Part III Chapter 1

PART III
CHAPTER 1
ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY

ON SOME SINGLE LITURGICAL UNITS
OF THE EXORCISTIC PRAYER
(FOLIOS [ΦΦ] 133V-139V)
This chapter attempts to analyse the Xirοpotamou exorcistic text piece

by piece looking at some fundamental ideas which emerge and possible
inspiration behind the author’s writing. One of the conclusions that clearly
emerges from study of these units is that to the Greek mind of the period,
the moral construction of reality that distinguishes evil from good is based
upon two ostensibly opposite discourses which contribute to one unified
worldview: on the on hand, the exotiκá (malicious entities living at the
margins of society) as they are experienced by laypeople, and, on the
other, demons and the devil, representing the official Orthodox church
dogma concerning evil.
φ.133v
.
∆ιάταξις τ±ν δαιµονιζοµένων. Τò π±ς cρωτ¾ς, iνα εiπ¿ σοι ò δαίµων τò
őνοµá αnτοñ. Éνταύθα, ζήτησον[τò őνοµα]Aτοñ πονηροñ πνεύµατος.
A
[τò oνοµα:] Find out the name of the evil spirit.
Διάταξις τῶν δαιμονιζομένων. Τò πῶς ἐρωτᾷς, ἵνα

εἴπῃ σοι ὁ δαίμων τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ. Ἐνταῦθα,
ζήτησον τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ πονηροῦ πνεύματος.
273 Analysis and Commentary on Some Single Liturgical Units
of the Exorcistic Prayer
The word of God (ò λόγος, uır) created the cosmos, and we see that
God’s word is praised in Old and New Testament Scripture 1 as having
creative power: «God said, ‘Let there be light’ and there was light… And
God said, ‘Let the earth sprout vegetation…’ and it was so» (Gn 1:3, 11).
God’s word made the light shine out of darkness of the original void, and
the word called life into being. This word accomplished what it said. The
Creator brings forth what was nothing into existence by the sheer power of
his speaking action. In the Gospel of John not only is the word of God
present and active at the beginning of time as God’s creative instrument,
but the word is a divine person, the Son of God. This Son is eternally «in
the bosom of the Father» (Jn 1:18), but whom God finally communicates
out into the world at the incarnation: «The Word became flesh and made
his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory as of the only
Son who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testifies
concerning him. He cries out, saying, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He
who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me”’» (Jn
1:14-15). Thus this word is more than language; it is a person full of
power and truth, and a word that communicates God’s grace through
action.
The words used in liturgical exorcisms are likewise more than mere
speech acts; they also aim to accomplish what they say 2. Their power
stems from God, who is always at work, pouring graces into his creation.
Jesus testifies that God’s creative work is unfinished: «My Father is
working until now, and I am working» (Jn 5:17) − God is at work
perfecting creation, recreating it, and bringing new life from the dead. We
may ask: is God working alone? Jesus, the creative word of God,
promised: «Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do
the works that I do; greater works than these he shall do» (Jn 14:12). Just
as God used his beloved word to create all things, he wants to use
believers as instruments of blessing in the world – but how? Jesus tells
them: «Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may
be glorified in the Son» (Jn 14:13). One aspect of God’s work is thus
people asking things in Jesus’ name for the glory of God, the biblical
model for this are the «greater works» or power encounters that one finds
throughout the New Testament, that is, the supernatural events such as
274 Chapter 1
exorcism and healing. God’s creative power is seen clearly in liturgical

exorcisms, where Jesus’ name is invoked for blessing and liberation. Thus
it is no surprise that Alexander Schmeman remarks that an exorcism is a
poem in the deepest sense of the word; as «poem» in Greek means
creation or making, in essence exorcism is imbued with God’s creative
power. By God’s power exorcism brings forth a new creation, new life and
spiritual health where before there was death and spiritual oppression3.
We have also seen that in many significant instances the Gospels
depict Jesus commanding his followers to do the «greater works» in his
name, which includes performing exorcisms (Mt 10:1-8; Mk 3:15; 6:7-13;
16:17; Lk 9:1-6; 10:17-20). Luke portrays the exuberance of the apostles
who participate in this exorcistic work: «The seventy-two returned with
joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!’» (Lk
10:17). Why is exorcistic power a cause for joy? Because it is proof that
God has deemed man worthy to participate in his mighty and wonderful
works4. Just as the work of the Word of God was to create all things, and
bring light into the darkness, so his followers must perfect creation until
the end of time (cf. Acts 26:18; Mt 28:18-20). St. Paul says boldly «we are
God’s co-workers» and «ambassadors for Christ» through whom the
Creator himself is speaking (1 Cor 3:9; 2 Cor 5:20) − this is true in all
aspects of ministry, but especially exorcism. Why is exorcism a special
aspect of God’s work? Because in exorcism God is speaking and working
through the exorcist, often beyond words. One example is in Acts 19, we
see that God was conferring to Paul, during his two years at Ephesus,
extraordinary exorcistic power, so much so «that even handkerchiefs or
aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their
diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them» (19:12). This
power is clearly from God, the power is flowing through Paul’s body and
into everything he touches, not because Paul himself possesses any special
«power or piety» (Acts 3:12), but because he has surrendered himself
totally to the purposes of God. Paul, like all the apostles, firmly believes in
the power of Jesus’ name to heal and exorcise people 5. Paul is not the
source, but simply the channel through which the divine blessings flow 6.
Here is just one small example in the work of Paul of a clear continuation
of Jesus’ healing and exorcism ministry 7. In all instances the New
Testament speaks of these extraordinary events as normal, everyday
aspects in the growth of the faith in Christian communities8.
God’s purpose as seen in Jesus’ ministry was to bring blessing and
health, and so through those who surrender to his purposes, it should not
be surprising to us that God is capable of doing «miracles». However the
miracles and exorcisms of the New Testament are not ends in themselves,
but they are pointers meant to encourage faith, thus Jesus says, «Unless
you see signs and wonders you will not believe» (Jn 4:48). Faith is the
goal; as John famously writes: «For God so loved the world, that he gave
his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have
eternal life» (Jn 3:16). Faith that Jesus is truly the Messiah risen from the
dead opens to believers the source of everlasting life, but miracles,
exorcisms, and healings cannot give eternal life 9. Jesus warns his disciples
that these «signs» can be dangerous if they become a distraction from
what is important:
«Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the kingdom of
heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On
that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your
name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in
your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart
from me, you workers of lawlessness» (Mt 7:21-23).
The danger here is if these miracles distract a person from what is

really important in the final judgment: whether a person chose to obey
God’s will or not, were they faithful to the knowledge God gave them or
not, did they avoid «works of lawlessness» or not. A faith relationship
with Jesus Christ leads to eternal life, and the Biblical data characterizes
this relationship by obedience and discipleship, but not necessarily on the
performance of miracles and exorcisms.
On the other hand, exorcism can be a striking indicator that God’s
power is active in the world. But it is more than that. As we have seen
exorcism announces that the kingdom of God has come 10. Entering the
kingdom is more than a change of authority, it is a change from this world
to the next, it is becoming a «New Creation» (2 Cor 5:17; Gal 6:15). Why
is this important? Because only the person who is a new creation is
capable of bearing fruit for God in harmony with his Spirit of love, peace,
joy, patience, etc without resorting to human means to force his will on
others. (Rom 7:4; Jn 15:16; Gal 5:13-14, 22). And therefore because
exorcism is an act of love and service of someone who is suffering, it is a
sign that the new creation has come. The purpose of all this is greater trust
in God’s goodness and his promises in Scripture. The exorcism truly
manifests the mystery which it announces; it actualizes that which it states
by God filling human words with the divine energy which they invoke 11.
Exorcism does all this because it is proposed in the name of Christ who is
God and has «broken» into the enemy territory not by force but by
assuming a humble human life. In Jesus God made human words his own,
because Christ-God has already destroyed the demonic power from within,
276 Chapter 1
he is fully and serenely free of all evil, and thus opened in himself the way
for man’s full restoration12. Jesus, God’s living Word says «Behold, I
make all things new» (Rv 21:5). Since the time that God’s Word has been
given to humanity, exorcism is a creative manifestation of divine power
for the restoration of humanity wounded by sin. By surrendering to God’s
purposes exorcism restores man’s original dignity as the king of the earth,
entrusted with the care of creation to direct it toward the praise of God’s
name and the joy of all people.
Liturgical exorcism can be seen as «divine speech» pronounced or
mediated through the person of the priest. This divine speech comes forth
in exemplary performative utterances or «strong illocutionary acts»13. A
good example of this is in the rite of Baptism. The belief that exorcism
announces a new creation is attested by the naming of a child at Baptism,
marking the beginning of a new spiritual life in Christ and the liberation
from the fallen human nature – what the Byzantine fathers called
«illumination»14. Clearly the exorcisms that precede Baptism comprise an
important part of the ceremony itself but the climax of the ceremony is
when the child is simultaneously given a name. However, in the Greek
Orthodox Church the name is revealed only on the day of Baptism. It is
significant that this occurs after the conclusion of numerous exorcistic
utterances and practices15. They precede the candidate renouncing the
devil, pledging allegiance to Christ, Baptism and Chrismation. When the
Christian name is pronounced, it is «in the name» of the Trinity. As the
ceremony proceeds, the name of the baptized person is seen as being held
in suspension between the authority of demons and the authority of God.
The possibility of bestowing this name, so important for the child’s social
and spiritual identity, arises precisely when Divinity has triumphed
through faith and thus the demons who had claimed authority over
humanity are expelled. The ceremony must be performed completely for
proper Baptism dissociates the individual from the demonic and confers
power to the baptized over demonic forces through union with Christ
crucified and raised16. The significance of this in popular culture can be
seen in Greece where it is traditionally believed that if the priest omits any
words the demons may not be completely banished and, they might haunt
the child throughout his life17.
Exorcism texts consistently speak of a kind of struggle of names: the
name of the Trinitarian God vis-à-vis the names of the devil and his
assistants. This is the reason for example why during exorcism the devil is
addressed, but always in imperative forms: «I banish you»; «I adjure you»;
«Depart»; «Come out»; «Take fear» (φεñγε πονηρc διάβολε; Éξορκίζωσε;
Òρκíζωσε; εíπc τò őνοµá σου; òρκíζω σε δι’αnτοñ; cν [ πãν; Eíπc εi; Εíπc
a cρúτησά…etc.). On the other hand many of the texts begin with the
passage: «In the name of the Holy Trinity, in the name of the Father, the
Son and the Holy Spirit, in the beginning was the Word» thus establishing
the original sacred ground on which the exorcistic struggle will take place
while at the same time laying claim to the sacred performative power of
language18. This invocation is not a summoning or creation of sacred
ground but an acknowledgement of the bedrock of spiritual reality that is
already there: the unconquerable work of God. The God who truly created
and penetrated the cosmos by the eternal Word has already made peace
through that Word, forgiven sins, conquered all evil by his cross, and «He
has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the
kingdom of his beloved Son» (Col 1:13, cf. vv. 14-19). Exorcism is simply
a call of demons to a reality to which they are bound as creatures living in
a universe created by God, a reality that they cannot escape. Every time
the key phase, «I exorcise you», is pronounced, it is eventually followed
by a sub-phrase, «in the name of…[one or all of the persons of the
Trinity]»19.
Outside the context of the rite of Baptism, one has to keep in mind that
the force of exorcism, is not, in the first instance, to make the demon
depart, but rather to make it speak. The scope of exorcism lies in forcing
the demon to reveal its name because by revealing its names it surrenders
itself to the God-given authority of the exorcist 20. Thus in the Xiropotamou
98 text it reads: «I exorcise you, evil devil, enemy of truth, by the awful
and holy name of All-Powerful God the Father, the Son and the Holy
Ghost, to tell me immediately what your name is called» 21. In the Middle
Ages the word «oνοµα» (name) could also mean person because the name
is the revelation of the person22. This is the precisely the issue in the
Xiropotamou 98 document, practically the whole text is taken up with the
effort to elicit the name of the demon23.
At the beginning of the text, the priest is instructed to follow a certain
path: «Find out the name of the devil spirit. Seek to make him tell you
how many are with him, and to which class he belongs, and what is the
name of his leader» 24. By faith in the prevailing name of Jesus the exorcist
brings the demons face to face with themselves, their name and that of
their «cohort» is the reality of their creaturely nature. Later he is told:
«Whenever you ask, say in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy
Spirit»25. The exorcist has authority, acting in the name of the Trinity, to
reveal to the demons the reality that they are not gods but mere creatures
created by God, and over this reality they have no power.
At numerous points the stubborn devil is called mute or deaf and in
one place he is described as «deaf, insensate, holding the tongue, and
278 Chapter 1
grinding the teeth»26 indicative of his blindness to divine Goodness and

perhaps of the demon’s reluctance to reveal his name. But these
characteristics of the demons may in fact be the attributes of the possessed
person. To know the demon’s name means ipso facto to control it, because
forcing the demon to name himself subjects him to the exorcist’s mastery.
The eschatological importance of the procedure perhaps explains the
Byzantines’ abiding interest in the names and especially the categories of
demons27. Sometimes, in texts that seemingly exceed the bounds of
Orthodox tolerance, the demons are given many names, all of which the
priest must recite. The exorcisms found in the athonite manuscript of
Philotheou 186, include various demonic names, secret names, which were
whispered into the ear of the victim, among which we find: Abiron, Abrian,
Abriane and Konsegramine28.
At another point the specific names, «Vileth, Missanou, Arka and
Avouzamba» are spoken aloud and then paired with the names of the four
archangels Michael, Gabriel, Samael and Raphael who neutralize them 29.
The names and attributes of the demons are important, especially insofar
as they can be matched, opposed, and controlled by the more powerful
Christian names. Holy names undoubtedly dominate the demons in the
language of the ritual texts. The priests with whom I spoke at the various
monasteries of the Athos and the participants themselves all expressed
definite agreement on this point. Contradictions (for example continued
signs of possession even after a first exorcism) may cause the priest to
refer the victim to a doctor or else to perform another exorcism at a later
date augmenting the prayers, vigil and fasting.
The exorcisms published by Louis Delatte are the most specific
regarding names for the demons, but they also express the greatest
elaboration of names of Divinity: «I exorcise you by the holy names of
almighty God which are: Messiah, Saviour, Emanuel, Sabaoth, Adonai,
only begotten, way, truth, life, consubstantial, beginning, first-born,
wisdom, spring, root, Paraclete, mediator, lamb, sheep, alpha and omega,
beginning and end, serpent, ram, lion, worm, word, sun, bread, flower,
vine, mountain, door, earth, stone, far-corner, bridegroom, shepherd,
prophet, priest, immortal, sturdy, all-seeing, merciful, eagle,
tetragrammaton, Lord Jesus Christ, by these holy names I exorcise you»30.
According to another opinion, Marcel Detienne, the Belgian historian
and specialist in the study of ancient Greece, the plurality of demons
stands nameless and thus in direct contrast to the named, sanctified
individuality of people31. In Orthodoxy the tendency of names is toward
inclusion: all beings incline toward one name, the name of God. This
trajectory is evident, for example, in the Trinity where, according to
Orthodox theology, three persons πρόσωπα share only one essence οnσία
– and one name őνοµα32. This tendency toward onomastic singularity
(which parallels the spiritual quest of humanity to merge with God) also
appears in the practice of naming a vast populace after a limited number of
saints. Demons, on the other hand, tend toward entropy, chaos, and
become indistinguishable. The conviction evident in many exorcistic texts
is that to succeed in naming them at all is to exercise control over them.
The liturgical exorcism preserved in the athonite manuscripts of Lavra Θ
20 (Αthos 882) and Philotheou 186 (Athos 1850) which probably used to
be recited by priests or monks in the past, explicitly addresses itself to a
body of local belief concerning the exotikà 33, which the Church normally
considers as substandard superstition. One may altogether deny that such
prayers belong within the Christian corpus, indeed, many texts examined
here are not included in any established prayer-book, but it would be
difficult in any case to distinguish the precise identity of a possessing
demon from one of the exotikà. The exotikà may often have been the
attacking force that prompted exorcism. The Orthodox Church has
admitted certain demons a place within its cosmology. That these
«orthodox demons» would be confused in exorcisms with exotikà who
were not officially recognized by the Church, perhaps posed less of a
problem to the Church than one might think. After all, the purpose of
exorcism is to get rid of a nagging evil as quickly and as expediently as
possible. The expulsion of evil and liberation from it (the pragmatic value
of exorcism) is more important that the specifics of where the evil is
coming from. Nevertheless we see that exorcism, and Baptism as well, are
points of mingling contact between standard Orthodoxy and – from the
Church’s point of view – substandard folk belief.
φ.133v .
Ζήτησον iνα σοι εiπ¿ πόσους űχει µεθ’cαυτοñ, κ(αì) cκ ποíας τάξεúς cστίν
κ(αì) π±ς καλεiταιτò őνοµα τοñ aρχοντοςB αnτοñ, cνποίa δυνάµει κ(αì)
cξουσίa cστί, cνποí± [τόπ±]Γ εiναι ½ κειµένος.
B
[oρχοντος]: The leader
Ζήτησον ἵνα σοι εἴπῃ πόσους ἔχει μεθ’ἑαυτοῦ, κ(αὶ) ἐκ ποίας τάξεώς
ἐστιν, κ(αὶ) πῶς καλεῖται τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ ἄρχοντος αὐτοῦ, ἐν ποίᾳ
δυνάμει κ(αὶ) ἐξουσίᾳ ἐστί, ἐν ποίῳ τόπῳ εἶναι ᾠκειμένος.
280 Chapter 1
One of the elements of the standard tradition that, to a large extent,

derived from the angelic origin of the demons was the loose hierarchy in
which they were believed to be organised. Basically this hierarchy
followed that of the ranks of the fallen angels with the devil as their head.
Biblical language played an important part both in the titles used for him
and for this division of the demons. Thus in Psalm 82:7 for example, we
find a reminder of the fall of one of the princes (εiς τ±ν aρχóντων, LXX).
Ezekiel 28 is a prophecy concerning the fall of the king (aρχων, vv. 2, 12)
of Tyre compared by Ezekiel with the fall of another mysterious Edenic
creature from Hebrew tradition. This angelic being from ancient history
fell to earth at the beginning of time, «You were in Eden…you were an
anointed guardian cherub... I cast you to the ground» (v. 13-14, 17, cf. part
1 ch 1, 1.3). Whatever the case may be, the fall of this Edenic creature
seems to be taken for granted as strikingly similar to the oral tradition
concerning the ancient serpent of Eden, the Satan who «roves» the earth in
Job, both of whom Revelation identifies with Satan34.
In the synoptic narratives Jesus is accused of performing exorcisms by
the power of the aρχων των δαιµονíων «the ruler of demons» (Mt 12:24)
whom Jesus equates with Satan and the power/kingdom of Satan that must
not be divided against itself but is united under his lordship (Mt 12:26). In
John’s Gospel Jesus makes number of references to the devil as the aρχων
τοñ κóσµου τοnτο «ruler of this world»35. Μost significant however, are
perhaps the passages in Ephesians 2:2 and 6:12. Here the «prince of the
authority of the air» aρχοντα τyς cξουσίας τοñ aέρος is openly spoken of
as the spirit of evil, «the spirit that is now at work in the sons of
disobedience» (2:2). The author says that this spirit of evil rules ipso facto
over all human beings the «rest of mankind» who are all dead through the
power of sin, including the author and his audience before they were freed
by faith in Christ (2:3–8). In Ephesians 6:12 the spiritual enemies of man’s
salvation are perhaps described more vividly than anywhere else in the
New Testament: «For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but
against the rulers (aρχάς), against the authorities (cξουσίας), against the
cosmic powers (κοσµοκράτορας) over this present darkness, against the
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places». This demonic hierarchy in
Ephesians is a conglomeration of the power wielded by ò διάβολος «the
devil» (v. 11) who is «the evil one» (v. 16) and whose satanic power is set
against God and his saints (v. 18). In the later tradition many authors,
when expressing their ideas of the demonic hierarchy, were simply content
to repeat these formulaic titles individually or in various combinations 36.
Gregory of Nazianzus for example, speaks of a mixture of principalities
and powers, invisible tyrants and persecutors, world rulers of the darkness
of this age and in the heavens 37. The most usual title for the devil was, then
aρχοντα, but this was sometimes replaced by similar ones such as
ταξíαρχος, εξαρýς, αρχηγóς, πρóτος, or áρκος38.
The title κοσµοκρáτορας «world ruler» and others which implied that
the devil ruled the world were the subject of particular attention. St John
of Damascus thus explained the idea of the κοσµοκρáτωρ by saying that
the devil was the commander (πρωτοστáτης) of the rank of angelic powers
surrounding the earth (τις περιγεíου τáξεως), the guardianship of which
God had committed to him39. This idea was echoed by such writers as
Saint Basil and George Scholares (Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
from 1454 to 1464) who mentions not only that the air is the place of the
devil’s rule but also that he is called «world-ruler» since his rule is
perigeial, «world-surrounding»40. However Gregory Palamas states
similarly that the devil does not really rule heaven, earth, and the creatures
of God in between, but he rules only where humans abuse and misuse
things in the world, and that it is from this that he derives his title 41. He
does not directly dictate sin and force people out of the Church, but slowly
eats away of their love of God by deviously infiltrating their thoughts with
the idea of selfsufficiency, the thinking that they can remain virtuous on
their own without attending church and without obeying the teachers of
the Church. So, in general, when the devil manages to get someone away
from the worshipping life of the Church, he distances them from the grace
of God in the Eucharist and delivers them to the slavery of lust.
George Scholares refers to a disagreement over whether the devil was
the leader of the angels about the earth or of all the angels, but the
tradition was generally united in seeing the demons who fell with him as
comprising or being drawn from one rank, τáγµα42. By comparison with
alternative traditions there was very little attempt made here to divide this
group up, although some use was made of the notion of the seven wicked
spirits or demons mentioned in the New Testament and of the
µεσηµβρινόν δαιµόνιον of Psalm 91:6 and occasionally the demons were
individualised or categorised in terms of their actions 43. Other
developments were brought about by the addition of obvious details such
as describing the demons as the devil’s servants or workers, or by use of
the common military metaphor where titles may be given to the leader of
leaders44. Jewish apocalyptic traditions propose the first indications of a
demonic hierarchy that will be crystallized in the New Testament with
Satan emerging so clearly as the head while all the other demons remain
nameless, almost disappearing behind the shadow of the aρχων των
δαιµονíων. The only exception to this is found in Revelation, were we see
the name of several significant demons alongside Satan such as
282 Chapter 1
Wormwood (8:11), and «the angel of the bottomless pit», Apollyon or

Abaddon, also mentioned in Hebrew tradition45 (Rv 9:11); his name means
«destroyer» because he is «king over» the scorpionlike demons who afflict
mankind in all the earth. Despite these would be rivals, Revelation also
gives us the clearest indication of Satan’s selfproclaimed lordship over the
demonic world46.
Α
[τόπ±]: The place.
If the demon cannot be named precisely, at least his sphere of activity

can be determined and circumscribed. The exorcist first and foremost
attempts to identify the times and places of demonic assault as well as all
sorts of illness provoked. These various details furnish an elaborate picture
of the demons. In most respects this picture is consistent with the
Orthodox conception of the devil.
According to the theology of the Orthodox Church, the dwelling place
of the devil is Hell (Κόλασις, Άδης, Τάρταρος, Γέενα, Καταχθόνιον),
although through his attendant demons or his own metamorphoses the
devil could reach most anywhere. Local Greek traditions elaborate still
further the association of exotikà with all parts of the physical world. The
question of place of demons in the environment was therefore one more
ground for conflating the identities of doctrinal and local conceptions. The
following catalogue of places from the exorcism attributed to St. Basil is
fairly comprehensive:
«Depart from wherever you may appear, Beelzebub, whether from the sea,
a river, from beneath the earth, from a well, a ravine, a hollow, a lake, a
thicket of reeds, from matter, land, refuse, whether from a grove, a tree, a
thicket, from a fowl, or thunder, whether from the precincts of a bath, a
pool of water or from a pagan sepulchre or from any place where you may
lurk; whether by knowledge or ignorance or any place not mentioned» 47.
Another list from the exorcisms or prayers of deliverance for general

use by Saint John Chrysostom makes some additions: «either of the dry
land or of the water, or one in a forest, or among the reeds, or in trenches,
or in a road or a crossroad, in lakes, or streams, houses, or one sprinkling
in the baths and chambers»48.
We note that there is an emphasis on water and water sources which is
very striking and which recalls the particular association of the nereids
with such places49.Anselm Strittmatter presents another passage from a
different exorcism where the demons occupy the four classical divisions of
the world: air, water, earth and underworld: «Those flying in heaven, those
flying in air, those wandering in either, those upon the earth and those
beneath the abyss»50. By late antiquity, there was a division between the
upper air, aither [αíθήρ], inhabited by gods and lower air, air, realm of
demons. This division of space crosses the division of the world into four
elements – earth, water, air and fire − all of which could contain demons.
The belief that spirits dwell in houses, or sometimes in the foundations of
these houses before they are built, is also directly confirmed in passages
quoted by the same Strittmatter such as the following: «Those in the
foundations of a house, or in their entrance or exit or in storage room, or in
the middle courtyard, or in a room, or in lairs, or in the ground, or in
foundation, or in a room, or in dung, or in a bath house, or in a work place
or in deserted places or in graves»51.
φ.133r.
cν τíνι nποτάσσεται, C[πότε] cξέρχετ‹αι›, τí σηµεiον ποιεi òπóταν
cξέρχετ‹αι› cκ τοñ aνθρúπου.
Γ
[πότε]: When.
One of the principles of exorcistic completeness requires that all

