1. Scriptures.

Church Fathers:

2. General quotes on baptism

3. Triune Immersion.

4. Triune Immersion in Scripture.

5. Heretics practiced one Immersion.

6. Renunciation of Satan at Baptism.

7. Facing West to Renounce Satan, turn East to make our covenant with Christ:

8. What is Satans pomp, angels, service and works?

9. Man does not Baptize, but God.

10. Adopted as God’s Child in Baptism.

11. Spiritual Circumcision: Fulfillment of Old Testament Circumcision in Baptism.

12. Infant Baptism.

13. Temptations and attacks after Baptism.

14. Old and New Testament teachings about baptism: Types, Foreshadows, Symbols and so on.

15. Baptism of Jesus and why He was baptized.

16. New birth

17. Different names/titles of Baptism.

18. Baptism is a Seal

19. Objection to salvific power of Baptism using 1 Corinthians 1:14, 17  refuted, with the correct interpretation.

20. “In Jesus name only” baptism refuted.

Scriptures:

So now as well, when Jesus came, He found Lazarus already four days in the tomb—which is a dwelling place of the dead. For tombs are houses for sinners; that is why the demon-possessed flee to the tombs as to their own place (Mark 5:3). And as long as they are inside, no one is strong enough to pass that way. But when they come out, putting off their nakedness, they are clothed and in their right mind, and they sit at the feet of Jesus (Luke 8:35). But Jesus was laid in a new tomb and wrapped in a clean linen cloth (John 19:41; Matthew 27:59), and He did not reach the four days while among the dead. Therefore He was “free among the dead” (Psalm 88:5 LXX), and He rises on the third day—the free and holy number three. In this number He also sanctifies us through the washing of water, when He said that we must be baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). – Origen, Fragments on John (in Catena)

Here is the explanation for clean and unclean animals. The Apostle is taught knowledge about these from heaven, because indeed there was no more eminent and better on earth. (Acts 10:9-16) And he is taught, not by a single voice, nor by a single vision, but by three. I do not take that which is said “a thirdtime” as a useless saying. It is said to him “a third time” and through him to all of us. “What God has made clean, do not call common.” For the things made clean are made clean, not by a single invocation, nor by a second, but unless a third invocation is pronounced, no one is cleansed. For unless you were cleansed in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, you could not be clean. For this reason, therefore, these things are shown for cleansing not once or twice, but ”a third time” they are shown and “a third time” they are taught. Origen, Homilies on Leviticus 7.5

In this passage, Origen explains that we need to be cleansed by three invocations, in the name of the Trinity. He is clearly referring to Triune immersion, check out what we said about the Apostle Peter in the Recognitions of Clement at the beginning of this post. In the Church, three invocations meant three immersions. Origen says you must be cleansed in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Thats a 3x cleansing, triune immersion. Basil below will tell you three invocations means triune immersion.

Even more, those holy mysteries that we perform for the redemption of our life were first received from the world, for from the world come the bread and wine that ascend upon the spiritual altar. However, when the altar receives them, just as the womb receives the word, it makes them become above the world, the living body and blood of God that are above the world. In the same way also, the water with the oil by which the mystery of our baptism is performed is taken from this very world. But when the time has arrived that through and in them the ones invited to grace will be born, the font of water and common oil have become the womb and the power that give birth to spiritual beings. Just as Christ rose from the grave on the third day, the dead sinner who has descended into the grave will ascend alive from baptism. Because our Lord was resurrected on the third day, the sinner is renewed by three immersions with three names (Matthew 28:19). As our Lord after his resurrection moved to the spiritual way of life from the physical way of life that preceded his crucifixion, so also one who is resurrected by baptism as if from the grave walks in new life according to the teaching of Paul (Romans 6:4). — The Discourses of Philoxenos of Mabbug, Discourse 3, On Faith chapter 10 – written between 485-523 AD

Psuedo-Dionysius the Areopagite:

When the Deacons have entirely unclothed him, the Priests bring the holy oil of the anointing. Then he begins the anointing, through the threefold sealing, and for the rest assigns the man to the Priests, for the anointing of his whole body, while himself advances to the mother of filial adoption, and when he has purified the water within it by the holy invocations, and perfected it by three cruciform effusions of the altogether most pure Myron, and by the same number of injections of the all holy Muron, and has invoked the sacred melody of the inspiration of the God-rapt Prophets, he orders the man to be brought forward; and when one of the Priests, from the register, has announced him and his surety, he is conducted by the Priests near the water to the hand of the Hierarch, being led by the hand to him. Then the Hierarch, standing above, when the Priests have again called aloud near the Hierarch within the water the name of the initiated, the Hierarch dips him three times, invoking the threefold Subsistence of the Divine Blessedness, at the three immersions and emersions of the initiated. The Priests then take him, and entrust him to the Sponsor and guide of his introduction; and when they, in conjunction with him, have cast over the initiated appropriate clothing, they lead him again to the Hierarch, who, when he has sealed the man with the most Divinely operating Myron, pronounces him to be henceforward partaker of the most Divinely initiating Eucharist. – PSUEDO-Dionysius the Areopagite (Ecclesiastical Hierarchy 2.2.7)

Martin of Braga:

Often when people find out that the early church universally practiced Triune immersion, they may shrug it off as not a big deal because “it’s not clearly in Scripture” according to them, as if Jesus saying “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” isn’t evidence. As if what the early church believed and practiced universally isn’t supposed to be obeyed. When the church fathers talk about triune immersion they interpret Matthew 28:19 as teaching it. Yet it’s not only that Scripture, but in Acts 10 in Peters vision this is what the vision is also teaching us:

Acts 10:1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, 2 a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave [b]alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always. 3 About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius!” 4 And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, “What is it, lord?” So he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa, and send for Simon whose surname is Peter. 6 He is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea. He will tell you what you must do.” 7 And when the angel who spoke to him had departed, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier from among those who waited on him continually. 8 So when he had explained all these things to them, he sent them to Joppa. 9 The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour. 10 Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance 11 and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth. 12 In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. 13 And a voice came to him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” 14 But Peter said, “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.” 15 And a voice spoke to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed you must not call common.” 16 This was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again. 

Summary of what the Fathers teach about this scripture:

When Peter went up at the sixth hour to pray and he received this vision, this is where he learned about the mystery of the baptism of the Gentiles. In this vision, when it says that in the great sheet bound “were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air” this is symbolizing the Gentiles who are unclean in their errors. When the voice tells him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat,” this indicates that Peter must go to the Gentiles. When it says “This was done three times” this signifies Baptism. Peter is told three times, “What God has cleansed you must not call common” which means the Gentiles would be cleansed by God by a threefold immersion and threefold invocation in baptism. 

Church Fathers interpretation of Acts 10 about baptism and triune immersion:

Ambrose: “What should I say of Peter, who went up to the roof at the sixth hour and learned there the mystery of the baptism of the Gentiles?” – Ambrose of Milan, Letter 80, To Irenaeus (c. 387) 

Ambrose: “…And what is the purpose of Scripture in teaching us that Peter fasted and that the mystery regarding the baptism of the Gentiles was revealed to him when he was fasting and praying, if not to show that his or the saints themselves, when they fast, become more illustrious?” – Ambrose of Milan, Letter 59 (Fathers of the Church volume 26, page 326-327)

Ambrose: “Peter was alone and learned the mysteries about the Gentiles who were to be sanctified throughout the world.” – Ambrose of Milan, Letter 26, To Sabinus (c. 390)

Note: Ambrose says Peter at the sixth hour learned the mystery of the baptism of the Gentiles and then says Peter learned that the Gentiles would be sanctified throughout the world. How would they be sanctified? By baptism. Ambrose is saying baptism is how we are sanctified, and Peter learned that the Gentiles were going to begin to be sanctified by baptism. 

Bede: “In it were all the four-footed beasts and the serpents of the earth, and the winged creatures of the sky.” Acts 10:12 These animals are all the nations, unclean in their error, but cleansed by a threefold lowering, that is, by the mystery of the holy Trinity in baptism.” – Bede, Commentary on Acts 10:12 (700 AD)

Note: Although Bede’s commentary is in the 700s, in his preface he states that the commentary he’s putting down are what he’s taken from the earlier church fathers. Part of what Bede says is taken directly from Sermon 149 by Augustine.

Origen: “Here is the explanation for clean and unclean animals. The Apostle is taught knowledge about these from heaven, because indeed there was no more eminent and better on earth. (Acts 10) And he [Peter] is taught, not by a single voice, nor by a single vision, but by three. I do not take that which is said “a third time” as a useless saying. It is said to him “a third time” and through him to all of us. “What God has made clean, do not call common.” For the things made clean are made clean, not by a single invocation, nor by a second, but unless a third invocation is pronounced, no one is cleansed. For unless you were cleansed in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, you could not be clean. For this reason, therefore, these things are shown for cleansing not once or twice, but ”a third time” they are shown and “a third time” they are taught.” Origen, Homilies on Leviticus 7.5

Note: Notice that Origen connects Peter’s vision with baptism and being cleansed by the threefold name.

Gregory of Nyssa: “I also know that the blessed Peter was both hungry and at the same time drunk in such a type of drunkenness as this. Before his bodily meal was brought to him, when “he became hungry and wanted to take food,” while his own were preparing the table for him, there came upon him a divine and sober drunkenness. Through this drunkenness he stood outside himself and saw the gospel linen sent down from above by four corners and holding the whole human race within itself in the myriad forms of birds and quadripeds and creeping things and beasts formed according to the cults, whose beastly and irrational form the Word commanded Peter to sacrifice, in order that by being cleansed what was left would become edible. This cleansing is clear from the word of piety not being handed over naked, for the divine voice says not once that what God has made clean is not unclean, but this proclamation happens three times, so that we may learn from the first voice that God the Father purifies and from the second that in the same way the God purifying is the only-begotten God and from the third that equally the God purifying all that is unclean is the Holy Spirit.” – Gregory of Nyssa, Homilies on the Song of Songs 10

Note: When he interprets the proclamation happening ‘three times’ as about being cleansed by each person of the trinity, its because Gregory believed in triune immersion, so he believes Acts 10 teaches triune immersion, you’ll see here where he teaches triune immersion: “Let us then leave the task of searching into what is beyond human power, and seek rather that which shows signs of being partly within our comprehension:— what is the reason why the cleansing is effected by water? And to what purpose are the three immersions received? That which the fathers taught, and which our mind has received and assented to, is as follows:— We recognize four elements, of which the world is composed, which every one knows even if their names are not spoken; but if it is well, for the sake of the more simple, to tell you their names, they are fire and air, earth and water. Now our God and Saviour, in fulfilling the Dispensation for our sakes, went beneath the fourth of these, the earth, that He might raise up life from thence. And we in receiving Baptism, in imitation of our Lord and Teacher and Guide, are not indeed buried in the earth (for this is the shelter of the body that is entirely dead, covering the infirmity and decay of our nature), but coming to the element akin to earth, to water, we conceal ourselves in that as the Saviour did in the earth: and by doing this thrice we represent for ourselves that grace of the Resurrection which was wrought in three days: and this we do, not receiving the sacrament in silence, but while there are spoken over us the Names of the Three Sacred Persons on Whom we believed, in Whom we also hope, from Whom comes to us both the fact of our present and the fact of our future existence. It may be you are offended, you who contendest boldly against the glory of the Spirit, and that you grudge to the Spirit that veneration wherewith He is reverenced by the godly. Leave off contending with me: resist, if you can, those words of the Lord which gave to men the rule of the Baptismal invocation. What says the Lord’s command? Baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost Matthew 28:19 . How in the Name of the Father? Because He is the primal cause of all things. How in the Name of the Son? Because He is the Maker of the Creation. How in the Name of the Holy Ghost? Because He is the power perfecting all. We bow ourselves therefore before the Father, that we may be sanctified: before the Son also we bow, that the same end may be fulfilled: we bow also before the Holy Ghost, that we may be made what He is in fact and in Name. There is not a distinction in the sanctification, in the sense that the Father sanctifies more, the Son less, the Holy Spirit in a less degree than the other Two.” — Gregory of Nyssa, On the Baptism of Christ …… and again Gregory says “The descent into the water and the act of being immersed three times within it contains another mystery. …..” — Gregory of Nyssa (The Great Catechism Part 3, chapter 35)

Also notice how Gregorys interpretation of the threefold proclamation (Homilies on the Song of Songs 10) is very similar to Origen’s interpretation. Origen is teaching the same thing as Gregory, and also believed in triune immersion.

Ambrose: “… [Acts 10] Notice, also, that the appearance of the mystery three times repeated expressed the operation of the Trinity. And so in the mysteries [baptism] the threefold question is put, and the threefold answer made, and no one can be cleansed but by a threefold confession.” – Ambrose, On the Holy Spirit, Book 2.10.103, 105

Augustine: “Why was it let down three times from heaven? Because all these nations, who belong to the four quarters of the globe, where the Church signified by the four lines to which that receptacle was connected is being sown like seed, are baptized in the name of the Trinity. They are being renewed by believing in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, in order to belong to the company and communion of the saints. So the four lines and the triple letting down also yields the number twelve of the apostles; as though three each were allotted to the four quarters. Four threes, you see, make twelve.” Augustine, Sermon 149.10

Chromatius of Aquileia: “Finally, Peter said: “By no means, Lord, for no common or unclean thing has ever entered my mouth.” And the voice said from heaven: “What the Lord has made clean, do not call common.” We are cleaned in coming to the Church of Christ of all uncleanliness, by faith and by his grace through his mercy. And it recounts that the vessel came down from heaven three times and then it was received again. This is because we are unable to be cleansed or purified from sin except by the mystery of the Trinity. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the grace of baptism is delivered; we are made clean from all the stain of our sins. — Chromatius of Aquileia, Sermon 3 (https://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/UF/E0/04/51/99/00001/MCEACHNIE_R.pdf)

John Chrysostom: [Acts 10:11-16] … . The earth then, this is what the linen sheet denotes, and the wild beasts in it, are they of the Gentiles, and the command, “Kill and eat,” denotes that he must go to them also; and that this thing is thrice done, denotes baptism. – John Chrysostom, Homily 22 on Acts

Another translation of Chrysostom: “The earth, then, and the wild beasts in it, are the Gentiles. The command, “Kill and eat,” denotes that he must go to them also; and that this is done three times denotes triune baptism. – John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles 22. (Ancient Christian Commentary, Volume 5, On Acts, page 126)

Caesarius of Arles: “Therefore, they were to be ‘killed and eaten,’ that is, their past life in which they had not known Christ was to be killed, and they were to cross over into His body, as if into the new body of the company of the Church. For when Peter himself came to them, he briefly recalled what had been pointed out to him in that vision. And he said: ‘You know it is not permissible for a Jew to associate with foreigners or to visit them; but God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.’ Surely, God showed the same truth when that other word resounded: ‘What God has cleansed, do not thou call unclean.’ Why was it let down from heaven three times, except because all the nations which belong to the four parts of the earth where the Church is spread are baptized in the name of the Trinity? The Church was signified in the four comers which fastened the vessel, for they renew all who believe in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, in order that they may reach the company and communion of the saints. For this reason the four corners, the four parts of the world, and the triple lowering show the mystery of the Trinity. This fact also indicates the number of the twelve apostles, with three each delegated to the four, four times three equals twelve. And since the twelve apostles were destined to preach the mystery of the Trinity in the four corners of the world, for this reason the four corners were let down from heaven three times. As we mentioned above, blessed Peter typified the Catholic Church. The fact that he went up to the roof signifies that the Church was to ascend on high spiritually, away from earthly desires, and to lift up the heart in accord with what the Apostle said: ‘But our citizenship is in heaven.’ The fact that Peter hungered further signified that the Church would hunger for the salvation of the Gentiles. The sheet which was let down from heaven also indicated the Church, and the animals which were in the sheet presented an image of all nations. Moreover, the four corners by which that vessel was lowered seem to have signified the four corners of the world in which the Gospel of Christ is preached. The fact that the vessel was let down from heaven three times showed the mystery of the Trinity and the sacrament of Baptism. And when it was said to Peter: ‘Kill and eat,’ this indicated that the Catholic Church was destined to kill first and then eat all who believe in Christ. In other words, their unbelief would be slain in order that faith might be instilled. For no one can believe in Christ unless what he was first dies, according to what the Apostle says: ‘For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.’” — Ceasarius of Arles, Sermon 176, A Homily [149] Taken From a Work of the Bishop, Augustine, on the Vision of Blessed Peter, the Apostle, and Cornelius, the Centurion.

Oecumenius: The earth indeed is the sheet, and the beasts that were in it are the nations. But it is said, “Rise, kill and eat” (Acts 10:13), showing that they also ought to come near. And that this happened three times signifies Baptism. But when Peter hesitated, at the right moment the men came who would remove his hesitation. For the soul readily receives resolution. … Peter is commanded to kill that wild and irrational race of men, so that, once they are purified, what remains may become fit to be eaten. The word of piety is handed down plainly, when by the divine voice it is said not once but three times that what God has purified is not common, so that by the first voice we may learn that the Father is God who purifies, by the second that the Only-begotten also is God who purifies, and by the third moreover that the Holy Spirit is He who purifies. – Oecumenius, Commentary on Acts of the Apostles 10, PG 118:182-183

Theophylact of Ohrid: “The sheet (shroud) signifies the earth, and the beasts in it signify the Gentiles. The saying “kill and eat” (v. 13) means that they too must come to Christ, and the fact that this is repeated three times signifies baptism. Thus, the true meaning of the vision points him to the teaching of the Trinity, just as faith in the Trinity constitutes true worship of God.”  – Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Acts 10 (1000 AD) – Very late source.

Two heretical groups here, the Eunomians and the Montanist:

Theodoret of Cyrus:

Socrates Scholasticus:

Philostorgius:

Renunciation of Satan at Baptism

Accordingly, they confess that the spirit in repentance retraces its steps. In the same way, therefore, we also, repenting of our sins, renouncing our iniquities, purified by baptism, speed back to the eternal light, children to the Father. Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor 1.6

I will turn to that highest authority of our “seal” itself. When entering the water, we make profession of the Christian faith in the words of its rule. We then bear public testimony that we have renounced the devil, his pomp, and his angels. Tertullian (c. 197, W), 3.81.

And how long shall we draw the saw to and fro through this line, when we have an ancient practice, which by anticipation has made for us the state, i.e., of the question? If no passage of Scripture has prescribed it, assuredly custom, which without doubt flowed from tradition, has confirmed it. For how can anything come into use, if it has not first been handed down? Even in pleading tradition, written authority, you say, must be demanded. Let us inquire, therefore, whether tradition, unless it be written, should not be admitted. Certainly we shall say that it ought not to be admitted, if no cases of other practices which, without any written instrument, we maintain on the ground of tradition alone, and the countenance thereafter of custom, affords us any precedent. To deal with this matter briefly, I shall begin with baptism. When we are going to enter the water, but a little before, in the presence of the congregation and under the hand of the president, we solemnly profess that we disown the devil, and his pomp, and his angels. Hereupon we are thrice immersed, making a somewhat ampler pledge than the Lord has appointed in the Gospel. – Tertullian, The Chaplet chapter 3

“And when it remains that the catechumen is to be baptized, let him learn what concerns the renunciation of the devil, and the joining himself with Christ; for it is fit that he should first abstain from things contrary, and then be admitted to the mysteries. He must beforehand purify his heart from all wickedness of disposition, from all spot and wrinkle and then partake of the holy things; for as the skilfullest husbandman does first purge his ground of the thorns which are grown up therein, and does then sow his wheat, so ought you also to take away all impiety from them, and then to sow the seeds of piety in them, and vouchsafe them baptism. For even our Lord did in this manner exhort us, saying first, Make disciples of all nations; Matthew 28:19 and then He adds this, and baptize them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Let, therefore, the candidate for baptism declare thus in his renunciation: —.” Apostolic Constitutions, Book 7, ch. 40

Here is an example Renunciation — 

“I renounce Satan, and his works, and his pomps, and his worships, and his angels, and his inventions, and all things that are under him. And after his renunciation let him in his consociation 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, the Creator and Maker of all things, from whom are all things; and into the Lord Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, the Firstborn of the whole creation, who before the ages was begotten by the good pleasure of the Father, by whom all things were made, both those in heaven and those on earth, visible and invisible; who in the last days descended from heaven, and took flesh, and was born of the holy Virgin Mary, and did converse holily according to the laws of His God and Father, and was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and died for us, and rose again from the dead after His passion the third day, and ascended into the heavens, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father, and again is to come at the end of the world with glory to judge the quick and the dead, of whose kingdom there shall be no end. And I am baptized into the Holy Ghost, that is, the Comforter, who wrought in all the saints from the beginning of the world, but was afterwards sent to the apostles by the Father, according to the promise of our Saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ; and after the apostles, to all those that believe in the Holy Catholic [Universal] Church; 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.” Apostolic Constitutions, Book 7, chapter 41 

 “When the elder takes hold of each of them who are to receive baptism, he shall tell each of them to renounce, saying, “I renounce you Satan, all your service, and all your works.” After he has said this, he shall anoint each with the Oil of Exorcism, saying, “Let every evil spirit depart from you.” Hippolytus, Apostolic Tradition (215 AD)

“But they shut the doors of the garden, and exited through the narrow doors,” Susannah 17-18 in this proclaiming beforehand the future things, because he who wishes to partake of the water of the garden ought to renounce the wide doors, and enter through the strait and narrow door. — Hippolytus, Commentary on Daniel 1.19.3. 

For even those who established these things were condemned and sentenced to death — namely, those angels who fell from heaven to the daughters of men — so that this shame too might be added to woman. For when they exposed certain materials that had been well hidden, and revealed many arts that should not have been disclosed to a world still so ignorant — (for they uncovered the working of metals, taught the properties of plants, spread the power of incantations, and revealed every kind of curiosity, even the interpretation of the stars) — they especially and deliberately gave to women this instrument of feminine vanity: the sparkle of gems with which necklaces are adorned; the gold rings by which arms are bound; the dyes by which wool is colored; and that very black powder by which the outlines of the eyes are lengthened. The nature of these things can already be judged from the character and condition of their teachers: sinners could teach or provide nothing for integrity, lovers of lust nothing for chastity, deserters of the Spirit nothing for the fear of God. If these are to be called teachings, evil teachers must have taught them wickedly. And if these things were rewards for lust, then no shameful payment can ever be considered honorable. But what was the point of revealing these things, if not to corrupt? Did women, without materials of brilliance and without clever devices of adornment, have no power to please men — they who, still untended, unpolished, and (so to speak) raw and unrefined, had already stirred angels? Or would those lovers have seemed base and insulting in their cheapness if they had given nothing to the women they sought in marriage? But this thought is absurd. Those who already possessed angels could desire nothing more — they had married greatly. Indeed, they who sometimes remembered from where they had fallen, and who, after the heated moments of lust, longed for heaven again, rewarded that very natural beauty of women — the cause of their fall — in such a way that it would not benefit them, but rather that, carried away from simplicity and purity, they might come with them into the offense against God. They knew for certain that every kind of glory, ambition, and desire to please through the flesh is hateful to God. These, indeed, are the angels whom we are destined to judge (1 Corinthians 6:3); these are the angels whom we renounce in the baptismal font; and these are the very things for which they have deserved to be judged by mankind. – Tertullian, On the Apparel of Women 1.2

If no law of God had prohibited idols to be made by us; if no voice of the Holy Spirit uttered general menace no less against the makers than the worshippers of idols; from our sacrament itself we would draw our interpretation that arts of that kind are opposed to the faith. For how have we renounced the devil and his angels, if we make them? – Tertullian, On Idolatry ch. 6

We had renounced the world when we were baptized; but we have now indeed renounced the world when tried and approved by God, we leave all that we have, and have followed the Lord, and stand and live in His faith and fear. – Cyprian, Epistle 6.5

Could the servant of God stand there, and speak and renounce Christ, when he had already renounced the devil and the world? – Cyprian, Treatise 3.8

But it may also be thus understood, that we who have renounced the world, and have cast away its riches and pomps in the faith of spiritual grace, should only ask for ourselves food and support, since the Lord instructs us, and says, Whosoever forsakes not all that he has, cannot be my disciple. – Cyprian, Treatise 4.19

If we who have renounced the devil and the world, suffer the tribulations and mischiefs of the devil and the world with more frequency and violence, how much more ought we to keep patience, wherewith as our helper and ally, we may bear all mischievous things! It is the wholesome precept of our Lord and Master: He that endures, says He, unto the end, the same shall be saved; Matthew 10:22 and again, If you continue, says He, in my word, you shall be truly my disciples; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:31-32 Cyprian, – Treatise 9.12

Why do you rush into the darkness of jealousy? Why do you enfold yourself in the cloud of malice? Why do you quench all the light of peace and charity in the blindness of envy? Why do you return to the devil, whom you had renounced? Why do you stand like Cain? For that he who is jealous of his brother, and has him in hatred, is bound by the guilt of homicide, the Apostle John declares in his epistle, saying, Whosoever hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has life abiding in him. And again: He that says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness even until now, and walks in darkness, and knows not whither he goes, because that darkness has blinded his eyes. 1 John 2:9-11 Whosoever hates, says he, his brother, walks in darkness, and knows not whither he goes. – Cyprian, Treatise 10.11

For we must perceive and confess that the so disordered ruin arising from that affliction, which has in a great measure laid waste, and is even still laying waste, our flock, has visited us according to our sins, in that we do not keep the way of the Lord, nor observe the heavenly commandments given to us for our salvation. Our Lord did the will of His Father, and we do not do the will of our Lord; eager about our patrimony and our gain, seeking to satisfy our pride, yielding ourselves wholly to emulation and to strife, careless of simplicity and faith, renouncing the world in words only, and not in deeds, every one of us pleasing himself, and displeasing all others, — therefore we are smitten as we deserve, since it is written: And that servant, which knows his master’s will, and has not obeyed his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. Luke 12:47 – Cyprian, Epistle 7.1

We should make a difference, dearest brother, between those who either have apostatized, and, having returned to the world which they have renounced, are living heathenish lives, or, having become deserters to the heretics, are daily taking up parricidal arms against the Church. – Cyprian, Epistle 53.3

Come then, be begotten again, O man, into the adoption of God. And how? Says one. _If you practise adultery no more, and commit not murder, and serve not idols; if you are not overmastered by pleasure; if you do not suffer the feeling of pride to rule you; if you clean off the filthiness of impurity, and put off the burden of sin; if you cast off the armour of the devil, and put on the breastplate of faith_, even as Isaiah says, Wash, and seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, and plead for the widow. And come and let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, I shall make them white as snow; and though they be like crimson, I shall make them white as wool. And if you be willing, and hear my voice, you shall eat the good of the land. Isaiah 1:16-20 Do you see, beloved, how the prophet spoke beforetime of the purifying power of baptism? For he who comes down in faith to the layer of regeneration, and renounces the devil, and joins himself to Christ; who denies the enemy, and makes the confession that Christ is God; who puts off the bondage, and puts on the adoption, —he comes up from the baptism brilliant as the sun, flashing forth the beams of righteousness, and, which is indeed the chief thing, he returns a son of God and joint-heir with Christ. – Hippolytus, Discourse on the Holy Theophany (10)

“Cursed is the one who turns aside the judgment of the proselyte, the orphan, and the widow.” He places under the same curse those who turn aside the judgment of the proselyte, the orphan, and the widow, saying the same thing in another way. For if the written law has the beneficial power, so too the theory is of greater importance. For proselytes are those from the nations who come to the holy Church of God. And the orphans are chiefly those who have renounced their father Satan, and have not yet put on Jesus, but are still being catechized (instructed), numbered among the rest. Similarly, these are widows, who have turned away from the one who sowed among them the seeds of perdition; yet they have not been joined to Christ, as a pure virgin, according to the divine Apostle. Therefore, those who turn aside the judgment of these, and do not deliver to them the uncorrupted mystery of godliness, are under a curse. And all the others, whoever diligently advances, will be able to spiritually perceive, as the interpretation is preserved. — Origen, Selections on Deuteronomy (Patrologia Graeca vol. 17.33)

For what good is it for us to have gone forth from Egypt and yet carry around with us the reproaches of Egypt? What good is it to travel through the wilderness, that is, what does it help us to have renounced this age in baptism but to retain the former filth of our behavior and the impurities of our carnal vices? Thus it is fitting, after the parting of the Red Sea, that is, after the grace of baptism, for the carnal vices of our old habits to be removed from us by means of our Lord Jesus, so that we can be free from the Egyptian reproaches. — Origen, Homilies on Joshua 26.2

Then in the beginning when you were going to be instructed, it would have been rightly said to you, “And if you are unwilling to worship the Lord, choose this day whom you will worship, whether the gods your fathers worshiped in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.” And the catechist might have said to you, “But as for me and my house, we will worship the Lord because He is holy” (Josh. 24:15). He does not need to say this to you now; for then you said, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods. For the Lord our God, He is God, who brought us and our fathers out of Egypt and preserved us in all the way that we went” (Josh. 24:16–17). Moreover, in the agreements about religion long ago you gave your catechist this answer: “We also will worship the Lord, for He is our God” (Josh. 24:18). If, therefore, the one who breaks agreements with men is outside any truce and alien to safety, what must be said of those who by denying make null and void the agreements they made with God, and run back to Satan, whom they renounced when they were baptized? Such a person must be told the words spoken by Eli to his sons: “If a man sins against a man, then they will pray for him; but if he sins against the Lord, who will pray for him?” (1 Sam. 2:25). – Origen, An Exhortation to Martyrdom, chapter 17

“Moreover, in the ecclesiastical observances there are some things of this sort, which everyone is obliged to do, and yet not everyone understands the reason for them. For the fact that we kneel to pray, for instance, and that of all the quarters of the heavens, the east is the only direction we turn to when we pour out prayer, the reasons for this, I think, are not easily discovered by anyone. Moreover, who would readily explain the reasons for the way we receive the Eucharist, or for the rite of explanation by which it is celebrated, or for the things that are done in baptism, the words, actions, sequences, questions and answers? And yet, we carry all these things on our shoulders, though they are covered and veiled, when we fulfill them and follow them in such a way that we have received them as handed down and commended by the great high priest [Jesus Christ] and his sons.” – Origen, Homilies on Numbers 5.1.4

[Commentary on Numbers 21:21-24] Thus, we are those who want to pass through this world so that we can come to the holy land which is promised to the saints. And we “send to Sihon with peaceable words,” promising that we will not “dwell in his land” or “tarry with him,” but we will only “pass through” and will “travel on the royal way and will never turn aside either to a field or vineyard, but we will not drink water from his cistern.” (Num.21:22) Well then, let us see when we made these promises, when we declared these words to the devil. Let every believer recall the time when he first came to the waters of baptism, when he received the first seals of the faith, and approached the font of salvation. What words did he use at that time and in that place? What did he declare to the devil? That he would not make use of his pomp or indulge in his works or submit in any way to any of his services and pleasures. And this is what is foreshadowed in these words of the law, that “Israel will not turn aside either to his field or to his vineyard,” but he promises that he will not “drink from his cistern.” (Num. 21:22) For the faithful will no longer take a drink from the devil’s doctrine, from astrology, magic or from any teaching whatsoever that instructs anything contrary to piety toward God. For the believer has his own springs and he drinks from the springs of Israel, he drinks from the springs of salvation; he does not drink water from Sihon’s [Satan’s] cistern, nor does he “abandon the spring of living water” (Joel 2:13) and gather broken cisterns for himself. Moreover, he promises “to go on the royal way .” (Num. 21:22) What is the royal way? Doubtless it is the one that says: “I am the way and the truth and the life.” (John 14:6) And it is deservedly “royal”; for he is the one of whom the prophet says: “God, give your judgment to the king.” (Psalm 72:1) Therefore one must go along the royal way and never turn aside either to his field or to his vineyard. This means that the mind of the faithful must no longer turn aside to diabolical works or thoughts. — Origen, Homilies on Numbers 12.4.5 

•  When Origen says “Sihon’s” cistern he means Satan because a few sections before, In section 4.2 he says Sihon is a figure of Satan.

“Listen, O Daughter, and see, and incline your ear, and forget your people and the house of your father, for the king has desired your beauty, for he is your Lord. And the daughters of Tyre will worship him with gifts. The wealthy of the people of the earth will supplicate your face. All her glory is of a daughter of the king of Heshbon, she who has been bedecked with golden tassels in varied array.” (Psalm 44:11-14)… First, there is hearing, then knowing. He calls the church “daughter,” inasmuch as she is brought to the heavenly bridegroom. For the ministers of God have become coworkers of God, he says, reconciling to him, through faith, the church below heaven that is from the gentiles, for the [church] was not raised up from Israel.61 We, then, at one time were foolish (Tit 3.3), and children of wrath (Eph 2.3), and we belonged to a people that were idolators. So also at one time it was said to Abraham, Come out from your land, and from your relatives, and from the house of your father (Gen 12.1). Even now those who approach for divine illumination, after turning west, say, “We renounce you, Satan!” What is the reward for this? And the king will desire your beauty, which does not refer to her natural [beauty], but that of [her] purity according to the image, which alone is fitting to be put on display. For someone may not come to the faith through Christ in purity who has not completely forgotten [their] former evils. The “people” [of the daughter] are those of the church who were formerly idolators; “father’s house” is the wise of the age (cf. 1 Cor 1.20), in whom Satan resides as an inhabitant. — Tyre is the metropolis of the Canaanites, those mentioned above who are very much [given] to idols. The Logos, encouraging the church to obedience, therefore, says that the “daughter of Tyre” will come with gifts, and the wealthy of the people will supplicate your face [τὸ σὸν πρόσωπον] with gifts, for they do not worship her, but her head, who is Christ whom [the passage] now signifies. – Origen, Commentary on Psalms, Psalm 44, (Pitra, Analecta Sacra III)

Note: You turn to the EAST to pray, and turn to the WEST to renounce Satan!

