Of Exorcisms and Certain Supplications (Latin: De Exorcismis et Supplicationibus Quibusdam) is an 84-page document of the Roman Catholic church describing the rite of exorcism. It was revised on 26 January 1998, making it the last liturgical book to be revised following the Second Vatican Council of 1962-1965. The preceding revision of the document was in 1614. The document was originally issued only in Latin, with versions in vernacular planned.
The text of the older English version read, in part:
- Depart, then, transgressor. Depart, seducer, full of lies and cunning, foe of virtue, persecutor of the innocent. Give place, abominable creature, give way, you monster, give way to Christ, in whom you found none of your works. For he has already stripped you of your powers and laid waste your kingdom, bound you prisoner and plundered your weapons. He has cast you forth into the outer darkness, where everlasting ruin awaits you and your abettors.
The new revision includes a warning not to confuse mental illness with demonic possession. It also removes descriptions of Satan, which contradicted church doctrine that the devil is "a spirit without body, without color and without odor."
Of Exorcisms and Certain Supplications may only be used, according to doctrine, by a priest in formal ceremony with the permission of a bishop. The formal ritual of exorcism used by the Christian Orthodox churches closely resembles that of the Catholic church. However, Orthodox Christianity describes a number of other rites to cast out demons.
References
- De exorcismis et supplicationibus quibusdam. Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 2003. ISBN 88-209-4822-2
