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FLavius Valerius Constantinus

Roman Exorcism

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The Romans believe in evil spirits but I don't think they thought there were possesions. Evil spirts may have caused diesies but they didn't accually posses the person. Pagan Priests may have been order to please spirits in a particular place but we have to remember that the Roman Pagans had a different deffination of the "Nature of evil" Christianity estalished stirct guide lines of evil, with all evil falling under Satan's command. With Polytheism "evil" is alot more blurred.

So no, I do not believe Roman Priests preformed exorsicims on people, but I could be wrong.

Zeke

Edited by Zeke

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The only thing I know of is that there was a festival in May where Romans performed certain rites in their households to ward off malicious spirits. But demonic possession and excorcism is a different venue which doesn't seem to exist in their religion.

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I would also like to mention that everyone of the people who were claimed to be "possesed" by a Satanic Deamon......were meantally and emtionally unstable. In other words the vast majority of those people were CRAZY. So yeah I doubt if any of the possessions accually were real.

p.s. This is my 400th post!!!

Zeke

Edited by Zeke

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I know someone who had an excorism, but she's greek orthodox. It was just the baptism rights though, no head spinning or vomiting out peas. Poor woman, the only real psychic I know. She used to have dreams of people's funerals a week or so before she died, and everyone used to freak out if she started looking at them with a frightened/sorrowed expression.

 

One time (years after the excorcism) she had a bad dream about driving out to Columbus, Ohio (two hour drive away) in the middle of the night for herself, and wanted me to come with her; I of course flat out refused and said she was nuts for wanting to drive after having experianced the dream. Everyone was upset that I refused, but I ain't sorry, she say it coming and my refusal gave her enough excuse to call the trip off.

 

I know the Catholics (I am technically one) have devoloped a more drawn out rite than just re-baptising the person, and don't quite understand the principles that motivate them.... hey, the dark ages were dark not because there was no light in the lamp, but rather cause there was no glow from the T.V.; they had to make their own entertainment with long and excruciating excorcisms.

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::grins:: If I were in the Dark Ages I would be burned alive...or in the very least exorcised...honestly I don't care.

 

It's sad that being psychic is considered "bad" in some way...I used to be very psychic but as soon as I started going to a public school that went away...

 

I do wonder though: did the excorcism affect her any? I mean it must have in some way but how much? Did it stop the dreams? And if it did, was she glad they stopped?

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She still had an occasional dream, but I havn't heard of a negative one, save for my columbus story. It was, from how it was explained to me, anti-climatic, quick, and business like. Like I said, it was just the baptismal rites, something she was well aquainted with having been going to church for years. I know we all want exercismst to be a cool and dramatic event, steeped in mysticism and the supernatural, but really, why should it be?

Edited by Onasander

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Indeed, a strange mystical rite is not at all necessary. Depending on your religious beliefs, a simple prayer may be all it takes, or some other simple act that could be proformed by yourself with no outside influence whatsoever.

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I know someone who had an excorism, but she's greek orthodox. It was just the baptism rights though, no head spinning or vomiting out peas.

 

 

Hi Onasander,

 

All Orthodox (I presumed this to have been the case also with the Roman Catholic Church) are exorcised as part of the Baptismal rite, right before the Confession of Faith.

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Maybe the Romans didn't perform actual exorcisms, but they did take all sorts of steps to ward off evil spirits. The labyrinthine mosaics adorning Roman antechambers supposedly had apotropaic origins. Also, the trident of Neptune was claimed to ward off evil spirits.

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