Liberation in Baptismal and Catechumenal Liturgy in Line with Sources

Sa？etak For the ancient Greeks a free man is the one who disposes of himself, regardless of others. Even today, we could easily say that a free man is the one who can do whatever he wants in today’s permissive society. What is slavery and what is freedom? In this article, we want to show that, starting from the Scriptural doctrine, in the tradition of the Church baptism is viewed as liberation. The Bible presents sin as man’s slavery to Satan. Christ, with his death and resurrection, defeated the devil and death. By baptism man is freed from slavery to the devil and to the sin and becomes the servant of Jesus Christ, who brings him the eternal life. That is why the liturgy, since the end of the 2nd century, has emphasized that the baptismal candidate must first renounce Satan. Thus in the tradition of the East and West, and also in the records of the Church Fathers and in the catechumenal and baptismal liturgy, there are exorcisms, that is the prayers of renunciation over the catechumens. Before a man, through baptism, becomes the servant of Christ, he must renounce Satan, because, according to Jesus’ word, man cannot serve the two lords. And today’s liturgy, both in the East and the West, has the same elements: man renounces slavery to evil and sins in order to become the servant of Christ that is to become really free. To serve to passions and to sins means to be a slave