Satanism Today - An Encyclopedia of Religion, Folklore and Popular ...

212 Possession and Exorcism
narrative on this topic is the story of the exorcism
of a group of spirits into a herd of pigs. Because it
so vividly illustrates a series of different points on
traditional beliefs about these matters, it will be
useful to cite the longer version of this story
found in Luke 8:26–34:
Then they arrived at the country of the
Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. And as
he stepped out on land, there met him a man
from the city who had demons; for a long
time he had worn no clothes, and he lived not
in a house but among the tombs. When he
saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before
him, and said with a loud voice, “What have
you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most
High God I beseech you, do not torment
me.” For he had commanded the unclean
spirit to come out of the man. (For many a
time it had seized him; he was kept under
guard, and bound with chains and fetters, but
he broke the bonds and was driven by the
demon into the desert.) Jesus then asked him,
“What is your name” And he said, “Legion”;
for many demons had entered him. And they
begged him not to command them to depart
into the abyss. Now a large herd of swine was
feeding there on the hillside; and they begged
him to let them enter these. So he gave them
leave. Then the demons came out of the man
and entered the swine, and the herd rushed
down the steep bank into the lake and were
drowned. When the herdsmen saw what had
happened, they fled, and told it in the city and
in the country. Then people went out to see
what had happened, and they came to Jesus,
and found the man from whom the demons
had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed
and in his right mind.
This passage reflects the following beliefs about
possession: Demonic possession (the only kind of
possession mentioned in the New Testament)
causes mental illness. Demons possess animals as
well as human beings. Multiple demons can
possess a single person. They can give a person
superhuman strength, and are also able to take
control of one’s vocal chords for the purpose of
communicating with others. Jesus asks for the
demons’ name, implying that knowing their name
is important, either for understanding them or for
exercising control over them.
Other scriptural passages amplify the view of
possession and exorcism to include: One need not
be evil to attract possessing entities (there is never
any tone of moral censure associated with possession).
A demon can leave a person, only to return
later (“repossession”). Some spirits can be more
wicked than others. For Christians, exorcisms are
usually rather easy to perform—one simply
commands them to leave in the name of Jesus.
As the Christian Church developed, a formal
rite of exorcism was developed. Beliefs about
possession were also extended. For example, in the
past, attitudes toward the polluting nature of birth
led to the notion that newborn babies were demon
possessed. Newborns were therefore routinely
exorcised at baptism with the following words:
I exorcize you unclean spirit in the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit. Come out and leave this servant of
God [infant’s name]. Accursed and damned
spirit, hear the command of God himself, he
who walked upon the sea and extended his
right hand to Peter as he was sinking.
Therefore, accursed devil, acknowledge your
condemnation . . . and depart from this
servant of God [infant’s name]. . . . Never
dare, accursed devil, to violate the sign of the
holy cross which we place upon his/her
forehead. Through Christ our Lord.
The Church still performs “lesser exorcisms” at
baptisms, and when holy water, homes, and other
locations are blessed. Full exorcisms were
common in the medieval period. This practice
has, however, been considerably curtailed in
recent times. Vatican guidelines emphasize that
the majority of apparent possessions are actually
psychiatric problems. At present they can only be
carried out by order of a bishop.
Until recently, the manual for exorcism was the
Rituale Romanum, which was issued in A.D. 1614
during the papacy of Pope Paul V. It was not
revised until 1999, when Cardinal Jorge Arturo