The sermon De ultima quarta feria, attributed to Quodvultdeus, was pronounced in the last phase of the baptismal preparation in Carthage at the end of the 430s. This paper studies the mystagogical method employed in the catechesis on the power of Christ’s blood in baptism and the Eucharist that makes up part of the sermon. First, the baptismal rites in Carthage in 430s are presented. Second, the questions of its dating and the structure of the sermon are discussed. Third, the mystagogical catechesis on the power of Christ’s blood is presented. This analysis demonstrates that Quodvultdeus stands in the Latin tradition of the patchwork usage of Biblical quotes in the course of the mystagogy that allows the audience to enter the history present in the sacred books and understand themselves as part of this history. In addition, this method allows for transferring the message of the centrality of Christ’s redemption that can be attained through the sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist.
A group of Quodvultdeus’s sermons—specifically De cantico novo, De accedentibus ad gratiam I–II, De symbolo I–III, De ultima quarta feria, and De cataclysmo—is addressed to candidates for baptism (competentes). In the years after the Vandal invasion of Africa and preceding their conquest of Carthage, the Bishop of Carthage prepared new members of the Church for the upcoming persecution, when their Catholic faith would be challenged. In his catecheses, he aims at building up their identity and sense of belonging to the Church. The study focuses on four topics of his formation related to the shared identity of the candidates for baptism: the desire for a new life, the Church, heresies, and the liturgical rite, exemplified by the renunciation of the devil, the scrutinies, and the handing over of the baptismal Creed.
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