EXORCISM BEFORE BAPTISM IN THE ANCIENT AND OLD ENGLISH CHURCH.
| Ancient Church. Sacramentary of Gelasius, from a MS. of the 7th or 8th century. | Old Latin form of the German Church ap. Luther. | Exorcism of Infants from Sacramentary of Gelasius. | Gothic and old Gallican Liturgy from a MS. more than 900 years old. | Greek Liturgy, from the 1st exorcism. | Jacobite Syrians. | Liturgy of James Bishop of Sarug. | Hermann. The exorcism of adjuration. |
| No. 1. | No. 2. | No. 3. | No. 4. | No. 5. | No. 6. | No. 7. | No. 8. |
| "I pray Thee, O Lord, to free also these Thy servants, and to vouchsafe to bring them to the grace of Thy baptism: wherefore,thou accursed devil, acknowledge thy sentence, and give the honour to the true and living God; give it to His Son Jesus Christ; and to the Holy Ghost, and depart from this1 His servant; for our God Lord Jesus Christ hath called him to His holy grace and benediction, and to the laver of baptism through2 His gift; and never venture3 to destroy this sign of the holy cross, that we make on his forehead," (Ap. Assem. Cod. Liturg. p. 6, 7.) "have nothing to do with these servants of God, who now think of heavenly things, and are about to renounce thee and thy world, and to live to a blessed immortality||, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is about to come to judge the quick and dead, and the world by fire." Also from two MSS. of the Church of Turin, above 900 years old. (Assem. p. 44. See also pp. 46. 47. 48. 50. 52.) 1"from this servant of God."—Sarum. Ritual Ebor. 2"by the gift of the Holy Spirit."—Sarum. 3"thou accursed devil."—Sar. |
Beginning of service. After the third prayer. = "have," "immortality." || through Him, who is hereafter to judge, &c.I adjure thee, thou unclean spirit, in the name of the Father †, and the Son †, and the Holy Ghost †, that thou come out, and depart from this servant of Jesus Christ. |
Forget not, O Satan, that punishment awaits thee, that torments await thee, that the day of judgment awaits thee, a day of misery*, a day which shall come as a burning furnace, and in which everlasting destruction shall come to thee and all thy angels. Wherefore, thou damned one† give the honour, &c. (as before to "Holy Ghost"),‡ in whose name and power I bid thee come out and depart from this servant of God, whom our Lord God Jesus Christ hath vouchsafed this day to call, &c. that he may become His temple by the water of regeneration for the remission of all sins, ¶ in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is about to come, &c.—(Ap. Assem. p. 17.) also in Gregory's Sacramentary, published from a Venice MS. above 900 years old. * "Endless misery."—Sarum Ebor. † "Damnate et damnande, pro tua nequitia."—Sarum Ebor. ‡ "he gives the honour to the Holy Ghost the Comforter."—Sarum. § "Whoever thou art, thou unclean spirit."—Sarum Ebor. ¶ "his sins."—Sarum. = "Through His gift."—Sarum. |
I address thee, most unclean damned spirit—origin of sin, who delightest in malice, sacrilege, adulteries, murders, We adjure thee, calling upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, by His Majesty and Power, His Passion and Resurrection, His Coming and Judgment, that driven forth [..] spiritual scourges and invisible torments, thou flee from this vessel which thou thoughtest to have dwelt in for thine own, and leave it for the Lord, being purified after thy indwelling. Suffice it, that in past ages thou hast ruled in the hearts of men, almost over the whole world. Now daily shall thy kingdom be destroyed; and day by day to the end shall thy weapons fail. Of old were those things which thou sufferest prefigured. Thou wast spoiled in the plagues of the Egyptians, &c. Thou art put to flight, art tortured, art destroyed by all saints, being assigned to the eternal fire and infernal darkness. Whence our Lord Jesus Christ, in the second Adam withdraws man from thee, while He triumpheth over thee. Depart, depart, wherever thou art, and seek not again the bodies dedicated to God. Be they interdicted to thee for ever. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and in the glory of the Passion of the Lord, by whose blood they were saved, whose coming they wait for, whose judgment they confess, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.—(Assem. p. 50.) | The Lord rebuketh thee, O Satan, He who came into the world, and taberacled among men, that he might destroy thy tyranny, and free mankind, [..] on the cross triumphed over the powers of the enemy, &c. He now also commandeth thee by us; fear, go out, and retire from this creature, and return not, nor hide thyself in him, nor meet him, nor work on him—but depart to thy own hell, until the great day of judgment ordained. Go forth, and depart from this new elected and sealed soldier of Christ our God. Depart, and retire from this creature, with all thy power and thy angels. For the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost is glorified, now and ever, and for all ages. Amen. Assem. T. i. p. 131–133. From the 2d exorcism. The 3rd exorcism. |
