For many centuries, believers around the world have tried to protect their souls from evil. Sometimes evil was stronger and penetrated human bodies, enslaving and destroying them. Then a caste of mysterious fighters - exorcists - entered the battle for people.
History
The exorcism ritual is at least a couple of thousand years older than Christianity. In each of the world religions, one can find rituals, spells and other methods of fighting a hostile entity that has taken over the human body. For example, in shamanic practices, the rite of exorcism was carried out with the participation of two "specialists" at once.
The witch doctor tried to restore the mental balance of the possessed with the help of herbs, infusions and other medicines. The shaman at this time went into a trance and talked with the spirits, forcing them to leave the patient's body.
The combination of these two methods usually made it possible to drive evil back to the lower world and make it forget about the abduction of human bodies.
With the advent of the era of Christ, all the pagan gods acquired the status of evil spirits, and Christian fighters with obsession had a lot more work to do. The greatest flowering of exorcism came in the Middle Ages, when the church actively learned to rid human bodies of the spirit of the devil that had penetrated into them. At this time, a new term "paladin" appeared, denoting a knight who devoted himself to the fight against evil.
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The exorcist paladin was, as a rule, a member of the monastic order and possessed the power bestowed by God - prayer to cast out evil. Interestingly, back masters could also be involved in driving out demons in the Middle Ages: torture was considered a reliable way to force an evil spirit to leave the body, since, by causing pain, the executioner, as it were, tortured the demon, forcing him to get away.
By the beginning of the infamous "witch hunt", the Catholic Church had built a completed rite of exorcism: in 1614, Pope Paul V published "Roman Rituals" based on centuries of experience of exorcism.
The document was accepted for execution, and over the years of struggle with the servants of Satan, the lists of symptoms of obsession and methods of expelling the evil spirits that prevailed over human bodies were finally polished. They were recognized as quite effective and survived almost unchanged until the end of the 20th century.
Types of obsession and methods of struggle
Christianity proceeds from the postulate that a particle of the Holy Spirit lives in every believer. If a person does not believe in Christ, the place in his soul is empty, and this emptiness can easily be filled with evil. In other words, the place for the devil is where there is already sin, if the soul is weakened by vices, then the demons can take possession of a person. Church experts studying possession have identified several signs that they believe indicate the presence of an outside demonic force in the human body.
Francis Borgia expels demons from a dying man, painting by Francisco Goya
A person who was calm before this can become irritable and even aggressive, previously indifferent to "doping" - to show an ever-increasing attraction to drugs and alcohol.
Possessed by demons, he cannot stand being in the temple at all, during the service he can lose consciousness, the touch of the cross and sprinkling with holy water cause him acute pain, as if from a burn.
Traditionally, physical signs of obsession include abrupt changes in the voice, convulsions or paralysis of certain parts of the body, the manifestation of enormous strength for an ordinary person, the emergence of the ability to levitate, and muttering in non-existent languages.
To defeat the demon and convince him to leave the victim alone, you must strictly adhere to the ritual. In short, it includes the following stages. The priest needs to make sure that the victim is possessed, and not suffering from mental illness.
During the exile, the person who is possessed is given a crucifix in his hands, and the person conducting the ceremony must use holy water, available relics and read certain passages from the Bible, overshadowing the sacrifice with a cross.
The exorcist is then obliged to firmly question the devil about the names and number of demons that have possessed the possessed, and about the ways in which they entered the human body. Having learned the names of the demons, he must lay his hand on the possessed one and call the spirit to leave the body in the name of Christ. Each action is accompanied by prayers, signs of the cross and is repeated until the demon agrees to leave the body of the possessed. Then protective prayers are read, and the exorcist asks Christ for protection for the victim from future attacks of demons on her body.
Professional recommendations
Since the works of the exorcists were considered especially dangerous in the church environment, theologians took the trouble to compile for them a set of professional recommendations that are absolutely mandatory for execution. This craft was and remains really dangerous, and therefore the exorcist must follow the rules in order to help the suffering and at the same time protect his own soul from invasion.
