slave or free, for whom he had been godfather in baptism when she was a child: because nothing does induce a more paternal affection, or juster prohibition of marriage, than this tie by which their souls are in a divine manner united together. Now this law extended no further than to prohibit marriage in this immediate relation: and it could not affect very many, whilst parents were commonly sponsors for their own children, and the sacred virgins or the deaconesses or the clergy for others; and men were sponsors for men, and women for women. But afterward this was improved a little further: for the Council of Trullo forbids' the godfather not only to marry the infant, but the mother of the infant, for whom he answers; and orders them that have done so, first to be separated, then to do the penance of fornicators. This prohibition was extended to more degrees in the following ages, and grew so extravagant, that the Council of Trent thought it a matter worthy of their reformation; though still by their rules this spiritual relation3 was extended to more degrees, than either the Laws of Justinan or the Canons of Trullo had prohibited. For they forbid marriage not only between the sponsors and their children, but also between the sponsors themselves; and the father and mother of the baptised is not to marry a sponsor, nor may the baptiser marry the baptised, nor the father or mother of the baptised, because of the spiritual relation that is contracted between them. But they forbid above two sponsors to appear for a child, and if more than two appear, they are not bound by this law of spiritual relation, though the canon-laws had determined otherwise in former persona omnimodò ad nuptias venire prohibenda, quam aliquis, sive alumna sit, sive non, à sacrosancto suscepit baptismate; cùm nihil aliud sic inducere potest paternam affectionem, et justam nuptiarum prohibitionem, quàm bujusmodi nexus, per quem Deo mediante animæ eorum copulatæ sunt. 1 Con. Trull. can. liii. "Εγνωμέν τινας ἐκ τῆ βαπτίσματος παῖδας ἀναδεχ· ομένες, και μετὰ τῦτο ταῖς ἐκείνων μητράσι γαμικὸν συναλλάσσοντας συνοικέσιον. ὁρίζομεν ἀπὸ τὸ παρόντος μηδὲν τοιῦτον πραχθῆναι. 2 Con. Trident. Sess. xxiv. de Reform. Matrimon. cap. ii. Inter susceptores ac baptizatum ipsum, et illius patrem ac matrem, necnon inter baptiza Sem et baptiza tum, baptizatique patrem ac matrem, tantùm spiritualis cognatio contrahatur. 3 Sext Decretal. lib. iv. tit. iii. de Cognat. Spirit. cap. iii. Si plures accesserint, spiritualis cognatio inde contrahitur, &c. ages. Yet after all their regulations about this matter, there remain a thousand difficulties to exercise the pens of the Roman casuists, which the reader that is curious may find referred to by Soteallus and Barbosa' in their declarations and remissions on the Council of Trent. SECT. 13.-Why the Names of the Sponsors ordered to be Registered in the Books of the Church. There is one thing indeed ordered by that council, which was anciently of good use, though not for the purpose for which they appointed it. That is, that not only the names of the baptised, but also the names of the sponsors should be registered in the books of the Church. The Council of Trent orders it, only that men might know what persons were forbidden to marry by this spiritual relation. But anciently it had a much better use, that the Church might know, who were sponsors, and that they might be put in mind of their duty, by being entered upon record, which was a standing memorial of their obligations. This custom we find mentioned in the author under the name of Dionysius, where he describes the ceremony of admitting catechumens together with their sponsors. The bishop first explains to the catechumen the laws and rules of a divine life and conversation, and then asks him whether he purposes so to live, which when he has promised, he lays his hand upon his head, and orders the priests to register both the man and his sponsor. Afterward he speaks of reciting their names out of these registers, when men were presented by their sponsors immediately to be baptised. And thus much of the use of sponsors in the primitive Church. 1 Canon. Con. Trid. Cum Remissionibus Barbosa, Colon. 1621. Dionys. de Hierarch. Eccl. cap. ii. p. 253. 'Iepápxns áπoypá¥aodai κελεύει τοῖς ἱερεῦσι τον ἄνδρα καὶ τὸν ἀνάδοχον. It. p. 240. Καὶ τινος ἱερέως ἐκ τῆς ἀπογραφῆς αὐτόν τε καὶ τὸν ἀνάδοχον κηρύξαντος, &ς. CHAP. IX. Of the Unction and the Sign of the Cross in Baptism. SECT. 1. Of the first original of Unction in Baptism. WE find in some of the ancient ritualists, but not in all, mention made of an unction preceding baptism, and used by way of preparation for it. They, who first describe it, speak of it as used either immediately after the confession of faith, as the author of the Constitutions; or else between the renunciation and the confession, as Cyril of Jerusalem describes it. But there is no mention of this unction either in Justin Martyr or Tertullian. For though Tertullian speaks of an unction among the ceremonies of baptism; yet as Daille rightly observes, it was not this unction preceding baptism, but the unction which followed after it in confirmation, accompanied with imposition of hands, which belongs to another subject. For it is plain from Tertullian that neither of these were given before baptism, but when men were come out of the water, then they were anointed with the holy unction, and had imposition of hands, in order to receive the Holy Ghost. Whence I think Daille's conjecture very just and reasonable, that the unction