Blessed salt in Christianity  Blessed salt has been used in various forms throughout the history of Christianity. Among early Christians, the savoring of blessed salt often took place along with baptism. In the fourth century, Augustine of Hippo named these practices "visible forms of invisible grace". However, its modern use as a sacramental remains mostly limited to its use with holy water within the Anglican Communion and Roman Catholic Church. In the Old Testament, in , "David struck down 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt." In addition, "tells the story of the prophet Elisha pouring salt onto Jericho's water springs." For centuries since the advent of Jesus, salt that had been cleansed and sanctified by special exorcisms and prayers was given to catechumens before entering the church for baptism. According to the fifth canon of the Third Council of Carthage in the third century, salt was administered to the catechumens several times a year, a process attested by Augustine of Hippo (Confessions I.11). Two specific rites, namely a cross traced on the forehead and a taste of blessed salt, not only marked the entrance into the catechumenate, but were repeated regularly. By his own account, Augustine was "blessed regularly with the Sign of the Cross and was seasoned with God's salt." Early in the sixth century, John the Deacon also explained the use of blessed salt, "so the mind which is drenched and weakened by the waves of this world is held steady". Salt continued to be customarily used during the scrutinies of catechumens or the baptism of infants. In recent times, the use of blessed salt is found within some Anglican liturgies of Holy Baptism, and in the blessing of holy water, sometimes called lustral water. The Anglican Missal, used by some Anglo-Catholics, in The Order of Blessing Water, includes an English translation of traditional prayers for the exorcism and blessing of salt. The Collect reads:  In the section on "Occasional Offices" of the "Book of Common Prayer", the following prayer, given under the rite for "Blessing of Holy Water" is said before the holy water is blessed and "salt is put into the water in the form of a cross":  The Roman Rite of the Catholic Church also mentions use of blessed salt. The 1962 "Rituale Romanum" includes salt as component in three rites:   An additional rite provides for the blessing of salt for animals.