Lactantius explains what the East and West represent while possibly alluding to being baptized facing East: 

He also established two parts of the earth itself opposite to one another, and of a different character, —namely, the east and the west; and of these the east is assigned to God, because He Himself is the fountain of light, and the enlightener of all things, and because He makes us rise to eternal life. But the west is ascribed to that disturbed and depraved mind, because it conceals the light, because it always brings on darkness, and because it makes men die and perish in their sins. For as light belongs to the east, and the whole course of life depends upon the light, so darkness belongs to the west: but death and destruction are contained in darkness…The day, which the first east supplies, must belong to God, as all things do, which are of a better character. But the night, which the extreme west brings on, belongs, indeed, to him whom we have said to be the rival of God…God, although He is one only, is possessed of perfect majesty, and might, and splendour. But night, which we say is assigned to that depraved adversary of God, shows by a resemblance the many and various superstitions which belong to him. – Lactantius, The Divine Institutes, Book 2, chapter 10

First ye entered into the vestibule of the Baptistery, and there facing towards the West ye listened to the command to stretch forth your hand, and as in the presence of Satan ye renounced him. Now ye must know that this figure is found in ancient history. For when Pharaoh, that most bitter and cruel tyrant, was oppressing the free and high-born people of the Hebrews, God sent Moses to bring them out of the evil bondage of the Egyptians. Then the door posts were anointed with the blood of a lamb, that the destroyer might flee from the houses which had the sign of the blood; and the Hebrew people was marvellously delivered. The enemy, however, after their rescue, pursued after them Exodus 14:9, 23, and saw the sea wondrously parted for them; nevertheless he went on, following close in their footsteps, and was all at once overwhelmed and engulphed in the Red Sea. – Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures, Lecture 19, sec. 2

But nevertheless you are bidden to say, with arm outstretched towards him as though he were present, I renounce you, Satan. I wish also to say wherefore ye stand facing to the West; for it is necessary. Since the West is the region of sensible darkness, and he being darkness has his dominion also in darkness, therefore, looking with a symbolic meaning towards the West, you renounce that dark and gloomy potentate. What then did each of you stand up and say? I renounce you, Satan,— you wicked and most cruel tyrant! Meaning, I fear your might no longer; for that Christ has overthrown, having partaken with me of flesh and blood, that through these He might by death destroy death Hebrews 2:14-15, that I might not be made subject to bondage forever. I renounce you,— you crafty and most subtle serpent. I renounce you,— plotter as you are, who under the guise of friendship contrived all disobedience, and work apostasy in our first parents. I renounce you, Satan,— the artificer and abettor of all wickedness. — Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures, Lecture 19, sec. 4

When therefore you renounce Satan, utterly breaking all your covenant with him, that ancient league with hell Isaiah 28:15, there is opened to you the paradise of God, which He planted towards the East, whence for his transgression our first father was banished; and a symbol of this was your turning from West to East, the place of light. Then you were told to say, “I believe in the Father, and in the Son, and in the Holy Ghost, and in one Baptism of repentance.” — Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures, Lecture 19, sec. 9

What those who were to be initiated promised on entering the Church, of the witnesses to these promises, and wherefore they then turned themselves to the East. After this the Holy of holies was opened to you, you entered the sanctuary of regeneration; recall what you were asked, and remember what you answered. You renounced the devil and his works, the world with its luxury and pleasures. That utterance of yours is preserved not in the tombs of the dead, but in the book of the living…You entered, then, that you might discern your adversary, whom you were to renounce as it were to his face, then you turned to the east; for he who renounces the devil turns to Christ, and beholds Him face to face. — Ambrose, On the Mysteries, chapter 2

At the same time, one may note, since it belongs here by right, that the entrance into this generation and into this way of life seems to have occurred at the time when the regular transition from this generation to regeneration takes place. The sons of Israel left Egypt in the season of spring and passed through the sea, being baptized in the cloud and in the sea, as the Apostle said. At that time each year the Pasch of Jesus Christ is celebrated, that is to say, the passing over from vices to virtues, from the desires of the flesh to grace and sobriety of mind, from the unleavened bread of malice and wickedness to truth and sincerity. (1 Corinthians 5:8) Accordingly, the regenerated are thus addressed: ‘This month shall be to you the beginning of months; it is for you the first in the months of the year.’ (Exodus 12:2) The person who is baptized leaves behind and abandons in a spiritual sense that prince of the world, Pharao, when he says: ‘I renounce thee, devil, both thy works and thy power.’ No longer will he serve him, either by the earthly passions of his body or by the errors of a corrupt mind. On this occasion every evil deed of his sinks to the bottom like lead. Protected as he is by good works on his right and his left, he endeavors to cross over the waters of this life with step untainted. – Ambrose of Milan, Six Days of Creation, Book One. chapter 14

“As for what follows, “As far as the torrent of the west,” we will interpret from the sixty-seventh Psalm, in which it is written: “Sing to the Lord, speak a psalm to his name. Make a way for him who ascends on the west. The Lord is his name.” For unless evil works die in us, Christ will not ascend on us. When those things die, and we have Christ as the charioteer, then to us who are making progress and moving on to better things it will be commanded in the same psalm: “Sing to God, make music to the Lord who ascends on the heaven of heaven to the east.” For this reason also in the mysteries we first renounce him who is in the west, and he dies to us along with sins, and thus we turn to the east, and we enter a covenant with the sun of righteousness, and we promise that we will serve him.” – Jerome, Commentary on Amos, Book 3, Amos 6:12-14

Behold, I forewarn and command all of you: let no one who partakes of this table ruin his own soul with those poisonous spectacles. Everything that is said and done there is a satanic procession. And you who have been initiated know what covenants you made with us—rather, what covenants you made with Christ himself when he was initiating you; what you said to him, what you agreed with him concerning Satan’s procession, how you then renounced Satan and his angels and that whole show, and promised not even to glance in that direction. There is therefore no small danger, lest someone, becoming unmindful of such promises, render himself unworthy of these mysteries. — John Chrysostom, Homily 1 on John PG 56.28, 29

When called by God, Jacob went up to Bethel, that is, to the house of God (for that is what “Bethel” means). He performed sacrifices to God and showed himself to be learned in the mysteries. He plainly sets out for those coming after him the proper manner of coming to the house of God, for he commands them to cast off the foreign gods like garbage and filth, and to change their clothes (Genesis 35:1–3). This practice is also fitting for us when we are called into the presence of God or brought into his divine temple, especially at the time of holy baptism. For it is necessary, by way of casting the foreign gods from our midst and abandoning such falsehood, that we should say, “I renounce you, Satan, with all your pomp and all your worship.” Furthermore, we must all change our clothes by stripping off the old man that is corrupt through deceitful lusts, and putting on the new that is being renewed according to the image of its Creator (Ephesians 4:22–24). Also the women with Jacob got rid of the ornaments in their ears (Genesis 35:4). So women who enter the house of God without any carnal adornment and who leave their hair loose avoid being accused, one may suppose, of beautifying their heads. This I believe is the significance of the women removing the ornaments in their ears. – Cyril of Alexandria, Glaphyra on the Pentateuch, Glaphyra 5 chapter 5

 We must also believe in the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father. For just as our breath accompanies our speech, so here—though the breath disperses into the air, while there the Spirit is living and hypostatic. For the Spirit is the Spirit of life, consubstantial with the Father and the Son, and for this reason is counted with them as possessing the same praise, divinity, kingship, and eternity. Go, He says, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). He also created the visible and invisible world together with the Father and the Son, for it is written: By the Word of the Lord the heavens were established, and by the Spirit of His mouth all their host (Psalm 33:6). It is through Him that you will receive the gift of adoption. Therefore, when you have believed in one God, who is seen in one essence in three hypostases, renounce the slavery of the tyrant—that is, Satan—and the evil and destructive armies subject to him, saying: Let us break their bonds and cast away their yoke from us (Psalm 2:3). Do this by turning toward the west; then, turning likewise toward the east, proclaim your covenant with Christ—not because the west has been allotted to the Slanderer and the evil demons (for the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof [Psalm 24:1]), but to show by this gesture that you have fled the darkness of sin and run toward the spiritual light, hastening to your paternal dwelling, Paradise, planted toward the east. – Severus of Antioch, CATHEDRAL HOMILY 21, ADDRESSED TO THOSE WHO WERE ABOUT TO BE DEEMED WORTHY OF HOLY BAPTISM, 515 AD

“The oath of baptism must be firmly held. — And because in the birth of our regeneration we swear ourselves into these sacraments, renouncing the devil, the world, and sins, when we respond to those who question us, he establishes that the faith of this confession must be kept to the end, saying: “He who swears to his neighbor and does not deceive” (Psalm 14:4). For although someone may have remained long in the commandments of God, yet if at any time he deceives, he no longer abides when he has deceived, and the former righteousness is lost by later injustice. In the Gospel: “Blessed are those who endure to the end” (Matthew 24:13). Therefore, in Solomon, all praise is sung at the end, because in those things which are promised to God one must never at any time be false.” — Hilary of Poitiers, Treatise on the Psalms, Psalm XVI, chapter 14, PL 9:306-307

When you were asked: “Do you renounce the devil and his works?” what did you reply? “I do renounce.” “Do you renounce the world and its pleasures?” what did you reply? “I do renounce.” Be mindful of your words, and never let the sequence of your bond be broken. — Ambrose, The Sacrements 1.2.5

But now we ought to consider what the Lord said in today’s reading to him who was healed after thirty-eight years: “Behold, you have now been healed. Do not sin, lest something worse happen to you” [John 5:14]. Whatever sins you had have been forgiven you. You have been healed of every infirmity of sin, of sickness of the soul, of malady of the body, of the disease of illicit lustful desire; you have arisen as a new man from the bath of regeneration [see Rom 6:4; Titus 3:5]. Watch out that you do not return to your former sins and run into the danger of death, since the grace of baptism is given [only] once. If someone loses it by his own negligence, or rather, by infidelity, he becomes guilty of his own death, since he was unwilling to guard such a great grace. That is why before you came to baptism, you were asked whether you renounce the world and its pomp and its works. And you answered that you renounce them. And thus did you come to the grace of eternal baptism. Your words are binding before God. Your response is written in heaven. You promised God your fidelity; you promised the angels who were present, since angels are at hand when faith is demanded of us. Consider what you are doing. If what is promised to a man is strong, what about what is promised to God? As it is written, “From your mouth” you will either “be justified” or “condemned” [Matt 12:37]. You will be justified if you fulfill what you promised to Christ; you will be condemned if you are unwilling to maintain fidelity to what you promised. Listen to what Solomon says: “For a man’s own lips become a strong snare to him” [Prov 6:2]. — Chromatius of Aquila, Sermon 14.4

Whence comes the custom of baptizing thrice? And as to the other customs of baptism from what Scripture do we derive the renunciation of Satan and his angels? Does not this come from that unpublished and secret teaching which our fathers guarded in a silence out of the reach of curious meddling and inquisitive investigation? Well had they learned the lesson that the awful dignity of the mysteries is best preserved by silence. — Basil the Great, De Spiritu Sancto chapter 27

Before all other things, my little ones, remember, that once (as we said above) all nations were given over to the princes |384 and powers of darkness, now are set free through the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ. He it is, He it is Who redeemed us, “forgiving us all sins,” as saith the Apostle, “blotting out the hand-writing of disobedience that was against us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His Cross, putting off the flesh, He made a shew of the powers openly, triumphing over them in Himself.” He set them free, who were bound, and burst our chains in sunder, as David had said; “The Lord raiseth them that are cast down. The Lord looseth the prisoners, the Lord giveth sight to the blind.” And again, “Thou hast broken my bonds in sunder. I will offer to Thee the Sacrifice of thanksgiving.” Freed therefore from our bonds, when through the Sacrament of Baptism we come unto the Sign of the Lord, we renounce the Devil and all his angels, whom before we served, that we should now serve them no longer, being delivered by the Blood and Name of Christ. But if after this any one forgetful of himself and ignorant of his redemption, return again to the “serving of Angels, and to the weak and beggarly elements of the world;” he shall be bound again by his old fetters and chains, that is, by the bonds of sin, and “his last state shall be worse than his first.” For the Devil shall bind him more strongly, as if overtaken in flight, and Christ shall not now be able to suffer for him; for, “Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more”. Therefore, dearly beloved, we are washed once, once are set free, are once admitted into the kingdom of heaven; once is that, “blessed is he whose unrighteousness is forgiven, and whose sin is covered.” Hold mightily what ye have received; keep it. blessedly, sin no more. Preserve yourselves pure and unspotted from that time even to the Day of the Lord. Great and boundless are the rewards granted unto the faithful, which “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have they entered into the heart of man.” These rewards that ye may receive, obtain by the labours of righteousness and spiritual vows! Amen. — Pacian of Barcelona, Discourse on Baptism (370 AD)

When he (Simon Magus) approached Philip the apostle, who was preaching in Samaria, and was instructed by him in the Word of truth and he renounced the Devil and pledged himself to God, he was found worthy also of baptism. He was remaining constant by the apostle’s side, “observing the signs and wonders” accomplished by him “and he was amazed” (Acts 8:13): for he had not simply understood the preaching, but even for a time the Scripture was clear to him as he remained constant so that he was completely assured by both sight and sound. And these things God’s love of humanity brought to pass in order that he might benefit him. And if he had wished it, it might have happened; but instead of this he conceived the opposite. For holy Philip explained to his fellow apostles in Jerusalem that “Samaria has received the Word of God” (Acts 8:14) and that it was time for bishops to be given to them; and when holy Peter and John went down from Jerusalem and made ordinations, those who were deemed worthy of such a favor “received the Holy Spirit.” When Simon observed that “the Holy Spirit was granted through the apostles’ laying on of hands,” he became sick with lust for power and offered gifts to the apostles, saying: “Grant to me also this power, so that the one upon whom I lay hands might receive the Holy Spirit. Peter said to him: May your money perish with you, because you thought to buy the gift of God through money” and so forth (Acts 8:17-20). This is the Simon who before had renounced the Devil and his ministers and all of his works; this is the Simon who accepted baptism from the apostle Philip; but although praiseworthy to this point, afterward he is pitiable. For falling short of the aim of such favor and being judged unworthy of ordination, he began to wage war against the apostles, no longer acknowledging those performing works, no longer acknowledging the one who begat him, forgetting all of them altogether. Not long ago a disciple, and now an enemy. — Amphilochius of Iconium, Against the Heretics, sections 11-12

And so, beloved, whether you are walking, resting, or at work, whether you are asleep or awake, let this salutary confession be ever in your hearts. Let your soul be ever in heaven, your hope in the resurrection, your longing fixed on what is promised. Let the Cross of Christ and His glorious Passion be proclaimed with confidence. And whenever the Enemy tempts your mind with fear or greed or anger, answer him boldly with words: “I have renounced and shall continue to renounce you and your works and emissaries, because I believe in the living God and in his Son and Spirit and, stamped as I am, I no longer fear death.” Thus will the hand of God protect you and the Spirit of Christ guard the entrance to your soul, now and forever, so long as, with minds fixed on Christ, you say to one another: “Brothers, whether we wake or sleep, let us live with Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” — Niceta of Remesiana, Explaination of the Nicene Creed, chapter 14 (400 AD)

“In whom also you have been circumcised with a circumcision not made by hands, by despoiling of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ: buried with him in baptism, wherein also you are risen again by the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him up from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, forgiving you all trespasses, blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.” (Colossians 2:11-12) When they were buried in baptism, they rose again through the faith of God, who they believe will raise them from the dead, following the example of Christ. For there the old man is put off, and the new man is put on: he dies to sin, that he may live to righteousness: he renounces the elements, that he may be united with Christ, holding the pledge of the future resurrection, as an example of the Savior, who rose from the dead. Therefore, they are exhorted to persevere in renouncing the pomp and deceit of Satan. He therefore advises the cultivation of the elements, so that he may distract people from God and make them willing participants in his apostasy. For he cannot promote his own agenda under his own name, for he abhors it even by the name itself; he attempts to fulfill his own will under the name of another. – Ambrosiaster, Commentary on Colossians

When you were in the world, you loved the things which were of the world: coloring your face purple, whitening your complexion, decorating your hair, and with the help of false hair, constructing a slender bun on your head like a tower. I say nothing of the costly earrings, the dazzling pearls bearing witness to the depths of the Red Sea, the bright green emeralds, the flaming rubies, the liquid sapphires, things for which matrons burn with desire, rave over, and pursue. But now that you have forsaken the world, and are on the next step after baptism, and have entered into a pact with your adversary, saying to him: “I renounce you, devil, and your world, and your pomp, and your works,” keep the agreement that you have made. Be of the same mind, and guard the pact with your adversary, while you are on the journey of this world, lest perhaps he hand you over to the judge, and prove that you have taken what belongs to him, and you should be handed over to the officer, who himself is an enemy and avenger, and you be cast into prison and into the outer darkness, which separate us from Christ, the true light (John 1:9), as much as they surround us with greater horror; and you would not go out from there, unless you pay off the last penny, that is, expiate the least transgression; for on the day of judgment we will render an account even for the idle word. — Jerome, Letter 130.7

Behold, I forewarn and command all of you: let no one who partakes of this table ruin his own soul with those poisonous spectacles. Everything that is said and done there is a satanic procession. And you who have been initiated know what covenants you made with us—rather, what covenants you made with Christ himself when he was initiating you; what you said to him, what you agreed with him concerning Satan’s procession, how you then renounced Satan and his angels and that whole show, and promised not even to glance in that direction. There is therefore no small danger, lest someone, becoming unmindful of such promises, render himself unworthy of these mysteries. — John Chrysostom, Homily 1 on John PG 56.28, 29

Now let me speak to you of the mysteries themselves and of the contract which will be made between yourselves and the Master. In worldly affairs, whenever someone wishes to entrust his business to anyone, a written contract must be completed between the trustee and his client. The same thing holds true now, when the Master is going to entrust to you not mortal things which are subject to destruction and death, but spiritual things which belong to eternity. Wherefore, this contract is also called faith, since it possesses nothing visible but all things which can be seen by the eyes of the spirit. There must be an agreement between the contracting parties. However, it is not on paper nor written in ink; it is in God and written by the Spirit. The words which you utter here are registered in heaven, and the agreement you make by your tongue abides indelibly with the Master. 18. See here again the external attitude of captivity. The priests bring you in. First they bid you to pray on bent knees, with your hands outstretched to heaven, and to remind yourselves by your posture from what evil you are delivered and to what good you will dedicate yourselves. Then the priest comes to you one by one, asks for your contract and confession, and prepares you to utter those awesome and frightening words: “I renounce thee, Satan.” … 20. Now let us get back to the sequence of our discourse. Then the priest has you say: “I renounce thee, Satan, thy pomps, thy service, and thy works.” The words are few but their power is great. The angels who are standing by and the invisible powers rejoice at your conversion, receive the words from your tongues, and carry them up to the common Master of all things. There they are inscribed in the books of heaven. 21. Did you see what the terms of the agreement are? After the renunciation of the wicked one and of all things which are important to him, the priest again has you say: “And I enter into thy service, O Christ.” Did you see His boundless goodness? Receiving only these words from you, He entrusts to you such a store of treasures! He has forgotten all your former ingratitude, He reminds you of none of your past deeds, but He is content with these few words. – John Chrysostom, Baptismal Instructions 2.17-21

Each day, then, let us be eager and careful to keep this bright robe of ours without spot or wrinkle. Even in things that are considered trifles, let us keep close watch, so that we may also be able to escape the serious sins. If we begin to scorn some sins as insignificant, little by little, as we walk the way of life, we will come to falls that are disastrous. Hence, I urge you to carry in your mind at all times the memory of your contract and to flee the disgrace of all those things you have put behind you—I mean the devil’s pomps and all the other snares of the wicked one. I urge you to keep whole and entire your contract with Christ, so that you may be untouched by the tricks of the devil, while you continue to reap the benefit of these spiritual banquets and be strengthened by the nourishment they give. – John Chrysostom, Baptismal Instructions 4.32

Furthermore, when you have all entered the church, then must you all together—for you must observe this, that all these gifts are given to all of you in common, so that the rich man may not look down on the poor man, nor the poor man consider that he has any less than the rich man; for in Christ Jesus there is neither male nor female, there is no Scythian, no barbarian, no Jew, no Greek, not only is there no difference of age or nature, but even every difference of honor is canceled out; there is one esteem for all, one gift, one brotherhood binding us together, the same grace. So then, when you have all been led into the church, then must you all together bend your knee and not stand erect; you must stretch your hands to heaven and thank God for this gift. Sacred custom bids you to remain on your knees, so as to acknowledge His absolute rule even by your posture, for to bend the knee is a mark of those who acknowledge their servitude. Hear what Paul says: “To Him every knee shall bend of those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth.” And after you have bent your knees, those who are initiating you bid you to speak those words: “I renounce thee, Satan.” – John Chrysostom, Baptismal Instructions 11.21-22

“I renounce thee, Satan.” What has happened? What is this strange and unexpected turn of events? Although you were all quivering with fear, did you rebel against your master? Do you look with scorn upon his cruelty? Who has brought you to such madness? Whence came this boldness of yours? “I have a weapon,” you say, “a strong weapon.” What weapon, what ally? Tell me! “I enter into thy service, O Christ,” you reply. “Hence, I am bold and rebel. For I have a strong place of refuge. This has made me superior to the demon, although heretofore I was trembling and afraid. Therefore, I not only renounce him but also all his pomps.” What are the pomps of the devil? Every form of sin, spectacles of indecency, horse racing, gatherings filled with laughter and abusive language. Portents, oracles, omens, observances of times, tokens, amulets, and incantations—these too are pomps of the devil. But the cross has the strength of a wonderful amulet and a mighty incantation; blessed is the soul which speaks in the name of Jesus Christ crucified. Call upon that name and every disease will flee, every attack of Satan will yield. Therefore, remember these words. They are your contract with the Bridegroom. It is necessary, before a marriage, to complete an account of the gifts and the dowry; you too must do so before this marriage. He found you naked and a beggar, behaving in an unseemly manner, but He did not run away; you were the one who had to choose. Instead of a dowry, contribute these words, and Christ will consider that the wealth you bring is great—if you will keep and observe these words through all your life. For Christ finds His wealth in the salvation of our souls. Listen to what Paul says: “Rich towards all and for all who call upon Him.” — John Chrysostom, Baptismal Instructions 11.24-26

I have said it before, I say it now, and I shall say it again and again: unless a man has corrected the defects of his character and has developed a facility for virtue, let him not be baptized. For the bath can do away with sins previously committed; but there is no small fear nor insignificant danger that we may fall again into the same sins, and then the cure becomes a wound for us. For those who sin after baptism, the punishment is proportioned to the greatness of the grace we received in it. In order, then, that we may not return to our old vomit, let us now instruct ourselves. We must repent and keep far away from our former sins and in this way approach to grace. Hear what John the Baptist says and what the prince of the apostles says to those who are about to receive baptism. For John says: “Bring forth fruit befitting repentance, and do not begin to say among yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father.'” And again, to those who asked him what to do, Peter said: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.” But he who repents no longer clings to the same sins of which he repents, and for this reason we are commanded to say: “I renounce thee, Satan,” in order that we may never return to him. — John Chrysostom, Baptismal Instructions 12.21-22

…How, then, can you laugh at this scene I have presented? Suppose you recall those words you utter when you are being initiated: “I renounce thee, Satan, thy pomps and thy service.” The madness to be adorned with pearls is one of Satan’s pomps. You received gold, not to bind your body with it, but to help and feed the poor. Hence, keep repeating: “I renounce thee, Satan.” Nothing will render us more secure than these words, as long as we prove them by our deeds. And I ask you who are about to be initiated to learn these words. They constitute a contract with the Master. When we are buying slaves, we first ask those who are for sale if they are willing to serve us. Christ does the same. When He is about to take you into His service, He first asks you if you are willing to put away that cruel and harsh master, and He accepts from you your contract. He does not force His mastership on you. And consider God’s loving-kindness. Before we pay out the price, we question the slaves who are for sale, and only when we learn that they are willing to serve us do we pay out our money. But Christ does not deal in this way; He paid the price for all of us, His precious blood. You have been bought with a price, says St. Paul. And even so, He does not force those to serve Him who are unwilling to do so. Unless you are grateful, He says, and are willing of yourself and of your own accord to be enrolled under me as your Master, I do not force or compel you. We ourselves would never choose to buy wicked slaves, and even if we ever should so choose, we buy and pay the price because of a bad choice. But when Christ buys reckless and lawless slaves, He pays the price of the first-class slave; rather, He pays a much greater price—so much greater that neither mind nor reason can grasp its greatness. For He has bought us, not by giving the heavens, the earth, and the sea, but what is more valuable than all of these, by paying down His own blood. And after all this, He does not demand witnesses of us nor documents, but He is satisfied with our bare statement; if we say from the heart: “I renounce thee, Satan, and thy pomps,” He has received all that He asks.  Therefore, let us say these words: “I renounce thee, Satan,” knowing that we shall be called to account for them on that Day of Judgment; let us guard them, so that we may then repay in full what has been entrusted to our care. And the pomps of the devil are the theaters, the racecourses, every sinful observance of days, presages contained in chance utterances, and omens.  — John Chrysostom, Baptismal Instructions 12.48-52

For these reasons, then, I urge you not to be guilty of this fraud; I urge you to hold on to this word as your staff. Just as no one of you would be willing to go down to the marketplace without shoes or clothing, so let no one of you rush into the marketplace without this word. When you are going to cross the threshold of a doorway, first speak these words: “I renounce thee, Satan, thy pomps and service, and I enter into thy service, O Christ.” And never go forth without saying these words. This will be your staff, this will be your armor, this will be your impregnable tower. And after you speak these words, make the sign of the cross on your forehead. In this way no man will be able to hurt you, nor will the devil himself be able to do so, when he sees you appear with these weapons to protect you on every side. — John Chrysostom, Baptismal Instructions 12.60

“Let us beseech for them yet more earnestly.” For since by length of speaking the soul uses to grow drowsy, he again arouses it up, for he purposes to ask again certain great and lofty things. Wherefore he says, “Let us beseech for them yet more earnestly.” And what is this? “That He would deliver them from every evil and inordinate thing.” Here we ask for them that they may not enter into temptation, but be delivered from every snare, a deliverance as well bodily as spiritual. Wherefore also he goes on to say, “from every devilish sin and from every besetment of the adversary,” meaning, temptations and sins. For sin does easily beset, taking its stand on every side, before, behind, and so casting down. For, after telling us what ought to be done by us, namely, to be occupied in His law, to remember His Commandments, to keep His judgments, he assures us next that not even is this enough, except Himself stand by and succor. For, “Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it;” Psalm 127:1 and especially in the case of those who are yet exposed to the devil and are under his dominion. And ye that are initiated know this well. For call to mind, for instance, those words wherein ye renounced his [Satan’s] usurped rule, and bent the knee and deserted to The King, and uttered those awful words whereby we are taught in nothing whatever to obey him. But he calls him adversary and accuser, because he both accuses God to man and us to God, and us again one to another. – John Chrysostom, Homily 2 on 2 Corinthians

He suffered not the very fashion of His Cross to be put to shame. For since the Angels have suffered nothing like it, He therefore does everything for this, showing that His death achieved a mighty work. There was, as it were, a single combat. Death wounded Christ: but Christ, being wounded, did afterwards kill death. He that seemed to be immortal, was destroyed by a mortal body; and this the whole world saw. And what is truly wonderful is, that He committed not this thing to another. But there was made again a second bond of another kind than the former. Beware then lest we be condemned by this, after saying, “I renounce Satan, and array myself with You, O Christ.” Rather however this should not be called a bond, but a covenant. For that is “a bond,” whereby one is held accountable for debts: but this is a covenant. It has no penalty, nor says it, If this be done or if this be not done: what Moses said when he sprinkled the blood of the covenant, by this God also promised everlasting life. All this is a covenant. There, it was slave with master, here it is friend with friend: there, it is said, “In the day that you eat thereof you shall die” Genesis 2:17; an immediate threatening; but here is nothing of the kind. God arrives, and here is nakedness, and there was nakedness; there, however, one that had sinned was made naked, because he sinned, but here, one is made naked, that he may be set free. Then, man put off the glory which he had; now, he puts off the old man; and before going up (to the contest), puts him off as easily, as it were his garments. He is anointed, as wrestlers about to enter the lists. For he is born at once; and as that first man was, not little by little, but immediately. (He is anointed,) not as the priests of old time, on the head alone, but rather in more abundant measure. For he indeed was anointed on the head, the right ear, the hand Leviticus 8:23-24; to excite him to obedience, and to good works; but this one, all over. For he comes not to be instructed merely; but to wrestle, and to be exercised; he is advanced to another creation. For when one confesses (his belief) in the life everlasting, he has confessed a second creation. He took dust from the earth, and formed man Genesis 2:7: but now, dust no longer, but the Holy Spirit; with This he is formed, with this harmonized, even as Himself was in the womb of the Virgin. He said not in Paradise, but “in Heaven.” For deem not that, because the subject is earth, it is done on earth; he is removed there, to Heaven, there these things are transacted, in the midst of Angels: God takes up your soul above, above He harmonizes it anew, He places you near to the Kingly Throne. He is formed in the water, he receives spirit instead of a soul. And after he is formed, He brings to him, not beasts, but demons, and their prince, and says, “Tread upon serpents and scorpions.” Luke 10:19 He says not, “Let Us make man in our image, and after our likeness” Genesis 1:26, but what? “He gives them to become the sons of God; but of God,” he says, “they were born.” John 1:12-13 Then that thou give no ear to the serpent, straightway he teaches you to say, “I renounce you, that is, whatsoever you say, I will not hear you.” Then, that he destroy you not by means of others, it is said, “and your pomp, and your service, and your angels.” He has set him no more to keep Paradise, but to have his citizenship in heaven. For straightway when he comes up he pronounces these words, “Our Father, Which art in Heaven,…Your will be done, as in Heaven, so on earth.” The plain falls not on your sight, you see not tree, nor fountain, but straightway you take into you the Lord Himself, you are mingled with His Body, you are intermixed with that Body that lies above, whither the devil cannot approach. No woman is there, for him to approach, and deceive as the weaker; for it is said, “There is neither female, nor male.” Galatians 3:28 If you go not down to him, he will not have power to come up where you are; for you are in Heaven, and Heaven is unapproachable by the devil. It has no tree with knowledge of good and evil, but the Tree of Life only. No more shall woman be formed from your side, but we all are one from the side of Christ. For if they who have been anointed of men take no harm by serpents, neither will you take any harm at all, so long as you are anointed; that you may be able to grasp the Serpent and choke him, “to tread upon serpents and scorpions.” Luke 10:19 But as the gifts are great, so is the punishment great also. It is not possible for him that has fallen from Paradise, to dwell “in front of Paradise” Genesis 3:24, nor to reascend there from whence we have fallen. But what after this? Hell, and the worm undying. But far be it that any of us should become amenable to this punishment! But living virtuously, let us earnestly strive to do throughout His will. – John Chrysostom, Homily 6 on Colossians

…What are then the engagements and promises which you make at that time, and through which you receive deliverance from the ancient tribulations, and participation in the future benefits? “I abjure Satan and all his angels, and all his service, and all his deception, and all his worldly glamour; and I engage myself, and believe, and am baptised in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” … In this you imply both your present separation from him and the former association that you had with him. Indeed, no one says that he abjures a thing with which he had formerly no association. The use of this expression is especially incumbent upon you as you had relation with him from the time of your forefathers, together with that cruel and ancient pact, which resulted in the calamitous servitude to him, under which you lived. You rightly say “I abjure Satan,” but you can hardly realise that after having formerly felt the injury which he inflicted upon you in his relation with you, you could be in a position to be delivered from him. In uttering these words you really imply that you have no association of any kind left with him anymore. It is indeed difficult for you to realise the extent of the calamities into which he was daily planning to cast us. Did you realise the extent to which Adam, our common father, who had listened to him, has been injured, and into how many calamities he has fallen? Or the extent to which his descendants have given themselves up to Satan? Or the gravity of the calamities which were borne by men, who later chose to become his servants? Now, however, that the great and wonderful grace, which was manifest through Christ, freed us from the yoke of the Tyrant and delivered us from his servitude, and granted us this wonderful participation in benefits, I have recognised my benefactor. I know now my Lord, and He is truly my Lord, who created me while I was not, who does not relent in His daily beneficence to me, who did not forsake me even when I sinned against Him but bestowed favour on me, who revealed to us an awe-inspiring gift, who did not only vouchsafe to us deliverance from tribulations, but placed also before us the hope of ineffable benefits. I abjure, therefore, Satan, I flee from communion with him, and engage myself that henceforth I shall not run towards him nor shall I have any intercourse with him, but I shall flee completely from him as from an enemy and an evildoer, who became to us the cause of innumerable calamities, who does not know how to do good, and who strives with all his power to fight us and overcome. The expression “I abjure” means that I will no more choose and accept any communion with him. If Satan was striving alone and single-handed to fight against us and injure us, the above expression, which contains the profession of abjuring him and completely renouncing communion with him, would have been sufficient; as, however, although invisible, he knows how to fight against us by means of visible beings—the men whom he once subjected and made tools of his iniquity, and whom he employs to cause others to stumble—you add: “and his angels.” — Theodore of Mopsuestia (Homily on Baptism)

The expression “ his angels” refers to all men who received evil of some kind from him, which they practise to harm other people…You call angels of Satan all those who serve his will for the purpose of deceiving people and causing them to fall. We must believe to be servants of Satan all those who occupy themselves with the outside wisdom and bring the error of paganism into the world…Angels of Satan are also the heads of heresies, those who after the coming of Christ our Lord devised in an ungodly way, and introduced into the world, doctrines contrary to the true faith. Angels of Satan are Mani, Marcion, and Valentinus, who detached the visible things from the creative act of God, and pretended that these visible things were created by another cause outside God…Angels of Satan are those who in all heresies are the heads and the teachers of error, whether they be honoured with the name of episcopacy or of priesthood, because they are upholders and protectors of the words of error, and as such all of them serve the will of Satan, and clad in the robe of ecclesiastical service, strive to lean towards error…You abjure all the above (men) in a way that leaves you no association of any kind with them, because you have drawn nigh unto Christ and have been enrolled in the Church of God, and expect to be the body and the members of Christ through the birth of the holy baptism. Your association should be with Christ our Lord, as a member united to His head and far from those who endeavour to detach you from the faith and the creed of the Church. — Theodore of Mopsuestia (Homily on Baptism)

After having said: “I abjure Satan and all his angels” you add: “and all his service.” This means that you should strive to turn away from and reject both the men who serve the will of the Evil One and the things done by them in the name of teaching, as they are palpable iniquity…Service of Satan is everything dealing with paganism, not only the sacrifices and the worship of idols and all the ceremonies involved in their service, according to the ancient custom, but also the things that have their beginning in it. Service of Satan is clearly that a person should follow astrology and watch the positions and motions of the sun, the moon and the stars for the purpose of travelling, going forth, or undertaking a given work, while believing that he is benefited or harmed by their motion and their course; and that one should believe the men who, after watching the motions of the stars, prognosticate by them. This is clearly service of Satan, and the one who puts his confidence in God alone and trusts His Providence, strives to turn away from this and similar things, and expects everything from Him: the bestowal of good things and the abolition of bad things; and does not think that anything like these can happen from another quarter, but knows that anything that is outside the love of God and confidence in Him is under the influence of the tyranny and power of the Evil One. Are service of Satan: the purifications, the washings, the knots, the hanging of yeast, the observances of the body, the fluttering or the voice of birds and any similar thing… It is service of Satan that one should indulge in the observances of Judaism. Service of Satan is also that service which is found among the heretics under the name of religion, because although it has some resemblance to an ecclesiastical service, yet it is devoid of the gift of the grace of the Holy Spirit, and is performed in impiety. It is clearly service of Satan if true are the words of our Lord who said: “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” It is evident that you will have no utility in calling upon the name of our Lord while in your mind you are with the ungodly, outside the fear of God. None of those things that are done by them in imitation of the ecclesiastical teaching brings any utility to those who perform them, because the things done (by them) are forbidden by God, and all of them are thus devoid of the gift of the Holy Spirit. As when in a theatrical performance and in a play you see kings and you do not consider them kings because of the imitation of their dresses, but all of them as a ludicrous representation and a burlesque worthy to be laughed at—they only show before the eyes things taken from the ordinary life of the world—so also the things performed by the heretics under the name of doctrine, whether it be their baptism or their Eucharist, deserve laughter; and we ought to turn away from them as from the service of Satan, because all of them tend to strengthen impiety. — Theodore of Mopsuestia (Homily on Baptism)

Now, however, we will speak about the inner mysteries which were celebrated in the holy font itself. For after the sure and solemn pledge was made—by which you vowed that you renounced all the pomps and works of the devil and every diabolical fornication—you descended into the sacred font, the font of life, the font of redemption, the font sanctified by a heavenly power, so sanctified that by washing away many sins it makes men holy…. – Maximus of Turin, Treatise 2 On Baptism (5th century)

Rightly are they who are to be baptized said to go out to the Prophet; for unless one depart from sin, and renounce the pomp of the Devil, and the temptations of the world, he cannot receive a healing baptism. Rightly also in Jordan, which means their descent, because they descended from the pride of life to the humility of an honest confession. Thus early was an example given to them that are to be baptized of confessing their sins and professing amendment. — Rabanus (Thomas Aquinas, Catena Aurea on Matthew 3)

“…For some one perhaps will say: Why, although able to set all things right easily by a word, does He mix up clay from the spittle, and anoint the eyes of the sufferer, and seem to prescribe a sort of operation; for He says, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam? Surely I deem that some deep meaning is buried beneath these words, for the Saviour accomplishes nothing without a purpose. For by anointing with the clay He makes good that which is (so to speak) lacking or vitiated in the nature of the eye, and thus shows that He is the One Who formed us in the beginning, the Creator and Fashioner of the universe. And the power of the action possesses a sort of mystical significance; for that which we said just now with reference to this, and what we consider may be understood by it, we will mention again. It was not otherwise possible for the Gentiles to thrust off the blindness which affected them, and to behold the Divine and holy light, that is, to receive the knowledge of the Holy and Consubstantial Trinity, except by being made partakers of His Holy Body, and washing away their gloom-producing sin, and renouncing the authority of the devil, namely in Holy Baptism. — Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of John 6.1 (on John 9:6–7).

