In "On the Mysteries" (De Mysteriis) [English], Chapter 2, St. Ambrose wrote,
After this the Holy of holies was opened to you, you entered the sanctuary of regeneration; recall what you were asked, and remember what you answered. You renounced the devil and his works, the world with its luxury and pleasures. That utterance of yours is preserved not in the tombs of the dead, but in the book of the living.
Post haec reserata tibi sunt sancta sanctorum, ingressus es regenerationis sacrarium: repete quid interrogatus sis, recognosce quid responderis. Renuntiasti diabolo et operibus ejus, mundo et luxuriae ejus ac voluptatibus. Tenetur vox tua, non in tumulo mortuorum, sed in libro viventium.
In the Roman rite of the Catholic Church, does the individual explicitly "renounce the devil and his works" when he makes his confession of faith during baptism?
- What was the formal statement made by the person being baptized?
- If this statement is no longer made, when did the practice cease?