We call upon Thee, O Lord our God, maker of all things, visible and invisible, laying hands on this Thy creature, and we sign him † in Thy name—Father, Son, and Holy Ghost—and in Thy most Holy Name, rebuke all devils, and unclean and evil spirits, that they depart far away from Thy creature and image, and the work of Thy holy hands †. Hear us, O Lord, and rebuke them, and cleanse Thy servants from the working of the adversary †. Hear also, thou perverse and rebellious, who injurest this creature of God †. I adjure thee, thou enemy of righteousness, and transgressor of the divine and holy laws, by the glory of the Great King, depart with terror, and be subject to the terrible Lord, and by Him who has all power in heaven and in earth; by Him, by whom all things are created and preserved; by Him, by whom things in heaven exist, and things on earth are strengthened, &c. †. I adjure thee by Him, who, with divine power, said to the deaf and dumb spirit, "Go out of him, and enter no more into him," &c. † Fear the future judgment;—tremble;—approach not to the creature of God,—for he is not the dwelling-place of devils, but the temple of God: for He hath said, "I will dwell in them, and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people," &c. Be thou rooted out, and scattered abroad, and depart, accursed, from the creature of God; thou unclean spirit, and spirit of error, fuel for fire,—hasten, and resist not. For God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit shall utterly root thee out, casting thee forth from every creature of His, and out into fire unquenchable,—delivering this work of His hands until the day of redemption; for His is the power, and dominion, and might, and to Him we now ascribe the praise. (Assem.
T. i. p. 234–237; also in a Jerusalem Liturgy, derived from the Apostles, ibid. p. 250. as in that of Severus, Patriarch of Antioch, ibid. p. 278. and p. 45 sqq. ed. Fabricius.) |
† I adjure you and bind you, unclean and evil spirits, and all the power of the enemy, in the Name of God, mighty and powerful, who created all things, (and after other adjurations from the manifestations of God's power in the Old Testament). † I adjure you through Him, Whom His own will brought to the wood of the Cross, and to death, that He might redeem Adam & his sons from the slavery of death and sin. † I adjure you by the might of the mighty God, that ye depart from this creature which is wedded to the living God, and remove from him, and return no more to dwell in this child, who comes to be an habitation for the Holy Spirit, that He may dwell in it. But do ye, evil spirits, flee from Him, and as the evil spirit departed from king Saul, when David played on the harp, so † may Satan and his power fly, O Lord, from this thy servant, when Thy Majesty descending in a cloud, abideth on the waters of Baptism, so, O Lord, let not the evil spirit remain in any part of the soul, body, or spirit of this Thy servant, who is called to this mystery of Baptism. † I tell you, demons and evil spirits, the bridegroom rejoices, the bride is made ready, and the guests wait, and the streams burst forth, and the heavens are opened, and the angels stand in awe, and the Seraphim cry "Holy," and the powers sing, and the hosts of angels shout—the Father rejoiceth, the Son is glad, the Holy Spirit broodeth; and Baptism is kindled with fire and the Spirit, and the mysteries are sealed, and the flock standeth by, the Church trembleth. Beware thou evil one, and presume not, lest thou perish in that hour, when the King sitteth on the throne, to execute judgment on your presumption and rebellion. Approach not to this servant, who is called to the feast of the only Son of God, and injure him not whien thou departest from him. But if thou presumest, and departest not from the Holy Church, the Holy of Holies, wherein the Lord dwelleth, I bind † thee, and anathematize thee in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. † Be thou bound and anathematized by the Holy Trinity, if thou approach with him to this Holy Baptism, which burneth with fire and the Spirit; but depart to the infernal pit, where thy punishment is prepared for ever. † I bind thee and anathematize thee, Satan, by that hour, wherein our Lord hung upon the Cross, and stretched out His hands and feet to the nails, and His side to the lance, and His mouth to the vinegar and gall, for Adam and his sons. † I adjure thee, and bind thee, evil Satan, by that hour, wherein we priests stand, who are put in trust with the treasures of the Father, from the mouth of the Father, who baptizeth, and the Son, who receiveth, and of the Holy Spirit, who broodeth. But now I seal † him, and protect him from all the power of demons, in the name of the Father, the Son. and Holy Snirit. now and for ever.—[..] |
I commande all evil spirits, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to depart from this infant, and to do him no hurt in any manner of ways. Edward VI. in the book after the 2d prayer. And presume not, hereafter, to exercise any tyranny towards these infants, whom Christ hath bought with His most precious blood, and by this His holy Baptism, calleth to be of His flock. |
In Baptismal formularies also, when there is no direct exorcism or adjuration, there is far more mention of Satan and his might, and the power which he had, and would, but for Christ, yet have over us, than in our own, which through the interference of Bucer, has unhappily been maimed, the direct exorcism having been omitted, and nothing substituted for it.
