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conquest of the monster is at one with the evidence, for of architectured the examples adduced that not connected with a door is in a baptistery. Moreover, in a papyrus Christ is mentioned as of the sixth century[handwritten: 173] guarding the door against the entrance of the devil. Now [handwritten: 174] the door may be a symbol of baptism. The catechumen had to [handwritten: 175] go through this door in order to obtain eternal life, [handwritten: 176] the objective of baptism, [handwritten: 177] the words of Christ as quoted by St.John, [handwritten: εγω ειμι η θυρα · δι' εμου εαν τις] [handwritten: εισελθη, σωθησεται και] [handwritten: εισελευσεται και εξελευσεται]
Handwritten: και νομην ευρησει. 178
The dragon guarded this door, but Christ's baptism [handwritten: 179] prevents us from being destroyed by this monster. In other [handwritten: 180] words, the monster is thought of as guarding the gates of [handwritten: 181] heaven. This related to the opening of the heavens when [handwritten: 182] Christ was baptized and by a sort of hysteron-proteron Christ's fight with the dragon, i.e. the nix devil, [handwritten: 183] symbolizes the forty days struggle of Jesus with Satan, an event which in the gospel accounts follows Christ's [handwritten: 184] baptism. An analogous opening of the gates is part of the Nestorian rite of baptism, and in the form of a quotation from the 117 Psalm [handwritten: ανοιξατε μοι πυλας δικαιοσυνης, εισελθων εν αυταις εξομολογησομαι τω κυριω.]
Handwritten: 187
is alluded to in the Armenian rite of baptism.
Heaven, moreover, is equated with the garden of Eden.
In the Nestorian rite of the Barberini uncial, there is in the
Handwritten marginal note, right side: In the Nestorian rite of the blessing of the waters, the conquest of Satan is announced by the dove before the voice was heard saying, 'This is my beloved son' ~ 185 In one of the Manichaean Psalms, the conquest of the enemy, the devil, and the door of life eternal are similarly juxtaposed 186
65 figures hard to readstruck struck outadded written in above” jug ditto, and what it repeatsword reading not certain