exorcism

exorcism
—exorcismal /ek'sawr siz"meuhl, -seuhr/, exorcisory /ek"sawr suy"zeuh ree, -seuhr/, exorcistical, exorcistic, adj.
/ek"sawr siz'euhm, -seuhr-/, n.
1. the act or process of exorcising.
2. the ceremony or the formula used in exorcising: An elaborate exorcism was pronounced over the sick man.
[1350-1400; ME exorcisme ( < OF) < ML < Gk exorkismós administration of an oath. See EXORCISE, -ISM]

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In Christianity, a ceremony used to drive demons out of a person they have possessed.

Jesus healed people tormented by evil spirits, casting them out with a word, and his followers later drove out demons "in his name." By the 3rd century this task was assigned to a specially trained class of lower clergy. Rituals for exorcism of people and places also exist in many other traditions.

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      an adjuration addressed to evil spirits to force them to abandon an object, place, or person; technically, a ceremony used in both Jewish and Christian traditions to expel demons from persons who have come under their power. The rites and practices of preliterate people to ward off or to expel evil spirits are also a form of exorcism, though they are sometimes considered witchcraft.

      In the Christian tradition, Jesus (Jesus Christ) expelled demons by a word and stated that this act was a sign of the coming of God's Kingdom. His followers, and others as well, drove out demons “in his name.” In the first two centuries of the Christian era, the power of exorcism was considered a special gift that might be bestowed on anyone, lay or cleric. About AD 250, however, there appeared a special class of the lower clergy, called exorcists, to whom was entrusted this special function. About the same time, exorcism became one of the ceremonies preparatory to Baptism, and it has remained a part of the Roman Catholic (Roman Catholicism) baptismal service.

      The exorcism of persons possessed by demons is carefully regulated by canon law in the Roman Catholic church, and the elaborate rite is contained in the Roman ritual.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Exorcism — (from Late Latin exorcismus , from Greek exorkizein to adjure) is the practice of evicting demons or other evil spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed. The practice is quite ancient and part of the… …   Wikipedia

  • Exorcism — • Exorcism is (1) the act of driving out, or warding off, demons, or evil spirits, from persons, places, or things, which are believed to be possessed or infested by them, or are liable to become victims or instruments of their malice; (2) the… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • exorcism —    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… …   Encyclopedia of Protestantism

  • exorcism — EXORCÍSM s.n. Practică magică (rugăciuni, descântece etc.) care are drept scop alungarea duhurilor rele, a diavolilor etc. – Din fr. exorcisme. Trimis de claudia, 13.09.2007. Sursa: DEX 98  exorcísm s. n. Trimis de siveco, 10.08.2004. Sursa:… …   Dicționar Român

  • Exorcism — Ex or*cism ( s[i^]z m), n. [L. exorcismus, Gr. exorkizmo s; cf. F. exorcisme.] 1. The act of exorcising; the driving out of evil spirits from persons or places by conjuration; also, the form of conjuration used. [1913 Webster] 2. Conjuration for… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • exorcism — early 15c., a calling up or driving out of evil spirits, from L.L. exorcismus, from Gk. exorkismos, from exorkizein exorcize, bind by oath, from ex out of + horkizein cause to swear, from horkos oath. Earlier in the same sense was exorcization… …   Etymology dictionary

  • exorcism — [n] expelling evil spirits casting out, ceremony, ejection, expulsion, purification, ritual; concepts 165,367 …   New thesaurus

  • exorcism — [eks′ôr siz΄əm, eks′ərsiz΄əm] n. [ME exorcisme < LL(Ec) exorcismus < Gr exorkismos] 1. the act of exorcising 2. a verbal formula or ritual used in exorcising …   English World dictionary

  • exorcism —    The expulsion of DEMONs and other unwanted spirits from a person or place. Rites of exorcism have been performed since ancient times as remedies against the negative or malevolent influences of spirits, such as the perceived cause of illnesses …   Encyclopedia of Demons and Demonology

  • exorcism — The expulsion of evil spirits. It was the belief in the 1st cent. CE, and long afterwards, that evil spirits could take possession of a person and cause mental and physical illnesses, especially epilepsy. By exorcism, which could take the form of …   Dictionary of the Bible

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