Therefore, the Lord, after being baptized in word, was made subject to the law; by John, he was baptized in water; by the Father, in the Spirit. Now he is led by the Spirit into the desert, to be baptized in the fire of temptation, and afterward he is to be baptized in death. Come now, let us see who are those baptized in fire, and when they are baptized in fire. But to know this, we must observe what is said: “Then he was led.” When? When the Father cried out from heaven: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” You see then that no one is baptized in the fire of temptation unless he has first been made a son of God. For as long as a man is a catechumen, he has not yet fully renounced the devil and all his works. But once baptized, he hands himself over to Christ, saying: “I renounce Satan and all his works.” So, while he is still a catechumen, as if still belonging to [Satan], the devil still spares him somewhat; but once he has become alien to him through baptism, Satan persecutes him with all his might. Baptism is the seal of faith. Is a soldier marked after serving in the army so that he may now rest? Rather, he is marked before military service so that afterward he may fight and labor. Just as an athlete is anointed with oil before the contest so he may wrestle, so also a man is anointed with the oil of chrism spiritually, so that he may wrestle like a spiritual athlete against the devil. – Homily 5 on Matthew, Anonymous. PG 56.661-62 (Opus imperfectum)

I ask: What sort of misconception is this, what sort of foolishness? Can we not be constantly glad and laugh, unless we turn our laughter and our joy into a crime? Or, perhaps, do we think that simple joy is of no value and that there is no delight in laughter without crime? I ask: What evil is this or what madness? Let us laugh, I say, let us rejoice without stint and constantly, provided it is done innocently. What folly and madness that we do not consider laughter and joy to be valueless, unless they contain in themselves injury to God? Injury, indeed, and that the Greatest! In the games there is a certain apostasy from the faith and a deadly deviation from the Creed and from the heavenly pledges. For, what is the first confession of faith of Christians in the saving baptism? What is it except that they profess they are renouncing the devil, his pomps and games and works. Therefore, according to our profession of faith, the games and pomps are the work of the devil. How, therefore, O Christians, do you frequent the games after baptism, the games which you confess to be the work of the devil? You have once renounced the devil and his games. You must know that when you return to the games you are returning knowingly and deliberately to the devil. For you have renounced both things, and at the same time you have said one is both. If you return to one, you resort to both. You say, ‘I renounce the devil, his pomps, spectacles and works.’ What do you say next? You say, ‘I believe in God, the Father Almighty, and in Jesus Christ, His Son.’ The devil is renounced in order that God may be believed in, because he who does not renounce the devil does not believe in God. Therefore, he who goes back to the devil forsakes God. The devil is in his spectacles and in his pomps. Therefore, when we return to the spectacles of the devil, we forsake the faith of Christ. In this way, all the pledges of our faith are broken, and all that follows in the Creed sways to and fro and is overthrown. Nothing that follows is valid if the primary clause does not stand up. – Salvian the Presbyter, The Governance of God, Book 6, chapter 6

O faithful, you who have come to the baptism of Christ in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, consider the nature of the pact which you made with God in this baptism. For as each of you gave your name at the font, for example, Peter or John or any name, you were thus questioned by the priest: “What is your name?” You replied, if you were old enough, or at least the one who made the profession of faith for you and who lifted you up from the font, and said, for example: “His name is John.” And the priest asked: “John, do you renounce the devil and his messengers, his worship and idols, his theft and fraud, his fornication and drunkenness, and all his evil works?” And you replied: “I do renounce them.” After this renunciation of the devil, you were again asked by the priest: “Do you believe in God the Father Almighty?” You replied: “I do believe.” “And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our God and Lord, who was born of the Holy Ghost and of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified and buried, descended into hell, and on the third day rose alive from the dead, ascended into heaven, sitteth at the right hand of the Father, whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead? Do you believe?” And you answered: “I do believe” And again you were asked: “Do you believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy Catholic Church, the forgiveness of all sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting?” And you replied: “I do believe.” Consider, then, what sort of pact you made with God in baptism. You promised to renounce the devil and his messengers and all his wicked ways, and you professed that you believe in the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost and that, at the end of the world, you hope for the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. – Martin of Braga, Reforming the Rustics, chapter 15, 520-580 AD (Fathers of the Church, volume 62, page 80-81)

Although a man ought to fulfill everything he promises if possible, that first excellent promise which we make to God at the time when we are reborn in baptism we should especially safeguard with His help. We are asked at baptism whether we will renounce the Devil, his pomps, and his works; we freely answer that we will renounce them. Since infants can by no means confess this themselves, their parents stand as surety for them. Therefore, if we faithfully observe what is the first and fundamental fact of the Christian religion, it is certain that with God’s help we will be able to do the rest. However, if we neglect to fulfill what we promise to God, I do not know whether we will be able to preserve the faith which operates among men. Now, if we dangerously make a promise to an influential man when we neglect to carry it out, how much more dangerously do we make a promise to God and then not pay it? We fear a man so much because we dread death or material loss; we refuse to give God what we promise because we are entirely without fear for the death of our soul. Where is that Gospel text which says: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body. But rather be afraid of him who, after he has killed, has power to send it to hell” (Matthew 10:28)? Therefore, what is promised to God should be done first of all, in order that what is promised to men may be fulfilled. Let each one examine his own conscience. If he sees that he has kept his promise and knows that he has renounced the Devil with his pomps both in word and in deed, he should rejoice that he has kept his faith whole. However, let him be secure concerning the past in such a way that he is solicitous for the future, because not he who has begun but “he who has persevered to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:13). Let no one believe, perchance, that faith can only be shattered by mortal sins. What difference does it make whether a man strikes and kills himself with a larger or smaller sword? Anyone who says this should notice that faith can even be endangered by idle talk, of which the Lord said an account must be rendered on the day of judgment (Matthew 12:36). Moreover, “Whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ or ‘Thou fool!’ shall be liable to the fire of Gehenna” (Matthew 5:22). — Caesarius of Arles, Sermon 12.3, An Exposition of Faith

Therefore, as was already said, let each one consider what he promised in the sacrament of baptism. Since he made a pact with the Lord, let him see whether he has violated it in any way. When the question was asked: “Do you renounce the devil, his pomps, and his works?” then the priest offered a contract for approval. When the individual answered: “I do renounce them,” it was approved. For this reason, as was said above, if we refuse to do what we have promised to God, I do not know whether we will be able to preserve fidelity to men. Now, we have promised to renounce the Devil with his pomps and works. Almost no one is ignorant of what the Devil’s pomps are, yet it is necessary for us to mention them at some length. All furious, bloody, or shameful spectacles are pomps of the Devil. To be a slave to gluttony or drunkenness, to subject one’s unfortunate soul to lust or dissipation, certainly belongs to the Devil’s pomps, because in such actions his will is fulfilled. What need is there to say concerning adultery, murder, robbery, and false testimony that they are part of the Devil’s pomp and works, since no man can be ignorant of the fact? There is no doubt that to observe omens and to summon charmers, sorcerers, soothsayers, or seers belongs entirely to the pomp and works of the Devil. — Caesarius of Arles, Sermon 12.4, On Exposition of Faith

Let no one vainly deceive himself by saying: I believe in God’s mercy, that the faith and my baptism which I have received will never die. You believe rightly, if you have done what you promised. If you have kept the pact which you entered upon with the Lord, rest assured that your faith and baptism will not perish. However, if you have not fulfilled in deed what you promised in word, with what boldness or with what kind of a conscience do you feel sure that your baptism will not perish, since you have not kept your contract? Listen to the Lord’s words saying: “What does it avail you to call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not to practise the things that I say?” (Luke 6:46) and again: “He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me” (John 14:21), and: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of my Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). Carefully notice that, according to the lines quoted above, it does a man no good to say that he possesses faith, if he neglects to fulfill in deed what he promises in word. As the Scriptures say: “If thou hast vowed anything to God, defer not to pay it. For an unfaithful and foolish promise displeaseth him. It is much better not to vow than after a vow not to perform the things promised” (Ecclesiastes 5:4-5). In order that we may understand these facts clearly from our relations with our servants, let someone tell me whether it is enough for him if his servant says all day that he is his lord and ceases not to commend him with praises, but refuses to do what has been commanded. Therefore, if words without deeds do not please us, how much more can faith without works fail to benefit us in the sight of God? — Caesarius of Arles, Sermon 12.5, On Exposition of Faith

However, we ought to remember the agreement which we promised in return for the grace of Baptism, when we were buried together with Christ in the mystery of the cross: that we would renounce the devil, his pomps, and his works. — Caesarius of Arles, Sermon 119, On Samson

‘Laying aside the works of darkness, put on the armor of light’ (Romans 13:12). What does it mean to lay aside the works of darkness, except to renounce the devil, his pomps and his angels? And what does it mean: ‘Put on the armor of light,’ except believe in God the Father almighty? … If anyone has neglected to renounce the inheritance which includes the rags of the devil, which surely are his pomps and his angels, then when judgment day comes, as the Gospel says: ‘The debtor will be delivered to the judge, and the judge will shut the debtor up in prison. Amen I say to thee, saith the Lord, he will not come out from it until he has paid the last penny’ (Matthew 5:25-26). Each one should watch and look out, lest, if he does not completely renounce them, after his confession of faith the devil may still recognize within him the rags of his vices. — Caesarius of Arles, Sermon 178.1, 3

We must also believe in the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father. For just as our breath accompanies our speech, so here—though the breath disperses into the air, while there the Spirit is living and hypostatic. For the Spirit is the Spirit of life, consubstantial with the Father and the Son, and for this reason is counted with them as possessing the same praise, divinity, kingship, and eternity. Go, He says, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). He also created the visible and invisible world together with the Father and the Son, for it is written: By the Word of the Lord the heavens were established, and by the Spirit of His mouth all their host (Psalm 33:6). It is through Him that you will receive the gift of adoption. Therefore, when you have believed in one God, who is seen in one essence in three hypostases, renounce the slavery of the tyrant—that is, Satan—and the evil and destructive armies subject to him, saying: Let us break their bonds and cast away their yoke from us (Psalm 2:3). Do this by turning toward the west; then, turning likewise toward the east, proclaim your covenant with Christ—not because the west has been allotted to the Slanderer and the evil demons (for the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof [Psalm 24:1]), but to show by this gesture that you have fled the darkness of sin and run toward the spiritual light, hastening to your paternal dwelling, Paradise, planted toward the east. – Severus of Antioch, CATHEDRAL HOMILY 21, ADDRESSED TO THOSE WHO WERE ABOUT TO BE DEEMED WORTHY OF HOLY BAPTISM

….That is why, every Sunday, we lead you to the baptistery with celebration, praises, prayers, and supplications, to remind us of these engagements established with God, when we have renounced Satan and evil works, lest we come to forget the forgiveness of our sins, the gift of the Spirit, the favor of filial adoption, and to preserve this wealth by all means, not returning to that from which we have come out. – Severus of Antioch, CATHEDRAL HOMILY 32, ON JOHN THE BAPTIST.

But those who ascended to Daphne in a pagan manner esteemed as nothing the truth, which is so terrible and for which all things shake and tremble. But in the dark time of nights, they lit wax torches in the stadium itself and burned incense, secretly bringing about their own destruction; and this, know well, certain strangers made known to me with groaning and weeping. Do you not see the snares of the Slanderer and his hidden traps, which have as a pretext joy and pleasure at first glance but lead to idolatry and the celebration of harmful and almost criminal feasts? And are we not ashamed, when we call ourselves Christians, born from above by the purification from water and the Spirit (John 3:5), and name ourselves children of God, to run also to the solemnities of Satan, which we renounced before divine baptism? – Severus of Antioch, CATHEDRAL HOMILY 95

“…Let us render our good will, because it is from Him. And so that, by God’s gift, we may understand something higher, let us render to God the things that are God’s, that is, the image and likeness which Adam had received in paradise and lost, and which we have received in baptism, so that, just as we received it, so we may present it at the coming of the Lord. Let us also render to the devil the things that belong to the devil, that is, just as we renounced the devil in baptism, let us give back to him what is his and cast upon him his own works, which are the deeds of darkness and evil works, and let us put on the armor of Christ, which is of light and faith, so that at His coming the Lord may see His own image in us and not Caesar’s—that is, may He not find in us worldly works or the acts of the devil as a tyrant—and so hand them over together to the fire of Gehenna, “where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:12). And when the tempters received such an answer, they departed confused and at the same time marveling.” – The Interpretation of the Gospels by the Holy Bishop Epiphanius Latinus, section XXXIV. (Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Latina Supplementum volume 3:886)

For behold, we too are called every day to the wedding of the Son of God, so that, leaving earthly things behind, we may desire heavenly things, and by entering the narrow and strait way may deserve to enter the breadth of paradise, as the Lord Himself instructs us and exhorts us and teaches us: “When great crowds were following Him, He turned to them and said: ‘If anyone comes after Me and does not hate father or mother or wife or children or fields or vineyards, he is not worthy of Me’” (Luke 14:25–26; Matthew 10:37). And for that reason, out of the great crowd that followed Him, few were able to receive this word. And those same few entered into the wedding of the Son of God with the wedding garment. The wedding garment is grace, which we received in baptism when we came to the faith, and, renouncing the devil and his works, stripping off all his old and stained tunic, we were clothed with the new and immortal robe of Christ. If anyone keeps this in righteousness and holiness all the way to the end, he will deserve to enter with confidence into the wedding of the Son of God, and to feast and live forever. – The Interpretation of the Gospels by the Holy Bishop Epiphanius Latinus, section LVI. (Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Latina Supplementum volume 3:949)

“One who believes and is baptized will be saved; one who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16). Perhaps each one of us may say to himself, ‘I have believed, I will be saved.’ What he says is true, if he possesses faith with works. That faith is true which does not contradict its words by its conduct. That is why Paul said of certain false believers: They profess that they know God, but they deny him by their deeds (Titus 1:16); and why John said: He who says that he knows God and does not observe his commandments is a liar (1 John 2:4). Since this is so, we must acknowledge the truth of our faith by having regard for our lives. Then we are truly believers, when we fulfill by our works what we promise by our words. On the day of our baptism we promised to renounce all the works of our ancient enemy and all his pomps. Let each one of you recall this to mind; if he is sure that he is preserving after baptism what he promised before it, let him rejoice that he is a believer. But you see how he has not preserved what he promised, how he has fallen to doing things he shouldn’t do, to desiring the pomps of the world. Let us see if he can weep for his misdeeds. He will not be held dishonest in the eyes of the merciful Judge if he returns to the truth even after lying, because almighty God puts away our misdeeds in his judgment when he gladly accepts our repentance. — Gregory the Great, Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 29

“When Tobias was led to Sarah in the chamber, he took from his little bag a portion of the liver,” etc. Tobit 8:2 And the Lord, about to receive the Church from among the nations, at the very beginning of her establishment commands that in each believer she renounce Satan, and all his works, and all his pomps; and then confess the faith of the Holy Trinity for the remission of sins, which is to burn with living coals the inmost depths of peace. “When these things were done, the angel, seizing the demon, bound him.” Tobit 8:3 Because after the renunciation of the devil, after the confession of the true faith, the remission of sins follows, the demon having been cast out through the water of baptism. He bound him, moreover, because he restrained him from harming the faithful; whom, although he is sometimes permitted to tempt in order that they may be tested, he is nevertheless forbidden to overcome, lest they fall away from the faith. — Bede, Commentary on Tobit 8, PL 91.0930D

“And there were many lepers in Israel under Elisha the prophet, and none of them were cleansed, except Naaman the Syrian.” (Luke 4:27) Because the story is well-known, it is necessary to disclose a few things about the mystery. And thus Naaman the Syrian, who is interpreted as “beauty,” represents the people of the nations, once stained by the leprosy of unbelief and sins, but purified from all foulness of mind and body through the sacrament of baptism. Advised by a captured girl, which is the grace of divine inspiration, which the Jews could not keep but the Gentiles seized, he was urged to hope for salvation and to be washed seven times. Because obviously, the only type of baptism that regenerates by the Holy Spirit saves. Hence it is rightly remembered that his flesh appeared like the flesh of a small child after the washing. Either because grace as a mother begets all baptized in Christ to a single infancy, or more likely he is to be understood as the child of whom it was said: A child is born to us, a son is given to us (Isaiah 9). By whose body through baptism the whole offspring of believers is united. And so that you may know all the prefigured sacraments of baptism here, in which we are commanded to renounce Satan and to confess faith, Naaman declares that he will no longer make offerings to foreign gods, but will serve the Lord alone in all things. … – Bede, Commentary on Luke 4:27 (700 AD)

Facing West to Renounce Satan, turn East to make our covenant with Christ and get baptized facing the East:

“Listen, O Daughter, and see, and incline your ear, and forget your people and the house of your father, for the king has desired your beauty, for he is your Lord. And the daughters of Tyre will worship him with gifts. The wealthy of the people of the earth will supplicate your face. All her glory is of a daughter of the king of Heshbon, she who has been bedecked with golden tassels in varied array.” (Psalm 44:11-14)… First, there is hearing, then knowing. He calls the church “daughter,” inasmuch as she is brought to the heavenly bridegroom. For the ministers of God have become coworkers of God, he says, reconciling to him, through faith, the church below heaven that is from the gentiles, for the [church] was not raised up from Israel.61 We, then, at one time were foolish (Tit 3.3), and children of wrath (Eph 2.3), and we belonged to a people that were idolators. So also at one time it was said to Abraham, Come out from your land, and from your relatives, and from the house of your father (Gen 12.1). Even now those who approach for divine illumination, after turning west, say, “We renounce you, Satan!” What is the reward for this? And the king will desire your beauty, which does not refer to her natural [beauty], but that of [her] purity according to the image, which alone is fitting to be put on display. For someone may not come to the faith through Christ in purity who has not completely forgotten [their] former evils. The “people” [of the daughter] are those of the church who were formerly idolators; “father’s house” is the wise of the age (cf. 1 Cor 1.20), in whom Satan resides as an inhabitant. — Tyre is the metropolis of the Canaanites, those mentioned above who are very much [given] to idols. The Logos, encouraging the church to obedience, therefore, says that the “daughter of Tyre” will come with gifts, and the wealthy of the people will supplicate your face [τὸ σὸν πρόσωπον] with gifts, for they do not worship her, but her head, who is Christ whom [the passage] now signifies. – Origen, Commentary on Psalms, Psalm 44, (Pitra, Analecta Sacra III)

Lactantius explains what the East and West represent while possibly alluding to being baptized facing East: 

He also established two parts of the earth itself opposite to one another, and of a different character, —namely, the east and the west; and of these the east is assigned to God, because He Himself is the fountain of light, and the enlightener of all things, and because He makes us rise to eternal life. But the west is ascribed to that disturbed and depraved mind, because it conceals the light, because it always brings on darkness, and because it makes men die and perish in their sins. For as light belongs to the east, and the whole course of life depends upon the light, so darkness belongs to the west: but death and destruction are contained in darkness…The day, which the first east supplies, must belong to God, as all things do, which are of a better character. But the night, which the extreme west brings on, belongs, indeed, to him whom we have said to be the rival of God…God, although He is one only, is possessed of perfect majesty, and might, and splendour. But night, which we say is assigned to that depraved adversary of God, shows by a resemblance the many and various superstitions which belong to him. – Lactantius, The Divine Institutes, Book 2, chapter 10

First ye entered into the vestibule of the Baptistery, and there facing towards the West ye listened to the command to stretch forth your hand, and as in the presence of Satan ye renounced him. Now ye must know that this figure is found in ancient history. For when Pharaoh, that most bitter and cruel tyrant, was oppressing the free and high-born people of the Hebrews, God sent Moses to bring them out of the evil bondage of the Egyptians. Then the door posts were anointed with the blood of a lamb, that the destroyer might flee from the houses which had the sign of the blood; and the Hebrew people was marvellously delivered. The enemy, however, after their rescue, pursued after them Exodus 14:9, 23, and saw the sea wondrously parted for them; nevertheless he went on, following close in their footsteps, and was all at once overwhelmed and engulphed in the Red Sea. – Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures, Lecture 19, sec. 2

But nevertheless you are bidden to say, with arm outstretched towards him as though he were present, I renounce you, Satan. I wish also to say wherefore ye stand facing to the West; for it is necessary. Since the West is the region of sensible darkness, and he being darkness has his dominion also in darkness, therefore, looking with a symbolic meaning towards the West, you renounce that dark and gloomy potentate. What then did each of you stand up and say? I renounce you, Satan,— you wicked and most cruel tyrant! Meaning, I fear your might no longer; for that Christ has overthrown, having partaken with me of flesh and blood, that through these He might by death destroy death Hebrews 2:14-15, that I might not be made subject to bondage forever. I renounce you,— you crafty and most subtle serpent. I renounce you,— plotter as you are, who under the guise of friendship contrived all disobedience, and work apostasy in our first parents. I renounce you, Satan,— the artificer and abettor of all wickedness. — Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures, Lecture 19, sec. 4

When therefore you renounce Satan, utterly breaking all your covenant with him, that ancient league with hell Isaiah 28:15, there is opened to you the paradise of God, which He planted towards the East, whence for his transgression our first father was banished; and a symbol of this was your turning from West to East, the place of light. Then you were told to say, “I believe in the Father, and in the Son, and in the Holy Ghost, and in one Baptism of repentance.” — Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures, Lecture 19, sec. 9

What those who were to be initiated promised on entering the Church, of the witnesses to these promises, and wherefore they then turned themselves to the East. After this the Holy of holies was opened to you, you entered the sanctuary of regeneration; recall what you were asked, and remember what you answered. You renounced the devil and his works, the world with its luxury and pleasures. That utterance of yours is preserved not in the tombs of the dead, but in the book of the living…You entered, then, that you might discern your adversary, whom you were to renounce as it were to his face, then you turned to the east; for he who renounces the devil turns to Christ, and beholds Him face to face. — Ambrose, On the Mysteries, chapter 2

“As for what follows, “As far as the torrent of the west,” we will interpret from the sixty-seventh Psalm, in which it is written: “Sing to the Lord, speak a psalm to his name. Make a way for him who ascends on the west. The Lord is his name.” For unless evil works die in us, Christ will not ascend on us. When those things die, and we have Christ as the charioteer, then to us who are making progress and moving on to better things it will be commanded in the same psalm: “Sing to God, make music to the Lord who ascends on the heaven of heaven to the east.” For this reason also in the mysteries we first renounce him who is in the west, and he dies to us along with sins, and thus we turn to the east, and we enter a covenant with the sun of righteousness, and we promise that we will serve him.” – Jerome, Commentary on Amos, Book 3, Amos 6:12-14

Behold, I forewarn and command all of you: let no one who partakes of this table ruin his own soul with those poisonous spectacles. Everything that is said and done there is a satanic procession. And you who have been initiated know what covenants you made with us—rather, what covenants you made with Christ himself when he was initiating you; what you said to him, what you agreed with him concerning Satan’s procession, how you then renounced Satan and his angels and that whole show, and promised not even to glance in that direction. There is therefore no small danger, lest someone, becoming unmindful of such promises, render himself unworthy of these mysteries. — John Chrysostom, Homily 1 on John PG 56.28, 29

We must also believe in the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father. For just as our breath accompanies our speech, so here—though the breath disperses into the air, while there the Spirit is living and hypostatic. For the Spirit is the Spirit of life, consubstantial with the Father and the Son, and for this reason is counted with them as possessing the same praise, divinity, kingship, and eternity. Go, He says, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). He also created the visible and invisible world together with the Father and the Son, for it is written: By the Word of the Lord the heavens were established, and by the Spirit of His mouth all their host (Psalm 33:6). It is through Him that you will receive the gift of adoption. Therefore, when you have believed in one God, who is seen in one essence in three hypostases, renounce the slavery of the tyrant—that is, Satan—and the evil and destructive armies subject to him, saying: Let us break their bonds and cast away their yoke from us (Psalm 2:3). Do this by turning toward the west; then, turning likewise toward the east, proclaim your covenant with Christ—not because the west has been allotted to the Slanderer and the evil demons (for the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof [Psalm 24:1]), but to show by this gesture that you have fled the darkness of sin and run toward the spiritual light, hastening to your paternal dwelling, Paradise, planted toward the east. – Severus of Antioch, CATHEDRAL HOMILY 21, ADDRESSED TO THOSE WHO WERE ABOUT TO BE DEEMED WORTHY OF HOLY BAPTISM, 515 AD

What is Satans pomp, angels, service and works?

[Commentary on Numbers 21:21-24] Thus, we are those who want to pass through this world so that we can come to the holy land which is promised to the saints. And we “send to Sihon with peaceable words,” promising that we will not “dwell in his land” or “tarry with him,” but we will only “pass through” and will “travel on the royal way and will never turn aside either to a field or vineyard, but we will not drink water from his cistern.” (Num.21:22) Well then, let us see when we made these promises, when we declared these words to the devil. Let every believer recall the time when he first came to the waters of baptism, when he received the first seals of the faith, and approached the font of salvation. What words did he use at that time and in that place? What did he declare to the devil? That he would not make use of his pomp or indulge in his works or submit in any way to any of his services and pleasures. And this is what is foreshadowed in these words of the law, that “Israel will not turn aside either to his field or to his vineyard,” but he promises that he will not “drink from his cistern.” (Num. 21:22) For the faithful will no longer take a drink from the devil’s doctrine, from astrology, magic or from any teaching whatsoever that instructs anything contrary to piety toward God. For the believer has his own springs and he drinks from the springs of Israel, he drinks from the springs of salvation; he does not drink water from Sihon’s [Satan’s] cistern, nor does he “abandon the spring of living water” (Joel 2:13) and gather broken cisterns for himself. Moreover, he promises “to go on the royal way .” (Num. 21:22) What is the royal way? Doubtless it is the one that says: “I am the way and the truth and the life.” (John 14:6) And it is deservedly “royal”; for he is the one of whom the prophet says: “God, give your judgment to the king.” (Psalm 72:1) Therefore one must go along the royal way and never turn aside either to his field or to his vineyard. This means that the mind of the faithful must no longer turn aside to diabolical works or thoughts. — Origen, Homilies on Numbers 12.4.5 

Then in a second sentence you are taught to say, and all your works. Now the works of Satan are all sin, which also you must renounce — just as one who has escaped a tyrant has surely escaped his weapons also. All sin therefore, of every kind, is included in the works of the devil. Only know this; that all that you say, especially at that most thrilling hour, is written in God’s books; when therefore you do anything contrary to these promises, you shall be judged as a transgressor. Galatians 2:18 You renounce therefore the works of Satan; I mean, all deeds and thoughts which are contrary to reason. — Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures, Lecture 19, sec. 5

Then you say, “And all his pomp.”  Now the pomp of the devil is the madness of theatres , and horse-races, and hunting, and all such vanity: from which that holy man praying to be delivered says unto God, Turn away my eyes from beholding vanity. Be not interested in the madness of the theatre, where you will behold the wanton gestures of the players , carried on with mockeries and all unseemliness, and the frantic dancing of effeminate men — nor in the madness of them who in hunts expose themselves to wild beasts, that they may pamper their miserable appetite; who, to serve their belly with meats, become themselves in reality meat for the belly of untamed beasts; and to speak justly, for the sake of their own god, their belly, they cast away their life headlong in single combats. Shun also horse-races, that frantic and soul-subverting spectacle. For all these are the pomp of the devil. — Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures, Lecture 19, sec. 6

After this you say, and all your service.  Now the service of the devil is prayer in idol temples; things done in honour of lifeless idols; the lighting of lamps , or burning of incense by fountains or rivers , as some persons cheated by dreams or by evil spirits do [resort to this ], thinking to find a cure even for their bodily ailments. Go not after such things. The watching of birds, divination, omens, or amulets, or charms written on leaves, sorceries, or other evil arts , and all such things, are services of the devil; therefore shun them. For if after renouncing Satan and associating yourself with Christ , thou fall under their influence, you shall find the tyrant more bitter; perchance, because he treated you of old as his own, and relieved you from his hard bondage, but has now been greatly exasperated by you; so you will be bereaved of Christ, and have experience of the other. Have you not heard the old history which tells us of Lot and his daughters? Was not he himself saved with his daughters, when he had gained the mountain, while his wife became a pillar of salt, set up as a monument for ever, in remembrance of her depraved will and her turning back. Take heed therefore to yourself, and turn not again to what is behind , having put your hand to the plough, and then turning back to the salt savour of this life’s doings; but escape to the mountain, to Jesus Christ, that stone hewn without hands Daniel 2:35, 45, which has filled the world. — Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures, Lecture 19, sec. 8

Let us therefore say these words: “I renounce you, Satan,” as those who will be required to give this answer on that Day. Let us guard this pledge, so that we may return it intact when the time comes. And know that the “pomp of Satan” includes the theaters, the horse races, every sin, the observance of days, omens, and superstitious signs. — John Chrysostom, Baptismal Instructions 12.52

And the pomp of the devil is every form of sin — theatres of lawlessness, horse races, assemblies filled with laughter and obscene talk; the pomp of the devil is auguries and divinations, omens and observances of times, charms and amulets and incantations. The Cross has a wondrous amulet and the greatest incantation, and blessed is the soul that utters the name of Jesus Christ the Crucified (Philippians 2:10-11); speak this name and every disease will flee, every satanic assault will yield before you. — John Chrysostom, Baptismal Instructions 11.25

The expression “ his angels” refers to all men who received evil of some kind from him, which they practise to harm other people…You call angels of Satan all those who serve his will for the purpose of deceiving people and causing them to fall. We must believe to be servants of Satan all those who occupy themselves with the outside wisdom and bring the error of paganism into the world…Angels of Satan are also the heads of heresies, those who after the coming of Christ our Lord devised in an ungodly way, and introduced into the world, doctrines contrary to the true faith. Angels of Satan are Mani, Marcion, and Valentinus, who detached the visible things from the creative act of God, and pretended that these visible things were created by another cause outside God…Angels of Satan are those who in all heresies are the heads and the teachers of error, whether they be honoured with the name of episcopacy or of priesthood, because they are upholders and protectors of the words of error, and as such all of them serve the will of Satan, and clad in the robe of ecclesiastical service, strive to lean towards error…You abjure all the above (men) in a way that leaves you no association of any kind with them, because you have drawn nigh unto Christ and have been enrolled in the Church of God, and expect to be the body and the members of Christ through the birth of the holy baptism. Your association should be with Christ our Lord, as a member united to His head and far from those who endeavour to detach you from the faith and the creed of the Church. — Theodore of Mopsuestia (Homily on Baptism)

After having said: “I abjure Satan and all his angels” you add: “and all his service.” This means that you should strive to turn away from and reject both the men who serve the will of the Evil One and the things done by them in the name of teaching, as they are palpable iniquity…Service of Satan is everything dealing with paganism, not only the sacrifices and the worship of idols and all the ceremonies involved in their service, according to the ancient custom, but also the things that have their beginning in it. Service of Satan is clearly that a person should follow astrology and watch the positions and motions of the sun, the moon and the stars for the purpose of travelling, going forth, or undertaking a given work, while believing that he is benefited or harmed by their motion and their course; and that one should believe the men who, after watching the motions of the stars, prognosticate by them. This is clearly service of Satan, and the one who puts his confidence in God alone and trusts His Providence, strives to turn away from this and similar things, and expects everything from Him: the bestowal of good things and the abolition of bad things; and does not think that anything like these can happen from another quarter, but knows that anything that is outside the love of God and confidence in Him is under the influence of the tyranny and power of the Evil One. Are service of Satan: the purifications, the washings, the knots, the hanging of yeast, the observances of the body, the fluttering or the voice of birds and any similar thing… It is service of Satan that one should indulge in the observances of Judaism. Service of Satan is also that service which is found among the heretics under the name of religion, because although it has some resemblance to an ecclesiastical service, yet it is devoid of the gift of the grace of the Holy Spirit, and is performed in impiety. It is clearly service of Satan if true are the words of our Lord who said: “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” It is evident that you will have no utility in calling upon the name of our Lord while in your mind you are with the ungodly, outside the fear of God. None of those things that are done by them in imitation of the ecclesiastical teaching brings any utility to those who perform them, because the things done (by them) are forbidden by God, and all of them are thus devoid of the gift of the Holy Spirit. As when in a theatrical performance and in a play you see kings and you do not consider them kings because of the imitation of their dresses, but all of them as a ludicrous representation and a burlesque worthy to be laughed at—they only show before the eyes things taken from the ordinary life of the world—so also the things performed by the heretics under the name of doctrine, whether it be their baptism or their Eucharist, deserve laughter; and we ought to turn away from them as from the service of Satan, because all of them tend to strengthen impiety. — Theodore of Mopsuestia (Homily on Baptism)

How then will you laugh this fancy to scorn? If you will remember that word, which you sent forth when thou were initiated, I renounce you, Satan, and your pomp, and your service. For the frenzy about pearls is a pomp of Satan. For you received gold not in order that you might bind it on to your body, but in order that you might release and nourish the poor. Say therefore constantly, I renounce you, Satan. Nothing is more safe than this word if we shall prove it by our deeds. But Christ, buying ungrateful and lawless slaves, put down the price of a servant of first quality, nay rather much more, and so much greater that neither speech nor thought can set forth its greatness. For neither giving heaven, nor earth, nor sea, but giving up that which is more valuable than all these, his own blood, thus He bought us. And after all these things, he does not require of us witnesses, or registration, but is content with the single word, if you say it from your heart. I renounce you, Satan, and your pomp, has included all. Let us then say this, I renounce you, Satan, as men who are about in that world at that day to have that word demanded of them, and let us keep it in order that we may then return this deposit safe. But Satan’s pomps are theatres, and the circus, and all sin, and observance of days, and incantations and omens. — John Chrysostom, Instructions to Catechumens 2.4

Therefore, as was already said, let each one consider what he promised in the sacrament of baptism. Since he made a pact with the Lord, let him see whether he has violated it in any way. When the question was asked: “Do you renounce the devil, his pomps, and his works?” then the priest offered a contract for approval. When the individual answered: “I do renounce them,” it was approved. For this reason, as was said above, if we refuse to do what we have promised to God, I do not know whether we will be able to preserve fidelity to men. Now, we have promised to renounce the Devil with his pomps and works. Almost no one is ignorant of what the Devil’s pomps are, yet it is necessary for us to mention them at some length. All furious, bloody, or shameful spectacles are pomps of the Devil. To be a slave to gluttony or drunkenness, to subject one’s unfortunate soul to lust or dissipation, certainly belongs to the Devil’s pomps, because in such actions his will is fulfilled. What need is there to say concerning adultery, murder, robbery, and false testimony that they are part of the Devil’s pomp and works, since no man can be ignorant of the fact? There is no doubt that to observe omens and to summon charmers, sorcerers, soothsayers, or seers belongs entirely to the pomp and works of the Devil. — Caesarius of Arles, Sermon 12.4, On Exposition of Faith

I ask: What sort of misconception is this, what sort of foolishness? Can we not be constantly glad and laugh, unless we turn our laughter and our joy into a crime? Or, perhaps, do we think that simple joy is of no value and that there is no delight in laughter without crime? I ask: What evil is this or what madness? Let us laugh, I say, let us rejoice without stint and constantly, provided it is done innocently. What folly and madness that we do not consider laughter and joy to be valueless, unless they contain in themselves injury to God? Injury, indeed, and that the Greatest! In the games there is a certain apostasy from the faith and a deadly deviation from the Creed and from the heavenly pledges. For, what is the first confession of faith of Christians in the saving baptism? What is it except that they profess they are renouncing the devil, his pomps and games and works. Therefore, according to our profession of faith, the games and pomps are the work of the devil. How, therefore, O Christians, do you frequent the games after baptism, the games which you confess to be the work of the devil? You have once renounced the devil and his games. You must know that when you return to the games you are returning knowingly and deliberately to the devil. For you have renounced both things, and at the same time you have said one is both. If you return to one, you resort to both. You say, ‘I renounce the devil, his pomps, spectacles and works.’ What do you say next? You say, ‘I believe in God, the Father Almighty, and in Jesus Christ, His Son.’ The devil is renounced in order that God may be believed in, because he who does not renounce the devil does not believe in God. Therefore, he who goes back to the devil forsakes God. The devil is in his spectacles and in his pomps. Therefore, when we return to the spectacles of the devil, we forsake the faith of Christ. In this way, all the pledges of our faith are broken, and all that follows in the Creed sways to and fro and is overthrown. Nothing that follows is valid if the primary clause does not stand up. – Salvian the Presbyter, The Governance of God, Book 6, chapter 6

Man does not Baptize and grant salvation, but God:

Ezekiel 36:22-26 “On account of this, say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord says: “I shall act not for you, O house of Israel, but rather on account of my holy name, which you profaned among the nations where you went there. And I shall sanctify my great name which was profaned among the nations which you profaned in the middle of them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, when I am sanctified by before their eyes. And I shall take you from the nations and gather you from all the lands, and I will lead you into your land. And I shall sprinkle clean water upon you, and you will be cleansed from all your impurities and from all your idols, and I will cleanse you. And I shall give you a new heart and establish a new spirit in you and remove the heart made of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

Isaiah 1:18 “And come, let us reason together, saith the Lord: and though your sins be as purple, I will make them white as snow; and though they be as scarlet, I will make them white as wool.”

Isaiah 4:4 “For the Lord shall wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Sion, and shall purge out the blood from the midst of them, with the spirit of judgement, and the spirit of burning.”

Acts 15:6-9 “Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter. And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: “Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

Romans 4:5 “But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.”

John 1:33 “I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’”

John 3:22 “After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized. Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized. For John had not yet been thrown into prison. Then there arose a dispute between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purification. And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!”

John 4:1-2 “Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples).”

