Fidejussores

Fidejussores sureties, a title borrowed from the Roman law, and employed by Augustine to represent the office of sponsor. Baptism at an early period was considered in the light of a contract; and as many of the leaders in the early Church had, before their conversion, been engaged in the interpretation or administration of law, it was natural for them to use a term which they had been accustomed to employ in civil transactions. SEE SPONSORS.