Chalking of the Doors - This Sunday, January 2, 2022

The chalking of the doors is an ancient Epiphany tradition. Get your blessed chalk this Sunday!

by Father Lee Davis on December 31, 2021

Chalking of the Doors

Epiphany (also known as Twelfth Night, Theophany, or Three Kings Day) marks the occasion of a time-honored Christian tradition of “chalking the doors.” The formula for the ritual — adapted for 2022 — is simple: take chalk of any color and write the following above the entrance of your home: 20 + C+M + B + 22.
The letters have two meanings. First, they represent the initials of the Magi — Caspar, Malchior, and Balthazar — who came to visit Jesus in His first home. They also abbreviate the Latin phrase, Christus mansionem benedicat: “May Christ bless the house.” The “+” signs represent the cross, and the “20” at the beginning and the “22” at the end mark the year. Taken together, this inscription is performed as a request for Christ to bless those homes so marked and that He stay with those who dwell therein throughout the entire year.
Most often the chalking takes place after Epiphany Mass, and can be done at any church, home, or dwelling. Practicing traditions like the chalking of the doors help us to live our Faith more concretely and serve as an outward sign of our dedication to Our Lord. Our homes are also the place where many of us will make the greatest strides in our spiritual growth, through observance of daily prayer, spiritual reading, and work offered as an oblation to God.
The chalking of the doors of a home encourages Christians to dedicate their life at home to God and to others. Seeing the symbols over our doors can help to remind us, while passing in and out on our daily routines, that our homes and all those who dwell there belong to Christ. It also serves as a reminder of the welcoming the Magi gave to Jesus. We should strive to be as welcoming to all who come to our homes to visit us!

Tags: faith, god, epiphany

About the Author
Father Lee Davis

After a diverse career in marketing and finance and a sudden realization of the love and power of God that he discovered aboard a Navy ship, Father Lee Davis has the distinction of being baptized, confirmed, and received for Holy Orders on the same Sunday. He studied at Bexley Hall Seminary in Columbus, Ohio where he received a Master's of Divinity degree in 2009 and then served as priest-in-charge of St. Andrew's in Hollywood, Florida as well as an assisting priest at St. Benedict's in Plantation. Father Lee also worked as a Hospice Chaplain. When he left after a little more than two years, St. Andrew's had grown in membership and under his guidance extended its outreach into the community. He was also a pivotal leader of the Jubilee Center of Hollywood, a vital outreach ministry to the homeless and hungry, and served on the Board of Directors for St. Lawrence Chapel, serving the homeless in Pompano Beach. He also served on several diocesan committees working with the youth of the diocese.


In December 2012, Father Lee was called as rector of St. Anne's Episcopal Church in Damascus, Maryland. During his 8 year tenure there the vestry of the parish noted that "His dynamic leadership, inspired preaching, creative ideas and compassionate pastoral care combined to bring a new level of excitement, commitment, and growth among the congregation." Through his leadership, he developed partnerships with other organizations in the community, helped establish a transitional home for victim's of domestic violence, began the process of developing affordable senior housing on some of the acreages of land owned by the church, and grew stewardship achieving their first balanced budget in over a decade. At the beginning of the COVID pandemic, he led the congregation into the development of an online presence and with a couple of dedicated lay members started a feeding program for families in need which continues today. He served in the Diocese of Washington DC helping in the implementation of a Diaconate Formation program as well as being on the Board of Directors of the Washington Episcopal Clergy Association and serving on the Diocesan Executive Council.


Amidst the COVID pandemic, Father Lee accepted the call to be our rector and began his tenure in September 2019. His leadership has already blessed our community.

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