[122] Cat. i.
[123] Cat. ii.
[124] Ps. xlii. 5; xliii. 4, 5 (exomologesomai); and Ps. c. 4 (e? exomologesei).
[125] Matt. xi. 25; Phil. ii. 11.
[126] Ps. ix. 1: 'Exomologesomai soi, Kurie.
[127] Joshua vii. 19, Sept. exomologesin.
[128] Matt. iii. 6; Mark i. 5; James iii. 16.
[129] Irenæus, I. xiii. § 5; III. iv. § 3; Clem. Alex. Protrept. ii. § 41: exomologountai hoi daimones ten gastrimargian ten hauton.
[130] De Poenitentia, c. xii.
[131] De Poenitentia, c. ix.
[132] Cat. i. § 5.
[133] Ib. § 6.
[134] Ib. § 11.
[135] Cat. ii. 15. For similar statements, see Cat. i. 2; ii. 19, 20, &c.
[136] Cat. ii. § 20.
[137] Ib. v. § 2.
[138] Ib. xviii. 14.
[139] Procat. § 9.
[140] Mark xvi. 17; Luke ix. 1; x. 17.
[141] Acts v. 16; xvi. 18; xix. 12.
[142] Acts viii. 7.
[143] Apologia I. §§ 6, 8; Tryph. lxxxv.
[144] De Idolol. c. xi.; de Corona Mil. xi.; de Anima, lvii. de Spectac. xxvi.; de Præscript. Hæret. xli.
[145] Contra Celsum, vii. c. 57.
[146] Const. Apost. viii. 26.
[147] Euseb. H. E. vi. 43; Syn. Antioch. in Encæniis, Can. 10: Syn. Laod. Can. 24.
[148] Origen, Contra Cels. iv. c. 34 (p. 184).
[149] Fourth Council of Carthage, Can. 7 (a.d. 398).
[150] De Nupt. et Concup. II. § 33: de Pecc. Orig. § 45; contra aulian Pelag. VI. § 11; Op. Imperf. c. Julian. I. § 50; III. § 144, &c.
[151] De Symbolo, § 2. Cf. Cat. xx. (Myst. ii.) § 2.
[152] Hom. iii. c. 73.
[153] Orig. in Josu. xxiv. § 1: "exorcistarum manus impositione."
[154] Procat. § 13.
[155] Ib. § 14.
[156] Aug. Sermo de Symb. ii. § 1: "ut ex locis secretis singuli produceremini." This may possibly refer only to the final exorcism immediately before Baptism.
[157] Cat. xiii. 8: xv. 33; xviii. 16, &c.
[158] Ad Illuminandos, Cat. i. § 2.
[159] Procat. § 9.
[160] S. Aug. Serm. 376. "Hodie octavæ dicuntur Infantium; revelanda sunt capita eorum, quod est indicium libertatis. Habet enim libertatem ista spiritualis nativitas, propriæ autem carnis nativitas servitutem."
[161] Procat. § 14.
[162] Apologet. c. 23.
[163] Procat. § 9.
[164] Cat. xiii. 23: "Thou seest this spot of Golgotha? Thou answerest with a shout of praise, as if assenting."
Chapter IV.--Ceremonies of Baptism and Chrism.
§ 1. Renunciation. We have seen that Cyril's last Catechetical Lecture was delivered in the early dawn of the Great Sabbath, Easter Eve. The additional instructions then promised [165] concerning the behaviour of the Candidates were given on the same day, probably in the evening, when they were all assembled immediately before the administration of Baptism. The most important parts of the Baptismal ceremony are described by Cyril in the first Mystagogic Lecture, delivered on the Monday of Easter week. Thus in § 1 he says, Let us now teach you these things exactly, that ye may know the significance of the things done to you on that evening of your Baptism."
The first act was the renunciation of the Devil and all his works. This, as described by Tertullian, was done first in the Church "under the hand of the Bishop," and again immediately before entering the water [166] . Cyril speaks of the latter occasion only. "First ye entered into the outer chamber of the Baptistery, and there facing towards the West (as the region of darkness) ye heard the command to stretch forth your hand, and as in the presence of Satan to renounce him [167] ." For the formula of renunciation in the Apostolical Constitutions, see note 2 on Mystag. i. § 8; it corresponds closely with Cyril's, except that this is addressed to Satan as if personally present: " I renounce thee, Satan [168] , and all thy works [169] , and all thy pomp [170] , and all thy worship [171] ."
