Jane E. Merdinger
 

One week before receiving baptism on Easter Eve, candidates were subjected to the scrutiny, the most vigorous test demanded of the catechumenate. During the early morning ordeal, initiates underwent an exorcism and a physical examination designed to evoke revulsion and fear of the devil and his allurements. Only by the utter rejection of their former lives could candidates hope to be born anew in Christ. Many passed, but some did not. This paper will explore why, at such a crucial step of preparation, some faltered, though they regarded baptism as nothing other than salvation. 1 By assessing candidates expectations and deficiencies, I expect to shed light on various aspects of the scrutiny and its role in the rite of baptism.

Augustine s de Catechizandis Rudibus contains valuable information on the stages of the catechumenate. Individuals interested in embracing Christianity were to present themselves to the local bishop or priest who would then question them about their motives and background. If Christian friends and relatives could testify on their behalf, so much the better (de Cat. 5.9). Certain professions were disallowed, of course; one could not be an actor, a prostitiute, an astrologer, and the like. In his Lenten and Eastertide sermons, Augustine frequently cites such lists as a reminder to all his flock - catechumens and baptized alike - of the persons whom they must avoid.

Augustine recognizes that some inquirers will approach Christianity for the wrong motives. They hope to achieve economic gain or social status by embracing the religion of their patron. The bishop of Hippo suggests that catechists work with such individuals to elicit in them proper reasons for becoming Christian. Virtually every candidate whom Augustine has met has been impelled by some fear of God, but the bishop of Hippo expects that emotion to change to love of God, under the patient direction of the catechist. (de Cat. Rud. 5.9, 17.26). In de Cat. Rud., Augustine emphasizes that candidates should be especially careful to associate with good Christians and should not be misled by the behavior of many within the Church who lead sinful lives, disdaining Christ s precepts. (de Cat. Rud. 25.48, 27.55).

After an hour or two of instruction, inquirers whom the catechist deems worthy are welcomed into the catechumenate with a simple ceremony of exorcism, imposition of hands, signing with the cross, and reception of salt.

In late antiquity, many catechumens postponed receiving baptism until they were well along in years. Fear of failure to meet the high standards demanded of full-fledged Christians held many candidates back. Each year at the beginning of Lent, Augustine urged catechumens in his congregation to take the final step and enroll as competentes. Lo, the Paschal season has come, give in your names for baptism. (Sermon 132.1). Many held back, but enough heeded his call that Augustine found himself hard pressed to learn all of their names. Typically, every Lent at Hippo the new crowd of competentes proved to be a diverse group. Artisans and shopkeepers could expect to rub shoulders both with wealthy landowners and with poor farmers from the surrounding countryside. In de Cat. Rud., Augustine classifies candidates not according to their social status but according to their educational background. Catechists should expect to encounter well-educated inquirers who are already conversant with Scripture and with well- known Christian treatises; semi-educated men from sub-standard rhetorical and grammar schools; and the illiterate. (de Cat. Rud. 8.12; 9.13). At Carthage, he points out, Deogratias can expect to encounter mostly uneducated townspeople; these folk perhaps were slightly more sophisticated than rural peasants but had experienced none of the educational advantages of the wealth. (de Cat. Rud. 16.24). As a pastor, however, Augustine knew that no one genuinely interested in becoming a Christian should despair simply because of a lack of intellectual gifts. If an inquirer is exceedingly slow-witted, we should rather say much on his behalf to God, than say much to him about God. (de Cat. Rud. 13.18).

For the competentes, the seven week journey toward the baptismal font was a time of rigorous asceticism. Fasting was required daily until 3 p.m.; almsgiving, too, was mandatory; no meat was allowed; no sexual relations; no candidate could bathe. In a world where much of one s social life revolved around the baths with their restaurants, lecture halls, and bars, this dictum must have posed a hardship for many candidates. Furthermore, competentes were debarred from frequenting the games, the theatre, the races - any amusement that smacked of idolatry and licentiousness. For Augustine, rigorous training of the body helped prepare the soul for the reception of baptism. The devil and his minions could only be driven out through mortification of the flesh; only then could the Holy Spirit enter. Not suprisingly, the bishop of Hippo often used athletic or military metaphors when addressing those soon to be baptized (baptizandi). A good example can be found in Sermon 216:

There you are, that s where your stadium is, that s where the wrestling matches are, that s where the races are run, that s where the prizefighting takes place. If you want to throw that foulest of wrestlers with the brawny arms of faith, then lay low all that is evil, embrace all that is good. (Sermon 216.6, trans. E. Hill)
 

Concomitant with continual ascetic practices was moral instruction; the baptizandi gathered almost daily for homilies crafted especially with them in mind.2 Since the disciplina arcani was still in force in the fifth century, the catechist concentrated on moral instruction; candidates had to wait until Easter week to hear detailed theological expositions on the sacraments they had just received.3 Much of the language used that week would be Pauline in nature.

