When we reach the fourth century we are presented with a great wealth of evidence concerning the sacraments of initiation. It is striking that although (as we shall see later) great changes were made in the rites of initiation during the fourth century, the ceremonies all over the Christian world continued to have many features in common. The individual ceremonies that made up the rites of initiation were put together in different orders in different localities, and these individual ceremonies were performed in different ways with different interpretations; nevertheless many of these individual ceremonies remained recognizably the same everywhere. The ceremonies of initiation took place generally in three stages: A Admission to catechumenate; A ADMISSION TO THE CATECHUMENATE The motives for the postponement, however, were not always so innocent: St Augustine refers to the common belief that it is best to prolong the period before baptism, so that a person may sin with the assurance that he will receive forgiveness at baptism: 'let him alone, let him do as he pleases; he is not yet baptized' (Con!, 1.18. Cf. Tertullian, de Paen., 6; J. Jeremias, Infant Baptism, pp. 87-9). The less cynical would say that it was better to wait until the individual was prepared for a total conversion of life; the passionate years of youth, or a position of civic authority which might involve the taking of life, were good reasons for postponing the sacrament. The list of saints who were themselves children of good Christian parents, but were not baptized until late in life, is impressive: e.g. Ambrose, Augustine, Chrysostom, Gregory of Nazianzus (the son of a bishop), Jerome, Paulinus of Nola. Consequently, since baptism was put off until later in life, the need was felt for an earlier ceremony that would establish a person in some looser and less privileged association with the Church. To meet this need a new significance came to be read into the ceremony of admission to the catechumenate. The word 'catechumenate' is a modern one, derived from the term 'hearers' (of instruction, or of the word of God) (katechoumenoi, audientes, auditores), by which people who had taken this first step towards Christian membership were described (cf. T. Finn, The Liturgy of Baptism, p. 31). In the second half of the fourth century, as baptism was deferred, admission to the catechumenate was advanced, and seems sometimes to have been regarded less as a first preparation for baptism than as admission to a second-class membership of the Church. In some churches the ceremony seems to have had four elements: the sign of the cross traced on the candidate's forehead, salt placed on the tongue (to signify healing, preservation, and the seasoning of wisdom), the laying on of hands and an exorcism. The first two parts of the rite were often repeated: St Augustine says, 'I began to receive the sign of his cross and the seasoning of his salt straight from my mother's womb' (Con!, 1.18); the salt seems to have been a substitute for the Eucharist. The catechumens were entitled to attend the Eucharistic assembly and hear the sermon, but they were dismissed after the prayer offered for them during the Prayer of the Faithful, and so were not present at the Eucharistic rites themselves. (Cf. Ap. Const., ed. Funk, 8.6.14; and on all this section AIR 4-7; DBL 99-100.) Little is known about the instruction given in the catechumenate. The length of three years is attested by the Apostolic Tradition and other sources. Dujarier contends that the increasing complexity of the immediate preparations for baptism in the fourth century was matched by a decline in the importance of earlier parts of the catechumenate.2 B ENROLMENT AS A CANDIDATE AND PREPARATION FOR BAPTISM (I) Those who wished to be baptized had to give in their names at least forty days in advance. Those who wished to be baptized at Easter had to do this at the beginning of Lent (see pp. 465 -6), and it was to such newly enrolled that Cyril of Jerusalem addressed his Procatechesis; when people were baptized at Pentecost a similar forty-day period seems to have been required (cf. Siricius, Letter to Hilllerius, PL 13.1134-5). The ceremony was called 'enrolment' (on0111atographia), and the phrase 'to enrol' (on0111a dOll1lai, nome11 dare) gained a specific meaning in reference to it (cf. Cyril, Procat., I, DBL 24; Ambrose, de Sac., 3.12, AIR 126). In Jerusalem, and probably