Activation of the Invisible : a prolegomenon to the evolution of the consecration of baptismal water in the Latin West as a performative and sensorial act : the Roman rite (3rd–9th century)

The sensorially activating nature inherent in the solemn consecration of baptismal water during the Easter and Pentecost vigils, as they developed in the Latin West, deserves the attention of scholars of Early Christian and medieval baptisteries. This article therefore tracks the evolution of the Roman formulary up to its eventual Carolingian primacy over the Celtic and Gallican formularies. Being part of the mysteria under the constraints of the disciplina arcani and the consequent lack of direct sources, the Roman formulary's activating and sensorially operative use of the word cannot be assessed up to the seventh century. Only between 625 and 650, with the formulary of the Old Gelasian Sacramentary as the oldest existing template, can the scope and depth of the activating word incorporated in the different sequences become comprehensible. This is pursued further into the Carolingian period, as added gestures and rituals charge the act with further activating multisensorial meaning, which can be traced in the contemporary sacramentaries, including the famous Drogo Sacramentary as the foremost witness, the Roman ordines, and the De ecclesiastics officiis of Amalarius of Metz.