Why and who gets breathed on during ordination?

By CopticBot.ai (Coptic Space Inc.) · Last reviewed 2026-10-10

During the rite of ordination, it is the newly ordained priest who receives the holy breath from the bishop.

Who Receives the Breath

After the bishop partakes of the Honored Blood during the Divine Liturgy and before drinking water, the newly ordained priest is called forward. The bishop instructs the new priest to repeat three times:

"I open my mouth to draw for myself a spirit" (cf. Psalm 118:131 LXX / 119:131).

Each time the priest recites this verse and opens his mouth, the bishop breathes into it the breath of the Holy Spirit.

Why the Breath Is Given

The ritual of breathing upon the priest has profound biblical and sacramental significance:

1. Continuation of Christ’s Act to the Apostles

This rite directly mirrors the moment when the Lord Jesus Christ breathed on His holy disciples and apostles, saying:

"Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." (John 20:22–23)

Through the apostolic succession of the episcopate, the bishop imparts this specific ministerial grace and authority to the new presbyter.

1. Empowerment for Sacramental Authority and Absolution

The authority of the priest to declare the absolution and remission of sins originates entirely from the Holy Spirit dwelling within him through this ordination grace.

1. Consecration and Administration of the Holy Mysteries

The breath received from the bishop is the very breath the priest uses throughout his sacred service to minister the Holy Sacraments. With this breath, the priest:

• Breathes over the bread and wine on the altar during the Epiklesis (invocation of the Holy Spirit) when consecrating the Holy Mysteries;
• Breathes over the baptismal water to sanctify it;
• Breathes into the face of the candidate at Holy Baptism to cast out the enemy and invoke divine life;
• Breathes over the oil of the sick (the Sacrament of Unction) and into the face of the sick when praying for their healing.