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Let us see, from the very nature of the Christian character, how great is, before God, the prerogative given to this mean and sordid substance (the flesh). To wit, the flesh is washed, that the soul may be made stainless. The flesh is anointed, that the soul may be consecrated. The flesh is sealed, that the soul may be fortified. The flesh is overshadowed by the imposition of hands, that the soul also may be illuminated by the Spirit. The flesh is fed with the body and blood of Christ, that the soul may be fattened of God."

De Resurrect. Carnis, n.8, page 330.
The Faith of Catholics, Volume 2, Page 134

"After coming from the place of washing we are thoroughly anointed with a blessed unction, from the ancient discipline by which [those] in the priesthood . . . were accustomed to be anointed with a horn of oil, ever since Aaron was anointed by Moses. . . . So also with us, the unction runs on the body and profits us spiritually, in the same way that baptism itself is a corporal act by which we are plunged in water, while its effect is spiritual, in that we are freed from sins. After this, the hand is imposed for a blessing, invoking and inviting the Holy Spirit".

(Baptism 7:1—2, 8:1 [A.D. 203]

"No soul whatever is able to obtain salvation unless it has believed while it was in the flesh. Indeed, the flesh is the hinge of salvation. . . . The flesh, then, is washed [baptism] so that the soul may be made clean. The flesh is anointed so that the soul may be dedicated to holiness. The flesh is signed so that the soul may be fortified. The flesh is shaded by the imposition of hands [confirmation] so that the soul may be illuminated by the Spirit. The flesh feeds on the body and blood of Christ [the Eucharist] so that the soul too may feed on God. They cannot, then, be separated in their reward, when they are united in their works".

The Resurrection of the Dead 8:2—3 [A.D. 210]

"Are you unwilling to be anointed with the oil of God? It is on this account that we are called Christians: because we are anointed with the oil of God".

To Autolycus 1:12 [A.D. 181]

"The bishop, imposing his hand on them, shall make an invocation, saying, ‘O Lord God, who made them worthy of the remission of sins through the Holy Spirit's washing unto rebirth, send into them your grace so that they may serve you according to your will, for there is glory to you, to the Father and the Son with the Holy Spirit, in the holy Church, both now and through the ages of ages. Amen.' Then, pouring the consecrated oil into his hand and imposing it on the head of the baptized, he shall say, ‘I anoint you with holy oil in the Lord, the Father Almighty, and Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit.' Signing them on the forehead, he shall kiss them and say, ‘The Lord be with you.' He that has been signed shall say, ‘And with your spirit.' Thus shall he do to each".

The Apostolic Tradition 21—22 [A.D. 215]

[Prayer for blessing the holy chrism:] "God of powers, aid of every soul that turns to you and comes under your powerful hand in your only-begotten. We beseech you, that through your divine and invisible power of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, you may effect in this chrism a divine and heavenly operation, so that those baptized and anointed in the tracing with it of the sign of the saving cross of the only-begotten . . . as if reborn and renewed through the bath of regeneration, may be made participants in the gift of the Holy Spirit and, confirmed by this seal, may remain firm and immovable, unharmed and inviolate"

The Sacramentary of Serapion 25:1 [A.D. 350]

"Novatus received baptism by infusion as he lay on his (sick) bed; if indeed such a one ought to be said to have received it. But even after he recovered from his illness, he did not receive the other things which ought to be partaken of according to the rule of the Church, — to be sealed, that is, by the bishop: and not having received this, how did he receive the Holy Ghost?"

Ap. Euseb. H.E. l.vi,c.xliii/Galland. t.iii.
The Faith of Catholics, Volume 2, page 137

"It is necessary for him that has been baptized also to be anointed, so that by his having received chrism, that is, the anointing, he can be the anointed of God and have in him the grace of Christ"

Letters 7:2 [A.D. 253]

"As to what some allege concerning those who had been baptized in Samaria, that, on the arrival of the Apostles, Peter and John, only hands were imposed on them that they might receive the Holy Ghost, but that they were not rebaptized; we see, dearest brother, that this instance is in no way pertinent to the present case. For they who had believed in Samaria, had believed with a true faith, and had been, by Philip the deacon, whom the same Apostles had sent, baptized within, in the Church, which is one, and to which alone it is granted to give the grace of baptism, and to loose sins. And, therefore, because they had received the legitimate and ecclesiastical baptism, it was not fitting that they should be baptized again, but only what was wanting, that was done by Peter and John; that prayer being made for them, and hands imposed, the Holy Ghost should be invoked and poured forth upon them. Which now also is done amongst us; so that they who are baptized in the Church are presented to the bishops (prelates) of the Church, and, by our prayer and imposition of hands, they receive the Holy Ghost, and are perfected with the seal of the Lord."