It is believed that those who decide to serve as an exorcist are better off not having close relatives, especially minors. The danger for loved ones is too great, and those who have devoted their lives to driving out the devil must carry their cross alone. The main professional qualities for such classes are the ability to suggestion and hypnosis, a strong will and absolute self-confidence. Fear and doubts during the ritual should be completely excluded.
An important point is the patient's sincere desire to fight for his future. With his efforts to defeat the inner evil, the exorcist's chances of victory are greatly increased.
The one who starts the ritual must fully understand the mechanism of exorcism of the demonic essence, understand all possible complications of the process, be able to preliminarily assess the degree of obsession and the general chances of his actions for success.
He must do this difficult work as many times as necessary, until the possessed person is completely cured, and provide for him, after exile, the care of people who can facilitate the period of "rehabilitation".
In general, the exorcist's struggle with the forces of evil almost never stops, and the servants of Satan immediately use any of his weaknesses to strike.
Devil or disease?
Scientists are skeptical of obsession, as well as many other phenomena not yet explained by science. Physicians and psychologists find in the description of this ailment a number of very real diseases that have nothing to do with the tricks of Satan. According to experts, obsessed people have pronounced symptoms of hysteria, manic syndrome, epilepsy, schizophrenia, multiple personality disorder and other mental disorders. And if so, then they do not need lectures and exorcism, but medicines and close communication with a psychiatrist would be great.
The difficulty lies in the fact that usually the patient is completely convinced that he is not sick, but that he is possessed by the devil or other forces of evil. And he treats any treatment as a waste of time, even if the external symptoms of the disease disappear after the start of treatment.
This conviction has ruined many already today, and doctors were unable to help them, because even with an exorcism, the victim's awareness of his illness is considered important. And in order to undergo treatment by a psychiatrist, the consent of the patient himself or his relatives is required.
Exorcism in the modern world
Modern society, it would seem, is too inclined towards realism to be afraid of the wiles of Satan. However, in the 20th century, there were several high-profile cases of exorcism that made society believe the facts of obsession.
In 1973 the film "The Exorcist" was released, which was based on real events that happened to the boy, known under the pseudonym Robbie Mannheim. Trouble began with him after the boy, using a seance, tried to summon the spirit of his aunt, who had recently died. The session was unsuccessful, but after it furniture began to move in the boy's room, someone's footsteps and noise began to be heard. Robbie himself screamed all night, drew a map of the underworld on the sheets, and mysterious marks appeared on his chest.
The doctors could not help the child, and the parents called a priest to him. During the first attempt at exorcism, the boy broke the priest's nose and threw five adult men who tried to restrain him.
The exorcism of the demons lasted several days and ended in success only when, according to Robbie's testimony, the archangel Michael himself intervened in the matter and helped him read the prayer. In total, it took two months and about 30 exorcisms to heal Robbie Mannheim's obsession.
Unfortunately, sometimes the fight against obsession ended in defeat. One example of this is the story of Annelise Michel, told in 2005 in the film "Emily Rose's Six Demons." The first signs of obsession appeared in the girl at the age of 17. The doctors who examined her diagnosed epilepsy, but Annelise's family was very religious and did not believe the diagnosis.
Soon after severe convulsions and partial paralysis of the body, the girl began to hear strange knocks and see demonic faces.
One day she was found on a bridge when she was preparing to jump into the river. According to her, the devil ordered her to do this, and then the parish priest decided to conduct an exorcism ritual on the girl.
Over the next 10 months, the two priests alternately conducted about 70 sessions, 42 of which were recorded on a dictaphone.
During the rituals, Anneliza screamed, spoke in different voices, and when the priest's hand touched her body, she shouted: "Let go, the fire burns!"
In recent months, the girl stopped eating and drinking, and eventually died during another session. After her death, the priests who conducted the exorcism were charged with causing Annelise's death by negligence, but during the investigation they continued to adhere to the version of the deceased's possession.
Ekaterina KRAVTSOVA