568  ttUSH  SCHOLAES  ABROAD,

Many  of  the  priests  of  the  period  in  Germany  were  by
no  means  learned  ;  so  it  happened  that  one  of  them  when
baptizing  a  catechumen  made  use  of  this  form : — "  Ego  te
baptizo  in  nomine  Patria  et  Filia  et  Spiritua  Sancta  " — which
even  a  boy  learning  the  Latin  Grrammar  can  perceive  is  very
different  from  the  orthodox  form.  The  case  was  referred  to
'  Boniface,  who  declared  that  the  baptism  was  invaKd,  and
ordered  those  so  baptized  to  be  baptized  again.  Virgil  and
his  friend,  Sidonius,  afterwards  Archbishop  of  Bavaria,  knew
how  jealous  the  Church  has  always  been  about  re-baptizing
those  once  validly  baptized  ;  and  they  declared  that  in  their
opinion  the  baptism  in  question  was  vaKd.  Boniface,
however,  persisted  in  his  opinion.  He  was,  as  he  himself
says,  an  Englishman  from  Saxonia  transmarina — and  though
it  is  highly  probable  that  he  was  of  Irish  origin,  he  did  not
wish  to  accept  the  teaching  of  the  Irish  theologians  on  this
occasion.  So  the  matter  was  referred  to  Rome ;  and  it  so
happened  that  Pope  Zachary,  a  Calabrian  Greek,  and  a  man,
too,  of  great  learning  and  holiness,  then  filled  the  Chair  ui
St.  Peter.  His  decision,  sent  by  letter  to  Boniface,  declares
distinctly  that  if  the  minister  of  the  sacrament,  through
ignorance  of  .Latin,  and  not  from  any  heretical  purpose  of
introducing  a  new  form,  pronounced  the  words  as  given
above,  the  baptism  must  be  held  to  be  valid.^

This  clear  and  emphatic  expression  of  Catholic  doctrine,
as  every  theological  student  koows,  we  owe  to  Virgil  and
Sidonius.  They  rightly  deemed  that  this  error  in  the  form
was  not  substantial  but  accidental ;  it  was  not  introduced
from  malice,  with  a  view  to  pervert  the  form  of  the  sacra-
ment, but  from  ignorance  ;  the  priest  evidently  had  the
intention  of  doing  what  the  Church  does ;  he  corrupted  the
integrity  of  the  form,  but  it  remained  perfectly  intelligible
to  any  bystander  acquainted  with  the  Latin  language,  and
hence  the  baptism  itself  was  valid.