Perhaps for intellectuals like Augustine, conversion to Christianity consisted mainly in an interior journey of the heart and the mind. For most people in late antiquity, however, conversion spelt a change in their cosmology. Christ had achieved a mighty victory on the cross over Satan and the demons. His defeat of the Adversary spelt an end to humankind s enslavement to sin and death. No longer does Satan hold sway over the descendants of Adam and Eve; now Christ rules triumphant.4 Nonetheless, God permits the Devil his freedom so in this life Christians must remain on guard. Satan roams the world, ensnaring lax and unsuspecting people whenever he can. Christians believed that demons lurked at pagan shrines, in statues of the gods, cultic processions, at the races, and the theatre - in all the trappings of empire. For the seven weeks of Lent, the competentes task involved nothing less than stripping away all affinity for such enticements and remolding themselves to accept the pure and simple dicta of the Gospel.

The high point of the competentes renunciation of their past took place at the scrutiny, an awesome, perhaps almost terrifying ordeal required of every candidate. We first encounter a rudimentary form of it in Hippolytus Apostolic Tradition from the early third century. He speaks of daily exorcisms of candidates but cites especially the great exorcism performed by the bishop in the days preceeding baptism. If someone is not good or not pure, the bishop will set them aside, because [such a one] has not heard the instructions with faith. For it is not possible that the Alien [i.e., Satan] hide himself forever. (Apos. Trad. 20, trans. Finn). Here Hippolytus indicates that a catechumen who remains incorrigible has only himself to blame, i.e., that even Satan eventually desists in his efforts to ensnare a person. Some scholars believe that in Hippolytus rite the devil was renounced directly ( I renounce you, Satan! ), whereas in Africa we shall see that indirect repudiation was always the norm.5

The exact day on which the scrutiny took place at Hippo remains a matter of debate. Sermon 216, the only sermon preached by Augustine immediately after a scrutiny (probably in 391), contains contradictory evidence. The tenor of the address suggests that the scrutiny was performed near the beginning of Lent, yet at Carthage, whose rites were virtually the same as at Hippo, the scrutiny occurred near the end of Lent, eight days before Easter. Suzanne Poque and Thomas Finn argue for the latter date, and liturgically that seems more plausible.6

No text of the scrutiny has been preserved; again, the disciplina arcani prevailed, and we can only gain some understanding of the ceremony in late Roman Africa from scattered references in the sermons of Augustine and Quodvultdeus. One thing is clear - the scrutiny was biblically based, drawing upon themes in the Old Testament and the New Testament. Its various stages were designed to inspire awe and fear in the candidates, convincing them once and for all to abandon their old ways and to embrace a new life in Christ. Though it is difficult to ascertain the exact order of events, the scrutiny appears to have been comprised of a physical examination, exorcism, exsufflation, imposition of hands, and perhaps renunciation of the Devil.

The rite began at cock-crow (ad gallicantum) after a night spent in fasting and prayer. With heads bare and eyes downcast, tired, hungry, and cold, in the eerie light of dawn, candidates anxiously assembled in a special section of the church, where they would be visible to all. Every gesture and word was orchestrated to inculcate humility. Divested of their outer garments, with heads uncovered and eyes downcast, they stood barefoot on goatskins, symbolic reminders of Adam and Eve s garments after the Fall. Perhaps the bishop initially questioned candidates rigorously about their conduct over the past several weeks. Had they given alms to the poor? Had they remained continent? Had they fasted and prayed daily? The scrutiny was not designed to examine the competentes grasp of Scripture or doctrine; it was purely a test of their moral fiber. Probably the solemn exorcism came next. With resounding curses, an exorcist rebuked Satan and commanded him to depart from each candidate. The names of Christ and the Trinity were continuallly invoked to dispell the Evil One. Clearly, this portion of the rite was based on Jesus encounters with Satan and the demons. Just as He had compelled them to flee into the desert, the exorcist would do the same. According to Augustine, candidates were to search their conscience and feel remorse for their sins while the exorcism was being performed. We gain a sense of the drama in Sermon 216:
 