Letters 73[72]:9 — Ep. lxxiii. ad Jubajanum, page 281
The Faith of Catholics, Volume 2, page 135

"[A]re not hands, in the name of the same Christ, laid upon the baptized persons among them, for the reception of the Holy Spirit?"

Letters 74[73]:5

"[O]ne is not born by the imposition of hands when he receives the Holy Ghost, but in baptism, that so, being already born, he may receive the Holy Spirit, even as it happened in the first man Adam. For first God formed him, and then breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. For the Spirit cannot be received, unless he who receives first has an existence. But the birth of Christians is in baptism"

Letters 74[73]:7— Ep. lxxiv. Pompeio
The Faith of Catholics, Volume 2, 136

Anointed also must he of necessity be, who is baptized, in order that, having received the chrism, that is, the unction, he may be the anointed of God, and have within him the grace of Christ."

Ep. lxx. ad Januarium, page 269
The Faith of Catholics, Volume 2, Pages 134-135

Thou, therefore, O bishop, shalt anoint the head of those that are to be baptized, whether they be men or women, with the holy oil, for a type of the spiritual baptism. Then either thou, O bishop, or the presbyter under thee, pronouncing and naming over each of them, the sacred invocation of Father and Son and Holy Spirit, shalt baptize them in the water. And after that let the bishop anoint those who have been baptized, with the ointment. The baptism, therefore, is given unto the death of Christ, the water is instead of the burial, and the oil instead of the Holy Spirit, the seal instead of the cross, the ointment a confirmation of the confession."

Apostolic Constitutions L. iii.n. 16,17.
See also, Apostolic Constitutions l. ii.c.xxxii
The Faith of Catholics, Volume 2, page 139

"In the highway of our King we can see the landmarks set up, and arranged in order: there we can hear the names of Father, and of Son, and of Holy Ghost; there also are met with the sacraments of chrism and of baptism; the breaking of bread, and the chalice of salvation, as also the divine Scriptures, which they (the heterodox) have maliciously stolen and impiously corrupted. Praise the King of kings, whose highway is carried over the tops of the loftiest mountains, and cannot by any one be hidden from the eye."

T. ii. Syr. Serm. xxxvii.; Adv. Hæres. page 500.
The Faith of Catholics, Volume 2, Page 140

"If, then, the power of both baptism and confirmation, greater by far than charisms, is passed on to the bishops, so too is the right of binding and loosing"

Three Letters to the Novatianist Sympronian 1:6 [A.D. 383]

Why said He this (St. Matthew 18:18), if it was not lawful for men to bind and to loose? Is this allowed to Apostles only? Then also to them alone is it allowed to baptize ; and to them alone to give the Holy Spirit; and to them alone to cleanse the sins of the nations; for all this was enjoined on none others but Apostles ... If therefore both the power of the laver, and of the chrism, gifts far greater, descended thence to bishops, the right of binding and of loosing was also with them."

Ep. i. Galland. t. vii.
The Faith of Catholics, Volume 2, pages 140-141

These things cannot be otherwise fulfilled than by the sacrament of the laver, and of the chrism, and of the bishop. For by the laver sins are cleansed away ; by the chrism the Holy Spirit is poured upon us; but both these we obtain at the hand and mouth of the bishop ; and thus the whole man is born again and is renewed in Christ."

Serm. De Baptism. n.5.6; Galland. t.vii. pages 274-275
The Faith of Catholics, Volume 2, page 141

He calls us, therefore, not only to the inheritance, but also to the imitation, of God, who, by the coming of Christ, bestows on the just and on the unjust, both the sun and the rain, in the sacraments of baptism and of the Spirit."

Commentary on Matthew Chapter 4, n.27 (cf.n. 10),t.i. page 668
The Faith of Catholics, Volume 2, page 137

"These the Lord says should not be hindered, because of such is the kingdom of Heaven: for the favor and gift of the Holy Spirit were, when the work of the law ceased, to be bestowed by the imposition of hands and prayer."

Commentary on Matthew Chapter 19, n.3, page 762
The Faith of Catholics, Volume 2, page 137

He (Christ) went down into the water, not that there was what could be cleansed in God, but the water ought to go before the oil that was to supervene, in order to initiate, and order, and fill up the mysteries of baptism; having been washed, whilst He was held in John's hands, the order of the mystery is followed, and the Father completed what the Son had asked, and what the Holy Ghost had foretold. Heaven is opened whilst the Father anoints; the spiritual oil, in the image of a dove, immediately descended, and rested on His head, and poured on it oil, whence He took the name of Christ, when He was anointed by God the Father; to whom that the imposition of hands might not seem to have been wanting, the voice of God is heard from a cloud, saying, "This is my Son, of whom, I have thought well, hear ye Him".