possible times of demonic assault should be mentioned. Thus the exorcism
of Saint John Chrysostom adjures that: «Every…night time spirit as well
as daytime, midday and evening, imaginary spirit and molesting spirit…
forthwith depart from the creature of the Creator Christ» 52. Another
exorcism published by Anselm Strittmatter specifies the time by reference
to specific activities: «Do not have contact with them whether through
eating or through drinking, neither seated nor while standing up, nor in
entering or departing; neither while putting clothes on or in taking them
off»53.
Many exorcisms share in the general Greek conception that demons
attack particularly at midday and midnight 54. The origin of this belief is
most likely from the Greek version of Psalm 91 that speaks of God’s
protection against night attacks «from the thing travelling in darkness» and
also from the «demon of midday» (δαιµονíου µεσηµβρινοñ, Ps 91:6, 90:6
LXX). In many texts only these two times, midnight and midday, are
mentioned. The distinction between demons that are physically
encountered (συναντικόν) and those that are imagined (φανταστικόν) may
well be bound up with specific times of attack. As was pointed earlier,
demons appearing at midday or midnight are often apparitions
(φαντάσµατα), but they are not rigorously distinguished from demons
encountered while one is awake. In the final Baptismal exorcism the angel
of the light (guardian angel) is enjoined to protect the catechumen from
284 Chapter 1
«every snare of adversary, from encounter with evil, from the demon of
midday and from evil apparitions»55. The exorcism of Basil refers to demons
that appear «in daydreams and in heavy sleep» 56. This last phrase probably
refers to nightmares, evoking a direct link with conceptions regarding a
certain exotikà, the vrakhnas which were believed to be demons that jump
on people’s chest while they are sleeping or a small child who sits on
sleepers’ chests and causes nightmares.
This function clearly conveys the idea of heavy sleep. The exorcism
texts also mention demons that appear either with the new or old moon 57,
and even specify spirits that vary according to the phase of the moon 58.
Richard Green goes further than this and mentions a list of demons for
every week, day and month and for each hour59. These exorcisms declare
that any phase of the moon may be dangerous. That the appearance of
demons was associated particularly with the full moon may correlate with
the occurrence of epilepsy at or around this time. An orthodox priest from
the Athos had the following to say about the spiritual properties of
epilepsy:
«Speaking as a priest I can say that the church does not accept the idea of
any good power in the epileptic. In ancient times, when God had not
revealed himself, the people were pursing belief and would believe in
anything. One thing they believed was that the light-shadowed are related
to the epileptic. One can see that when the epileptic is in trance he is very
powerful because he is possessed by a genius which supports him in
exercising power. When he is not in a trance there is no genius possessing
him; at such times he is without any special powers»60.
φ.133r
.
Γíνωσκε, ò πόταν cρωτ¾ς, λέγε cν óνóµατι τοñ Πατρός κ(αì) τοñ Υìοñ
κ(αì) τοñ Àγíου Πνεύµατος, εíδcκ(αì) δsνσοι aποκρίνεται, λáβετò aπυρον61
àπτó µενον cν πυρì καì καñσον [τyν γλ±σσαν αnτοñ, κ(αì) őψει]∆
If it does [not] respond, take a piece of coal that is alight with fire and
burn his tongue and face
This practice of burning with a hot coal may have roots in longstanding
folkloric practices to ward off the evil eye; őψει in Greek literally refers to
the eyes or the countenance. The nature and breath of Orthodox tradition
makes it difficult to establish precisely where Orthodoxy ends and
alternative tradition begins even though the Church tradition concerning
the devil does observe certain doctrinal essentials. This is due to a number
of factors including the historical interrelation among Hellenistic Greek,
Hebrew and Christian cosmologies. Greek paganism, which largely set the
tone of religious culture in Greece at the time of Christ, drew almost no
distinction between daimones and theoi (Demons and Gods)62. They
existed together as a class of fair spirits situated in the lower atmosphere
between man and an absolute god who, in Stoic and Neo-Platonist
thought, was increasingly considered as unitary and more akin to a
philosophical principle than a personal deity to whom cult should be
addressed. Thus in examining many original sources the reader finds
himself on the boundary between the holy and the secular or between the
Church practice and sorcery. This is the case with spells and amulets
which greatly resemble the Orthodox rituals, a unity that reflects their
mutual influence and ultimately suggests a common cultural basis.
In the above passage, we come across the phrase «take a piece of coal
and alight it with fire and burn his tongue and face» where őψει, here
translated «face» can mean eyes, literally «vision, sight, countenance».
One may ask: why in a text of exorcisms do we find the coal mentioned
and in a way as to burn the tongue and the face/vision of the sufferer? The
origin of purification with a hot coal could be biblical, we see for example
in Isaiah’s famous throne-room vision of YHWH that in order to speak in
God’s presence Isaiah’s tongue must be purified by contact with a hot coal
in the hand of a seraphim (Is 6:6-7). The burning with a hot coal is also
strikingly reminiscent of the ritual purification from the evil eye, found
commonly among the fringes but still within Greek Orthodox tradition 63.
The evil eye predates Jesus and is considered a superstition by many in the
West. It is the idea that a person who envies other people can cause harm
to them simply by looking at them with envy, scorn, or hatred. «Everyone
who hates his brother is a murderer» says St John (1 Jn 3:15) echoing
Jesus teaching (Mt 5:21-22) − so we know that, regardless of its effects,
the evil eye is a grave offense. St. Basil the Great wrote a homily on envy,
explaining how envy is of the devil, and that it is harmful to those who are
consumed by it, as well as to those they envy: «As rust wears away iron,
so envy corrodes the soul it inhabits. More than this, it consumes the soul
that gives it birth, like the vipers which are said to be born by eating their
way through the womb that conceived them» 64. St Basil goes on to explain
how envious people secretly enjoy seeing those that they envy fall into
misfortune, «In a word, he is an enemy of present good fortune but a
friend when it is no longer possessed» 65. The Greeks who themselves have
become Westernized in many other aspects of life still hold firm to the
belief in the evil eye. The evil eye is believed to be able to penetrate the
window to the soul, physically exposing a person’s inner being. It is
believed that through this window evil spirits/demons enter the body,
286 Chapter 1
empowering the jealous or envious person to cause harm upon others66.

In Greece a distinction is made between µάτιασµα and βασκανία.
Matiazma comes from the word mati (µάτι), which means eye; it is an
inadvertent gesture of scorn that is unknowingly caused by most people at
one time or another. Vascania (βασκανία) on the other hand which
literally means to «kill with the eye», is considered extremely harmful and
can, in extreme cases, even cause death. It is believed that a person who
puts a vaskania on another person does so knowingly 67. Many methods and
devices are used to ward off the evil eye. Precautions include, avoiding the
direct stare of another person, the concealing of women and children,
food, and prized possessions. Personal protection includes the wearing of
protective amulets such as jewellery of blue «eyes», phalluses and
gestures; blue or red cloth, sacks filled with rue and garlic, coal and others.
The Greek Orthodox Church recognizes the evil eye in so far as the
Church acknowledges that demonic forces may be at work to heighten the
ability of some people to cause other people malicious harm. It believes
that there are people who through jealously and/or envy can bring harm
upon other people just by looking at them. Thus when members of the
Church feel that the evil eye has been put on them the priest reads the
prayers that have been included in the Eucologion for exorcising the evil
eye68. This practice is known as ξεµάτιασµα! 69. For the ξεµάτιασµα in the
absence of a priest, the following prayers are recommended along the
standard one70. The prayers to be recited are:
Ευχή 1: «Ιησούς Χριστός νικά, κιανείν αιµάτι το σκορπά, η κυρά η

Παναγιά». Ο ΙΗΣΟΥΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΝΙΚΑ ΕΙ ΚΑΙΗΠΑΝΑΓΙΑ ∆ΙΩΧΝΕΙ
ΜΑΚΡΙΑ ΤΟ ΚΑΚΟΜΑΤΙ (ΤΗΝ ΒΑΣΚΑΝΙΑ).
Ευχή 2: «Ιησούς Χριστός νικά κιόλατα κακά σκορπά» Ο ΙΗΣΟΥΣ

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΝΙΚΑ ΕΙ ΚΑΙ ∆ΙΑ ΣΚΟΡΠΙΖΕΙ ΜΑΚΡΙΑ ΟΛΑ ΤΑ ΚΑΚΑ!
Ευχή 3: «Άγιοι Ανάργυροι και θαυµατουργοί, δωρεάν ελάβατε δωρεάν

δότε ηµίν». ΑΓΙΟΙ ΑΝΑΡΓΥΡΟΙ, ΕΣΕΙΣ ΠΟΥ ΚΑΝΕΤΕ ΘΑΥΜΑΤΑ,
ΠΗΡΑΤΕ ΑΠΟ ΤΟ ΘΕΟ ∆ΩΡΟ (ΤΗ ∆ΥΝΑΜΗ ΝΑ ΘΕΡΑΠΕΥΕΤΕ),
∆ΩΣΤΕ ΚΑΙ ΣΕ ΜΑΣ ∆ΩΡΟ (ΤΗΝ ΘΕΡΑΠΕΙΑ).
Ευχή 4: «Αγία Ειρήνη, ρήνεψέ το Παναγιά µου Περασιά, πέρασε το».

ΑΓΙΑ ΕΙΡΗΝΗ, ΕΙΡΗΝΕΥΣΕ ΤΟ (ΗΣΥΧΑΣΕ ΤΟ, ΘΕΡΑΠΕΥΣΕ ΤΟ)
ΚΑΙ ΣΥ ΠΑΝΑΓΙΑ ΜΟΥ ΠΕΡΑΣΙΑ (αυτό είναι µάλον κάποιο όνοµα για
την Παναγία, όπως λέµε Παναγία η Οδηγήτρια) ΚΑΝΕ ΤΟ ΝΑ
ΠΕΡΑΣΕΙ, ΝΑ ΦΥΓΕΙ ΜΑΚΡΙΑ.
A typical example of ritual purification from the evil eye proceeds as

follows: The above prayers are said while the suffer takes a dish of water
and makes across over it. He/she then drops a live coal into the water and
as it falls to the bottom, as the coal is extinguished, it is believed that the
«evil eye» is extinguished with it. He then signs the cross three times over
the water and takes a little dust from the coal, sprinkles salt on it, and rubs
the sufferer’s head with the mixed coal and salt. He then concludes by
throwing three pinches of salt into the fire to banish the evil eye. Other
variances of the ritual are the throwing of five coals in succession while
repeating for each a narrative charm, the usage of three nails, three live
coals and three splinters with holy water to be drunk, the dipping of the
finger in the oil and with it make the sign of the cross on the victims
forehead and so forth71. These Greek rituals vary from person to person
and from town to town depending on which village the family originated
from.
The Greek Orthodox Church forbids its members to consult and make
use of individuals who use magic rituals to get rid of the evil eye 72. It does
not recognize the wearing of amulets as a form of protection against the
evil eye. But many members of the Greek Orthodox Church can be seen
wearing these amulets (usually blue stones or small «eyes») in conjunction
with their crosses believing that «prevention is better than cure»73.
[τyν γλ±σσαν αnτοñ, κ(αì) őψει]: Tongue and face.

∆
The texts speaking about liturgical exorcisms exhaustively catalogue

those parts of the body in which demons may manifest themselves.
However this idea appears already in many non-liturgical exorcisms or
magical texts where we find the so-called litany of the parts of the body.
One of the most well-known texts is The Secret Book of John (The
Apocryphon of John)74.
In the section about the Creation of man [Construction of the Human
Body] the author narrates thus:
«The seven Powers began to work: Goodness made a psyche of bone

Providence made a psyche of sinew Divinity made a psyche of flesh
Lordship made a psyche of marrow kingdom made a psyche of blood Zeal
made a psyche of skin
Understanding made a psyche of hair»
The text continues, giving demons credit for building the human body:
«The host of demons took these substances from the Powers to create the
288 Chapter 1
limbs and the body itself. They put the parts together and coordinated
them. The first ones began by making the head: Abron created his head;
Meniggesstroeth created the brain; Asterechme the right eye;
Thaspomocha, the left eye; Ieronumos, the right ear», etc. going through
all body parts75.
Interestingly enough, many of the liturgical exorcisms consulted in this
research similarly catalogue those parts of the body giving an exhaustive
list of the places where demons may infest themselves. As in other cases,
the intention of the author was toward completeness because if any
member of the body was overlooked it could remain afflicted. But such a
worry seems to reveal lack of trust in God who has promised to protect his
faithful who are sealed in his name. This is why baptism as an
«immersion» is so important and effective, as it is a spiritual cleansing and
protection of every part of the body that is thereby immersed into the pure
and holy body of Christ. Specifying the parts of the body, was also a
means of identifying and thus controlling the demons. By naming the
anatomical parts of the body, the author had in mind the integral protection
of the whole body against any infiltrations of the evil spirits. Many texts
which speak of exorcisms, contain anatomical litanies 76. The Xiropotamou
manuscript 98 gives mention of only two of these anatomical parts,
namely the tongue and the face. However, other texts and manuscripts
mentioned in this work and reproduced by Strittmatter and Delatte give
other examples77.
Strittmatter for example reproduces the following text taken from the
Car.C 143 b manuscript that he discovered in the library of Zurich. The
text reads:
«May the demon be expelled:

From the crown, from the forehead, from the ears, from the eyelashes,
eyebrows, eyes, nostrils, lips, teeth, tongue, taste, spine, arteries, pharynx,
neck, joints, shoulders, chest, arms, muscles, armpits, elbows, hands,
finger, nails, lungs, mammary glands, heart, stomach, liver, lung, spleen,
kidneys, gall bladder, sides, tendons, belly, navel, hip, joints, buttocks,
thighs, knees, ankles, shins, calves, ankles (Αστράγαλος), balls of feet,
toes, feet, from the hair of the head to the hair of the feet, from the right to
left, from the backside, from the inside and from the outside, from bones,
veins, marrow, joints and from the whole body»78.
The Athonite manuscript of Filoteou, asks the demons not to have the
power to reside in:
«…the four humours, blood, bile, phlegm, and black bile, nor in the flesh
and bones, nor in marrow or nerves, veins and arteries, feet, kidneys,
intestines, sides, back, shoulders, arms, nails, heart, spleen, liver belly,
stomach, viscera, windpipe, anus, leg, anklebone, ankle, hip socket,
buttocks, coccyx, back, genitals, pubes, navel, breastbone, thorax, elbow,
palm, nape, pharynx, joints, shoulder blades, spine, neck, extremity, ear
lobes, temple, cerebral membranes, marrow, brow, wrinkles of the womb,
furrows of the brow, face, tongue, lips, cheeks, teeth, eyes, pupils, chin,
ears, mouth, nostril, nasal passage, eye brows, brain, crown, forehead, top
of the head, neck/thalamus, temple, sinciput, occiput, scalp line, cranium,
face, callouses, forehead, cartilage, digestive tract/sphere, uvula,
membrane, diaphragm, beard, jaw bones, hearing, jaw, muscles, head,
hair, outside or inside in garments or other such places»79.
It is interesting to note that such lists demonstrate a considerable

knowledge of anatomical terminology and must have been influenced by
medical science. The Church, in any case, does not pretend to be able to
treat all illnesses by exorcism. It concedes today, as it has done since the
Middle Ages, that certain complaints are best treated by physical, rather
than spiritual techniques. The Roman Ritual (De exorcismis et
supplicationibus quibusdam) for exorcism prescribes that the priest verify
in modern exorcisms more than ever before, that the person thought to be
possessed is not actually suffering from some natural or psychological
illness80.
Reduced anatomical lists give a more specific sense of the areas of the
body thought to be most vulnerable. Chrysostom lists only the mind, the
soul, the heart, the kidneys and the senses (and, for good measure, «all
members»)81. In the Orthodox Church, most attention was paid to sense
organs, which were usually associated with the Spirit. The openings of the
body were also an area of special interest, for these were the points
through which demons could enter. During the course of an exorcism it
was expected that the demon would depart through one of these natural
exits82. One text likens the departure of the demon to natural human waste.
«Get rid of them through the intestines of the person and send them
downward through the natural action of the anus, that is without any
psychic or somatic damage. Amen»83.
In another passage by Mylonas and Koukas the demon is told the
exorcist to descend into the toe (big toe) of the left foot and not to have the
power to go into any other part of the body without his permission 84.So
that the exorcists would know when the demon(s) were departing, they
commanded them to give a sign (σηµεiον) in a form of a scream, or
perhaps a flash of light85.«Often they come out through the mouth, fiery
like a flame like congealed cold wind (aνεµος πεπηγµsνος) and swelling
the wind pipe while emerging. Often they come out of the ears, leaving
from the stomach and the heart»86.
290 Chapter 1
These standard exorcisms are very similar to the lay exorcisms

practised in Greece which the Greek call «charms» or «spells» (ξóρκια).
However the difference is quite noteworthy. Liturgical exorcisms are
always performed by a priest and are always consistent with the Church’s
doctrine while the lay exorcisms are not usually performed by the priest
but rather by family members usually a mother or a grandmother. The
language of the spells is very simple, sometimes in verse form. While they
may contain vulgar language, frequent appeal is made to the saints, Christ,
or God and phrases from known prayers or passages from the New
Testament. Spells in Greece are not necessary perceived by people as
belonging to a tradition distinct from Orthodoxy. The form and imagery of
these spells do, however, constitute objective differences between the
spells and Orthodox practice and this is because of their unorthodox
language and the non-priestly performance. Although the Church censures
the spells labelling those who intone them «sorcerers», for the Greek
villagers who do not have any special knowledge of Church doctrine,
these differences are not always perceived and many village priests,
belonging to this group than any other, would sometimes read spells along
with ecclesiastically accepted prayers.
This confusion is perhaps due to the low level of education among the
clergy in Greece to the effect that the local priest basically accepts the
local traditions, superstitions and beliefs − or at least he is tolerant of
them. According to the latest statistics, by 1975 only 9% of the clergy had
received university training. Even if the percentage today has risen, few
are those who decide to enhance their academic life 87. It seems that the
standard orthodox tradition failed to eradicate and counter ideas that were
fundamentally in opposition to it. Such ideas, many of which stemmed
ultimately from Byzantium’s pagan heritage, were rooted too firmly in
popular customs that provided alternatives that were too attractive to be
swept away completely by the dominant doctrines of orthodox
Christianity. Rather such alternative practices could be seen flourishing in
its shadow during the Palaeologan period. This relationship between the
pagan pre-Christian system and Christianity represents and mediates,
relationships between different categories which are typically opposed,
such as magic and religion, Greek and Christian beliefs, sinfulness and
chastity, piety and impiety, good and evil, literacy and illiteracy, religious
and national identity, but, in the final analysis, between secular and
ecclesiastical authority and control. This regulatory role was enhanced within
the framework of the Greek traditional culture, within which literacy
corresponds to a «high status state» by virtue of the fact that clerics and
the Church constituted virtually the only purveyors of education not only
during the time Greece was under Turkish rule, but also at a later time,
extending that role up until the beginning of the 20th century. It is little
wonder, then, that most of the clerics who reviewed folk tradition and
worked on collecting and recording popular folklore were highly literate
people and, in numerous cases, also teachers.
φ.133r
εiτε λέγε τyν εnχyν ταύτην: ÉξορκίζωE σε, πονηρc διάβολε, cχθρc τyς
aληθείας, διàF .
E
[Éξορκίζωσε]: I exorcise you.
Although the verb όρκίζω is at least as old as Xenophon the Greek

historian, soldier, philosopher (c. 430 354 B.C.) with the form (έξ)ορκόω
attested earlier in his writings, it was not used early on in adjuratory (a
solemn spell) formulae spoken to demons, but in the context of oaths
sworn between contracting parties. The use of όρκίζω especially to adjure
demons is a comparatively recent development and seems to be attested no
earlier than the 1st century B.C.88. Here we see in pagan magic texts the
erotic and related curses on papyri and leaden tablets όρκίζω is the normal
term of compelling a nekydaimon (a demon which brings death) to
perform a task on behalf of the practitioner 89. The adjured demon acts as a
kind of malign servant or ally. In the contexts of a more healing sort, on
the other hand, έξορκίζω is used rather differently. The demons (or the
diseases they cause) are actually adjured to depart from an afflicted
patient; the sense of the verb becomes truly «exorcistic».
In Jewish and exorcistic rituals, the verb όρκίζω is widely used and its
use gives rise to the special category in the history of magic of a healing
amulet that will have important ramifications for the development of later
Christian ritual. However, we shall also find that έξορκίζω is widely used
in the adjurations of the defixiones (a type of curse found throughout the
Graeco-Roman world) which points to a particularly Jewish use of the
verb. Here a curious cross-over from the Jewish exorcisms of benevolent
magic to the more malicious adjurations of the aggressive−sexual spells
can be detected. The serial adjurations of the Jewish God and of his saving
acts found in the early Judeo-Greek exorcisms reappear in the context of
the curses and defixiones. Linguistically, as well, there can be little doubt
that the use of έξορκίζω to adjure demons-whether those who fetch and
serve or those that are expelled − mirrors an originally Semitic ›» r»_ ‘ u
u», «to adjure» − a verb used in the Dead Sea Scrolls for exorcism, as well
as in later Aramaic amulets90.
292 Chapter 1
The formula Éξορκίζωσε91,«I adjure you», is most frequently

encountered in aggressive-coercive magic operations that compel
nekydaimones and kindred spirits to render personal service on behalf of
the practitioner. When occurring on protective amulets, on the other hand,
the formula implies an altogether different purpose: it provokes wicked
and disease-causing spirits to depart from a «possessed» or afflicted
person; in this context alone are they said to be truly «exorcised» 92.When
studying the exorcistic amulets (for example the Great Magical Papyrus of
Paris from Graeco-Roman Egypt, which each contain a number of magical
spells, formulae, hymns and rituals dating from the 2 nd century B.C. to the
5th century A.D.)we come across the adjurations with the exorcism
formula which has as its title Πράξις γενναία έκβάλλουσα δαίµονας, that
is intended to expel indwelling demons93.
The first lines of a particular Greek custom involving an exorcistic
amulet give a unique involving the crowning of the demoniac’s head with
olive branches and then, in Coptic, an invocation of the «God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob». A widely acknowledged interpolation, «Jesus Christ,
the Holy Spirit, the son of the Father», then follows. The Coptic section
concludes by describing the driving away of «the unclean demon Satan
who is in him (that is the patient)»94.
The hallmark of this exorcism is its use of the verb έξορκίζω with
specific verbs of expulsion: «I adjure you (έξορκίζωσε)... to come out of
(έξελθάν)...and stand away from (άπόστηθι) so-and-so». These attendant
imperatives, in effect, turn the adjuration itself into a true exorcism, for the
imperatives represent the resultant action of the adjuration. The adjuration
formula specifically aims at expelling the demon: «I adjure you out»
(έξορκίζω ... έξελθειν); hence, «I exorcise you» (i.e., «I compel you under
oath to come out»). In the Manuscripts of Lavra Θ 20 and Philoteou 186,
we find a series of different conjurations which usually precede sections of
the Gospels but which surely have been influenced by these earlier secular
texts. In these manuscripts we find 4 different conjurations: cξορκίζω
(mentioned 50 times), cξορκίζµóς (mentioned 12 times), òρκíζω
(mentioned 16 times), òρκíσµóς (mentioned 2 times) aφορκíζω
(mentioned 4 times).
These verbs are further reinforced with the adverbs: íσχυρ±ς cξ,
cξουσια στικ±ς cξ, cξουσια στικ±ς καì αnθεν τικ±ς aφ.
In the exorcistic prayer of Xiropotamou the verb cξορκίζω is
mentioned only one time while cξορκίζµóς is never mentioned. However
òρκíζω is mentioned 8 times while òρκíσµóς and aφορκíζω are never
mentioned. These verbs are further reinforced with the adverbs: íσχυρ±ς,
cξουσιαστικ±ς, cξουσιαστικ±ς (see 312-316).
The exorcist obliges or imposes upon the demon to make an oath to a

higher being who in turn obliges him to keep the oath or at least to realise
what he had promised to do. In all these cases a form of the verb
cξ/òρκíζω is used where such a relation is indicated by the prepositions διà
(genitive) which is most frequently used, εíς, cν,cξ, cπí (dative), κατá,
παρá (gen) and also dative alone which is rare95. The construction
έξορκίζω with the dative never appears although it is very frequent in
other religious and magical manuscripts. When the words «I adjure you»
are followed by κατó with the genitive or the use of no preposition at all
(double accusative), we are introduced to a powerful agent by which the
spirits are controlled. This phenomenon can be seen in the Xirpotamou
text where the σε, with no apparent noun in apposition, stands completely
isolated from what follows, be it accusative plural nouns or accusative
singular nouns, etc. that immediately follow 96. However the σε, precisely
because it remains anonymous, is deceptively benign. It is, in truth, the
afflicting demon. No better illustration of this ambiguous use of the
pronoun σε, in exorcistic contexts can be found than that occurring in a
much-discussed spell of the Great Paris Magical Papyrus.
This «Approved Spell of Pibechis for those Possessed by Demons»
(πρòς δαιµονιαζοµsνους Πιβýχεως δóκιµον) shows, like the Xiropotamou
text, an unidentified use of σε, though the context eventually tells us it will
be a demon97. In lines 3033-3034 of that spell, amidst a long, running
series of òρκισµοí, one reads in particular, − òρκíσω σε τòν óπτανθsντα
τ½ Óσραyλ [sic] cν στnλ± φωτιν½ καì νεφsλ¿ yµερινƒ «I adjure you (by
the) one who appeared to Israel in a shining pillar and a cloud by day».
The Greek gives the same, sometimes confusing, double accusative (σε +
τòν óπτανθsντα); but only in lines 3037-3038 are these specifically named
as the demon: òρκισω σε πãν πνεñµα, δαιµóνιον, λαλyσαι, òποiονκαìaν”ς,
«I adjure you every spirit, demon to tell what kind you are». Within the
same series of oaths in the exorcism, we also encounter less ambiguous
adjurations with κατó (+ genitive), as well as the double accusative; but in
each case we see little mention of the demon. In fact, out of the fourteen
adjurations contained in the whole Pibechean exorcism, only two actually
name the σε as the possessing demon
Some texts also have εíς + accusative (as in some examples, given
below). Though σε is unidentified in our text, the use of a plural genitive
(σε δìα των αγìοναγγcλων) or accusative genitive (της nπερóγνου
θεοτóκου, τοñ Κυρíουyµ±ν, Ιησοñ Χριστοñ) immediately following
Éξορκίζωσε, means, as a rule, «I adjure you by the God who...» and not,
«I adjure you, the God who...» 98. The use of Éξορκίζω σε, in some texts
can also be found in the imperative plural form (ff. 135b=I adjure all you
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evil spirits)99.In the Xiropotamou text although we do not find directly the
verb used imperatively in the plural, however we see it refers to the
plurality of the object, in fact the author of the texts puts the preposition
nµãς (accusative plural),the imperative is given in the plural a plurality of
demons (though unnamed) which suddenly become the object of an
‘exorcism’ and thus enlighten the text. The phrase Éξορκίζω σε seems at
times to behave as a kind of «fossilized» formula in which the pronoun
becomes inextricably fused to the verb of adjuration; little care is taken to
make known the identity of the pronoun. There must have also come a
time, too, when Éξορκίζωσε alone proved sufficient enough to refer
automatically to the expulsion of demons (hence «Éξορκίζω» singular or
plural), without any accompanying verb of departure. Although Éξορκίζω
σε («I adjure you») on Greek curse and magical tablets (papyri) routinely
addresses spirits of the dead, the locution in liturgical exorcisms become a
plain formula of exorcism with no strings attached except to cast out the
demons.
ς
[cχθρc τyς aληθείας]: Enemy of Truth.
The battle with Satan is not something artificial or invented by man,

but this war was declared by God himself. In the book of Genesis the
serpent has just incited Adam and Eve to sin and God said to the serpent:
«I will put enmity (űχθραν, LXX) between you and the woman, and
between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and
you shall bruise his heel» (Gen 3:15). This is what the Fathers called the
protoevangelium, because it announced the victory of a much-longed-for
Saviour who would both crush the head of «that ancient serpent, who is
called the devil» (Rev 12:9) and teach his brothers to do the same: «The
God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet», Paul says to the
church in Rome (16:20). Here at the dawn of humanity just after the fall,
God has drawn the battle lines between the devil and mankind who must
heretofore decide between good and evil, God and Satan, truth and lies; he
has effectively declared a war that will dominate the rest of human history.
In this battle there are no bystanders, those who refuse to reject Satan and
his works are de facto under his power and subject to the wrath of God
(Eph 2:1-3). But God has indeed loved humanity, that’s why he sent a
faithful Saviour, one who taught his children to pray always: «Our Father
in heaven... deliver us from the evil one (aπò τοñ πονηροñ)» (Mt 6:9,13).
Not surprisingly one of the metaphors with which the devil is often
defined is «enemy» (cχθρός). This title is important in the New Testament,
where the devil is the enemy of the message of salvation 100. Jesus calls
«the devil» with the notorious title «the father of lies» affirming that
«there is no truth in him» (Jn 8:44). Therefore by his own nature Satan is
the enemy of the truth by which humanity is «set free» (Jn 8:32). In the
context of exorcism in the New Testament, the role of Satan as cχθρός is
paramount. For example, in Luke’s Gospel when Jesus sends his disciples
out to perform exorcisms, we read:
«The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are
subject to us in your name!’ And [Jesus] said to them, ‘I saw Satan fall
like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on
serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing
shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are
subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in Heaven’ » (Lk
10:18-20, emphasis mine).
Here we see that in the fierce battle with evil, clearly manifested in
exorcisms, the disciples are not afraid of the enemy, but joyfully confident
that «nothing shall hurt [them]». This is because Jesus has bestowed upon
his disciples a unique dignity: heavenly authority over all the power of the
enemy. Satan, who once had authority in heaven, has fallen like lightning,
and Jesus’ disciples have a mysterious but real part in his demise. The
disciples are to rejoice not so much that the enemy is beaten down by
Christ, but that the original dignity of man is restored, for God created
Adam to rule as king of creation and to live forever (Gn 1:26-28; 2:17).
Although Adam fell and all humanity fell with him, Christ’s disciples are
no longer slaves through fear of death and Satan (Heb 2:15) but they are
heirs of the kingdom of heaven, endowed with royal authority as sons and
daughters of God (Lk 6:35; 12:32; Gal 3:26; 1 Pt 2:9). This royal power is
the essence of being a disciple, «But to all who did receive [Jesus], who
believed in his name, he gave the authority (cξουσία) to become children
of God» (Jn 1:12). In the climax of his greatest letter Paul lauds the
unbelievable grace of receiving divine sonship: «For you did not receive
the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit
of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’» (Rom 8:15). The
liberated slave becomes an adopted son, not by a juridical pronouncement
but by the true gift of Trinitarian life, because God has chosen to dwell
within man through the Holy Spirit, conferring to Christ’s followers what
was unthinkable to ancient Jews: fraternal and familial communion with
God as partakers in the Divine Nature101.
The Son of God came to heal wounds due to sin, forgive those who
repent, and restore fallen man to his original dignity and fullness of life 102.
In the aim of restoration Jesus gave his disciples the power over the
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demons who up to the time of Christ had exploited man’s forgetfulness of

