Exorcism, chrismation, etc.

[James F.]

Where did the exorcism at the Baptism, Chrismation, praying to the Saints, etc. come from? I know it must have come from the early Church, but is it not man made? I mean, I never saw anything about these in the Bible.
Thanks.

[Herman Blaydoe]

Well, I think there is actually plenty about exorcisms in the Bible. Our Lord exorcised many demons, as did the Apostles as explained in the Acts of the Apostles. Lots of talk about deaf and dumb spirits, spirits named "Legion", and so on, so I find it hard to understand how you never saw anything about it. There is actually not a lot of discussion on HOW Holy Baptism was conducted in Holy Scripture, but plenty about casting out demons, so it is hard to say that it was NOT part of baptism from earliest days.

[James F.]

Well, I think there is actually plenty about exorcisms in the Bible. Our Lord exorcised many demons, as did the Apostles as explained in the Acts of the Apostles. Lots of talk about deaf and dumb spirits, spirits named "Legion", and so on, so I find it hard to understand how you never saw anything about it. There is actually not a lot of discussion on HOW Holy Baptism was conducted in Holy Scripture, but plenty about casting out demons, so it is hard to say that it was NOT part of baptism from earliest days.

Oh, that is not at all what I meant. I know there are exorcisms and believe heavily in the power and authority Christ has given His Church to cast out devils. I've just never heard of exorcisms while being baptized.

[Herman Blaydoe]

There is little to nothing about how baptisms were conducted in Holy Scripture, other than water was used, and they were commanded to baptise in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. No other details are really given. So how do you know they did NOT do exorcisms as part of baptism? What we DO have, as the Orthodox Church, is the continued Apostolic Witness and record that fills in many of the "gaps" that were not commented on in Holy Scripture. We know what happened to Lazarus after he was resurrected (he became a bishop), we know what the Samaritan Woman did after she met our Lord at the well (she was proclaimed "equal to the apostles" and converted many) in the collective memory of the Church, which was lost by the Protestants when they threw out "all that Catholic stuff". Protestants haven't heard of a lot of things but they are beginning to get reacquainted with the Fathers and the Early Church and finding out a lot of things they never heard of before.

[Jennifer]

Hi, James,

I have been thinking about your post that began this thread and how I could respond to it. It sounds like these practices that you mention, exorcism at baptism, chrismation, praying to saints, and maybe others that you have not mentioned are strange to you and you want to make sure that they were not simply created by people (like the rules that the pharisees followed) by finding reference to them in the New Testament.

I think that in order to understand many of the practices of the church (Orthodox and Protestant) one must understand the role that the New Testament has played in spreading the faith. The writers of the New Testament did not write it has a how-to book for everything Christian. I firmly believe that faith in Christ and knowledge on how to be His disciple was spread through human relationships. People learned about Christ through experiences with other followers of Christ. They had one-on-one contact; new Christians became disciples of older Christians; followers of the Way lived and worshiped together in community; and Apostles journeyed to new places teaching large crowds of people. The book of Acts and several letters of Paul give evidence that this is how the Church worked. The New Testament is a collection of letters and biographical accounts of Christ and the Apostles that were written to augment the teaching that was being done in person. When Paul and the other Apostles could not meet with people in person, they wrote letters. Even St. John writes that he could not possibly describe all his experiences with Christ in writing - the world could not contain the number of books it would require. Therefore, we should not be surprised when there are Christian practices that are not described in the New Testament.

Consider this, if Christ is the Word of God and the Church is the Body of Christ, then one would find the complete Word of God within the Church rather than a book, no matter how holy the book (I do not mean to demean the holiness of the Bible).

Here is a modern-day analogy. Trying to use the New Testament as an all-encompassing how-to book is like trying to know everything that was said in a lecture by solely reading the Powerpoint slides. It is impossible.

I wish that I had the knowledge of history and theology to be able to tell you exactly when Christians began to ask the saints for intercession or perform chrismations and exorcisms at baptisms, but this I do not have. Perhaps someone else knows when these practices first appeared in the writings of the Early Church Fathers and Mothers, but even this would not necessarily specify an exact time for when Christians began to do these practices.

In Christ,
Jennifer

[Anthony]

Hi James,

It might help you to study the texts for Epiphany (Theophany), which explore the meaning of baptism with many images drawn from both Testaments. The connection between baptism and the defeat of demons is a theme that recures quite often.

[Eleftheria]

Dear James,

As has been noted above, the Bible, esp.the NT, was never intended as a 'how-to' or "The Place" to find out absolutely everything about how the Apostles or even Christ Himself conducted services rendered, ie healings, exorcisms, etc. But it is crucial to note, as did Jennifer, that even St. John commented that he did not include everything that Christ said or did, as well as St. Paul's exhortation in 2Thess to: "...Stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, EITHER BY WORD OF MOUTH or by letter." I hope this helps you in your journey!

In Christ,
Eleftheria

[James F.]

Thanks for your replies everyone. There were helpful. I have another question. I heard that there are many cases where other forms of exorcisms are needed. Would you please explain what types of different demonic indwellings that make different types of exorcisms needed? Can only a Priest perform an exorcism, or any believer? I read that there are different exorcisms that laity can perform and different exorcicms that Priests should perfom. How are they different? If a devil is fully indwelling a person, and even speaking through him/her, should the Priest cast it out, or can a laity? Jesus said ""And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name they shall cast out devils..." Mark 16:17. Does this mean anyone who believes?

Ok, I guess that is several questions. I'm a tad...obsessive, I guess.
Thanks in advance.

