The Encyclopedia Of Demons And Demonology

P
pact A binding agreement with a DEMON or the DEVIL
for gain and services beyond the power of nature, usually
in exchange for one’s soul.
The Devil’s pact is implied in biblical passages. In the
book of Isaiah, the prophet Isaiah says, “For you have
said: We have entered into a league with death; we have
made a covenant with hell” (28:15). Matthew 4 tells about
the temptations of JESUS in the wilderness, and the Devil’s
promises of glory and power in return for worship:
“Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and
showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory
of them; and he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if
you will fall down and worship me’ ” (4:8). Jesus refuses
and the Devil leaves.
Legendary Pacts
Informal pacts with demons and the Devil exist in legend
and folklore tales about individuals seduced into selling
their souls, often to obtain treasure, love, or power.
The Devil’s pact is based on a long history of assumption
among theologians that any practice of magic, or even
divination had to involve a demonic pact. (See SIMON
MAGUS.) Such assertions were made by Origen (185–254),
who condemned divination. St. Augustine (354–430), one
of the most important fathers of the early church, gave
weight to the concept of Devil’s pacts in De Doctinia Christiana.
Formal pacts with the Devil appeared for the first
time in the writings of St. Jerome in the fifth century.
Jerome’s story involves St. Basil. A man who wishes
to seduce a pretty girl goes to a magician for help. For
payment, he agrees to renounce Christ in writing. The
magician writes a letter to the Devil to advise him of his
conquest. The magician tells the man to take his renunciation
and go out at night and thrust it up into the air.
The man does as told and calls upon the powers of
darkness. He is taken to the presence of LUCIFER and undergoes
a parody of a BAPTISM in which he reaffirms his
renunciation of Christ. Lucifer insists that he sign a pact
in writing. The man does so, and the Devil causes the girl
to fall in love with the man. Her father refuses to allow
her to marry him, for he desires his daughter to become
a nun. The girl gives in to her lover. St. Basil learns about
the pact, helps the man repent, and saves the girl from
going to HELL.
Another of the earliest Christian stories of a pact with
the Devil concerns THEOPHILUS, treasurer of the church
of Adana, who allegedly sold his soul to the Devil around
538 in order to become a bishop. The story of Theophilus
was told in many variations throughout Europe and
became the basis for the legend of FAUST. It also boosted
the cult of the Blessed Virgin Mary, for it is she who often
appears in the stories to save the person.
In the 13th century, St. Thomas Aquinas (ca. 1227–
74), the church’s greatest theologian, stated in Sententiae,
“Magicians perform miracles through personal contracts
made with demons.”
Stories of Devil’s pacts were common in the Middle
Ages, and particularly in the 16th and 17th centuries
during the witch hysteria. The victim usually was not
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