God by enslaving mankind to increasingly corrupt and perverse desires
«contrary to nature... men committing shameless acts with men» (Rom
1:26-27). And not only mankind but nature is wounded as well. Thus all
creation eagerly awaits the restoration from God in «hope that the creation
itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the
freedom of the glory of the children of God» (Rom 8:20-21).
According to the New Testament the judgment against Satan was first
declared at Christ’s crucifixion (Jn 12:31) and the battle against him
continues through Christ’s servants until the end of the age 103. But is this
war truly against the devil, and if so why? At the end of time Satan will be
bound to hell forever (Rv 20:10). In Revelation John thus reveals the
source of the devil’s rage against mankind: he and «his angels» have been
cast out of heaven (Rv 12:9, cf. Lk 10:19) at which the angels of heaven
say: «Woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in
great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!» (Rv 12:12). God has
given Satan the task on earth «to make war…on those who keep the
commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus» (12:17); he
tempts them to lead them to disobedience and sin (Eph 2:2). He does this
because he is furious that Jesus promises his disciples «rejoice that your
names are written in heaven» (Lk 10:20), that is, rejoice that you are heirs
of the eternal rewards. But why would God allows spiritual combat with
the devil? Because through resisting his snares the faithful are made even
stronger, and they become saints who lead many others to salvation. Thus
Peter writes: «Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion,
seeking someone to devour... resist him firm in your faith... And after you
have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his
eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and
establish you» (1 Pt 5:8-10). The apostle’s point is clear: by resisting
temptation and rejecting Satan the faithful are profoundly strengthened by
God, and they come to resemble Jesus more and more which is God’s
ultimate purpose for humanity104.
It is not surprising then that almost every aspect of human encounter
with the demonic could be described as a kind of battle with the declared
enemies of mankind, that is, the devil and his demons. In fact much of the
language in the LXX, particularly that in the Psalms, was interpreted as
symbolic of the cosmic struggle with demons (cf. e.g. Ps 91:6; 18:1-50).
This war song, Psalm 144:1, for example, «Blessed be the LORD, my
rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle» would be
interpreted as spiritual combat, where Israel’s battles become battles
against the demonic forces. In this war God’s power will always triumph,
and he confers his triumph to people who have absolute trust in him. Even
God’s sovereignty over the cosmic ecology and the forces of nature (e.g.
Ps 104) could be interpreted as a spiritual battle. In the book of 2
Maccabees for example, the struggle of martyrdom begins to be described
as a struggle with evil, and this idea was taken up by the early church in
light of its own experience. Christian martyrs were often called «athletes
of multiple combats» not so much because they battled beasts in the arena
but because by their blood they defeated the satanic forces in the cosmic
sphere, sharing in the glorious victory over evil displayed in Christ’s
crucifixion (Jn 12:31; Col 2:14-15). This is related to the basic idea that
had counterparts in Stoic and other Hellenistic philosophy as well as in the
Bible, in which the virtuous life resembles a continuous contest or battle
against evil forces whether external or internal. The demons were always
pictured as tempting, confusing, pushing, wrestling, beating, boxing the
athletes of God (cf. 2 Cor 12:7; 1 Cor 9:24-27; Rev 2:10) in the ring of the
contest in order to trip them up and throw them down if given the chance,
and so prevent them winning their garlands and trophies105.
Liturgical exorcism gives symbolic form to the conflict between
malignant demonic forces on the one hand and social and religious ideals
on the other. These positive values are represented in the Holy Trinity that
subsists in perfect unity. The demons are repeatedly referred to as enemies
as seen in the Xiropotamou 98 exorcisms because they foment chaos and
rebellion against God106. The exorcisms always confirm God’s greater
power and treat the devil as a traitor, impostor, or defector 107. It is God
who has power over all living things and who heals all illness 108. He
inspires virtue (αρετý), wisdom (σοφία), purity (αγνειά), self-control
(εγκρáτεια,), love (αγáπη, as opposed to έρωτας, eros), hope (ελπíδα),
gentleness (πραóτητα), long-suffering (µακροθυµιά), patience (υποµονý),
prudence (σωφροσnνη), and caution (προσοχý)109. Armed with these
virtues man can valiantly confront his spiritual enemies, taking refuge in
Christ, he can continue in loving faith even unto death.
The world as seen through the liturgical Orthodox exorcisms is one in
which the forces of good are basic and prior to anything else. The forces of
evil constitute, by God’s permission, an overlaying opposition (forces
opposed to salvation) that presents itself to the human heart and may
sometimes sway people to its cause. This picture is accepted by a great
many Greek people and held as an apt explanation of how one may aspire
toward the values of good and yet only partially achieve them in life. This
moral cosmology rationalizes the human position. In an ideal world
everyone would live in harmony. The world is not, however, ideal; it is
fallen and the condition of humanity is one of imperfection and suffering.
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Diabolical influence in the form of illness (whether physical or spiritual)

or the tendency towards harmful action often exerts itself and cannot be
avoided. Prayer, fasting, the observance of Orthodox rituals and the
participation in the liturgical life of the Church are ways of warding off
such destructive influence. They are a preventive approach. Exorcism is a
wholly direct resort. It is taken once the moment of evil has arrived and
when the demonic influence is already evident, or when the subject is in a
state of demonic possession. In these rituals the values of God are restated
performatively. The priest in the name of God chases the demons from the
person and prays for the deliverance of the person from the demonic
influence as he did at Baptism and prays that God should restore the
individuals to their former state of purity and health.
One holistic-relativistic approach to exorcism views the goal to be
psychological reassurance of the victim, and thus the effectiveness of
exorcism is not in the power of words spoken by the priest 110. It is rather
the presence of the priest and correct performance (along with the
anointing with oil, insufflations through the mouth of the victim,
benediction with blessed water and the use of the relics of the saints) that
are most reassuring. The words are not unimportant, but they are only one
aspect of a larger framework that exorcism erects. The incorporation of the
possessed or sick person into this framework is both the object and the end
result of exorcistic ritual. The rite is itself the cure even if this sometimes
can take years to bear fruit.
Another approach aims at lasting spiritual health and independence of
the victims of demonic infiltration. The victims can be encouraged to
renounce the devil, retrieve their will from all evil, and adhere to the creed
of orthodox faith, as John says: «This is the victory that has overcome the
world – our faith» (1 Jn 5:4). Thereby the victims can stand on their own
feet, having renewed the powerful, life-giving promises of their Baptism.
φ.134v
.
τοñ φρικτοñ κ(αì) àγίου óνόµατος τοñ παντοδυνάµου θεοñ Πατρóς, Υìοñ,
καì Àγíου Πνεύµατος, iνα µοι εiπ¿ς εnθύς π±ς καλεiται τò őνοµά σου.
Òρκíζω σε διà τ±ν àγìων aγγέλων, θρόνων, κυριοτήτων, aρχ±ν, δυνάµεων,
cξουσι±ν,111G τ±ν πολυοµµάτων χερουβίµ κ(αì) τ±ν cξαπτερύγων σεραφίµ
iνα µοι εiπ¿ς εnθnς π±ς καλεiται τò őνοµά σου, òρκíζω σε διà
Η
[τ±ν πολυοµµάτων χερουβίµ κ(αì) τ±ν cξαπτερύγων σεραφίµ]: by the
many-eyed Cherubim and the six-winged Seraphim
Angels and archangels abound in liturgical and non liturgical texts,

being named singularly or in groups, with the most common enumeration
being the famous four, Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Ouriel112. The
Xiropotamou exorcism mentions generically «angels, thrones, dominions,
principalities and Cherubim». Cherubim are the second of the nine orders
of angels in medieval angelology. They are often referred to as two in
number, and rarely are they named separately. One place where the
peculiar phrase, «the two archangels», is encountered again occurs in a
liturgical context113. In an exorcism that also lists adjurations by the great
name of God, the seven heavens, and the Cherubim, the two archangels
are specified as Gabriel and Raphael 114. The relevant portion reads as
follows:
«òρκíζω nµãς, πνεnµατα, εíς τοnς δnο àρχαγγsλους. Γαβριýλ καí Àαφαyλ,
iνα űλθετε űµπροσθsν µου τáχιστα και συντοµúτατα».
«I adjure you, spirits, by the two archangels, Gabriel and Raphael, that you
come (out) before me, most quickly and immediately»115.
Virtually the same text occurs in a portion of a manuscript labelled

Traité de Magie de Salomon:
«òρκíζω nµãς, πνεnµατα, εíς τοnς δnο µεγáλους àρχαγγsλους. Γαβριýλ

κ(αí) Àαφαyλ, iνα űλθετε ±δε προθnµως, τáχιστα, συντοµúτατα»,
«I adjure you, spirits, by the two great archangels, Gabriel and Raphael,
that you come here eagerly, most quickly and immediately» 116.
In a broader liturgical context one can see the fuller role that the
Cherubim (and Seraphim) play: they attend the throne of God singing
together the heavenly Trisagion. A typical exorcistic text reads, for
example, as follows:
«òρκíζω σε κατà τοñ καθηµsνου cπι θρóνου και Χερουβìµ cπι σκιáζοντα
τò ìλαστýριον κ(αì) λsγοντα aγιος, aγιος, aγιος, Κnριος Σαβαúθ, κτλ. »
which is translated as:
«I exorcise you by the One who sits upon the throne of his own
glory ...whereby the Seraphim stand, crying out above the throne, and the
Cherubim overshadow the mercy-seat and say, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy is the
Lord Sabaoth’, etc»117.
«cξορκíζω nµãς παντα τα δαιµóνια εíς το µsγα őνοµατοñ Θεοñ καì εíς τà
πολυóµµατα Xερουβíµ, κτλ.»,
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«I exorcise all you demons by the great name of God and by the many-
eyed Cherubim», etc.118
Any mention of the «Great Name» would refer to God, specifically to

his divine and ineffable Name; it could not be a reference to the Cherubim,
for the Cherubim’s task is to be the throne upon which God rests. In
liturgical exorcisms, the µsγαoνοµα is never used of the Cherubim, but
only in reference to God 119. In fact, in such contexts, though µsγαőνοµα
and Xερουβíµ are juxtaposed they are always kept separate. Parallels from
the liturgical exorcisms again provide a plausible nexus:
And also:
«óµνnωσας εíς τòν θεòν τ±ν Χερουβìµ καθýµενον, οuτò őνοµα αnτοñ
Éλωc Κsσαρ, cλωs, κτλ.»
«I abjure you by the God who sits upon the Cherubim, whose name is
Elôe, Kesar, Helôe», etc.;120
«Òρκíζω σε cπì θρóνου Θεοñ Σαβα±θ, θεορκíζω σε εíς τà Χερουβìµ καì

εíς δ’εnαγγελισταíς, Λουκãν, Ματθαiον, Μáρκον, Íωáννην, <εíς> τòν cπì
τ±ν Σεραφíµ, òρκíζωσας εíς τò µsγα őνοµατοñ Θεοñ»,
«I exorcise you, on (sic) the throne of God Sabaoth, I ‘Godexorcise’ you

by the Cherubim and by the four Gospels, Luke, Matthew, Mark,
John,<by> the One upon the Seraphim; I exorcise you by the great name of
God»121.
An exorcism by the Great Name and the Cherubim serves as a mere

reminder of the long liturgical forms of exorcisms that included God
sitting on his heavenly throne with the many-eyed Cherubim, and possibly
winged Seraphim, in attendance. This is very clear in the exorcistic texts
that I have consulted which exorcises an «unnamed» demon by the
celestial realms and their inhabitants and which mentions the entities by
which evil spirits are adjured along with the celestial components 122.
φ.134rτ
τyς Yπεράγνου θεοτόκου Μαρίας διà τ±ν àγίων Áποστόλων τ±ν δúδεκα
καì τ±ν cβδοµýκοντα,123 διá τyς φοβερàς καì aδεκάστου κρίσεως καì διà
τοñ aγίου αiµατος τοñ cκχυθέντος cκ τyς πλευρàς τοñ Κυρίου yµ±ν Íησοñ
Χριστοñ, 124 διà τ±ν εiκοσιτεσσάρων πρεσβυτέρων 125 τ±ν διά παντòς
παρεστών των τòν θρόνον τòν aόρατον τοñ θεοñ καì ψαλλόν των αnτ½.
«[through] the very holy Mother of God, Mary, through the holy Apostles,
the twelve and the seventy, through the terrifying and unfavourable
judgment and through the Holy Blood poured out from the side of our
Lord Jesus Christ, through the twenty four elders and through all those
standing by the unseen throne of God and singing praise to him»
Θ
[διà τοñ aγίου αiµατος τοñ cκχυθέντος cκ τyς πλευρàς τοñ κυρίου yµ±ν
Ιησοñ Χριστοñ,]: through the Holy Blood poured out from the side of
our Lord Jesus Christ126
Given the juxtaposition of these two themes here: the day of judgment
and the blood of Christ, we can ask the question: Is there any intrinsic
connection between these two in the context of spiritual warfare and
exorcism? As early as St. Polycarp and St. Ignatius, Church Fathers who
were born while the apostles were still alive, the blood of Christ was being
invoked in the context of the final judgment of spirits. St. Ignatius writes:
«Let no man deceive himself. Both the things which are in heaven, and the
glorious angels, and rulers, both visible and invisible, if they believe not in
the blood of Christ, shall, in consequence, incur condemnation» 127.
And St Polycarp testifies to the Philippians that God «raised up our

Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, and gave Him glory, and a throne at His
right hand. To Him all things in heaven and on earth are subject. Him
every spirit serves. He comes as the Judge of the living and the dead. His
blood will God require of those who do not obey [believe in] Him»128.
What does it mean «His blood will God require»? Orthodox
Christianity in the tradition of the Fathers holds that the Son of God
became human «the Son of Man» to become the representative of all men,
and he died for the sins of all humanity 129. As Peter writes: «For Christ
also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might
bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the
spirit» (1 Pt 3:18). Therefore God gave Jesus’ blood as a free gift to wash
away all human injustice (Mt 26:28, Eph 1:7), because both Old and New
Testaments attest that «without the shedding of blood there is no
forgiveness of sins» (Heb 9:22). But to those who consciously reject Jesus
and reject the gift of his blood for the forgiveness of their faults that blood
will not save but «condemn unbelievers» 130. Thus the Gospels and Pauline
letters generally depict those who reject Jesus as having the wrath of God
on them131. Furthermore Jesus himself says the Pharisees who reject him
must answer for all the «righteous blood» shed from «innocent Abel»
onward (Mt 23:35; Lk 11:51). Who escapes the wrath of God? All those
who embrace Jesus for who he is, «the Lamb of God who takes away the
sin of the world» (Jn 1:29); «Christ our Paschal Lamb has been sacrificed»
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(1 Cor 5:7) by his blood the people are saved. From the earliest tradition of
the Church Fathers we see that all who believe that the Lamb’s blood was
shed for their sins will receive forgiveness and salvation 132. Thus the
healing and life-giving properties of Christ’s blood are actualized by faith,
but the wrath-provoking properties are actualized by unbelief. St Ignatius
writes: those who «believe not in the blood of Christ, shall, in
consequence, incur condemnation» including the demons «the glorious
angels, and rulers, both visible and invisible» whose doom is the final
judgment precisely because they must answer for the blood of Christ133.
Thus we see here the Blood of Jesus seems to be the divine means, or
the litmus test, by which the final judgment will be decided. Those who
reject Christ’s blood are facing judgment, while «everyone who lives and
believes in» him have already passed over judgment, there is no more
condemnation or wrath for them134. Before his death Jesus says: «‘Now is
the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.
And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’
He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die» (Jn 12:31-
33). So the devil and all the evil of this world will come under «judgment»
and be «cast out» in a kind of macro-exorcism (cκβάλλω is an exorcistic
term, cf. Mt 7:22; 8:16; 10:1; 12:24; etc.). In John’s Gospel Christ will be
«exalted» on the cross as the Cosmic Exorcist (Jn 3:14) who will refine the
world by freely pouring out his blood in the ultimate sign of love: «This
blood poured forth washed clean all the world» the Church Fathers insist,
because from the cross God’s love crushed the devil in the fury of his
cruelty135. John is explicit that «the judgment of this world» is the death of
Christ, or more specifically, how one reacts to it: for those who accept
Christ the judgment of their sins is over, it has already happened at
Calvary − all sins died with Christ and are forgiven, and for those reject
Christ what happened at Calvary will be their final judgment. «Whoever
believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall
not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him» (Jn 3:36).
The power of the Blood of Jesus for the destruction of demonic power
has been recognized since the patristic period, and even in some of the
later literature of the New Testament cannon. This Blood plays a decisive
role in the battle between good and evil as John writes in Revelation:
«Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the
dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back» (12:7) but the forces
of evil are defeated, «and the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient
serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world
− he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with
him» (v. 9). This is the famous fallen angel theme, but in the next verses
we see clearly by what means Satan is cast down and by what authority:
«And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, ‘Now the salvation and the
power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have
come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses
them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the
blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not
their lives even unto death’» (Rv 12:10-11).
Satan, whose name means accuser, is naturally «the accuser of our

brothers» who wants to see God’s image plunged it into sin and hell. But
what does it mean to say «the kingdom of God and the authority of his
Christ have come»? It means that mankind has a glorious new hope: Jesus
Christ has ascended to heaven with his newly acquired humanity, offering
his most precious blood to his eternal Father in forgiveness of sins 136, and
now reigns on God’s throne as the supreme king of the universe (cf. Dan
7:1314). How did Jesus as a human person gain this royal authority over
all things? He earned it. St Paul tells us that God’s eternal Son, though he
was equal to God «emptied himself» to assume human nature, and
embraced crucifixion «he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the
point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted
him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name» (Phil 2:7-
9).
The basis of spiritual combat is that all believers share in the royal
authority of Christ’s blood that has vanquished the powers of evil. In fact
they have conquered and continue to conquer Satan by Christ’s authority:
«And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word
of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death» (Rv
12:11). Who has conquered? Since angels do not fear death, this verse
cannot refer to angelic combat, it must refer to humans «our brothers» (v.
10) who have conquered in bearing witness to the faith even at the risk of
their lives. The blood of martyrs is united to the actual Blood of Christ,
spilled «once and for all» for human salvation «by means of his own
blood, thus securing an eternal redemption» (Heb 9:12; 10:19). Christ’s
blood is the power by which all the saints would overcome the fear of
spilling their own blood, and thus the power of Christ’s blood would
continue to conquer Satan long after Christ’s earthly life. John is telling us
that this cosmic war is still going on in his time, and that the martyrs and
confessors participate in the eschatological triumph of God over evil in a
decisive way: they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb.
Many of the Church Fathers interpret «by the Blood of the Lamb» as a
reference to blood of the Passover lamb in Exodus 14 137. By the death of
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the firstborn son (of Pharaoh) Israel was finally freed from bondage, and
by the blood of the lamb the firstborn sons of Hebrew families were spared
− both types of Christ who is God’s firstborn Son and sacrificial Lamb, the
God-Victim (Jn 1:29; Rv 5:6; 22:1; etc.). Just as the destroying angel had
no power to kill the first born sons of the Israelites who had the blood of
the lamb on their doorposts (Ex 12:12-13), so the devil has no power «to
touch» the faithful who hide under the blood of Jesus (1 Jn 5:18). By
Christ’s death they will be freed from death and enter the promised land of
heaven (Rom 5:9-10, 15, 21; 2 Tm 1:10). Thus John is intent on calling
Jesus here the new Passover Lamb, whose blood will not save people from
physical bondage to Pharaoh but from the spiritual death of sin, slavery to
the devil, «the accuser of our brothers who accuses them day and night
before our God» (Rv 12:10). Satan’s accusations are silenced for those for
whom the Lamb’s blood has washed clean of all sin, for Christ will
«snatch from the Evil One the souls that are precious above all, for by
nothing can they be bought, save by the blood of Christ»138.
The final victory over the demonic powers is achieved by the blood of
Jesus that frees, unites and strengthens Christ’s faithful disciples to
persevere to the end. The blood of Christ is terrifying to demons because it
constitutes the sign par excellence that their doom is sealed. It is precisely
because the «Blood of God» 139 was poured out in infinite love, that wrath
comes on all who reject such love. As the Xiropotamou exorcism indicates
the eschaton will indeed be a «terrifying and unfavourable judgment» for
Satan and his agents, because the blood of Christ will annihilate them.
Satan boasted to swallow all souls in the pit of Hades. But when Satan
devoured the innocent humanity of Jesus on the cross, unaware of his
hidden Divinity, Satan’s jaw was broken by his own cruelty, as Jerome
explains140. In choosing to suffer death for poor sinners the Son of God
perfectly surrendered to his Father’s will, though it was hard on his flesh,
his Divine Nature secretly entered the jaws of death where he finally
revealed the hidden power of his Divinity, smashing open the gates of
Hades. The demons were shocked at their master’s powerlessness to stop
the Son of God from pillaging hell 141. Christ’s loving cross has already
publically humiliated the devil as the quintessential «murderer» and not a
god, defeated the empire of death, and «disarmed the rulers and authorities
and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them» (Jn 8:44; Col
2:15). Jesus’ divine blood dealt a powerful blow to the demonic
stranglehold over the human heart.
Christ’s sacrificial death essentially brings the spiritual fulfilment to
God’s covenant oath of blessing to Abraham after the sacrifice of Isaac: «I
will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars
of heaven… And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies» (Gn
22:17). By Christ’s outpouring of blood man’s spiritual enemies are
defeated and the gate of death and hell is conquered; thus Jesus says: «I
am the Living One. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have
the keys of Death and Hades» (Rv 1:18). So after Jesus descended to
Hades to release Abraham and the other «spirits in prison» of death (1 Pt
3:19) he fulfilled the scripture by leading the «host of captives» to heaven
when he «ascended on high» (Eph 4:8-10; Ps 68:18). This «gift» of heaven
is also for all the spiritually «dead» people in this age, the prisoners of
sin142. God had promised to make stars of Abraham’s offspring, and Paul
says those who belong to Christ are «the offspring of Abraham, heirs
according to promise» (Gal 3:29). The spiritual reality of the promise is
not a long life with many children on earth but Christ reveals it as being
«born from above» and raised up «as the stars in heaven» into God’s
presence (Jn 3:3; Gn 22:17). Thus the power of God’s blood make humans
be born again «from above... by water and Spirit» into God’s family as
«sons of God» who are described elsewhere as «stars» (Jn 3:3, 5; Gal
3:26; Jb 38:7). Just as Satan was once a «Day Star» who fell into death
and caused the fall of «a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the
earth» (Is 14:12; Rv 12:4), so God’s loving Son became man to make
humanity alive, lifting them up to heaven to become «stars» and «sons of
God» who will love God forever «to the praise of his glorious grace» (Phil
2:15; Eph 1:6), thus replacing the void left by the rebels who refused to
praise. Even during this age of darkness the profound spiritual reality of
God’s children is that they shine as «φωστyρες cν κόσµ±»143 enthroned «in
the heavenly places in Christ Jesus» (Phil 2:15; Eph 2:6). In light of man’s
celestial destination God’s promise to Daniel 12:2-3 makes sense: «Many
of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting
life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise
shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many
to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever». The fact that God’s
blessing to Abraham in Gn 22:17 constitutes heavenly beatitude is also
indicated by the blessing of Eph 1:3-7: «Blessed be the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual
blessing in the heavenly places... he predestined us for adoption as sons
through Jesus Christ... In him we have redemption through his blood». To
Paul Christ’s blood gives man right now nothing less than citizenship in
heaven as sons of the Most High, a citizenship and sonship that the ancient
serpent rejected.
In the historical context of the doctrine of Christ’s blood, it could be
argued, that Ignatius and Polycarp are merely concerned with refuting the
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heresy of Docetism and thus they used belief in the blood of Jesus as the
sign to distinguish orthodoxy from heresy144. Thus St Irenaeus questions
the Docetists: «And how, again, supposing that He was not flesh, but was
a man merely in appearance, could He have been crucified, and could
blood and water have issued from His pierced side?» 145. But regardless of
the original motivations the early apostolic tradition has stood the test of
time, proving influential to subsequent Church Fathers who also stress the
power of the blood of Christ, and it is not without biblical precedent.
The blood of Christ is recognized to this day as an invincible armour
against evil. Even John XXIII, a Catholic pope who began the reform of
Vatican II in the 1960s, writes in an apostolic letter about the blood of
Christ: «Unlimited is the effectiveness of the God-Man’s Blood − just as
unlimited as the love that impelled him to pour it out for us... Such
surpassing love suggests, nay demands, that everyone reborn in the
torrents of that Blood adore it with grateful love... Nourished by his Body
and Blood, sharing the divine strength that has sustained countless
martyrs, they will stand up to the slings and arrows of each day's fortunes
even if need be to martyrdom itself for the sake of Christian virtue and the
kingdom of God»146
St John Chrysostom lauds Jesus’ blood in the context of spiritual
combat147: «This blood poured forth washed clean all the world… Christ
has purchased us with His blood, and adorned us with His blood. They
who share this blood stand with Angels and Archangels and the Powers
that are above, clothed in Christ’s own kingly robe, and having the armour
of the Spirit. Nay, I have not as yet said any great thing: they are clothed
with the King Himself». To «share in this blood» means for Christians to
be clothed in spiritual armour, that is to drink worthily the consecrated
wine of the Lord’s Supper. St Chrysostom clearly believes this wine is
Jesus’ blood, a belief shared by all of the Church Fathers from at least the
time of St Ignatius (107 A. D.) if not St Paul himself 148. Chrysostom
encourages the faithful to drink worthily the blood of Christ for the
purpose of spiritual war: «Let us then return from that table like lions
breathing fire, having become terrifying to the devil; thinking on our
Head, and on the love which He hath shown for us… [this blood] waters
our souls, and works in them some mighty power. This blood, if rightly
taken, drives away demons, and keeps them afar off from us, while it calls
to us Angels and the Lord of Angels. For wherever they see the Lord’s
blood, demons flee, and Angels run together».
And if the demons do chase Christians in their pilgrimage towards the
cross which is the ocean of God’s mercy, the demons will be swallowed in
the ocean of God’s wrath − to use the imagery of the Church Fathers.
Because, as the Fathers saw it, just as Pharaoh’s army was drowned in the
Red Sea when they tried to chase the Israelites on their way to the
promised land (Ex 14), so the demons will be drowned by the blood and
water from the side of Christ in baptism, which opens for humans as ea of
mercy but for demons utter destruction149.As Moses said to the Israelites
being pursued by the Egyptian army: «Fear not, stand firm, and see the
salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the
Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will
fight for you» (Ex 14:13-14). To the Fathers the Egyptian army was
symbolic of the demonic forces, drowned in the ocean of the waters of
baptism (cf. 1 Cor 10:2). The New Testament imagery of Baptism,
baptizing with water and with fire in the Holy Spirit (Mt 3:11) is drawn
from Isaiah 43 where the Lord says again: «Fear not, for I have redeemed
you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the
waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not
overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and
the flame shall not consume you» (Is 43:12). Thus as the original Exodus
was a redemption of the nation of Israel through the sacrifice of a lamb
and passing through the sea, so baptism is the New Exodus that will
redeem God’s people through baptism into the new Paschal Lamb who, in
the fire of his love, poured out blood and water destroying all man’s
spiritual enemies. And by revealing the ocean of his mercy at his death,
the Lamb gave new life and liberty to his children.
The blood and water as symbols of Baptism:
Speaking of his death Jesus says to his disciples: «The cup that I drink
you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be
baptized» (Mk 10:39). Jesus’ death is a baptism, into which all humanity
has been or will be crucified with Christ and those who believe in him are
resurrected with him, reborn to eternal life with Christ «the firstborn from
the dead»150. Thus Paul writes: «one has died for all, therefore all have
died» (2 Cor 5:14) and «We were buried therefore with [Jesus] by baptism
into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the
glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life» (Rom 6:4).
Christ died to pour out his life for all people; he transformed death into a
gateway into eternal life: «For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all
be made alive» (1 Cor 15:22). The Xiropotamou text clearly makes
reference to John 19:34 «One of the soldiers pierced [Jesus’] side with a
spear, and at once there came out blood and water». St John Chrysostom,
St Ignatius, and many Fathers as well, saw in these lines a reference to
baptism: «In this place blood and water show forth the same thing, for
baptism is His passion»151. Jerome and other Fathers also interpreted this
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flow of blood and water as the birth of the Church. Just as Eve was formed
out of Adam’s rib while God put him into a deep sleep, so the Church, the
new Eve and bride of Christ, was born out of «the blood and water» from
Christ’s «rib» while he was ‘sleeping’ on the cross.152
One of the hallmarks of the liturgical exorcisms, discussed above, is
the repeated mention of baptism (or some other allusion to washing) in the
context. Since exorcism and baptism were closely linked in the early
Church, the proliferation of such liturgical texts with these elements
juxtaposed probably met a growing need in the fourth century153.
Liturgical exorcisms were regularly performed at Baptismal initiations
since Baptism signifies liberation from sin and from its instigator the
devil. Thus prepared, he is able to confess the faith of the Church, to
which he will be «entrusted» by Baptism154. It is no surprise then that the
Xiropotamou text mentions the holy blood of Jesus as a clear indication of
Baptism. The traditional Greek Orthodox view holds that through
Baptism, one becomes not only a Christian, but a person in the full moral
and legal sense. For many Greeks to be Greek is to be Orthodox. Most of
the Greeks believe that without baptism one is vulnerable to demonic
assault and if a child should die in this state, the soul goes neither to
heaven nor to hell. So to be properly baptized means to be under the
protection of God and the Church. The rite of Baptism, properly
performed, dissociates the individual from the devil: «when such people
[catechumens] come forward to receive the waters of salvation and the
sanctification of Baptism, we ought to be convinced and firmly believe
that the devil is there overpowered and that through God’s mercy the man
now dedicated to him is set free155».
The Baptismal ceremony itself evokes a broad spectrum of themes rich
in symbolism. The central mystery of Baptism, both textually and
performatively, is a process of death and rebirth. When the initiate is
baptised into Christ, the faithful believe that the person dies and is reborn
just as Christ died and was resurrected (Rom 6:3-4). Alongside its
associations with death and rebirth, the Baptismal water also forms part of
an elaborate imagery of purification from the unclean and polluting spirits.
Impurity is sin and all prior sin is washed away in the Baptismal
immersion.
The general orientation of all churches in Greece is along an eastwest
axis, with the main entrance in the west with the altar towards the east.
The various rites of the Baptismal office that take place at the church are
woven into a whole by the movement through space. The overall direction
is from outside to inside, from west (symbolic of the end of the day,
darkness, exile) to east (symbolic of birth, Eden, divine origin). The first
part of the service is meant to take place outside the main sanctuary (west,
outside). The renunciation of the devil (through the action of blowing on
the catechumen) is performed while facing west. The Baptism itself takes
place in the centre of the church and at the moment of immersing the child
in the front, the priest is instructed to face the east. The progression from
west to east also represents movement from darkness to light; the demons
of darkness are defeated by the light of Christ. The initiate is illumined by
Baptism and Chrismation (anointing) and becomes a child of light (1 Th
5:5). A set of spiritual associations with the respective states is set out
schematically below:
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Unbaptised Baptised
devil Christ
Darkness Light
Black White
West East
Impure Pure
Sin Sinless
Nameless Named
Death Life
Outside Inside
Wicked Righteous
Spirits (demons) Holy Spirit (God)
There is no doubt that even if Baptism is heavily concerned with the

