For prisoners, Baptism is ransom,
forgiveness of debts, death of sin, regeneration of the soul, a resplendent
garment, an unbreakable seal, a chariot to heaven, a protector royal, a gift of
adoption. (Basil the Great, On Baptism, 13.5, ante A.D. 379, The Faith of
the Early Fathers, 3 vols. [trans. William A. Jurgens; Collegeville, Minn.:
The Liturgical Press, 1979], 2:23)