What we are doing for you by invoking the name of your redeemer, you must complete by thoroughly scrutinizing and crushing your hearts. We block the wiles of the ancient and obstinate enemy with prayers to God and with stern rebukes; you must stand up to him with your earnest prayers and contrition of heart, in order to be snatched from the power of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of his glory. This is now your task, and this your toil. We heap curses on him, appropriate to his vile wickedness; it is for you, rather, to join glorious battle with him by turning away from him and devoutly renouncing him. He has to be crushed, bound, shut out, this enemy of God and of you, and above all of himself....Empty out all his poisons from your hearts by calling on the name of the Savior. (Sermon 216.6, trans. E. Hill)
 

Exsufflation was also part of the scrutiny. Apparently, the exorcist hissed and spat at each candidate in what must have been a very ancient gesture of contempt for the devil. In de symbolo ad Cathechumenos, Augustine explains that such blowing was meant to drive the devil out of the person s body. ...even little children are breathed upon and exorcised, so that the hostile power of the Devil who deceived mankind in order to gain possesion of men may be driven out of them. (de Sym. ad. Cat. 1.2, trans. Liguori). Against the Pelagians, Augustine would often point to exsufflation as proof that even babies harbored original sin and needed to be purged of it.7 William Harmless points out that in the Roman world, one s breath was regarded as one s life- giving force. Thus exsufflatio succeeded in dispelling from the candidates the demonic breath that had taken root within them. Tertullian speaks of Christians who hissed and spat at smoking altars to show their scorn for idolatry. Hissing and spitting at statues of the emperor became a crime of treason while Christianity was still in its infancy.8

Immediately following the exsufflation, the exorcist probably placed his hands on the candidate (the imposition of hands ). It seems likely that the exorcist continued to call on Christ and the Trinity at that time.9

During the scrutiny, a physical examination of every candidate s body was made. It is not clear precisely when or where this occurred. For privacy s sake, perhaps the insepection took place in a remote quarter of the church, away from the gaze of the congregation. Scholars are divided over the significance of the physical inspection. Busch has argued that a candidate who bore the marks of a contagious disease would not be allowed to be baptized. Dondeyne believed that diabolical possesion manifested intself in physical ailments that became obvious to the bishop and his assistants as they examined each person. In pre-Constantinian time, Dondeyne notes, Christians thought that pagans were inhabited by the Evil One or his minions, thus necessitating the numerous exorcisms leading to baptism.10 By Augustine s day, belief seems to have shifted: very few people appear to have been diabolically possesed on the eve of the scrutiny. Augustine himself refers only once to the physical examination in Sermon 216, when he says, Hasten to him and be converted...the one who gives light to the blind, purges the unclean, gives refreshment to the weary, raises the dead, and snatches the possesed from the grip of the spirits of wickedness . From these we have just now found you to be free, we congratulate you, and exhort you to preserve in your hearts the health that is apparent in your bodies. (Sermon 216.11, trans. E. Hill). In the following, we shall see that Augustine seems primarily to have regarded the scrutiny as a psychological tool for ascertaining candidates readiness for the sacrament of baptism.

For much of the scrutiny, if not for all of it, each competens stood barefoot on a cilicium, a goatskin. Augustine mentions the term toward the end of Sermon 216. And you, indeed, while you were being scrutinized, and that persuader of flight and desertion was being properly rebuked by the terrifying omnipotence of the Trinity, were not actually clothed in goatskin, but yet your feet were symbolically standing on it. (Sermon 216.10, trans. E. Hill; slightly altered). Not only did the baptizandi stand on the cilicium, but they also were required to trample on it. The vices and the fleeces of the she-goats must be trampled on. (Sermon 216.11). This portion of the rite may seem strange to modern Christians, but it had gained some currency in the ancient church. Early Christians generally believed that Adam and Eve had clothed themselves in goatskins after disobeying God in the Garden. In the West, the only evidence for using goatskins comes from Hippo and Carthage; in the East, Edessa and Antioch were known to use them, but not any other major cities. In fact, Poque has determined that the cilicium was not an actual goatskin, but rather fabric made from goat hair. The peculiar term cilicium is dervied from Cilicia, according to Varro. In his Rerum Rusticarum Libri III, he claims that shearing of animals first occured in that province.11

From Augustine s remarks it is clear that the cilicium symbolizes not only the garments Adam and Eve wore as a result of the Fall but, even more, it represents humankind s sinful nature. Those who seek baptism must figuratively and literally quash their own selfish habits and desires before approaching the font. The devil lurks in the background encouraging envy and self- centeredness, but he must be resisted. In Sermon 215, Augustine states:
 

On renouncing the devil, you see, and withdrawing your minds and hearts from his parades [pompae] and his angels, you must forget the past, reject as worthless the staleness of the old life... (Sermon 215.1, trans. E. Hill).
 