endowment of the Holy Spirit, yet it is largely considered to be an
exorcistic ceremony with the expulsion of evil spirits, symbolized by the
crossing of the Red Sea as we have seen. It is important to observe that
exorcism is not effected solely through the usual verbal commands such as
«I exorcise you» or «come out and depart», but also through gestures such
as insufflations, the reading of the Gospels, the use of the blessed water
and the litanies of Saints. Blowing, spitting, immersing in water, and
anointing with oil may all serve to expel demons. Virtually every aspect of
the ritual may be viewed as apotropaic against demons. Even the cross is
one of the most apotropaic objects in case of demon assault. Almost every
church in Greece has an image of Christ on the cross figured on its icon
screen. Beneath this cross are the skull and bones of Adam. The blood of
Christ drips from the cross onto these bones, symbolizing Christ’s
redemption of earlier sin and the release from death that his crucifixion
has conferred. The naming of the child helps join the child to the
community socially, while the instilment of the Holy Spirit incorporates
the new member spiritually into the body of Christ. Similarly, the gift of
the Holy Spirit at Baptism creates a spiritual bond between the initiate and
fellow Christians while allowing for the fact of individual difference. All
this shows the importance of the exorcism in the rite of Baptism because
without the negative, there can be no positive.
φ.135v
.
τόν aκατάπαυστον űµνον,156 καì διà πάντων τ±ν θαυµαστ±ν űργων τοñ
παντοδυνάµου θεοñ τ±ν cνουραν½ καì cπίγyς γεγενηµένων διà τ±ν àγίων
πατριαρχ±ν Àβραàµ, Íσαàκ καί Íακώβ157καì πάντων τ±ν àγίων τ±ν πρò
νόµου κ(αì) µετà νόµον,I διà τ±ν àγίων δεκατεσσάρων χιλιάδων νηπíων
τ±ν nπò Nρώδου158 aναιρεθέν των κ(αí) διà πάντων, κ(αì) πασ±ν
«The un-halting hymn, and through all the wonderful works of Almighty
God both heavenly and earthly that came through the holy patriarchs
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the saints who lived before the law,
through the fourteen thousand holy children slain by Herod and through
all, and all»
[τ±ν θαυµαστ±ν űργων τοñ παντοδυνάµου θεοñ... γεγενηµένων διà τ±ν

Ι
àγίων] The wonderful works of Almighty God... that came through the
saints.
The demons are opponents par excellence to the Christ’s disciples and
their challenge enables the saints to refine and express their holy nature
that grows in them by the power of sanctifying grace. Theologically it is
not a contest of equals, but symbolically there is often a convergence
between the image of the enemies (Demons) and that of the holy figures.
This pattern may be observed in the Old Testament where God’s all
encompassing power is tested, and so revealed, by the rebellious angel
Satan who, like him, was considered immaterial. This distinction between
divine immateriality and angelic immateriality was debated by
theologians159. At Baptism the evil spirits that possess the uninitiated are
expelled by the Holy Spirit; the same space is contested by similarly
conceived supernatural forces (both called pneumata) that operate through
the same materials (air and water). At other times there may be symbolic
convergences that cannot immediately be related to a particular contest.
An example would be St. Christopher of Tilos. The inhabitants of the
Greek island of Tilos say that the saint was so handsome that female
admirers would not allow him the peace to pursue his chosen path toward
God. Seeing his situation, God bestowed a dog’s head on him so he could
observe his prayers unmolested. Animal features, including those of a dog,
are common among demonic beings, especially the devils. According to
certain widely circulated medieval traditions, devils were said to transform
themselves into dogs for the express purpose of entering convents and
deflowering nuns160.
Given the fine line that transpires between on the one hand, the exotikà
(malicious things living at the margins of society) as they are experienced
by laypeople and, on the other, demons and the devil, representing the
official Orthodox church dogma concerning evil, we find a variety of
stories throughout Greece relating to how people in recognition of the
protection given to them by Virgin Mother (Η Παναγία) or various saints,
offer votives, candles or money. Thus at times Saints and exotikà which
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normally oppose one another, can be also similar in relation to certain

events and contexts. On some occasion this may lead to quite specific
similarities, as both are constrained to operate at similar times across
identical media161.
In a number of cases sailors would save themselves by supplicating the
saints. Many ships also carry an icon of the Παναγία or of other saints.
This applies also to many cars and buses. This concept very clearly points
to the similarity and the inter-changeability between what we call the
Christian sacra and the exotikà. This is more realistic and more true on the
level of the village, family and individual where the relation between
saints and exotikà reveals itself to be more subtle162. It is not strange
therefore that we find instances where demons and saints intermingle,
sometimes borrowing formal features from one another, in other instances
expressing or representing values and powers opposite to those we might
have expected following a structural model. Like saints whom people
appeal to through votives or by offerings of wine, oil, or liturgical service
in their chapel the exotica may also be appealed to with offerings.
φ.135r τ±ν àγίων aνδρ±ν τε κ(αί) γυναικ±ν, τ±ν τ½ àγί± θε½

εnαρεστησάντων cν τƒ ζωƒ αnτ±ν. Òρκíζω nµãς πáντα τά πονηρà
πνεύµατα διà πάντων τ±ν àγίων iνα µοι εiπ¿ς τò őνοµά σου: Eiτα δείξον
τόν τίµιον σταυρóν, κρατúν εíς τò χέρισου κ(αì) λέγε: Íδού ò τíµιος
Σταυρòς τοñ Κυρίου yµ±ν Ιησοñ Χριστοñ, φεύγε πονηρc διάβολε, Íησοñς
ΧριστòςΚ
«[By all the] the holy men and women, full of virtue in holy God during
their life. I adjure all you evil spirits by all the saints in order that you tell
me your name. Take in the right hand the honourable cross of powers and
he says: Behold, the honourable Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, flee O evil
devil, Jesus Christ!»
Κ
[Íησοñς Χριστός]: Jesus Christ
The Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles attest to the existence of
secular exorcists who were not explicitly in communion with the group of
Jesus’ disciples and apostles but who actively used Jesus name for
exorcisms163. St Paul writes that God has highly exalted Jesus and «given
him the name that is above every name» (Phil 2:9; cf. Eph 1:21). As is
reported by secular traditional texts, in secular exorcisms the names of
holy people and the names of saints are widely mentioned even though
such exorcisms are non-ecclesial. Secular exorcisms can be defined as
those performed by someone who is not a member of the clergy or
affiliated with any particular religion or Church. Secular exorcists were

and still today speak in the name of a «higher being», be it medical science
or some psychological, metaphysical or spiritual belief system. They
might invoke also the name of Jesus, speak of God or the devil, depending
upon the particular delusions, hallucinations or religious belief system
held by the patient. They may firmly and literally believe in the physical
reality of the pathological problem manifested in the patient’s symptoms
and suffering, and dispense solutions or encouragement while joining with
the patient in a «therapeutic alliance» against the wicked and debilitating
forces bedevilling them. However, in this framework, it is clear that the
degree of emphasis on the unique power of the name Jesus Christ is the
element which distinguished and differentiated the apostolic work of the
early Church from the work of the magicians of those times164.
On the other hand, an exorcism performed by the Church through its
ordained clergy who has first ruled out any case of psychiatric illness,
tends to take literally the phenomenon of demonic possession and the
casting out of demons, while a secular exorcist looks at this process from a
more psychological, symbolic or metaphorical perspective. However, the
methods and, hopefully, the results are similar.
It is generally held that in late antiquity the accusation of magic was
used by Christians to attack the pagans. However, there is quite ample
documentation to show that Christians themselves accused other
Christians of dabbling in the magic arts, in order to strike at their
respective adversaries, especially when doctrinal disputes arose between
bishops and their principal collaborators. With such a charge, they not
only aroused the fears of the masses, but also provoked the intervention of
the imperial authorities, which could bring about the removal and the exile
of the condemned and even execution, as in the case of Priscilian. The
efficacy of this accusation was facilitated by a widespread belief in the
terrible power of magic and the fear of evil, but also by the ambiguity of
the powers of the magician, which could be easily confused with the
supernatural powers of a saint. Where the distinction between them
depended on the source of their powers, respectively, demons or God 165.
However, we must not forget, that the accusation of using demonic power
to perform miracles was also directed at Jesus. The synoptic Gospels show
that Jesus shared the ideas of his time, but so far transcended them that by
a commanding word alone, without the use ofany magical practices, he
cast out unclean spirits.
φ.136v νικ¾, ò λέων ò cκ φυλyς τοñ Íούδα, ò cκ qíζης ∆αβίδ, ò

.
Éµµανουήλ. Ò Χριστός βασιλεύει, ò Χριστός cξουσιάζει, ò Χριστός
314 Chapter 1
θανατοi, ò Χριστός ζωογονεi, Aγιος Aγιος Aγιος Χριστός ò σαβαώθ,

πλήρης ò οnρανός καí y γy τyς δόξης αnτοñ, ±σαννà cν τοiς nψíστοις, ò
±ν εnλογηµένος εíς τούς αí±νας aµýν. Áναστýτω ò Θεός κ(αì)
διασκορπισθήτωσαν οì cχθροì αnτοñ κ(αì) φυγέτωσαν aπò προσώπου
αnτοñ,
«He is victorious, the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the root of David, the
Emmanuel. The Christ reigns, Christ has authority, Christ puts to death,
Christ makes alive, Holy, Holy, Holy, Christ the [God of] hosts, heaven
and earth are full of his glory, Hosanna in the highest, blessed is he unto
the ages, Amen. Let God arise and let his enemies be dispersed and let
them flee from his face»
In the Hebrew scripture YHWH possesses divine attributes that are

proper to him alone; his power and glory are infinite, and no other divinity
or created intelligence can exhibit them. But according to the Nicene
Constantinople Creed of Orthodox belief Christ himself is God,
homousias with the Father; Christ is the Son of God, and the eternal word.
Christ reigns on the throne of God, exhibiting all divine power and was
infinitely glorified with the Father before creation began (cf. Jn 17:5). In a
display of the splendour of Christ’s divine power, we see in this text we
see a fusion of Old and New Testament divine epithets. Here the classic
divine qualities of YHWH are accorded to Christ perhaps for the purposes
of exorcism, so that Christ’s power may be displayed through faith, just as
the unconquerable power of God in the Old Testament was displayed
through faith of Israel in their God (cf. e.g. 2 Ch 20:1-26). For example
«Christ puts to death, Christ makes alive» is a quote directly from 1
Samuel 2:6 LXX, and «Holy Holy Holy... full of his glory» is from Isaiah
6:3 − both with Χριστός inserted in place of the divine name, YHWH. But
it is simpler than that. In the mind of these exorcists, it may have been that
the divine name YHWH was not being replaced but only the milder
κυρίος. It was only natural for Christians familiar with the LXX to replace
what was originally YHW Hwith Χριστός for two reasons: 1) the Jewish
translators who made the LXX had already replaced YHWH, out of
reverence for the divine name, with κυρίος (Lord, adonai) in their
translation and 2) the affirmation that «Jesus is κυρίος» is found in every
book of the New Testament. Thus, replacing κυρίος with Χριστός was
natural and reflected a foundational tenant of Christian faith from the
beginning, namely, that is that Jesus is Lord (1 Cor 12:3). This
replacement was most likely done without regard for the original Hebrew
setting of the divine epithets. So κυρίος is replaced with Χριστός but
notice that where the Θεός is used from the LXX quotation it is not
replaced with Χριστός: as in the end of the above citation, Let God arise
and let his enemies be dispersed... flee from his face, «Áναστýτω ò Θεός...
προσώπου αnτοñ» is an exact quotation of Ps 68:1 (LXX).
But the God-Man Christ has achieved a new victory, one that the
incorporeal YHWH of the Old Testament could not. «Weep not the lion of
the tribe of Judah, the root of David has conquered» (Rv 5:5), the elder
consoles John thus in Revelation 5:5 (cf. 1 Sam 2:6). God has fulfilled his
promise to David to bring forth a Messiah from the tribe of Judah who
would rule the whole earth: «Ask of me, and I will make the nations your
heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession» (Ps 2:8). It was not
enough for God to simply destroy Satan by his own omnipotent power, he
wanted to do it through the very virtues that the devil lacked: obedience,
servitude, and humility. Christ humbled himself to become human, to
serve mankind by pouring out his blood for all people, bearing the penalty
of their bad behaviour, «He committed no sin... He himself bore our sins
in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.
By his wounds you have been healed» (1 Pt 2:22, 24). He did this so that
all who humbled themselves to accept Jesus in repentance would be freely
washed, justified, and raised up with Jesus to heaven (1 Cor 6:11; 2 Cor
5:21; Eph 2:5-6). Thus through the humble Christ God crushed the pride
of the devil who enslaved humanity, and opened the way to paradise. But
Jesus was resurrected and ascended into heaven. This is Christ’s victory
over the beast of Daniel 7:11-14 − the Lion of the tribe of Judah has
triumphed, announcing his victory from the Cross he said «it is finished»
(Jn 19:30), what is finished? The devil’s kingdom. No longer can Satan
tyrannize God’s precious human creatures, because «our citizenship is in
heaven» God has made humanity sit with Jesus on his throne (Eph 2:6).
God has given mankind a new master and a new brother, a new hope and a
new friend – and through him someday all creation will be restored in the
new heavens and the new earth (Is 66:22; Rv 21:1; Rom 8:21).
φ.136r.±ς cκ λείπει καπνός cκλιπέτωσαν, ±ς τήκεταικηρός aπό προσúπου

πυρóς, καì yχι±ν aπò τοñ καύµατος τοñ yλίου. Κατηραµένε διάβολε, τí
βραδύνεις καì οn λέγεις τò őνοµá σου; ∆òς δόξαν τ½ àγí± θε½, φοβήθητι
τοnς τοιοnτουςκαì τοσούτους òρκισµούς, óρκíζω σε διà τοñ Κυρíου yµ±ν
Íησοñ Χριστοn εíπc τò őνοµá σου, òρκíζω σε δι’ αnτοñ cν [ πãν
φ.137v. γόνυ κáµπτει cπουρανίων καì cπιγείων καì καταχθονίων, iνα εiπ¿ς
τò őνοµá σου.Òρκíζω σε διà τòν κενúσαντα 166 cαυτόν καì µορφyν δούλου
λαβόντα, εíπc τí σοí cσται őνοµα, òρκίζω σε διà τοñ τó αiµα τò iδιον
cκχέοντος cπί σταυροñ, εíπs τò őνοµá σου, εíπέ φανερ±ς, cγ± ò δοñλος
316 Chapter 1
τοñ Θεοñ cρωτ± σε: τì σοí cστι őνοµα;
φ.137r Εíπέ εí καì aλλους űχεις µετà σοñ συνεργοnς, καí π±ς cχεις καì cκ
.
ποíας τáξεως,Λ y π±ς καλεiται ò aρχων σου, cν ποía cξουσίa καì
δυνάµει, εi ποñ και cν τíνι τόπ± εiσαι ±κειµένος, νà µοι εíπεiς πρίν
Λ
cκβεiναι cκ τοñ aνθρώπου τοnτου cν τίνι nποτάσσει, εíπc,εíπέ πότε

cξέρχει, καì τí σµεiον ποιεiς őταν cξέλθ¿ς, òρκίζω σε διà τοñ πνεύµατος
τοñ àγίου.
Λ
[ποíας τóξεως, y π±ς καλεiται ò oρχων σου, cν ποía cξουσίa καì
δυνάµει]: to which class do you belong, or what is your name of your
leader, and which is your authority and power.
It is already clear that the demons described in the exorcism texts are
many and unnamed. According to the Orthodox doctrine, many angels fell
together with Satan. In the exorcism of Basil they are referred to as «all
the ranks falling with him [the devil]» 167. As we see here in the
Xiropotamou 98 text, the demons are compared with an army where it is
said that they have classes (τáξεις) and a commander (áρχων)168 a term
which we have discussed above. There are points on which the exorcisms
correspond closely to the Orthodox doctrine. One must not forget that in
the New Testament, Christ asks the demon what is his name and it
responds, «My name is legion, for we are many» (Mk 5:9; Lk 8:30). The
name legion is of course a Latin military term, where the Roman legion of
the first century consisted of several thousands of soldiers both foot and
cavalry − but here the enemies are spiritual, arrayed in battle against the
people of God. The throng of demons is also referred to in the exorcisms
as a «crowd», as the «collaborators» (συνεργάτες συναíµοι) of the devil
who is described as «dragon like» (δρακοντοειδής) or «beast-faced»
(θηριοπρόσωπος)169. This accords with the Jewish perceptions of the
tyrannical human empires which persecuted God’s people, and were thus
represented as beasts in Jewish apocalyptic literature such as the book of
Daniel (Dan 7:3-12; 8:20-21). In the New Testament it is precisely over
these beast-like empires that Satan claims to have authority (Mt 4:8-9; Lk
4:5-7) which corresponds well Jesus’ name for the devil in John’s Gospel
«the ruler of this world» (Jn 12:31; 14:30; 16:11). This world ruler
κοσµοκράτωρ along with his angels (Eph 6:12), would presumably
continue to wield authority after the resurrection (cf. Rv 2:10) as attested
by historical fact, where the Roman empire, from time to time, terrorized
God’s people in the brief but severely bloody persecutions of the first
three centuries A. D. This bestial imagery also corresponds to folk

perceptions of the exotiká as monstrous, having the face or feet of various
animals. Elsewhere in the exorcisms they are referred to as «donkey-
limbed» or able to metamorphose into a variety of forms170.
While the demons may cause disease and illness, their much more
widely recognized activity is to lead people astray and to cause them to
sin. They were purported to elicit desire (επιθυµία), and accentuate
lewdness (λαγνεία), shamelessness (αναίδεια), greed (φιλαργυρία), envy
(φθόνος), lethargy (ληθάργους ποιούνται); stir up illusions (ινδάλµασιν
ταράσσονται); lies (ψευδείς), pride (υπερηφάνεια), vanity (µαταιότης),
evil (πονηρία), idolatry (ειδωλολατρία), and covetousness (πλεονεξία). In
short, the demons are always inviting humans to break God’s
commandments, they incite sin, and so wherever anyone is doing anything
displeasing to God, the demons are there to capitalise on it.
Paul cautions those whose «life is hidden with Christ in God» to avoid
«sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness
(πλεονεξία), which is idolatry» (Col 3:3, 5). Idolatry, Paul says, is a
sacrifice that brings «communion with demons» (1 Cor 10:20-21). What is
gained in this sacrifice is the fleeting pleasure of sin, what is «sacrificed»
is the presence of God, or the life of the human soul. By sin the divine life
of freedom and joy that God has given becomes slavery to demons.
Demons actually feed on the life-blood of their poor human slaves who
fall into sin and away from God’s commandments (Ez 16:20; Gal 4:8).
«The wages of sin is death» (Rom 6:23) and human death is the
nourishment of Satan; it is «the serpent's food» (Is 65:25). Demons thus
are at the root of all evils 171. St John writes: «Little children, let no one
deceive you... whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the
devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God
appeared was to destroy the works of the devil» (1 Jn 3:7-8). So if one
desires to be free of the devil’s power, he must desire to separate himself
from sin. Through exorcism, faith, and/or renewal of baptism the
liberating power of Jesus’ name flows into the human soul, resurrecting it
from the dead, and liberating it from the destructive power of Satan. This
is a beginning of the process of sanctification by which the wounds the
devil has made in the human psyche are slowly healed and Divine Life in
the soul is increasingly restored.
φ.138v τοῦ φανερώσαντός σε διὰ τοῦ κορυφαίου τῶν Ἁποστόλων Πέτρου,

ἐν Σίµωνι τῷ µάγῳ κ(αὶ) ἐν κύνωπι τῶ ἀγχίστω172 διὰ τοῦτο ὁ ἀπόστολος
Ἰωάννης ὁ θεολόγος ἐν Πάτµῳ τῇ νήσῳ. Εἰπὲ ἃἐρώ τησάσου, πανοῦργε
διάβολε, τα πείνω σον ἑαυτόν, ὁ ᾅδης ἐστὶν εἰς καθέδρανσου, ἐκ εῖ ἐστιν ἡ
318 Chapter 1
οἲκησίς σου. Λοιπὸν οὔκ ἐστι καιρὸς τοῦ ἀναµένειν.
φ.138r Ὁ Κύριος ἐγγὺς ἥξει κ(αὶ) οὐ χρονίσεῖ κρῖναι τὴν γῆν, κ(αὶ) σὲκ(αὶ)
τὴν συνεργόν σου δύναµιν κολάσει εἰς τὴν γέενναν τοῦ πυρός, παραδοὺς
εἰς τὸ σκότος τὸ ἐξώτερον, ὅπου σκώληξ ὁ ἀκοίµητος κ(αὶ) τὸ πῦρ οὐ
σβέννυται. Εἰπὲ τὸ ὄνοµάσου, ὅ τι µέγας ὁ φόβος τοῦ Θεοῦ κ(αὶ) µεγάλη
ἡ δόξα τοῦ Πατρός κ(αὶ) τοῦ Υἱοῦ κ(αὶ) τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύµατος, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ
καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀµήν.
φ.139v Περì βουρκολάκκουΜ τò πuς νà τòν χαλάσ¿ς.