De Schism. Donat. l. iv. n.7, page 76
The Faith of Catholics, Volume 2, pages 139-140

"After you had come up from the pool of the sacred streams, there was given chrism, the antitype of that with which Christ was anointed, and this is the Holy Spirit. But beware of supposing that this is ordinary ointment. For just as the bread of the Eucharist after the invocation of the Holy Spirit is simple bread no longer, but the body of Christ, so also this ointment is no longer plain ointment, nor, so to speak, common, after the invocation. Further, it is the gracious gift of Christ, and it is made fit for the imparting of his Godhead by the coming of the Holy Spirit. This ointment is symbolically applied to your forehead and to your other senses; while your body is anointed with the visible ointment, your soul is sanctified by the holy and life-giving Spirit. Just as Christ, after his baptism, and the coming upon him of the Holy Spirit, went forth and defeated the adversary, so also with you after holy baptism and the mystical chrism, having put on the panoply of the Holy Spirit, you are to withstand the power of the adversary and defeat him, saying, ‘I am able to do all things in Christ, who strengthens me'".

Catechetical Lectures, 21:1, 3—4 [A.D. 350]

"[David says,] ‘You have anointed my head with oil.' With oil he anointed your head, your forehead, in the God-given sign of the cross, so that you may become that which is engraved on the seal, ‘a holy thing of the Lord'"

Catechetical Lectures, 22

Having been baptized into Christ, and having put on Christ, you have become conformable to the Son of God. For God having predestinated us unto the adoption of children (Ephesians 1:5), made us like unto the body of Christ's glory (Philip, 3:21). Being therefore made partakers of Christ (Hebrews 3:14), you are justly called Christs, and of you God said, Touch you not my anointed (Christs) (Psalms 104:15). Now you became Christs, when you received the emblem (antitype) of the Holy Ghost: and all things were in a figure wrought in you, because you are figures of Christ. He also was washed in the river Jordan, and having communicated of the fragrance of His divinity to the waters, He came up from them, and the Holy Ghost in substance lighted on Him, like resting upon like. And to you also, after you had come up from the pool of the sacred streams, was given the chrism (unction), the emblem (antitype) of that wherewith Christ was anointed; and this is the Holy Ghost. . . . But see that you do not suppose this to be bare ointment. For as the bread of the Eucharist, after the invocation of the Holy Spirit, is no longer simple bread, but Christ's body, so also this holy ointment, is no longer plain ointment, nor, so to say, common, after the invocation, but Christ's gift; and by the presence of His Godhead, it causes in us the Holy Ghost. This symbolically anoints thy forehead, and thy other senses ; and the body indeed is anointed with visible ointment, but the soul is sanctified by the Holy and life-giving Spirit. ... As Christ, after baptism, and the descent of the Holy Ghost, went forth and vanquished the adversary, so also do you; having, after the sacred baptism, and the mystical chrism, put on the panoply of the Holy Spirit, stand against the adverse power, and vanquish it, saying, I can do all things in Christ that strengthened me (Philip, 4) When you have been deemed worthy of this holy chrism, you are called Christians, verifying also the name by the new birth. For before you were vouchsafed in this grace, you were not rightly worthy of this designation, but were advancing on your way towards being Christians. You ought also to know that this chrism has its symbol in the old Scripture. So also the high-priest, raising Solomon to the kingdom, anointed him, after he had washed in Gihon. But to them these things happened in a figure; but to you, not in a figure, but in truth, because you were in truth anointed by the Holy Spirit."

Cateches. Myst. 3 (Al. Cat. 19), n.1,3,6, pages 315-318
The Faith of Catholics, Volume 2, pages 137-139

"You have set down in the beginning of your letter (page) that many who have been baptized by the impious Arians are hastening unto the Catholic faith, and that certain of our brethren wish to baptize them again, a thing which is not lawful, seeing that both the Apostle forbids this, and the canons oppose it ; and after the Council of Ariminum was quashed, the general decrees sent to the provinces by my predecessor Liberius prohibit it: we associate them, together with the Novatians, and other heretics, as was determined in synod, to the fellowship of the Catholics, by the invocation only of the seven-fold Spirit, with the imposition of the hand of the bishop ; as is also observed by all the east and the west."

Ad Himer. n.i.col.1218 t.ii. Concil. Labb.
The Faith of Catholics, Volume 2, page 142

Addressing the catechumens who had just been baptized and anointed he says:

"Thou hast received the spiritual seal, the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and of piety, the spirit of holy fear ; and keep what thou hast received. God the Father has sealed thee: Christ the Lord has confirmed thee: and the Spirit has given the pledge in thy heart, as thou hast learned from what is read in the Apostle."

