Fragments of the Instruction for Candidates

Instructio ad competentes (fragmenta)

1Nicetas says that those preparing for baptism need simple instructions drawn from Scripture on what they renounce, desire, receive and must keep.
2Nicetas describes the catechumen as a guest who hears the mysteries from outside until baptism makes him one of the faithful.
3Nicetas teaches that before confessing the faith the candidate must sincerely renounce the devil and his works, including pagan cults, shows and vices, and condemns vain male and female adornment.
4After renouncing the devil, the candidate recites the creed, which he must learn by heart and say daily, together with the Lord’s Prayer and the sign of the cross.
5Nicetas defines the creed as a reminder of the faith and a common holy confession.
6Nicetas explains that the exorcisms before baptism purge the candidates like fire, being made of the Lord’s fiery words.

About this work

Author: Nicetas, bishop of Remesiana
Attribution: authentic · Quotations from the lost Instruction for Candidates (Gennadius, De viris illustribus 22), collected in PL 52 as six fragments.
Standing: Honoured by the Catholic tradition. Honoured as a saint or in a church calendar by: Catholic.
Date: ca. 380–414 (approximate)
Written at: Remesiana, Dacia Mediterranea (modern Serbia) (probable)
Language: Latin
Genre: other
Reference system: fragment (the six fragments in Migne's order).
SBL abbreviation: Instr.Not yet checked
Text from: J.-P. Migne, ed., Patrologiae cursus completus, series Latina, vol. 52 (Paris), cols. 873-875 (Printed edition (Migne) in the public domain; digital text CC BY-SA 4.0)
Critical editions: Abel E. Burn, ed., Niceta of Remesiana: His Life and Works (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1905) (the best edition, public domain; a scan is on disk) (cited, not reproduced)