Τοῦτο δὲ νεἶναι ἀληθής ἀ µὴ ἔναι τέχνη τοῦ διαβόλου κ(αὶ)
φαντάζετ(αι) διὰ τὴν ἀπιστίαν ἡµῶν, ὅµως ἐὰν εὑρεθῇ τοιοῦτον λείψανον,
πρέπειν ὰγένῃ λειτουργία διὰ τὸν ἀποθαµένον µετὰκολλύβων173 κ(αὶ) εἰς
τὴν λειτουργίαν, νὰ εὐγάνουν ὕψωµα174 εἰς βοήθειαν πάντων ὁµοίως κ(αὶ)
διὰ τὸν ἀποθαµένον…
φ.139r.
κ(αì)175 µετὰ τὴν λειτουργίαν γίνεται ἁγιασµὸς µικρὸς µετὰ ἁγίων
λειψάνων ἐπάνω εἰς το µνῆµα, κ(αὶ) 176 µετὰ τὴν εὐχὴν τοῦ ἁγιασµοῡ
διαβάζουν τὰς εὐχὰς τοῦ Μεγάλου Βασιλείου, εἴτε τοὺς ἐξορκισµοὺς καὶ
ὅλαςτὰς ὄπισθεν γεγραµµένας εὐχάς, καὶ ὡσὰν διαβαστοῡν αἱ εὐχαὶ
ῥαντίζεις τὸν λαὸν µετά τοῦ ἁγιασµοῦ, κ(αὶ)τὸ περίσσευµα τοῦ ἁγιασµοῦ
τὸ χύνεις ἀ…{…}
Περὶβορκολκών (φ.139r-[140r-149v=missing]150r).
<Ἑρµηνεία περὶ ὅταν εὑρεθῇ νεκρὸς λεγόµενος παρ’ ἡµῖν κατα χθόνιον
ἤγουν βουρκόλακος τί ὀφείλει περὶ τούτου [ποιῆσαι;]
Γινώσκετε περί τούτου ἐὰν εὑρεθῇ (ὁποῦ) πολλάκις τινὲς ἀνορύττου
σιτὸν τάφον καὶ εὐγάλουν τὸ λείψανον ἔξω καὶ συνάγουσι ξύλακαὶ καί
ουσιν αὐτὸ καὶ ποιοῦσι µεγάλην ἁµαρτίαν, καθὼς λέγει ὁ ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ
Νηστευτὴς εἰς τὸ κεφάλαιον <νβ´> τοῦ νόµου αὐτοῦ. Τῇ παρασκευῇ
ἑσπέρας ποίησαν παννυχίδα
φ.129v. ἤ γουνκόλλυβα, καὶ ψάλλουσιν ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ. Τὸ δὲ σάββατον

πρωΐ ποίησον λειτουργίαν καὶ µετὰ τὴν ἀπόλυσιν τῆς λειτουργίας ποίησον
ἁγιασµὸν καὶ ὕψω σον παναγίαν. Εἶτα ἔρχεται ὁ ἱερεὺς ὥς ἐστιν µετὰ τὴν
ἱερατικὴν στολὴν εἰς τὸ µνηµεῖον ὁποῦ᾽ (ὑ)φορᾶται τὸ κακὸν καὶ λέγει
τοὺς ἀφορκισµοὺς ἐπάνω τοῦ τάφου καὶ οὐκ ἀνοίγεις αὐτόν.
Τοῦ Κυρίου δεηθῶµεν.
φ.131v. ᾿Επιτιµᾷσοι Κύριος, διάβολε, ἔξελθε καὶ ἀναχώρη σον ἀπὸ τοῦ
λειψάνου τούτου σὺν πᾶσι τοῖς ἀγγέλοις σου ὅτι δε δόξασται τὸ
ὄνοµάσου, τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύµατος, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ
καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας.
‘Ο Θεὸς ὁ ἅγιος, ὁ φοβερὸς καὶ ἔνδοξος, ὁ ἐπὶ πᾶσι τοῖς ἔργοις καὶ τῇ
ἰσχύϊ αὑτοῦ ἀκατάληπτος
φ.132v. καὶ ἀνεξ χινίαστος ὑπάρχων (ὑπάρχεις = Lavra), αὐτὸς ὁ προ

ορίσας σοι, διάβολε, τῆς αἰωνίου κολάσεως τὴν τιµωρίαν, δι᾽ἡµῶν τῶν
ἀχρείων αὑτοῦ δούλων, κελεύεισοι καὶ πάσῃ τῇ συνεργῷ σου δυνάµειἀ
ποστῆναι ἀπὸ τοῦ λειψάνου τούτου ἐπ᾽ὀνόµατι τοῦ Κυρίου ἡµῶν Ἰησοῦ
Χριστοῦ τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ Θεοῦ ἡµῶν. ῾Ορκίζω σε οὖν, παµπόνηρον{...}
φ.133. σφοδρῷ τρίβους ἀσφαλεῖς, τὸν ἁπτό µεν οντῶν ὀρέων καὶ
καπνίζονται, τὸν ἀναβαλλόµενον τὸ φῶς ὡς ἱµάτιον, τὸν ἐκ τε ίναντατὸν
οὐρανὸν ὡσεὶ δέῤῥιν, τὸν στεγάζον τα ἐν ὓδασι τὰ ὑπερ ῷ α αὐτοῦ, τὸν
θεµελιοῦντα τὴν γῆν ἐπὶ τὴν ἀσφάλειαν αὐτῆς, οὐκ λιθήσεται εἰς τὸν
αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος, τὸ ὕδωρ τῆς θαλάσσης καὶ ἐκχέοντα αὐτὸ ἐπὶ
πρόσωπον πάσης τῆς γῆς, ἔξελθε καὶ
φ.133v. ἀναχώρησον ἀπὸ τοῦ λειψάνου τούτου. ῾Ορκίζω σε κατὰ τοῦ

σωτηριώδους πάθους –καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας.
Κύριε Σαβαώθ, ὁ Θεὸς τοῦ Ισραήλ {...} τῶν αἰώνων.
φ. 134v. Τοñ Κυρíου δεηθ±µεν.

Òűν, ∆sσποτα Κnριε, ò ποιýσας τòν aνθρωπον κατ’ εíκóνα σyν καì
òµοíωσιν καì δοnς αnτ½ cξουσíαν αíωνíου, εiτα cκ πεσóντα διà τyς
àµαρτíας µy παριδúν, aλλ’ οíκονοµýσας διà τyς cν ανθρωπýσεως τοñ
Χριστοñ σου τyν σωτηρíαν τοñ κóσµου,
φ.135 αnτòς καì το πλáσµασου τοñτο λυτρωσáµενος cκ τyς δουλεíας τοñ

cχθροñ‚ πρóσ δεξαι εíς τyν βασιλεíαν σουτyν cπουρáνιον καì σn ευζοντƒ
ψυχƒ αnτοñ aγγελον φωτεινòν qυóµενον αnτòν aπò πáσης cπιβουλyς τοñ
aντικειµsνου, aπό συναντýµατος πονηροñ, aπò δαιµονíου µεσηµβρινοñ,
aπò φαντασµáτων πονηρ±ν.
Καì ποíει σταυρòν cπáνω τοñ τáφου φυσ±ν cκ τρíτου καì cκ φúνει.
’Εξsλασον aπ᾽αnτοñ πãν πονηρòν καì aκáθαρτον πνεñµα
φ.135v.κεκρυµµsνον, καì cµφωλεñον αnτοñ τƒ καρδía, πνεñµα πλáνης,

πνεñµα πονηρíας, πνεñµα εíδωλολατρεíας καì πáσης πλεονεξíας, πνεñµα
ψεnδους καì πáσης aκαθαρσíας τyς cνεργουµsνης κατà τyν διδασκαλíαν
320 Chapter 1
τοñ διαβóλου.
Καì µνηµονεnει Eτι καì űτι cν εíρýν¿ τοñ Κυρíου δεηθ±µεν. Eτι
δεóµεθα nπcρ κοιµýσεως (καì) aνsσεως (τοñ δεiνος). ῾Ο Θεòς τ±ν
πνευµáτων καì πáσης σαρκóς.
Καì ποíει aπóλυσιν. Καì φεnγειτò κακòν καì ò τáφος οnκ aνοíγεται, εíς
δóξαν Θεοñ.>
Μ
[Περì βουρκολάκκου]:177 About the Vampires. (175)
In the Pedalion, 176 which is an annotated collection of Greek canons

(ecclesiastical rules) compiled by Nicodemus Hagioreites and Agapios
Leonardos and published in 1800 we find a subject index and an entry
which reads: «Vampires (βρικόλακες), that they do not exist and how
people who burn them ought to be punished»178.
This entry in the subject index refers the reader to a note to Canon 66
of St. Basil the Great, which prescribes ten years excommunication for
grave robbery. The Greek vampire or vrykolakas does not correspond to
the «Hollywood vampire». According to the Greek Folklore, the vampire
is the non-decomposed body of an excommunicated individual which has
been possessed by the devil and terrorizes the environs. The Greek belief
in vampires is not documented before the mid-fifteenth century. The
hierarchy of the Orthodox Church was hostile to the popular belief in
vampires and tried repeatedly to eradicate it 179. The provision of the
Pedalion on vampires is a part of this church policy against the belief in
vampires. The note to Canon 66 of St. Basil the Great states how priests
and laypersons who open graves to search for and kill so-called vampires
ought to be punished. Nicodemus denounces this practice as childish and
stupid. He states that there is no such thing as vampires and that the devil
does not have the power to raise the dead 180. He claims to have
investigated the matter carefully and has never met someone who actually
has seen a vampire but only people who have heard that other people have
seen them. He thus urges the faithful to reject this as fantasy and delusion.
But if they because of their weak faith believe that demons have
possessed a deceased person, they should get the priest to chant and
sprinkle holy water on the grave 181. However they should not open the
grave in order to chop up or burn the corpse. If they do that the bishop
should not only punish them as grave robbers but also as murderers. At the
end of the note Nicodemus recounts that it is believed (falsely in his
opinion) that people who have been killed, hanged, or died a violent death
can become vampires. He repeats in the end a condemnation of the
Bogomils who are said to believe that demons can possess corpses.
Nicodemus mentions only those who have been killed, hanged or died
a violent death as possible candidates for becoming vampires according to
popular belief. But in the earlier documented folklore it is often the corpse
of an excommunicated person which was believed to become a vampire,
as we will see below. In any case Nicodemus repeats the traditional
objection towards belief in vampires: (a) it is said to be a childish delusion
caused by a weak faith; (b) it seems to ascribes too much power to the
devil (i.e., the power to raise the dead); and (c) it results in the desecration
of graves and corpses when people try to destroy the vampire. This
treatment of vampires in the Pedalion is an interesting example of the
tension between the worldview of the educated elite and that of popular
folklore. As a concession to folklore Nicodemus offers the possibility of
having a priest chanting and sprinkling holy water at the grave of a
suspected vampire but the traditional ways of destroying vampires (i.e.,
dismembering and burning the corpse) were to be eradicated by severe
punishments.
Belief in vampires commonly called βρυκόλακας (vrykolakas), though
also referred to as καταχανάδες in Crete, persisted throughout Greek
history and became so widespread in the 18th and 19th centuries that
many practices were enforced to both prevent and combat vampirism 182.
The deceased were often exhumed from their graves after three years of
death and the remains placed in a box by relatives; wine was poured over
them while a priest would read from scriptures183. However, if the body
had not sufficiently decayed, the corpse would be labelled a vrykolakas
and dealt with appropriately184.
In Greek folklore, vampires could come about through various means,
from people who died after being excommunicated, desecrating a religious
day, committing a great crime, living a bad life, or dying alone 185. Other
supposed causes included having a cat jump across one’s grave, eating
meat from a sheep killed by a wolf, and being cursed. The vampires were
usually thought to be indistinguishable from living people, giving rise to
many folk tales with this theme. Crosses and antidoron (blessed bread)
from the church were used as wards in different places. To prevent
vampires from rising from the dead, their hearts were pierced with iron
nails while resting in their graves, or their bodies burned and the ashes
scattered. Because the Church opposed burning people who had received
the myron of chrismation in the Baptism ritual, cremation was considered
a last resort. Leo Allatios (1586-1669) dealt extensively with
contemporary Greek folklore in his treatise «De Graecorum hodie
quorundam opinationibus» (1645), «On the beliefs of some modern
Greeks»186. In particular, he wrote about the «vampires» who haunted the
322 Chapter 1
Greek islands, describing them as un-decayed dead bodies who were

believed to come out of their graves at night to terrorize and even kill
people.
Allatios himself promoted the belief that was gaining ground in the
West through the sixteenth-century, namely that Vampires were real and
were themselves the work of the devil. Just as the Inquisition in the
previous century had championed the idea that witchcraft was real and that
witches actually communed with the devil, so vampires were thought to be
actually walking around the towns and villages of Europe. They were not
the dead returned, they were bodies reanimated by the devil and his
minions. Allatius even quoted the witch-finders bible, the Malleus
Maleficarum (The Witch's Hammer), which noted the three conditions
necessary for witchcraft to exist: the devil, a witch, and the permission of
God. In like measure, Allatios asserted that for vampires to exist all that
was needed was the devil, a dead body, and the permission of God.
The tying of vampirism to the devil by Allatios and his colleagues
brought Satan into the vampire equation. Vampirism became another form
of Satanism and the vampire became the instrument of the devil in the
popular psyche. Also, his victims were tainted by evil. Like the demons,
vampires were alienated from the things of God. They could not exist in
the realms of the sacred and would flee from the effective symbols of the
true God, such as the crucifix or from holy things, such as holy water and
the Eucharistic wafer, which both Orthodox and Roman Catholics
believed to be the very body of Christ. In like measure, the offices of the
church through the priest were believed to be an effective means of
stopping the vampire. Eastern Orthodox common people always invited
the priest to participate in their anti-vampire efforts. In its attempt to
counter the superstitious beliefs in vampires, the Orthodox Church ordered
its priests not to take part to such activities, even threatening
excommunication.
Allatios does not distinguish between burculaca and tympaniaios (the
two species of vampires found in Orthodox canon law texts) and tries to
explain this phenomenon in two ways: either these corpses are animated
by the devil, or they are still inhabited, as a penance, by the sinful souls of
their former owners. Some scholars have argued that Allatios’ handling of
this matter is heavily influenced by his Catholic faith and his belief in
Purgatory. A thorough analysis of Greek folklore, travellers’ accounts and
Byzantine texts seems to demonstrate that Allatios’ views were
widespread and dated back to Byzantine times, and that they were
influenced, moreover, by the diffusion of the medieval heresy of
Bogomilism187.
The Orthodox Church denied the existence of vampires, seen as evil,

reanimated corpses, but admitted that in some cases the devil could create
fantastic visions, making a possessed corpse seem «alive» (well-fleshed,
engorged with blood...) and appear to people to scare them and lead them
into sin. However, if the people terrorized by the devil decided to burn the
corpse (as often happened), they would have committed mortal sin:
therefore the need arose to exorcise the alleged «vampires», not because
they were really reanimated corpses, but because it was feared that the
devil had taken possession of them to lead the faithful astray 188. This
explanation, among other things, is given in a different version of Chapter
710 of the Nomocanon of Malaxos189. The idea that the evil spirit lurks in
the heart has various testimonies of this belief in the modern age, from the
account of the famous French botanist Joseph Pitton deTournefort (1656 –
1708) who in 1700, on the island of Mykonos, witnessed several
exorcisms against an alleged vampire. In one case, besides performing the
rite, it was thought best to extract the heart from the corpse, believing that
the devil was hidden inside it190.
In truth the ecclesiastical authorities, faced with a real mass hysteria in
the population aroused by the appearance of an alleged vrykolakas, had to
recognize that it was probably not wise to stubbornly deny the existence of
the phenomenon, as was stated in Chapter 710 of the Nomocanon of
Malaxos. The Church began to take on a more flexible attitude and, in
fact, a different version of the particular chapter is attested in various
manuscripts. However it is to be noted that condemning and prohibiting
practices relating to divination, healing ailments through charms, casting
spells, bearing amulets or pentagrams do not appear to have exerted
considerable influence not only upon the common people, but also upon
the clerics themselves, particularly the lower ones, who, by means of
exploiting the Christian element of this hybrid system, legitimized, either
consciously or unconsciously, their participation in these practices 191. Such
inconsistencies between the official point of view of the Church and the
practice of priests, some of whom «were more than willing to take the
initiative or even benefit from practicing certain customs that were
unmistakably pagan in their origin» is substantiated by numerous
ethnographic data192.
Following a categorical introduction stating that «it is inconceivable
that a dead person could turn into a vrykolakas», the alternative text
however admits that the devil, in a bid to lead men astray, «will make
unprecedented actions to expose them to the wrath of God» 193.The text
explains that it therefore often occurs to some people at night that some
dead man whom they knew in their lifetime, comes along and talks to
324 Chapter 1
them for example, and in their sleep they see him walking in the street or
standing still and also suffocating people. «People feel upset; they hurry to
the tomb, open it and dig up the corpse. And because their faith in God is
not flawless, the devil transforms itself and enters the dead body. And
though it may have been in the tomb for some time, to these men the
corpse would still appear as if retaining flesh, blood, nails and hair. In the
presence of these manifestations, he continues, the Vrykolakas, should not
be set aflame. The priests should instead be called to invoke the Virgin
Theotokos and also do a Minor Blessing of the water. They should then
celebrate the liturgy and invoke the Blessed Virgin, imploring her aid;
they should also make a commemoration of the dead with Kollyba [sweet
boiled wheat]. Then the exorcisms and the two Baptismal exorcisms
should be recited over the corpse. The faithful present should then be
sprinkled with the holy water, but the greater part of the holy water should
be sprinkled on the corpse: by the grace of God, the devil will flee from
there»194.
φ.139rκ(αì) µετà τyν λειτουργίαν γíνεται àγιασµòς µικρòς µετà àγίων

λειψάνων cπáνω εíς το µνyµα, κ(αì) µετà τyν εnχyν τοñ àγιασµοn
διαβάζουντàς εnχàς τοñ Μεγάλου Βασιλείου,Ν εiτε τοnς cξορκισµοnς καì
őλας τàς őπισθεν γεγραµµένας εnχάς, καì ±σàν διαβαστοnν αì εnχαì
qαντíζεις τòν λαòν µετά τοñ àγιασµοñ, κ(αì) τò περίσσευµα τοñ àγιασµοñ
τò χύνεις a…{[…..]}.
Ν
[διαβάζουντàς εnχάς τοñ µεγάλου Βασιλείου εiτε τούς cξορκισµοnς καì
oλας τàς oπισθεν γεγραµµένας εnχάς,] With... the prayers of the Great
Emperor wither the exorcisms and all the previous written prayers
The Euchologion (prayer-book) of the orthodox tradition includes

different prayers of exorcism attributed to persons of great esteem and
which are used in particular situations. It also includes a prayer of
intercession to the Paraclete in favour of persons tormented by demons.
The first to be evoked are the four prayers attributed to Basil the Great
which concern persons who suffer because of the demons but which can
be used against any infirmity195.
The first prayer asks God to intervene with the power of his action to
expel the demons and give strength and the Spirit to the believer: «Ò Θεός
τ±ν θε±ν, κ(αί) Κύριος τ±ν κυρίων, ò τ±ν πύρινων ταγµάτων
δηµιουργός...». «The God of gods and the Lord of lords, the demiurge of
the fiery ranks... ».
The second prayer is a direct and strong exorcism which takes into
consideration innumerable possible forms of demonic presence and

identity: «Éξορκίζω σέ τόν aρχέκακον τyς βλασφηµίας...», «I exorcise you
the arch-evil of blasphemy... ».
The third prayer asks God to intervene with the power of his action as
the God of the heavenly lights from whom all good things come: «Ò Θεός
τ±ν οnραν±ν, ò Θεός τ±ν φώτων...». «The God of heavens, the God of
lights... ».
The last prayer asks God to command the evil and impure spirits and
demons to depart from the soul and body: «Ò Θεός ò αíώνιος, ò
λυτρωσάµενος τό γένος τ±ν aνθρώπων...» «The God the eternal, the
redeemer of the race of humans... ».
The second exorcism to be evoked are the four prayers attributed to St.
John Chrysostom which concern persons who suffer because of the
demons, but which can be used against any infirmity. Itasks for the mercy
o God to purify and free his servant: «Ò πάσιν aκαθάρτοις πνεύµασιν
cπιτιµήσας...».
The third prayer asks pray God to send down upon the person a
peaceful angel, a mighty angel, a guardian of soul and body, that will
rebuke and drive away every evil: «Éπικαλούµεθασέ, ∆έσποτα, Θεέ
Παντοκράτορ...».
The fourth prayer is a direct command to the devil to depart swiftly
from this creature of the Creator Christ our God: «Τήν θείαντέ καί àγίαν,
καί µεγάλην, καί φρικτήν, καί aστεκτον óνοµασίαν καί cπίκλησιν».
Conclusion
The exorcistic prayer contained in the late 17th/early 18th century
Xiropotamou 98 manuscript, shows that the Orthodox view of the devil
does not differ substantially from the Roman Catholic view, which was
also formulated in the patristic period, that is, before the Great Schism. In
effect both historical Churches agree that the devil is the personification of
evil; yet a more detailed exposition of Orthodox assumptions involves
more difficulties, in as much as the Orthodox Church is not headed by a
leader whose pronouncements on issues of defining doctrine are held to be
infallible and final. For this and other reasons, it may be misleading to
speak of Orthodox dogma regarding the devil, since its thinking on this
matter is continually interpreted and re-presented rather than fixed and
formalized in a code of unalterable pronouncements. In regard to the devil,
the Orthodox Church has remained flexible and has constantly assimilated
new representations so long as they did not contradict basic principles.
This attitude makes it all the more difficult to draw rigid distinctions
326 Chapter 1
between local beliefs and official Orthodoxy, and must be borne in mind
when examining the devil in Orthodox tradition.
The demons continue to share many characteristics with the fallen
angels. Satan is their leader. They are immaterial, sexless, formless; do not
die and they may reside in the air, on the earth, or beneath the earth – but
their main point of contact, or point of entry, from the metaphysical world
into this physical reality is the human psyche. The human mind is the
door, the key region of flux between the two worlds, spiritual and
physical. And it is precisely here that the demons mount their attack. In
order to carry out their machinations the demons are able to transform
themselves and assume any gender or shape they please. As the angels
form the army of God, demons may be ranked on the model of an army
under Satan.
The Orthodox Church has always unambiguously considered the devil
inferior and subordinate to God. God created Satan and the other angelic
powers through his Son, the eternal Word (Col 1:16). The powers who fell
into darkness did so of their own free will. They cannot see the good, but
they fear God’s justice, and so they continue to sow rebellion through
human agents. They would utter every kind of blasphemy against God,
and aim to destroy humanity; but they are under God’s law and can only
«destroy» in so far as God permits for the testing and ultimate good of
mankind. The power of God is absolute, but Satan is allowed to operate
under divine constraints. While God is love and goodness beyond our
imagining, the rebellious devil is the author of evil, who not only hates
God, but arouses an indescribable sense of horror and rage in humans.
This is because the mental capacity of the mortal mind is insufficient to
understand the manifold variations of Satan’s malice, the rage of his
Satan’s poisonous fury, and the insanity of his delight in inflicting pain.
Suffering and death, the weapons of Satan, are a result of the curses
mankind puts on itself by rebelling from God. But through these very
same weapons Jesus conquered the ancient serpent by accepting to suffer
and die in love – showing that God’s love is infinitely greater than all the
power of the enemy. The Orthodox moral world emerges as an arena in
which good struggles against evil and the battleground is in every human
heart, where the kingdom of heaven battles against the kingdom of this
world dominated by darkness.
While the topic is broad Orthodox tradition concerning the devil does
observe certain doctrinal essentials. One who has accepted Christ should
properly disdain demons as vain and ineffectual. Though the devil has
already been vanquished by the cross of Christ, even as a defeated foe, can
still do a lot of harm if one does not fight, «Submit yourselves therefore to
God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you» (Jas 4:7). By embracing
evil and refusing to resist temptation offered by the devil, the human can
wound himself, and destroy his own soul. But by turning to God and
asking for mercy, God’s miraculous grace can begin to restore human life
that chooses to walk down the path of penitence. Penance is the «narrow
way», the only way that leads to eternal life «for the gate is wide and the
way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many»
(cf. Mt 7:13). But Jesus builds virtue and love of God in the truly
repentant soul to a greater degree than if sin had never happened (Lk 7:40-
50). In this way the devil and his angels serve the purposes of God on
earth training his elect to reject all evil in all its seductive forms. These
tests purify the heart that chooses the good for God’s sake and rejects evil
in all humility; the soul and faith are purified just like gold is purified in
the fire (1 Pt 1:7).
The Church, Christ’s mission on earth, maintains the protection of the
body of Christ through a large, overarching framework of sacraments and
rites; through the rite of exorcism the priest seeks to bring the deliverance
that Christ achieved on the cross to the afflicted. Deliverance is
accomplished through prayer and on-going ministry to those who, after
Baptism, are liable to struggle with bondage to sin, the influence of
demons, sinful drives, or the effects of overwhelming psychological and/or
spiritual trauma. Participation in exorcism should be combined with the
renewed will and desire of the victim to stand on the spiritual ground that
Jesus won for their salvation. And thus exorcism can help a soul come
fully into the light of Christ, with greater wellness and confidence, having
rejected the devil and his poisonous weapons of self-pity and deceit.
Notes
1
Cf. Gn 1: 3; 9; 11; 14; etc. Ps 33: 6 (32: 6 LXX): «By the word (λóγ±) of the
LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host». This
creative word is referred to as λόγος in the LXX, and dabar in the Masoretic text
which reads: a›gu›uırı anıy-Ns t›g utuıt turl (for the creative power of God’s
speech cf. also Ps 148: 5; Jb. 33: 4; Jn 1: 1-5; Heb 11: 3).
2
For the sake of clarity I am using the word «liturgical exorcisms» to distinguish
them from «secular exorcisms». This work is about liturgical exorcisms.
3
A. SCHMEMAN, Of Water and Spirit, 24. Father Alexander writes that the
meaning of the exorcisms is to face evil, to acknowledge its reality, to know its
power, and to proclaim the power of God to destroy it. The exorcisms announce
the forthcoming Baptism as an act of victory.
4
C. f., e. g. Jb 5: 9; Ps 107; Rom 11: 33; Eph 3: 18.
5
Elsewhere Paul exorcises demons in Jesus’ name as he did in Acts 16: 18, when
328 Chapter 1
he commands a spirit to leave a little possessed girl. Healings are performed in

