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Definition: Exorcism from Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable

The expelling of evil spirits by prayers and incantations. An ancient practice taken over by the Christian church, after the example of Christ and the Apostles who healed those possessed of evil spirits. The use of this rite in the roman catholic church is now carefully regulated, but the practice itself has been sensationalized by stories and films of the supernatural, such as the horror movie The Exorcist (1973).

And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out.

Matthew 10:1

Exorcism

From The Encyclopedia of Christian Civilization
The English term “exorcism” comes from the Latin exorcismus , and from Greek exorkizo — which means “to adjure or charge under oath.” Exorcism in the New Testament is the driving out of demons or evil spirits from a possessed person by commanding them in the Name of Jesus Christ. Other religions and cultures also use exorcism but largely as magical or superstitious means. Exorcism takes place as a result of power encounter or confrontation. The encounter is between the power of Jesus Christ, the Holy Son of God and the unholy evil spirits. It is between the legitimate owner and creator of human beings and the illegitimate defilers of human souls, the demons. In the New Testament our Lord Jesus Christ drove out demons and healed the sick. Our Lord cited his driving out demons as a proof of the superior strength he has over Satan and the demons. Satan and the demons may possess and overcome a human being but they have no power before Jesus. Therefore they leave and run away when Jesus…
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Full text Article Exorcism

From The Werewolf Book: The Encyclopedia of Shape-Shifting Beings
During his Sunday, March 4, 1990, sermon at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City in New York, Cardinal John O'Connor stated that diabolically instigated violence is on the rise around the world, and he disclosed that two Church-sanctioned exorcisms had been performed in the New York area within…
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Full text Article exorcism

From Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained
The performance of a ritual, usually by a priest or other religious authority, to drive out a spirit or demon believed to have possessed a person or place. The concept of possession by a ghost or evil spirit which enters and takes control of a person or place is an ancient and widespread one, as is…
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Full text Article Exorcism

From The Concise Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology and Behavioral Science
An exorcism is a ritual, formalized by the Catholic Church during the seventeenth century, performed on a person exhibiting signs of demonic possession. Possession is said to occur when the Devil enters and takes over the physical and mental faculties of the victim. The purpose of exorcism is to…
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Full text Article Exorcism

From Cambridge Dictionary of Christian Theology
The term ‘exorcism’ (derived from the Greek word for ‘charging under oath’) refers to the act of driving an evil spirit out of a person or object. In the NT exorcism is portrayed as a defining feature of Jesus’ ministry (see, e.g., Matt. 9:32–3; Mark 1:21–7, 34, 39; Luke 13:32), as well as that of…
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Full text Article Exorcism

From The SAGE Encyclopedia of the Sociology of Religion
Exorcism is a religious ritual that relieves and cures persons obsessed by evil, demonic, and destructive possessions. This ritual is also used for places, objects, and animals considered to be infested by an evil influence. Being known as a magical and religious rite in ancient religions, exorcism…
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When people hear “exorcist,” most think of the...
Clearly something causes possessions, because world-famous exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth, who died at age ninety-one in 2016, had allegedly performed over 70,000 of them during his thirty-odd-year tenure as a Pauline priest. As an exorcist in the diocese of Rome, Amorth was often sought out by…
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From Encyclopedia of World Religions: Encyclopedia of Protestantism
Exorcism is the act of freeing persons from the influence of, or possession by, what are believed to be demons or evil spirits. It played almost no role in the Protestant movement until the emergence of Pentecostalism in the 19th century; the practice has subsequently attracted increased interest in…
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Full text Article EXORCISM - EXORCIST

From Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity
The Latin word exorcismus (sometimes exorchismus ) derives from the Greek εξορκισμος, and designates the action exercised by pagan priests, in the name of the ancient deities, to cast out impure or evil spirits ( actio exorcizandi , actio expellendi ). In this sense the practice was widespread in…
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Full text Article exorcism in Catholicism

From Encyclopedia of World Religions: Encyclopedia of Catholicism
Greek: ek , “out of” + horkizein , “to cause to swear.” Exorcism is a religious (and not magical) rite that relieves people of demonic and other spiritually obsessive possessions. In early Christianity, exorcism became both an incidental ritual and a part of the standard baptismal rite. There are…
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Full text Article exorcism

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(ĕk'sôrsĭz´´Әm), ritual act of driving out evil demons or spirits from places, persons, or things in which they are thought to dwell. It occurs both in primitive societies and in the religions of sophisticated cultures. The term is applied to all those acts that seek to dispel or frighten away…
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