First Apology 61
Summary: Justin describes baptism: instruction, prayer and fasting, then washing in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, called “illumination.”
Greek text · Rauschen, 98–100
Ὃν τρόπον δὲ καὶ ἀνεθήκαμεν ἑαυτοὺς τῷ θεῷ καινοποιηθέντες διὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἐξηγησόμεθα, ὅπως μὴ τοῦτο παραλιπόντες δόξωμεν πονηρεύειν τι ἐν τῇ ἐξηγήσει. Ὅσοι ἂν πεισθῶσι καὶ πιστεύωσιν ἀληθῆ ταῦτα τὰ ὑφʼ ἡμῶν διδασκόμενα καὶ λεγόμενα εἶναι, καὶ βιοῦν οὕτως δύνασθαι ὑπισχνῶνται, εὔχεσθαί τε καὶ αἰτεῖν νηστεύοντες παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ τῶν προημαρτημένων ἄφεσιν διδάσκονται, ἡμῶν συνευχομένων καὶ συννηστευόντων αὐτοῖς. Ἔπειτα ἄγονται ὑφʼ ἡμῶν, ἔνθα ὕδωρ ἐστί, καὶ τρόπον ἀναγεννήσεως, ὃν καὶ ἡμεῖς αὐτοὶ ἀνεγεννήθημεν, ἀναγεννῶνται· ἐπʼ ὀνόματος γὰρ τοῦ πατρὸς τῶν ὅλων καὶ δεσπότου θεοῦ καὶ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ πνεύματος ἁγίου τὸ ἐν τῷ ὕδατι τότε λουτρὸν ποιοῦνται. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ Χριστὸς εἶπεν· Ἂν μὴ ἀναγεννηθῆτε, οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθητε εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν.“ Ὅτι δὲ καὶ ἀδύνατον εἰς τὰς μήτρας τῶν τεκουσῶν τοὺς ἅπαξ γεννωμένους ἐμβῆναι, φανερὸν πᾶσίν ἐστι. Καὶ διὰ Ἡσαΐου τοῦ προφήτου, ὡς προεγράψαμεν, εἴρηται, τίνα τρόπον φεύξονται τὰς ἁμαρτίας οἱ ἁμαρτήσαντες καὶ μετανοοῦντες. Ἐλέχθη δὲ οὕτως· Λούσασθε, καθαροὶ γένεσθε, ἀφέλετε τὰς πονηρίας ἀπὸ τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν, μάθετε καλὸν ποιεῖν, κρίνατε ὀρφανῷ καὶ δικαιώσατε χήραν, καὶ δεῦτε καὶ διαλεχθῶμεν, λέγει κύριος· καὶ ἐὰν ὦσιν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι ὑμῶν ὡς φοινικοῦν, ὡσεὶ ἔριον λευκανῶ, καὶ ἐὰν ὦσιν ὡς κόκκινον, ὡς χιόνα λευκανῶ. Ἐὰν δὲ μὴ εἰσακούσητέ μου, μάχαιρα ὑμᾶς κατέδεται· τὸ γὰρ στόμα κυρίου ἐλάλησε ταῦτα“. Καὶ λόγον δὲ εἰς τοῦτο παρὰ τῶν ἀποστόλων ἐμάθομεν τοῦτον. Ἐπειδὴ τὴν πρώτην γένεσιν ἡμῶν ἀγνοοῦντες κατʼ ἀνάγκην γεγεννήμεθα ἐξ ὑγρᾶς σπορᾶς κατὰ μῖξιν τὴν τῶν γονέων πρὸς ἀλλήλους καὶ ἐν ἔθεσι φαύλοις καὶ πονηραῖς ἀναστροφαῖς γεγόναμεν, ὅπως μὴ ἀνάγκης τέκνα μηδὲ ἀγνοίας μένωμεν ἀλλὰ προαιρέσεως καὶ ἐπιστήμης, ἀφέσεώς ἁμαρτιῶν ὧν προημάρτομεν τύχωμεν, ἐν τῷ ὕδατι ἐπονομάζεται τῷ ἑλομένῳ ἀναγεννηθῆναι καὶ μετανοήσαντι ἐπὶ τοῖς ἡμαρτημένοις τὸ τοῦ πατρὸς τῶν ὅλων καὶ δεσπότου θεοῦ ὄνομα, αὐτὸ τοῦτο μόνον ἐπιλέγοντος τοῦ τὸν λουσόμενον ἄγοντος ἐπὶ τὸ λουτρόν. Ὄνομα γὰρ τῷ ἀῤῥήτῳ θεῷ οὐδεὶς ἔχει εἰπεῖν· εἰ δέ τις τολμήσειεν εἶναι λέγειν, μέμηνε τὴν ἄσωτον μανίαν. Καλεῖται δὲ τοῦτο τὸ λουτρὸν φωτισμός, ὡς φωτιζομένων τὴν διάνοιαν τῶν ταῦτα μανθανόντων. Καὶ ἐπʼ ὀνόματος δὲ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, τοῦ σταυρωθέντος ἐπὶ Ποντίου Πιλάτου, καὶ ἐπʼ ὀνόματος πνεύματος ἁγίου, ὃ διὰ τῶν προφητῶν προεκήρυξε τὰ κατὰ τὸν Ἰησοῦν πάντα, ὁ φωτιζόμενος λούεται.
