The spiritual “Illumination,” of which
Baptism was to be the completion and the seal, thus became by a natural
development one of the recognised names of Baptism itself. On the
contrary, the inverse process assumed by the Benedictine Editor is
entirely unnatural. Starting from the later ecclesiastical use of
φωτίζω and
φωτισμός as
connoting Baptism, he supposes that this was the first application of
those terms, and that they were transferred to the previous
illumination acquired by instruction in Christian truth, only because
this was a necessary preparation for Baptism. He therefore
maintains that φωτιζόμενοι
throughout the Catechetical Lectures is another term for βαπτιζόμενοι: and as a decisive proof of this he refers to Cat. xvi.
26: μέλλει δὲ
καὶ ἐπὶ σὲ
τὸν
βαπτιζόμενον
φθάνειν ἡ
χάρις, not observing that the grace is
to come upon “the person being baptized” at a time still
future. This meaning of the passage is made absolutely certain by
the words which immediately follow,—“But in what manner I
say not, for I will not anticipate the proper season.” We
may conclude, therefore, that in Cyril’s Lectures the term
οἱ
φωτιζόμενοι
refers to the preparatory course of enlightenment rather than to
Baptism. At the same time we must remember that in Cyril’s
day, and long before, φωτίζω, φωτισμός, and
φώτισμα
were constantly used to denote Baptism itself, as being the time of special
illumination by the grace of the Holy Spirit then given. Thus
Clement of Alexandria writes: “In Baptism we are
illuminated.…This work is variously called grace, and
illumination (φώτισμα), and
perfection, and washing:…illumination, by which that holy light
of salvation is beheld, that is, by which we see God clearly Pædag. I.
vi. § 25. (Syllb. 41)..” Gregory Nazianzen speaks in the
same way: “We call it gift, grace, baptism, chrism,
illumination, garment of incorruption, washing of regeneration, seal,
all that is precious Orat. xl. §
4..”