Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 5.djvu/791

 EXORCIST

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EXORCIST

tice was introduced into the Church of exorcising cate- chumens as a preparation for the Sacrament of Bap- tism. This did not imply that they were considered to be obsessed, like demoniacs, but merely that they were, in consequence of original sin (and of personal sins in case of adults), subject more or less to the power of the devil, whose "works" or "pomps" they were called upon to renounce, and from whose dominion the grace of baptism was about to deliver them. Exor- cism in this connexion is a symbolical anticipation of one of the chief effects of the sacrament of regenera- tion; and since it was used in the case of children who had no personal sins, St. Augustine could appeal to it against the Pelagians as implying clearly the doctrine ot original sin (Ep. cxciv, n. 46. P. L., XXXIII, 890; C. Jul. Ill, 8; P. L., XXXIV, 705, and elsewhere). St. Cyril of Jerusalem (Procat., 14, col. 355) gives a de- tailed description of baptismal exorcism, from which it appears that anointing with exorcised oil formed a part of this exorcism in the East. The only early Western -n-itness which treats unction as part of the baptismal exorcism is that of the Arabic Canons of Hippoljiius (n. 19, 29). The Exsufflatio, or out- breathing of the demon by the candidate, which was sometimes part of the ceremony, symbolized the re- nunciation of his works and pomps, while the Insuf- flatio, or in-breathing of the Holy Ghost, by ministers and assistants, sj-mbolised the infusion of sanctifying grace by the sacrament. Jlost of these ancient cere- monies have been retained by the Church to this day in her rite for solemn baptism.

(3) Other Exorcisms. According to Catholic belief demons or fallen angels rctaiu their natural power, as intelligent beings, of acting on the material universe, and using material objects and directing material forces for their own wicked ends; and this power, which is in itself limited, and is subject, of course, to the control of Divine providence, is believed to have been allowed a wider scope for its activity in conse- quence of the sin of mankind. Hence places and things as well as persons are naturally liable to dia- bolical infestation, within limits permitted by God. and exorcism in regard to them is nothing more than a prayer to God, in the name of His Church, to restrain this diabolical power supernaturally, and a profession of faith in His willingness to do so on behalf of His servants on earth.

The chief things formally exorcised in blessing are water, salt, and oil, and these in turn are used in per- sonal exorcisms, and in blessing or consecrating places (e. g. churches) and objects (e. g. altars, sacred ves- sels, church bells) connected with public worship, or intended for private devotion. Holy water, the sac- ramental with which the ordinary faithful are most familiar, is a raLxture of exorcised water and exor- cised salt; and in the prayer of blessing, God is be- sought to endow these material elements with a super- natural power of protecting those who use them with faith against all the attacks of the devil. This kind of indirect e.xorcism by means of exorcised objects is an extension of the original idea; but it introduces no new principle, and it has been in use in the Church from the earliest ages. (See also Exorcist.)

P. J. Toner.

Exorcist, (1) in general, any one who exorcises or professes to e.xorcise demons (cf. Acts, XIX, 13); (2) in particular, one ordained by a bishop for this office, orclination to which is the second ot ihe four minor orders of the 'iVestern Church. The practice of exor- cism was not confined to clerics in the early ages, as is clear from Tertullian (Apologet., 23, P. L., I, 410; cf. De Idolat., 11) and Origen (C. Celsum, VII, 4, P. G. 1125). The latter expressly states that even the sim- plest and rudest of the faithful sometimes cast out demons, by a mere prayer or adjuration (Mark, xv, 17), and urges the fact as a proof of the power of

Christ's grace, and the inability of demons to resist it. In the Eastern Church, a specially ordained order of exorcists (or of acolj^es, or door-keepers) has never been established, but in the Western Church, these three minor orders (with that of lectors as a fourth) were instituted shortly before the middle of the third century. Pope Cornelius (251-252) mentions in his letter to Fabius that there were then in the Roman Chiu-ch fort}'-two acolj^es, and fifty-two exorcists, readers, and door-keepers (Eusebius, Hist. Eccl., VI, xliii; P. G., XX, 621), and the institution of these orders, and the organization of their functions, seems to have been the work of Cornelius's predecessor, Pope Fabian (236-251).

The fourth Council of Carthage (398), in its seventh canon, prescribes the rite of ordination for exorcist; the bishop is to give him the book containing the for- muliE of exorcism, saying, " Receive, and commit to memory, and possess the power of imposing hands on energumens, whether baptized or catechumens"; and the same rite has been retained, without change, in the Roman Pontifical dowQ to the present day, except that instead of the ancient Book of Exorcisms, the Ponti- fical, or Missal, is put into the hands of the ordained. From this form it is clear that one of the chief duties of exorcists was to take part in baptismal exorcism. That catechumens were exorcised every da}', for some time before baptism, may be inferred from canon xc of the same council, which prescribed the daily imposi- tion of hands by the exorcists. A further duty is pre- scribed in canon xcii, viz.: to supply food to, and in a general way to care for, energumens who habitually frequented the Church. There is no mention of pagan energumens, for the obvious reason that the official ministrations of the Church were not intended for them. But even after the institution of this order, exorcism was not forbidden to the laity, much less to the higher clergj'; nor did those who exorcised always use the forms contained in the Book of Exorcisms. Thus the Apostolic Constitutions (VJII, 26; P. G., I, 1122) say expressly that "the exorcist is not or- dained ", i.e. for the special office of e.xorcist, but that if anyone possess the charismatic power, he is to be recognized, and if need be, ordained deacon or sul> deacon. This is the practice which has survived in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

As an example of the discretion allowed in the West, in the use of the means of exorcising, we may refer to what Sulpitius Severus relates of St. Martin of Tours (Dial., Ill (U), 6; P. L., XX, 215), that he was in the habit of casting out demons by prayer alone, without having recourse to the imposition of hands or the for- mula usually employed by the clergy. After a time, as conditions changed in the Church, the office of ex- orcist, as an independent office, ceased altogether, and was taken over by clerics in major orders, just as the original fimctions of deacons and subdeacons have with the lapse of time passed to a great extent into the hands of priests; and according to the present disci- pline of the Catholic Church, it is only priests who are authorized to use the exorcising power conferred by ordination. The change is due to the facts that the catechumenate, with which the office of exorcist was chiefly connected, has ceased, that infant baptism has become the rule, and that with the spread of Christian- ity and the disappearance of paganism, demonic power has been curtailed, and cases of obsession have become much rarer. It is only Catholic missionaries labour- ing in pagan lands, where Christianity is not yet domi- nant, who are likely to meet with fairly frequent cases ot pcssession.

In Christian countries authentic cases of possession sometimes occur and every priest, especially if he be a parish priest, or pastor, is liable to be called tipon to Iicrforni his duty as exorcist. In doing .so, he is to be mindful of the prescriptions of the Roman Ritual and of the laws of provincial or diocesao synods, which for