pastoral care in historical perspective - Bishopdale Theological ...

38 The four Pastarlll Functions
hurried home. demanded a light. wcnt alone into his bedroom, and
saw that the heliling had begun. (Blumhardt sa~·s that the proce" took
a fortnight.) The man wa ited till he was quite SllIt of the result, and
then huuied to Elberfeld. to srod word to Blumhardt, through some
friends of the latter, of the joyful news.31
Such accounts of fa ith.belling in our own da~ · arc neither unknown
nor rendered incredible by the fa ct tha t some of them raise suspicions
of charlatanryo Genuine healing powers of cctlain cbuismatic personsnot
excluding physicians-are widely recognized t oda~· despite their seem·
ing imperviousness to scientific inquj r ~· and description. 32
IV. Exorcism. A dramatic aspect of pastoral heaJing has been
exorcism-the driving away Qf mah~\· o lcnt spirits by means of sacred
words and holy rites. Jesus himself performed e:~mcisms, according to
gospel accounts. and from the beginning his followcrs healed in like
manner, Early it was required of persons about to be baptized that they
should be purified and healed b~' hal'ing el'iI spirits dri\'en out of thelT
bodies and souls. Bishop Cyril of Jcmsalem in the fourth cen tury ex·
horted all candidates for baptism to undergo exorcism, and one of the
very early utin missals known to us con tains an daborate rite for the
exorcism of candidates. In the latter. the exorcist places his hands upon
the head of the prostra te catechumen and pronounces a long adjuration,
The Cod of Abraham. Isaac, Jacob. and t-. loses is imokcd to send an
angel; the eursed devil is commanded to bow before di\'ine judgment,
acknowledge God and Christ, and flee from the sen'ants of God about
to be baptized; the sign of the cross on the candidatc's forehead becomes
the talisman which the demon wiit never dare to violate, This
rite of exorcism in connection with baptism re mains at least vestigially
in many modern baptism rites in which paren ts and godparen ts vow. in
the name of the child. to renounce the dedI. and the sign of the cross
is made on the forehead,n
The practice of e~orcism ::01 first was not confined to the clergy. Both
Tertullian and Origen claimed that the simplest and most unlearned of
the fai thful might cast out demons b~' pra~'e r and adjuration. Tn the
Eastern Church, the specific office of exorcist was nc,'er established. but
II F. Zundel. Pf4.U' /. C. BI"m~~,dl . Ein Ltlxmsbi/d (ZiJlich, 18801. pp. 417-
'438. as cited in translation bv PtrCl' Dcarmc •. Bod,' dnd Soul: An £nq"iry into
Ih. £ff.rt of Rrligion Upon 'H r"wi . . . (Ke",' YOT\( : E. P. Dutton'" Company.
1909). pp. 397-198. By permission.
U See Jerome D_ Frank. PtrStJd,;O'l dnd H ~ali"g: ,~ Compn'at;"e Study in
Pf)'C h O lh ,,~py ( Balt imo~ ; The lohns Hookins Press. 19(1),
U Cyril of Jerusalem. PTO('auches,s 9, :-;P:-"F:l. VII. 3. The l.atin exorcism
formula ITom the ~lasiln ~("nmenta:" is eited hI L. Duchesne. C~ristidn
\Vorshi,,; IIi Origin and £'·ollllion. I •. ',,1. L. :-'lcChue (~I I~ tdn _. London:
Society for Promoling Ch,iniln Kn o\\'ledg