in other churches too, this enrolment took place in two stages. Egeria (45, DBL 41-2) recounts how the candidates give their names to the presbyter before Lent; they then have to appear at the beginning of Lent with their sponsors (i.e. godparents, a godfather for a man, a godmother for a woman) before the bishop, who takes evidence of the candidates' behavior and, if he is satisfied, registers their names. (On Egeria, see pp. 95 -6.) The enrolled (apographentes) were now called 'applicants' (competentes), 'chosen' (electl) or 'destined for illumination' (2) The candidate underwent repeated exorcisms.3 The details of this dramatic ceremony probably varied in different churches, but at least some of the following actions would be performed: the candidate stood barefoot on sackcloth of goat's hair, then knelt, with face veiled, head bowed, hands outstretched, and outer garment removed; one of the ministers breathed on the candidates, to fill them with a purifying fear and to drive away the devil; they heard the words by which they were freed from Satan's power. The exorcism, which had first taken place when they were admitted to the catechumenate, was repeated several times after the scrutinies, daily, in fact, according to the Ap. Trad., 20.3 (DBL 4; cf. Egeria, 46.1; AIR 8-II, DBL 42). (3) When the series of exorcisms was well advanced, the candidates were subjected to scrutillies-'scrutinized by exorcisms', in the words of Leo the Great. The meaning of this frequently mentioned rite is obscure, but is probably given by Hippolytus, who required the bishop himself to perform the last exorcism in order to 'be certain that [the candidate] is purified'; if he observes that any candidates are not purified, because 'the strange spirit has remained' with them, their baptism is to be postponed (;J.p. Trad. 20.3, DBL 4). Augustine congratulates the candidates whom he has 'ascertained' to be free from unclean spirits (Sermon 216, DBL I02). In Rome at the beginning of the fifth century the scrutiny seems to have been performed three times (Canones ad Gallos, 8; DBL 229). (4) Throughout Lent the candidates were expected to attend daily instructions. For the first part of Lent (the first five weeks, according to Egeria) the instruction dealt with Scripture, the resurrection and faith; in Milan, according to Ambrose, moral questions were discussed on the basis of OT readings. The extant eighteen catecheses of Cyril do not include the expositions of Scripture; perhaps the other twenty-two or so needed to make up the Lenten number of about forty were less formal and consequently were not preserved. (5) In the second part of Lent the instruction focused on the creed and in some places the Lord's Prayer. In some Western churches the Creed was taught in three stages, called the handing-over, explanation and repetition of the creed (traditio, explanatio, redditio symboli). The first of these ceremonies took place one Sunday towards the middle of Lent: the catechumens, who up till now had not been allowed to hear the creed, now had to repeat it phrase by phrase after the bishop or catechist or sponsor; they were not allowed to have it in writing. In Rome this ceremony took place on the third Sunday, in Egeria's account on the 5th, on at least one occasion St Ambrose performed it as late as the day before Easter (cf. Egeria, 46.3, DBL 42-3; Ambrose, Ep. 20.4). The handing over of the creed was followed by the examination of its clauses. Sometimes this was done in the same sermon in which the candidates were taught to recite the creed, as in Ambrose's sermon Explanatio Smboli; Cyril, however, spread the instruction over thirteen sermons (Cat., 6-18). Ambrose tells his candidates that they will have to repeat (reddere) the But he does not add any details about the ceremony of repetition (Ex. Symb., 9)' Egeria describes this ceremony as it took place on the seventh Sunday (46.5). Cyril and others speak of the candidate's need to learn the creed by heart, without saying anything of a redditio (Cat.,5.12, DBL 27). St Augustine, in a sermon, fills in details of the ceremony of redditio; he may also be referring to it in his description of the convert Victorinus making his profession of faith 'on a rostrum, in the sight of the faithful people'.5 (6) The candidates had to observe the fast of forty days; in some places the fast applied not only to food, but also to the legitimate use of marriage. The