Jesus name by Paul and the apostles, e. g. Acts 3: 6; 5: 12; 9: 34; 14: 3; 14: 9-10,
19: 11-12; Gal 3: 5; Rom 15: 19; 2 Cor 12: 12; etc. and also by the other Christian
communities in general Heb 2: 4; Gal 3: 5 as a signs confirming apostolic teaching
that Jesus is truly the Messiah risen from the dead.
6
Cf. Acts 3: 12, Peter admits that miracles and healings are not achieved by human
«power or piety» but by God’s power that flows through faith in Jesus’ name (3:
16). The message in Acts 19 is that God’s power is exorcistic, and it is flowing
through Paul’s ministry leading to a kind of mass liberation for the people in this
heavily pagan society. Luke thus uses Ephesus as a prime example of the victory
of Christ, the city is leaving the chains of oppression under evil spirits and freely
coming to joyful communion within the Christian community, though not without
some controversy and opposition from those who profited from the pagan culture
(Acts 19: 23 ff.).
7
See also Heb 2: 4; Gal 3: 5; Acts 5: 12; 14: 3.
8
Cf. Gal 3: 5; Acts 14: 3-10, 19: 11-12; Rom 15: 19; 1 Cor 1: 4-5; 2 Cor 10: 4, 12:
12, 13: 3.
9
Cf. that man is saved by faith cf. Rom 10: 9; 6: 4,22; cf. also Jn 3: 36; 20: 31; Col
2: 12; 1 Pt 3: 21; Eph 2; Tit 3: 4-7; 1 Jn 5: 13 for faith, baptism, and regeneration
unto eternal life.
10
Concerning his exorcisms, Jesus says in Mt 12: 28. «But if it is by the Spirit of
God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you».
11
Poem in Greek is ποίησις - meaning a ‘making’. See Γ. Ν. ΦΙΛΙΑΣ, Οι
εξορκισµοί ως θεραπευτική λειτουργική δραστηριότητα.
12
Cf. Christ victory over evil on the cross gives man access to God, Heb 10: 19-20:
«We have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new
and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh».
Cf. Jn 4: 4
«Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, [for Spirit of God]
who is in you is greater than he who is in the world». Thus John explains that the
power that Christ possessed over the internalization of demonic influence is
conferred to those who believe (cf. 1 Jn. 5: 18-19).
13
J. L. ΑUSTIN, How to do things with words. According. to Austin a number of
conditions must be met for a perfomative utterance to succeed. Failure to fulfill
any one of these conditions may void the effect of the utterance. Γ. Θ. ΒΕΡΓΩΤH,
Λεξικò Λειτουργικuν καì τελετουργικuν oρων, 54. [N cξω χριστια νικy űννοια τοñ
őρου δηλώ νειτy «δέσµευσηκάποιουµc őρκο»] Also. Θ. ΧΡΙΣΤΟ∆ΟΥΛΟΥ,
Éξορκισµοί, sξορκιστsς καì βασκανία, 11.
14
Infants in Greece are not baptized immediately after birth. This is surprising
given the importance of Baptism in establishing the child’s chances for salvation,
not to mention simple membership in the Christian community. It is the
godparent’s prerogative to select a name for the child. Baptismal names are sacred
and for the most part shared in common with a saint of holy figure of the Orthodox
tradition. At Baptism only a personal name is bestowed and this name, never the
family name, will be used in church to refer to the individual. The Christian name
allows the child to be recorded in the book of Life. Interestingly, in Greece
generally unbaptized children are not addressed by their eventual name. They are
usually called simply µωρό (baby), a neuter noun or else βεβs in the case of boys
and βεβá in the case of girls. In the case of the first example, the name represent
that the new-born child as barley incorporated into humanity. In the second
instance, the foreign provenance of the term perhaps underscores the conviction
that the child does not yet belong to the Greek Orthodox community.
15
The ceremony of Baptism has been unchanged for hundreds of years, certainly
since the 1647 edition of the J. GOAR, Euchologion sive Rituale Graecorum.
There is a long and stable tradition at least in Greece, which reflects the church’s
success in conserving its rituals and theological positions. It is no surprise,
therefore, to find a standardized text (Ακολουθία του αγίου βαπτίσµατος) for the
Baptismal rite containing instructions to the priest for carrying out this rite.
16
As Cyprian puts it «When such people (catechumens) come forward to receive
the waters of salvation and the sanctification of Baptism, we ought to be convinced
and firmly believe that the devil is there overpowered and that through God’s
mercy the man now dedicated to him is set free». Epistulae IXIX, 15
17
According to local folklore, on the island of Crete these ‘half baptized’ people
become vampires called «katakhanades» while in Tinos they are called as «the
poorly baptized ones». See A. ΦΛΩΡΑΚΗΣ, Τήνος: Λαϊκόςπολιτισµός, 235; Γ.
ΚΑΛΑΙΣΑΚΗ, «Κρητικαί προλήψεις» τεύχη 1, 2, 5 (#233-236, 241-2);
«Exorcism, Exorcist», in A new Dictionary of Liturgy. 230; H. LECLERQ,
«Exorcisme, exorciste», 970.
18
See also the article written by P. MYLONAS – G. KOUKAS «Mαγsια και
ζóρκιας την Ελλáδα» [access: 14. 05. 2014]
www.etypos. com/content/entheta_pdf/9magic. pdf/.
19
Μ. ΠΑΠΑΘΩΜΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ – Μ. ΒΑΡΒΟΥΝΗΣ, Εξορκισµοί του Ιεροµόναχου
Βενέδικτου Τζανκαρόλου .
20
See for example the Testament of Solomon where the devil refuses to give its
name. nos 46. «But I said to him: ‘Tell me his name’. But he answered. ‘I cannot
tell thee. For if I tell his name, I render myself incurable. But he will come in
response to his name’». Also: O. BAUERNFEIND, Die Worte der Dämonen im
Markus evangelium, 36-37; A. JIRKU, Die Dämonen und ihre Abwehr im alten
Testament, 25; A. DELATTE, Anecdota Atheniensia 1, 36); E. VOUTRIAS,
«Euphemistic names for the prayers of the nether world»,73-82.
21
XIROPOTAMOU 98, φ. 134.
22
See D. F. MOKE, Eroticism in the Greek magical papyri. Here the author makes
a close connection between names and persons as well as Jewish elements and
numbers. See also E. PACHOUMI, The Erotic and Separation Spells of the
Magical Papyri and Defixiones. F. GRAF, Magic in the Ancient world, 120-121
differentiates between: 1) defixiones iudicariae (judicial spells) in which one
attempts to do harm to one’s adversaries at a trial. Although these spells most often
come from Athens and from the fifth and fourth centuries B. C., there are examples
in all eras and from all regions; 2) defixiones amatoriae (erotic spells and curse
tablets), which have the aim of causing reciprocal and wild love in a beloved
person; 3) defixiones agonisticae (agonistic spells) in the context of the
330 Chapter 1
amphitheater or other spectacles and which are especially well attested to in the
imperial era; defixiones against slanderers and thieves; 4) defixiones against
economic competitors, attested to from the fourth century B. C. up to the imperial
era (in magic papyri).
23
Φ. Ι. ΓΙΩΡΓΟΣ, Η µαγεία εντός των τειχών, 71.
24
XIROPOTAMOU 98, φ. 133.
25
XIROPOTAMOU 98, φ. 133b.
26
L. DELATTE, Anecdota Atheniensia,φ. 7v, 30 «Εí δs εíσικωφοì καì οn
λαλοnντες»; F. PRADEL, Griechische und süditalienische Gebete, 11.
27
D. JORDAN in Magic and ritual in the ancient world, 25 demonstrates the
replication, albeit with permutations, of six basic categories of demons in a
succession of extraordinary texts which includes a third-century B. C. papyrus
exorcism, an excerpt from pseudo-psellos and an exorcism attributed (probably)
wrongly to St. Ephrem the Syrian.
28
L. DELATTE, Anecdota Atheniensia,φ. 68v, 70. The presence of exorcisms in
early medieval liturgical manuscripts (early Medieval Europe) is normally taken to
reflect the church’s ongoing response to lively, vibrant traditions of possession-like
behavior in early medieval Europe. The textual transmission and manuscript
context of liturgical exorcisms paint a different picture, however. The vital,
elaborate exorcisms of the earliest tradition (the Old Gelasian Sacramentary,
especially as preserved in the Paris Supplement of the Vatican Sacramentary)
quickly give way to procedural exorcisms in the 8th Century Gelasian
Sacramentary and the subsequent Gregorian Sacramentaries. The exorcisms
become demonstrably fragmented and adapted to cover a wider range of
procedural uses (mostly pre-Baptismal exorcisms). Exorcisms shift in rubric, also:
the Medelam tuam deprecor prayer appears as a solemn exorcism in the Leofric
Missal, for instance, but is prescribed instead more generally for a sick person in
the 11th century sacramentary Missal of Robert of Jumieges and in the Cambridge
Corpus Christi College 163, 422 (ab hac vexatione becomes instead ab hac
valitudinis; references to demons and the devil are omitted). In some cases these
shifts imply a diversity of local ecclesiastical needs, a diversity which could lead to
creative, dynamic responses on the part of early medieval liturgists to the received
body of church prayers and practices. Often, however, the rubrics imply increasing
use of exorcisms not for possessed persons, but for inclusion in more routine
liturgical roles: preparation of the materials for mass, and preparation of the
catechumen for Baptism. There is a generic gap, then, between the lively and
widespread role of exorcism as it is portrayed in the dramatic saints’ lives, and the
much more mundane role implied for it in the liturgical tradition itself. I will show
how this trend develops and what its applications are most specifically to Anglo-
Saxon England, where demon possession may have been a much rarer
phenomenon than is commonly presumed.
29
L. DELATTE, Anecdota Atheniensia, φ. 98v-102, 89-93.
30
L. DELATTE, Anecdota Atheniensia, φ. 40v «Éξορκíζω nµãς διà τ±ν àγíων
óνοµá των τοñ παντοδθνáµου Θεοñ οiον Μεσσíου, Σωτyρος, Éµµανουýλ, Σαβαúθ,
Áδωναi, µονογενοñς, òδοñ, ζωyς,aληθεíας, òµοουσíου, aρχyς, πρωτοτóκου,
σοφíας, πηγyς, qíζης, παρακλýτου, µεσíτου, aρνíου, προβáτου, aλφακαì±,
aρχyςκαìτsλους, őφεως, κριοñ, λsοντος, σκúληκος, λóγου, λαµπρóτητος, φωτóς,

εíκóνος, δóξης, yλíου, aρτου, aνθους, κλýµατος, őρους, θnρας, γyς,
λíθουaκρογωνιαíου, νυµφíου, ποιµsνος, προφýτου, ìερsως, aθανáτου, íσχυροñ,
πáνταθsοντος, cλsους, aετοñ, Τετραγραµµáτου, Κυρíου Íησοñ Χριστοñ, διà
τοnτων τ±ν àγíων óνοµáτων cξορκιζω nµãς».
31
M. DETIENNE, Demoni, 559-571.
32
Cf. Mt 28: 19, where in Jesus words one single name is shared by the three
persons:
«Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit». Notice Jesus did not say names.
33
Μ. ΠΑΠΑΘΩΜΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ – Μ. ΒΑΡΒΟΥΝΗΣ, Εξορκισµοίτου Ιεροµόναχου
Βενέδικτου Τζανκαρόλου 100, note 4. The term exotikà here will refer to the
«demons» or «demonic beings». The term «Demon» (the root meaning of the
θεíας, Greek word «daimon» is «knowing» or «intelligence») refers to beings in
the pagan myths. The term «devil» (which means «slanderer») on the other hand
expresses very clearly a developed doctrinal orthodox conception of evil. It’s for
this reason that one only hears about demonic possession, but never of devilish
possession. Men may cast out demons, and rebuke them in the name of God, but
devils are stronger and older, more powerful than anything but beings of an equal,
divine weight class. It’s for these reasons that while demons might possess people,
the devil always shows up in person. Thus the literal meaning of the word exotikà
is «things outside or beyond». It offers us a way of navigating between the fine line
of the sacred (doctrinal) and the magical (local level) within a morally structured
cosmos as is the one found in many villages in Greece. In his Preface (xvi) to his
book The Demons and the devil, Charles Stewart comments that «whatever view
one may take of these being does not change the fact that exotica is an indigenous
category in Greek culture and has been so since the Middle Ages at the very least».
See also E. PACHOUMI, The Erotic and Separation Spells, 53 (2013) 294-325.
This article, an inventory of extant erotic and separation spells, calls into question
the view that the practitioners were always male and that the female victims were
sexual innocents sought for marriage. See also P. MIRECKI – M. MEYER,
Ancient magic and ritual power; A. APOSTOLIDES – Y. DREYER, «The Greek
evil eye», 64 (2008) 1021-1042.
34
Cf. part 1, ch. 1, 1. 3; Rv 12: 9. The Masoretic text of Ezekiel 28: 13-19
identifies this angelic being itself as the victim of the fall, v. 14: «You were an
anointed guardian cherub. I placed you, you were on the holy mountain of God»,
but the LXX opens the way for another interpretation, v. 14 LXX: «With the
guardian cherub I put you on the holy mountain of God» (µετà τοñ χερουβ
űθηκáσε cν őρει àγí± θεοñ, emphasis mine) as if he were speaking of Adam
accompanied by the angel. Also v. 16b reads in the Masoretic: «You sinned, so I
cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O
guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire» compare the LXX
«You sinned. You were wounded from the mountain of God, and the guardian
cherub led you out from the midst of the stones of fire» (καì yγαγsν σε τò χερουβ
cκ µsσου λíθων πυρíνων). It seems therefore that the LXX slightly tweaks the
translation to conform it to the story of Adam’s fall, to which the angel is merely
332 Chapter 1
witness. The fall of one of the cherubim, however, is what we find it in the original
Hebrew text.
35
The title for the devil as «the ruler of this age» is often used by St Ignatius of
Antioch d. 107 A. D. (replacing the Johannine «this world» with «this age»,
perhaps a Pauline influence), which is which is somewhat strong evidence that
Ignatius was familiar with John’s Gospel, cf. Jn 12: 31; 14: 30; 16: 11. Cf. 1 Jn 5:
19 the whole world is in the power of the Evil One; 2 Cor 4: 4 ò θεòς του αí±νος
τοnτου, «the god of this age». On the rule of Satan in the New Testament see H.
KRUSE, Das Reich Satans, 29-61.
36
See also Mt 12: 24; Mk 3: 22; Lk 11: 15. On the names of demons in extra-
canonical apocalyptic literature to A. D. 100, see G. A. BARTON, The Origin of
the Names, 156-167.
37
GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS Οr 11 4c837.
38
On the origin and development of the standard orthodox hierarchy see B. R UBIN,
Der Fürst der Dämonen, 469-481.
39
JDamOrth 2. 4.
40
BasAitKak 9 c352a-b:
41
PALAM Hom 33, 188.
42
R. GREENFIELD, Tradition of Belief, 20. George (Gennadius) Scholares was a
theologian and first patriarch of Constantinople during the Turkish occupation
(1454-1456, 1463, 1464-1465). At first, he supported the union of the Churches
and participated in the Synod of Florence (1439), but later he became a fervent
opponent of the union. He mastered Latin language and respected Latin culture,
especially Thomas Aquinas. He was a great supporter of Aristotle.
43
Mt 12; 45 and Lk 11: 26 refer to the demon returning to a formerly possessed
man with seven worse spirits while Mk 16: 9 and Lk 8: 2 refer to Mary Magdalene
having had seven demons. Αlso the Church’s monastic tradition sees as one of the
most dangerous enemies of the spiritual life what the psalmist calls «the noonday
devil» (Ps 91: 6). The monks took this phrase as an apt description of the lethargy
or fatigue they battled at about midday.
44
Examples of the division of demons in general may be found in eg. Origen, Phil
17. 1, 91; 20. 20, 145.
45
Cf. Jb 26: 6; 28: 22; Prv 15: 11 Abbadon is mentioned along with Sheol.
46
Cf. Wormwood 8: 10-11 and Abaddon 9: 1,11 are called individual «stars» that
fall from heaven. But John sees Satan as the dragon who has «swept down a third
of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth», Rv 12: 3-4, showing his
superiority over other stars, i. e. angels, cf. Jb 38: 7. Satan is the principle spirit of
evil who leads «his angels» against the archangel Michael’s angels who defeat the
dragon and cast his impious horde out of heaven, 12: 7-9. Rv 13: 1-18 shows how
the devil comes to dominate the earth through his beasts, he deceives the world to
make war on the blessed city of God’s people, and is finally thrown into the lake of
fire to be tormented forever, 20: 7-10.
47
GOAR 579; ZER 17; ROM 359; PAP 108.
48
GOAR 582; ZER 153; ROM 364; PAP 112; POR 134 with slight differences. It
is interesting to note that St. Basil refers to the evil spirit by 63 different epithets
and names which are descriptive of evil affliction, such as «deceiver», to name
one. Basil even mentions exorcism prayers for insects which inflict damage upon
vineyards, fields, etc. Characteristic of exorcism prayers of St. Chrysostom is the
mention of the works, passion and Resurrection of Christ, one by one, throughout
the prayers, with the specific phrase, «Jesus Christ rebukes you, O Demon. . . »,
repeated extensively throughout his prayers. Some of these exorcism prayers are
lengthy, while others are short. There is also a prayer for the banishment of the
«evil eye».
49
In modern Greek folklore, the term «nereid» (νεράϊδα, neráïda) has come to be
used of all nymphs, or fairies, or mermaids, not merely nymphs of the sea. Nereids
are particularly associated with the Aegean Sea, where they dwelt with their father
in the depths within a silvery cave. The Nereids were fifty Haliad Nymphs or
goddesses of the sea. They were the patrons of sailors and fishermen, who came to
the aid of men in distress, and goddesses who had in their care the sea’s rich
bounty. Individually they also represented various facets of the sea, from salty
brine, to foam, sand, rocky shores, waves and currents, in addition to the various
skills possessed by seamen. The Nereid Thetis was their unofficial leader, and
Amphitrite was the queen of the sea. Together with the Tritones they formed the
retinue of Poseidon.
50
A. STRITTMATTER, «Ein griechisches Exorzismusbuchlein», 26 (1932) 129.
Strittmatter re-discovered the unedited Ms. Car, C 143 manuscript which was
listed in the catalogue published by Henri Omont under the title of «11 th century
prayers for those who suffer from impure spirits –who are under the influence of
evil» and which has the following contents: 12 foglios 17 x 124 mm, made of hard
paper. f. 1,1-2r,3 (GOAR,716); f. 2r, 4-2r, 21(GOAR,733); f. 2r, 22-2v, 11 This
seems to be unedited. No manuscript reports this: f. 2v, 12 -2v, 26 (GOAR,733); f.
5r, 1-5r, 13 (GOAR, 737); f. 5r,
14 -5v, 9= this is unedited and no manuscript reports this; f. 5v, 10-20r, 26
(GOAR,734); f. 10v, 1-3v, 22; (GOAR, 729); f. 3v, 23-11r, 29 in Cryptensis Γ. β.
VI (s. XIII-XIV); f. 11v, 1 - 12v, 19 in Cryptensis B. a. XXIII – T. SCHERMANN, OC 4
(1904) 151-163. See appendix for the text.
51
52
GOAR 582; ZER 153; ROM 364; PAP 112; POR 134
53
54
Μ. ΠΑΠΑΘΩΜΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ–Μ. ΒΑΡΒΟΥΝΗΣ, Εξορκισµοί του ιεροµόναχου
Βενέδικτου, 106 note19,20, 41.
55
Baptismal rite.
56
GOAR 579; ZER 17; ROM 359; PAP 108.
57
Μ. ΠΑΠΑΘΩΜΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ– Μ. ΒΑΡΒΟΥΝΗΣ, Εξορκισµοί του ιεροµόναχου
Βενέδικτου,119-120, note 51.
58
See L. DELATTE, Un οffice byzantin d’exorcisme, 32ff.
59
See Appendix.
60
Personal communication. Interview with an orthodox priest in April 2013,
Mount Athos.
61
This refers to the piece of coal used in an incense burner.
62
Thus when speaking to his pagan audience in Corinth in 1 Cor 8: 5-6, Paul
distinguishes the many so-called theoi and kurioi of heaven and earth, from the one
334 Chapter 1
God from (cξ) whom the universe came into existence through (διà) the one Lord
Jesus Christ.
63
There exists a great collection of ancient magic-related materials, a compilation
from classical and even a few early Christian sources with introductions, for
example G. LUCK’s Arcana Mundi. This book, among others, is eye-opening. The
ancients were right about a whole lot more than we «sensible» moderns often
think, and strange things happened then, just as they happen now, but weren’t
ignored. Among other interesting aspects we find these following Corsican and
Calabrese folklore dialect formula for evil eye:
«Due occhi ti docchiaru/Tri ti sanaru/ Lu Patriu, lu Figghiu, lu Spiritu Santu/Lu
mali mi va a mari/Lu boni mi venicca`/Per la Santissima Trinita`/Lu Signuri, dillu
celu calau/‘na parma d’oliva all artaru posau/Cu li so mani benediciu/Docchiatura
e cornatura/Fori ogni mali la tu persona» which is translated as «Two eyes have
struck you/Three will cure you/The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit/The evil
go to the sea/The beneficial come here/In the name of the Holy Trinity/Our Lord
who has descended from heaven/Has placed an olive palm on the altar/Blessed
with His hands/(?)Befallen by eyes and by horn».
Another one says:
«A nome della Santissima Trinita`/Di Santu Lune. . . di Santo Sabato e/Mattina di
Pasqua, ogni mali/Interra mi casca» which is translated as «In the name of the
Holy Trinity/Holy Moon, Holy Mars, Holy Mercury, Holy Jupiter, Holy Venus,
Holy Sabbath, and Easter Morning, all evils the world go/Away from me». (The
names may also be translated as the days of the week.)
We find also the Calabrese «fushinate», a prayer recited while rubbing the
forehead of someone with a headache. The words of the prayer can only be
revealed on Christmas day, and the one who passes them on loses his or her
healing power. Calabrian spirits are also called «munaceddi» (little monks) −
moderately harmful evil forces who engage in simple mischief such as petty thefts
and deceptions. See also the book by D. CARRINGTON, The Dream-Hunters of
Corsica.
64
BASIL THE GREAT, Homily on envy, PG XXXI, 380bc.
65
BASIL THE GREAT, Homily on envy, PG XXXI, 380bc.
66
W. L. MOSS – S. C. CAPPANNARI, Mal’occhio, 2. See also M. H. HARDIE,
The evil eye in some greek villages.
67
R. DIONISOPOULOS – MASS, The evil eye and bewitchment in a peasant
village, 51.
68
G. C. PAPADEMETRIOU, Exorcism and the Greek Orthodox Church.
69
This is a term used for the ritual healing of the evil eye affliction. It entails holy
spells accompanied by symbolic acts. It is a common form of expression to denote
both the attack and the ritual healing of the evil eye. It is a system of relations
where the two processes form a unity, given that the first necessarily entails the
second and the latter in turn ritually completes the first.
70
«Ευχή επί βασκανίαν. Του Κυρίου δεηθώµεν. Κύριε ο Θεός ηµών, ο Βασιλεύς
των αιώνων, ο παντοκράτωρ και παντοδύναµος, ο ποιών πάντα και µετασκευάζων
µόνω τω βούλεσθαι, ο την επταπλάσιον κάµινον και τη φλόγα την εν Βαβυλώνι
εις δρόσον µεταβαλών και τους αγίους σου τρεις Παίδας σώους διαφυλάξας, ο
ιατρός και θεραπευτής των ψυχών ηµών, η ασφάλεια των εις σε ελπιζόντων, σου
δεόµεθα και σε παρακαλούµεν, απόστησον, φυγάδευσον και απέλασον πάσαν
διαβολική ενέργειαν, πάσαν σατανικήν έφοδον και πάσαν επιβουλήν, περιέργειάν
τε πονηρά και βλάβη των οφθαλµών βασκανίαν των κακοποιών και πονηρών
ανθρώπων υπό του δούλου σου […], και ή υπό ωραιότητος ή ανδρείας ή ευτυχίας
ή ζήλου και φθόνου ή βασκανίας συνέβη, αυτός, φιλάνθρωπε ∆έσποτα, έκτεινον
την κραταιάν σου χείρα και τον βραχιονά σου τον ισχυρόν και ύψιστον, και
επισκοπών επισκόπησον το πλάσµα σου τούτο, και κατάπεµψον αυτώ Άγγελον
ειρηνικόν, κραταιόν, ψυχής και σώµατος φύλακα, ος επιτιµήσει και απελάσει
απ’αυτού πάσαν πονηράν βουλήν, πάσαν φαρµακείαν και βασκανίαν των
φθοροποιών και πονηρών ανθρώπων, ίνα υπό σου ο σος ικέτης φρουρούµενος,
µετ’ ευχαριστίας ψάλλη σοι «Κύριος εµοί βοηθός, και ου φοβηθήσοµαι τι ποιήσει
µοι άνθρωπος» και πάλιν «ου φοβηθήσοµαι κακά, ότι σοι µετ’ εµού ει, ότι συ ει ο
Θεός, κραταίωµά µου, ισχυρός εξουσιαστής, άρχων ειρήνης, πατήρ του µέλλοντος
αιώνος». Ναι, Κύριε ο Θεός ηµών, φείσαι του πλάσµατός σου, και σώσον τον
δούλο σου από πάσης βλάβης και επήρειας της εκ βασκανίας γινοµένης, και
ανώτερον αυτόν παντός κακού διαφύλαξον, πρεσβείαις της υπερευλογηµένης,
ενδόξου ∆εσποινής ηµών Θεοτόκου και αειπαρθένου Μαρίας, των φωτοειδών
Αρχαγγέλων, και παντών σου των Αγίων. Αµήν». PAP: 517. [O Lord Our God, the
King of the ages, almighty and all powerful, who create and alter all things by your
will alone; who changed into dew the flames of the furnace in Babylon that had
been heated seven times more than usual, and preserved in safety your three holy
youths; the physican and healer of our souls; the security of those who hope in
you; we pray you and beseech you: Remove, drive away and banish every
diabolical activity, every satanic attack and every plot, evil curiousity and injury,
and the evil eye of mischievous and wicked men from your servant (Name); and
whether it was brought about by beauty, or bravery, or happiness, or jealousy and
envy, or evil eye, do you yourself, O Lord who love mankind, stretch out your
mighty hand and your powerful and lofty arm, look down on this your creature and
watch over him(her), and send him(her) an angel of peace, a mighty guardian of
soul and body, who will rebuke and banish from him (her) every wicked intention,
every spell and evil eye of destructive and envious men; so that, guarded by your,
your supplicant may sing to you with thanksgiving: The Lord is my helper, and I
shall not be afraid; what can man do to me? And again: I shall fear no evil because
you are with me.
For you are God my strength, the powerful ruler, the Prince of Peace, the Father of
the age to come. Yes, Lord, our God, spare your creature and save your servant
(Name) from every injury and brought about by the evil eye, and keep him (her)
safe above every ill. For you are our King and all things are possible to Thee, O
Lord. Therefore, we ascribe glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy
Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen]
71
M. HARDIE, The Evil eye in some Greek villages, 107-123.
72
G. C. PAPADEMETRIOU, Exorcism and the Greek Orthodox Church, 49-51.
73
There exists a great collection of ancient magic-related materials in culture, a
compilation from classical and even a few early Christian sources with
introductions, for example G. LUCK’s Arcana Mundi. This book, among others, is
336 Chapter 1
eye-opening. The ancients were wrong about a lot of things, but they were right
about a whole lot more than we «sensible» moderns often think, and strange things
happened then, just as they happen now, but weren’t ignored.
74
The Secret Book of John (The Apocryphon of John) which is considered by
scholars to be the locus classicus for the Gnostic mythological system.
75
The text continues: «Bissoum, the left ear; Akioreim, the nose; Banenrphroum,
the lips; Amen, the front teeth; Ibikan, the molars; Basiliademe, the tonsils;
Achcha, the uvula; Adaban, the neck; Chaaman, the neckbones; Dearcho, the
throat; Tebar, the shoulder; Mniarcon, the elbow; Abitrion, the right arm;
Evanthen, the left arm; Krys, the right hand; Beluai, the left hand; Treneu, the
fingers of the right hand; Balbel, the fingers of the left hand; Kriman, fingernails;
Astrops, the right breast; Barroph, the left breast; Baoum, the right shoulder joint;
Ararim, the left shoulder joint; Areche, the belly; Phthave, the navel; Senaphim,
the abdomen; Arachethopi, the right ribs; Zabedo, the left ribs; Barias, the right
hip; Phnouth the left hip; Abenlenarchei, the marrow; Chnoumeninorin, the
skeleton; Gesole, the stomach; Agromauna, the heart; Bano, the lungs; Sostrapal,
the liver; Anesimalar, the spleen; Thopithro, the intestines; Biblo, the kidneys;
Roeror, the sinews; Taphreo, the spine; Ipouspoboba, the veins; Bineborin, the
arteries; Atoimenpsephei, respiration; Entholleia, the flesh; Bedouk, the right
buttock; Arabeei, the penis; Eilo, the testicles; Sorma, the genitals;
Gormakaiochlabar, the right thigh; Nebrith, the left thigh; Pserem, the kidneys of
the right leg; Asaklas, the left kidney; Ormaoth, the right leg; Emenun, the left leg;
Knyx, the right shin; Tupelon, the left shin; Achiel, the right knee; Phnene, the left
knee; Phiouthrom, the right foot; Boabel, its toes; Trachoun, the left foot; Phikna,
its toes; Miamai, the toenails». M. WALDSTEIN – F. WISSE, The Apocryphon of
John. Section 14,15-20, 5.
76
The mentioning of the anatomical parts of the body shows us the kind of
progress in medicine society had obtained at that time. See Μ.
ΠΑΠΑΘΩΜΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ– Μ. ΒΑΡΒΟΥΝΗΣ, Εξορκισµοί του Ιεροµόναχου
Βενέδικτου Τζανκαρόλου,108, note 28.
77
I. ΠΑΠΑΘΩΜΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ – Μ. ΒΑΡΒΟΥΝΗΣ, Εξορκισµοί του Ιεροµόναχου
Βενέδικτου Τζανκαρόλου,51, f. 28v - 29.
78
A. STRITTMATTER, «Ein griechisches Exorzismusbuchlein Ms. Car. C 143 b
der Zentralbibliothek in Zurich», 134. The whole text is reproduced in the
Appendix.
79
The Athonite manuscript of Filoteou φφ. 44 -44 v. cν τοiς τsσσαρι στοιχεíος,
αiµατι, χολƒ, φλsγµατι καì µελαíνη χολƒ οűτε cω ταiς σαρξì καì óστsοις οñτε cν
τοiς µυελοiς καì νεnροις, φλsβαιςκαìaρτηρíαις, ποσí, νεφροiς, nπογαστρíοις,
πλευροiς, νúτοις, űµοις, βραχíοσιν, óνυχíοις, καρδía, σπλýνa, yπατι, κοιλía,
στοµáχ±, σπλáγχνοις, βρóγχ±, πρωκτ½, σκsλει, aστραγáλοις, σφυροiς, κοτñλοις,
γλοθτοiς, íεροiς, óστsοις, ρáχ¿, αíδοíοις, yβ¿, óµφαλ‡, στsρνοις, θúρακι, aγκ±νι,
πýχει, αnχsνι, φáρυγγι, ειλαµισι, κλειδíοις, ±µοπλáταις, σπονδnλω, τραχýλ±,
τsρθρ±, παρωτíσι, µýνιγγι, εíλαµíσι, µυελοiς, προµετωπιδí±, στολíσι, aµαρυγαiς,
προσúπω, γλúττη, χεíλεσι, παρειαíς, óδοnσιν, óφταλµοiς, κóραις, πúγωνι, ±σí,
στóµατι, ρινí, µυκτýρι, óφρnσι, cγκεφáλ±, κορθφƒ, στεφáν¿, µετúπ±, βρsγµατι,
κροτáφοις, íνíοις, περιδρóµ±, κρανí±, őψει, τnλοις, µετωπí±, χóνδρ±, íσθµ½,
θαλáµοις, óχετεnµασι, σφαιρí±, κíονι, στυλíδι, διαφρáγµατι, nπýνη, γνáθοις, aκοƒ,