Thus in the Coptic (Assem. i. 153). "We beseech Thy goodness, Thou lover of men, that by the mystery of Thy Holy name, thou wilt repel and restrain all the adverse and wicked spirits and powers, for Thou hast called Thy servants, who come from darkness to light, from death to life, from error to acknowledgment of truth, and from worship of idols to the knowledge of Thee, O God of truth. Search the secret corners of their hearts. Thou who searched Jerusalem with candles (Zeph. i. 12.), and permit not the evil spirit to lurk in them, but grant them purity and salvation; give them everlasting salvation, regenerate them with the washing of regeneration and remission of sins and make them a temple for Thy Holy Spirit through Thy only begotten Son." (And again p. 156), "destroy in them all power of the enemy," &c. (and p. 157 and p. 162) "expel every work of Satan from him," (and p. 164, beginning as in p. 153), "and if any wickedness of Satan lurk in him, lay it open and expel it from the soul and body of Thy faithful servant, who believes in Thy Holy Name; renew his life, and make him fit to receive the light and seal of Thy Christ, and the gift of Thy Holy and consubstantial Spirit, and put on the robe of salvation, the shield of faith, against which our enemy cannot prevail" (and p. 165) "Save, O Lord, this Thy creature, and free him from the slavery of the enemy" (and p. 166) "Let the angels of light guard his life, that he may be freed from all the evils of the adversary, from the demon ofthemid day (Ps. xc. 5,6. Sept.) and the arrow that fleeth at noon-day. Take away and remove from him every unclean, every malignant spirit, which troubleth his heart; the spirit of error and of all wickedness; the spirit of love of money and idolatry; the spirit of lying, and every foul thing, which is practised from the teaching of Satan: make him a sheep of the holy flock of Thy Christ, an elect member of Thy holy Church," &c.
This varied and repeated reference to the doctrine of the power of the "prince of this world," over such as are not rescued from his dominion, implies a conviction of its reality, as strong as even the direct and formal Exorcism.
In the Armenian Liturgy again (altogether very brief) is the prayer, "O Lord God, great and glorified by all creatures, this Thy servant, fleeing to Thy Almighty and terrible name, hath humbled his head to Thy holy name to which every knee of things in heaven, and in earth, and under the earth, doth bow; that every tongue may confess that Thou, Jesus Christ, art the Lord, in the glory of the Father and the Holy Spirit. May he be partaker of the fruit of that Thy terrible name, which hath repelled the snares of the enemy, and the perverseness of idolatry. and baffles all the snares of the devil. Look upon him, O Lord, in Thy mercy, and through the all-powerful invocation of Thee drive far away from him all secret thoughts, words, and works, which come from unclean spirits; and all fraud whereby deceiving spirits are wont to deceive and destroy men, so that, terrified by Thy victorious might, they may be restrained and tormented by invisible chastisements: let them be banished from him by (this) adjuration, as as never to return. Fill him with heavenly grace," &c.—Assem. p. 170, 1.
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