§ 2. Profession of Faith. After the renunciation of Satan the Candidate immediately turned to the East and said, "And I associate myself (suntassomai ) with Christ." Cyril does not give the words, but seems to allude to the custom, when he speaks of the Candidates "turning from the West to the East, the place of light [172] ."
Then, still facing the East, the Candidate was bidden to say, "I believe in the Father, and in the Son, and in the Holy Ghost, and in one Baptism of repentance [173] ." We have seen that in Cat. xviii. 22, 32, Cyril intimated to his Candidates that they would be required to profess publicly the Creed which he had delivered to them and which they had repeated after him. This public profession of faith (Omologia, "Redditio Symboli") was in some Churches made on Holy Thursday, according to Canon 46 of the Synod of Laodicea: "Those to be baptized must learn the Creed by heart, and recite it to the Bishop or Presbyters on the fifth day of the week." But in the Apostolic Constitutions, c. xli., Candidate is required to recite the whole Creed immediately after the Renunciation: "And after his renunciation let him in his consociation (suntassomenos) say: And I associate myself to Christ, and believe and am baptized into One Unbegotten Being, the Only True God Almighty, the Father of Christ,....and into the Lord Jesus Christ....and I am baptized into the Holy Ghost,....into the resurrection of the flesh, and into the remission of sins, and into the kingdom of heaven, and into the life of the world to come.' And after this vow he comes in order to the anointing with oil."
Such appears to have been the custom of the Eastern Churches in general and of Jerusalem in Cyril's time, although he mentions only those articles of the Creed which were commonly held to be indispensable to a valid profession of Christian belief.
Dr. Swainson [174] represents the matter somewhat differently: "When we come to the profession of his own personal faith which was made at Jerusalem by the Candidate for Baptism, we find that this was far briefer not only than the collection of necessary things' (Cat. iv.), but also than the Creed of the Church of Jerusalem." Then after quoting the short form in Cyril, Myst. i. § 9, "I believe in the Father, and in the Son, and in the Holy Ghost, and in one Baptism of repentance," Dr. Swainson adds: "The words are clear and definite. In these words each answered the question of which we read elsewhere, Did he believe in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit?' In this his reply the Candidate confessed' what Cyril called the saving confession.'"
It is evident that two separate parts of the Baptismal Service are here confused: the question to which Dr. Swainson alludes, and "the saving confession" of which Cyril speaks in Mystag. ii. § 4, belong, as we shall presently see, to a later stage of the ceremony.
§ 3. First Unction. On passing from the outer to the inner chamber of the Baptistery, the Candidate who had made his renunciation and profession barefoot and wearing his tunic (Chiton) [175] only, now put off this inner garment also, as an emblem of putting off the man with his deeds [176] . A further significance is ascribed by Cyril to this unclothing of Candidate, as being an imitation both of Christ, who hung naked [177] on the Cross, and by His nakedness put off from Himself the principalities and the powers, and "of the first-formed Adam, who was naked in the garden, and was not ashamed."
"Then, when ye were stripped, ye were anointed with exorcised oil, from the very hairs your head to your feet [178] ." The consecration of the "exorcised oil" is thus described [179] : "Now this is blessed by the chief-priest for the remission of sins, and the first preparation for Baptism. For he calls thus upon the Unbegotten God, the Father of Christ, the King of all sensible and intelligent natures, that He would sanctify the oil in the name of the Lord Jesus, and impart to it spiritual grace and efficacious strength, the remission of sins, and the first preparation for the confession of Baptism, that so the Candidate for Baptism, when he is anointed may be freed from all ungodliness, and may become worthy of initiation, according to the command of the Only-begotten."