pleasure of the bath was also renounced, but the candidates were allowed a bath on Maundy Thursday to make themselves decent for baptism (cf. Augustine, de Fide et Operibus, 8; Ep. 54.10; Ambrose, de El. et lei., 79; Ap. Trad., 20.5, DBL 4)' C THE FINAL RITES OF INITIATION (I) The rites begin in an outside room of the baptistery. The subsequent entry into the baptistery thus becomes itself a rite (cf. Cyril, Myst. Cat., 1.2, II; 2.2; Ambrose, de Sac., 1.4, 10; AIR 68, 73-4, 101, 103; DBL 27-9, 128-9)' (2) The Opening (apertio) was a ceremony known only in the West. The bishop touches the candidate's nostrils and ears, repeating the words of Mark 7.34 in Aramaic and Latin: 'Effeta, that is, be opened': the purpose of the rite was to confer understanding of the baptismal ceremonies and a share in the 'good odour of Christ' (Ambrose, de Sac., 1.2 quoting 2 Cor. 2.15; AIR 100; DBL 128). (3) Stripping, which was a practical necessity for the total anointing and the immersion, was made a ceremony in its own right, recalling Christ's naked entry into life and departure from it, the discarding of the old man, and a return to the innocence of paradise (cf. Cyril, Myst. Cat., 2.2; AIR 74; DBL 29; Ambrose, in Ps. 61, 32). In the Syrian rites, as early (4) A pre-baptismal anointing of the whole bot0' with olive oil. In the Ap. Trad. (21.10; AIR 266; DBL 5) this anointing constitutes an exorcism; indeed the oil is called 'oil of exorcism'. In later rites the connection with exorcism remains, even though it is less explicit. Ambrose, for example (de Sac., 1.4; AIR 101; DBL 128), recalls the anointing of an athlete, and sees the rite as a preparation for the struggle against the devil. Cyril (Myst. Cat., 2.3; AIR 75; DBL 29), while recalling the power of the anointing to drive away the devil and remove traces of sin, adds that it also signifies a share in Christ, the true olive. In Chrysostom and Theodore, however, this anointing occurs after the anointing of the head. (5) Renunciation of the devil. The basic form of this ceremony is the renunciation of Satan, his followers, and everything connected with him. Like the foregoing anointing, therefore, it provides the negative condition necessary for the receiving of the new life of Christ in baptism. These preliminary rites emphasize the negative aspect of baptism, the death to sin, and the struggle against it. The basic form of the renunciation is elaborated in various ways: (a) The list of the devil's following is variously expressed. The simplest form is that given by Tertullian (de Spectaculis, 4) 'the devil and his following (pompae) and his angels'. (DBL 9 wrongly reads 'works' instead of 'angels'.) There are, however, more elaborate forms "such as that of Theodore: 'Satan, all his angels, all his works, all his/'service, all his vanity and all his worldly enticements' (Hom. Cat., 13, synopsis; AIR 176; DBL 47 gives a shorter form). (b) In the East the candidate addresses Satan ('I renounce you, Satan. . .'), with the exception of the formula given by Theodore of Mopsuestia, in which there is the plain statement, 'I renounce Satan, all his angels. . .' In the West the renunciation takes the form of question and answer: 'Do you renounce Satan [or the devil]?' 'I do renounce him' (c) In some Eastern rites the candidate faced west in order to address Satan, the Lord of darkness. It is sometimes said that the westward facing position and the subsequent turn to the east were not adopted in the Latin Church; however, it is implied in Ambrose's description of the candidate turning to the east for the following ceremony of the contract with Christ.7 (6) Contract with Christ ('adhesion'). In many rites, after the renunciation the candidate turns to the east and pledges his loyalty to Christ. Sometimes this pledge takes the form of a direct declaration: 'I enter into your service, 0 Christ' (cf. Chrysostom, Bapt. Inst., Harkins 2.2 I; AIR 166; DBL 40); the verb is suntattomai (noun sttlltaxis), in contrast with the verb 'I renounce' (apotattomai, noun apotaxis). In other places the pledge consists of a Trinitarian act of faith (cf. Cyril, A1:vst. Cat., 1.9; Theo. Mops., Hom. Cat., 13, synopsis; AIR 73,176; DBL 28). This act of faith, even though it does not involve the use of the verb suntattolllai, can still be described as a suntaxis (cf. Cyril, M)'st. Cat. 1.8; AIR 72; DBL 28). (7) Blessing of the baptismal water. Although in an