. d. m.*, although of very ancient usage in the administration of the sacraments, has never constituted an essential element of their rite, with the exception of Confirmation and Holy Orders. Some have wished to extend this exception also to Penance, although in this sacrament the *i. d. m.* was in antiquity an essential part of the rite. This view, however, is easily refuted, both by historical evidence showing that the early Church sometimes reconciled sinners without the liturgical rite of *i. d. m.*, and by theological argument based on the judicial nature of the sacrament of Penance, which does not require such a liturgical rite.With regard to the Sacraments of Confirmation and Holy Orders, it is still debated whether the *i. d. m.*, which is found in their administration, has retained throughout the centuries and down to the present day that character of an essential element of the rite which it possessed in apostolic times and in the early Church, when, together with the accompanying prayer, it constituted the entire materiality of the sacramental sign. For many centuries this question has engaged scholars keenly. Indeed, in the third century an anointing with oil was added to the *i. d. m.* in Confirmation, and in the ninth to eleventh centuries a “tradition of instruments” was added to the *i. d. m.* in Holy Orders. The question thus arises whether these new rites, by the will of the Church, have either so prevailed as to claim for themselves the role of the sole essential element of the sacramental sign, or have shared this role with the enduring *i. d. m.*, or have been merely accidental rites. The discussion is further complicated by the theological controversies to which it gives rise, concerning both the manner in which Christ determined the sacramental rites and the power of the Church in such rites.
Referring for a full treatment of the controversy to the articles ORDINE; SACRAMENTI, it may suffice here to note that, with regard to Holy Orders, after the Apostolic Constitution *Sacramentum Ordinis* of Pius XII, dated 30 November 1947, it must be held that the *i. d. m.*, irrespective of the historical question of the previous value of the “tradition of the instruments,” is now the sole essential element which, together with the prescribed prayer, constitutes the entire rite of ordination. In the case of Confirmation, the *i. d. m.* remains, as before, an essential element of the sacramental rite, though now joined to the anointing with chrism. This *i. d. m.*, however, is not that which occurs at the beginning of the liturgical function for the administration of Confirmation, since this is not required for the validity of the sacrament, but rather that which is associated with the anointing with chrism, in accordance with the ancient teaching of the Church, renewed in the present prescription of the *Codex Iuris Canonici*, can. 78 § 2, which states that in the administration of Confirmation “it must be done not by some instrument, but by the hand of the minister duly imposed upon the head of the confirmand.”
VII. THE *I. D. M.* IN ANCIENT CHRISTIAN ICONOGRAPHY. — In theological or liturgical works on the *i. d. m.*, taking into account the various purposes of the gesture, five distinct rites have been distinguished: blessing, healing, ordination, Confirmation, and reconciliation. Following in part its own path, using the gesture as a figurative sign of particular concepts, early Christian art employs it as a rite of blessing, healing, the conferral of supernatural graces, the Holy Spirit, and reconciliation.
Thus the *i. d. m.* appears in the historical representation of patriarchal blessings, from which it derives its precise and fundamental meaning of blessing, and in scenes of the various healings performed