ABLUTION, a symbol of purification, as when Aaron and his sons were dedicated to the priestly office. A. was required of all the Israelites as a preparation for receiving the law at Mt. Sinai. It was a religious custom with other nations also, particularly for those to be inducted into the mysteries of Eleusis. Priests among the Hebrews were required to wash their hands and feet before approaching the sacred altar; and in the early Christian church, officiating ministers laved their hands in view of the people-imme diately before the communion services. Among the Egyptians A. was carried to great excess. Herodotus says their priests shaved the entire body once in three days, so that no unclean thing should be upon them in the time of worship, and that they bathed in cold water twice in the night and twice in the day time. Mohammedans, both priest and lay, are noted for their frequent washings. The law of Moses directed A. for phys ical defilements also, and specified periods when uncleanness should cease. This, too, is a Moslem practice. A. was a sign of a declaration of innocence, and iu the case of one
found slain, the murderer being unknown, the rulers of the city sacrificed a heifer, and the nearest of kin of the person slain washed their hands over the sacrifice, declaring,. "Our hands have not shed this blood; neither have our eyes seen it." Pilate's hand washing has been thought to be prompted by the Hebrew custom; but such A. was the custom on many occasions among the Romans and Greeks. The Pharisees were so excessive in A. that they were rebuked for the hypocrisy of it. They had rules so exact that one could scarcely rise up or sit down without some infraction of them. They extended A. to inanimate objects also, requiring the cleansing (ceremonially, not merely for cleanliness) of pots, dishes, tables, etc. A. is a ritualistic term in Roman Catholic service for the use of wine and water after the eucharist, to cleanse the cup and the fingers of priests. The Greek church has A. as a ceremony seven days After baptism.