σιαγóνι, µnαις, κεφαλƒ, τρíχαις,
űξωθενyűσωθενcνìµατíοιςyaλλοιςτóποιςοiοιςδýτισιν. See also GOAR (1647) 729
and L. DELATTE, Un office byzantin d’exorcisme, 55-56.
80
The full title page reads: RITUALE ROMANUM EX DECRETO SACROSANCTI
OECUMENICI CONCILII VATICANI II INSTAURATUM AUCTORITATE
IOANNIS PAULI II PROMULGATUM, De exorcismis et supplicationibus
quibusdam. This was approved on the 21 September 2001 and a new revised
edition was published in 2004. The new ritual gives the priest a choice of two
forms of exorcism, which it calls «deprecatory» and «imperative». Deprecatory
means a prayer to God, in this case to ask Him to deliver the demoniac.
«Imperative» means a command issued to the demon in the name of God to depart.
The imperative formula is a real exorcism, but the deprecatory form is not a true
exorcism per se. A prayer is a request to God; an exorcism is a command to a
demon. The so-called «deprecatory exorcism» is simply a petition, not an
exorcism.
81
From his/her mind, from his/her soul, from his/her heart, from his/her reins, from
his/her senses, from all his/her members = POR: 134 cf. Gb 4: 114v (cf. GOAR:
582; ZER: 153; ROM: 364; PAP: 112)
82
At Mount Athos for example, when monks yawn, they quickly make the sign of
the cross on their mouth as open gaps are considered dangerous. In fact the act of
yawning is often found in conjunction with evil-eye or other spells. It is excoriated
in the canon law as a practice of sorceresses.
83
Π. ΜΥΛΩΝΑΣ – Γ. ΚΟΥΚΑΣ, Εξορκιστýς, 15-16.
84
Π. ΜΥΛΩΝΑΣ – Γ. ΚΟΥΚΑΣ, Εξορκιστýς, 2.
85
«…καì τí σηµεiον ποιεiς őταν cξέλθης», XIROPOTAMOU 98, φ. 137r. 86 Lavra
Θ 20, φ. 7v.
87
The clergy is classified under categories A B C D (See the Orthodox Yearly
Directory of 2011, 12001), A being the highest. The majority of priests, especially
outside urban areas, have a primary or secondary education and a modicum of
religious training. Most urban priests have at least studied theology at a seminary;
priests and bishops in larger cities normally have degrees in theology from
universities in Athens or Thessalonica. The village priest is the traditional
preserver of Greek culture and traditions, and as such he usually enjoys high
respect among his parishioners. In poorer parishes, peasants often went into the
priesthood for economic advancement, and in many cases a married rural priest
continued his secular trade after ordination. By the 1980s, however, the social
prestige of the priesthood had dropped, so children received less encouragement to
enter that profession. The lack of intellectual functions in the priesthood (priests do
not regularly give sermons, and few become theologians, the latter being more for
lay people.) and the higher pay received by teachers are the reasons for this
decline. This information was obtained from Father Maximos Pafidis an Orthodox
priest, Athens 2014. Church of Greece 2014.
88
J. PRESCIA, The Oath and Perjury. The social context of early oaths in magic
ritual is most recently discussed in C. A. FARAONE, Molten Wax, 60-80. The
noun óρκος is cognate with Greek έρκος, «enclosure», «fence».
338 Chapter 1
89
Nekydaimon is, a term found predominantly in the Greek Magical Papyri but
denoting a concept that spans ancient magical practices, refers to the soul of a dead
person. And interesting example was found in Crete, Greece. A folded and
inscribed lead tablet from Phalasama in Crete, dated to the 4 th or early 3rd century
B. C., comes close to what we might imagine as a magic incantation for banishing
unwanted demons. The inscription had evidently been doubled over several times
into a compact square to be worn as an amulet. Much of the text is clearly difficult;
however, there is enough material preserved to demonstrate that incantations were
written against noxious spirits described variously as Epaphos, a she-wolf
(λύκαινα), a dog (κΰων) − or pair of dogs (κύνε) − and the like. In a section that
seems to mention magic ingredients targeted to injure the bearer of the verses,
there are further allusions to composite, mythic beings: the tongue of a lion-
serpent, something from a chimera, a hawk’s feather, and the claw of a lion.
Despite some lacunae, these seem to describe the «wicked things» (κακά) that
some sorcerer had apparently concocted in an ointment or potion; the hexameters
work as a counter − charm against ghosts and demons sent against the holder of the
amulet. This text shows at an early stage two crucial procedures for the expelling
of demons: the use of the «flee»− formula and the application of an oath (όρκος).
Though the demonology of this relatively early Greek charm does not contain a
notion of a possessing demon, the tablet’s rich folklore shows animal-plagues
being vanquished by invocations that become standard in the later, true exorcistic
texts. The method is rather straightforward: alongside the summoning of Greek
healing gods, the incantation wards off the demons by commanding them to flee
(φεΰγε). This stratagem of expulsion is widely found in late antique magic spells,
particularly in exorcisms, but can also be used for banishing diseases and ailments
in general − themselves the manifestation of demonic activity. The φεύγε-formula
is used several times in commanding the animal-demons with the aim of driving
them back mad to their own domains.
90
The language of adjuration tends to divide down the middle, in terms of «Greek»
versus «Jewish» application and utilization. What distinguishes the adjurations of
the Jewish «exorcistic» type from the Greek «evocation» type is the fact that each
type has its own characteristic understanding of the numinous. The Semitic πνεύµα
άκάθαρτον is an entity to be expelled from the sufferer (the demon-possessed); the
Greek δαίµων, on the other hand, is a genie awakened from the dead to render
service. Further, the coercive Greek netherworld adjurations (written on lead and
papyrus defixiones) regularly set oaths upon the ghosts of the dead, compelling
them to bitter necessity (πικρnανάγκη). The Jewish exorcisms, on the other hand,
adjure the demons by the great God of Israel, YHWH, a Lord made splendid and
alive in the recounting of his mighty deeds of history. Further, the presentation of
demons in their omorphic form is common to both paradigms. Primarily, however,
we have concluded that the «Greek» adjurations conjure up the underworld dead to
serve. True «Jewish» adjurations, on the other hand, cast out (i. e., «exorcise») the
demons represented as actually indwelling the afflicted. Jews, as much as Greeks,
would have been inclined to curse their enemies as to heal their friends. When
dealing with highly individual matters of personal gain or the preservation of
health and well-being, synthetic reconstructions of cultural models prove
insensitive to racial and ethnic boundaries. The enactment of the «oath» (όρκος) is
common to most ancient societies, and there is an intrinsic risk in assuming that its
use in magic would have been particularly, or exclusively, Jewish rather than
Greek. Nonetheless, at least in the context of the phenomenology of spontaneous
demon-possession and subsequent expulsion, the epigraphic and papyrological
records repeatedly point to a practice tightly influenced by Jewish exorcists. It has
also been shown that ancient practitioners may have advised the use of the serial
«Jewish oath» (εξορκισµός) for the evocation of the dead, as well as for the
healing of the aggrieved. See R. KOTANSKY, «Greek Exorcistic Amulets», 260.
91
The original sense of Éξορκίζω is to place one under, to oblige someone to
accomplish an action under a false oath, or bind one by another or, to administer an
oath to someone, as noted in R. MERKELBACH, Astrologie, 1(1993)49-62, esp.
61 (Éξορκίζω is «ich vereidige», not «ich beschwöre»). «Adjure», though not
exact, is the best the English language has; it is no longer equivalent to the Latin
adjuro (= «to swear»); see P. B. GOVE, Webster’s Third New International
Dictionary, s. v., 27: «1: obs. to put on oath 2: to charge or command solemnly as
if under oath or penalty of curse». A glance at the published catalogues of
medieval manuscripts in major European and American libraries suggests that
many such collections of Εξορκισµοί, still remain unedited. These liturgical
exorcisms as a whole, though preserved in manuscripts of late date, share many
points of contact with their older counterparts on papyrus and contain a valuable
source of information on the whole history of exorcistic texts and amulets.
92
Webster’s Third New International Dictionary defines «exorcise», as: «1a: to
expel (an evil spirit) by adjuration b: to get rid of (something troublesome,
menacing, or oppressive); 2b: to be freed of an evil spirit by use of a holy name or
magic rites» (798). This specialized sense is already observed in ancient Greek, s.
vv. Εξορκισµóς, («exorcise an evil spirit», esp. in Acts 19: 13,14 v. ll.). See also R.
KOTANSKY, «Greek Exorcistic Amulets», 243-279.
93
PGM IV, 3007 ss; H. R BETZ, The Greek Magical Papyri in translation, xli; W.
M. BRASHEAR, The Greek Magical Papyri,3380-3730.
94
R. KOTANSKY, «Greek Exorcistic Amulets», 261.
95
The grammar of incantations has been well established in research. See W. L.
KNOX, «Jewish liturgical exorcism», 191-203; B. CAMPELL, «The technique of
exorcism», 39- 49; T E. KLUTZ, «The grammar of exorcism »,156-165.
96
It is mentioned eight times throughout the text. Éξορκίζωσε [preposition to, at],
διà= «through, across, by, over» and takes the Genitive in this case.
97
PGM IV. 3007-3086. On this important exorcism see also A. DEISSMAN, Light
from the Ancient East, 250-260. Pibecchis was a legendary magician from Egypt.
98
On the problem see A. D. NOCK, «Magical Texts from a Bilingual Papyrus»,
266 (line 19).
99 Αn isolated use of the Éξορκίζω σε in the imperative plural which becomes
φυλóξατεis beautifully represented by a bilingual silver amulet in the Ashmolean
Museum, R. KOTANSKY − J. NAVEH − S. SHAKED, «A Greek-Aramaic Silver
Amulet», 5-24, lines 31f.
100
Other references to Satan as the Enemy of God, particularly as the one
frustrating God’s good purposes for giving eternal life to humans: see in the
340 Chapter 1
parable of the weeds and the wheat, Mt 13: 24-30, 37-43. Here the devil is referred
to three times as the «enemy» cχθρός, who sows weeds in the field of God’s
kingdom (Mt 13: 25, 28, 39). Also in the Davidic prophecy of Psalm 110: 1, the
Messiah is exalted to «sit at the right hand» of God who will put «all enemies
under his feet»; 110: 1 is by far the most quoted or referenced psalm in the NT, cf.
Mt 22: 44; 26: 64; Mk 12: 36; Lk 20: 43; Acts 2: 35; 7: 55-56; 1 Cor 15: 25; Eph 1:
22; Heb 1: 13; 8: 1; 10: 13; 12: 2.
101
Gal 4: 6; 2 Pt 1: 4; For how communion with God and sharing in his nature
seems inconceivable in Hebrew scripture cf. Is 42: 8; 45: 6; 48: 11; 55: 9. Yet it is
prophesied as well that YHWH would come and dwell in the midst of his people
Zec 2: 10; Ez 48: 35; Jer 3: 17; Zep 3: 17; and transform their hearts and souls to
his liking through a new covenant, Jer 3: 17; 31: 31f; 32: 40; Ez 36: 25-28.
102
Cf. e. g. Mt 1: 21; 8: 17; 1 Tm 1: 15.
103
For examples in the New Testament epistles of the Christian spiritual combat
against the devil and his kingdom, cf. especially: 1 Pt 5: 7-10; Eph 6: 10-18; Col 1:
12-14; 2: 8-15; 2 Cor 2: 10-11; 10: 3-5; Eph 4: 27; 1 Jn 5: 18.
104
Cf. Rom 8: 28-29; 2 Cor 3: 18:
105
The term nποσκελιζω appears in the LXX at eg. Psalm 16: 13; 36: 31; 139: 4.
For other examples of athletic metaphors used to describe Christian spiritual
combat see: Eph 6: 12; 1 Tm 6: 12; 2 Tm 2: 4-5, 4: 7; Phil 1: 30, 2: 16; Jud 1: 3;
Heb 12: 1. Some key words here are aγών, aγωνία, aγωνίζοµαι. The aγών
originally was the assembly of Greeks gathering at the arena for their national
games, but even by the classical period aγών came to refer to any contest for a
prize, struggle for victory, or even a legal dispute. In the New Testament the aγών
is a struggle for victory in spiritual combat. This is exemplified by the Passion of
Jesus, Heb 12: 1b-2: «Let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so
closely, and let us run with endurance the race (aγών) that is set before us, looking
to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before
him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the
throne of God». Jesus’ spiritual aγών ended in victory but passed through much
suffering on the way, thus the term aγωνία (agony) comes from Luke 22: 44: «And
being in an agony [aγωνία] he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like
great drops of blood falling down to the ground». The aγών of the Christian is
perseverance in faith, hope, and love until the end: «Blessed is the man who
remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the
crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him» (Jas 1: 12). The
«garland» of victory in the Olympic aγών becomes the «crown» of eternal life (1
Cor 9: 25; 2 Tm 4: 8; Jas 1: 12; 1 Pt 5: 4, Rv 2: 10), exemplified by Christ’s
resurrection and heavenly enthronement. Thus Stephen, at his martyrdom, saw the
glory of Jesus at the right hand of God in heaven calling him homeward (Acts 7:
55) and Stephen received the stephanos, the crown befitting his name. In the
struggle for eternal life, the clear adversaries are personal sin and the «tempter»
Satan (Mt 4: 3). Thus when Jesus asked if only a few will be saved he uses athletic
language: «Strive (aγωνίζεσθε) to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell
you, will seek to enter and will not be able» (Lk 13: 24) because of their evil works
(v 27).
106
XIROPOTAMOU 98, φ. 134. 134, 137b. This is also confirmed by Π.
ΜΥΛΩΝΑΣ − Γ. ΚΟΥΚΑΣ, Εξορκιστýς, 15.
107
«Εξορκισµοί του Αγίου Βασιλείου», Εúχολόγιον τό Μέγα, 150.
108
A. STRITTMATTER, «EingriechischesExorzismusbuchlein»,127-144.
109
«Εξορκισµοί του Αγίου Βασιλείου», Εúχολόγιον τό Μέγα, 152.
110
This is the direct opposite to the ritual of Baptism where, according to the
common Greek belief its effectiveness comes with the correct reading of the ritual.
111
These were classes of angels, «the sons of God», and subsequently divisions of
the universe (or of the heavens) that the various angels were appointed to watch
over, cf. Dt 32: 8. Col. 1: 16 says, «For by Him were all things created, that are in
heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or
dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him for him».
See also Eph. 1: 21.
112
Amulets containing exorcistic texts from Jewish tradition show the particular
influence of angel-names as a standard of apotropaic power. The names appear
inevitably in lists, which are sometimes quite extensive and may point to a lively
circulation of texts behind them. While some lists are too brief and typical to
assume a literary source, the complexity of some of them suggests a dependence
upon angelological formularies circulating in some form among the craftsmen who
manufactured gems or amulets with exorcistic prayers inscribed on them (who may
in this case be Rabbis). Through the long invocation of angels of the cosmos one
can deduce that the manufacturers had a certain dependence upon a widely-
circulating hierarchy. The proximity of the seven archangels for example to those
of the ancient Jewish apocalypse the Book of the Watchers also makes a literary
relationship quite certain. This important text, part of the apocryphal 1 Enoch
corpus, was known throughout ancient Judaism and Christianity (notably to the
author of Jude in the New Testament). The date of this amulet in the first century
B. C. would make it (or its source) important evidence of the early circulation of
the Enoch tradition amulets. See I. FRÖHLICH, «Theology and demonology in
Qumran texts», 101-129.
113
R. D. KOTANSKY, «Remnants of a liturgical exorcism on a gem», 143-156.
114
A[τòőνοµα: ] THE NAME mentioned earlier.
115
A. DELATTE, Anecdota Atheniensia, I, 27, 23-25.
116
A. DELATTE, Anecdota Atheniensia, 420, 9f.
117
A. DELATTE, Anecdota Atheniensia, 229,16-21. See also 231,12: (òρκíζω
nµας)…εíς τà πολυóµµατα Χερουβìµ και εíς τà cξαπτcρυγα Σεραφíµ, κτλ.
(followed by the trisagion); Also: òρκíζωσε, πνεnµα πονηρóν, εíς τον aóρατον
θεòν Σαβα±θ τòν καθýµενον cπì τ±ν Χερουβìµ, κτλ., 231,37/232,1f;
òcπìτ±νΧερουβìµ, καθýµενος (εnχý of Gregory the Theologian, followed by the
trisagion) ID., 242,14; òρκíζω σε κατà τ±ν πολυοµµáτων Χερουβìµ και τ±ν
cξαπτερnγων Σεραφíµ, 246,27,35); òρκíζω nµας κατà τàς àγιας δυνáµεις
πολυóµµατα Χερουβìµ cξαπτsρυγα Σεραφìµ τà περïπτáµενα κnκλ± τyς δóξης τοñ
θεοñ καì κρáζοντα aγιος, aγιος, aγιοςΚnριοςΣαββαúθ, κτλ. (εnχý of the Great
Martyr Trypho) in F. PRADEL, 263,28-30; Μενωφρί, ò cπί τà Χερο[υ]βìµ καθýµενος
(PGM VII. 633f) καθýµενον cπανω Χερουβìµ űµπροσθεν αnτοñ (PGM V. 21. 5f. :
); òρκíζω σε τον…(sc. God), őνnµνοñ σιτà πτερυγ±µατα τοñ Χερουβìµ (PGM IV.
342 Chapter 1
3058-3060): καì λcγοντες aγιος, ò θεóς, őν aνυµνοñ σιτà χερουβìµ, κτλ. ; (PGM
XXIIb 5, 14).
118
A. DELATTE, Anecdota Atheniensia, 232, 26-30.
119
A. DELATTE, Anecdota Atheniensia, 231, 33f.
120
121
122
Here I refer to the manuscripts of the Athos 882 (Lavra Θ 20), the Athos 1950
(Philoteou 186), Hieromonk Benedict Tzankarolos (nos. 2115 - 1627) and the Ms.
Car, C 143 der Zentralbibliothek in Zürich.
123
The seventy were the wider circle of Christ’s disciples, comprising a secret
body in existence during his lifetime and that may have continued after the
resurrection (Lk. 10: 1ff).
124
This is the first mention of the name Jesus Christ in the entire exorcistic prayer
and it holds its importance because it shows the importance of this name in
exorcism. «For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in
the midst of them» (Mt. 18: 20). «And these signs shall follow them that believe:
In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues» (Mk 16:
17); «And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may
be glorified in the Son» (Jn 14: 13); «For whosoever shall call upon the name of
the lord shall be saved» (Rom. 10: 13); «And whatsoever ye do in word or deed,
do all in the name of the Lord Jesus…» (Col. 3: 17); «Is any sick among you? Let
him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him
with oil in the name of the Lord» (Jas 5: 14). See also S. A. DIAMOND, The
Psychological Genesis of Violence, where the daimonic can be described as any
natural function with the power to control the emotions.
125
The twenty-four elders is a reference to the presbyters seated around the throne
of God in Revelation (4: 4, 10; 5: 5, 6, 8, 11, 14; etc.). Significantly it is one of
these elders who first announces to John the victory of Christ: «Weep no more;
behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered» (5: 5). It
is possible that these elders were a model for the elders on earth, who announce the
Good News of Christ’s victory as saviour of the world, since the earthly order was
based on heavenly order. Presbyters were the board of elders (English: aldermen)
in the early Church. However during the time in Jesus ministry the term still refers
to Jewish leaders (e. g. Mt 15: 2; 26: 3; Lk 9: 22; Acts 4: 8; but Acts 11: 30 seems
to be the first reference to Christian elders). Luke speaks of the «ordaining of
elders» (Acts 14: 23) and the leaders of the Jerusalem church are «apostles and
elders» (15: 2, 4, 6, 22, 23, 16: 4) but there were also «elders» in Ephesus and
other churches (Act 20: 17; cf. Tit 1: 5; 1Tm 5: 19; 1Pt 5: 1). At first it seems they
were quite similar to bishops (cπίσκοπος), as Paul calls the elders in Ephesus
bishops, cπισκόποι (Acts 20: 28; cf. Php 1: 1, 1Tm 3: 2, Tit 1: 7).
126
XIROPOTAMOU 98, φφ. 137v
127
ST. IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH, Letter to the Smyrnæans (shorter version) ch. 6.
(‘incur condemnation’ is written literally ‘judgment is to them’).
128
St. Polycarp, Letter to the Philippians, ch. 2.
129
1 Jn 2: 1b-2 «But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus
Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but
also for the sins of the whole world» for the scapegoat bearing away the sins of the
nation see Lev 16: 21-22.
130
Cf. Heb 10: 29; 1 Cor 11: 27-30. As we have seen in the witness of Ignatius and
Polycarp, other Church Fathers are also in agreement. Cf. ST. JEROME,
Commentary on the Apostles’ Creed, XXIII, 1418: «It is written that when the side
of Jesus was pierced ‘He shed thereout blood and water’ (Jn 19: 34). This has a
mystical meaning. For Himself had said, ‘Out of His belly shall flow rivers of
living water’ (Jn 7: 38). But He shed forth blood also, of which the Jews sought
that it might be upon themselves and upon their children. He shed forth water,
therefore, which might wash believers; He shed forth blood also which might
condemn unbelievers».
131
Cf. Jn 3: 36. For St Paul a central purpose of faith is to be saved from the
coming wrath of God, 1 Thes 1: 10; Rom 1: 18. Faith in the blood of Christ has
saved believers from all wrath: «Since, therefore, we have now been justified by
his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God», Rom 5: 9.
132
cf. e. g. JUSTIN MARTYR, First Apology, XXXII, 457: «And after this He was
crucified, that the rest of the prophecy might be fulfilled. For this ‘washing His
robe in the blood of the grape’ (Gn 49: 10) was predictive of the passion He was to
endure, cleansing by His blood those who believe on Him» (cf. Jn 20: 31; Mt 10:
32-33; Rom 10: 9; Eph 2: 8).
133
Who will have to answer for this blood? The demons and unrepentant sinners
who would, at least in Paul’s estimation, fail to recognize that «all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his
blood, to be received by faith» (Rom 3: 23-25). To the New Testament authors, it
is not simply Roman soldiers or the Jewish authorities who were responsible for
Jesus’ crucifixion, but more importantly, in reflecting on Old Testament
prophecies, especially Isaiah 53 (cf Acts 8: 28-36), these authors came to believe that
all humanity was responsible (Mt 26: 28; Jn 1: 29; Heb 9: 28). All in some way
participated in the death of this innocent Jesus who was «wounded for our
transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities… and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all… like a lamb led to the slaughter… although he had done no
wrong» (Is 53: 4,6-7,9). As Peter quoting from Isaiah 53 writes: «He himself bore
our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.
‘By his wounds you have been healed’» (1 Pt 2: 24, Is 53: 5, emphasis mine).
134
Jn 11: 26; Cf. e. g. Jn 5: 24 «Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word
and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment,
but has passed from death to life». Cf. also 1 Jn 3: 14; Rom 8: 1. In the words of
Paul true Christians have «died to sin» and passed through death into life because
through baptism their sins were destroyed by Christ’s crucifixion, and they now
live a new life of service and love to God (Rom 6: 1-7; Col 2: 12). «Now that you
have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads
to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free
gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord» (Rom 6: 22-23).
135
JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, Homilies on the Gospel of John, PG LIX, 3. For blood
as the symbol and reality of God’s love, St Ignatius, Epistle to the Trallians, VIII,
344 Chapter 1
190, writes: «I love you greatly, and foresee the snares of the devil. Therefore,
clothing yourselves with meekness, be ye renewed in faith, that is the flesh of the
Lord, and in love, that is the blood of Jesus Christ».
136
Heb 9: 11-12 «Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that are
coming, then through the greater and more perfect tent - not made with hands, that
is, not of this creation - he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means
of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an
eternal redemption».
137
Cf. e. g. ST. BASIL, De Spiritu Sancto, XIV. xxxi, 182; ST JOHN OF
DAMASCUS, Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, IV. iv, 718; ST JUSTIN
MARTYR, Dialogue with Trypho, XL, 575.
138
ST. EPHRAIM, The Nisibene Hymns, XIXv, 365.
139
Expression of ST. IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH, Letter to the Ephesians, I, 139.
140
St Jerome uses a metaphor inspired by Ez 29: 3-5; Satan is destroyed by the
hidden Divinity of Christ: «The divine virtue of the Son of God [is like] a hook
concealed beneath the form and fashion of human flesh [so that] might lure on the
‘Prince of this world’ to a conflict, whereby offering His flesh as a bait, His
divinity underneath might catch him and hold him fast with its hook. Through the
shedding of His immaculate blood… he alone who knows no stain of sin hath
destroyed the sins of all… As, therefore… a fish seizes a baited hook… so he who
had the power of death seized the body of Jesus in death, not being aware of the
hook of Divinity enclosed within it, but having swallowed it he was caught
forthwith, and the bars of hell being burst asunder, he was drawn forth as it were
from the abyss», from A Commentary on the Apostles Creed, 16.
141
Cf. 1 Pt 3: 18-22; Eph 2: 5-6; 4: 8-10.
142
Cf. e. g. «God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he
loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with
Christ – by grace you have been saved… and seated us with him in the heavenly
places» (Eph 2: 5-6).
143
Lit. «luminaries in the cosmos», «lights in the world», or «stars lighting up the
sky».
144
For many early Church Fathers, and perhaps for the author of St John’s Gospel,
the outpouring of blood and water (Jn 19: 34) from the crucified body of Christ
was put forward as proof against those who denied the incarnation, and believed
that Jesus was ‘god’ in the sense of a divine spirit but not a true man of flesh and
blood. To the Docetists, Christ’s earthly manifestation was only the appearance of
humanity, and his death mere illusion (δοκέω to seem).
145
ST. IRENAEUS, Adv. haeres. 4, 33, 2, 1260.
146
JOHN XXIII, Apostolic Exhortation: Inde a primis, June 30, 1960.
147
JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, Homilies on the Gospel of John, PG XXXVI, 3.
148
cf. 1 Cor 10: 16; 11: 27; St Ignatius, referring to the Eucharist, writes «I desire
the bread of God, the heavenly bread, the bread of life, which is the flesh of Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, who became afterwards of the seed of David and Abraham;
and I desire the drink of God, namely His blood, which is incorruptible love and
eternal life» (Letter to the Romans, VII, 205). Ignatius is also famous for exalting
the bishopric and coining the terms «catholic church» to refer to the ‘universal’
church (katholicos) and Eucharist as referring to the Lord’s Supper: «Let no man
do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. Let that be deemed a
proper Eucharist, which is [administered] either by the bishop, or by one to whom
he has entrusted it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude also
be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church» (The Epistle of
Ignatius to the Smyrnæans, VIII, 232).
149
Cf. JUSTIN MARTYR, Dialogue with Trypho, XL. ST. BASIL THE GREAT,
De Spiritu Sancto, XIV, 18: «So in like manner, the history of the exodus of Israel
is recorded to show forth those who are being saved through baptism. For the
firstborn of the Israelites were preserved, like the bodies of the baptized, by the
giving of grace to them that were marked with blood. For the blood of the sheep is
a type of the blood of Christ; and the firstborn, a type of the first-formed… And
the firstborn were preserved by God from being touched by the destroyer, to show
that we who were made alive in Christ no longer die in Adam… the sea is typically
a baptism bringing about the departure of Pharaoh, in like manner as this washing
causes the departure of the tyranny of the devil. The sea slew the enemy in itself:
and in baptism too dies our enmity towards God. From the sea the people came out
unharmed: we too, as it were, alive from the dead, step up from the water saved by
the grace of Him who called us».
150
Rv 1: 5; cf. Act 26: 23; Rom 8: 11; 1 Cor 15: 20; Col 1: 18; 1Pe 1: 3. Christ’s
death is a birth into eternal life, thus he is «the firstborn among many brothers»
Rom 8: 29. He died to destroy death, so that in dying with Christ people might no
longer perish but be born into eternal life, 2 Tm 1: 10; Heb 2: 12-15.
151
JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, Homilies on the Epistle to the Hebrews, PG
LVXIII,832, cf. also Jerome, A Commentary on the Apostles’ Creed, XXIII, 1418.
152
Thus John makes the parallel with Genesis, for in Jn 19: 34 «blood and water
from the side» is literally «from the rib» of Christ: cκ τyς πλευρàς which is
undoubtedly a reference to Gn 2: 22 and God’s forming Eve from Adam’s rib:
Ÿκοδóµησεν κnριος ò θεòς τyν πλευρáν, yν űλαβενaπò τοñ Αδαµ, εíς γυναiκα
(LXX), «And the Lord God built the rib which he took from Adam into a woman».
153
For the study of exorcisms at Baptism see H. A. KELLY, The devil at Baptism.
154
Some exorcistic amulets have ‘Baptismal’ prayers inscribed on them and were
worn as protective amulets (see R. KOTANSKY, «Greek Magical Amulets», 174-180.
One is reminded also of the sort of amulets studied most recently by J. SPIER,
«Medieval Byzantine Magical Amulets»,25-62; cf. C. BONNER, «Liturgical
Fragments on Gnostic Amulets», 362-367. Note also F. C. CONYBEARE− A. J.
MACLEAN, Rituale Armenorum, 391 - 394, for exorcisms in Baptismal contexts.
A study of the exact relationship between the late Christian liturgical exorcisms and
their early (Jewish) counterparts in the magical papyri and kindred texts has yet to be
undertaken.
155
Epistulae lxix, 15, 4: 44.
156
The unhalting hymn here is referring to the Trishagion: «αγιος αγιος αγιος
κυριος σαβαωθ». It occurs in the liturgy after the Eucharistic prayer (cf. Isaiah 6:
3; Rev, 4: 8).
157
The recurring allusions to the powerful acts of God, or of heroes like Moses,
David, Solomon, and others, give as many liturgical variations as biblical tradition
346 Chapter 1
and doctrine would allow. Equivalent exorcisms, containing both Jewish and
Christian elements have been found somewhat intact in the Greek magical papyri,
and, in more fragmentary conditions, on the magic lamellae and curse-tablets. In
these texts, too,the unclean demon is adjured by God’s creative and salvific acts,
hisdivine attributes, his celestial throne, or the hosts of angelic beings. Exorcistic
adjurations (Εξορκισµοί) expelling evil spirits by their citation of the mighty deeds
of God are also widely documented from texts of a somewhat later period. Such
liturgical exorcisms are preserved in medieval manuscripts in the form of separate
handbooks or are scattered among larger collections that house various divinatory
astrologoumena, magico-medical recipes, and pseudo-Solomonic anecdota. The
more important of the longer corpora are those published by J. GOAR,
Euchologion; A. VASSILIEV, Anecdota graeco-byzantina; A. DMITRIEVSKIJ,
Opisanie litur gic eskich rukopisej chranjas c ichsja v bibliotekachpravoslavnao
Vostaoka; F. PRADEL, Griechische und süditalienische Gebete; A. DELATTE,
Anecdota Atheniensia. Examples of shorter handbooks or only partially edited
exorcistic manuscripts have also been published by REITZENSTEIN (1904),
STRITTMATTER (1932), L. DELATTE (1957), and most recently JACOB
(1971), and Μ. ΠΑΠΑΘΩΜΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ − Μ. BΑΡΒΟΥΝΗΣ, Εξορκισµοίτου
Ιεροµόναχου Βενέδικτου Τζανκαρόλου, to name a few; See also: R. KOTANSKY,
Greek Magical Amulets,148.
158
Mt. 2: 16.
159
Χ. ΑΝ∆ΡΟΥΤΣ, ∆ογµατική της Ορθοδόξου Ανατολικής Εκκλησίας, 123. ID.,
Εκκλησία και πολιτεία εξεπόψεως ορθοδόξου.
160
Many other magical practices are common in Greece. According to R. BLUM −
E. BLUM, Health and Healing, 161, in Naxos, spells are transferred alternately to
successive generations, from mother to son, from one daughter to another, and so
on. In other parts of Greece spells are transferred only from woman to woman. It is
also believed that these formulas should be kept secret in order to maintain the
strength and effectiveness. Writing about his research trips to Naxos, the folklorist
S. IMELLOU, Πcριτουεντη Νáξω, 176, noted that spells against jaundice are very
common in Greece, they seem to be historically attested and there seems to be an
astrological component to many of the spells. Usually the ceremony against
jaundices begin with an invocation to the Holy Trinity. See. C. Stewart, Demons
and the devil, 227-228. According to R. BLUM – E. BLUM, Health and Healing,
136, 155, and S. IMELLOU, Πcριτουεντη Νáξω, 185-86, particularly important is
the Moon (either full moon or new moon) and the stars, which constantly refer to
spells related to defects. The importance of astrological and meteorological
phenomena in spells and other rituals such Klidonas is huge but is not the scope of
this study. In Naxos there is a similar spell jaundice followed by a ceremony
consisting in placing wine in glass (the amount is proportional to the age of the
victim), then throwing inside an object of pure gold, like a wedding ring or another
ring that has precious stones on it. On top of the beaker is placed an open scissors
in a form of a cruciform which is left out all night under the stars and gathered
before the sun. This operation is repeated for three days, but the scissors must
remain all the time on the glass. In the village of Komiaki in Naxos, the xorkistra
should go the person who brings the well and return midnight following a different
route. And in this case, fill a glass with water from the well and pour into a gold
object.
From e-typos www. e-typos. com/content/entheta_pdf/9magic. pdf.
161
One important consideration to make is that for the Byzantines there were no
well- defined boundaries between the natural and the supernatural as there were no
palpable boundaries between evil magic and the beneficial miracle…«his frontier
was obscured in the minds of the population of the empire». A. K AZHDAN, «Holy and
unholy miracle workers», 73.
162
Of these there are other examples. See for example the article by A. K AZHDAN,
«Holy and unholy miracle workers», 73-82.
163
«And John answered him, saying, ‘Master, we saw one casting out demons in
thy name, and he does not follow us: and we forbade him, because he does not
follow us’. But Jesus said, ‘Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a
miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me’». See Mk 9: 38-39, note this
is before Jesus’ death and resurrection. Christian exorcism is founded in the belief
that Jesus commanded his followers to expel «evil spirits» in his name, cf. Mt 10:
1; 10: 8; Mk 6: 7; Lk 9: 110: 17; Mk 16: 17.
164
See G. MARASCO PAGES, «L’accusa di magia». The references regarding the
theme of magic in the New Τestament are ample. See: D. E. AUNE, «Magic in
Early Christianity» and S. BENKO, Pagan Criticism of Christianity During the
First Two Centuries A. D.,1055-1101. The same can be said regarding the
Byzantine traditional magic. See R. GREENFIELD, «A contribution to
Paleographic Magic», 117-153. And Σ. N. ΤΡΩΙΑΝΟΣ, Η µαγεία σταβυζαντιν
άνοµικά κείµενα. According to Professor Troianos, the term «white magic»
contrasts the apotropaic magic by black magic, which acts to cause harm to
potential victims, unlike the white magic which seeks to chase away evil and cure
diseases. See Σ. Ν. ΤΡΩΙΑΝΟΣ, Μαγεία και ∆ίκαιοστο Βυζάντιο, 449-572. For
details about white magic in Byzantium and the texts of the Byzantine physicians,
see Μ. ΧΡΟΝΗ, θεραπεíες ασθενειxν, 379-406.
165
On this theme see also S. GARRETT, Light on a dark Subject, 142-165.
166
A reference to Phil. 2: 7
167
EXORCISM OF ST. BASIL THE GREAT, PAP 107-111.
168
XIROPOTAMOU 98, φ. 137r
169
Cf. Rv 12: 3; 13: 1-2; St. Basil calls the demons stíphos or co-workers of the
devil, 147 -149.
170
L. DELATTE,Un οffice byzantin d’exorcisme, 93.
171
A. VASSILEV, Anecdota graeco-byzantina, 332-333.
172
Simon Magus was a sorcerer at the time of the apostles who converted to
Christianity but was later rebuked by St. Peter for attempting to obtain spiritual
powers from the apostles for money, hence, «simony» (Acts 8: 9-24). Simon was
also said to have asserted that his magic was a greater force than Peter’s faith in
Christ. He sought to demonstrate this in Rome by flying, but fell to earth and died
of his injuries. This incident revealed the true and greater power of Peter, who thus
unmasked the Devil in Simon. All sorcerers were thought to work in collusion with
the Devil. These events are reported in the apocryphal Acta Petri. See J.
MONTAGUE RHODES, The Apocryphal New Testament, 331-332. In a similar
348 Chapter 1
fashion the Decil in Kynops was exposed by St. John the Theologian. Kynops was
a sorcercer who lived in a cave on a shoutheastern promontory on Patmos (this
area today is called Genoupa). Kynops could conjure up and command the spirits
of the dead and he challenged St. John to a contest. Kynops drove into the water to
prove his supernatural power and St. John turned him to stone. Their encounter is
mentioned in T. ZAHN, Acta Joannis, 90ff.
173
Kollyva is a mixture of boiled grains, honey, nuts, raisins, and sugar that is
distributed at memorial services (µνηµόσυνο⁄α) held after 3 days, 9 days, 40 days,
6 months and one year. When people are given Kollyva, these say, «May God
forgive him/her». The Kollyva mixture is then placed on a platter and shaped into a
mound or cake, to resemble a grave. The Kollyva are symbolic of the resurrection
of the dead on the day of the Second Coming of the Lord. St. Paul said, «what you
sow does not come to life unless it dies» (I Cor. 15: 36), and St. John, «unless a
grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears
much fruit» (Jn 12: 24). There is also a practice on Mount Athos whereby the icons
of saints are incorporated onto the surface of the Kollyva offerings made in their
honour.
174
Ypsoma is a term for the bread that is offered (προσφsραται, hence also
προσφορá) for the preparation of the Eucharist. It has the lamb stamped on it along
with the words «Jesus Christ Conquers – Ιησούς Χριστός Νικά» At the end of the
liturgy it is distributed to the congregation as antidoron (blessed bread).
175
Greece produced the first modern writer on vampires, Leone Allacci (commonly
known as Leo Allatius). In 1645, he authored De Graecorum hodie quorundam
opinationibus, a volume on the beliefs of the Greek people, in which he discussed
the vrykolakas at great length.
176
A 19th-century collection of canon law by Nicodemus the Hagiorite
177
The modern Greek vrykolakas (from a Slavic word meaning «werewolf»). Cf. J.
C. LAWSON, Modern Greek Folklore, 377. A comprehensive treatment of the
Greek vampire is found in chapters seven and eight of K. HASTRUP’s, Fieldwork
among friends, in A. JACKSON, ed., «Anthropology at Home», 173-236. Also L.
ALLACCI, De Graecorum hodie quorundam opinationibus, 142-149. See appendix
for the full text. In 1645 he completed the De Graecorum hodie quirundam
opinationibus,in which he discussed many of the beliefs common to the people of
Greece. Allatios covered the Greek vampire traditions in great detail. He described
the Vrykolakas, the un-decomposed corpse that has been taken over by a demon,
and noted the regulations of the Greek Church for the discernment and disposal of
a Vrykolakas. The tying of vampirism to the devil by Allatios and his colleagues
brought Satan into the vampire education. Vampirism became another form of
Satanism and the vampire the instrument of the devil. Confer also T. BRACCINI,
Prima di Dracula. All’origine del vampiro.
178
The Rudder: Canon 66 of St. Basil the Great says that «A grave-robber shall
remain excluded from Communion for ten years».
179
Nicodemus in view of Canon 66 of St. Basil comments that: «It is fitting that we
add in the present footnote how great condemnation those priests or laymen
deserve who open graves in order to find, as they say, the Vrykolakas, as they call
them, and put them to death. Oh, to what a wretched condition and lack of
knowledge present-day Christians have reached! Christian brethren, what