emergency ordinary water could presumably be used, proper practice required that the water should be consecrated; indeed it was commonly held that 'not all waters have a curative power; only that water has it which has the grace of Christ' (Ambrose, de Sac., 1.15; AIR 105). The rite of consecration could have three parts: (b) An epiclesis, by which the power of God is called down upon the water. More is said elsewhere in this book about the Eucharistic epiclesis (see pp. 215-16), but its use is not limited to the Eucharist. In the baptismal epiclesis, the prayer to God (the Father) that the Spirit may descend on the water occurs as early as Tertullian (de Bapt., 4; DBL 7). According to Cyril, 'ordinary water, having received the invocation of the Holy Spirit and of Christ and of the Father, acquires the power of holiness' (Cat. 3.3). Sarapion, however, gives his characteristic epiclesis not of the Spirit but of the Word (see p. 239); the Father is asked that the Word may descend on the water and fill it with the Holy Spirit, so that the baptized may become spiritual. In the Apostolic Constitutions the epiclesis, like those over the oil and ointment, is set in a prayer of thanksgiving (7.43-4; cf. 7.27; DBL 33-4). This setting of the epiclesis became most common in the Eucharist and the ordination service. (c) A sign of the cross is associated with the water; perhaps the bishop traced the sign in the water with his hand or dipped his cross into it (cf. AIR 24), or poured oil into it crosswise (cf. the Armenian rite in DBl 64) (8) Immersion. In the fourth and fifth centuries the fonts were like baths let into the floor of the baptisteries: a few steps led down into the water. Frequently the water was constantly running into and out of the font. Many fonts were too shallow and confined to permit of easy total immersion. Contemporary representations of the baptism of Christ point to the same conclusion, for they normally show the water reaching below the waist, sometimes scarcely covering Christ's ankles (see plate 5).8 Theodore of Mopsuestia describes how the bishop placed his hand on the candidates' heads and pushed them under the water (Hom. Cat., 14, synopsis;AIR 189; DBL 49); but the iconographical and archaeological evidence suggests that in some places the bishop poured water over the candidate standing in the water of the font, or made water from the inlet pipe run over their head (cf. J. G. Davies, Architectural Setting, pp. 25-6). It seems to have been the universal practice to immerse or infuse the candidate in water three times, in conjunction with the naming of the three Persons of the Trinity. The Antiochene Church in the fourth century used the formula: 'N. is baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit'. In the West, however, the words took the form of a profession of faith by means of question and answer: 'Do you believe in God the Father almighty?' 'I believe'. This exchange was followed by the first immersion; the process was repeated for the Son and the Holy Spirit. The questions were sometimes elaborated into a rudimentary creed. This is the third point in the ceremonies at which an act of faith could be made; the other two were the repetition of the creed and the contract with Christ. 11 (9) An anointing of the head with myron (the symbolism of myron will be discussed later)." As Ambrose (de Sac., 3; AIR 120; DBL' be described the rite, the oil is poured over the head after the old Syrian fashion. Chrysostom and Theodore speak instead of the tracing of the seal (the Sign of the cross) on the forehead, but are traditional enough to place the rite before baptism, even before the anointing of the body. The rite is said to symbolize priesthood (Ambrose, de Mysteriis 30; dBL 32), or eternal life (Ambrose, de Sac., 2.24; AIR "9; DBL '30) or membership of Christ's flock. (Theo. Mops., Hom. Cat., '3.;7: 20; AIR ,86 -8; DBL 47-8) (presumably because of the mark traced on the forehead); Some preachers attribute to this rite also the power of warding off the devil. (10) The washing of the feet. In many churches in both East and west when the candidates had come up from the font, their feet were washed by the bishop, assisted by the clergy. The reading of John 3 linked this ceremony with the Washing of the Feet at the Last SUpper.14 In most places the purpose seems to have been to remind the neophytes to perform works of humble charily; but Ambrose insisted