1 Corinthians 3:5-7 “Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.

Church Fathers:

“Are not we laymen also priests? It is written: “He has also made us a kingdom and priests to God and His Father” (Revelation 1:6). The authority of the Church has established the distinction between the order and the people, and the honor sanctified by the sitting of the order. So true is this that where there is no sitting of the ecclesiastical order, there you offer [the Eucharist], and baptize, and you are priest to yourself alone. But where three are, there is the Church, even if they are laymen. For each man lives by his own faith, and there is no respect of persons with God, since it is not the hearers of the law who are justified before God, but the doers, as the Apostle also says. Therefore, if you have in yourself the right of a priest where necessity requires it, you ought also to have the discipline of a priest where it is necessary to have the right of a priest. Are you twice married, and do you baptize? Are you twice married, and do you offer? How much more is it a capital matter for a layman who is twice married to act as a priest, when from the priest himself, once he has become twice married, the right to act as priest is taken away! But, you say, allowance is made for necessity. No necessity is excused which can cease to exist. Finally, do not let yourself be found twice married, and you will not fall into the necessity of administering what is not permitted to a man twice married. God wills us all to be so ordered that everywhere we may be fit for carrying out His sacraments. One God, one faith, and one discipline.” – Tertullian, An Exhortation to Chasity chapter 7, Migne PL 2.922-23

For concluding our brief subject, it remains to put you in mind also of the due observance of giving and receiving baptism. Of giving it, the chief priest (who is the bishop) has the right: in the next place, the presbyters and deacons, yet not without the bishop’s authority, on account of the honour of the Church, which being preserved, peace is preserved. Beside these, even laymen have the right; for what is equally received can be equally given. Unless bishops, or priests, or deacons, be on the spot, other disciples are called i.e. to the work. The word of the Lord ought not to be hidden by any: in like manner, too, baptism, which is equally God’s property, can be administered by all. But how much more is the rule of reverence and modesty incumbent on laymen— seeing that these powers belong to their superiors — lest they assume to themselves the specific function of the bishop! Emulation of the episcopal office is the mother of schisms. The most holy apostle has said, that all things are lawful, but not all expedient. Let it suffice assuredly, in cases of necessity, to avail yourself (of that rule), if at any time circumstance either of place, or of time, or of person compels you (so to do); for then the steadfast courage of the succourer, when the situation of the endangered one is urgent, is exceptionally admissible; inasmuch as he will be guilty of a human creature’s loss if he shall refrain from bestowing what he had free liberty to bestow. But the woman of pertness, who has usurped the power to teach, will of course not give birth for herself likewise to a right of baptizing, unless some new beast shall arise like the former; so that, just as the one abolished baptism, so some other should in her own right confer it! … For how credible would it seem, that he who has not permitted a woman even to learn with over-boldness, should give a female the power of teaching and of baptizing! Let them be silent, he says, and at home consult their own husbands. 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 – Tertullian, On Baptism, chapter 17

Since then you have said that there was only one Deluge and that Circumcision could not be repeated, whilst we have taught that the heavenly gift is bestowed upon every believer by the Trinity, not by man—why have you thought it right to repeat Baptism not after us, but after the Trinity? — Optatus of Milevis, Against the Donatists, Book 5, chapter 3

It is clear that in the celebration of this Sacrament of Baptism there are three elements which you will not be able either to decrease or diminish, or put on one side. The first is in the Trinity, the second in the believer, the third in him who operates. But they must not all be weighed by the same measure. For I perceive that two are necessary, and that one is quasi-necessary. The Trinity holds the chief place, without whom the work itself cannot be done. The faith of the believer follows next. Then comes the office of the Minister, which cannot be of equal authority. The first two remain always unchangeable and unmoved. For the Trinity is always Itself; and the Faith is the same in everyone. Both the Trinity and Faith always preserve their own efficacy. It will be seen, therefore, that the office of the minister cannot be equal to the other two elements in the Sacrament of Baptism, because it alone is liable to change. You will have it that between you and us there is a distinction, though the office is the same, and, judging yourselves to be more holy than we, you do not hesitate to place your pride higher than the Trinity, although the person of the Minister can be changed, but the Trinity cannot be changed. And, whereas it is Baptism which should be longed for by those who receive it, you put yourselves forward as the persons to be eagerly sought after. Since you are amongst others Ministers of the Sacrament, show what is the nature of the place that you occupy in this Mystery, and whether you can belong to its body! The Name of Baptism is but one. It possesses its own body—a body which has its own well-defined members, to which nothing can be added, in which nothing can be taken away. If the Minister who has to be chosen is counted as one of these members, then the whole body belongs to the Minister. All these members are both at all times and once for all with this body, and cannot be changed, whereas the Ministers are changed every day, both as to place and time, and in their own persons. For it is not one man only, who baptises always or everywhere. This work is now done by different men from those who did it of old. In the time to come it will be done by yet others. The Ministers can be changed; the Sacraments cannot be changed. Since therefore you see that all who baptise are labourers, not lords, and that the Sacraments are holy through themselves, not through men, why do you claim so much for yourselves? Why is it that you try to shut God out from His own gifts? Allow Him to bestow those things, which are His own. For that gift, which belongs to God, cannot be given by man. If you think otherwise, you are endeavouring to make of no effect the words of the Prophets and the promises of God, by which it is proved that it is God, not man, who cleanses. Here David the Prophet is against you, for he says in the fiftieth Psalm: “Thou shalt wash me, and I shall be cleansed beyond the snow” (Psalm 51:7); and again in the same Psalm: “O God, wash me from my wickedness and cleanse me from my sin” (Psalm 51:2). He said: “Wash me.” He did not say: “Choose for me one by whom I may be washed.” And the Prophet Isaiah also has written that “the Lord shall wash away the defilement of the sons and daughters of Sion” (Isaiah 4:4). We have proved in our Third Book that Sion is the Church; it follows that God washes the sons and daughters of the Church. He did not say: “They shall wash who judge themselves to be holy.” Admit then that the Prophets overcome you, or, with them, recognise that it is not man who washes, but God. As long as you ask: “How can he give, who has not anything to give?” understand that it is the Lord who is the giver, understand that it is God who cleanses each man, whoever he may be; for no one can wash away the defilement and stains of the mind, but God alone, who is also the Maker of the mind. Or, if you think that it is your washing that cleanses, tell us what is the nature of this mind, which is washed through the body, or what form it has, or in what part of a man it dwells. To know this has not been granted to any. How, then, do you think that it is you who cleanse, when you do not know the nature of that which you cleanse? It belongs not to man, but to God to cleanse, for He has Himself promised that He will cleanse, through the Prophet Isaiah, when He said: “Even though your sins are like scarlet, I will make you white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18). He said: “I will make you white,” and not: “I will cause you to be made white.” If this has been promised by God, why do you wish to give that which it is not permitted to you either to promise, or to give, or to have? Behold by Isaiah God has promised Himself to wash those stained by sin, not through a man. Go back to the Gospel, and see what Christ has promised for the salvation of the human race. When the Samaritan woman refused water to the Son of God, then He said that which gives His answer to your contentions: “He who shall drink the water which I give shall not thirst for ever” (John 4:14). He said: “the water which I give.” He did not say: “which they shall give, who deem themselves holy,” as you think yourselves to be; but He did say that He would give. He Himself, therefore, it is who gives, and that which is given is His own. What, therefore, is it which you strive, with absolute unreasonableness, to vindicate for yourselves? — Optatus of Milevis, Against the Donatists, Book 5, chapter 4

Though you be an Ethiopian body, be made white in soul. Do not say, “A Bishop shall baptize me — and he a Metropolitan — and he of Jerusalem (for the Grace does not come of a place, but of the Spirit) — and he of noble birth, for it would be a sad thing for my nobility to be insulted by being baptized by a man of no family.” Do not say, “I do not mind a mere Priest, if he is a celibate, and a religious, and of angelic life; for it would be a sad thing for me to be defiled even in the moment of my cleansing.” Do not ask for credentials of the preacher or the baptizer. For another is his judge (1 Samuel 16:7), and the examiner of what you can not see. For man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. But to you let every one be trustworthy for purification, so only he is one of those who have been approved, not of those who are openly condemned, and not a stranger to the Church. Do not judge your judges, you who need healing; and do not make nice distinctions about the rank of those who shall cleanse you, or be critical about your spiritual fathers. One may be higher or lower than another, but all are higher than you. Look at it this way. One may be golden, another iron, but both are rings and have engraved on them the same royal image; and thus when they impress the wax, what difference is there between the seal of the one and that of the other? None. Detect the material in the wax, if you are so very clever. Tell me which is the impression of the iron ring, and which of the golden. And how do they come to be one? The difference is in the material and not in the seal. And so anyone can be your baptizer; for though one may excel another in his life, yet the grace of baptism is the same, and any one may be your consecrator who is formed in the same faith. – Gregory of Nazianzus, Oration 40, chapter 26

Damasus cleansed not, Peter cleansed not, Ambrose cleansed not, Gregory cleansed not; for ours is the ministry, but the sacraments are Yours. For it is not in man’s power to confer what is divine, but it is, O Lord, Your gift and that of the Father, as You have spoken by the prophets, saying: I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh, and their sons and their daughters shall prophesy (Joel 2:28). This is that typical dew from heaven, this is that gracious rain, as we read: A gracious rain, dividing for His inheritance. For the Holy Spirit is not subject to any foreign power or law, but is the Arbiter of His own freedom, dividing all things according to the decision of His own will, to each, as we read, severally as He wills (1 Corinthians 12:11). – Ambrose, On the Holy spirit, book 1, paragraph 18

That you may also learn from this that the substance of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, baptism is conferred in the following manner. When the priest says: “So-and-so is baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” he puts your head down into the water three times and three times he lifts it up again, preparing you by this mystic rite to receive the descent of the Spirit. For it is not only the priest who touches the head, but also the right hand of Christ, and this is shown by the very words of the one baptizing. He does not say: “I baptize so-and-so,” but: “So-and-so is baptized,” showing that he is only the minister of grace and merely offers his hand because he has been ordained to this end by the Spirit. The one fulfilling all things is the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the undivided Trinity. It is faith in this Trinity which gives the grace of remission from sin; it is this confession which gives to us the gift of filial adoption. 27. What follows suffices to show us from what those who have been judged worthy of this mystic rite have been set free, and what they have gained. As soon as they come forth from those sacred waters, all who are present embrace them, greet them, kiss them, rejoice with them, and congratulate them, because those who were heretofore slaves and captives have suddenly become free men and sons and have been invited to the royal table. For straightway after they come up from the waters, they are led to the awesome table heavy laden with countless favors, where they taste of the Master’s body and blood, and become a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit. Since they have put on Christ Himself, wherever they go they are like angels on earth, rivaling the brilliance of the rays of the sun. – John Chrysostom, Baptismal Instructions 2.26-27

When you come to the sacred initiation, the eyes of the flesh see water; the eyes of faith behold the Spirit. Those eyes see the body being baptized; these see the old man being buried. The eyes of the flesh see the flesh being washed; the eyes of the spirit see the soul being cleansed. The eyes of the body see the body emerging from the water; the eyes of faith see the new man come forth brightly shining from that sacred purification. Our bodily eyes see the priest as, from above, he lays his right hand on the head and touches [him who is being baptized]; our spiritual eyes see the great High Priest as He stretches forth His invisible hand to touch his head. For, at that moment, the one who baptizes is not a man but the only-begotten Son of God.  And what happened in the case of our Master’s body also happens in the case of your own. Although John appeared to be holding His body by the head, it was the divine Word which led His body down into the streams of Jordan and baptized Him. The Master’s body was baptized by the Word, and by the voice of His Father from heaven which said: “This is my beloved Son,” and by the manifestation of the Holy Spirit which descended upon Him. This also happens in the case of your body. The baptism is given in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, John the Baptist told us, for our instruction, that man does not baptize us, but God: “There comes after me one who is mightier than I, and I am not worthy to loose the strap of His sandal. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” 14. For this reason, when the priest is baptizing he does not say, “I baptize so-and-so,” but, “So-and-so is baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” In this way he shows that it is not he who baptizes but those whose names have been invoked, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. — John Chrysostom, Baptismal Instructions 11.12-14

“Or were ye baptized into the name of Paul?” 1 Corinthians 1:13 Again, he says not, “did Paul baptize you?” For he did baptize many: but this was not the question, by whom they had been baptized, but, into whose name they had been baptized! For since this also was a cause of schisms, their being called after the name of those who baptized them, he corrects this error likewise saying, “Were ye baptized into the name of Paul?” “Tell me not,” says he, “who baptized, but into whose name. For not he that baptizes, but he who is invoked in the Baptism, is the subject of enquiry. For this is He who forgives our sins. … “I thank God that I baptized none of you but Crispus and Gaius.” 1 Corinthians 1:14 “Why are you elate at having baptized, when I for my part even give thanks that I have not done so!” Thus saying, by a kind of divine art, he does away with their swelling pride upon this point; not with the efficacy of the baptism, (God forbid,) but with the folly of those who were puffed up at having been baptizers: first, by showing that the Gift is not theirs; and, secondly, by thanking God therefore. For Baptism truly is a great thing: but its greatness is not the work of the person baptizing, but of Him who is invoked in the Baptism: since to baptize is nothing as regards man’s labor, but is much less than preaching the Gospel. Yea, again I say, great indeed is Baptism, and without baptism it is impossible to obtain the kingdom. Still a man of no singular excellence is able to baptize, but to preach the Gospel there is need of great labor. … — John Chrysostom, Homily 3 on 1 Corinthians 

“And I, brothers, was not able to speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to fleshly (σαρκικοῖς) men, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, and not solid food, for you were not yet able to bear it. But neither are you able even now, for you are still fleshly (σαρκικοί).” 1 Corinthians 3:1-3 … And how does he call “fleshly” those who have received so great a measure of the Spirit, and those of whom, at the beginning, he spoke so many praises? Why, even those men were fleshly to whom the Lord says, “Depart from Me; I do not know you, workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:23), though they cast out demons and raised the dead and showed prophecies. So then, it is possible even for one who has worked signs to be fleshly [i.e. carnal]. For God also worked through Balaam, and revealed the things to come to Pharaoh, and to Nebuchadnezzar, and Caiaphas prophesied without knowing what he was saying; and some others also cast out demons in His name, though they were not with Him, since these things do not happen because of those who do them, but because of others. And often these things happened even through unworthy men. And why do you marvel if these things happen through unworthy men for the sake of others, when they happen even through holy men? For Paul also says, “All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, whether life or death” (1 Corinthians 3:21–22); and again, that “He Himself gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as shepherds and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of ministry” (Ephesians 4:11–12). For if this were not so, nothing would have prevented all from being corrupted. For it often happens that rulers are base and defiled, while those under them are decent and moderate, and that laymen live in piety while priests live in wickedness. And there would have been no baptism, nor the body of Christ, nor the offering through them, if grace always sought worthiness everywhere. But as it is, God is accustomed to work even through the unworthy, and the grace of baptism suffers no harm at all from the life of the priest, since otherwise the one receiving it would suffer loss. So then, even if these things happen only rarely, still they do happen. And I say these things so that none of those present, by prying into the life of the priest, may be scandalized concerning the things being performed. For man contributes nothing to what lies before us, but the whole matter is the work of the power of God, and it is He who initiates you into the mysteries. – John Chrysostom, Homily 8 on 1 Corinthians, Migne PG 61.67-69

Tell me, if you come to a physician with a wound, will you, instead of allowing medicine to be applied and the sore to be treated, busy yourself examining the physician—whether he himself has a wound or not? And even if he does have one, do you concern yourself with that? Or because he has one, do you fail to treat your own, and say, “He ought to be healthy, being a physician; since he is not healthy though he is a physician, I too will leave my own wound untreated”? Certainly not. For if the priest is evil, will that be any consolation to the one being treated? Not at all. Rather, he will pay the appointed penalty, and you also will give what is due and fitting; for the teacher only fulfills his role. For it is said, “They shall all be taught by God, and they shall not say, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest.” Why then, he says, does he preside? Why then does he stand before us? Let us not, I beg you, speak evil of teachers, nor scrutinize them excessively, lest we harm ourselves. Let us examine our own matters, and we will speak evil of no one. Let us reverence that day on which He enlightened us. If someone has a father, even if he has countless faults, he covers them all. For it says, “Do not glory in the dishonor of your father; for it is no glory to you, but a reproach.” And if he lacks understanding, show forgiveness. And if this applies to bodily fathers, much more should it be said concerning spiritual fathers. Respect that he ministers to you each day: he causes the Scriptures to be read, he adorns the house for your sake, he keeps watch for your sake, he prays for you, he stands on your behalf entreating God, he makes supplications for you; his whole worship is for your sake. Be mindful of these things, consider them, and approach with all reverence. Tell me, is he worthless? And what of it? Does the one who is not worthless himself grant you these great good things? By no means. Everything is accomplished with respect to your faith. Neither will the righteous benefit you at all if you are not faithful, nor will the unworthy harm you at all if you are faithful. God worked through oxen at the ark when He willed to save the people. For does the life of the priest, or his virtue, contribute so much? It is not so. These things which God grants are not accomplished by priestly virtue; the whole work belongs to grace. It is his part only to open the mouth, but God accomplishes everything; he only fulfills the symbol. Consider how great the difference is between John and Jesus. For hear John saying: “I have need to be baptized by You,” and, “I am not worthy to loosen the strap of His sandal.” Yet even though the difference was so great, the Spirit descended—something John did not possess. For “from His fullness we have all received,” it says. And yet, before He was baptized, It did not descend; nor did John cause it to descend. What then does this mean? That you may learn that the priest fulfills only a symbol. No one among men is so far removed from another as John was from Jesus; yet upon Him the Spirit descended, so that you may learn that God works everything, that God accomplishes everything. I want to say something surprising, but do not be amazed or disturbed. What then is this? The offering is the same, whether it is offered by just anyone, or by Paul, or by Peter; it is the same which Christ gave to the disciples, and which the priests now perform. This is in no way inferior to that one, because it is not men who sanctify it, but He Himself who sanctified that one also. For just as the words which God spoke are the same that the priest now also speaks, so also the offering is the same, and the baptism which He gave is the same. Thus everything belongs to faith. The Spirit immediately leapt upon Cornelius, since he had first shown what was on his part and had brought forward faith. And this also is a body, as that is; but the one who thinks this is less than that does not know that Christ is present even now, and even now is at work. – John Chrysostom, Homily 2 on 2 Timothy

Let us also then touch the hem of His garment, or rather, if we be willing, we have Him entire. For indeed His body is set before us now, not His garment only, but even His body; not for us to touch it only, but also to eat, and be filled. Let us now then draw near with faith, every one that has an infirmity. For if they that touched the hem of His garment drew from Him so much virtue, how much more they that possess Him entire? Now to draw near with faith is not only to receive the offering, but also with a pure heart to touch it; to be so minded, as approaching Christ Himself. For what, if you hear no voice? Yet you see Him laid out; or rather thou dost also hear His voice, while He is speaking by the evangelists. Believe, therefore, that even now it is that supper, at which He Himself sat down. For this is in no respect different from that. For neither does man make this and Himself the other; but both this and that is His own work. When therefore you see the priest delivering it unto you, account not that it is the priest that does so, but that it is Christ’s hand that is stretched out. Even as when he baptizes, not he does baptize you, but it is God that possesses your head with invisible power, and neither angel nor archangel nor any other dare draw near and touch you; even so now also. For when God begets, the gift is His only. Do you see not those who adopt to themselves sons here, how they commit not the act to slaves, but are themselves present at the judgment-seat? Even so neither has God committed His gift to angels, but Himself is present, commanding and saying, Call no man Father on earth; Matthew 23:9 not that you should dishonor them that gave you birth, but that you should prefer to all those Him that made you, and enrolled you among His own children. For He that has given the greater, that is, has set Himself before you, much more will He not think scorn to distribute unto you of His body. Let us hear therefore, both priests and subjects, what we have had vouchsafed to us; let us hear and tremble. Of His own holy flesh He has granted us our fill; He has set before us Himself sacrificed. – John Chrysostom, Homily 50.3 on Matthew

And what is written, “He who is baptized by a dead man, what does his washing profit him?” (Sirach 34:30) —to set aside for the moment a more careful examination of these words—I most safely understand as referring to the baptisms of pagans, because they worship men who are dead both to righteousness and to this life, and in whose name they are baptized. For although their priests themselves are also called dead because of their impiety, it is not understood in this way because of them, but because of their dead gods, in contrast with whom it is said, “Our God is the living God.” (Jeremiah 10:10) Therefore, although among Christians there are certain leaders or ministers who are dead through their own impiety and wickedness, yet He lives of Whom it was said in the Gospel, “This is He Who baptizes,” (John 1:33) because, as the Apostle says, “Christ, having risen from the dead, dies no more; death shall no longer have dominion over Him.” (Romans 6:9) – Augustine, Answer to the Letter of Parmenian 2.10.22 Migne PL 43.65-66

“…Therefore, if it is a man who baptizes when the baptizer is openly good, but when the baptizer is secretly wicked, then God or an angel baptizes, and each person is spiritually born according to the character of the one by whom he is baptized: let those who desire to be baptized pray that the men through whom they are baptized may not be openly good, but secretly wicked, so that, with God or an angel baptizing them, they may deserve to be born again holier. If they consider that they must avoid this absurdity, then let them confess that, through any man whatsoever, whenever anyone is baptized with Christ’s Baptism, Christ baptizes—the One of Whom alone it was said, “This is He Who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.”” (John 1:33) – Augustine, Answer to the Letter of Parmenian 2.11.23, Migne PL 43.66-67

For if any one were compelled by urgent necessity, being unable to find a Catholic from whom to receive baptism, and so, while preserving Catholic peace in his heart, should receive from one without the pale of Catholic unity the sacrament which he was intending to receive within its pale, this man, should he immediately depart this life, we deem to be none other than a Catholic. But if he should be delivered from the death of the body, on his restoring himself in bodily presence to that Catholic congregation from which in heart he had never departed, so far from blaming his conduct, we should praise it with the greatest truth and confidence; because he trusted that God was present to his heart, while he was striving to preserve unity, and was unwilling to depart this life without the sacrament of holy baptism, which he knew to be of God, and not of men; wherever he might find it. But if any one who has it in his power to receive baptism within the Catholic Church prefers, from some perversity of mind, to be baptized in schism, even if he afterwards bethinks himself to come to the Catholic Church, because he is assured that there that sacrament will profit him, which can indeed be received but cannot profit elsewhere, beyond all question he is perverse, and guilty of sin, and that the more flagrant in proportion as it was committed wilfully. For that he entertains no doubt that the sacrament is rightly received in the Church, is proved by his conviction that it is there that he must look for profit even from what he has received elsewhere. – Augustine, On Baptism, book 1, chapter 2

How does a murderer cleanse and sanctify the water? How can darkness bless the oil? But if God is present in His sacraments to confirm His words by whomsoever the sacraments may be administered, then both the sacraments of God are everywhere valid, and evil men whom they profit not are everywhere perverse. – Augustine, On Baptism, book 5, chapter 20

Therefore, if those men were in error, and would perish unless they were corrected, who wanted to belong to Paul, what hope then is left for those who seek to belong to Donatus? For this is what these people are doing: they make the origin, root, and head of the baptized person to be none other than the man by whom he is baptized. So it comes about that, since it is often uncertain what sort of man the baptizer is, the origin is uncertain, the root uncertain, the head uncertain, and therefore every hope too is uncertain. And since it can happen that the conscience of the giver is such that it is criminal and defiled, while the receiver does not know this, it consequently follows that, with a criminal origin, a criminal root, and a criminal head, the hope of the baptized person also is vain and empty. For in his letter he lays this down and says, Every thing stands by its origin and root, and if something has no head, it is nothing. And since he wants the origin, root, and head of the baptized person to be understood as the man by whom he is baptized, what good does it do the wretched baptized man that he does not know how evil his baptizer is? For he does not know that he has an evil head, or even that he has no head at all. Yet what hope is there for the man whose head, whether he knows it or not, is either utterly evil or none at all? Does that very ignorance become a head for the man whose baptizer is either an evil head or no head? But whoever thinks this truly has no head. Therefore we ask this: since he said, Whoever receives faith from one who is faithless does not receive faith, but guilt, and immediately joined to this the words, For every thing stands by its origin and root, and if something has no head, it is nothing—we ask, then, when that faithless baptizer is hidden, if the man whom he baptizes then receives faith and not guilt, and if at that point his baptizer is not his origin and root and head, who is it from whom he receives faith? Where is the origin from which he arises? Where is the root from which he springs? Where is the head from which he begins? Or perhaps, when the man being baptized does not know that the one baptizing him is faithless, then Christ gives faith, then Christ is the origin and root and head? O human rashness and pride! Why do you not rather allow that Christ always gives faith, by giving it making a man a Christian? Why do you not allow that Christ is always the origin of the Christian, that the Christian may fix his root in Christ, that Christ may be the head of the Christian? For even when spiritual grace is imparted to believers through a holy and faithful minister, the minister himself does not justify, but that One alone of whom it was said that He justifies the ungodly (Romans 4:5). Or again, is the Apostle Paul the head and origin of those whom he planted, or is Apollos the root of those whom he watered, and not rather He who gave them faith in believing, since that same Apostle says: “I planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. Therefore neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:6–7). Nor was he their root, but rather He who said: “I am the vine; you are the branches” (John 15:5). And how could he be their head, when he says that “we, being many, are one body in Christ” (Romans 12:5), and most plainly proclaims in many places that Christ Himself is the head of the whole body? Therefore, whether a man receives the sacrament of baptism from a faithful minister or from a faithless one, let all his hope be in Christ, lest he be accursed as one who puts his hope in man. Otherwise, if each person is born again in spiritual grace according to the character of the one who baptizes him, then when the man baptizing is openly good, he himself gives the faith, he himself is the origin and root and head of the one being born; when the baptizer is faithless without its being known, then one being baptized receives faith from Christ, then one draws origin from Christ, then one is rooted in Christ, then one glories in Christ as head. In that case, everyone who is baptized ought to wish to have faithless baptizers without knowing their faithlessness. For however good the baptizers they may have, Christ is certainly incomparably better; and He will then be the head of the baptized man, if the faithlessness of the baptizer shall escape detection. But if it is utter madness to believe otherwise—for Christ always justifies the ungodly, making the ungodly man a Christian; faith is always received from Christ; Christ is always the origin of those who are born again and the head of the Church—what weight have those words which vain readers fail to examine inwardly, attending only to how they sound? But the man who receives words not with the ear alone, but beholds their meaning also with the mind, when he hears, “The conscience of the giver is regarded, that it may wash the conscience of the receiver,” will answer: The conscience of a man is often unknown to me, but I am certain of the mercy of Christ. When he hears, “Whoever receives faith from one who is faithless receives not faith, but guilt,” he will answer: Christ is not faithless, and it is from Him that I receive faith, not guilt. When he hears, “For every thing stands by its origin and root; and if something has no head, it is nothing,” he will answer: Christ is my origin, Christ is my root, Christ is my head. When he hears, “Nor does anything regenerate well unless it is regenerated by good seed,” he will answer: The seed by which I am regenerated is the word of God, which I was warned to hear obediently, even if the man through whom I hear it does not himself do what he says to me, since the Lord says—and by saying this makes me secure—”Do what they say; do not do what they do. For they say, and do not do” (Matthew 23:3). When he hears, “What perversity can there be in this, that one who is guilty by his own crimes should make another innocent?” he will answer: No one makes me innocent except Him “who was delivered up for our offenses and rose again for our justification” (Romans 4:25). For I do not believe in the minister through whom I am baptized, but in Him “who justifies the ungodly, so that faith may be counted to me for righteousness” (Romans 4:5). – Augustine, Answer to the Letters of Petilian the Donatist 1.4-7, Migne PL 43.248-49

PETILIAN said: They charge us with a second baptism—those who, under the name of baptism, have defiled their own souls with a guilty washing; men to whom, foul as they are, every kind of filth is cleaner than they, since by a perverse cleansing they have been polluted by their own water. AUGUSTINE replied: We are not defiled by our water, nor are we cleansed by yours; but when the water of baptism is given to someone in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, it is neither ours nor yours, but His, of whom it was said to John: “He upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending like a dove and remaining upon Him, this is He who baptizes in the Holy Spirit” (John 1:33). – Augustine, Answer to the Letters of Petilian the Donatist 2.2, Migne PL 43.260

We are neither made fouler by our washing, nor cleaner by yours. But when the water of baptism is given to anyone in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, it is neither ours nor yours, but His of whom it was said to John, “Upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, the same is He which baptizes with the Holy Ghost” (John 1:33). — Augustine, Answer to Petilian the Donatist, Book 2, chapter 2.5 

Seek with greater care to know in what sense the words which you have quoted from Scripture in proof of your position were really uttered, and how they should be understood.  For that all unrighteous persons are wont to be called dead in a mystical sense is clear enough; but Christ, to whom true baptism belongs, which you say is false because of the faults of men, is alive, sitting at the right hand of the Father, and He will not die any more through any infirmity of the flesh:  death will no more have dominion over Him.  And they who are baptized with His baptism are not baptized by one who is dead.  And if it so happen that certain ministers, being deceitful workers, seeking their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s, proclaiming the gospel not in purity, and preaching Christ of contention and envy, are to be called dead because of their unrighteousness, yet the sacrament of the living God does not die even in one that is dead.  For that Simon was dead who was baptized by Philip in Samaria, who wished to purchase the gift of God for money; but the baptism which he had lived in him still to work his punishment.  – Augustine, Answer to the Letters of Petilian the Donatist 2.7.15

But since you are dealing with baptism, which you think is true only when it is in a righteous man, but false when it is in an unrighteous man—see, if I too were to examine the baptism of the Trinity according to your rule, I think I could say at greater length that he does not have God the Father whose god is the imperial Count; nor does he believe in Christ except the one for whom he suffered; nor does he have the Holy Spirit, since by tongues of fire, in a far different way, he set wretched Africa ablaze. How then do they have baptism, or how do they give it in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit? Surely by now you see that in an unrighteous man, or from an unrighteous man, there can be baptism that is not unrighteous, but righteous and true—not because it is his, but because it is God’s. – Augustine, Answer to the Letters of Petilian the Donatist 2.33, Migne PL 43.287

… Therefore, either every water consecrated in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit belongs to a pure conscience—not because of those by whom it is administered or by whom it is received, but because of Him who instituted this baptism while Himself unstained—or, if the water of a pure conscience is made such only by the pure conscience both of the ministering man and of the one receiving it, what do you do about those whom you discover to have been baptized by men who had not yet been exposed, but were carrying a stained conscience— especially if among those thus baptized there should be one who confesses that when he was baptized he himself had a bad conscience, because perhaps on that very occasion he had intended to proceed to some shameful act? Therefore, when it has become clear to you that neither the man who administered baptism nor the man who received it had a pure conscience, will you judge that he must be baptized again? You will never say this, you will never do it. Therefore the purity of baptism is entirely distinct from the purity or impurity of conscience, whether of the one giving it or of the one receiving it. – Augustine, Answer to the Letters of Petilian the Donatist 2.35, Migne PL 43.288

We recognize in heretics that baptism, which belongs not to the heretics but to Christ, in such sort as in fornicators, in unclean persons or effeminate, in idolaters, in poisoners, in those who retain enmity, in those who are fond of contention, in the credulous, in the proud, given to seditions, in the envious, in drunkards, in revellers; and in men like these we hold valid the baptism which is not theirs but Christ’s. For of men like these, and among them are included heretics also, none, as the apostle says, shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. Galatians 5:19-21 Nor are they to be considered as being in the body of Christ, which is the Church, simply because they are materially partakers of the sacraments. – Augustine, Answer to the Letters of Petilian the Donatist 2.109

Seeing, therefore, that the baptism of Christ, whether administered by an unrighteous or a righteous man, is nothing but the baptism of Christ, what a cautious man and faithful Christian should do is to avoid the unrighteousness of man, not to condemn the sacraments of God. – Augustine, Answer to the Letters of Petilian the Donatist 3.34.39

For behold, we who speak with the word of truth say that the believer is not justified by the man by whom he is baptized, but by Him of whom it is written: “To the one who believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” (Romans 4:5). Since we do not glory in man, and, with His own gift, strive when we glory to “glory in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:31; Jeremiah 9:24), how secure we are, whatever he may be able to prove of error or crime concerning certain men of our communion. For among us, whatever evil men there are either lie wholly hidden, or, if known to certain persons, are tolerated for the sake of the good to whom they are unknown, and among whom they cannot be convicted, because of the bond of unity and peace, lest together with the tares the wheat also be rooted up. Thus they carry the burden of their own wickedness in such a way that no one shares it with them except those to whom their injustice is pleasing. Nor do we fear that those whom they baptize cannot be justified, since those people believe in Him “who justifies the ungodly, so that their faith may be counted for righteousness” (Romans 4:5). – Augustine, Answer to the Letters of Petilian the Donatist 3.36.42, Migne PL 43.370

Therefore do not say, “The conscience of the holy giver is regarded, that it may wash the conscience of the receiver,” lest it be said to you, “When the defiled conscience of the giver lies hidden, who washes the conscience of the receiver?” And when you answer, “Either God or an angel”—for you have nothing else to answer—there will immediately follow the point by which you are confounded: those who are baptized by hidden evil men are more holily justified, if they are washed either by God or by an angel, than those who are baptized by openly good men, who are not to be compared with God or angels. But say what Truth and the catholic Church say: that not only when the minister of baptism is evil, but also when he is holy and good, hope is not to be placed in man, but in Him who justifies the ungodly, in whom, for those who believe, faith is counted for righteousness (Romans 4:5). For when we say, “Christ baptizes,” we are not speaking of a visible ministry, as Petilian either thinks or wants people to think that we are saying, but of a hidden grace, a hidden power in the Holy Spirit, just as it was said of Him by John the Baptist: “This is He who baptizes in the Holy Spirit” (John 1:33). Nor, as Petilian says, has He now ceased to baptize; rather, He still does this, not by a bodily ministry, but by the invisible working of His majesty. For when we say, “He Himself baptizes,” we do not mean, “He Himself physically takes hold and dips the bodies of believers in water.” Rather, we mean, “He Himself cleanses invisibly”—and this, indeed, the whole Church altogether. Nor is the Apostle Paul to be disbelieved, who said of Him: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the Church and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify it, cleansing it by the washing of water with the word” (Ephesians 5:25–26). Behold, then, that Christ sanctifies; behold that Christ, even in that very washing of water with the word, where ministers seem outwardly to be acting in bodily fashion, Himself washes, Himself cleanses. Therefore let no one claim for himself what belongs to God. Thus the hope of men is made sure when it is fixed in Him who cannot deceive, because “cursed is everyone who puts his hope in man” (Jeremiah 17:5), and “blessed is he whose hope is the Lord his God” (Psalm 146:5). – Augustine, Answer to the Letters of Petilian the Donatist 3.49.59, Migne PL 43.379

But the passages which I have advanced to assert the truth of the Catholic Church, are the following: As regards the question of baptism, that our being born again, cleansed, justified by the grace of God, should not be ascribed to the man who administered the sacrament, I quoted these: “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man:” and “Cursed be every one that trusts in man;” Jeremiah 17:5 and that, “Salvation belongs unto the Lord;” and that, “Vain is the help of man;” and that, “Neither is he that plants anything, neither he that waters, but God that gives the increase;” 1 Corinthians 3:7 and that He in whom men believe justifies the ungodly, that his faith may be counted to him for righteousness. Romans 4:5 – Augustine, Answer to the Letters of Petilian the Donatist 3.50.62

Then who is there that could fail to perceive from what a vein of conceit it proceeds, that in explaining as it were the declaration of the apostle, he says, “He who said, ‘I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase,’ surely meant nothing else than this, that ‘I made a man a catechumen in Christ, Apollo baptized him; God confirmed what we had done?'” Why then did not Petilianus add what the apostle added, and I especially took pains to quote, “So then neither is he that plants anything, neither he that waters; but God that gives the increase”? 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 And if he be willing to interpret this on the same principle as what he has set down above, it follows beyond all doubt, that neither is he that baptizes anything but God that gives the increase. For what matter does it make in reference to the question now before us, in what sense it has been said, “I planted, Apollos watered,”— whether it is really to be taken as equivalent to his saying, “I made a catechumen, Apollos baptized him;” or whether there be any other truer and more congruous understanding of it?— for in the mean time, according to his own interpretation of the words, neither is he that makes the catechumen anything, neither he that baptizes, but God that gives the increase. But there is a great difference between confirming what another does, and doing anything oneself. For He who gives the increase does not confirm a tree or a vine, but creates it. For by that increase it comes to pass that even a piece of wood planted in the ground produces and establishes a root; by that increase it comes to pass that a seed cast into the earth puts forth a shoot. But why should we make a longer dissertation on this point? It is enough that, according to Petilianus himself neither he that makes a catechumen, nor he that baptizes, is anything, but God that gives the increase. – Augustine, Answer to the Letters of Petilian the Donatist 3.53

A minister, therefore, that is a dispenser of the word and sacrament of the gospel, if he is a good man, becomes a fellow-partner in the working of the gospel; but if he is a bad man, he does not therefore cease to be a dispenser of the gospel. For if he is good, he does it of his own free will; but if he is a bad man — that is, one who seeks his own and not the things of Jesus Christ — he does it unwillingly, for the sake of other things which he is seeking after. See, however, what the same apostle has said: “For if I do this thing willingly,” he says, “I have a reward; but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me;” 1 Corinthians 9:17 as though he were to say, If I, being good, announce what is good, I attain unto it also myself; but if, being evil, I announce it, yet I announce what is good. For has he in any way said, If I do it against my will, then shall I not be a dispenser of the gospel? Peter and the other disciples announce the good tidings, as being good themselves. Judas did it against his will, but yet, when he was sent, he announced it in common with the rest. They have a reward; to him a dispensation of the gospel was committed. But they who received the gospel at the mouth of all those witnesses, could not be cleansed and justified by him that planted, or by him that watered, but by Him alone that gives the increase. For neither are we going to say that Judas did not baptize, seeing that he was still among the disciples when that which is written was being accomplished, “Jesus Himself baptized not, but His disciples.” John 4:2 Are we to suppose that, because he had not betrayed Christ, therefore he who had the bag, and bare what was put therein, John 12:6 was still enabled to dispense grace without prejudice to those who received it, though he could not be an upright guardian of the money entrusted to his care? Or if he did not baptize, at any rate we must acknowledge that he preached the gospel. But if you consider this a trifling function, and of no importance, see what you must think of the Apostle Paul himself, who said, “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel.” 1 Corinthians 1:17 To this we may add, that according to this, Apollos begins to be more important, who watered by baptizing, than Paul, who planted by preaching the gospel, though Paul claims to himself the relation of father towards the Corinthians in virtue of this very act, and does not grant this title to those who came to them after him. For he says, “Though you have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.” 1 Corinthians 4:15 He says, “I have begotten you” to the same men to whom he says in another place, “I thank God that I baptized none of you but Crispus and Gaius, and I baptized also the household of Stephanus.” He had begotten them, therefore, not through himself, but through the gospel. And even though he had been seeking his own, and not the things of Jesus Christ, and had been doing this unwillingly, so as to receive no reward for himself, yet he would have been dispensing the treasure of the Lord; and this, though evil himself, he would not have been making evil or useless to those who received it well. – Augustine, Answer to the Letters of Petilian the Donatist 3.55

And if this is rightly said of the Gospel, how much more must it be said of baptism, which belongs to the Gospel in such a way that without it indeed no one attains the kingdom of heaven, yet only if righteousness accompanies the sacrament? For He who said, “Unless one is born again of water and the Spirit, he shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (John 3:5), the very same also said, “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). The form of the sacrament is given through baptism; the form of righteousness through the Gospel. The one without the other does not bring a man to the kingdom of heaven. Yet even the less learned can baptize perfectly, whereas to evangelize perfectly is a work much harder and much rarer. Therefore the teacher of the Gentiles was sent, excelling many others, to evangelize, not to baptize, because this could be done through many, but that through few, among whom he stood out. And yet we read that in some places he said, “my Gospel” (Romans 2:16; 2 Timothy 2:8); but he never said, “my baptism,” nor the baptism of anyone through whom it was ministered. For only that baptism which John gave was called “the baptism of John” (Matthew 21:25; Mark 11:30; Luke 7:29; Acts 19:3). That man received this as the chief gift of his ministry: that even the preparatory sacrament of washing should be called his own, because it was dispensed through him. But the baptism which the disciples of Christ administered was called the baptism of none of them, so that it might be understood to belong to Him of whom it was said: “Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of water with the word” (Ephesians 5:25–26). If, therefore, the Gospel so belongs to Christ that the minister, because of the office of his stewardship, can even call it his own, and yet a man can receive it without danger even through an evil steward—doing what he says, but not doing what he does—how much more can each man receive the baptism of Christ without the contagion of an evil minister, if he comes to Christ in good faith, since none of the Apostles administered it in such a way as to dare call it his own? – Augustine, Answer to the Letters of Petilian the Donatist 3.56