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

Thanks for your replies everyone. There were helpful. I have another question. I heard that there are many cases where other forms of exorcisms are needed. Would you please explain what types of different demonic indwellings that make different types of exorcisms needed? Can only a Priest perform an exorcism, or any believer? I read that there are different exorcisms that laity can perform and different exorcicms that Priests should perfom. How are they different? If a devil is fully indwelling a person, and even speaking through him/her, should the Priest cast it out, or can a laity? Jesus said ""And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name they shall cast out devils..." Mark 16:17. Does this mean anyone who believes?

Ok, I guess that is several questions. I'm a tad...obsessive, I guess.
Thanks in advance.

I'm not sure this was answered in the previous posts so first it should be pointed out that exorcism was connected to the rite of Baptism from the times of the very early Church. For example St Hippolytus of Rome in the 3rd c. refers to exorcism immediately preceding Baptism as does St Cyril of Jerusalem in the next century.

In the present day the Baptism service is preceded by the Prayer at the making of a Catechumen which begins with the exorcism prayers. Then follows three times the question to the candidate "Dost thou renounce Satan and all his works and all his angels and all his service and all his pride?" to which three times is given the answer "I do". Then the candidate for Baptism spits upon Satan. The fuller meaning of this renunciation of Satan is shown in how immediately after there follows the question again three times, "Dost thou unite thyself unto Christ?" with the answer, "I do." In other words the exorcism done before Baptism refers to a cleansing from and then renunciation of evil as a first step in vowing oneself to Christ. More than likely this is the reason for the connection between exorcism and Baptism from the times of the very early Church.

Apart from this in the service books there are special prayers of exorcism which the priest should read although as with everything else we do there is no sense that this is only the prayer of the priest. Rather Christ acts through the priest but meanwhile all of the people are also called to pray for the afflicted person. So it's definitely not a case of who is 'allowed to pray' but of there being many different sorts of prayer within the Church with each person fulfilling their unique calling within the One Body as St Paul says.

There is also for us no hard and fast rule as to what situation calls for an exorcism. We do acknowledge there can be outright demonic posession. But evil can act in many different ways. There could well be a situation in which we could use the exorcism prayers for a person afflicted by an especially destructive passion. I did this once in the case of a person who was suffering from a passionate affliction that was potentially life-threatening.

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Anthony]

There could well be a situation in which we could use the exorcism prayers for a person afflicted by an especially destructive passion.

I wonder if you could expand on that, Father.

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

I wonder if you could expand on that, Father.

The situation was someone with a combination of bulimia, depression and suicidal thoughts. We read what is called the Service of Supplication for the Afflicted Who are Assailed & Attacked by Unclean Spirits.

What really helped was the person staying in a monastery for about 6 months. I think this shows that exorcism for us is really part of a life-long project that we're all involved in. All of us in coming into the Church should have had the exorcism prayers read. All of us from that point on are in the process of undergoing a life-long exorcism in a way.

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Jennifer]

Hi, James,

In case you are still interested in this topic, I thought I would go ahead and post this.

I was recently reading Living Prayer by Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom) (1966) and came across a short passage about the reason that an exorcism is performed before a person is baptized. Metropolitan Anthony writes that each person who has not become a child of God is like a slave to his own passions and the devil. Before one can be joined to the Body of Christ through baptism, it is important that the person be set free from his/her former slave master, the devil.

Here is a short excerpt from the book:
"When the learner is determined to become a free man in the Kingdom of the Lord, the Church undertakes certain actions. ... Through fear and from a habit of slavery a man cannot ask for freedom until he is delivered from the authority of the devil. Therefore, before any question is asked of the one who stands there, with a new hope in divine salvation, he is made free from the power of Satan. This is the meaning of the exorcisms which are read at the outset of the baptismal service in the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches." (pg. 22-23)

[James F.]

Thank you for your replies. I'm not sure if I asked this before, but is it possible for a person to be rebaptized? I was baptized in a Southern Baptist church. If I join the Orthodox Catholic Church, and since I was already baptized, I get Chrismation without baptism, will I still be a slave of the evil one since I didn't get the exorcism?

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

Thank you for your replies. I'm not sure if I asked this before, but is it possible for a person to be rebaptized? I was baptized in a Southern Baptist church. If I join the Orthodox Catholic Church, and since I was already baptized, I get Chrismation without baptism, will I still be a slave of the evil one since I didn't get the exorcism?

The safest over-all advice is probably to first go to the parish where God leads you and then according to how things move along see about how you will be received.

For us to be a 'slave of sin' always means willing participation in sinful behaviour. To sacramentally enter the Church is to be given the grace to struggle against this sin. But we don't automatically become free from the chains of sin by being received into the Church.

Sin is the most powerful thing we will have to struggle with throughout our entire lives. This may seem obvious to a Christian but it also may not since it can take quite awhile to accept that our lives should not be mainly a struggle for material things, the esteem of others or for pride. To recognise this is to recognise how sin works and that this should be the main priority in our lives.

This recognition takes a life-long conversion. So here is where the Church comes in since it is the Body of Christ wherein we find that life which allows us to be remade in His image rather than that of sin.

So we say then that in the Church we are learning and being given the grace to not be slaves of sin. This is not an over-night thing which occurs upon ones entry into the Church. Rather to be in the Church is precisely to take up the life in Christ in which one gains the freedom to struggle against being a slave of sin.

To not be a slave of sin is a life-long project accomplished through the Church in Christ.
In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Clare]

Dear James,

You asked "Can only a Priest perform an exorcism, or any believer?" I thought it was very interesting that Fr Raphael said "We read what is called the Service..."

Unfortunately my parish priest has done quite a few exorcisms of buildings. He never does it alone. He always gathers a few people in the parish who are at a stage in their life when they are quite good at praying and they all pray together.

In Christ,
Clare