that the rite had a sacramental effect, namely to protect the new Christian from the tendency to sin inherited from Adam (de Sac., 3-7; AIR 123-4; de My"., 32; DBL 132). (12) The gift of the Spirit, which later evolved into the Western rite of confirmation, took place under many different forms (see pp. '49-50). According to Tertullian, the rite for the conferring of this gift took the form of a laying on of hands and a blessing; in Ap. Trad., the bishop also pours consecrated oil, lays his hand again on the neophytes' heads, seals them on the forehead and gives them the kiss of peace. Cyprian speaks of a laying on of hands and a sealing. Ambrose simply speaks of a sealing, Ambrose simply speaks of a spiritual sealing, through which the Holy Spirit is received with his seven gifts, though from another passage it appears that the sealing involves the tracing of the sign of the cross, and that an anointing also is involved (de Sac., 3.8-10; 6.6-7; AIR 124-5; 151; DBL 131). In the Eastern church, however, the rite for the gift of the Spirit is not so consistently located, nor indeed always easy to identify. An account has not been given above of the early Syrian rite, in which there was no post-baptismal anointing, and the giving of the Spirit seems to have been linked with the rite as a whole (pp. 127-9). There is, however, a second understanding to be found in some Syrian sources, to the effect that it in the pre-baptismal anointing that confers the Spirit. This is true of the Ap. Const. (7.22; cf. 3.16; 7.~2; DB~ 30-3~ see above p' 90), There it is this anointing, performed with ordinary oil, not the immersion or post-baptismal sealing with myron, which gives a 'share of the Spirit' though 'if there be neither oil nor myron, the water is sufficient'). The fifth-century east Syrian Narsai describes the oil, which like a circumcision-knife is used to mark the seal on the forehead, as the 'drug of the Spirit'; it is followed by an anointing of the whole body to protect the candidate against the demons and the passions, but there is no anointing after baptism (Homily 22; DBL 52-54). There is also a third Syrian understanding of the rite, which is appar¬ent in the sermons of Chrysostom (Bapt. Inst., Harkins 2.22-6: AIR 166-9; DBL 40-1). His rite contains both a sealing with myron and an anointing of the whole body with oil before baptism, but neither of these ceremonies is connected with the gift of the Spirit, except that the oil is called 'spiritual'. There is no anointing or sealing after baptism; it is in baptism itself that 'by words of the bishop and by his hand the presence of the Holy Spirit flies down upon you'. It seems that this laying-on of hands is none other than the bishop's action in pushing the candidate down under the water. Proclus of Constantinople gives a rite which follows the same pattern as Chrysostom's, and he too associates the Spirit with the immersion: '. . . how you lay aside your corruption in the font, which is a tomb; how, made new, you rise again to life in the Spirit' (AT: Wenger, p. 101; Harkins, p. 228). A fourth Syrian version of the rite appears in Theodore of Mopsuestia. He comments, like Chrysostom, on the pre-baptismal sealing of the forehead and total anointing without linking them especially with the Holy Spirit, except to say that, after the sealing, 'You may receive the rest of the sacraments and so acquire the full armor of the Spirit' (Hom. Cat., 13.20; cf. 13.17-19; 14.8;AIR 186-8, 194; DBL 48). Theodore seems to connect the gift of the Spirit with a sealing with oil after baptism (Hom. Cat., 14.27; AIR 207-9; DBL 49-50); but this ceremony is not said to confer the Holy Spirit, but to be a sign that the Holy Spirit came upon the candidate at the moment of immersion (DBL's quotation ends before these words). I have presented arguments elsewhere (;1IR 208-9, n. 65) for this view, which contradicts those suggested by L. L. Mitchell (who maintains that the whole of this section in Theodore a later interpolation, perhaps by the sixth-century Syriac translator) G. W. H. Lampe (who thinks that there is no ceremony of sealing here and that Theodore is speaking of anointing and sealing in a metaphorical sense). The rite of Cyril of Jerusalem (where Syriac was one of the languages) provides a fifth Syrian type. It is true that the rite he knew when he wrote the Cats. in the middle of the fourth century seems to have been like that of