Les prières pour le baptême dans l'Euchologe Barberini grec 336: analyse théologique et rituelle

Description

The Euchologion Barberini gr. 336 of the Vatican Library is the oldest and most important witness of the Byzantine rite. The prayers for the baptism that this Euchologion contains, constitute a full rite of baptism, so that the celebrant can easily celebrate the rite of the baptism.The order and the content of the prayers read by the celebrant are generally similar to those currently in use in the churches of the East following the typical of Constantinople : i . prayer for a catechumen, ii. exorcisms, iii . prayers for the renunciation and the adhesion, v. prayer by the priest who will baptize, vi. prayers for the blessing of the water, vii . prayers for the pre-baptismal anointing, viii. prayers for the baptismal immersion, ix. prayers for the post-baptismal anointing, x. prayer for the ablution, xi. prayer for the child’s tonsure. Inside the Euchologion , there is also another prayer for the renunciation and the adhesion of the candidates by the Archbishop at the holy preparation of the Easter, which is very important because it comes from the time of Chrysostom. Concerning the baptismal creed that it is contained in the Barberini Euchologion gr.336 , it is about the Creed of Nice-Constantinople. In general, the prayers for the baptism of the Barberini Euchologion gr.336 relates candidates. However, we can not exclude the infant’s baptism. In the prayer for the children’s tonsure, them, are considered as baptized already. Concerning the children, the Euchologion contains two prayers that seem to symbolize their enrollment in the orders of the catechumens. The children are considered as indegrated personalities.The analysis of the prayers for the baptism for the divine person referred to by the celebrant helps to distinguish the foregoing Christological controversies prayers. Prayers simply turn to God are considered older (before the fifth century), since there was not necessary that the divinity of the person of the Son to be discriminated. Inside the Euchologion, there are also prayers concerning the return of the heretics. They are divided into three categories: a) those who are accepted into the church with a libel and an anointment with holy myron, b ) those that are accepted only with libels and c) those who are accepted with a baptism from the beginning. The criterion that distinguish those who were accepted with a libel or Chrismation from those who be baptized from the beginning was their previous baptism in one or three immersions . Moreover, the distinction is related to the acceptance or rejection of the dogma for the Holy Trinity from the side of the heretics. It is remarkable that in the eighth century the church showed tolerance to heretics who were received with libel or Chrismation, because she thought that they accepted the dogma for the Holy Trinity but they interpreted it incorrectly. Finally, at the time of the Codex Barberini gr.336, the rite of the baptism was inextricably linked to the divine liturgy following the earlier tradition.