But I say to you yourself, whoever you are, Are you better than John? You will not venture to say: I am better than John. Then let your own baptize after you if they are better. For if baptism was administered after John, blush that baptism is not administered after you. You will say, But I have and teach the baptism of Christ. Acknowledge, then, now the Judge, and do not be a proud herald. You give the baptism of Christ, therefore baptism is not administered after you: after John it was administered, because he gave not the baptism of Christ, but his own; for he had in such manner received it that it was his own. You are then not better than John: but the baptism given through you is better than that of John; for the one is Christ’s, but the other is that of John. And that which was given by Paul, and that which was given by Peter, is Christ’s; and if baptism was given by Judas it was Christ’s. Judas gave baptism and after Judas baptism was not repeated; John gave baptism, and baptism was repeated after John: because if baptism was given by Judas, it was the baptism of Christ; but that which was given by John, was John’s baptism. We prefer not Judas to John; but the baptism of Christ, even when given by the hand of Judas, we prefer to the baptism of John, rightly given even by the hand of John. For it was said of the Lord before He suffered, that He baptized more than John (3:22, 26); then it was added: “Howbeit, Jesus Himself baptized not, but His disciples.” John 4:1-2 He, and not He: He by power, they by ministry; they performed the service of baptizing, the power of baptizing remained in Christ. His disciples, then, baptized, and Judas was still among his disciples: and were those, then, whom Judas baptized not again baptized; and those whom John baptized were they again baptized? Plainly there was a repetition, but not a repetition of the same baptism. For those whom John baptized, John baptized; those whom Judas baptized, Christ baptized. In like manner, then, they whom a drunkard baptized, those whom a murderer baptized, those whom an adulterer baptized, if it was the baptism of Christ, were baptized by Christ. I do not fear the adulterer, the drunkard, or the murderer, because I give heed unto the dove, through whom it is said to me, “This is He which baptizes.” (John 1:33) — Augustine, Tractate 5 on John, chapter 18

For what is it, my brethren? Who does not see what they do not see? Nor is it surprising, since they refuse to return from there, like the raven that was sent out from the ark. Who does not see what they do not see? They are also ungrateful toward the Holy Spirit. Behold, the dove descended upon the Lord—upon the Lord when He had been baptized—and there appeared that holy and true Trinity, which for us is one God. For the Lord came up from the water, as we read in the Gospel: “And behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit descending like a dove, and He remained upon Him; and immediately a voice followed: ‘You are My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.’” (Matthew 3:16–17; Mark 1:10–11) The Trinity appears most plainly: the Father in the voice, the Son in the man, the Spirit in the dove. Let us see, in this Trinity into Whose name the Apostles were sent, what we see—and what is remarkable is that they do not see it. For they do not truly fail to see it; rather, they close their eyes to what strikes them in the face. The disciples were sent in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, by Him of Whom it was said, “This is He who baptizes.” (John 1:33) For it was said to the ministers by Him Who kept this power for Himself. For this is what John saw in Him, and recognized what he had not known: not because he did not know Him as the Son of God, or did not know Him as the Lord, or did not know Him as the Christ; nor indeed did he fail to know that He Himself would baptize with water and the Holy Spirit—for he knew this also—but because He would keep this very power for Himself and transfer it to none of His ministers: this is what he learned in the dove. For by this power, which Christ alone kept for Himself and poured out upon none of His ministers—although He deigned to baptize through His ministers—by this power the unity of the Church stands, which is signified in the dove, of which it is said: “My dove is one, the only one of her mother.” (Song of Songs 6:9) For if, as I have already said, my brethren, this power were transferred from the Lord to the minister, there would be as many baptisms as there were ministers, and the unity of Baptism would no longer stand. Attend, brethren: before our Lord Jesus Christ came to baptism—for after His baptism the dove descended, in which John learned something proper to Him, when it had been said to him, “He upon Whom you see the Spirit descending like a dove and remaining upon Him, He is the One Who baptizes in the Holy Spirit” (John 1:33)—he knew that He Himself baptizes in the Holy Spirit; but there he learned that He would do so with such a unique prerogative that the power would not pass from Him to another, even though it was He Who gave it. And from where do we prove that John already knew this as well, namely, that the Lord would baptize in the Holy Spirit, so that we may understand that he learned from the dove that the Lord would baptize in the Holy Spirit in such a way that this power would pass to no other man? From where do we prove it? The dove descended after the Lord had already been baptized. But before the Lord came to be baptized by John in the Jordan, we said that John knew Him from those words when he said, “Do You come to me to be baptized? I ought to be baptized by You.” (Matthew 3:14) But behold, he knew the Lord, he knew the Son of God. From where do we prove that he already knew that He Himself would baptize in the Holy Spirit? Before He came to the river, when many were coming to John to be baptized, he said to them, “I indeed baptize you with water; but He Who comes after me is greater than I, Whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie; He Himself will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” (Matthew 3:11) Thus he already knew this also. What, then, did he learn through the dove, lest he later be found a liar—far be it from us to suppose this of him—except that Christ would have such a unique prerogative that, although many ministers, whether righteous or unrighteous, would baptize, the holiness of Baptism would be attributed to none but Him upon Whom the dove descended, of Whom it was said, “This is He Who baptizes in the Holy Spirit”? (John 1:33) Let Peter baptize: this is He Who baptizes. Let Paul baptize: this is He Who baptizes. Let Judas baptize: this is He Who baptizes. For if holy Baptism is so because of the differing merits of those who administer it, then, because their merits differ, the baptisms will differ; and each person will be thought to receive something better in proportion as he appears to have received it from a better man. The saints themselves—understand, brethren—the good who belong to the dove, who belong to the inheritance of that city, Jerusalem, the good within the Church, of whom the Apostle says, “The Lord knows those who are His” (2 Timothy 2:19)—have differing graces; not all have equal merits. Some are holier than others; some are better than others. Why then, if one man is baptized by, for example, a righteous and holy man, and another by a man of lower merit before God, of lower rank, of lesser continence, and of an inferior life, is that which they receive nevertheless one, alike, and equal, unless because this is He Who baptizes? Therefore, when a good and better man baptizes, it is not the case that one has received something good and another something better; rather, although the ministers were good and better, what they received is one and equal: it is not better in the one and inferior in the other. So also, when an evil man baptizes, whether through some ignorance of the Church or through her forbearance—for evil men are either unknown or tolerated; the chaff is tolerated until the threshing floor is winnowed at the end—that which is given is one, not unequal because the ministers are unequal, but alike and equal because, “This is He Who baptizes.” (John 1:33) Therefore, beloved, let us see what they are unwilling to see—not because they do not see it, but because they are grieved to see it, as though it were closed against them. Into whose name were the disciples sent, that they might baptize as ministers? Into whose name were they sent? “Go,” He said, “baptize the nations.” You have heard, brethren, how that inheritance came about: “Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession.” (Psalm 2:8) You have heard how “the law went forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 2:3) For there the disciples heard: “Go, baptize the nations in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19) We became attentive when we heard, “Go, baptize the nations.” In whose name? “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” This is one God, because He did not say, “in the names of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” but, “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Where you hear one name, there is one God. Thus it was said concerning the seed of Abraham, and the Apostle Paul explains it: “In your seed all nations shall be blessed.” He did not say, “And in seeds,” as though of many, but as of one: “And in your seed,” which is Christ. (Genesis 22:18; Galatians 3:16) Therefore, just as the Apostle wished to teach you that Christ is one because there it does not say, “in seeds,” but “in seed,” so here also, when it is said, “in the name,” not “in the names”—just as there, “in seed,” not “in seeds”—it is proved that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one God. — Augustine, Tractate 6 on John, chapter 5-9, Migne PL 35.1427-29

It may perhaps surprise you why it is said, that “Jesus baptized more than John;” and after this was said, it is subjoined, “although Jesus baptized not, but His disciples.” What then? Was the statement made false, and then corrected by this addition? Or, are both true, that is, that Jesus both did and also did not baptize? He did in fact baptize, because it was He that cleansed; and He did not baptize, because it was not He that touched. The disciples supplied the ministry of the body; He afforded the aid of His majesty. Now, when could He cease from baptizing, so long as He ceased not from cleansing? Of Him it is said by the same John, in the person of the Baptist, who says, “This is He that baptizes.” Jesus, therefore, is still baptizing; and so long as we continue to be baptized, Jesus baptizes. Let a man come without fear to the minister below; for he has a Master above. — Augustine, Tractate 15 on John, chapter 3

Possibly some thinking people might be disturbed by what they are accustomed to say regarding baptism, that is, that it is the true baptism of Christ only when it is administered by a righteous man, were it not that on this subject the Christian world holds what is most manifestly evangelical truth as taught in the words of John: “He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said to me, Upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizes with the Holy Ghost.” John 1:33 Wherefore the Church calmly declines to place her hope in man, lest she fall under the curse pronounced in Scripture, “Cursed be the man that trusts in man,”Jeremiah 17:5 but places her hope in Christ, who so took upon Him the form of a servant as not to lose the form of God, of whom it is said, “The same is He which baptizes.” Therefore, whoever the man be, and whatever office he bear who administers the ordinance, it is not he who baptizes, — that is the work of Him upon whom the dove descended. So great is the absurdity in which the Donatists are involved in consequence of these foolish opinions, that they can find no escape from it. For when they admit the validity and reality of baptism when one of their sect baptizes who is a guilty man, but whose guilt is concealed, we ask them, Who baptizes in this case? And they can only answer, God; for they cannot affirm that a man guilty of sin (say of adultery) can sanctify any one. If, then, when baptism is administered by a man known to be righteous, he sanctifies the person baptized; but when it is administered by a wicked man, whose wickedness is hidden, it is not he, but God, who sanctifies. Those who are baptized ought to wish to be baptized rather by men who are secretly bad than by men manifestly good, for God sanctifies much more effectually than any righteous man can do. If it be palpably absurd that one about to be baptized ought to wish to be baptized by a hypocritical adulterer rather than by a man of known chastity, it follows plainly, that whoever be the minister that dispenses the rite, the baptism is valid, because He Himself baptizes upon whom the dove descended. — Augustine, Letter 89, To Januarius

And note that He washed the filth of the daughters of Zion by the spirit of judgment, but the blood of Jerusalem by the spirit of burning (Isaiah 4:4). For that which is light is washed; that which is heavier is burned away. Concerning this spirit of judgment and spirit of burning, John the Baptist spoke in the Gospel: “I baptize you in water, but He who comes after me, He shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit and in fire” (Matthew 3:11). From this we learn that man provides only the water: but God provides the Holy Spirit, by Whom both filth is washed away and the sins of blood are purged. – Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah 4:4

That this is so our profession of faith testifies; indeed faith is not professed in a created nature but in a Divine and uncreated nature; nor did our blessed Fathers discover and write a new doctrine from their own head but they clearly followed the teaching of our Lord who taught His disciples, saying: “Go ye and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” …  It is in this name that we are baptised and expect that the communion of the ineffable Divine benefits will accrue to us through baptism. We would not have named at baptism a being that was not the cause of the benefits that we are expecting to possess. We name (Him) because we know that He has the power to grant us the heavenly and imperishable benefits in the hope of which we receive the gift of baptism. In the same way as (the Book) said: “In the name of Jesus of Nazareth rise up and walk” and showed that it was Christ who was the cause of the cure of the lame man, in this same way where it ordered: “Baptise in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost” it clearly showed that these names which are pronounced at baptism are the cause of all the benefits which we are expecting to possess. It is not to no purpose that it says: “in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost,” but in order that from their names we may derive our hope of enjoying the future good things. – Theodore of Mopsuestia, Commentary on the Nicene Creed, chapter 9

The priest places his hand on your head and says: “So-and-so is baptised in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” and does not say “I baptise (So-and-so),” but “So-and-so is baptised”—in the same way as he had previously said “So-and-so is signed” and not “I sign So-and-so”—in order to show that as a man like the rest of men he is not able to bestow such benefits, which only Divine grace can bestow. This is the reason why he rightly does not say “I baptise” and “I sign” but “So-and-so is signed and baptised.” In this he immediately refers to the One by whom a person is signed and baptised, namely “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” and shows that these are the cause of the things that happen to him, and demonstrates that he himself is a subordinate and a servant of the things that take place, and a revealer of the cause which gives effect to them. When, therefore, (the priest) utters the words: “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” he reveals to you the cause of the things that take place. Inasmuch as the one who said: “In the name of Jesus of Nazareth rise up and walk,” alluded to Christ as the cause of what would take place, and to the fact that it would be He who would give (to the lame man) the power of rising up and walking, so also the (priest) who says: “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” refers to them as the cause of the benefits conferred upon us in baptism, and implies that it is by them that our renewal is accomplished, by them the second birth is granted to us, by them we are fashioned into immortal, incorruptible, impassible and immutable men, and by them we cast away the old servitude and receive the freedom which involves complete abolition of tribulations, and delight in the eternal and ineffable benefits. He says “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” as if he were saying “in the invocation of…the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”…. Here also (the priest) says: “in the name” of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit as if he were saying: we are baptised by the call upon the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. It is upon this nature that we call for the gifts of the benefits which we are expecting, as it is the cause of everything, and it alone is able to do everything as it wishes….The sentence: “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” reveals the giver of the benefits of baptism, which are: second birth, renewal, immortality, incorruptibility, impassibility, immutability, deliverance from death and servitude and all evils, happiness of freedom, and participation in the ineffable good things which we are expecting. The person who is baptised is baptised for these things. The call upon the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is, therefore, used for the purpose of knowing from whom the benefits of baptism are expected. — Theodore of Mopsuestia (Homily on Baptism, chapter 4)

In a clear voice, the priest proclaims what the power does, both how a human being dies in the water and in turn how a human being comes to life in the water. He provides a complete clarification, showing to the one being baptized precisely in whose name he dies and quickly comes to life. He brings to mind the name of the divine essence and says three times: “Father and Son and Holy Spirit,” one equality. He repeats the names in a clear voice, saying thus: “So-and-so is baptized in the name of the Father and Son and Spirit.” Note that he does not say, “I myself am baptizing,” but rather, “so-and-so is baptized,” because he is not baptizing. Instead, it is the power deposited by the names that does the baptizing. It is the names that grant forgiveness for sin, not the human being. It is they who cast new life into mortal nature. When these names are pronounced, the one who is baptized is put under as if in a tomb; then they call and cause him to rise up from his mortal nature. Three times the priest lowers the head of the one being baptized at the mention of each of their names, so that we learn that even as they are one, they are three. Symbolizing our redeemer, the one being baptized remains in the womb of the baptism, much like the three days spent inside the tomb; our savior remained three days among the dead, so too does the baptized (the three times his head is lowered are the three days). He truly dies, symbolizing the death of that one who caused all to live, and truly comes to life with life without end. He sends away sin and death, casting them off in baptism, just like the garments that our Lord left behind in the tomb when he went out (John 20:6–7). — Narsai, On the Symbols of the Church and on Baptism (The Cambridge Edition of EARLY CHRISTIAN WRITINGS, Volume 2, page 312­)

And again the Evangelist says: “From His fulness we have all received” (John 1:16). Thus He in whom the fulness of divinity existed did not lack for anything so as to require completion by the mysteries of the sacraments, but He willed to go through the mystery not that He Himself might attain perfection but that the fulness of the mystery might profit us. For this reason, when John the Baptist resists Him and says: “I ought to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” (Matthew 3:14), the Lord tells him: “Let it be so for now, for thus it behooves us to fulfil all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). To fulfil, he says, all righteousness. When the Lord is baptized, then, righteousness does not justify Christ, but righteousness is itself made holy by Christ, and unfulfilled virtue is fulfilled by Him in whom is the fulness of virtues. Therefore John says: “I ought to be baptized by you” (Matthew 3:14). He bears witness to the Lord’s not having been baptized for His own sake because John demands that he be baptized before the Lord is baptized by him. In saying this he shows that there is a greater grace in the mystery of the Lord than there is in the master of the mystery. For how would he have been able to bestow consecration on Him from whom he himself desired to receive sanctification? The master of the mystery was inferior in his merits to the disciple in His holiness. For in comparison to Christ the master is inexpert, righteousness unfulfilled, and the water sullied. But when the Lord is baptized, by His blessing the master is perfected, righteousness is fulfilled, and the water is purged. – Maximus of Turin, Sermon 13b: A Sequel

In a clear voice, the priest proclaims what the power does, both how a human being dies in the water and in turn how a human being comes to life in the water. He provides a complete clarification, showing to the one being baptized precisely in whose name he dies and quickly comes to life. He brings to mind the name of the divine essence and says three times: “Father and Son and Holy Spirit,” one equality. He repeats the names in a clear voice, saying thus: “So-and-so is baptized in the name of the Father and Son and Spirit.” Note that he does not say, “I myself am baptizing,” but rather, “so-and-so is baptized,” because he is not baptizing. Instead, it is the power deposited by the names that does the baptizing. It is the names that grant forgiveness for sin, not the human being. It is they who cast new life into mortal nature. When these names are pronounced, the one who is baptized is put under as if in a tomb; then they call and cause him to rise up from his mortal nature. Three times the priest lowers the head of the one being baptized at the mention of each of their names, so that we learn that even as they are one, they are three. Symbolizing our redeemer, the one being baptized remains in the womb of the baptism, much like the three days spent inside the tomb; our savior remained three days among the dead, so too does the baptized (the three times his head is lowered are the three days). He truly dies, symbolizing the death of that one who caused all to live, and truly comes to life with life without end. He sends away sin and death, casting them off in baptism, just like the garments that our Lord left behind in the tomb when he went out (John 20:6–7). — Narsai, On the Symbols of the Church and on Baptism (The Cambridge Edition of EARLY CHRISTIAN WRITINGS, Volume 2, page 312­)

“Since, as you wrote, he was scandalized in the life of the presbyter Zosimus, thinking that those baptized by him were thereby harmed in the essential and most necessary things, I considered it just to reply quickly that the one receiving baptism is in no way harmed in the salvific symbols, even if the priest’s life is not perfect. Rather, the baptized person will fully enjoy those divine and greater blessings; the priest, however, will render an account of his own life in a more exacting way, and so a punishment will accrue to him corresponding to the honor he had received. For even one who has not been honored in the priesthood, yet becomes good, would rightly be worthy of a greater punishment. Therefore let no one among the initiated imagine that the divine rite, which opens the heavens to the initiated, is somehow impeded by this. Even if the priest stumbles in life, let him not suppose that the baptized suffers harm in the matters of salvation, nor should he think that the priest’s life provides a favorable defense for him should he stumble. I say these things not as if all priests were of this sort—far from it! (For even if some have these faults, others do not; and if some have virtues, not all are virtuous.) But I wish to show that even if all were such, the one being enlightened suffers no harm. And if you think these matters are the reasoning of men, I will attempt to persuade you from divine words. What became of Balaam was more corrupt? Yet God made use of his tongue for blessings. What of Caiaphas? Still, he prophesied, though the grace touched his tongue and not his mind. And if you wish to learn something even more extraordinary: through a raven, an unclean bird, God nourished Elijah, the sky-runner. Therefore do not doubt that through certain sinful priests (for not all should be condemned, nor would that be just) divine and extraordinary gifts are still given.” — Isidore of Pelusium, Book 2 of the Epistle’s, Epistle 37, To Hermes Comitis – 5th century- PG 78:480-481

But, if you please, *let us learn from the Apostle the virtue of these children*: “see the divine ways and the sudden change that (occurs) in those who at the same time were conceived, developed in the womb, and were brought into the world. What does he say then? “We too, indeed, were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, enslaved to all kinds of desires and pleasures, living in wickedness and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and love (φιλανθρωπία) of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy, through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:3-7). Do you understand: “The washing of rebirth”? Do you understand: “The renewal of the Spirit”? You have their meaning in the very words. Indeed, after washing and cleaning, the mother gave birth; she did not only wash but also gave birth. For the purpose of the washing is to cleanse the filth of wickedness, and (that) of birth is to imprint, mark, and set the characters (εικων) of grace as natural properties in those who have come into the world. This is why, to also show this, we find that those who from the very beginning were made perfect by the Apostles through divine baptism, at the very moment they came out of the water, spoke in tongues and prophesied, and they displayed the marks of their maternal birth and shone everywhere. Then, indeed, it was still the time of signs, so that the preaching of the Gospel (Εὐαγγέλιον) might spread, grow, and encompass all nations that, inclined toward ancestral idolatry, were difficult to save and remained unshaken, to speak more truly; but it is from such stones that signs and wonders have wonderfully raised children for Abraham. For the signs and gifts from the Holy Spirit occur for a need and not for a (mere) display, because even now the same grace remains whole, without diminution or any change; and, if the occasion demanded it, those who were baptized would necessarily still perform signs and miracles, once they are clothed with Christ and possess his Spirit who does and speaks all things; as the Preacher says, indeed, “all things have their time;” (Ecclesiastes 3:1) for it is neither Paul nor Apollos who baptizes, but God himself. – Severus of Antioch, The Cathedral Homilies of St Severus of Antioch, Homily 88

Adopted as God’s Child in Baptism:

Church Fathers:

But when you have been regenerated by water, show by good works the likeness in you of that Father who has begotten you. Now you know God, honour Him as a father; and His honour is, that you live according to His will. And His will is, that you so live as to know nothing of murder or adultery, to flee from hatred and covetousness, to put away anger, pride, and boasting, to abhor envy, and to count all such things entirely unsuitable to you. There is truly a certain peculiar observance of our religion, which is not so much imposed upon men, as it is sought out by every worshipper of God by reason of its purity. — Peter, Recognitions of Clement, Book 6, chapter 10

And if He was perfect, why was He, the perfect one, baptized? It was necessary, they say, to fulfil the profession that pertained to humanity. Most excellent. Well, I assert, simultaneously with His baptism by John, He becomes perfect? Manifestly. He did not then learn anything more from him? Certainly not. But He is perfected by the washing — of baptism— alone, and is sanctified by the descent of the Spirit? Such is the case. The same also takes place in our case, whose exemplar Christ became. Being baptized, we are illuminated; illuminated, we become sons; being made sons, we are made perfect; being made perfect, we are made immortal. I, says He, have said that you are gods, and all sons of the Highest. This work is variously called grace, and illumination, and perfection, and washing: washing, by which we cleanse away our sins; grace, by which the penalties accruing to transgressions are remitted; and illumination, by which that holy light of salvation is beheld, that is, by which we see God clearly…Further release from evils is the beginning of salvation…And he who is only regenerated — as the name necessarily indicates — and is enlightened, is delivered immediately from darkness, and on the instant receives the light. – Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor 1.6

Accordingly, they confess that the spirit in repentance retraces its steps. In the same way, therefore, we also, repenting of our sins, renouncing our iniquities, purified by baptism, speed back to the eternal light, children to the Father. Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor 1.6

Truly, then, are we the children of God, who have put aside the old man, and stripped off the garment of wickedness, and put on the immortality of Christ; that we may become a new, holy people by regeneration, and may keep the man undefiled. And a babe, as God’s little one, is cleansed from fornication and wickedness. – Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor 1.6

Moreover, “the priest sprinkles some of the oil before the Lord seven times.”(Lev. 14:16) For after all these rites which were celebrated for purification, after he was converted and reconciled to God, after the sacrifices of offerings, the order was that he call the sevenfold virtue of the Holy Spirit upon him, as he said, “Return to me the joy of your salvation and strengthen me with a princely spirit.” Or at least since the Lord in the gospel testifies that the hearts of sinners are besieged by “seven demons,” “the priest” appropriately “sprinkles seven times before the Lord” in purification that the expulsion “of the seven evil spirits” from the heart of the person purified may be shown by “the oil shaken seven times from the fingers.” Thus therefore, to those converted from sin, purification is indeed given through all this which we said above, but the gift of the grace of the Spirit is designated through the image of “oil” that this one who is converted from sin, not only can attain cleansing but also be filled with the Holy Spirit by whom he can receive the best “robe and ring” and, having been reconciled with the Father, can be restored to the place of a son, through our Lord Jesus Christ himself. Origen, Homilies on Leviticus 8.11.14, 8.11.15

For he will say that he ought to become less a “son of Gehenna,” perhaps by half, in relation to him who made him a proselyte. Or, if someone concedes that a disciple should be “as his teacher,” the disciple ought to become a son of Gehenna equal to his teacher. I think, therefore, that every person who is made a proselyte of the Jews from the Gentile way of life was a “son of Gehenna” even before he was made a proselyte, for a life subjected to idolatry is sufficient to make a person a “son of Gehenna.” The word of our Lord Jesus Christ, therefore, saves such a “son of Gehenna” and frees him by the laver of baptism, giving him the power to become a son of God and showing him the way that he might be made a son of God the Father who is in heaven. – The Commentary of Origen on the Gospel of Matthew, Volume 2, Series 16

But if the baptism of heretics can have the regeneration of the second birth, those who are baptized among them must be counted not heretics, but children of God. For the second birth, which occurs in baptism, begets sons of God. – Cyprian, Epistle 74.14

“After this manner,” says He, “pray: Our Father, which art in heaven.” The new man, born again and restored to his God by His grace, “says Father,” in the first place because he has now begun to be a son. “He came,” He says, “to His own, “and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe in His name.” John 1:11 The man, therefore, who has believed in His name, and has become God’s son, ought from this point to begin both to give thanks and to profess himself God’s son, by declaring that God is his Father in heaven; and also to bear witness, among the very first words of his new birth, that he has renounced an earthly and carnal father, and that he has begun to know as well as to have as a father Him only who is in heaven, as it is written: They who say unto their father and their mother, I have not known you, and who have not acknowledged their own children these have observed Your precepts and have kept Your covenant. – Cyprian, Treatise 4.9

And we must not only notice and understand, dearest brothers, that we call Him “Father who is in heaven” — we also join to it the words Our Father — that is, the Father of those who believe, of those who, sanctified through Him and reborn by the birth of spiritual grace, have begun to be children of God. — Cyprian, Treatise 4.10,

For the person who received authority to become a child of God (Jn 1.12), becomes a child when he is begotten anew through baptism, [and] he who was something else before becoming a child, is ennobled [thereby]. – Eusebius, Commentary on Psalm 2, fragment 8

It appropriately says “Who were born not from blood,” meaning from women, to whom that which is natural for them comes every month, “nor from the will of the flesh,” meaning conception in the womb, “nor from the will of a man,” meaning that insemination through which conception is performed at the appropriate time. The spiritual birth through which we are reborn to God through baptism therefore lacks these events and activities. For the Church, which long before was barren, has been made fertile: it bears children without blood, without male desire, who are found to have been made children of God through the baptismal font. And it appropriately says: “Who were born not from blood, nor from the will of the flesh, nor from the will of a man but from God” (Jn. 1:13): plainly we are reborn to God through the baptismal font of rebirth. More about this birth is given in response to the questioning of Nicodemus: “Amen I say to you, unless someone is reborn anew they cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said: “How can a human be reborn anew…?” Jesus replied to him: “Amen, amen I say to you, unless someone is reborn from water and spirit, they cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (Jn. 3:3–5). And it says those who are reborn from water and spirit, meaning that they were born from God. This, then, is the spiritual generation by which the people of God is spiritually born to God every day, just as the same John says in his letter: “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born from God” (1 Jn. 5:1). For we are born to God through faith. — Fortunatianus of Aquileia, Commentary on the Gospels, J. VII (360 AD)

For the Father being Very God begot the Son like Himself, Very God ; not as teachers beget disciples, not as Paul says to some, “For in Christ Jesus I begot you through the Gospel.” 1 Corinthians 4:15 For in this case he who was not a son by nature became a son by discipleship, but in the former case He was a Son by nature, a true Son. Not as you (catechumens), who are to be illuminated, are now becoming sons of God: for you also become sons, but by adoption of grace, as it is written, “But as many as received Him, to them gave He the right to become children of God, even to them that believe in His name: which were begotten not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12-13 And we indeed are begotten of water and of the Spirit, but not thus was Christ begotten of the Father. For at the time of His Baptism addressing Him, and saying, This is My Son Matthew 3:17, He did not say, This has now become My Son, but, This is My Son; that He might make manifest, that even before the operation of Baptism He was a Son. – Cyril of Jerusalem (Catechetical Lecture 11)

Paul was a persecutor, but after the grace bestowed on him an Apostle, bearing the weight of his fetters for Christ’s sake, as an act of amends and repentance for those unjust bonds which he once received from the Law, and bore for use against the Gospel. Such ought you to be in your regeneration: so ought you to blot out your habits that tend to sin; so ought the sons of God to have their conversation: for after the grace bestowed we are called His children.  – Gregory of Nyssa, On the Baptism of Christ

The Lord likewise has begotten us in baptism, and by His gifts has made us firstborn sons, because in baptism there are neither elder nor younger. Indeed, we are all firstborn through faith; and what Scripture says has come to pass perfectly in us: “Every firstborn male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord” (Exodus 13:2). While we were defiled and corroded with sins, baptism conceived us and brought us forth pure from iniquity. — Ephrem the Syrian, Commentary on Tatian’s Diatessaron (translated from Commentaire de l’Évangile concordant ou Diatessaron page 70)

It is a truth of course that the Savior did not need to be baptized, because he was not made, but was born Christ, as the angel told the shepherds: “Behold, today is to you a Savior, who is the Christ, the Lord.” (Luke 2:11) Also John the Baptist, who knew his holiness, refused to give him baptism; but the Savior insisted on receiving him, not to blot out his sins, but to accomplish all justice. It was fitting, in that person, that he who came to teach men that by baptism they would become children of God, set an example for the future children of God. It was fitting that he who promised that God would give the Holy Spirit to all who would believe, saw the Divine Spirit descending visibly upon him, to give the faithful the sure hope that they would receive the same Spirit, though from an invisible way. Indeed, the Savior who was born of the Holy Spirit, had a pure body of all sin. … What sovereign impropriety, in fact, that the Son of God was born in a body enslaved by sin? Since he came to take charge of the interests of men and teach them to become the children of God through the sacrament of regeneration, he himself had to receive baptism to confirm his doctrine by his example; for a master easily persuades the truth of his teachings when he puts them first into practice. — Ambrosiaster, Questions and Answers on the Old and New Testaments, Question 49

Moreover, the plan of the heavenly mystery is portrayed in him. After he was baptized, the entrance of heaven was opened, the Holy Spirit came forth and is visibly recognized in the form of a dove. In this way Christ is imbued by the anointing of the Father’s affection. Then a voice from heaven spoke the following words: “You are my Son, today I have begotten you” (Ps. 2:7; Lk. 3:22). He is revealed as the Son of God by sound and sight, as the testimony of his Lord by means of both an image and a voice; he is sent to an unfaithful people who were disobedient to their prophets. As these events happened with Christ, we should likewise know that following the waters of baptism, the Holy Spirit comes upon us from the gates of heaven, imbuing us with the anointing of heavenly glory. We become the sons of God by the adoption expressed through the Father’s voice. These actual events prefigured an image of the mysteries established for us. — Hilary of Poitiers, Commentary in Matthew 2.6

Or, that from these things thus fulfilled upon Christ, we might learn that after the washing of water the Holy Spirit also descends on us from the heavenly gates, on us also is shed an unction of heavenly glory, and an adoption to be the sons of God, pronounced by the Father’s voice. — Hilary of Poitiers (Thomas Aquinas, Catena Aurea on Matthew 3)

 Thus Christ begetteth in the Church by His Priests, as says the same Apostle, For in Christ Jesus have I begotten you. And so the seed of Christ, that is, the Spirit of God produces, by the hands of the Priests, the new man conceived in the womb of our Mother, and received at the birth of the font, faith presiding over the marriage rite. For neither will he seem to be engrafted into the Church, who hath not believed, nor he to be born again of Christ, who hath not himself received the Spirit. We must believe therefore that we can be born. For so saith Philip, If thou believest . . . thou mayest. Christ therefore must be received that He may beget, for thus saith the Apostle John, As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God. (John 1:12) But these things cannot otherwise be fulfilled except by the Sacrament of the Laver, and of the Chrism, and of the Bishop. — Pacian of Barcelona, A Discourse on Baptism to the Faithful and the Catechumens. 

For as He both died and rose again because we also were to do so, so also, because we were about to be typically transferred by baptism from this present life into the life to come, He took thought that this should first be fulfilled in Himself. And this baptism of adoption, being the first to receive it, He accepted as baptism of water and Spirit in an economy, showing it to be great and precious by first receiving it upon Himself truly. And He Himself lived the life beyond the Law of grace, which we also ought to live. It was therefore fitting that the Lord, humbling Himself as man, should be subjected to the prophet and baptizer as one of the people, in order that He might sanctify the waters and consecrate for us regeneration through the laver, and adoption, and forgiveness of sins, and all the other good things which He bestowed upon us from baptism, prefiguring them in Himself, though He, as God, needed none of them and is the one who takes away the sin of the world. — Theodore of Heraclea, Fragmenta in Matthaeum

Why then did he say not that “He made them sons of God,” but that “He gave them power to become sons of God?” John 1:12 To show that we need much zeal to keep the image of sonship impressed on us at Baptism, all through without spot or soil ; and at the same time to show that no one shall be able to take this power from us, unless we are the first to deprive ourselves of it. For if among men, those who have received the absolute control of any matters have nearly as much power as those who gave them the charge; much more shall we, who have obtained such honor from God, be, if we do nothing unworthy of this power, stronger than all; because He who put this honor in our hands is greater and better than all. At the same time too he wishes to show, that not even does grace come upon man irrespectively, but upon those who desire and take pains for it. For it lies in the power of these to become (His) children since if they do not themselves first make the choice, the gift does not come upon them, nor have any effect. Having therefore everywhere excluded compulsion and pointing to (man’s) voluntary choice and free power, he has said the same now. For even in these mystical blessings, it is, on the one hand, God’s part, to give the grace, on the other, man’s to supply faith; and in after time there needs for what remains much earnestness. In order to preserve our purity, it is not sufficient for us merely to have been baptized and to have believed, but we must if we will continually enjoy this brightness, display a life worthy of it. This then is God’s work in us. To have been born the mystical Birth, and to have been cleansed from all our former sins, comes from Baptism; but to remain for the future pure, never again after this to admit any stain belongs to our own power and diligence. – John Chrysostom, Homily 10 on John

That you may also learn from this that the substance of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, baptism is conferred in the following manner. When the priest says: “So-and-so is baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” he puts your head down into the water three times and three times he lifts it up again, preparing you by this mystic rite to receive the descent of the Spirit. For it is not only the priest who touches the head, but also the right hand of Christ, and this is shown by the very words of the one baptizing. He does not say: “I baptize so-and-so,” but: “So-and-so is baptized,” showing that he is only the minister of grace and merely offers his hand because he has been ordained to this end by the Spirit. The one fulfilling all things is the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the undivided Trinity. It is faith in this Trinity which gives the grace of remission from sin; it is this confession which gives to us the gift of filial adoption. 27. What follows suffices to show us from what those who have been judged worthy of this mystic rite have been set free, and what they have gained. As soon as they come forth from those sacred waters, all who are present embrace them, greet them, kiss them, rejoice with them, and congratulate them, because those who were heretofore slaves and captives have suddenly become free men and sons and have been invited to the royal table. For straightway after they come up from the waters, they are led to the awesome table heavy laden with countless favors, where they taste of the Master’s body and blood, and become a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit. Since they have put on Christ Himself, wherever they go they are like angels on earth, rivaling the brilliance of the rays of the sun. – John Chrysostom, Baptismal Instructions 2.26-27

Therefore, it was fitting for the Lord, humbling Himself as a man, as one from among the people, to submit Himself to the prophet and baptizer, so that He might sanctify the waters and grant to us, through the washing of regeneration, adoption, forgiveness of sins, and all the other good things He bestowed through our baptism—prefiguring them in Himself, though He had no need of them, being God and the One “who takes away the sin of the world.” — Theodore of Mopsuestia (Fragments on Matthew, in catena)

Blessed Paul said: “One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one body and one Spirit, one God and Father of all, and through all, and in you all.” He does not mean to say that one is Lord but not God and Spirit, and that another is God but not Lord and Spirit, and that the third is Spirit but not Lord and God, because it is necessary for anyone who is Lord to be also both God and Spirit, and for anyone who is God to be both Lord and Spirit, and for anyone who is truly Spirit—I mean the Holy Spirit—to be both God and Lord, but he teaches us that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one incorporeal and uncircumscribed Lordship, one Godhead and one essence, which grants us through baptism the adoption of children. In it we believe and are baptised and through it we become one body, according to the working on us of the Holy Spirit, in baptism, which makes us children of God and one body of Christ our Lord, whom we consider our head, as He is from our nature, and was the first to rise from the dead, and as it is through Him that we received participation in benefits. By naming the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit we name the cause of all benefits. — Theodore of Mopsuestia (Homily on Baptism, chapter 4)

(The baptism of our Lord) was in fact symbolically drawn to the pattern of ours. In it the Father cried and said: “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” In this He showed the grace of the adoption of children for which baptism takes place. — Theodore of Mopsuestia (Homily on Baptism, chapter 4)

You receive, therefore, the grace of the adoption of children in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and you go out of the water. You have now received baptism which is the second birth; you have fulfilled by your baptism in water the rite of the burial, and you have received the sign of the resurrection by your rising out of the water; you have been born and have become a new man. — Theodore of Mopsuestia (Homily on Baptism, chapter 4)

…When the soul has been clothed with the Son of God, it becomes worthy of the final and perfect stage and is baptized in the name of the Father himself of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to the testimony of John, “gave the power to be made the sons of God.” – Basil of Caesarea, (Concerning Baptism Book 1, chapter 2 – Fathers of the Church volume 9)

