117 Russians in hospital after drinking holy water

[billw]

MOSCOW – More than 100 Russian Orthodox believers have been hospitalized after drinking holy water during Epiphany celebrations in the eastern city of Irkutsk, an official said Monday.


A total of 117 people, including 48 children, were in the hospital complaining of acute intestinal pain after drinking water from wells in and around a local church last week, said Vladimir Salovarov, a spokesman for the Irkutsk Investigative Committee.


Salovarov said 204 people required some medical treatment after consuming the water, the source of which was a stagnant lake. He said, however, that it was too early to say what caused the illness.


Many Russians consider any water obtained on Epiphany — which they celebrate on Jan. 19 — to be holy.


The water is typically bottled for consumption later. Tap water in most of Russia is undrinkable.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100125/ap_on_re_eu/eu_russia_believers_hospitalized/print

[Eyeron]

Oh the delicious irony.

[Vic Vega]

Salovarov said 204 people required some medical treatment after consuming the water, the source of which was a stagnant lake. He said, however, that it was too early to say what caused the illness.


I'm thinking that "stagnant lake" tells us just about all we need to know.

[GanipGnop]

They should start bottling that stuff to test the faithful like The "Church of God with Signs Following" handles snakes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_God_with_Signs_Following

"And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover," (Mark 16:17-18).

[Ziggurat]

I'm thinking that "stagnant lake" tells us just about all we need to know.

It doesn't tell the doctors all they need to know, which may have been the point of the statement.

[GanipGnop]

The doctors may never know can't we just call it a miracle and avoid all the ungodly science? :p

I'm sure they'll spin it that no one was killed it was just a test of their faith and they passed. Maybe they can get some imported Chernobyl brand reactor water to drink next year.

[Skeptic Ginger]

...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100125/ap_on_re_eu/eu_russia_believers_hospitalized/printYour link leads me to a dead end.

Here is a fresh one: Yahoo news (AP Wire story) (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100125/ap_on_re_eu/eu_russia_believers_hospitalized_4)

Here are a couple more with some interesting quotes (and one or two new bits of information on the incident) in them:

CalcuttaTube (http://calcuttatube.com/over-200-poisoned-with-holy-water-in-russia/53378/)The regulator said tests showed the water from the city’s Archangel Michael Church was clean and as per sanitary norms, but samples taken from two nearby wells and a lake revealed the concentration of chloride and nitrate was two times above the norm.

The regulator said 18 people who drank water from the wells have been diagnosed with rotavirus-caused gastroenteritis.

On Jan 19, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrated the baptism of Christ, or Epiphany, when water is believed to become holy and have healing properties. The water sanctified in churches is often stored by believers for long periods.

Many believe any water, even from the taps of the kitchen sink, poured or bottled by Christians on Epiphany becomes holy.

The secretary of the Irkutsk diocese, Father Maximilian, said an ice hole was made in the lake for bathing, in line with an old Russian tradition, not for drinking. He said water from the lake could have caused poisoning.

The head of the church’s Sunday school called media reports on the mass poisoning a provocation.

‘I believe holy water could not cause all that,’ Lyudmila Belyayeva was quoted by Newsland portal as saying. ‘These are lies against our church which is very popular. Somebody wants people to begin harbouring doubts.’


UPI International News (http://www.upi.com/Top_News/International/2010/01/25/Water-may-have-caused-mass-illness/UPI-49111264434309/)all complained of "symptoms of acute intestinal infection" and high temperature, Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported. Forty people were hospitalized.

Rospotrebnadzor, a consumer watchdog organization, said the source of the mass illness could have been water drawn from two wells near a church Jan. 19, during the celebration of the feast of the Epiphany, or the baptism of Jesus. Some faiths believe water becomes holy and imbued with healing powers during the Epiphany.

"All the victims are known to have taken water from two wells near the Archangel Michael Church and from an ice hole made in a nearby lake," local officials said.


Albany Interfaith Spirituality Examiner - All Water Is Holy (http://www.examiner.com/x-19027-Albany-Interfaith-Spirituality-Examiner~y2010m1d25-All-water-is-holy)In the wake of the January 25th Russian Orthodox holy-water hospitalizations, there will be those who scoff at the holy idea.

They might say: Aha! Even though it's Epiphany, the water still made them sick.

However, there is a difference between water and that which is in it. "Impurities" might be within water (often human-imposed - sometimes via nature's inherent wisdom), but they themselves are not the water.

People have been confusing holiness with health insurance for years. They figure that drinking holy water might protect them from the ills that flesh is heir to. That assumption is neither true nor necessarily spiritual... but water itself is nevertheless miraculous.

Water is the very basis for life as we know it. It has been considered so by most religions. The Holy Bible mentions it no less than 363 times. It is central to key practices of Judaism (mikvah), Christianity (baptism), Islam (wudu), Sikhism (Amrit Sanskar), and many other faiths.

Onondaga Faithkeeper Oren Lyons calls water "the first gift of life." When humans "dam" this gift, and/or pollute it in other ways, this is what happens: Dams have brought about the relocation and flooding of aboriginal lands, flooding of burial grounds and sacred sites. It has meant a change of habitat for the lives of fish, birds, and animals. It generally means a total disruption of the ecosystems sustaining life.

We in the Hudson-Mohawk region have been blessed with the great gifts of rivers, lakes, streams, and natural springs. If we treat them wisely, we can minimize our human-imposed "impurities" - and better appreciate our aquatic brethren.

If we treat them wisely, we can begin to restore the "whole" to holy...



I don't think I need to comment on the included insanity in the quotes. It speaks for itself. :)

[Flo]

Reminds me of the Pratchett's version of the discovery of the fountain of youth : unless you remember to boil it first, you'll die looking definitely younger.

[Ausmerican]

See what happens when godless commies drink Holy water?!?!
/fundyspin]

[Dorian Gray]

Holy Crap! Ha ha ha ha.

[Skeptic Ginger]

Follow up article on this incident from ProMed yesterday:ROTAVIRUS GASTROENTERITIS, HOLY WATER, RUSSIA: (IRKUTSK) (http://promedmail.oracle.com/pls/otn/f?p=2400:1001:4301164719466996::NO::F2400_P1001_BA CK_PAGE,F2400_P1001_PUB_MAIL_ID:1000,81218)The number of persons becoming ill after drinking Holy Water during an Epiphany celebration in Irkutsk, a city in Siberia, has risen to 360 according to a report by the Federal Service for Consumer Protection (FSCP) in Russia [Rospotrebnadzor].

All affected persons are responding to treatment and most of them will be discharged. A total of 142 persons have already recovered according to the FSCP, cited by the RIA-Novosti press agency. The majority of affected people presented with symptoms compatible with gastrointestinal infections, such as diarrhea, vomiting, and high-grade fever, and they were diagnosed with rotavirus gastroenteritis....

...They also said that tests performed on samples of the Holy Water found in the homes of affected persons detected rotavirus antigens.The moderator added:Rotaviruses are ubiquitous in sewage-contaminated water and as in the situation in Irkutsk infection can occur also in adults, especially in institutionalized or hospitalized elderly patients. Both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients shed rotavirus in their stools for 7-10 days, but shedding can happen to last for several weeks. The virus is highly resistant in the environment and can survive for months in contaminated water and faeces.