not the case, as that picture is far more modern than those of the first centuries, and the artist was evidently ignorant or wrongly informed concerning the acts of San Lorenzo.

It is not improbable, however, that subse

Fig. 2. BAPTISM OF CHRIST. Fresco in the Catacomb of San Ponziano.

quently it became customary to pour water upon the head of the catechumen after he had been immersed.

"On the other shore an angel is seen upon a cloud, holding the Saviour's robe; the Holy Ghost descends like a dove and alights upon the Redeemer. John places his

hand upon the head of Christ to immerse Him. A hart is also seen standing on the shore and looking fixedly at the water; symbol of the catechumen ardently desiring the waters of baptism, according as Jerome says in his commentary on the Forty-second Psalm: He wishes to come to Christ in whom is the source of light, that, being washed by baptism, he may receive the gift of the remission of sins.""

Below is painted is painted on the wall a cross set with precious stones, and ornamented with flowers and leaves, and two candlesticks (see frontispiece). The cross descends into the water.

Fig. 3. BAPTISM OF CHRIST.

The symbols of the Redeemer, A and 2 (Alpha and Omega) are seen suspended from the arms of the cross. Inwoven in this manner these letters formed a frequent symbol in the early church, and were considered as expressive of the supreme divinity of our Saviour, His eternity and immutability, His creative and all-embracing presence and energy. According to Boldetti * these paintings belong to the fifth or sixth century.

The above engraving (Fig. 3) represents a fresco

Boldetti, Osservazioni sopra i Cimiteri dei Santi Martiri ed Antichi Cristiani di Roma.

D

painting of the Baptism of Christ, found in a crypt of the Catacomb of Santa Lucina, over which stands the Basilica

Fig. 4. FRESCO PAINTING IN THE CATACOMB OF ST. CALLIXTUS.

viour, and assists Him in ascending the brink of the

The Holy

river.
Ghost, in the form
of a dove bearing a
leaf, is seen flying
down to alight up-
on the Redeemer's
head. This picture,
which is of great
antiquity, probably
of the fourth or
fifth century, pro-
duces a very pleas-
ing effect.

The annexed woodcut (Fig. 4) represents a fresco painting which was found in the Catacomb of St. Cal

lixtus, and has given rise to considerable contro

versy. According to the celebrated archæologist, Signor

De Rossi, the author of Roma Sotterranea (Subterranean Rome), this picture represents the baptism of a youth by affusion; but Father Garrucci, who is preparing a magnificent illustrated work on the history of Christian Art, asserts that "the youth, quite naked, is entirely immersed in a cloud of water," and that "this bath is represented by streaks of greenish paint thrown with a brush, around the body and above the head of the person."

It should be remarked that it is impossible to ascertain the precise age of the pictures in the Catacombs of Rome. They range in date through several centuries, some of them not being earlier than the middle ages.

The annexed engraving

(Fig. 5) reproduces a fresco found in the ancient Basilica of St. Clement, at Rome, lately discovered by excavating the soil beneath the modern church of the same name. This painting, which is on the southern wall, near the western angle, represents anarchbishop, with the Greek pallium, baptizing by immersion a young man of barbaric type. From its vicinity

CYRIL.

to another painting, alluding Fig. 5. BAPTISM OF A CONVERT BY to St. Cyril's first mission to

the Bulgarians, it probably represents the baptism of the Cham of the Chazari, if not that of Rastices, Duke of Moravia, or of Borgoris Michael, Duke of Bohemia, for all

"Un giovanetto, tutto ignudo, è immerso interamente in un nembo di acqua. Il quale bagno è rappresentato da grossi sprazzi di verdemare, gittati col penello attorno alla persona e fin disopra alla testa di lui. E così figurato il battesimo." (Storia della arte Cristiana, vol. II. p. 12.)

these three were converted by St. Cyril and his brother Methodius.* This fresco is probably of the ninth century.

There is a miniature of the eighth or ninth century, representing the rite of baptism by immersion, which belongs to an unnumbered manuscript in the large library of the Minerva in Rome. The Redeemer stands in the water up to His neck, John places his right hand upon the Saviour's head, and on the other side of the stream are ministering angels (Fig. 6). The inscription beneath this painting runs thus: "Qui pedibus super te ambulavit, et à Johanne in Jordane in te baptizatus est" (Who walked with His feet upon thee, and was baptized by John into thee in the Jordan). The title of this valuable manuscript is "Benedictio Fontis," or, Blessing of the Font. The short figures and the draperies of this manuscript, are even more reminiscent of the antique than the Terence, No. 3868, which is of the eighth or ninth century, and is now preserved in the Vatican. It contains fourteen miniature paintings on eight parchment leaves. These paintings and other ornaments prove that this manuscript was intended for the use of an exalted personage, and the words "Landolfi Episcopi sum," makes it probable that its possessor was the Archbishop of Capua of that name, who lived about 851 or 879. The following are of this opinion: Ciampini, "De perpetuo azymorum usu; Gerbert, Vetus liturgia Alemannica; and Mamachi, Delle Origine Cristiane."

In the sacristy of the ancient church of San Celso, at Milan, is still preserved an antique diptych, or church book, in which were inscribed the names of the Competentes, or candidates for baptism. This diptych contains a picture of the baptism of Christ. In his Memoir of St. Celsus,

*St. Clement and his Basilica in Rome," by Rev. Joseph Mullooly.