Whoever, therefore, is worthy to be baptized in the Name of the Holy Spirit and who has been born anew undergoes a change of abode, habits, and associates, so that, walking by the Spirit we may merit to be baptized in the Name of the Son and to put on Christ. For one who has been born should be deemed worthy of clothing, as the Apostle said: “For as many of you as have been baptized in Christ have put on Christ,” and again: “Stripping yourselves of the old man with his deeds, and putting on the new, him who is renewed unto knowledge, according to the image of him that created him, where there is neither Gentile nor Jew.” Then, having put on the Son of God who gives us power to become children of God, we are baptized in the Name of the Father and are called sons of God who commanded and declared, as the Prophet has said: “Therefore, go out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not an unclean thing: and I will receive you; and I will be a Father to you and you shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord almighty.” And the Apostle says: “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of the flesh and of the spirit, perfecting sanctification in the fear of God.” Again, he exhorts us in the words: “Do ye all things without murmurings and hesitations, that you may be blameless and sincere children of God, without reproof in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation; among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life to my glory in the day of Christ”; and yet again: “Therefore, if you be risen with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God; mind the things that are above, not the things that are upon the earth. For you are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ shall appear, who is our life, then you also shall appear with him in glory.” And this was promised by the Lord Himself when He said: “Then shall the just shine as the sun.” — Basil of Caesarea (Concerning Baptism Book 1, chapter 2 – Fathers of the Church volume 9)

John preached a baptism of penance, and all Judea went forth to him: the Lord proclaims a baptism whereby we are adopted as children; and which of those who hope in Him, will refuse to obey his call? That baptism was introductory: this is perfective: that separated from sin: this unites with God. — Basil of Caesarea (Exhortation to Baptism) 

Baptism is the ransom of captives, the remission of debts, the death of sin, the regeneration of the soul, the robe of light, the seal which cannot be broken, the chariot to heaven, the means to attain the kingdom, the gift of adoption. Do you think that pleasure is preferable to these and such like blessings? — Basil of Caesarea (Exhortation to Baptism)

For two kinds of birth come to men: one from our own body, and the other from the divine Spirit. Concerning these things, doctrinal men have written fittingly; and I shall transcribe both the name of each and the passage itself. John (says): “But as many as received Him, to them He gave authority to become children of God, to those who believe in His name—who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” He says: “As many as believed in Christ received authority to become children of God”—that is, of the Holy Spirit—and to acquire kinship with God, a kinship to which even the angels were not deemed worthy. For in showing that the one who gives birth, God, is the Holy Spirit, He added from Christ: “Truly, truly I say to you: unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The Spirit blows where it wills, and you hear its sound, but you do not know from where it comes or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” By saying, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God,” and, “You must be born again,” he indicated that even if they believe and are baptized 39.672 into the name of the Father and the Son, and perhaps not equally into the same divinity of the Holy Spirit, since they do not have the perfect [faith] and receive the three immersions in vain, by changing after baptism in the doxology the co-equality of the Trinity and transgressing their own confessions, they cannot be deemed worthy of the kingdom of heaven; but as transgressors of their own confession they hear, from the saints, the things prophesied in the 80th Psalm: “The enemies of the Lord have lied to Him”; and from the Son, as it is in the 17th Psalm: “Alien children have lied to me.” — Didymus the Blind (On the Trinity, Book 2, chapter 12 – PG 39.669, 672)

For, as not only most true reason but also the authority of the apostle himself declares, man was not made in the image of God according to the shape of his body, but according to his rational mind. For the thought is a debased and empty one, which holds God to be circumscribed and limited by the lineaments of bodily members. But further, does not the same blessed apostle say, Be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, which is created after God; and in another place more clearly, Putting off the old man, he says, with his deeds; put on the new man, which is renewed to the knowledge of God after the image of Him that created him? If, then, we are renewed in the spirit of our mind, and he is the new man who is renewed to the knowledge of God after the image of Him that created him; no one can doubt, that man was made after the image of Him that created him, not according to the body, nor indiscriminately according to any part of the mind, but according to the rational mind, wherein the knowledge of God can exist. And it is according to this renewal, also, that we are made sons of God by the baptism of Christ; and putting on the new man, certainly put on Christ through faith. — Augustine, On the Trinity 12.7

And hence in the passage, Whosoever is born of God does not sin, and he cannot sin, for His seed remains in him, 1 John 3:9 and in every other passage of like import, they much deceive themselves by an inadequate consideration of the Scriptures. For they fail to observe that men severally become sons of God when they begin to live in newness of spirit, and to be renewed as to the inner man after the image of Him that created them. For it is not from the moment of a man’s baptism that all his old infirmity is destroyed, but renovation begins with the remission of all his sins, and so far as he who is now wise is spiritually wise. — Augustine, (On Merit and the Forgiveness of Sins 2.9)

For these sufferings they merited by the sentence of God, when they were convicted of sin; and we see them fulfilled not only in them, but also in their descendants, in some more, in others less, but nevertheless in all. Whereas, however, the primeval righteousness of the first human beings consisted in obeying God, and not having in their members the law of their own concupiscence against the law of their mind; now, since their sin, in our sinful flesh which is born of them, it is obtained by those who obey God, as a great acquisition, that they do not obey the desires of this evil concupiscence, but crucify in themselves the flesh with its affections and lusts, in order that they may be Jesus Christ’s, who on His cross symbolized this, and who gave them power through His grace to become the sons of God. For it is not to all men, but to as many as have received Him, that He has given to be born again to God of the Spirit, after they were born to the world by the flesh. Of these indeed it is written: But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God; which were born, not of the flesh, nor of blood, nor of the will of man, nor of the will of the flesh, but of God. John 1:12-13 — Augustine, (On Merit and the Forgiveness of Sins 2.37)

Therefore, the Lord, after being baptized in word, was made subject to the law; by John, he was baptized in water; by the Father, in the Spirit. Now he is led by the Spirit into the desert, to be baptized in the fire of temptation, and afterward he is to be baptized in death. Come now, let us see who are those baptized in fire, and when they are baptized in fire. But to know this, we must observe what is said: “Then he was led.” When? When the Father cried out from heaven: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” You see then that no one is baptized in the fire of temptation unless he has first been made a son of God. For as long as a man is a catechumen, he has not yet fully renounced the devil and all his works. But once baptized, he hands himself over to Christ, saying: “I renounce Satan and all his works.” So, while he is still a catechumen, as if still belonging to [Satan], the devil still spares him somewhat; but once he has become alien to him through baptism, Satan persecutes him with all his might. Baptism is the seal of faith. Is a soldier marked after serving in the army so that he may now rest? Rather, he is marked before military service so that afterward he may fight and labor. Just as an athlete is anointed with oil before the contest so he may wrestle, so also a man is anointed with the oil of chrism spiritually, so that he may wrestle like a spiritual athlete against the devil. – Homily 5 on Matthew, Anonymous. PG 56.661-62 (Opus imperfectum)

…But many, even though they have been baptized in water, are not baptized in the Spirit. For unless a man has first cast aside from himself every intention of sinning before the baptism of water, so that he may be worthy to receive the Holy Spirit into the temple of his heart, he is not baptized in the Spirit. For the Holy Spirit flees the hypocrite and does not dwell in a body subject to sins; and thus he is not made a son of God (Wisdom 1:4–5). And these are the ones who, when they are tempted, are overcome and perish: they seem, indeed, to have been made sons of God through the water of baptism; but in truth, they are not sons of God, because they have not been baptized in the Spirit. For although they have been baptized in body, in mind they are still catechumens: for water baptizes the body, but the Spirit baptizes the soul. Therefore, not only was Christ led into the desert by the Spirit, but all the sons of God who have the Holy Spirit are led by the Spirit into the desert, so that they too may be tempted by the devil. For those who have the Spirit of God are not content to sit idle, but the very Spirit who is in them urges them to undertake some great work, against which the devil, who is in the desert, sets himself. – Homily 5 on Matthew, Anonymous. PG 56.663-64 (Opus imperfectum)

A person is regenerated through baptism and made a child of God. — Incomplete Commentary on Matthew (Opus Imperfectum) Homily 1.

They who entered the water as carnal people, children of sinful Adam, at once ascend from the water, having been made spiritual children of God. And so that you should not say to me that many remain after their baptism the same sort of people they were before their baptism, namely, those who are not baptized in repentance or do not repent wholeheartedly that they were the sort of people they had been but are baptized while fully intending to hold on to sin, these people do not progress “immediately from the water.” Matthew 3:16 — Incomplete Commentary on Matthew (Opus Imperfectum) Homily 4.

But after His circumcision, the rite was done away by the introduction of that which had been signified by it, even baptism: for which reason we are no longer circumcised. For circumcision seems to me to have effected three several ends: in the first place, it separated the posterity of Abraham by a sort of sign and seal, and distinguished them from all other nations. In the second, it prefigured in itself the grace and efficacy of Divine baptism; for as in old time he that was circumcised was reckoned among the people of God by that seal, so also he that is baptized, having formed in himself Christ the seal, is enrolled into God’s adopted family. — Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Luke, Sermon 3

• This argument is the easiest and strongest to make: Everyone who entered God’s covenant in the Old Testament had to be circumcised, or else they were cut off and not counted among His people. Colossians 2:11–13 shows that baptism is the true circumcision, the fulfillment of that command. All the Fathers agree. The Old Covenant leaves no room for doubt: circumcision was required. By the same covenant logic, baptism is now required — the spiritual circumcision by which we are joined to Christ’s family. Therefore, just as no one could belong to God’s people without circumcision then, no one can belong to Christ without baptism now; it is the necessary seal of salvation, and babies need to be baptized to be part of the New Covenant. The main recipients for carnal circumcision were infants, why wouldnt it carry over to the new covenant?
• Genesis 17:14 LXX “And the uncircumcised male, who shall not be circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin on the eighth day, that soul shall be utterly destroyed from its family, for he has broken my covenant”
• Exodus 12:48–49 LXX “And if a proselyte shall come to you to keep the passover to the Lord, thou shalt circumcise every male of him, and then shall he approach to sacrifice it, and he shall be as the native of the land; and no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. There shall be one law for the native, and for the proselyte that comes among you.”

“Our Lord Jesus Christ calls the rebirth through the Spirit “from above,” [219] showing that the Spirit is of a substance that is higher than all and that through him we become partakers of the divine nature.1 This is based on Jesus’ understanding that as we enjoy the one who proceeds from the divine nature substantially, we are transformed through him and in him to the archetypal beauty, and in this way, we are reborn into newness of life and refashioned into divine sonship.” — Cyril of Alexandria (Commentary on John 3)

[1 Corinthians 10:1–5] In these things he wishes to instruct them through the example of the ancients concerning what is fitting, showing that they too were in a certain sense deemed worthy of the same things. For since the example is appropriately fitting, he justly exhorts them not to commit the same offenses, so that they might not suffer the same consequences. That they were under the cloud was a sign of the grace of the Spirit—for just as the cloud overshadowed them and delivered them from the harm of the Egyptians, so also grace delivers us from demonic evil. That they passed through the sea is similar to our experience: just as the sea became for them a passageway, completely freeing them from their enemies and granting them a firm freedom going forward, so baptism has become for us in relation to our own enemies. That they were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea signifies that just as they, having received these things, pledged to live according to the Mosaic laws, so also we, in baptism, receiving the Spirit of adoption, enter into a covenant and confession to henceforth live according to Christ’s commandments.  – Gennadius of Constantinople, Fragments on 1 Corinthians 

Therefore, three births are evident by which a person of God is born. The first birth is from the womb into creation. The second is from slavery to freedom, and from being human to becoming a son of God, which is what happens by means of grace through baptism… Philoxenos of Mabbug, Discourse 9, On Renunciation of the World, chapter 65

Spiritual Circumcision – Fulfillment of Old Testament Circumcision in Baptism:

Colossians 2:11-13 “In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses”

Church Fathers:

You have now need of a second circumcision, though you glory greatly in the flesh….- Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho chapter 12

By reason, therefore, of this laver of repentance and knowledge of God, which has been ordained on account of the transgression of God’s people, as Isaiah cries, we have believed, and testify that that very baptism which he announced is alone able to purify those who have repented; and this is the water of life. – Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho chapter 14

For since you have read, O Trypho, as you yourself admitted, the doctrines taught by our Saviour, I do not think that I have done foolishly in adding some short utterances of His to the prophetic statements. Wash therefore, and be now clean, and put away iniquity from your souls, as God bids you be washed in this laver, and be circumcised with the true circumcision. For we too would observe the fleshly circumcision, and the Sabbaths, and in short all the feasts, if we did not know for what reason they were enjoined you — namely, on account of your transgressions and the hardness of your hearts. For if we patiently endure all things contrived against us by wicked men and demons, so that even amid cruelties unutterable, death and torments, we pray for mercy to those who inflict such things upon us, and do not wish to give the least retort to any one, even as the new Lawgiver commanded us: how is it, Trypho, that we would not observe those rites which do not harm us— I speak of fleshly circumcision, and Sabbaths, and feasts? – Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho chapter 18

This circumcision is not, however, necessary for all men, but for you alone, in order that, as I have already said, you may suffer these things which you now justly suffer. Nor do we receive that useless baptism of cisterns, for it has nothing to do with this baptism of life. Wherefore also God has announced that you have forsaken Him, the living fountain, and dug for yourselves broken cisterns which can hold no water. Even you, who are the circumcised according to the flesh, have need of our circumcision; but we, having the latter, do not require the former. – Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho chapter 19

Now, sirs, it is possible for us to show how the eighth day possessed a certain mysterious import, which the seventh day did not possess, and which was promulgated by God through these rites. But lest I appear now to diverge to other subjects, understand what I say: the blood of that circumcision is obsolete, and we trust in the blood of salvation; there is now another covenant, and another law has gone forth from Zion. Jesus Christ circumcises all who will — as was declared above— with knives of stone; Joshua 5:2; Isaiah 26:2-3 that they may be a righteous nation, a people keeping faith, holding to the truth, and maintaining peace. – Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho chapter 24

Since I bring from the Scriptures and the facts themselves both the proofs and the inculcation of them, do not delay or hesitate to put faith in me, although I am an uncircumcised man; so short a time is left you in which to become proselytes. If Christ’s coming shall have anticipated you, in vain you will repent, in vain you will weep; for He will not hear you. ‘Break up your fallow ground,’ Jeremiah has cried to the people, ‘and sow not among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and circumcise the foreskin of your heart.’ Jeremiah 4:3 Do not sow, therefore, among thorns, and in untilled ground, whence you can have no fruit. Know Christ; and behold the fallow ground, good, good and fat, is in your hearts. ‘For, behold, the days come, says the Lord, that I will visit all them that are circumcised in their foreskins; Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the sons of Moab. For all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in their hearts.’ Do you see how that God does not mean this circumcision which is given for a sign? For it is of no use to the Egyptians, or the sons of Moab, or the sons of Edom. – Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho chapter 28

The command of circumcision, again, bidding [them] always circumcise the children on the eighth day, was a type of the true circumcision, by which we are circumcised from deceit and iniquity through Him who rose from the dead on the first day after the Sabbath, [namely through] our Lord Jesus Christ. – Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho chapter 41

As, then, circumcision began with Abraham, and the Sabbath and sacrifices and offerings and feasts with Moses, and it has been proved they were enjoined on account of the hardness of your people’s heart, so it was necessary, in accordance with the Father’s will, that they should have an end in Him who was born of a virgin, of the family of Abraham and tribe of Judah, and of David; in Christ the Son of God, who was proclaimed as about to come to all the world, to be the everlasting law and the everlasting covenant, even as the forementioned prophecies show. And we, who have approached God through Him, have received not carnal, but spiritual circumcision, which Enoch and those like him observed. And we have received it through baptism, since we were sinners, by God’s mercy; and all men may equally obtain it. – Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho chapter 43

Blessed therefore are we who have been circumcised the second time with knives of stone. For your first circumcision was and is performed by iron instruments, for you remain hard-hearted; but our circumcision, which is the second, having been instituted after yours, circumcises us from idolatry and from absolutely every kind of wickedness by sharp stones, i.e., by the words [preached] by the apostles of the corner-stone cut out without hands. And our hearts are thus circumcised from evil, so that we are happy to die for the name of the good Rock, which causes living water to burst forth for the hearts of those who by Him have loved the Father of all, and which gives those who are willing to drink of the water of life. – Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho chapter 114

That the first circumcision of the flesh is made void, and the second circumcision of the spirit is promised instead In Jeremiah: Thus says the Lord to the men of Judah, and to them who inhabit Jerusalem, Renew newness among you, and do not sow among thorns: circumcise yourselves to your God, and circumcise the foreskin of your heart; lest my anger go forth like fire, and burn you up, and there be none to extinguish it. Jeremiah 4:3-4 Also Moses says: In the last days God will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your seed, to love the Lord your God. Deuteronomy 30:6 Also in Jesus the son of Nave: And the Lord said to Jesus, Make you small knives of stone, very sharp, and set about to circumcise the children of Israel for the second time. Joshua 5:2 Paul also, to the Colossians: You are circumcised with the circumcision not made with hands in the putting off of the flesh, but with the circumcision of Christ. Colossians 2:11 Cyprian, Treatise 12.1.8

All persons, even if they come from the Law, even if they have learned through Moses, still have the reproach of Egypt in them, the reproach of sins. Who will be like Paul even according to the observance of the Law? Just hear him saying, “According to the righteousness based upon the Law, I lived without blame.” Phil. 3:6 Nevertheless, he himself publicly announces and says, “For we were even ourselves at some time foolish, unbelieving, wandering, enslaved to desires and various forms of pleasure, in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.” Tit. 3:3 Do these things not seem to you to be reproaches, even the reproaches of Egypt? But since Christ came and gave to us the second circumcision through “the baptism of regeneration” Titus 3:5 and purified our souls, we have cast away all these things and in exchange for them we have received the affirming of a good conscience toward God. At that time, through the second circumcision, the reproaches of Egypt were taken away from us, and the blemishes of sins were purified. No one, therefore, fears the reproaches of past transgressions, if he has been wholly converted and has repented from the heart, and, by faith, has parted the waters of the Jordan and been purified through the second circumcision of the gospel. You hear that, “Today, I have taken the reproach of Egypt away from you.” The Lord also signifies this in the Gospel when he says, “Your sins are forgiven you,” Mark 2:5 but “sin no longer, so nothing worse may happen to you.” John 5:14 For if, after the remission of sins, you no longer sin, truly the reproach of Egypt has been taken away from you. Origen, Homilies on Joshua 5.6

In like manner, [Jeremiah] thus prophesied concerning the abolition of circumcision: “Thus says the Lord to the men of Judah who dwell at Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord your God, and take away the foreskins of your heart, lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it.” Jeremiah 4:3-4 Also Moses himself says: “In the last days the Lord shall circumcise your heart to love the Lord your God” Deuteronomy 30:6 Also Jesus the son of Nun, his successor, said: “And the Lord said to Jesus, Make you knives of flint very sharp, and sit and circumcise the children of Israel the second time.” Joshua 5:2 He said that this second circumcision would be not of the flesh, as the first was, which the Jews practice even now, but of the heart and spirit, which was delivered by Christ, who was the true Jesus. For the prophet does not say, And the Lord said to me, but unto Jesus, that he might show that God was not speaking of him, but of Christ, to whom God was then speaking. For that Jesus represented Christ: for when he was at first called Auses, Moses, foreseeing the future, ordered that he should be called Jesus; that since he had been chosen as the leader of the warfare against Amalek, who was the enemy of the children of Israel, he might both subdue the adversary by the emblem of the name, and lead the people into the land of promise. And for this reason he was also successor to Moses, to show that the new law given by Christ Jesus was about to succeed to the old law which was given by Moses. For that circumcision of the flesh is plainly irrational; since, if God had so willed it, He might so have formed man from the beginning, that he should be without a foreskin. But it was a figure of this second circumcision, signifying that the breast is to be laid bare; that is, that we ought to live with an open and simple heart, since that part of the body which is circumcised has a kind of resemblance to the heart, and is to be treated with reverence. On this account God ordered that it should be laid bare, that by this argument He might admonish us not to have our breast hidden in obscurity; that is, not to veil any shameful deed within the secrets of conscience. This is the circumcision of the heart of which the prophets speak, which God transferred from the mortal flesh to the soul, which alone is about to endure. For being desirous of promoting our life and salvation in accordance with His own goodness, in that circumcision He has set before us repentance, that if we lay open our hearts —that is if we confess our sins and make satisfaction to God —we shall obtain pardon, which is denied to those who are obstinate and conceal their faults, by Him who regards not the outward appearance, as man does, but the innermost secrets of the heart. Lactantius, The Divine Institutes, Book 4, chapter 17

For our God is true and his covenants are very trustworthy. Every covenant was firm and trustworthy in its time. Those who are circumcised in their heart and those who will be circumcised a second time in the true Jordan, the baptism for the forgiveness of the sins, will live. Jesus, the son of Nun circumcised the people a second time with a sharp flint when he and his people crossed the Jordan (Jos. 5:2). Jesus, our Saviour circumcised the peoples who believed in him a second time with the circumcision of the heart; they were baptised and circumcised with the sword, “that is his word which is sharper than the two-edged sword” (Heb. 4:12). Jesus, the son of Nun caused the people to pass to the land of promise; Jesus our Saviour promised the land of Life to all who have passed through the true Jordan, believed and have circumcised the foreskin of his heart.…Blessed are those who are circumcised in the foreskin of the heart and who are born from water, the second circumcision; they are the inheritors with Abraham, the chief of the believer and the father of all peoples whose faith was counted for him for righteousness. — Aphrahat, Demonstration 11 On Circumcision, chapter 11-12.  [Valavanolickal, Kuriakose, Aphrahat: Demonstrations (Moran ’Etho 33 & 34, 2005)]

[Colossians 2:11] He circumcised us from the sin of the flesh through baptism, making us His own. Therefore, baptism in Christ is a spiritual circumcision, for it cuts away the sins of those who believe. [Colossians 2:12–13] Through baptism comes both the crossing over and the circumcision of sins. Buried with Him in baptism, you were also raised with Him. Those who are baptized in the blood of Christ confess their participation in His death through baptism; and having shared in His death, they will also partake in the resurrection. There are two kinds of resurrection: one spiritual, the other bodily. All human flesh will indeed rise because of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. But those who were not baptized into Christ and disbelieved Him will share in the general resurrection but not in redemption or the promise. Those who were baptized into Christ gained another resurrection even before the general one — for they have already been raised from the death of sin. That’s why it says, “in which you were also raised”, not “in which you will be raised.” So if they have been raised from the death of sin, how can they still live as if they were to die again? Was their resurrection in vain? If they are to live forever, then they must not live according to the flesh, serving its desires, but according to the Spirit. The “body of sin” refers to sinful deeds — for these are carried out through the body. Therefore, Christ’s circumcision is baptism, because it removes the body of sin — the “foreskin.” Just as physical foreskin is unnecessary for a Jew, so too is sin for the soul and body. In essence, “foreskin of the flesh” refers to sin. – Severian of Gabala, Commentary on Colossians, [Paulus kommentare aus der Griechischen Kirche aus Katenenhandschriften gesammelt und herausgegeben page 322-323]

When Christ is preached as having been crucified on the tree, and as having died and risen again, we believe it. By the likeness therefore of our faith we are adopted into the sonship of Abraham. And then, following upon our faith, we receive like him the spiritual seal, being circumcised by the Holy Spirit through Baptism, not in the foreskin of the body, but in the heart, according to Jeremiah, saying, “And you shall be circumcised unto God in the foreskin of your heart”: and according to the Apostle, “in the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism,” and the rest Colossians 2:11-12. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures, Lecture 5, chapter 6

The Jew does not delay circumcision, being mindful of the threat, that “every soul that,is not circumcised on the eighth day, shall be destroyed out of her people:” and you delay the circumcision—not that which is made by hands, in the stripping of the flesh, but that which is accomplished in baptism, while you hear the Lord Himself: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” And in that ceremony pain was endured, and an ulcer was caused: but in this the soul is refreshed with heavenly dew, and the ulcers of the heart are healed. Do you adore Him who died for you? Suffer then yourself to be buried with him by baptism. Unless you be planted together with him in the likeness of his death, how will you become partner in his resurrection? — Basil of Caesarea (Exhortation to Baptism)

“The Church was redeemed at the price of Christ’s blood. Jew or Greek, it makes no difference; but if he has believed, he must circumcise himself from his sins, so that he can be saved…. For no one ascends into the kingdom of heaven except through the sacrament of baptism…. ‘Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.’ No one is excepted: not the infant, not the one prevented by necessity.” – Ambrose, On Abraham, 2,11:79 / 2:169

For He commanded the holy Apostles: “Having gone, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them into the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Mt. 28:19). And we affirm that the spiritual circumcision takes place chiefly in the season of holy baptism, when also Christ makes us partakers of the Holy Ghost. And of this again, that Jesus who was captain after Moses was a type. For he first of all led the children of Israel across the Jordan, and then having halted them, immediately circumcised them with knives of stone (Josh. 5:2–9). So when we have crossed the Jordan, Christ circumcises us with the power of the Holy Ghost, not purifying the flesh, but rather cutting off the defilement that is in our souls. — Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Luke, Sermon 3

But after His circumcision, the rite was done away by the introduction of that which had been signified by it, even baptism: for which reason we are no longer circumcised. For circumcision seems to me to have effected three several ends: in the first place, it separated the posterity of Abraham by a sort of sign and seal, and distinguished them from all other nations. In the second, it prefigured in itself the grace and efficacy of Divine baptism; for as in old time he that was circumcised was reckoned among the people of God by that seal, so also he that is baptized, having formed in himself Christ the seal, is enrolled into God’s adopted family. — Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Luke, Sermon 3

Now, the place was called Gilgal, a name indicative of freedom. It was then that the God of the universe declared, “Today I have removed the disgrace of Egypt from you.” The term signifies their liberation from Egyptian slavery and idolatry and their reception of the promised land. As for us, we learn that whoever is accorded most holy baptism and receives the spiritual circumcision lays aside the disgrace of sin. — Theodoret of Cyrus, Questions on Joshua, Question 4

Temptations and Attacks after Baptism:

Those who are about to enter Baptism ought to pray often — with many prayers, with fasting, kneeling, and watchfulness — and confess all their past sins (Matthew 3:6), just as it is written about the baptism of John: “They were baptized by him, confessing their sins.” We ought to consider it a blessing if we do not have to confess our wickedness and shame publicly. For at the same time, through this struggle of flesh and spirit, we make satisfaction for our former sins and prepare defenses against future temptations. “Watch and pray, so that you do not fall into temptation” (Matthew 26:41). And so, I believe, they were tempted because they had fallen asleep — so that they abandoned the Lord when He was arrested, and even the one who had remained with Him and used the sword denied Him three times. For the saying had already gone before: “No one will enter the kingdom of heaven without being tested.” Even the Lord Himself, after baptism, was immediately surrounded by temptations, having completed forty days of fasting (Matthew 4:1–2). “Then,” someone might say, “should we also fast after baptism rather than before?” And who forbids it — except the necessity of joy and the celebration of salvation? Tertullian, On Baptism, chapter 20

Now how is it that we want to pass through the borders of the Amorites with peace? The Amorites can be understood as the party of unbelievers who are in this world; but as we said above, they translate as either “those leading to bitterness” or “those speaking.” Now, on the one hand, the sense in which unfaithful and unbelieving people bring God to bitterness does not require an explanation; but his words, “those speaking” can be applied to that party, because infidels and those who live under the ruler of the devil know merely how to speak, but what they say is nonsense. For instance, their poets, astrologers and even many of their philosophers speak nonsensical and worthless things. But for the faithful, “the kingdom of God is not in words but in power.” Therefore we want to pass through the world peaceably, but this very fact incites the ruler of the world all the more, that we claim that we do not want to stay with him, nor linger, nor do we want to touch anything of his. For that reason he is frustrated all the more, for that reason he is lifted up and enraged and incites persecutions against us; he stirs up dangers, he is intent on torture. And this is why it says: “Sihon gathered all his people, and he went out to clash against Israel.” (Num. 21:23) Who are “all the people” of Sihon whom he incites against Israel? The rulers and judges of the world and all the servants of wickedness who always fight against and persecute God’s people. Origen, Homilies on Numbers 12.4.5-6

After this it is added: “And the sons of Israel,” it says, “became lords over all his land.” This entire earthly region is called the land of Sihon, but Christ and his church are lords over the whole land of Sihon. “And they became lords from the Arnon to the Jabbok.” Num. 21:24 Arnon and Jabbok were cities of the kingdom of Sihon. The beginning of his kingdom was Arnon and the end was Jabbok, and this is why it is said that “they became lords from Arnon to Jabbok.” Now Arnon translates as: “their curses.” Thus, curses mark the beginning of the kingdom of this puffed up and unfruitful Sihon. But the end is Jabbok, which translates as “struggle.” For it is necessary that everyone who wants to come out of the kingdom of the devil and escape from his borders will encounter a struggle, and the devil’s ministers and satellites will incite combats against him. But if one struggles and conquers, it will no longer be a Jabbok, the city of Sihon, but it will be a city of Israel.  Origen, Homilies on Numbers 13.1.2

…What then are we taught by these words? We already mentioned above what the Apostle’s understanding is in these matters. He calls this “baptism in Moses consummated in the cloud and in the sea,”  1 Cor. 10:2 that you also who are baptized in Christ, Rom. 6:3 in water and the Holy Spirit, might know that the Egyptians are following you and wish to recall you to their service. They are “the rulers of this world,” of course, and “the spiritual evils” which you previously served. Eph. 6:12 These attempt to follow, but you descend into the water and come out unimpaired, the filth of sins having been washed away. You ascend “a new man” Eph 2.15; 4.24 prepared to “sing a new song.” Isa. 42.10 But the Egyptians who follow you are drowned in the abyss even if they appear to ask Jesus that he not send them into the abyss. Origen, Homilies on Exodus 5.5

Do you wish to learn again which battles, which wars, await us after baptism? Do not learn them from me but again from the Apostle Paul, who teaches you, saying, “For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in the heavens” (Ephesians 6:12). Those things that were written are signs and figures. For thus says the Apostle, “For all these things happened to them figuratively, but they were written for us, for whom the fulfillment of the ages has come” (1 Corinthians 10:11). If, therefore, they were written for us, come on! Why delay? Let us go forth to the war, so that we may subdue the chief city of this world, malice, and destroy the proud walls of sin. You look around, by chance, for the road you must take, which field of battle to seek after. Perhaps what I am about to say will seem strange to you, but nevertheless it is true: You require nothing from without, beyond your own self; within you is the battle that you are about to wage; on the inside is that evil edifice that must be overthrown; your enemy proceeds from your heart. This is not my voice; it is the voice of Christ. Indeed hear him saying, “For from the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false testimonies, slanders” (Matthew 15:19). You see how great and what sort of army of your enemies proceeds against you from your heart. We must cast them out with the first onslaught; we must overthrow them with the first battle line. If we should be able to demolish their walls and strike them down to utter destruction, so that we do not leave anyone to carry back word or recover, if none of these soon sprout up again, utterly alive in our thoughts, then through Jesus that rest will be given to us. Then “everyone may rest under his own vine and under his own fig tree since there is no longer anyone to frighten the sons of Israel” (Micah 4:4). — Origen, Homilies on Joshua 5.2.

Moreover, when you have been deemed worthy of the grace, He then gives you strength to wrestle against the adverse powers. For as after His Baptism He was tempted forty days (not that He was unable to gain the victory before, but because He wished to do all things in due order and succession), so thou likewise, though not daring before your baptism to wrestle with the adversaries, yet after you have received the grace and art henceforth confident in the armour of righteousness 2 Corinthians 6:7, must then do battle, and preach the Gospel, if you will. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures, Lecture 3, chapter 13

“Then Jesus was led into the desert by the Spirit, to be tempted by the devil,” and so forth. Both the journey into the desert, the forty days of fasting, the hunger after the fast, the temptation by Satan, and the Lord’s reply are full of the effects of a great and heavenly plan. For that He was led into the desert signifies the liberty of the Holy Spirit, offering His man to the devil, and permitting the opportunity of temptation and assault, which the tempter would not have had unless it had been granted. There was therefore in the devil a suspicion born of fear, not knowledge born of certainty: for he was stirred by the forty days’ fast. He knew that for the same number of days the waters of the abyss had been poured forth, that the land of promise had been explored, that the Law had been written by God for Moses, and that the years in which the people dwelt in the wilderness in the manner and habit of angels had fulfilled this same number. Therefore, moved by fear of this period, he rashly undertook to tempt Him whom he beheld as a man. For he had seduced Adam and led him into death by deceit. But it was fitting to his wickedness and crime that he should be conquered by the man whose death and misfortunes had been his boast; and he who had begrudged God’s gifts to man could not, before the temptation, recognize God in man. Therefore the Lord is tempted immediately after baptism, indicating by His own temptation that the temptations of the devil press most upon those who have been sanctified: for victory over the holy is more desired by him. Hilary of Poitiers, Commentary on Matthew, chapter 3, section 1, PL 9.928B-C

“For since with a view to our instruction He both did and underwent all things; He endures also to be led up there, and to wrestle against the devil: in order that each of those who are baptized, if after his baptism he have to endure greater temptations may not be troubled as if the result were unexpected, but may continue to endure all nobly, as though it were happening in the natural course of things. Yea, for therefore you took up arms, not to be idle, but to fight. For this cause neither does God hinder the temptations as they come on, first to teach you that you have become much stronger; next, that you may continue modest neither be exalted even by the greatness of your gifts, the temptations having power to repress you; moreover, in order that that wicked demon, who is for a while doubtful about your desertion of him, by the touchstone of temptations may be well assured that you have utterly forsaken and fallen from him; fourthly, that you may in this way be made stronger, and better tempered than any steel; fifthly, that you may obtain a clear demonstration of the treasures entrusted to you.” John Chrysostom, Homily 13 on Matthew

 After one has been baptized, however, he must stand against the devil, inasmuch as every Christian is anointed for this purpose. And he is reconstituted in baptism so as to undertake war against the Tyrant. — Incomplete Commentary on Matthew (Opus imperfectum), Prologue. 5th century

Therefore, the Lord, after being baptized in word, was made subject to the law; by John, he was baptized in water; by the Father, in the Spirit. Now he is led by the Spirit into the desert, to be baptized in the fire of temptation, and afterward he is to be baptized in death. Come now, let us see who are those baptized in fire, and when they are baptized in fire. But to know this, we must observe what is said: “Then he was led.” When? When the Father cried out from heaven: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” You see then that no one is baptized in the fire of temptation unless he has first been made a son of God. For as long as a man is a catechumen, he has not yet fully renounced the devil and all his works. But once baptized, he hands himself over to Christ, saying: “I renounce Satan and all his works.” So, while he is still a catechumen, as if still belonging to [Satan], the devil still spares him somewhat; but once he has become alien to him through baptism, Satan persecutes him with all his might. Baptism is the seal of faith. Is a soldier marked after serving in the army so that he may now rest? Rather, he is marked before military service so that afterward he may fight and labor. Just as an athlete is anointed with oil before the contest so he may wrestle, so also a man is anointed with the oil of chrism spiritually, so that he may wrestle like a spiritual athlete against the devil. But what of those who, when tempted, are overcome and perish? Those are not led by the Spirit to receive temptation, and they are not sons of God — for “those who are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Rom. 8:14) — but rather, they are cast out by their own sins. But those who are led by the Spirit of God into temptation are not overcome. – Homily 5 on Matthew, Anonymous. PG 56.661-62 (Opus imperfectum)

But many, even though they have been baptized in water, are not baptized in the Spirit. For unless a man has first cast aside from himself every intention of sinning before the baptism of water, so that he may be worthy to receive the Holy Spirit into the temple of his heart, he is not baptized in the Spirit. For the Holy Spirit flees the hypocrite and does not dwell in a body subject to sins; and thus he is not made a son of God (Wisdom 1:4–5). And these are the ones who, when they are tempted, are overcome and perish: they seem, indeed, to have been made sons of God through the water of baptism; but in truth, they are not sons of God, because they have not been baptized in the Spirit. For although they have been baptized in body, in mind they are still catechumens: for water baptizes the body, but the Spirit baptizes the soul. Therefore, not only was Christ led into the desert by the Spirit, but all the sons of God who have the Holy Spirit are led by the Spirit into the desert, so that they too may be tempted by the devil. For those who have the Spirit of God are not content to sit idle, but the very Spirit who is in them urges them to undertake some great work, against which the devil, who is in the desert, sets himself. – Homily 5 on Matthew, Anonymous. PG 56.663-64 (Opus imperfectum)

Thus, the Lord, after being baptized, is driven by the Spirit into the desert and is tempted by Satan, to provide a model of life for his faithful, who, after the remission of sins received in baptism, should not only be prepared to perform works of virtue, but also to endure persecution for righteousness’ sake. He thus withdraws into the desert to teach us to forsake the allurements of the world and the company of the wicked, and to serve the divine commandments in all things. He is tempted alone by the devil to signify that all who desire to live piously in Christ suffer persecution, and that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God (Acts XIV). He is tempted for forty days and forty nights to indicate that as long as we live here serving the Lord, whether favorable times entice us (which corresponds to the days), or adversities strike us (which corresponds to the figures of the night), the adversary, who walks through the whole world, is always present attempting to hinder our journey. — Bede, Commentary on Mark. 

