FONSE'CA, PEDRO DA, D.D., 1528-99; prof. at Coimbra and Evora; sometimes called the " Portuguese Aristotle." He wrote commentaries on Aristotle's works; also a treatise on foreknowledge and freewill. He resided for seven years at Rome, and was the instructor of Molina.
FONT (Fans Baptismalis), the vessel used in churches as the repository of the bap tismal water. In the early period, while immersion continued to be the ordinary rite of the administration of the sacrament of baptism, the baptistery (see BAPTISTERY), or other place set apart for the ceremony, was furnished with a basin sufficiently capacious to admit of the administration of the rite according to the then prevailing form. But when it became customary to baptize by affusion—that is, by pouring the water on the bead of the person to be baptized—the size of the basin was naturally diminished, and eventually it assumed the dimensions and the form which are now familiar to us is most of the mediaeval churches in Great Britain and upon the continent. The baptismal F., in its normal form, consists of a basin or cup, more or less capacious, hollowed out of a solid block, and supported upon a stem or pedestal. It is ordinarily of stone, but some ancient examples of leaden fonts also occur, and a few of copper or of bronze. In general, however, it may be said the F., in ifs external form and character, followed the prevailing style of ecclesiastical architecture and ornamentation. From its connec tion with one of the most solemn rites of religion, it became very early a favorite subject for the exercise of the decorative skill of the artist, and there are still preserved, in different churches fonts which exhibit characteristics of each and all the successive fash ions through which church architecture has passed since the introduction of the F. in its present form. There is some doubt as to whether any existing specimen in England really belongs to the Saxon period, but examples are found of all the later styles, from the early Norman down to the latest revival Of Gothic architecture in our own day; the early English, the decorated, of which a beautiful example occurs in the church of All Saints, Norwich; and the perpendicular, which is seen in its highest perfection at East Dereham, in the same county of Norfolk.
The external figure of the basin of the F. which stands in the• church of Swanton, LincOlnshirc, erected 1310, seems to havebeen originally circular or elliptical; but most of the later fonts are hexagonal, or even eight-sided. The basin was commonly sup
ported on a single pillar or stem. Many cases, however, occur in which it rests on three, four, or five pillars, or on a group of pillars or pilasters united into a solid stem. The exterior, as well of the basin as of the pedestal, was often highly decorated, ordinarily with sculpture, but occasionally also in gold and colors; the designs on the basin com monly representing subjects connected with baptism, or its types and symbols. We frequently meet around the pedestal figures of the apostles, sometimes only eleven in number, Judas being omitted.
In the Roman Catholic church, the service of Easter Saturday contains a solemn form for the blessing of the baptismal font. After a long series of prayers, and amid a very imposing ceremonial, the " chrism," or consecrated oil'blessed by the bishop, and also the so-called "oil of catechumens," are mingled with the baptismal water, which is reserved for subsequent use. With a view to the preservation of the water thus reserved, the F., especially when it is of porous stone, is sometimes lined with lead; and from an early date, it is furnished with a lid, which is secured by a lock, and is often of a highly ornamental character.
The ordinary place of the F. is at the western end of the nave, near the entrance of the church, but in many cases it stands in a separate chapel or baptistery, or at least in a com partment screened off for the purpose. Even when it stands in the open nave, it is properly inclosed by a rail.
The baptismal F. is not to be confounded. with the "holy water fount," which usually stands near the entrance of Roman Catholic churches, and from which persona entering sprinkle their forehead, in recognition of the inward purity with which we ought to enter the house of God; nor with the 'piscina or sacrarium, which is found in the chancel or the sacristy of ancient churches, and which was intended to receive and carry away the water used in cleansing the sacred vessels, the altar-linens, and the other furniture used in the administration of the eucharist. See Paley's Illustrations of Baptis mal Fonts; Simpson's Series of Baptismal Fonts; Wetsr's Kgrclien-Lexicon; Binterim's Denkwardigkeiten.