Chrysostom, in which the Holy Spirit is imparted in the water rather than in a post-baptismal rite ('the water cleanses the body, and the Spirit seals the soul': Cat. 3.4; cf. 3.14). But by the end of his episcopate in 387 he had adopted a more elaborate form of the Western pattern; he describes a post-baptismal anointing with MYRON for the giving of the Spirit not only on the forehead, but also on the ears, nostrils and breast (Myst. Cat. 3.4; AIR 81-2; DBL 30). As has been seen, in some churches the Spirit was given in a rite of sealing with a scented unguent called /lOIrOIl or chrism. In connection with the pre-baptismal sealing, Chrysostom explains its symbolism as follows: 'The chrism is a mixture of olive oil and myron. Myron is for the bride, the oil for the athlete'. Irenaeus is the first to mention an anointing with myroll or balsam in describing a Gnostic rite: 'Then they anoint the initiate with balsam juice, for they maintain that this myron is a sign of the universal good odor 0H 1.21.3; see above p. 120). There is no unam¬biguous evidence of its use in orthodox circles until the time of Chrysos¬tom, Ambrose (de Sac., 3.I;AIR 120; DBL 130; de M,JIst., 29), Cyril (M,JIst. Cat. 5) and the Ap. const. (7.27, 44; DBL 34). Concerning the signing of children, it is clear that this may not be performed by anyone except the bishop. . . . This is evident, not only from the Church's practice, but also from the passage in the Acts of the Apostles which states that Peter and John were sent to confer the Holy Spirit on those who were already baptized. (13) From the second century baptism was in some areas called 'illumination'. It was appropriate therefore that the neophyte should be given a lighted candle or lamp to carry. The custom is described by Proclus of Constantinople in the first half of the fifth century. Pseudo-Ambrose also refers to the ceremony, and there seem to be allusions to it in earlier writers. (14) Initiation was now completed by the entry into the church of the neophytes, dressed in white and carrying their candles. They now for the first time attended the whole of the Eucharist, during which they made their first communion. In some churches in the West, after receiving the Eucharistic bread and wine, the neophytes also received a drink of milk and honey. This was said to symbolize the Promised Land, babyhood and the sweetness of Christ's word.22 In Milan, however, there was one privilege of the faithful in which the neophyte was not allowed to share until Low Sunday, namely, taking part in the procession of people bringing their offerings to the altar (Ambrose, ill Ps. 1I8, Prologue 2). The disciplina arcani was closely linked with the custom of withholding instruction on certain matters until a catechumen had given in his name for baptism and become a competentus; in some places, as we have seen, instruction on baptism itself and the Eucharist was not given until these sacraments had already been received. The catechumen had to leave the assembly after the Liturgy of the Word, before the Eucharist proper began (see p. 228). Candidates for baptism were frequently reminded of the need to observe the secrecy very strictly (cf. Cyril, Procat. 12; DBL 26). Some people were extremely scrupulous in their observance of it; for example, Epiphanius of Salamis feels it necessary to describe the Last Supper in these cryptic terms: 'he stood up at the Supper, took these things and gave thanks, saying: "This is my this" , Besides reverence, the desire to arouse the catechumen's curiosity seems to have been a motive. It is also possible that there was the wish to imitate the secrecy of the Greek and Roman mystery-religions (see above, pp. 83 -4). It is certain that at this time there appears in baptismal sermons an emphasis on the awe (an emotion typical of mystery-religions) which the Christian mysteries of baptism and the Eucharist aroused; 23 and it was not long since Constantine had provided the Church with Christian mystery-sites at Jerusalem, the place where the Christian God (like Persephone at Eleusis) died and rose again. Jerusalem indeed was the source from which several liturgical innovations seem to have spread (cf. Dix, Shape, pp. 350-3). Atchley, E. G. C. F., On the Epiclesis of the Eucharistic Litugy and in the Consecrtion of the Font. AC 1935.by E. J. YARNOLD, 5J
B Enrolment as a candidate and preparation for baptism;
C The rites of initiation.