Baptism of Jesus and Why He was Baptized:

He was born and baptized, that by His passion He might purify the water. – Ignatius to the Ephesians chapter 18

After he had received baptism, the Savior was “full of the Holy Spirit,” who had come upon him from heaven “in the form of a dove”; and “he was led by the Spirit.'” For, “as many as are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” But he was the Son of God in the proper sense, distinct from all others, so it was fitting for him to be led by the Holy Spirit. Thus Scripture says, “But he was led into the desert by the Spirit for forty days and he was tempted by the devil. ” Jesus was tempted for forty days. We do not know what the temptations were. Perhaps they have been omitted because they were too great to be entrusted to writing. It is right to say that “the world could not hold all the books” of what Jesus taught and did, if they had been written. Thus too, the world could not have born the forty days of temptations with which the Lord was tempted by the devil, if Scripture had related them. It is enough for us to know only this: “For forty days he was in the desert and was tempted by the devil. And he did not eat anything during those days.” He was mortifying the sensations of the flesh by an unbroken and unremitting fast. Origen, Homilies on Luke 29.2

Let us not be disturbed if, according to Mark, the Savior [both] drinks the cup and is baptized with the baptism (cf. Mk 10.38-39), for indeed when John “came into all the region of the Jordan proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Lk 3.3), Jesus also “came to John to be baptized by him” (Matt 3.13), as if washing away our sins, in order that we might be cleansed by his washing. Our cleansing by him is shown forth all the more, inasmuch as he was baptized taking up our sins, in order that he might loose them from us and from himself, since “the [death] he died, he died to” our “sin” (Rom 6.10), since he died “to sin” that was not his own but ours. Origen, Commentary on Matthew, Book 16, chapter 6

Jesus sanctified Baptism by being Himself baptized. If the Son of God was baptized, what godly man is he that despises Baptism? But He was baptized not that He might receive remission of sins, for He was sinless; but being sinless, He was baptized, that He might give to them that are baptized a divine and excellent grace. For since the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise partook of the same Hebrews 2:14, that having been made partakers of His presence in the flesh we might be made partakers also of His Divine grace: thus Jesus was baptized, that thereby we again by our participation might receive both salvation and honour. According to Job, there was in the waters the dragon that draws up Jordan into his mouth. Job 40:18 Since, therefore, it was necessary to break the heads of the dragon in pieces , He went down and bound the strong one in the waters, that we might receive power to tread upon serpents and scorpions. Luke 10:19 The beast was great and terrible. No fishing-vessel was able to carry one scale of his tail : destruction ran before him , ravaging all that met him. The Life encountered him, that the mouth of Death might henceforth be stopped, and all we that are saved might say, O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory 1 Corinthians 15:55? The sting of death is drawn by Baptism. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures, Lecture 3, chapter 11

Christ came that He might be baptized, and might sanctify Baptism. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures, Lecture 12, chapter 15

Immediately, “by water and the Spirit” is the rebirth, just as all creation is. “For the Spirit of God moved upon the waters.” And for this reason, the Savior was baptized, not needing it Himself, but so that He might sanctify all water for those being reborn. In this way, not only the body but also the soul is cleansed. Indeed, the sign of sanctification includes the purification of the invisible parts of us, the unclean spirits entwined with the soul, being separated by the new and spiritual generation. Clement of Alexandria, Selections from the Prophets VII

“He [Jesus] was baptized in Jordan, not as receiving any sanctification for Himself, but as gifting a participation in sanctification to others. He was tempted in the wilderness, not as giving way, however, to temptation, but as putting our temptations before Himself on the challenge of the tempter, in order to show the powerlessness of the tempter.” Gregory Thaumaturgus, Twelve Topics on the Faith, Topic 12 (Dubious or Spurious Writings)

And then, when Jesus had gone to the river Jordan, where John was baptizing, and when He had stepped into the water, a fire was kindled in the Jordan; and when He came out of the water, the Holy Ghost lighted on Him like a dove, [as] the apostles of this very Christ of ours wrote. Now, we know that he did not go to the river because He stood in need of baptism, or of the descent of the Spirit like a dove; even as He submitted to be born and to be crucified, not because He needed such things, but because of the human race, which from Adam had fallen under the power of death and the guile of the serpent, and each one of which had committed personal transgression. – Dialogue with Trypho (Justin Martyr), Chapter 88

“But when the fullness of time came, God sent his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” Galatians 4.4-5 Pay careful attention that he did not say “made through a woman,” which Marcion and other heresies want, which pretend that Christ had putative flesh; but “of a woman.” Thus one should believe that he was born not through her but of her. But because he has named the holy and blessed mother of the Lord a “woman,” not a virgin, this same thing is also written in the Gospel according to Matthew, when she is called the “wife” of Joseph. Also she is rebuked as a “woman” by the Lord himself. For it was not necessary always to be so cautious and timid about saying “virgin,” since woman signifies gender more than union with a man. And according to the understanding of the Greek, γυνή may be validly translated both “wife” and “woman.” But, to pass over everything, just as “he was made under the law to redeem those who were under the law,” so he wanted to be born of a woman for the sake of those who were born of a woman. For that is why he also received baptism in the waters of the Jordan, as a penitent, though he was free from sins, so that he would teach others of the need to be cleansed through baptism and to be born as sons by the new adoption of the Spirit. By no means did John the Baptist understand this. For he hindered him from approaching the washing and said, “I ought to be baptized by you.” And at once the mystery is shown: “Allow it for now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all justice.” For he who had come for the sake of the salvation of men would not omit anything from the manner of life of men. — Jerome, Commentary on Galatians 4:4-5

Neither was he baptized for himself, but for the one defiled by sin. Therefore, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ fasted after his baptism. Yet let us also, in passing, inquire about this: why do we fast before baptism, but the Lord Christ fasted after baptism? Why? Because we, being weighed down by sins and burdened in the belly of our soul, necessarily receive fasting before baptism as a God-given remedy, so that, having “cleansed ourselves from every defilement of flesh and spirit,” we might come to desire the heavenly bread. — Athanasius, Homily on Fasting and the Passion of Christ  – [Nordberg, H. (ed.), Athanasiana I [Commentationes humanarum litterarum 30.2] Helsinki: Centraltryckeriet, 1962: page 46]

Matthew 3:15-17 – He, intending to present himself as the beginning (in the same way that Adam is also called so, so that through him, and through the rest of the risen humankind, he might become the beginning of that everlasting life—just as Adam came to be the source of this present, temporary and mortal life), prefigured everything concerning us in himself. For just as he died and rose again because we too were going to do the same, so also—because we were going to be transferred, symbolically, through baptism from the present life into the life to come—it was necessary that he first accomplish this in himself. And this baptism of adoption he was the first to take upon himself in the economy of salvation—baptism by water and the Spirit—showing in himself first that baptism is something great and precious, since he truly accepted it with condescension. He also lived the life of grace outside the Law, which we too were called to live. It was fitting, then, for the Lord, humbling himself as a man, to submit to the prophet and baptist as one of the people, so that he might sanctify the waters and establish for us the rebirth through washing, adoption, forgiveness of sins, and all the other blessings that he granted through baptism—prefiguring these in himself, though needing none of them as God, being the one who takes away the sin of the world. For this reason, Christ was baptized by John—not as guilty of sin, but so that, as a man, he might fulfill all righteousness; secondly, to give testimony to John that he had been sent by God to baptize; thirdly, so that through the descent of the Holy Spirit he might sanctify the waters of the Jordan, and that all who are baptized in it might be sanctified. — Theodore of Heraclea, Fragments on Matthew (330 AD)

[Matthew 3:15–16] If, then, righteousness means to obey God, and God sent John to baptize the people, Christ fulfilled this too along with all the other items related to laws. But he was also baptized to sanctify the waters for us. And the Spirit comes down in the form of a dove, because where there is reconciliation with God there is a dove, as on the ark of Noah. Even now the Spirit comes in the form of a dove, proclaiming the mercy of God to the world and, at the same time, also to reveal that the spiritual person must be innocent, meek, simple, and honest. — The Commentary of Origen on the Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1, Catena Fragment 56.

“The Lord, over many waters.” Each of the baptized is baptized for his own sake and, in a certain way, receives something better than water: that is, the one who receives his own baptism was purified. Jesus alone, when he is baptized, is over many waters, for he was baptized on behalf of all, and each is baptized in order that he should be sanctified, but Jesus in order that he should sanctify. Therefore, since the many are sanctified when they are baptized, it is necessary that the Sanctifier be over many waters. Now, it is also possible to understand it as follows, given that his baptism is a sign. Didymus the Blind, Lectures on the Psalms, Psalm 28:3

By taking on humanity, He sanctified the waters through the washing. — Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him; and so forth. — In Christ Jesus was the whole man; and thus, the body taken into the service of the spirit fulfilled in itself the entire mystery of our salvation. Therefore He came to John, born of a woman, made under the law, and through the Word made flesh. He Himself indeed had no need of washing, for it is said of Him, He committed no sin; and where there is no sin, remission of it is unnecessary. But from Him was taken both the body and the name of our nature; and so it was not He who had need to be cleansed, but through Him was our cleansing in the waters to be sanctified. And indeed, He is forbidden by John to be baptized, as God; and teaches that it must thus be done to Him, as man. For by Him all righteousness was to be fulfilled, by whom alone the law could be fulfilled. And thus, by the witness of the prophet, He has no need of washing, and by the authority of His example, He completes the sacraments of human salvation, sanctifying man both by assumption and by washing. — Hilary of Poitiers,Commentary on Matthew, chapter 2, section 5, PL 9.927A-927B

“Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John that he might be baptized by him.” Matthew 3:13 The Savior accepted baptism from John for three reasons: first, in order that, since he had been born man, he might fulfill all the justice and humility of the Law; second, so that by his own baptism he might give approval to John’s baptism; third, so that by sanctifying the waters of the Jordan by the descent of the dove, he might show forth the coming of the Holy Spirit in the [baptismal] bath of believers. – Jerome, Commentary on Matthew 3:13

The ancients, before Christ, would hold those baptized by them in the water until they had confessed their sins, but Christ, being without sin, immediately came up; for he was not baptized as one repenting, but as one cleansing sins and sanctifying the waters. — Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Matthew 3:16 (in catena)

 Jesus’ withdrawal is an act of instruction. The word clearly teaches that no one should enter into teaching unless he has first been baptized, received the Holy Spirit, fasted completely, and overcome every kind of temptation, just as the pattern of the truth began in Christ and is fulfilled through Christ. — Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Matthew 4:12 (in catena)

[Matthew 11:3] John did not ask because he was unaware that this was the Christ, nor—as some claim—because He was about to descend into Hades. For he knew about His Passion; this is why he also called Him the Lamb. Rather, he asked while still alive, in order to convince them, so that they would not turn to another teacher after His death. — Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Matthew (in catena)

[Matthew 3:16-17] Many inquire what sort of baptism it was in which the Lord was baptized. What then is it? Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, having become man for the salvation of all, and being about to manifest the beginning of a certain extraordinary life—(in accordance with which Adam is also called so that through Him, as through the rising of the rest of mankind, He might become the beginning of that eternal life, just as Adam happened to become the author of this present and mortal life)—He prefigured in Himself all things concerning us; for just as He died and rose again because we too were destined to do so, so also, since we were necessarily going to be transferred, symbolically through baptism, from this present life to the life to come, He took care first to fulfill this in Himself. And this baptism of adoption, which is by water and the Spirit, He was the first to receive in an ordered way, showing in Himself that baptism is great and precious, being truly the first to accept it with condescension. And He Himself lived the life outside the Law—that of grace—which it was fitting also for us to live. Therefore, it was proper for the Lord, humbling Himself as a man, to be subjected to the Prophet and Baptist as one of the people, in order to sanctify the waters and to grant us regeneration through the washing, and adoption, and remission of sins, and all the other good things which He gave to us through baptism, prefiguring them in Himself, though He Himself needed none of them, being God and “He who takes away the sin of the world.” For this reason Christ was baptized by John—not as one guilty of sin, but in order to fulfill all righteousness as a man; secondly, to bear witness to John, that he had been sent from God to baptize; thirdly, that through the descent of the Holy Spirit He might sanctify the waters of the Jordan, so that all who are baptized in them might be sanctified. Then the heavens were opened, and the Spirit descended upon Him as He was baptized, and a voice came, so that no one might suppose John to be greater than Him; for surely the one who baptizes is not greater than the one being baptized—nor was Ananias greater than Paul. – Theodore of Mopsuestia, Commentary on Matthew (in catena)

Therefore the Lord did not come to be baptized for His own sake, but for ours, that He might fulfill all righteousness. For it is just that one who teaches another to do something should begin himself. Since therefore the Teacher and Lord of the human race had come, He wished to teach by His own example what was to be done, so that disciples might follow the Master, and servants their Lord. Since therefore He was about to give a new baptism for the salvation of the human race and the remission of sin, He first deigned to be baptized Himself—not to lay aside sins, He who alone had committed none—but to sanctify the waters of baptism for the cleansing of believers’ sins. For the waters of baptism could never have cleansed the sins of believers unless they had been sanctified by the touch of the Lord’s body. He therefore was baptized so that we might be washed from sins. He was immersed in water so that we might be cleansed from the filth of our offenses. He received the washing of regeneration so that we might be reborn from water and the Holy Spirit, just as He Himself says in another place: Unless one is born of water and the Holy Spirit, he shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. – Chromatius of Aquileia, Treatise on the Gospel of Saint Matthew, Treatise 1, chapter 1 (PL 20:329A-C)

[Mark 1:9] — And it came to pass in those days, etc. The Savior received baptism from John for three reasons. First, because He was born a man, He might fulfill all righteousness and humility of the law. Second, that by His baptism He might approve the baptism of John. Third, that sanctifying the water of Jordan, through the descent of the dove, He might show the coming of the Hololy Spirit in the washing of believers. — Bede, Commentary on Mark. 

AMBROSE . In a matter which has been related by others, Luke has rightly given us only a summary, and has left more to be understood than expressed in the fact, that our Lord was baptized by John. As it is said, Now when all were baptized, it came to pass. Our Lord was baptized not that He might be cleansed by the waters but to cleanse them, that being purified by the flesh of Christ who knew no sin, they might possess the power of baptism. — Ambrose of Milan (Thomas Aquinas, Catena Aurea on Luke 3)

GREGORY NAZIANZEN . (in Orat. 39.) Christ comes also to baptism perhaps to sanctify baptism, but doubtless to bury the old Adam in water. — Gregory of Nyssa (Thomas Aquinas, Catena Aurea on Luke 3)

The office to be performed; that He might be baptized of him; not baptism to the remission of sins, but to leave the water sanctified for those after to be baptized. —  Remigius (Thomas Aquinas, Catena Aurea on Matthew 3)

Therefore, it was fitting for the Lord, humbling Himself as a man, as one from among the people, to submit Himself to the prophet and baptizer, so that He might sanctify the waters and grant to us, through the washing of regeneration, adoption, forgiveness of sins, and all the other good things He bestowed through our baptism—prefiguring them in Himself, though He had no need of them, being God and the One “who takes away the sin of the world.” For this reason, Christ was baptized by John—not because He was guilty of sin, but so that, as a man, He might fulfill all righteousness. Secondly, so that He might bear witness to John, confirming that he had been sent by God to baptize. Thirdly, so that through the descent of the Holy Spirit, He might sanctify the waters of the Jordan, and all who are baptized in them might be sanctified. — Theodore of Mopsuestia (Fragments on Matthew, in catena)

“Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John that he might be baptized by him.” Matthew 3:15 The Savior accepted baptism from John for three reasons: first, in order that, since he had been born man, he might fulfill all the justice and humility of the Law; second, so that by his own baptism he might give approval to John’s baptism; third, so that by sanctifying the waters of the Jordan by the descent of the dove, he might show forth the coming of the Holy Spirit in the baptismal bath of believers. — Jerome (Commentary on Matthew)

The Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove, showing Himself to be tender-hearted and loving toward humanity. Even though He is often rejected by us, He still clings to us and benefits us because of His goodness. For the dove, being a creature known for its gentle affection and love for humans, even when wronged by them—when her young are taken away and eaten—still does not abandon her companions, but remains close to them in every way. — Theodore of Mopsuestia (Fragments on Matthew, in catena)

For this reason the Holy Spirit was likened to a dove, because of the tender affection He has for us. Although God is rejected by human beings, He nevertheless continues to draw near to them again through His own goodness. For in the same way, the dove does not abandon her familiar companions, even if they wrong her by taking away her young from her. — Theodore of Mopsuestia (Fragments on Matthew, in catena)

In addition, the priests who carried the ark of the Lord’s covenant prefigured John the Baptist, who was both a priest and the son of a high priest. Just as the priests carrying the ark were the first to enter the Jordan, and the whole people made the crossing with Joshua prophet and general, so, since the great John was the first to begin baptizing, and Jesus the Savior sanctified the waters, the Christian people enter the Kingdom of Heaven through most holy baptism. — Theodoret of Cyrus, Questions on Joshua, Question 2

Then Jesus came to be baptized, not so that he could receive forgiveness of sins through baptism but so that he could render the waters hallowed for those who would be baptized thereafter. — Homily 3, Incomplete Commentary on Matthew (Opus Imperfectum), 5th century

The heavens were opened for him, and he saw the Spirit descending as a dove coming upon him, etc. The mystery of the Trinity is shown in the baptism. The Lord is baptized, the Spirit descends in the form of a dove, the voice of the Father is heard offering testimony to the Son. Now the heavens are opened not by an unbolting of the elements, but to the spiritual eyes, with which even Ezekiel at the beginning of his book records that they were opened. A dove, too, sat upon the head of Jesus to prevent anyone from thinking that the Father’s voice was addressing John and not the Lord. — Jerome (Commentary on Matthew)

New Birth:

While I was still lying in darkness and gloomy night, wavering hither and there, tossed about on the foam of this boastful age, and uncertain of my wandering steps, knowing nothing of my real life, and remote from truth and light, I used to regard it as a difficult matter, and especially as difficult in respect of my character at that time, that a man should be capable of being born again — a truth which the divine mercy had announced for my salvation — and that a man quickened to a new life in the layer of saving water should be able to put off what he had previously been; and, although retaining all his bodily structure, should be himself changed in heart and soul. How, said I, is such a conversion possible, that there should be a sudden and rapid divestment of all which, either innate in us has hardened in the corruption of our material nature, or acquired by us has become inveterate by long accustomed use? These things have become deeply and radically engrained within us. When does he learn thrift who has been used to liberal banquets and sumptuous feasts? And he who has been glittering in gold and purple, and has been celebrated for his costly attire, when does he reduce himself to ordinary and simple clothing? One who has felt the charm of the fasces and of civic honours shrinks from becoming a mere private and inglorious citizen. The man who is attended by crowds of clients, and dignified by the numerous association of an officious train, regards it as a punishment when he is alone. It is inevitable, as it ever has been, that the love of wine should entice, pride inflate, anger inflame, covetousness disquiet, cruelty stimulate, ambition delight, lust hasten to ruin, with allurements that will not let go their hold…These were my frequent thoughts. For as I myself was held in bonds by the innumerable errors of my previous life, from which I did not believe that I could by possibility be delivered, so I was disposed to acquiesce in my clinging vices; and because I despaired of better things, I used to indulge my sins as if they were actually parts of me, and indigenous to me. But after that, by the help of the water of new birth, the stain of former years had been washed away, and a light from above, serene and pure, had been infused into my reconciled heart — after that, by the agency of the Spirit breathed from heaven, a second birth had restored me to a new man — then, in a wondrous manner, doubtful things at once began to assure themselves to me, hidden things to be revealed, dark things to be enlightened, what before had seemed difficult began to suggest a means of accomplishment, what had been thought impossible, to be capable of being achieved; so that I was enabled to acknowledge that what previously, being born of the flesh, had been living in the practice of sins, was of the earth earthly, but had now begun to be of God, and was animated by the Spirit of holiness. Cyprian, Epistle 1.3-4

We are washed from all our sins, and are no longer entangled in evil. This is the one grace of illumination, that our characters are not the same as before our washing. Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor 1.6

But these Greeks can show us nothing regarding those men of whom they speak, which is even inferior by a great degree to what Jesus did; unless they take us back to their fables and histories, wishing us to believe them without any reasonable grounds, and to discredit the Gospel accounts even after the clearest evidence. For we assert that the whole habitable world contains evidence of the works of Jesus, in the existence of those Churches of God which have been founded through Him by those who have been converted from the practice of innumerable sins. And the name of Jesus can still remove distractions from the minds of men, and expel demons, and also take away diseases; and produce a marvellous meekness of spirit and complete change of character, and a humanity, and goodness, and gentleness in those individuals who do not feign themselves to be Christians for the sake of subsistence or the supply of any mortal wants, but who have honestly accepted the doctrine concerning God and Christ, and the judgment to come. – Origen, Against Celsus, Book 1, chapter 67

Our Lord also, when Nicodemus asked Him whether a man “can enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born,” answered: “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.” He shows in this that as in a carnal birth the womb of the mother receives the human seed, and the Divine hand fashions it according to an ancient decree, so also in baptism, the water of which becomes a womb to the one who is being born, and the grace of the Spirit fashions in it, into the second birth, the one who is being baptised, and changes him completely into a new man. And inasmuch as the seed that falls into the womb of the mother has neither life, nor soul nor feeling, but after it has been fashioned by the Divine hand, it results in a living man, endowed with soul and feeling, and in a human nature capable of all human acts, so also here the one who is baptised falls into the water as into a womb, like a seed which bears no resemblance of any kind to the mark of an immortal nature, but after he has been baptised and has received the Divine and spiritual grace, he will undoubtedly undergo a complete change: he will be fashioned from a mortal into an immortal, from a corruptible into an incorruptible, and from a mutable into an immutable nature; and he will be changed completely into a new man according to the power of the One who fashions him… It is owing to the fact that the nature of the water does not possess all these attributes, which are implanted in it at our immersion by the working of the Holy Spirit, that the priest makes use beforehand of his priestly service and of clear words and benedictions, written for the purpose, and prays that the grace of the Holy Spirit come upon the water and prepare it with His holy and awe-inspiring presence for the task of performing all these things, so that it may become a reverential womb for the second birth, and so that those who descend into it may be fashioned afresh by the grace of the Holy Spirit and born again into a new and virtuous human nature. When the water has been prepared for this and has received such a power by the coming of the Holy Spirit, you plunge into it hoping to receive from it benefits such as those described above, and an awe-inspiring salvation. — Theodore of Mopsuestia (Homily on Baptism)

Whoever, therefore, is worthy to be baptized in the Name of the Holy Spirit and who has been born anew undergoes a change of abode, habits, and associates, so that, walking by the Spirit we may merit to be baptized in the Name of the Son and to put on Christ. For one who has been born should be deemed worthy of clothing, as the Apostle said: “For as many of you as have been baptized in Christ have put on Christ,” and again: “Stripping yourselves of the old man with his deeds, and putting on the new, him who is renewed unto knowledge, according to the image of him that created him, where there is neither Gentile nor Jew.” Then, having put on the Son of God who gives us power to become children of God, we are baptized in the Name of the Father and are called sons of God who commanded and declared, as the Prophet has said: “Therefore, go out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not an unclean thing: and I will receive you; and I will be a Father to you and you shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord almighty.” And the Apostle says: “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of the flesh and of the spirit, perfecting sanctification in the fear of God.” Again, he exhorts us in the words: “Do ye all things without murmurings and hesitations, that you may be blameless and sincere children of God, without reproof in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation; among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life to my glory in the day of Christ”; and yet again: “Therefore, if you be risen with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God; mind the things that are above, not the things that are upon the earth. For you are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ shall appear, who is our life, then you also shall appear with him in glory.” And this was promised by the Lord Himself when He said: “Then shall the just shine as the sun.” — Basil of Caesarea (Concerning Baptism Book 1, chapter 2 – Fathers of the Church volume 9)

They who entered the water as carnal people, children of sinful Adam, at once ascend from the water, having been made spiritual children of God. And so that you should not say to me that many remain after their baptism the same sort of people they were before their baptism, namely, those who are not baptized in repentance or do not repent wholeheartedly that they were the sort of people they had been but are baptized while fully intending to hold on to sin, these people do not progress “immediately from the water.”  Matthew 3:16 — Incomplete Commentary on Matthew (Opus Imperfectum) Homily 4.

Old and New Testament teachings about baptism – Types, Foreshadows, Symbols and so on:

But when the time began to draw near that what was wanting in the Mosaic institutions should be supplied, as we have said, and that the Prophet should appear, of whom he had foretold that He should warn them by the mercy of God to cease from sacrificing; lest haply they might suppose that on the cessation of sacrifice there was no remission of sins for them, He instituted baptism by water among them, in which they might be absolved from all their sins on the invocation of His name, and for the future, following a perfect life, might abide in immortality, being purified not by the blood of beasts, but by the purification of the Wisdom of God. Subsequently also an evident proof of this great mystery is supplied in the fact, that every one who, believing in this Prophet who had been foretold by Moses, is baptized in His name, shall be kept unhurt from the destruction of war which impends over the unbelieving nation, and the place itself; but that those who do not believe shall be made exiles from their place and kingdom, that even against their will they may understand and obey the will of God. — Recognitions of Clement, Book 1, chapter 39

[Baptism Instituted in Place of Sacrifices.]

First, indeed, when the people, set unconditionally free, escaped the violence of the Egyptian king by crossing over through water, it was water that extinguished the king himself, with his entire forces. Exodus 14:27-30 What figure more manifestly fulfilled in the sacrament of baptism? The nations are set free from the world by means of water, to wit: and the devil, their old tyrant, they leave quite behind, overwhelmed in the water. — Tertullian, On Baptism chapter 9

For just as, after the waters of the deluge, by which the old iniquity was purged — after the baptism, so to say, of the world — a dove was the herald which announced to the earth the assuagement of celestial wrath, when she had been sent her way out of the ark, and had returned with the olive-branch, a sign which even among the nations is the fore-token of peace; so by the self-same law of heavenly effect, to earth — that is, to our flesh — as it emerges from the font, after its old sins flies the dove of the Holy Spirit, bringing us the peace of God, sent out from the heavens where is the Church, the typified ark. But the world returned unto sin; in which point baptism would ill be compared to the deluge. And so it is destined to fire; just as the man too is, who after baptism renews his sins: so that this also ought to be accepted as a sign for our admonition. Tertullian, On Baptism chapter 8

Moreover, Peter himself, showing and vindicating the unity, has commanded and warned us that we cannot be saved, except by the one only baptism of one Church. In the ark, says he, of Noah, few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water, as also baptism shall in like manner save you. 1 Peter 3:20-21 In how short and spiritual a summary has he set forth the sacrament of unity! For as, in that baptism of the world in which its ancient iniquity was purged away, he who was not in the Ark of Noah could not be saved by water, so neither can he appear to be saved by baptism who has not been baptized in the Church which is established in the unity of the Lord according to the sacrament of the one ark. Cyprian, Epistle 73.11

On the fifth day the living creatures which proceed from the waters were produced, through which also is revealed the manifold wisdom of God in these things; for who could count their multitude and very various kinds? Moreover, the things proceeding from the waters were blessed by God, that this also might be a sign of men’s being destined to receive repentance and remission of sins, through the water and laver of regeneration — as many as come to the truth, and are born again, and receive blessing from God. — Theophilus, To Autolycus, Book 2, chapter 16

The word of instruction commands “the inner parts together with the feet to be washed with water,” (Leviticus 1:9) announcing the sacrament of baptism by a figurative prophecy. For he who cleanses his conscience washes “the internal parts”; he washes his feet who receives the fullness of the sacrament and knows that “whoever is clean needs nothing except to wash his feet” and that “no one is able to have a part with Jesus unless he shall have washed his feet.” Origen, Homilies on Leviticus 1.4.6

It has already been repeatedly said, both by our predecessors and by ourselves, that the figure of the exodus from Egypt is understood in two ways. For both when someone is led from the darkness of errors to the light of knowledge, and when one is converted from an earthly way of life to a spiritual manner of life, he seems to have made an exodus from Egypt and to have come to a solitude—that is, to that state of life in which, by means of silence and quiet, one becomes practiced in the divine laws and is imbued with heavenly speech. Educated and guided by these things, when he has crossed the Jordan, he hastens to the Promised Land—that is, through the grace of baptism, he arrives at a life according to the gospel. — Origen, Homilies on Numbers 26.4.1

Writing to the Corinthians, he says in a certain passage, “For we know that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all were baptized in Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. And they drank of the spiritual rock which followed them, and the rock was Christ.” 1 Cor. 10:1-4 Do you see how much Paul’s teaching differs from the literal meaning? What the Jews supposed to be a crossing of the sea, Paul calls a baptism; what they supposed to be a cloud, Paul asserts is the Holy Spirit. He wishes that to be understood in a similar manner to this which the Lord taught in the Gospels, “Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.” John 3:5 Origen, Homilies on Exodus 5.1

…What then are we taught by these words? We already mentioned above what the Apostle’s understanding is in these matters. He calls this “baptism in Moses consummated in the cloud and in the sea,”  1 Cor. 10:2 that you also who are baptized in Christ, Rom. 6:3 in water and the Holy Spirit, might know that the Egyptians are following you and wish to recall you to their service. They are “the rulers of this world,” of course, and “the spiritual evils” which you previously served. Eph. 6:12 These attempt to follow, but you descend into the water and come out unimpaired, the filth of sins having been washed away. You ascend “a new man” Eph 2.15; 4.24 prepared to “sing a new song.” Isa. 42.10 But the Egyptians who follow you are drowned in the abyss even if they appear to ask Jesus that he not send them into the abyss. Origen, Homilies on Exodus 5.5

For as the apostle Peter says, just as at that time Noah was saved out of the flood, so also now by means of a similar figure those who believe shall be saved through baptism. Origen, Commentary on Romans 3.1.11

But if any one is moved by this, that some of those who are baptized in sickness are still tempted by unclean spirits, let him know that the obstinate wickedness of the devil prevails even up to the saving water, but that in baptism it loses all the poison of his wickedness. An instance of this we see in the king Pharaoh, who, having struggled long, and delayed in his perfidy, could resist and prevail until he came to the water; but when he had come there, he was both conquered and destroyed. And that that sea was a sacrament of baptism, the blessed Apostle Paul declares, saying, Brethren, I would not have you ignorant how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and he added, saying, Now all these things were our examples. And this also is done in the present day, in that the devil is scourged, and burned, and tortured by exorcists, by the human voice, and by divine power; and although he often says. that he is going out, and will leave the men of God, yet in that which he says he deceives, and puts in practice what was before done by Pharaoh with the same obstinate and fraudulent deceit. When, however, they come to the water of salvation and to the sanctification of baptism, we ought to know and to trust that there the devil is beaten down, and the man, dedicated to God, is set free by the divine mercy. For as scorpions and serpents, which prevail on the dry ground, when cast into water, cannot prevail nor retain their venom; so also the wicked spirits, which are called scorpions and serpents, and yet are trodden under foot by us, by the power given by the Lord, cannot remain any longer in the body of a man in whom, baptized and sanctified, the Holy Spirit is beginning to dwell. Cyprian, Epistle 75.15

But as often as water is named alone in the Holy Scriptures, baptism is referred to, as we see intimated in Isaiah: Remember not, says he, the former things, and consider not the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, which shall now spring forth; and you shall know it. I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the dry place, to give drink to my elected people, my people whom I have purchased, that they might show forth my praise. Isaiah 43:18-21 There God foretold by the prophet, that among the nations, in places which previously had been dry, rivers should afterwards flow plenteously, and should provide water for the elected people of God, that is, for those who were made sons of God by the generation of baptism. Moreover, it is again predicted and foretold before, that the Jews, if they should thirst and seek after Christ, should drink with us, that is, should attain the grace of baptism. If they shall thirst, he says, He shall lead them through the deserts, shall bring forth water for them out of the rock; the rock shall be cloven, and the water shall flow, and my people shall drink; Isaiah 48:21 which is fulfilled in the Gospel, when Christ, who is the Rock, is cloven by a stroke of the spear in His passion; who also, admonishing what was before announced by the prophet, cries and says, If any man thirst, let him come and drink. He that believes in me, as the Scripture says, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. And that it might be more evident that the Lord is speaking there, not of the cup, but of baptism, the Scripture adds, saying, But this spoke He of the Spirit, which they that believe in Him should receive. For by baptism the Holy Spirit is received; and thus by those who are baptized, and have attained to the Holy Spirit, is attained the drinking of the Lord’s cup. And let it disturb no one, that when the divine Scripture speaks of baptism, it says that we thirst and drink, since the Lord also in the Gospel says, Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; Matthew 5:6 because what is received with a greedy and thirsting desire is drunk more fully and plentifully. As also, in another place, the Lord speaks to the Samaritan woman, saying, Whosoever drinks of this water shall thirst again; but whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him, shall not thirst forever. John 4:13-14 By which is also signified the very baptism of saving water, which indeed is once received, and is not again repeated. But the cup of the Lord is always both thirsted for and drunk in the Church.  Cyprian, Epistle 62.8

And as the Ark of Noah was nothing else than the sacrament of the Church of Christ, which then, when all without were perishing, kept those only safe who were within the ark, we are manifestly instructed to look to the unity of the Church. Even as also the Apostle Peter laid down, saying, Thus also shall baptism in like manner make you safe; 1 Peter 3:21 showing that as they who were not in the ark with Noah not only were not purged and saved by water, but at once perished in that deluge; so now also, whoever are not in the Church with Christ will perish outside, unless they are converted by penitence to the only and saving lava of the Church. Cyprian, Epistle 74.15

Peter also, showing this, set forth that the Church is one, and that only they who are in the Church can be baptized; and said, In the Ark of Noah, few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water; the like figure where-unto even baptism shall save you; 1 Peter 3:20-21 proving and attesting that the one Ark of Noah was a type of the one Church. If, then, in that baptism of the world thus expiated and purified, he who was not in the Ark of Noah could be saved by water, he who is not in the Church to which alone baptism is granted, can also now be quickened by baptism. Moreover, too, the Apostle Paul, more openly and clearly still manifesting this same thing, writes to the Ephesians, and says, Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water. But if the Church is one which is loved by Christ, and is alone cleansed by His washing, how can he who is not in the Church be either loved by Christ, or washed and cleansed by His washing? Cyprian, Epistle 75.2

That the first circumcision of the flesh is made void, and the second circumcision of the spirit is promised instead. In Jeremiah: “Thus says the Lord to the men of Judah, and to them who inhabit Jerusalem, Renew newness among you, and do not sow among thorns: circumcise yourselves to your God, and circumcise the foreskin of your heart; lest my anger go forth like fire, and burn you up, and there be none to extinguish it.” Jeremiah 4;3-4 Also Moses says: “In the last days God will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your seed, to love the Lord your God.” Deuteronomy 30;6 Also in Jesus the son of Nave: “And the Lord said to Jesus, Make you small knives of stone, very sharp, and set about to circumcise the children of Israel for the second time.” Joshua 5;2 Paul also, to the Colossians: “You are circumcised with the circumcision not made with hands in the putting off of the flesh, but with the circumcision of Christ.” Colossians 2;11 Also, because Adam was first made by God uncircumcised, and righteous Abel, and Enoch, who pleased God and was translated; and Noah, who, when the world and men were perishing on account of transgressions, was chosen alone, that in him the human race might be preserved; and Melchizedek, the priest according to whose order Christ was promised. Then, because that sign did not avail women, but all are sealed by the sign of the Lord. Cyprian, Treatise 12.1.8

In like manner, [Jeremiah] thus prophesied concerning the abolition of circumcision: “Thus says the Lord to the men of Judah who dwell at Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord your God, and take away the foreskins of your heart, lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it.” Jeremiah 4:3-4 Also Moses himself says: “In the last days the Lord shall circumcise your heart to love the Lord your God” Deuteronomy 30:6 Also Jesus the son of Nun, his successor, said: “And the Lord said to Jesus, Make you knives of flint very sharp, and sit and circumcise the children of Israel the second time.” Joshua 5:2 He said that this second circumcision would be not of the flesh, as the first was, which the Jews practice even now, but of the heart and spirit, which was delivered by Christ, who was the true Jesus. For the prophet does not say, And the Lord said to me, but unto Jesus, that he might show that God was not speaking of him, but of Christ, to whom God was then speaking. For that Jesus represented Christ: for when he was at first called Auses, Moses, foreseeing the future, ordered that he should be called Jesus; that since he had been chosen as the leader of the warfare against Amalek, who was the enemy of the children of Israel, he might both subdue the adversary by the emblem of the name, and lead the people into the land of promise. And for this reason he was also successor to Moses, to show that the new law given by Christ Jesus was about to succeed to the old law which was given by Moses. For that circumcision of the flesh is plainly irrational; since, if God had so willed it, He might so have formed man from the beginning, that he should be without a foreskin. But it was a figure of this second circumcision, signifying that the breast is to be laid bare; that is, that we ought to live with an open and simple heart, since that part of the body which is circumcised has a kind of resemblance to the heart, and is to be treated with reverence. On this account God ordered that it should be laid bare, that by this argument He might admonish us not to have our breast hidden in obscurity; that is, not to veil any shameful deed within the secrets of conscience. This is the circumcision of the heart of which the prophets speak, which God transferred from the mortal flesh to the soul, which alone is about to endure. For being desirous of promoting our life and salvation in accordance with His own goodness, in that circumcision He has set before us repentance, that if we lay open our hearts —that is if we confess our sins and make satisfaction to God —we shall obtain pardon, which is denied to those who are obstinate and conceal their faults, by Him who regards not the outward appearance, as man does, but the innermost secrets of the heart. Lactantius, The Divine Institutes, Book 4, chapter 17

…But the dove sent forth that returned, is signified by the man who does not delay [his return to the Church], because be would have no rest for his feet. And Noah received it [the dove] into the ark; and when it was sent forth again on the seventh day, received it, bearing in its mouth an olive leaf. And I, beloved brethren — as I not heedlessly meditate these things, and not in harmony with human wisdom, but as it is permitted to our minds by the condescension of the heavenly Lord, needfully and pertinently to conceive — say that that dove signifies to us of itself a double type. Formerly, that is, from the beginning of the divine administration, it suggests its own figure, the first indeed and chief — that is, the figure of the Spirit. And by its mouth the sacrament of baptism which is provided for the salvation of the human race, and that by the heavenly plan it is celebrated in the Church only. Moreover, three times sent forth from the ark, flying about through the air over the water, it already signified the sacraments of our Church. Whence also the Lord Christ charges upon Peter, and moreover also upon the rest of His disciples, “Go and preach the Gospel to the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” That is, that that same Trinity which operated figuratively in Noah’s days through the dove, now operates in the Church spiritually through the disciples. – Treatise Against Novatian, chapter 2-3