delusions are those you have? What foolish and infantile imaginings are those in
which you believe? What mockeries are those with which the demons separate you
from an implicit belief in God, and make sport of you like silly children? I tell you
and I inform you with every assurance that Vrykolakas never occur, nor are there
any in the world. Vrykolakas, as you call them, are nothing else than a false and
childish prejudice born of your fear and unbelief; and they are a silly notion which
fools you and tells you that the dead rise out of their tombs and come forth and
trouble you. There are no Vrykolakas, because it is impossible for the devil ever to
raise a dead person and to make a corpse that has been dead a month or two have
blood, or finger nails, or any bodily movement or motion, such as you imagine.
Vrykolakas are a silly notion, because, if one examines carefully those who claim
to have seen Vrykolakas, he will find that after saying that someone else told them
about it they finally come to believe that they themselves have seen them. That is
my impression from having many times and in many places investigated the facts.
Hence, my brethren, when you learn these, dismiss any such prejudice and
imagination from your thought, and henceforth believe not that there are any such
things as Vrykolakas in reality».
180
The Xiropotamou text insists on the fact that Vampires are not real. See φ. 139.
181
XIROPOTAMOU 98, φ. 139
182
R. DE TRACI, A Cretan Tale of Vampires. See.
http://gogreece.about. com/od/weirdgreece/a/weirdcrete. htm.
183
J. TOMKINSON, Haunted Greece: Nymphs, Vampires and other Exotiká.
184
M. SUMMERS, The Vampire in Europe.
185
«Persons guilty of abominable crimes, those who die under a parent’s curse, or
who die excommunicated, all children conceived on one of the great festivals of
the Church (when abstinence is ordained) become vampires. They arise from the
tomb any night except Saturday, and live by sucking the blood of living men,
especially of their own nearest and dearest» Cf. W. H. ROUSE, «Folklore from the
southern Sporades», 173. Also, M. SUMMERS, The Vampire in Europe, 221,
mentions Robert Pashley, who in his book Travels in Crete (1837), recounts that
«the Vampire, or Katakhanas, as he is called in Crete, is denominated Vurvúlakas,
or Vrukólakas, in the islands of the Archipelago, where the belief is generally
prevalent, that if a man has committed a great crime, or dies excommunicated by a
priest or bishop, the earth will not receive him when he dies, and he therefore
rambles about all night, spending only the daytime in his tomb» See also the
testimony relative to Sphakia (Crete) dating back to 1888 and cited by J. C.
LAWSON, Modern Greek Folklore, 372-373 who states that: «it is popularly
believed that most of the dead, those who have lived bad lives or who have been
excommunicated by some priest…become vrykolakes; that is to say, after the
separation of the soul from the body there enters into the latter an evil spirit…it
keeps the body as its dwelling-place and preserves it from corruption, and it runs
swift as lightning wherever it goes, and causes men great alarms at night and
strikes all with panic».
186
M. SUMMERS, The Vampire in Europe, 29 says that: «One of the earliest – if
indeed he were not actually the first – of the writers of the seventeenth century
350 Chapter 1
who deals with vampires is Leone Allacci».

187
L. ALLACCI, De templis Graecorum recentioribus.
188
T. BRACCINI, Prima di Dracula, 151.
189
The official view of the church on popular prejudices was also reflected in the
collections of the Ecclesiastical canon (Nomokanones) as reported in Σ. ΓΚΊΝΗΣ
– N. I. ΠΑΝΤΑΖΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ – M. MANOYH, Nοmοκάνων, ετενεχθείς, εις λέξιν
απλήν,which constitute the manifestation of the official Ecclesiastical law defining
acceptable religious conduct See Γ. ΠΟΛΙΤΗΣ, Ενκεφάλαιον Νοµοκάνονος, 381-
389. A large part of these laws concerned prohibitions imposed on participation in
unacceptable folk events and laid down harsh punishments and penalties which
were to be imposed on the practitioners, such as fortune tellers, charmers,
astrologers and folk healers. Τhe response caused by the stance of the Church is
recorded and corroborated by ethnographic interjections suchas the following
example reported by Ε. ΣΑΡΑΝΤΉ – ΣΤΑΜΟΎΛΗ, Προλήψεις και δεισι
δαιµονίεςτης Θράκης, 223: «Η γυναίκα που έκανεγητειές και τοξοµολουγούντα
νεστονπαπά, οπα πάς την έριχνε κανόνα (τιµωρία) νανήστευε δύο µήνες κάθεπρωί
και βράδυνακαµνε από σαράντα µετάνοιες, να βάπτιζε ένα δύο παιδιά, δεντην
µεταλά βαινε και την έδινεαντίς Αγία Κοινωνία έναχουλιαράκι Μεγάλο Αγιασµό.
Ένα χρόνο δεθακοινωνούσε». [«To the woman who cast a spell or performed a
charm and who confessed her evil deed to the priest at confession, the priest would
impose severe punishment, demanding of her to fast for two months, to kneel forty
times every morning and night or to stand godmother to one or two children. In
addition, he (the priest) would refuse to administer communion to her, giving her
instead a spoonful of holy water, which had received holy blessing during the Feast
of Theophany. Last but not least, she would be denied communion for a whole
year»]. This kind of evidence corroborates the religious exclusion of the offenders,
an act virtually effectuating social exclusion. The various punishments and
penalties imposed upon those who participated in folkloric events systematically
validated the identification of these customs with sin and evil, as Γ. ΠΟΛΙΤΗΣ,
Ενκεφάλαιον Νοµοκάνονος, 388 writes «Αυτά όλατα αµαρτήµατα ο διάβολος µας
παρακινάει και τα εργαζόµεσθεν και αλίµονον εις τον άνθρωπον οπού να µη
διορθώσει του λόγου του έως ζει εις τον κόσµον τούτον, να Εξοµολογηθεί να
µετανοήσει να κλαύσει και να κάµει τον κανόνα του οπού να του δώσειο
πνευµατικός του πατήρ, διό τιθέλει κολασθεί» [«all these sins we commit are
incited by the devil and woe betide anyone who fails to correct themselves during
their lifetime in this world, to confess, to repent, to weep and to fulfill their
religious duty in the way it has been handed over to them by their religious
confessor, because they will be committing a sin»]. The above identification of
these categories as religiously unacceptable, offensive, blasphemous and,
therefore, punishable was facilitated by the structure of the religious system itself
permeating the traditional communities, a system based upon the bipolar
relationship between the sacred and the profane, according to which misfortunes
stem from offences that must be punished.
190
This shocking case is discussed in depth in the publication T. BRACCINI,
Prima di Dracula particularly, 151-152.
191
Γ. ΠΟΛΙΤΗΣ, Εν κεφάλαιον Νοµοκάνονος, 385-387.
192
M. ΑLEXIOU, The ritual lament in Greek tradition, 106.
193
Γ. ΠΟΛΙΤΗΣ, Εν κεφάλαιον Νοµοκάνονος, 385-387.
194
The sprinkling of holy water besides being a strong force in repelling evil, holy
water has the twofold benefit of providing grace for both body and soul.
195
See appendix.

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PART III

ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY

This chapter attempts to analyse the Xirοpotamou exorcistic text piece

Διάταξις τῶν δαιμονιζομένων. Τò πῶς ἐρωτᾷς, ἵνα

exorcism and healing. God’s creative power is seen clearly in liturgical

The danger here is if these miracles distract a person from what is

grinding the teeth»26 indicative of his blindness to divine Goodness and

One of the elements of the standard tradition that, to a large extent,

Wormwood (8:11), and «the angel of the bottomless pit», Apollyon or

If the demon cannot be named precisely, at least his sphere of activity

Another list from the exorcisms or prayers of deliverance for general

One of the principles of exorcistic completeness requires that all

empowering the jealous or envious person to cause harm upon others66.

Ευχή 1: «Ιησούς Χριστός νικά, κιανείν αιµάτι το σκορπά, η κυρά η

Ευχή 2: «Ιησούς Χριστός νικά κιόλατα κακά σκορπά» Ο ΙΗΣΟΥΣ

Ευχή 3: «Άγιοι Ανάργυροι και θαυµατουργοί, δωρεάν ελάβατε δωρεάν

Ευχή 4: «Αγία Ειρήνη, ρήνεψέ το Παναγιά µου Περασιά, πέρασε το».

ΠΕΡΑΣΕΙ, ΝΑ ΦΥΓΕΙ ΜΑΚΡΙΑ.

A typical example of ritual purification from the evil eye proceeds as

[τyν γλ±σσαν αnτοñ, κ(αì) őψει]: Tongue and face.

The texts speaking about liturgical exorcisms exhaustively catalogue

«The seven Powers began to work: Goodness made a psyche of bone

«May the demon be expelled:

It is interesting to note that such lists demonstrate a considerable

These standard exorcisms are very similar to the lay exorcisms

Although the verb όρκίζω is at least as old as Xenophon the Greek

The formula Éξορκίζωσε91,«I adjure you», is most frequently

The exorcist obliges or imposes upon the demon to make an oath to a

The battle with Satan is not something artificial or invented by man,

demons who up to the time of Christ had exploited man’s forgetfulness of

Diabolical influence in the form of illness (whether physical or spiritual)

Angels and archangels abound in liturgical and non liturgical texts,

Virtually the same text occurs in a portion of a manuscript labelled

«òρκíζω nµãς, πνεnµατα, εíς τοnς δnο µεγáλους àρχαγγsλους. Γαβριýλ

which is translated as:

Any mention of the «Great Name» would refer to God, specifically to

«Òρκíζω σε cπì θρóνου Θεοñ Σαβα±θ, θεορκíζω σε εíς τà Χερουβìµ καì

«I exorcise you, on (sic) the throne of God Sabaoth, I ‘Godexorcise’ you

An exorcism by the Great Name and the Cherubim serves as a mere

And St Polycarp testifies to the Philippians that God «raised up our

Satan, whose name means accuser, is naturally «the accuser of our

There is no doubt that even if Baptism is heavily concerned with the

[τ±ν θαυµαστ±ν űργων τοñ παντοδυνάµου θεοñ... γεγενηµένων διà τ±ν

normally oppose one another, can be also similar in relation to certain

φ.135r τ±ν àγίων aνδρ±ν τε κ(αί) γυναικ±ν, τ±ν τ½ àγί± θε½

affiliated with any particular religion or Church. Secular exorcists were

φ.136v νικ¾, ò λέων ò cκ φυλyς τοñ Íούδα, ò cκ qíζης ∆αβίδ, ò

θανατοi, ò Χριστός ζωογονεi, Aγιος Aγιος Aγιος Χριστός ò σαβαώθ,

In the Hebrew scripture YHWH possesses divine attributes that are

φ.136r.±ς cκ λείπει καπνός cκλιπέτωσαν, ±ς τήκεταικηρός aπό προσúπου

τοñ Θεοñ cρωτ± σε: τì σοí cστι őνοµα;

cκβεiναι cκ τοñ aνθρώπου τοnτου cν τίνι nποτάσσει, εíπc,εíπέ πότε

three centuries A. D. This bestial imagery also corresponds to folk

φ.138v τοῦ φανερώσαντός σε διὰ τοῦ κορυφαίου τῶν Ἁποστόλων Πέτρου,

οἲκησίς σου. Λοιπὸν οὔκ ἐστι καιρὸς τοῦ ἀναµένειν.

φ.139v Περì βουρκολάκκουΜ τò πuς νà τòν χαλάσ¿ς.

φ.129v. ἤ γουνκόλλυβα, καὶ ψάλλουσιν ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ. Τὸ δὲ σάββατον

φ.132v. καὶ ἀνεξ χινίαστος ὑπάρχων (ὑπάρχεις = Lavra), αὐτὸς ὁ προ

φ.133v. ἀναχώρησον ἀπὸ τοῦ λειψάνου τούτου. ῾Ορκίζω σε κατὰ τοῦ

φ. 134v. Τοñ Κυρíου δεηθ±µεν.