Bingham's observation, that Cyril describes this first unction as used "between the renunciation and the confession [180] " is not quite accurate: in fact it came between two confessions, the one made, as we have seen, immediately after the renunciation in the outer chamber, the other at the very time of immersion. Chrysostom [181] clearly distinguishes two Confessions, but places one before Baptism, and the other after: "What can be more beautiful than the words by which we renounce the devil? Or those by which we associate ourselves with Christ? Than that confession which comes before the washing? Or that which comes after the washing?"
This first unction is not mentioned by Tertullian, nor in any genuine work of Justin Martyr, but in the Responsiones ad Orthodoxos, a work which though still early is regarded as certainly spurious, we find the question put, "Why are we first anointed with oil, and then, having performed the before-mentioned symbolic acts in the Laver, are afterwards sealed with the ointment, and do not regard this as done in opposition to what took place in our Lord's case, who was first anointed with ointment and then suffered [182] ?" And in the answer it is stated that "We are anointed with the simple oil that we may be made Christs (Christoi), but with the ointment in remembrance of our Saviour Christ, who regarded the anointing with ointment as His burial, and called us to the fellowship of His own sufferings and glory, typically in the present life but truly in the life to come."
Cyril attributes to this "exorcised oil" the same power as to Exorcism itself, "not only to burn and cleanse away the traces of sin, but also to chase away all the invisible powers of the evil one [183] ."
According to the directions concerning this first unction in the Apostolical Constitutions [184] , the Bishop was first to anoint the head only, the anointing of the whole body being then completed by the Deacon or Deaconess.
§ 4. Baptism. After this anointing the Candidates were "led by the hand to the sacred pool of Holy Baptism [185] ." This pool (kolumbethra) was supplied with water raised from the reservoirs, of which, as we shall see, the Bordeaux Pilgrim speaks in his description of the Basilica.
As great multitudes both of men and women were baptized at the special seasons, the Baptisteries were large buildings outside the Church, such as the Baptistery of the Lateran, said to have been originally built by Constantine. The font itself also was large enough for several persons to be baptized at the same time. In some places the men were baptized first, and then the women: in others different parts of the Baptistery were assigned to them, and curtains were hung across the Font itself [186] .
The consecration of the water is not mentioned in the Didache or Justin Martyr; but Tertullian thus describes its effect: "The waters after invocation of God acquire the sacramental power of sanctification; for immediately the Spirit comes down from heaven upon the waters, and rests upon them, sanctifying them from Himself, and they being thus sanctified imbibe a power of sanctifying [187] ."
In the prayer of consecration given in the Apostolic Constitutions the Bishop is directed first to offer adoration and thanksgiving to the Father and Son, and then to call upon the Father and say: "Look down from heaven, and sanctify this water, and give it grace and power, that so he that is to be baptized, according to the command of Thy Christ, may be crucified with Him, and may die with Him, and may be buried with Him, and may rise with Him to the adoption which is in Him, that he may be dead to sin, and live to righteousness [188] ."
Cyril ascribes the like effect to the consecration of the water, as imparting to it a new power of holiness by "the invocation of the Holy Ghost, and of Christ, and of the Father [189] ."
While standing in the water the Candidate made what Cyril calls "the saving confession [190] ." The whole Creed having been already recited (Redditio Symboli) in the outer chamber immediately after the Renunciation, a short form was now employed containing only the necessary declaration of faith in the Holy Trinity, and in the Baptism of Repentance for the remission of sins.
§ 5. Trine Immersion. This short confession appears to have been made by way of question and answer thrice repeated. "Thou wast asked, Dost thou believe in God the Father Almighty? Thou saidst, I believe, and dippedst thyself, that is, wast buried. Again thou wast asked, Dost thou believe in our Lord Jesus Christ and in His Cross? Thou saidst, I believe, and dippedst thyself; therefore thou wast buried with Christ also: for he who is buried with Christ, rises again with Christ. A third time thou wast asked, Dost thou believe also in the Holy Ghost? Thou saidst, I believe, a third time thou dippedst thyself; that the threefold confession might absolve the manifold fault of thy former life [191] ." But Cyril of Alexandria, as quoted by Bingham [192] , "makes these answers not only to be a confession of the three Persons of the Trinity, but a triple confession of Christ; which implies a repetition of the Creed (the shortened form?) three times over."