English · Claude translation
We will also explain the way in which we dedicated ourselves to God when we were made new through Christ, so that we may not seem to act wrongly in our explanation by leaving this out. As many as are persuaded and believe that the things taught and said by us are true, and promise that they can live accordingly, are taught to pray and to ask God, with fasting, for the forgiveness of their past sins, while we pray and fast with them. Then they are brought by us where there is water, and are regenerated in the same manner of regeneration by which we ourselves were regenerated; for in the name of God, the Father and Master of all, and of our Savior Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit, they then receive the washing in the water. For Christ also said, “Unless you are born again, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.” And that it is impossible for those once born to enter their mothers' wombs is plain to all. And it was said through Isaiah the prophet, as we wrote before, in what way those who have sinned and repent will escape their sins. It was spoken thus: “Wash yourselves, become clean, remove the wickedness from your souls, learn to do good; judge for the orphan and plead for the widow; and come, let us reason together, says the Lord; and if your sins are like scarlet, I will make them white as wool, and if they are like crimson, I will make them white as snow. But if you do not listen to me, a sword shall devour you; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken these things.” And we learned from the apostles this reason for it. Since at our first birth we were born without our knowledge and by necessity, from moist seed by the union of our parents with each other, and grew up in evil customs and wicked ways of life, so that we might not remain children of necessity and ignorance, but of free choice and knowledge, and might obtain forgiveness of the sins we formerly committed, there is named in the water, over the one who has chosen to be born again and has repented of his sins, the name of God, the Father and Master of all; the one who leads the person to be washed to the washing uses this name alone. For no one can utter a name for the ineffable God; and if anyone dares to say that there is one, he is raving with a hopeless madness. And this washing is called illumination, because those who learn these things are illuminated in their understanding. And the one who is illuminated is washed also in the name of Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and in the name of the Holy Spirit, who through the prophets foretold all the things about Jesus.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The earliest detailed description of Christian baptism outside the New Testament (compare Did. 7).
- “Regenerated” (ἀναγεννάω): literally “born again,” the same word Justin uses in quoting Christ's saying.
- “Unless you are born again, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven”: a form of John 3:3, 5, possibly from memory or another source; compare Matt 18:3.
- “Illumination” (φωτισμός) became a common early name for baptism; compare Heb 6:4.
- “In the water” (ἐν τῷ ὕδατι) can go either with “obtain forgiveness” (so ANF: “may obtain in the water the remission of sins”) or with “is named”; this translation follows the punctuation of Rauschen's text.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization slip against Rauschen's printed text (wrong accent)): καὶ πνεῦματος ἁγίου τὸ ἐν τῷ ὕδατι → καὶ πνεύματος ἁγίου τὸ ἐν τῷ ὕδατι.
Cite this passage
Justin, 1 Apol. 61 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/justin-1-apology/61/).
Plain text
Justin, 1 Apol. 61 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/justin-1-apology/61/).
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