He had said, “The servant bought for money, once he has circumcised the flesh of his foreskin, then let him eat of the Passover” (Ex. 12:44). For the servant who is bought is the sinner who repents and is bought through the blood of Christ. When he has circumcised his heart from evil deeds, then he goes first to baptism, the fulfilment of true circumcision and is united with the people of God, and (then) he participates in the body and blood of Christ. For Israel was baptised in the midst of the sea on that night of Passover, on the day of deliverance. Our Saviour washed the feet of his disciples on the night of Passover, a mystery of baptism. You should know, however, my beloved that our Saviour (waited) until that night, then he gave the true baptism; for so long as he was moving about with his disciples, that baptism of the law, with which the priests were baptising, was the baptism (in use), as John had said, “Repent of your sins” (Mt. 3:2). But on that night he showed them the mystery of the baptism of the passion of his death, as the Apostle had said, “You were buried with him by baptism into death and you have risen with him by the power of God” (Rom. 6:3-4; Col. 2:12). — Aphrahat, Demonstration 12 On Passover, chapter 9-10  [Valavanolickal, Kuriakose, Aphrahat: Demonstrations (Moran ’Etho 33 & 34, 2005)]

Listen, my beloved, to this mystery whose form Gideon foreshowed when he gathered the people for battle, the scribes gave (them) the warning of the words of the Law, and of the phrases I have copied down for you above. Then many people turned back from the army, and when those chosen for battle were left behind, the Lord said to Gideon: “Take them down to the water and test them there. He who laps up water (in his hands) with his tongue is eager and courageous for going to battle, and while he who falls on his belly to drink water is too weak and feeble to go to the battle” (Jud. 7:4-8). My beloved, this mystery is a great one, which Gideon has foreshown: (it is) the type of baptism and the mystery of the contest and an example of the solitaries. For he forewarned the people first of all with the test of the water, and even when he gave them the test of the water, out of the ten thousand only three hundred men were chosen to make the war. This conforms with our Lord’s word, when he said “Many are the called, but few are the chosen” (Mt. 22:14). — Aphrahat, Demonstration 7 On Penitents, chapter 19.  [Valavanolickal, Kuriakose, Aphrahat: Demonstrations (Moran ’Etho 33 & 34, 2005)]

[1 Corinthians 10:2-4] The sea is a type of baptism in water, and the cloud is a type of baptism in the Spirit. Moses, as the leader of the symbolic baptism, corresponds to the Lord Christ, who is the leader of the true baptism. Therefore, they were baptized in the cloud and in the sea unto Moses. And when he says, “the rock that followed,” he does not mean that a rock truly followed them, but that the power from Christ followed them, providing for them to drink from the rock. He called the manna and the drink “spiritual” because they were given to them through the working of the Holy Spirit, not because it made those who partook spiritual by nature. From the uncertain things of the old, the old was a type of the new; and the Law of Moses was a shadow, but grace is the reality. Therefore, when the Egyptians pursued the Hebrews, and the Hebrews crossed the Red Sea and were freed from the bitter bondage of the Egyptians, the sea is a type of the font, the cloud of the Spirit, Moses of the Savior Christ, the rod of the cross, Pharaoh of the devil, the Egyptians of the demons, the manna of the divine food, and the water from the rock of the saving blood. For just as they, after crossing the Red Sea, enjoyed food and drink foreign and marvelous, so we, after the saving baptism, partake of the divine mysteries. Therefore, the rock was called Christ because it became a type of the Master Christ; thus also the sea was called baptism, although no one was baptized in it — for Israel rather passed through it dry and not immersed. – Theodore of Heraclea, Fragments on 1 Corinthians (Theodore of Heraclea, Fragmenta in epistulam i ad Corinthios)

Eleazar betrothed Rebecca near the water of the well; Jacob did the same for Rachel, and Moses for Zipporah. All of them were types of Our Lord, who betrothed himself to his Church in the water of the Jordan. Just as, near the spring, Eleazar showed Rebecca her lord Isaac as he came forward in the fields to meet her, so John, from the source of the river Jordan, pointed out Our Lord: Behold the Lamb of God, this is the one who takes away the sins of the world. — Ephrem the Syrian, Commentary on Tatian’s Diatessaron (translated from Commentaire de l’Évangile concordant ou Diatessaron page 91)

Israel was baptized in Moses in the cloud, and in the sea, 1 Corinthians 10:1-2 presenting therein types for your instruction, and sensibly exhibiting the truth which was to be shown in the latter days: and you shun baptism, not as typified in the sea, but really perfected: not in the cloud, but in the Spirit: not in Moses, a fellow-servant, but in Christ, our Creator. Had not Israel passed the sea, he would not have escaped Pharaoh; and if you pass not through the water, you will not be delivered from the sad tyranny of the devil. Israel would not have drunk of the spiritual rock, had he not been typically baptized: nor will any give you true drink, unless you are truly baptized. He ate the bread of angels after baptism ; and how will you eat the living bread, unless you receive baptism previously? He entered into the land of promise, on account of his baptism: how can you enter into paradise, if you are not sealed by baptism? — Basil of Caesarea (Exhortation to Baptism)

“But the Lord also dwells in the flood.” Psalm 28:10 For through baptism is the indwelling of the Lord in the souls of the sanctified. Therefore, the soul from which sin has been washed away—this the Lord inhabits. For this reason, it is said that He dwells in the flood. Because He has called the remission that comes through baptism a flood, and we have learned this from the thirty-first Psalm, in the saying: “Surely in the flood of many waters they shall not come near him.” For the sins of sinners, in the redemption through baptism, shall no longer be allowed to come near. — Pseudo-Basil, Homilies on Psalm 28, Homily 2 (PG 30.81)

“For I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.” 1 Corinthians 10:1-2 By the example of the Jews, who by their negligence offended, he wants us to be careful; and thus he says they were under the cloud, because all the things that happened were done in a figure of us, so that they had the image of our truth. For being covered by the cloud and kept safe from their enemies, while being delivered from death, they are said to be baptized. For when the Egyptians perished in the sea, while they, under the leadership of Moses, crossed safely, they were delivered from death: which baptism accomplishes. For their past evils were not imputed to them, but through the sea and the cloud they were purified, and prepared to receive the Law, and were a form of our future sacrament. — Ambrosiaster, Commentary on 1 Corinthians

Yesterday we began to discuss that in the flood, also, a figure of baptism had preceded. What is the flood except where the just is reserved for the seminary of justice, and where sin dies? So the Lord, seeing that the sins of men were flourishing, reserved the just man alone with his progeny, but ordered the water to go out even above the mountains, and thus in that flood all corruption of the flesh perished; only the stock and the kind of the just remained. Is not this the flood, which baptism is, in which all sins are washed away, and only the mind and grace of the just are raised up again? — Ambrose, The Sacraments, 2.1.1

Thus the same Lord Jesus in His Gospel says to the Apostles: “Go ye, baptize the nations in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). These are the words of the Saviour. Tell me, O man, Elias invoked fire from heaven, and fire went down (2 Kings 1:10); Eliseus invoked the name of the Lord, and from the water the head of the axe, which had been submerged, came up (2 Kings 6:5–6). Behold, another kind of baptism. Why? Because every man before baptism is pressed like the head of the axe and submerged; when he has been baptized, not as the head of an axe but as a lighter kind of productive wood, he is raised. Thus, here also is another figure. It was an axe with which pieces of wood were cut. The handle fell from the axe, that is, the head was submerged. The son of the Prophet did not know what he was doing, but this alone he knew, that he besought Eliseus the Prophet and asked for a remedy. Then Eliseus threw a piece of wood, and the head of the axe was raised. So do you see that in the cross of Christ the infirmity of all men is raised? – Ambrose, The Sacraments 2.4.10-11

Likewise, the flood—which cleansed the ancient unrighteousness of the world—was in a hidden way a prophecy of the cleansing from sins that comes through the divine font; and the ark itself, which saved those who entered it, was an image of the holy Church and the good hope that is now ours through her; and the dove, bringing an olive branch into the ark and proclaiming the reappearance of the land, signified the descent of the Holy Spirit and the reconciliation from above—for the olive is a symbol of peace. But even the Red Sea, which received the Israelites—who had not clothed themselves, nor believed in something uncertain—and delivered them from the evils that clung to them in Egypt, from Pharaoh and his army, and indeed the whole account of their journey from Egypt, was a type of the salvation that comes through baptism. For Egypt signified the world, in which, living not rightly, we act wickedly; and the people signified those who are now being enlightened; and the waters, which mediated safety for the people, represented baptism; and Pharaoh and his soldiers symbolized Satan and his servants. Moses, who made the bitter water useful by his staff, was foretelling universal salvation—for he bore the type of Christ; and the staff represented the cross; and the bitter water, the blessed water of the font, once appearing useless to the unbelievers, yet found by the faithful to bring complete refreshment, “like the dew of Hermon that descends upon the mountains of Zion.” — Didymus the Blind, On the Trinity, Book 2, chapter 14 (PG. 39.696, 697)

[New Testament example:] Do you wish to learn from another source as well the strength of this blood? Look from where it first flowed and where it had its source! It flowed down from the cross, from the Master’s side. John says that, when Christ was dead but still on the cross, the soldier came and pierced His side with a lance, and straightway there came out “water and blood.” The one was a symbol of baptism, and the other of the mysteries. Therefore, he did not say: “There came out blood and water,” but first water came forth and then blood, since first comes baptism and then the mysteries. It was the soldier, then, who opened Christ’s side and dug through the rampart of the holy temple, but I am the one who has found the treasure and gotten the wealth. So it was with the lamb. The Jews sacrificed the victim, but I reaped the reward of salvation which came from their sacrifice. — John Chrysostom, Baptismal Instructions 3.16

Therefore, the Jewish purification did not free from sins, but only from bodily defilements. But ours is not such, but far greater and filled with much grace; for it frees from sins, it wipes the soul clean, and it bestows the gift of the Spirit. The baptism of John, then, was much higher than the Jewish one, but lower than ours, being like a bridge between these two baptisms, leading from that to this by means of itself. For he did not lead them to the observance of bodily purifications, but exhorted and advised them to depart from those, and to change from wickedness to virtue, and to place their hope of salvation in the correction of their works, not in diverse baptisms and washings of water. For he did not say: “Wash your garments, and bathe your body, and you shall be clean” (Lev 15:13), but rather: “Bring forth fruit worthy of repentance” (Mt 3:8). And in this respect it was higher than the Jewish, but lower than ours, since the baptism of John neither gave the Holy Spirit nor granted forgiveness by grace; for he commanded repentance, but was not Lord to forgive. Therefore also he said: “I baptize you with water, but He who comes after me will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Mt 3:11). Clearly then, he himself did not baptize with the Spirit. And what is, “with the Holy Spirit and with fire”? Remember that day when there appeared to the apostles tongues divided, as of fire, and it sat upon each one of them (Acts 2:3). And that the baptism of John was incomplete, having neither the gift of the Spirit nor the remission of sins, is evident from this: Paul, having found certain disciples, said to them: “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him: “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said to them: “Into what then were you baptized?” They said: “Into John’s baptism.” Paul said: “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them (Acts 19:2–6). — John Chrysostom, De Baptismo Christi (On the Baptism of Christ)

The sea is a type of baptism in water, and the cloud of baptism in the Spirit. Moses is the leader of the typological baptism, just as Christ is of the true. They were therefore baptized in the cloud and in the sea unto Moses. And when it says that a rock followed them, it does not mean that a literal rock truly followed them, but that the power from Christ followed them, providing them drink from the rock. He called the manna and the drink spiritual, because they were given to them by the operation of the Holy Spirit, not because they made those who partook of them spiritual. The things of old were a type of the new, and the old were shadows—Moses’ Law was a shadow, but grace is the reality. So then, when the Egyptians pursued the Hebrews, and the Hebrews crossed the Red Sea and were freed from the harsh dominion of the Egyptians, the sea was a type of the font; the cloud, of the Spirit; Moses, of the Savior Christ; the staff, of the cross; Pharaoh, of the devil; the Egyptians, of the demons; the manna, of divine nourishment; the water from the rock, of the saving blood. For just as they, after crossing the Red Sea, enjoyed both the foreign food and the wondrous stream, so also do we, after the saving baptism, partake of the divine mysteries. For this reason the rock was called Christ, being made a type of the Lord Christ; and likewise the sea was named baptism, even though no one was baptized in it—for Israel passed through it more sprinkled than soaked. – Theodore of Mopsuestia, Fragments on 1 Corinthians (Pauluskommentare aus der griechischen Kirche aus Katenenhandschriften gesammelt page 185-186)

[Romans 6:17] Indeed, the phrase “Thanks be to God” is most necessary. For it was fitting to begin with thanksgiving, since he was about to speak of the gift of such great benefits granted to us by God. Most fitting also is the expression “the form of teaching to which you were delivered”—for the apostles everywhere were declaring that the old things have been loosed, death has ceased, sin is extinguished—fulfilled later in deed, but already proclaimed in promise. And in baptism we fulfill a kind of type and symbol of those things through the gift of the Spirit given to us in it, as those reborn in imitation of what shall then be. Therefore he says: you were persuaded in mind by our teaching, through which we brought you near, and you were once for all handed over to the type of the things to come through baptism. Those thus persuaded must necessarily conform their conduct accordingly, imitating by their life the realities to which they were appointed in the type. – Theodore of Mopsuestia, Fragments on Romans (Paulus kommentare aus der griechischen Kirche aus Katenenhandschriften gesammelt page 123)

…Because it seemed unnecessary to break His legs, one of the soldiers, wanting to be certain that He was truly dead, pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out—water, as a sign of regeneration through baptism; blood, as a sign of the mystery of the Eucharist. — Theodore of Mopsuestia (Commentary on John)

And John indeed baptized the Lord and our Savior, but rather was he baptized by Christ: for the former sanctified the waters, the latter was sanctified by the waters; the former bestowed grace, the latter received it; the latter laid aside sins, the former remitted them—because the latter was man, the former was God. For it is God’s to forgive sins, as it is written: “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:7). And therefore John says to Christ: “I ought to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” (Matthew 3:14). For John needed baptism, since he could not be without sin; but truly Christ did not need baptism, because He had committed no sins. Hence in that baptism our Lord and Savior first cleansed the sins of John, then of the whole world. And therefore He said: “Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). The grace of this baptism was long ago mystically prefigured when the people were brought through the river Jordan into the land of promise. Just as then, for the people going to the promised land, the way was through the Jordan, with the Lord going before them, so now, through those same waters of the river Jordan, the path to the heavenly journey was first opened, by which we are led to that blessed land of promise—that is, the promise of the heavenly kingdom. Then Jesus the son of Nun was leader in the Jordan; but for us, Jesus Christ the Lord has become the leader through baptism unto eternal salvation—the only-begotten Son of God, who is blessed forever and ever. Amen. – Chromatius of Aquileia, Treatise on the Gospel of Saint Matthew, Treatise 1, chapter 3 (PL 20:330A-B)

For He commanded the holy Apostles: “Having gone, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them into the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Mt. 28:19). And we affirm that the spiritual circumcision takes place chiefly in the season of holy baptism, when also Christ makes us partakers of the Holy Ghost. And of this again, that Jesus who was captain after Moses was a type. For he first of all led the children of Israel across the Jordan, and then having halted them, immediately circumcised them with knives of stone (Josh. 5:2–9). So when we have crossed the Jordan, Christ circumcises us with the power of the Holy Ghost, not purifying the flesh, but rather cutting off the defilement that is in our souls. — Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Luke, Sermon 3

But after His circumcision, the rite was done away by the introduction of that which had been signified by it, even baptism: for which reason we are no longer circumcised. For circumcision seems to me to have effected three several ends: in the first place, it separated the posterity of Abraham by a sort of sign and seal, and distinguished them from all other nations. In the second, it prefigured in itself the grace and efficacy of Divine baptism; for as in old time he that was circumcised was reckoned among the people of God by that seal, so also he that is baptized, having formed in himself Christ the seal, is enrolled into God’s adopted family. — Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Luke, Sermon 3

[1 Corinthians 10:1–5] In these things he wishes to instruct them through the example of the ancients concerning what is fitting, showing that they too were in a certain sense deemed worthy of the same things. For since the example is appropriately fitting, he justly exhorts them not to commit the same offenses, so that they might not suffer the same consequences. That they were under the cloud was a sign of the grace of the Spirit—for just as the cloud overshadowed them and delivered them from the harm of the Egyptians, so also grace delivers us from demonic evil. That they passed through the sea is similar to our experience: just as the sea became for them a passageway, completely freeing them from their enemies and granting them a firm freedom going forward, so baptism has become for us in relation to our own enemies. That they were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea signifies that just as they, having received these things, pledged to live according to the Mosaic laws, so also we, in baptism, receiving the Spirit of adoption, enter into a covenant and confession to henceforth live according to Christ’s commandments.  – Gennadius of Constantinople, Fragments on 1 Corinthians

Through the Red Sea made red by the Blood of Christ and somehow even then mysteriously consecrated as if by the sacrament of Baptism, the people of God are rescued while Pharaoh is drowned. In reality that is what happens, brethren. When Christians are immersed three times in the saving waters as by a three days’ journey, the spiritual Egyptians, that is, original sin or actual sins, are buried as if in the Red Sea, and while the sons of Israel cross over to the service of God, only their sins suffer destruction. Moreover, let no one doubt and think that not all of his sins perish through Baptism, but let him realize and understand that, just as none of the Egyptians survived, so nothing at all remains of his sins. — Caesarius of Arles, Sermon 97, On the Three Days Journey in the Desert

And he came into all the region of the Jordan, “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 3:3). It is apparent to all who read that John not only preached a baptism of repentance but also bestowed it on some; yet he was not able to bestow a baptism for the forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness of sins is granted us only in the baptism of Christ. We must note the words “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 3:3). He preached a baptism which would take away sins, but he was unable to give it himself. Just as by his word of preaching he was the forerunner of the Father’s Word incarnate, so by his baptism, which could not of itself take away sin, he was to be the forerunner of that baptism of repentance by which sins are taken away. His words prepared the way for the Redeemer’s actual presence, and his preaching of baptism was a foreshadowing of the Truth. — Gregory the Great, Homily 6 (Forty Gospel Homilies)

[Luke 3:3] — And he went into all the region around Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. To all readers it is clear that John not only preached the baptism of repentance, but also gave it to certain people, yet he could not grant his baptism for the remission of sins. For indeed, the remission of sins is granted to us by the baptism of Christ alone. It should be noted, therefore, what is said, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, since he could not give a baptism that would absolve sins, he preached it. Just as he preceded the incarnate Word of the Father with the word of preaching: so the baptism of repentance, by which sins are absolved, would precede his baptism, by which sins cannot be absolved. — Bede, Commentary on Luke

[Mark 1:4] — John was baptizing in the desert, etc. It is known by all peoples that John not only preached the baptism of repentance but also administered it to some, yet he could not grant baptism for the remission of sins. For the remission of sins is granted to us solely in the baptism of Christ. Therefore, it must be noted what is said, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, because he could not grant the baptism that absolves sins, he preached it, so that just as he preceded the incarnate Word of the Father with the word of preaching, so he might precede the baptism of repentance, by which sins are absolved, with his own baptism, by which sins cannot be absolved. And they were baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. — Bede, Commentary on Mark

Different names/titles of Baptism:

And this washing is called illumination, because they who learn these things are illuminated in their understandings. Justin Martyr (A.D. 160) Ante-Nicene Fathers vol.1 pg.183

“And the same thing happens with us, because the Lord is our example. When we’re baptized, we’re enlightened; when enlightened, we’re adopted as sons; when adopted, we’re made perfect; when perfected, we’re made immortal. “I said, ‘You are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High.’” This gift is called by many names: grace, enlightenment, perfection, and washing. Washing, because it washes away sins; grace, because it lifts the penalties of sin; enlightenment, because it allows us to see that holy saving light—meaning, we see the divine clearly; perfection, because it lacks nothing.” – The Instructor by Clement of Alexandria, Book I, Chapter 6

And for the one in the beginning of months is when the month of passing over out passage, the of Egypt comes around, which is also the beginning of another birth for him—for a new way of life begins for the one who leaves behind the darkness and comes to the light—to speak in a manner proper to the sacrament (σúµßoλov) through water given those who have hoped in Christ, which is called the washing of regeneration. For what does rebirth signify if not the beginning of another birth. – Origen, Treatise on the Passover chapter 4

Objection to Salvific power of Baptism using 1 Corinthians 1:14, 17 refuted with the correct interpretation:

But they roll back an objection from that apostle himself, in that he said, “For Christ sent me not to baptize;” 1 Corinthians 1:17 as if by this argument baptism were done away! For if so, why did he baptize Gaius, and Crispus, and the house of Stephanas? 1 Corinthians 1:14, 16 However, even if Christ had not sent him to baptize, yet He had given other apostles the precept to baptize. But these words were written to the Corinthians in regard of the circumstances of that particular time; seeing that schisms and dissensions were agitated among them, while one attributes everything to Paul, another to Apollos. 1 Corinthians 1:11-12 For which reason the “peace-making” Matthew 5:9 apostle, for fear he should seem to claim all gifts for himself, says that he had been sent “not to baptize, but to preach.” For preaching is the prior thing, baptizing the posterior. Therefore the preaching came first: but I think baptizing also was lawful to him to whom preaching was. – Tertullian, On Baptism chapter 14

“I thank [God] that I baptized none of you… for Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel, not in wisdom of speech, so that the cross of Christ may not be emptied.” 1 Corinthians 1:14, 17 Proclaiming the gospel is greater than baptizing; and since Paul knew that some had been set apart for baptizing, he gives thanks for having received a greater calling than that of baptizing. In the Acts of the Apostles, the works of certain apostles are shown—for instance, Philip was baptizing, but the Spirit was not ministered by Philip to the one being baptized; rather, Peter laid hands on those baptized by him, and the Spirit came upon them. Thus, Philip was baptizing with water those being reborn of water and the Holy Spirit, but Peter [baptized] with the Spirit. Not so much speech is needed as power; therefore it is written, “the Lord will give a word to those proclaiming the good news with great power, the King of powers of the Beloved.” Christ, then, sent me not to baptize but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom of speech, not with impressiveness of diction; for if I do this and wish to deliver the word in this way, the power of Christ does not reach the soul of the hearers, and it empties out and strips away the grace of power. – Origen, Commentary on 1 Corinthians, chapter 5 (The Journal of Theological Studies, Vol. 9, page 234-235)

“Or were ye baptized into the name of Paul?” 1 Corinthians 1:13 Again, he says not, “did Paul baptize you?” For he did baptize many: but this was not the question, by whom they had been baptized, but, into whose name they had been baptized! For since this also was a cause of schisms, their being called after the name of those who baptized them, he corrects this error likewise saying, “Were ye baptized into the name of Paul?” “Tell me not,” says he, “who baptized, but into whose name. For not he that baptizes, but he who is invoked in the Baptism, is the subject of enquiry. For this is He who forgives our sins. … “I thank God that I baptized none of you but Crispus and Gaius.” 1 Corinthians 1:14 “Why are you elate at having baptized, when I for my part even give thanks that I have not done so!” Thus saying, by a kind of divine art, he does away with their swelling pride upon this point; not with the efficacy of the baptism, (God forbid,) but with the folly of those who were puffed up at having been baptizers: first, by showing that the Gift is not theirs; and, secondly, by thanking God therefore. For Baptism truly is a great thing: but its greatness is not the work of the person baptizing, but of Him who is invoked in the Baptism: since to baptize is nothing as regards man’s labor, but is much less than preaching the Gospel. Yea, again I say, great indeed is Baptism, and without baptism it is impossible to obtain the kingdom. Still a man of no singular excellence is able to baptize, but to preach the Gospel there is need of great labor. … — John Chrysostom, Homily 3 on 1 Corinthians 

And not by these only, but also by the next words, he greatly represses their pride, saying, “Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel” 1 Corinthians 1:17 : for the more laborious part, and that which needed much toil and a soul of iron, and that on which all depended, was this. And therefore it was that Paul had it put into his hand. And why, not being sent to baptize, did he baptize? Not in contention with Him that sent him, but in this instance laboring beyond his task. For he says not, I was forbidden, but, I was not sent for this, but for that which was of the greatest necessity. For preaching the Gospel is a work perhaps for one or two; but baptizing, for everyone endowed with the priesthood. For a man being instructed and convinced, to take and baptize him is what any one whatever might do: for the rest, it is all effected by the will of the person drawing near, and the grace of God. But when unbelievers are to be instructed, there must be great labor, great wisdom. And at that time there was danger also annexed. In the former case the whole thing is done, and he is convinced, who is on the point of initiation: and it is no great thing when a man is convinced, to baptize him. But in the later case the labor is great, to change the deliberate will, to alter the turn of mind, and to tear up error by the roots, and to plant the truth in its place. Not that he speaks out all this, neither does he argue in so many words that Baptism has no labor, but that preaching has. For he knows how always to subdue his tone, whereas in the comparison with heathen wisdom he is very earnest, the subject enabling him to use more vehemency of language. … For as to teach the wrestlers in the games is the part of a spirited and skilful trainer, but to place the crown on the conquerors head may be that of one who cannot even wrestle, (although it be the crown which adds splendor to the conqueror,) so also in Baptism. It is impossible to be saved without it, yet it is no great thing which the baptizer does, finding the will ready prepared. — John Chrysostom, Homily 3 on 1 Corinthians 

“I give thanks to God that I baptized none of you, except Crispus and Gaius; lest anyone should say that I baptized in my own name. I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else”. 1 Corinthians 1:14-16 He gives thanks to God that he baptized not many of them, lest, since an error had begun in this matter, the error might be attributed to his name among many—thus both those baptizing and those baptized would need to be reproved, because they attributed the grace of baptism to men, to the injury of the Savior, while those men concealed it for the sake of glory. For they were such as the Novatians and Donatists are now, who claim baptism for themselves, rejecting those baptized by us, and the baptized boast in their persons. Indeed, renouncing the name of Christ, they boast in being called Novatians and Donatists. Therefore Crispus and Gaius are Corinthians, whom he names for testimony, because they were baptized by the Apostle in such a way that no glory should be claimed by him on that account. But the household of Stephanas were the firstfruits of Achaia, as he indicates at the end of the epistle, to whom he bears witness that they had devoted themselves to the ministry to the saints. – Ambrosiaster, Commentary on 1 Corinthians

How then are we to understand the phrase: ‘Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel’? Since even one who is not an apostle baptizes, but only a few held the office of apostleship; and without having been evangelized and baptized, it was not possible to be baptized. He says: ‘I was sent to preach the gospel’—for this was the primary thing, not to baptize. Thus, what is omitted here is the idea: ‘I was not previously sent to baptize.’ So also elsewhere when he says: ‘Is God concerned about oxen?’—not because He is not concerned (for even in the Law Moses speaks concerning oxen), but truly about those who labor in farming. And David also says: ‘You will save men and beasts, O Lord, as you have multiplied your mercy, O God.’ And Solomon says: ‘A righteous man has compassion on the souls of his beasts’—how much more, then, God? But what does he mean? That God is not primarily concerned with oxen. And here too something is left out, just like in the phrase: ‘Christ did not send me to baptize.’” – Severian of Gabala, in epistulam i ad Corinthios

It is common knowledge that he (Paul) has been sent to proclaim Jesus to the Gentiles, yet we maintain that it is also the task of an apostle to perform some baptisms, if he so chooses, at times when there is a need. But so that he does not manifestly spend the time required for proclamation on other pursuits, he proclaims the gospel instead, wisely leaving it to all who have been ordained to the episcopacy throughout the regions to do this at their leisure. He devotes himself to the ministry of the word and presents the mystery of Christ with exquisite attention to detail. However, just as the divinely inspired Stephen performed the unavoidable task of mystagogy even though he was appointed to wait on tables, so also the divinely inspired Paul performed the task of baptism at certain times even though he was assigned the duty of proclaiming the mystery of Christ (1 Cor. 1:14–17). He had the authority for both, and no one would prevent him if he chose to do this. — Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on 1 Corinthians

“I thank God that I baptized none of you,” and the rest (1 Corinthians 1:14). The Apostle says that he baptized no one among them except Crispus, Gaius, and the household of Stephanas, because he does not claim that he was sent to baptize, but to preach the Gospel. This is said in a general sense: for the sacrament of baptism was given to all the apostles to administer in common. From this, we may understand that they sometimes entrusted baptism to others for the benefit of those who desired salvation, since they were evidently occupied with preaching. — Cassiodorus, On 1 Corinthians, PL 70.1331C

“In Jesus name only” baptism refuted:

• The Fathers unanimously teach baptism is done by the threefold-invocation, but these are some quotes that stand out.

Since the Lord himself told the disciples to baptize all nations in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, why does the Apostle employ here the name of Christ alone in baptism? For he says, “We have been baptized into Christ,” although surely it should not be deemed a legitimate baptism unless it is in the name of the Trinity. Origen, Commentary on Romans 5.8.7

For the Lord after His resurrection, sending His disciples, instructed and taught them in what manner they ought to baptize, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. He suggests the Trinity, in whose sacrament the nations were to be baptized. Cyprian, Epistle 72.5

“For whereas in the Gospels, and in the epistles of the apostles, the name of Christ is alleged for the remission of sins; it is not in such a way as that the Son alone, without the Father, or against the Father, can be of advantage to anybody; but that it might be shown to the Jews, who boasted as to their having the Father, that the Father would profit them nothing, unless they believed on the Son whom He had sent. For they who know God the Father the Creator, ought also to know Christ the Son, lest they should flatter and applaud themselves about the Father alone, without the acknowledgment of His Son, who also said, “No man comes to the Father but by me.” John 14:6 But He, the same, sets forth, that it is the knowledge of the two which saves, when He says, “And this is life eternal, that they might know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” John 17:3 Since, therefore, from the preaching and testimony of Christ Himself, the Father who sent must be first known, then afterwards Christ, who was sent, and there cannot be a hope of salvation except by knowing the two together; how, when God the Father is not known, nay, is even blasphemed, can they who among the heretics are said to be baptized in the name of Christ, be judged to have obtained the remission of sins? For the case of the Jews under the apostles was one, but the condition of the Gentiles is another. The former, because they had already gained the most ancient baptism of the law and Moses, were to be baptized also in the name of Jesus Christ, in conformity with what Peter tells them in the Acts of the Apostles, saying, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For this promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” Acts 2:38-39 Peter makes mention of Jesus Christ, not as though the Father should be omitted, but that the Son also might be joined to the Father.” — Cyprian, Epistle 72.17

[continued:] Finally, when, after the resurrection, the apostles are sent by the Lord to the heathens, they are bidden to baptize the Gentiles “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” How, then, do some say, that a Gentile baptized without, outside the Church, yea, and in opposition to the Church, so that it be only in the name of Jesus Christ, everywhere, and in whatever manner, can obtain remission of sin, when Christ Himself commands the heathen to be baptized in the full and united Trinity?… What else is it then, than to become a partaker with blaspheming heretics, to wish to maintain and assert, that one who blasphemes and gravely sins against the Father and the Lord and God of Christ, can receive remission of sins in the name of Christ? What, moreover, is that, and of what kind is it, that he who denies the Son of God has not the Father, and he who denies the Father should be thought to have the Son, although the Son Himself testifies, and says, “No man can come unto me except it were given unto him of my Father?” John 6:65 So that it is evident, that no remission of sins can be received in baptism from the Son, which it is not plain that the Father has granted. — Cyprian, Epistle 72.18

• Jesus name only baptism is common among Unitarian, Oneness/Modalist and many other heretical groups. No valid baptism when only the name of Jesus is said or when you only immerse one time.
• Unitarians deny Jesus is God and also baptize in Jesus name only. Earlier Cyprian refutes this too “For if any one could be baptized among heretics, certainly he could also obtain remission of sins. If he attained remission of sins, he was also sanctified. If he was sanctified, he also was made the temple of God. I ask, of what God? If of the Creator; he could not be, because he has not believed in Him. If of Christ; he could not become His temple, since he denies that Christ is God. If of the Holy Spirit; since the three are one, how can the Holy Spirit be at peace with him who is the enemy either of the Son or of the Father?” — Cyprian, Epistle 72.12

Now faith occasions this for us; even as the Elders, the disciples of the Apostles, have handed down to us. First of all it bids us bear in mind that we have received baptism for the remission of sins, in the name of God the Father, and in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was incarnate and died and rose again, and in the Holy Spirit of God. And that this baptism is the seal of eternal life, and is the new birth unto God, that we should no longer be the sons of mortal men, but of the eternal and perpetual God; and that what is everlasting and continuing is made God; and is over all things that are made, and all things are put under Him; and all the things that are put under Him are made His own; for God is not ruler and Lord over the things of another, but over His own; and all things are God’s; and therefore God is Almighty, and all things are of God. – Irenaeus, The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching (180 AD)

“Inasmuch as you have written thus, setting forth the pious legislation, which we continually read and now have in remembrance—namely that it shall suffice only to lay hands on those who shall have made profession in baptism, whether in pretence or in truth, of God Almighty and of Christ and of the Holy Spirit; but those over whom there has not been invoked the name either of Father or of Son or of the Holy Spirit, these we must baptise, but not rebaptise. This is the sure and immovable teaching and tradition, begun by our Lord after his resurrection from the dead, when he gave his apostles the command: Go ye, make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. This then was preserved and fulfilled by his successors, the blessed apostles, and by all the bishops prior to ourselves who have died in the holy church and shared in its life; and it has lasted down to us, because it is firmer than the whole world. For, he said, heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”” – Dionysius of Alexandria, Of the same from the first letter to Xystus, chief bishop of Rome. (257 AD)

“Nor do I think that anyone would be so foolish and insane as to consider a baptism given in the name of the Father and the Son complete without also adding the Holy Spirit. Or think one given in the name of the Father and the Holy Spirit complete if the name of the Son is omitted. Or think one given in the name of the Son and the Holy Spirit complete without the name of Father placed at the beginning. For even if there could be someone with a stony heart86 (if I may speak thus) and a very disturbed mind who tries to baptize in such a way that he omits one of the prescribed names—such a man would clearly legislate against the law of Christ!—he would still baptize incompletely,88 or rather, he would be altogether unable to liberate those, whom he thinks he has baptized, from their sins.” – Didymus the Blind, On the Holy Spirit, section 101-102

If you cannot ommit any of the names in baptism and it must be in the correct order, then baptizing “In Jesus name” is an incomplete baptism since the Father and the Holy Spirit are ommited, “For even if there could be someone with a stony heart (if I may speak thus) and a very disturbed mind who tries to baptize in such a way that he omits one of the prescribed names—such a man would clearly legislate against the law of Christ!“

“As to those who assembled in unlawful congregations, their decision was to join them again to the Church, after they had been brought to a better state by proper repentance and rebuke, and so, in many cases, when men in orders had rebelled with the disorderly, to receive them on their repentance, into the same rank. Now the Pepuzeni are plainly heretical, for, by unlawfully and shamefully applying to Montanus and Priscilla the title of the Paraclete, they have blasphemed against the Holy Ghost. They are, therefore, to be condemned for ascribing divinity to men; and for outraging the Holy Ghost by comparing Him to men. They are thus also liable to eternal damnation, inasmuch as blasphemy against the Holy Ghost admits of no forgiveness. What ground is there, then, for the acceptance of the baptism of men who baptize into the Father and the Son and Montanus or Priscilla? For those who have not been baptized into the names delivered to us have not been baptized at all.” – Basil of Caesarea, (Epistle 188: 1st Canonical Epistle, Canon 1)

Pelagius the Pope to Gaudentius, bishop of Volterra. We admonish you to see to it that those who, with unspeakable audacity, do not cease to corrupt the sons of the Christian people, drawing them to follow their heresy, are, so far as you are able, struck down with lawful severity through the public judges of those same places, so that at least through such fear they may cease from this kind of crime. As for those heretics about whom, through Paulinus, your illustrious son, you have judged that We should be consulted—namely, if any of them wish to return to the catholic faith, whether they are to be baptized or only reconciled—We wish your Reverence to observe that practice which We know is kept around Sirmium and Singidunum and other neighboring places, where many men of this heresy are found: that, since they assert that they are baptized only in the name of Christ, with a single immersion, whereas the Gospel precept, delivered by God Himself, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, admonishes us to bestow holy baptism on each person in the name of the Trinity, with a threefold immersion, as our Lord says to His disciples: “Go, baptize all nations in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19) — if indeed those from among the aforesaid heretics, who are said to live in the places near to your charity, should perhaps confess that they have been baptized only in the name of the Lord, then, without any shadow of doubt, when they come to the catholic faith you will baptize them in the name of the Holy Trinity. — Pope Pelegius I, Epistle 21, to Gaudentius, 550 AD (Gassó Batlle 1956 Pelagius, page 64-66)

And indeed we have learned from the ancient institution of the Fathers that whosoever among heretics are baptized in the name of the Trinity, when they return to holy Church, may be recalled to the bosom of mother Church either by unction of chrism, or by imposition of hands, or by profession of the faith only. Hence the West reconciles Arians to the holy Catholic Church by imposition of hands, but the East by the unction of holy chrism. But Monophysites and others are received by a true confession only, because holy baptism, which they have received among heretics, then acquires in them the power of cleansing, when either the former receive the Holy Spirit by imposition of hands, or the latter are united to the bowels of the holy and universal Church by reason of their confession of the true faith. Those heretics, however, who are not baptized in the name of the Trinity, such as the Bonosiaci and the Cataphrygæ [Montanist], because the former do not believe in Christ the Lord, and the latter with a perverse understanding believe a certain bad man, Montanus, to be the Holy Spirit, like whom are many others — these, when they come to holy Church, are baptized, because what they received while in their error, not being in the name of the Holy Trinity, was not baptism. Nor can this be called an iteration of baptism, which, as has been said, had not been given in the name of the Trinity. – Gregory the Great, Registrum Epistolarum, Book XI, Letter 67