Within the tradition, the prayer and accompanying anointing command demons or evil spirits to depart from the afflicted person; the consecrated words and the Oil of Exorcism cleanse and remove the malevolent spiritual presence.
The Prayer of St. Basil for Exorcism is referenced in sources tying St. Basil's name to liturgical material and in Coptic practice notes concerning exorcism. The extant excerpts are fragmentary: the clearest attested rubric states that after a prayer is said, a minister anoints each person with an "Oil of Exorcism" while saying, "Let every evil spirit depart from you." Broader descriptions of Christian exorcism place such prayers within a set of formulaic invocations (God, Jesus, angels, saints) and ritual uses of consecrated substances such as salt, water, and oil. One description of a related traditional rite elsewhere lists three parts (exorcism of salt, exorcism of water, and accompanying prayers), but the specific connection of those preparatory actions to the St. Basil prayer is not supplied in the provided excerpts. The rubrical language in the Coptic example uses masculine third-person imperative phrasing ("After he has said this, he shall anoint each with the Oil of Exorcism"), indicating a clerical performer. The prayer functions liturgically as a means to command and expel demonic presence from persons believed afflicted, using consecrated words and substances as the operative signs.
- 01Prepare any liturgical texts or prayers to be used (sources do not supply the full St. Basil text; the rubric states "after he has said this" a subsequent action follows).
- 02Cleric says the designated prayer (the specific St. Basil prayer text is not supplied in the provided excerpts); upon completion proceed to anointing.
- 03Anoint the afflicted person: the cleric anoints each person with the Oil of Exorcism while saying the formula, "Let every evil spirit depart from you."
- 04If a broader traditional rite is being followed (separate source), perform preparatory exorcisms of substances as prescribed by that rite (the cited traditional three-part rite lists 'the exorcism of the salt' and 'the exorcism of the water' as parts, but their use is not explicitly tied to the St. Basil rubric in the provided excerpts).
- ⚠Sources do not specify explicit contraindications; the provided material does not enumerate conditions under which the ritual must not be performed.
- ⚠Because the rubric indicates a cleric performs the action, the rite is not documented in the supplied excerpts as intended for performance by laypersons without clerical authority.
Community Record
- [1]Exorcism in Christianity (Wikipedia excerpt). Wikipedia: overview of Christian exorcism practices noting use of prayers, set formulas, invocations of God/Jesus/angels/saints and that exorcists are often church members.wiki
- [2]Ugly As Sin 2022 (Coptic rubric excerpt). "After he has said this, he shall anoint each with the Oil of Exorcism, saying, Let every evil spirit depart from you" (Coptic context excerpt).other
- [3]Traditio commentary (traditional rite outline). "The traditional rite consists of three parts:, 1, the exorcism of the salt, two prayers, 2, the exorcism of the water..." (description of a three-part traditional exorcism rite).other
- [4]Basil of Caesarea (contextual/liturgical background). Background on St. Basil and the Basilian liturgical heritage to which certain prayers and liturgical texts bearing his name are attributed.wiki