Though Augustine uses realistic language when he mentions the Devil and shares the Pauline conviction that human beings can become enslaved to him, for the bishop of Hippo the real obstacle to conversion is one s own interior disposition. In Sermon 163b.5, he minces no words: The Devil is not to be blamed for everything: there are times when a man may be his own devil. Our own prideful nature contributes to our waywardness. Again and again in de Catechizandis Rudibus and in his Lenten sermons, Augustine urges catechumens to forsake pride and embrace humility. Yet, inevitably, Augustine s train of thought leads him to the Devil since he was the first to rebel, in his pride, against God. A passage in the Confessions that describes Marius Victorinus conversion illustrates well Augustine s thought:
 

But now he [Victorinus] did not blush to become the child of your Christ and a newborn infant at your font, to bend his neck under the yoke of humility. [Initially, Victorinus] was afraid of offending his friends, the proud worshippers of demons....[Afterwords, Victorinus] saw himself as guilty of a great crime by being ashamed of the mysteries of the humility of your Word, while not being ashamed of the sacrilegious rites of proud demons, which he had proudly imitated and accepted. [Conf. 8.2, trans. Ryan]
 

In the end, it is safe to say that for Augustine the Devil is always an entity to be reckoned with but that human beings have free will to try and resist him. That is why, for Augustine, candidates encounter with Satan during the scrutiny is not a physical one but rather a metaphysical one. Christ has vanquished him in mighty combat on the Cross. The Devil can only skulk in the background. Henry Ansgar Kelly has perhaps said it best: For Augustine, pre-baptismal exorcism seems to be not a real eviction of demons but a dramatic metaphor for the redemption of souls from the diabolical oppressor. 12

Renunciation of the Devil and all of his pomps may have come at the end of the scrutiny, although some scholars believe that it did not occur until one week later on Holy Saturday night. van der Meer argues for the latter, while Poque and Finn argue for the former.13 I believe that the earlier date is the more plausible. In Sermon 215, Augustine seems to indicate that the renunciation takes place just prior to the redditio symboli, which occurred on the Saturday night one week before Easter. (See Sermon 215.1). That would place the renunciation at the same time as the scrutiny. Moreover, in Sermon 216, Augustine mentions renunciation as part of the exorcism, as we saw earlier: We heap curses on him, appropriate to his vile wretchedness; it is for you, rather, to join glorious battle with him by turning away from him and devoutly renouncing him. (Sermon 216.6, trans. E. Hill). Extracts from Quodvultdeus Sermon on the Creed show that in the capitol city renunciation of the Devil was indeed part of the scrutiny. (The traditio symboli also took place at that time in Carthage.)14

The pompae which candidates rejected was regarded as all the trappings associated with paganism in the ancient world. The term pompa literally meant procession . Tertullian appears to be the first Latin Christian author to use the word, especially in reference to cultic processions at the circus where the races took place. Pagan priests and their associates carried statues of the gods in these public displays of civic/religious sentiment. In several treatises, Tertullian decries such spectacles as mockery of true religion and piety.15 van der Meer claims that by the fifth century, the term pompa had lost its earlier potency for Christians and now retained only shadowy and vague connotations of a world that must be avoided by the faithful.16 With pagans militantly protesting the closure of temples at Carthage in 399 and later, however, perhaps the entire pagan cultus was not as dessicated as van deer Meer suggests.