preceding baptism is of later date, and was not as yet adopted among the ceremonies of baptism in the time of Tertullian. SECT. 2. Of the Difference betwixt this and Chrism in Confirmation. But the writers of the following ages speak distinctly of two unctions, the one before, the other after baptism: which they describe by different names aud different ceremonies, to distinguish them one from the other. The first they commonly call χρίσιν μυτικῇ ἐλαίς, the unction of the mystical oil, and the other χρίσιν μύρε, οι χρίσμα, the unction of chrism. They both agree in this, that the bishop only consecrated them, whether for the use of baptism or confirmation. The author of the Constitutions gives ' Constit. Apost. lib. vii. cap. xli. Cyril. Catech. Myst. ii. n. 3. Dallæ. de Confirmat. lib. ii. cap. xi. p. 181. vii. Exinde egressi de lavacro perunguimur benedictâ unctione de pristinâ disciplinâ, quâ ungui oleo de cornu in sacerdotium solebant, &c. us a form of consecration to be used by the bishop in sanctifying oil for this unction before baptism, where he prays to God,' that he would sanctify the oil in the name of the Lord Jesus, and grant it spiritual grace, and efficacious power, that it might be subservient to the remission of sins, and the preparation of men to make their profession in baptism, that such as were anointed therewith, being freed from all impiety, might become worthy of the initiation according to the command of his only-begotten Son. And this power of consecration is reserved to the bishop in all the canons of the ancient councils, of which more, when we come to speak of confirmation. In the mean time I observe, First, That these two went by different names. The author of the Constitutions calls the first mystical oil, and the other mystical chrism, and has a distinct form of consecration for each of them. And the same distinction in name is observed by Cyril of Jerusalem3 and the authors under the name of Justin Martyr, and Dionysius. Secondly, they differed in the time of administering them. For the one was given before the party went into the water, the other after he came out of it again. Which is clear from all the forementioned authors, and from St. Ambrose, who speaks of an unction with oil before baptism. As also the author of the Recognitions, under the name of Clemens Romanus, who tells persons, "that were to be baptised, that they were first to be anointed with oil consecrated by prayer." Thirdly, they differed in respect to the persons concerned in the administration. For the unction before baptism, was often done by a deacon or a deaconess: but that after baptism by the bishop himself most commonly, or at least by a presbyter in some peculiar cases. The author of the Constitutions, speaking parti 1 Constit. Apost. lib. vii. cap. xlii. Musikov xvii. Constit. lib. vii. c. xlii. aιov. Lib. vii. cap. xliv. Musòv μúpov. Vid. lib. iii. cap. 8 Cyril. Catech. Myst. ii. n. 3. and Catech. iii. n. 3. Justin. Resp. ad Orthod. q. 137. cap. ii. p. 253. Dionys. de Eccl. Hierar. 6 Ambros. de Sacramentis. lib. i. cap. ii. Venimus ad fontem.Unctus es quasi athleta Christi, quasi luctamen hujus sæculi luctaturus. Clem. Recognit. lib. iii. c. lxvii. Baptizabitur autem unusquisque vestrûm-perunctus primò oleo per orationem sanctifi8 Constit. Apost. lib. iii. c. xv. et xvi. cato. cularlarly of the unction before the baptism of women, orders the bishop to anoint the head, the deacon the forehead, and the deaconesses the other parts of the body. But the chrism after baptism is reserved to the bishop only. Lastly, they differed in the design and intent of them. For the design of the first unction was to prepare them for baptism, and enter them on their combat with Satan, as champions of Christ; the other was to consummate and confirm their baptism with the consignation or seal of the Holy Spirit. men SECT. 3.-The Design of this Unction, and the Reason of it. Cyril of Jerusalem speaking of the former unction says,' were anointed from head to foot with this exorcised or consecrated oil, and this made them partakers of the true olive-tree, Jesus Christ. For they being cut out of a wild olive-tree, and ingrafted into a good olive-tree, were made partakers of the fatness of the good olive-tree. Therefore that exorcised oil was a symbol of their partaking of the fatness of Christ, and an indication of the flight and destruction of the adverse power. For as the insufflations of the saints, and invocation of God, do like a vehement flame, burn and put the devils to flight; so this exorcised oil by prayer and invocation of God gains such a power, as not only to burn up and purge away the footsteps of sin, but also to repel all the powers of the invisible wicked one, the devil. St. Ambrose compares it to the anointing of wrestlers before they enter their combat. "Thou camest to the font," says he, "and wast anointed as a champion of Christ, to fight the fight of this world." The author under the name of Justin Martyr, distinguishing between the two unctions, says, men were first anointed with the ancient oil, that they might be Christ's, that is, the anointed of God; but they were anointed with the precious ointment, after baptism, in remembrance of him who 1 Cyril. Catech. Myst. ii. n. 3. 66 2 Ambros. de Sacram. lib. i. cap. ii: Venimus ad fontem.- -Unctus es quasi athleta Christi, quasi luctamen hujus sæculi luctaturus. 9 Justin. Respon. ad Orthodox. q. 137. Χριόμεθα δὲ τῷ παλαιῷ ἐλαιῳ, ἵνα γινώμεθα χριςοί. τῷ δὲ μύρῳ, πρὸς ἀνάμνησιν τῇ τὴν χρίσιν τῇ μύρε ἐνταφιασμὸν ἑαυτῷ λογιζομένε. |