The regular baptism of children is attested by Origen, Tertullian, the Apostolic Tradition, and Cyprian in the third century, and by Asterius about 340, although the evidence does not show whether this practice was universal or whether Christian parents could without censure postpone the baptism of their children to maturer years. Towards the middle of the fourth century, however, the baptism of children, apart from emergency baptisms, seems to have become the exception. (See above, p. 125, n. 17.) Towards the end of the fourth century there begins to be a return to the practice of child-baptism: Gregory of Nazianzus recommends child-baptism (but not infant-baptism), and St Augustine, in the early fifth century, proposes a theological justification of the baptism of those who are too young to have faith. Tertullian gives reasons for the postponement of baptism: the child's sponsors are held responsible if it fails to fulfill the obligations of Christianity when it grows up; and, besides, little children are sinless, and do not require the forgiveness of sins that baptism confers. (Cf. Gregory of Nazianzus, Or. 40 on Baptism 28 (PG 36,400); Augustine, Ep. 98; Tertullian, de Bapt., 18, DBL 9;]. Jeremias, Infant Baptism in the First Four Centuries ET (SCM 1960), pp 94-7,)
As early as Tertullian's time, it was considered appropriate to confer baptism at the feasts of Easter or Pentecost, although the sacrament could also be administered with less solemnity on other days; one such in Cappadocia was the Epiphany. However the baptismal catecheses of Cyril, Ambrose, Chrysostom and Theodore (see pp. 91 -5) assume no date other than Easter. The following process can be reconstructed, mainly from their writings:
Augustine (de Symbolo I) speaks of a similar handing over of the Lord's Prayer the Sunday after the traditio ~ymboli (this prayer, like the creed, was also kept secret), with a redditio the following Sunday; Theodore (Hom. Cat., I I. I 9) speaks of the tradition without mentioning the redditio: both teachers provide an explanation of the prayer. Cyril and Ambrose, however, make their explanation of the prayer part of their exposition after baptism of the ceremonies of the Eucharist, in which the Lord's Prayer is included; they seem to have had no formal tradition of the prayer.
These rites comprised many ceremonies, but no church performed them all, and the order varied. One can, however, distinguish between preparatory rites, centered on the renunciation of the devil, and baptism itself with its accompanying ceremonies. At Easter (much less is known of the rites at other times) the celebration took place in the context of the Easter vigil, which was kept by all the faithful, and not only by the candidates for baptism. Most sources indicate that the rites took place in the night between Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday, though Chrysostom seems to be speaking of preparatory rites that take place on the Friday (cf. AIR 167, n.34). In the Ap. Trad. (21.1; AIR 265, DBL 4) the ceremonies begin at cockcrow.
as the third century deaconesses attended to the women for the sake of decency (cf. Didascalia, 16, Connolly, p. 146; DBL 13).
(a) An exorcism of the water, which was necessary because, in Tertul¬lian's words, 'the profane angel of evil frequents the company of this element to ruin men' (de Bapt., 5; cf. Ambrose, de Sac., 1.15, 18; AIR
105-6; DBL 129).
