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Prayer-Book (Euchologion)
St Sarapion of Thmuis, tr. Wordsworth, 1899
Chapter 9
9. After the renunciation (ἀποταγήν)1—a prayer.
O Lord all-sovereign seal the adhesion (συγκατάθεσιν) of this thy servant which has now been made to thee, and continually keep his character and his manner (of life) unchangeable, that he may no longer minister to those that are worse, but may worship (λατρεύῃ) in the God of truth, and serve thee the maker of all things, to the end that he may be rendered perfect and thine own (σοί γνήσιον) through thy only-begotten Jesus Christ, through whom to thee (is) the glory and the strength in holy Spirit both now and to all the ages of the ages. Amen.
Notes
- The earliest form of this is given in C. H. xix. 119, “I renounce thee, O Satan, with all thy company (pompa)”—a remarkable phrase, from which comes, I presume, our baptismal phrase about “the pomps and vanities of this wicked world.” After this the candidate was anointed with the “oil of exorcism” (cp. no. 15 and note), and made a short confession of faith: “I believe and bow myself in thy presence, and in that of all thy company (pompa), O Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit.” From other authorities we find that it was customary for the Catechumen to say, with hands outstretched towards the East, “I adhere (συντάσσομαι) to Christ.”