Archimandrite Mihail Daniliuc: Should we be afraid of witchcraft?
Let us not be afraid of witchcraft, as long as Christ is with us. Let us be afraid of being deceived, tempted, and falling into the net of the evil one.
Orthodox Christians often mention the evil influence of witchcraft and magic spells and blame them for all their life's troubles, including specific medical, sentimental, or social problems. Leaving aside the extensive folk tradition regarding witchcraft and magic spells, it is good to call on the teachings of the Holy Fathers so that we can elucidate certain questions: does witchcraft exist? Should we be afraid of magic spells? Why do certain people call on occult practices?
Why do people solicit help from witchcraft?
Witchcraft exists, there is no doubt about it, even though some people vehemently contest its existence in our modern world. An uncontested proof of its existence is that we have prayers in our prayer books through which the Church asks for God's mercy so that people can be freed from the works and influence of witchcraft. However, we need to emphasize that witchcraft and magic spells are not effects of religious phenomena, but they have come into existence in a parasitic way, at the periphery of true living faith, through the perverted imitation of authentic religious practices.
Have you ever wondered why some people solicit help from witchcraft? And some of them also consider themselves good Christians! People who request such "services" want to control everything, including their future or the future of those around them. The need for power, closely followed by ignorance and gullibility - "qualities" politely called by Jean Vernette "lack of religious culture, and spiritual illiteracy" - are the main reasons for soliciting help from witchcraft. At the same time, fear of death can be another reason for the orientation toward the occult. Fearing the unknown, people try to prolong their lives in whichever way possible. At the same time, secular society drags people into dark magical practices - people are far from God and alone, so they feel an unmeasurable need for the sacred in their souls.
What does the Orthodox Church say about witchcraft?
Our Holy Orthodox Church considers practicing witchcraft or seeking help in magic spells a sin against the Holy Spirit. When Christians reach for these practices, they are in dire opposition to the divine commandments and the work of the Holy Spirit. The Church rejects witchcraft because occult practices attribute to human beings and natural forces powers that belong entirely to God. The Holy Fathers teach us that all magic spells are performed through the invocation and the help of the devil, even though, at first sight, they have good purposes and effects. But have you asked yourself how the demon - the father of lies and evil - can help a divided family? How can it heal certain illnesses or assist us in certain dire situations in our lives - since doing good is contrary to its nature?
And so, the devils can never perform genuine miracles; they can only deceive people weak in faith and thirsty for power through illusions. Witchcraft has nothing in common with the authentic Christian faith. It was rejected from the time of the Old Testament: "Do not practice divination and seek omens. Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them." (Leviticus 19:26,31) The teachings of the Church firmly condemn everything related to witchcraft. The "Teachings of the Twelve Apostles" says: "do not practice witchcraft, do not poison…do not divine the future based on the flight of birds, because this leads to the worship of idols…do not practice spells, or divinations in stars." The Holy Fathers also firmly condemned the practice of witchcraft. For example, St. Justin the Martyr and Philosopher tells us: "guard yourselves, so that the demons, which we accuse of all evils, will not deceive you." And St. Nicodemus the Hagiorite writes: "witchcraft is destructive and unclean before God…it causes in the soul the greatest and most lethal sin…"
We thus understand why the canons of the Church firmly condemn occult practices, denouncing whoever practices them and benefits from them. For example, Canon 61 from the Sixth Ecumenical Synod specifies that whoever calls on witchcraft or spells, tells the fortune or destiny, pretends to chase away clouds, and uses talismans - all these will fall under a penitential canon for six years. They will be removed from the Church if they persevere in these practices. St. Basil the Great says the same in Canon 83; this Holy Father also advises, through canons 7, 65, and 72, that the penitence given to whoever does these things is the same penitence given to those who kill - because they kill souls.
We need to be afraid not of witchcraft but of the devil's deceiving
The devil and all his scheming cannot control our lives. And since witchcraft and spells are performed by the invocation of demonic powers, they can only affect us if we allow them to. Through our doubt and lack of faith, we often offer favorable ground for the action of these evil powers. Orthodox Christians should not forget that the devil is a created being, lower than the Creator of Heaven and earth, so it doesn't have ontological powers. If we were to answer the question: "Should we be afraid of witchcraft" we would say: Let us not be afraid of witchcraft, as long as Christ is with us. Let us be afraid of being deceived, tempted, and falling into the net of the evil one. We will scatter the fear of the evil one and its works through prayer, repentance, fasting, going to Church, Confession, and Communion. We will then be able, being thus fortified spiritually, to say with St. Paul the Apostle: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:35, 38-39)
Archimandrite Mihail Daniliuc is the Abbot of the Vovidenia-Neamt Skete in Romania.
Translated from an article extracted from the book "Miride si merinde" published by Doxologia Publishing House.
Original article in Romanian: https://doxologia.ro/puncte-de-vedere/sa-ne-temem-de-vraji