The font of Dura-Europos (see p. 529 and plate 4) was rectangular, and this seems to have been the earliest shape, once the practice was abandoned of baptizing in streams in the open air. Cruciform fonts of various shapes have also survived. By the fifth century, eight-sided fonts set within baptisteries of the same shape became common; the shape was taken to symbolize the eighth day (after the seven days of creation), namely the day of the resurrection. The later of the two fourth-century octagonal fonts in Milan (see above, p. 95) has claims to have been built by St Ambrose in the first octagonal baptistery, but there are reasons for thinking it may be later.
(11) After the immersion and the washing, the candidate was dressed in a white garment, as a sign of innocence, and a symbol of the wedding garment. 15 Ambrose suggests a connection with the transfigured Christ's white robe (de A{yst. 34);]. Danielou sees the baptismal garment as an eschatologkal symbol and as a priestly vestment (Bible and Liturgy, pp. 5 I -2). The neophytes wore their robes for the whole of Easter week ('the shining week'), changing back into their ordinary clothes on Low Sunday (in depositis albis).
There is no unanimity among the Fathers about the effect of the gift of the Spirit. Some link the gift with strength for the fight against the devil and purification from sin (cf. Cyril, Myst. Cat., 3.4; AIR 82); some stress the sevenfold gifts of the Spirit (cf. Ambrose, de Sac., 3.8;AIR 124 5; DBL 131); some treat it eschatologically, seeing it as an anticipation of heaven (cf. Theo. Mops., Hom. Cat., 14.27; AIR 209); some regard it as a 'completion' or 'perfecting' of baptism (cf. Ambrose, de Sac., 3.8; Theo. Mops., Hom. Cat., 14.19;AIR 124, 202). But until confirmation became separated from baptism there was little need to define exactly the nature of the new grace which was added by the gift of the Spirit (see pp. 149-50).
In both East and West the rite associated with the gift of the Holy Spirit could be performed only by the bishop. Innocent I traced this belief back to Acts 8:
A striking feature of the celebration of the initiation-sacraments of the fourth and early fifth centuries was the practice of shrouding in secrecy the facts concerning baptism, the Eucharist, the creed, and the Lord's Prayer. Scholars were to give to this practice the name of disciplina arcani. Although its roots may consist of such NT texts as 'Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls before swine' (Matt. 7.6, RSV), there is not much evidence for its systematic observance until the middle of the fourth century. Then examples occur with great frequency, which show that the practice was observed all over the Church, in some places almost ostentatiously. A preacher will hint at a secret topic, and then break off with such words as 'Those who have been initiated will know what I mean' (cf. AIR 50-4).
Obviously the disciplina arcani could flourish only at a time when infant baptism was not normally practised. If children were let in on the secret, it could not remain a secret for long. Consequently from the middle of the fifth century, as infant baptism became normal, the practice of mystagogic catechesis and the disciplina areani became redundant and lapsed, even for adult converts.
Dujarier, M., (ET) A History of the Catechumemate: The First Six Centuries. New York, Sadlier 1979.
Finn, T., The Liturgy of Baptism in the Baptismal Instructions of St John Chrysostom. Washington, Catholic University of America Press 1967.
Kelly, H. A., The Dl'Vil at Baptism. Ithaca, Cornell University Press 1985. Kretschmar, G., Die GesclziclIle des Taujiwttesdiellstes in der altell Kin.he. Leiturgia, vol. 5. Kassel 1970.
Mazza, E., Mystagogy: a Theology of Liturgy in the Patristic Age. New York, Pueblo 1989.
Rahner, H., (ET) Greek Myths and Christian Mysteries London, Burns & Oates; New York, Harper & Row 1963.
Riley, H. M., Christan Initiation. Washington, Catholic University of America Press 1974.
Wilkinson, Egeria's Travels. SPCK 1971; rev. ed. Jerusalem 1981.
Winkler, G., 'The Original Meaning of the Prebaptismal Anointing and its Implications', Worship, 52 (1978), pp. 24-45.
Yarnold, E.)., The Awe-Inspiring Rites 0/ Initiation: Baptismal Homilies of the Fourth Century