De Mysteries, c. vii. n. 42, page 336
The Faith of Catholics, Volume 2, page 141

"The Luciferian. 'Art thou ignorant that it is the custom of the churches for hands to be imposed upon the baptized after their baptism, and that thus the Holy Ghost is invoked? Dost thou ask where this is written? In the Acts of the Apostles' [as given already under Tradition.] Orthodox. I do not deny that it is the custom of the churches, for the bishop to journey to those who have been baptized by priests and deacons, at a distance from the greater cities, to impose hands upon them to invoke the Holy Spirit."

T.ii. Adv. Lucifer. t.ii.col.180-181
The Faith of Catholics, Volume 2, page 143

Why had not they who had been baptized received the Holy Ghost {Acts)? Either because Philip bestowed not this, honoring perhaps the Apostles, or because he had not this gift; for he was one of the seven, and this is the rather to be said. . . . For this reason, although baptizing, he gave not the Spirit to the baptized; for neither had he power; for this gift belonged to the twelve alone."

T. ix. Hom. 18 in Acta Apost. n.3, page 154
See also t.xii. Hom. 9 in Ep. and Hebr. n.2, page 136
The Faith of Catholics, Volume 2, page 141

In the first days (of the Church) the Holy Ghost came down upon believers, and they spoke in tongues which they had not learned, as the Holy Ghost gave them to speak. These were miracles suited to the times. . . . Is it now expected that they upon whom hands are laid, should speak with tongues? Or when we imposed our hand on these children, did each of you wait to see whether they would speak with tongues; and when he saw that they did not speak with tongues, was any of you so perverse of heart as to say, "These have not received the Holy Ghost, for if they had received, they would speak with tongues, even as was done in those days?" If then there be not now a testimony to the presence of the Holy Spirit by means of these miracles, whence is it proved, whence does each one know that he has received the Holy Spirit? Let him ask his own heart: if he loves his brother, the Spirit of God abides in him. Let him see to it, let him prove himself under the eyes of God; let him see whether there is in him the love of peace and of unity, the love of the Church which is spread over the whole universe. . . . Therefore if thou wouldst know that thou hast received the sacrament, interrogate thy heart; lest haply thou have the sacrament, and have not the virtue of the sacrament. Interrogate thy heart: if the love of thy brother is there, be secure. Love cannot be without the Spirit of God: for Paul cries aloud, "The charity of God is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Ghost who is given to us."

T.iii.Tr. vi. in Ep. Joan. n.10, col. 2542-2543.
The Faith of Catholics, Volume 2, pages 143-144

"Baptism and water have come. You have been penetrated, as it were, so that you may come to the form of bread. But it is not yet bread without fire. What therefore does fire represent? It is chrism. For the oil of our fire is the sacrament of the Holy Spirit."

Augustine, Sermon 227, 1 (c. 420 AD)

Speaking of the procession of the Holy Ghost, he says:

"This is that Spirit that was bestowed, from Heaven, on the day of Pentecost, ten days, that is, after our Lord had ascended into Heaven. What, is not He who gives the Holy Ghost, God? Yea, and how great a God is He who gives a God! For none of His disciples ever gave the Holy Ghost. They prayed indeed that He would come down upon those upon whom they laid hands; they gave Him not. Which custom the Church even now observes in her prelates.... Of Christ it is written in the Acts of the Apostles, how God anointed Him with the Holy Ghost (Act 10:38), not indeed with visible oil, but with the gift of grace, which is signified by that visible unction wherewith the Church anoints the baptized."

T. viii. I. xv. Be Trinit. n. 46 {al. 26), col. 1509-10.
The Faith of Catholics, Volume 2, pages 144-145

Proving that the Philip who baptized at Samaria was not Philip the Apostle, he says:

"Philip did indeed baptize those who had become disciples at Samaria, but the Apostles Peter and John, having come from Jerusalem unto them, delivered unto them the grace of the Holy Spirit. But had he who baptized, been one of the Apostles, he would have had authority to give that Spirit. Whereas he but baptizes as a disciple, whilst the Apostles, upon whom the authority to give it had been conferred, complete the grace."

L.i.Ep. ccccl. page 114
The Faith of Catholics, Volume 2, page 145

"It may, perhaps, be asked, what are the blessings which God apportions to Christians? .. . First, the law, next the prophets, . . . lastly the gifts of regeneration, the grace of holy baptism, the unction of divine chrism."

L.iii. De Gubern. Dei, n. 2, Galland, t. x.p. 14.
The Faith of Catholics, Volume 2, page 146