A religious rite practiced by the ancients, and performed before any act of devotion. It consisted in washing the hands, and sometimes the whole body, in lustral or consecrated water. It was intended as a symbol of the internal purification of the heart. It was a ceremony preparatory to initiation in all the Ancient Mysteries.
The ceremony is practiced with the same symbolic import in some of the high degrees of Masonry. So strong was the idea of connection between lustration and initiation, that in the low Latin of the Middle Ages lustrare meant to initiate. Thus Du Cange (Glosarium) cites the expression "lustrare religione Christianorum" as signifying "to initiate into the Christian religion." — ( Exodus 29:4 - Leviticus 14:8 - Deuteronomy 21:6 )
Biblical References
Exodus 29:4
And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water.
Leviticus 14:8
And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days.
Deuteronomy 21:6
And all the elders of that city, that are next unto the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley:
~~ooOoo~~
This page is adapted from the Glossary at Phoenixmasonry — Used with permission.