Having examined the broad contours of the scrutiny, we must now turn our attention to those who underwent it. Why, after so much preparation during the weeks of Lent, did some individuals not pass it? Indeed, was the failure rate high? Thomas Finn believes that it may have been. He concedes that there were no guarantees of success along the way.17 First of all, the scrutiny was a liminal event. From Victor Turner and other anthropologists, we have learned that such occasions could be terrifying for participants. One stood on the threshhold, poised half way between one s old way of life and a new way. The eerie light of dawn; standing nearly unclothed on rough goatskin; the exorcist hissing and spitting, hurling imprecations at the Devil - it was all highly disorienting, designed to break the candidates of their old habits forever. The polluted ways of the pagan world were not to contaminate the pure waters of the baptismal bath. Social, psychological, and moral forces intersected at the scrutiny to prevent the unworthy from continuing. For once a person embraced Christianity, there was no going back. The ethical demands were high: if a baptized Christian sinned greviously, public penance awaited. The whole community would know. Sacred space would brook no violation; the heinous sinner was banned from the chancel.18 Moreover, reconciliation after grave sin could only be effected once. If a person committed grave sin a second time, the Church could offer no consolation.

Augustine knew well the perils and anxieties awaiting the competentes. He had been one himself once, in Italy, under the tutelage of Ambrose. In de fide et operibus he recalls the heightened emotions of the time.
 

Do we silence the testimony of our own experience, do we go so far as to forget how intense, how anxious we were over what the catechists taught us when we were petitioning for the sacrament of the font - and for that very reason were called competentes ? Do we not gaze at others who, year after year, race to the bath of rebirth, do we not see how they act during the days they are being catechized, exorcized, scrutinized: how sharp-eyed they look when gathering, with what eagerness they move along, with what care, what suspense, they hang upon it all? (de fide et oper. 6.9, trans. in Harmless).
 

The tension and anxiety proved too much for some, and so they failed the scrutiny. They were not yet ready to lead a Christian life. Others failed because they had leprosy or some other contagious disease. A few were possessed and had given themselves over so thoroughly to Satan that they could not be cleansed.

Those who passed the scrutiny were a mixed lot. Obviously, many had proved themselves capable during a strenuous Lent. But this was no long the church of the martyrs; candidates who never would have passed muster in pre-Constantinian times managed to survive the process in the fifth century. Augustine was well aware of the phenomonen. Less worthy people do slip through, he concedes in de fide et operibus.
 

[T]hrough the carelessness of superiors, or by concealed intrusion people enter the Church who hve little intention of leading a Christ-like life. Neglectful catechists fail to detect moral flaws that would disqualify seekers. (de fide et oper. 5.7; 19.35).
 

What is more, the pages of de Catechizandis Rudibus are chock-full of examples of baptized Christians who lead unholy lives. What can the catechumen or newly baptized Christian do? Associate with the good, whom you will easily find, if you are also such yourself, Augustine admonishes. (de Cat. Rud. 27.55). It was a lesson Augustine preached again and again in the days following Easter baptism.
 

Abbreviated Notes
 

1. Frederic van der Meer, Augustine the Bishop, 316
 

2. Suzanne Poque, Source Chretiennes, vol. 116, p.25. Also, Sermons 5, 352, and 392. See William Harmless, Augustine and the Catechumenate, 259
 

3. Gregory Dix, The Shape of the Liturgy, 331; Augustines Sermons 224-229
 

4. Peter Brown, Authority and the Sacred, 4-5; Brown, Augustine of Hippo, 244
 

5. In the East, direct renunciation became common. See Henry Ansgar Kelly, The Devil at Baptism, 99
 

6. Poque, 26-27; Thomas Finn, Early Christian Baptism and the Catechumenate: Italy, North Africa, and Egypt, 6-7; see Harmless remarks, 262
 

7. van der Meer, 358
 

8. Harmless, 264; Tertul. de Idol. 11.7; Poque, 27-28
 

9. Poque, 28
 

10. Benedictus Busch, De initiatione christiana secundum sanctum Augustinum, Ephemerides Liturgicae Analecta 52 (1938) 159-178, 385-483; A. Dondeyne, La disciplin des scrutins dans l eglise latine avant Charlemagne, Revue d histoire ecclesiastique 26 (1932) 5-33 and 751-87; Harmless, 263; Finn, 155; van der Meer, 358
 

11. Poque, 28, citing Varro Reurm Rust. 2.11
 

12. H.A. Kelly, 113
 

13. van der Meer, 364; Poque, 29-30; Finn, 7
 

14. See extracts in E.C. Whitaker, Documents of the Baptismal Liturgy, 107
 

15. See, e.g., Tertul. de Spec. 4.1-3; Waszink has an important article on Tertullian s use of pompa ; see J. Waszink, Pompa diabolic, Vigiliae Christiana 1 (1947) 13-41
 

16. van der Meer, 364
 

17. Finn, 7
 

18. van der Meer, 384