Zacharias blessing
A Zacharias blessing is a specific blessing formula that served as a protection and healing agent. It is named after a Jerusalem patriarch. You can find it on slips of paper and as an inscription on patriarchal and paw crosses or medals.
It is unclear exactly when the Zacharias blessing was first used. It appears in print for the first time in the first edition of the Geistlichen Schild from 1647, an indexed compilation. In the chapter "Carrying letters against the plague" it is reported that the Patriarch of Antioch advised the bishops present at the Council of Trento in 1546 to wear the Zacharias blessing as protection from the plague. One of the bishops is said to have also worn a bracelet with the blessing.
The Zacharias blessing contains the following initials:
- + Z + DIA + BIZ + SAB + Z + HGF + BFRS
The crosses represent a verse that begins with “Crux Christi”; the letters stand for the beginning of a psalm verse , which was followed by an supplication. The Zachariah blessing was expressly given by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 . approved. In the 17th century, many theologians viewed the Zacharias blessing as the archetype of a superstitious amulet that had to be forbidden.
The people did not know the meaning of the Zacharias blessing. It was assumed that it was not a Christian text, but magical formulas. The incomprehensibility of the words and especially the sequence of letters contributed significantly to the hoped-for magic effect.
Zechariah's blessings were once widely known remedies against all kinds of calamities, especially against the plague, witchcraft and storms. It is often found in connection with the Benedictine blessing .
literature
- Manfred Brauneck : Religious folk art. Pp. 296-297. DuMont, Cologne 1979, ISBN 3-7701-0967-8
- Dominik Wunderlin: Means to Salvation. Religious symbols of blessing and protection in the Dr. Edmund Müller (= treasures from the Dolderhaus in Beromünster, issue 7). Beromünster 2005, ISBN 3-9521775-9-8