The Third Exorcism Prayer

Third Exorcism

Deacon: Let us pray to the Lord.

People: Lord, have mercy.

Priest: O Lord of Sabaoth, the God of Israel, Who healest every malady and every infirmity: Look upon Thy servant; prove him (her) and search him (her) and root out of him (her) every operation of the devil. Rebuke the unclean spirits and expel them, and purify the works of Thy hands; and exerting Thy trenchant might, speedily crush down Satan under his (her) feet; and give him (her) victory over the same, and over his unclean spirits; that, having obtained mercy from Thee, he (she) may be made worthy to partake of Thy heavenly Mysteries; and may ascribe unto Thee glory, to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages.

People: Amen.

This Third Exorcism Prayer completes the exorcistic sequence and marks a theological transition from cosmic combat and judicial condemnation (in the first two prayers) to healing, purification, and restoration.

Where the earlier exorcisms confront and condemn the devil, this final one turns the focus toward the human person— now seen as God’s work of art being cleansed, healed, and readied for union with Him in the Mysteries.

Let’s examine this prayer line by line and explore its deeper significance.

1. Invocation of the Lord of Sabaoth

“O Lord of Sabaoth, the God of Israel…”

The title “Lord of Sabaoth” (Κύριε Σαβαώθ) means “Lord of Hosts” — the commander of the angelic armies.
This is a title of divine sovereignty and martial power, emphasizing that God alone commands both the heavenly hosts and the forces of creation.

In the context of exorcism, this title affirms that the battle against demonic powers belongs to God alone. The priest does not battle the demon directly — he calls upon the Lord of Hosts to act.

• This recalls 1 Samuel 17:45, where David says to Goliath: “I come to you in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel.”

• It also resonates with the liturgical Sanctus: “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth,” situating the prayer within the worship of heaven itself.

Thus, the prayer begins by placing the human struggle within the vast cosmic hierarchy of divine authority.

2. God as the Healer of Body and Soul

“…Who healest every malady and every infirmity…”

Here the tone shifts dramatically: the emphasis is no longer on banishment but on healing.
This introduces the key Orthodox theme that sin and demonic influence are illnesses, not merely moral failings or external possessions.

The one about to be baptized is now presented not as a battlefield but as a patient in the hands of the Great Physician(cf. Matthew 9:12–13).

In this way, the prayer unites exorcism and healing — both are acts of divine mercy aimed at restoring the image of God in the person.

3. God’s Intimate Knowledge of the Person

“Look upon Thy servant; prove him (her) and search him (her)…”

This language comes from Psalm 139 (LXX 138):23–24 —

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; and see if there be any wicked way in me.”

It emphasizes that the exorcism is not merely external cleansing but an interior purification.
The prayer asks God to “prove” and “search” the person — to expose and remove every hidden influence of evil, even those embedded in the inner life (thoughts, passions, memories).

This reveals the Orthodox understanding that salvation involves the whole person — body, mind, and soul — and that baptism renews this totality.

4. Request for Purification and Renewal

“Root out of him (her) every operation of the devil. Rebuke the unclean spirits and expel them, and purify the works of Thy hands…”

Now the prayer speaks of God’s creative ownership: the human person is “the work of Thy hands.”
The exorcism is not an act of destruction but of restoration — returning the creature to its original state of purity.

This echoes Genesis 2:7 — God forming man from the dust — and Psalm 103:30, “You shall renew the face of the earth.”
Thus, the exorcism becomes a kind of new creation, anticipating what will be completed in baptism: the washing of regeneration (Titus 3:5).

5. Divine Might and the Crushing of Satan

“…and exerting Thy trenchant might, speedily crush down Satan under his (her) feet…”

This line is one of the most striking.
It directly recalls Romans 16:20:

“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.”

Several layers of meaning unfold here:

• “Thy trenchant might” (Greek: τοῦ ὀξυτάτου σου κράτους) evokes a sword-like precision — God’s power pierces and divides; it is decisive and final.

• The crushing “under his (her) feet” is a reversal of the Fall: in Genesis 3:15, the serpent strikes the heel of the seed of the woman, but the seed crushes the serpent’s head.

By invoking this imagery, the prayer declares that the baptized person now participates in Christ’s victory — the promise of Eden is fulfilled in them.

In Orthodox anthropology, this is the moment where the human person is restored to dominion — no longer under sin, but reigning with Christ over the powers of darkness.

6. Victory as Participation in Mercy

“…and give him (her) victory over the same, and over his unclean spirits; that, having obtained mercy from Thee…”

Here the tone softens again: victory is not achieved by merit or strength, but by divine mercy.
In other words, the triumph over evil is a gift, not an accomplishment.

This expresses the synergy at the heart of Orthodox soteriology:

• God acts in power (He crushes Satan).

• The human person responds in faith and repentance.

• The result is victory through mercy, not through force.

7. Preparation for the Mysteries

“…he (she) may be made worthy to partake of Thy heavenly Mysteries…”

This marks the turning point of the exorcisms.
The catechumen, once the object of spiritual conflict, is now deemed ready for the Mysteries of Christ — baptism, chrismation, and eventually the Eucharist.

This movement from exorcism to communion mirrors the entire structure of salvation:

• From darkness → light

• From bondage → freedom

• From alienation → communion

To partake of the Mysteries is to enter the divine life, the very goal of the baptismal journey.

8. The Trinitarian Doxology

“…and may ascribe unto Thee glory, to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages.”

As in the previous exorcisms, the prayer culminates in Trinitarian worship — affirming that all healing, cleansing, and victory flow from the life of the Holy Trinity.

The doxology also signals that the exorcisms are complete:
the person is no longer the subject of conflict but the subject of praise, ready to glorify the Triune God.

Theological Summary

Theme	Theological Significance
God as Lord of Hosts	The battle belongs to the divine Commander; He commands all powers of heaven and earth.
Healing and Restoration	Evil is not merely expelled but replaced by divine health; sin is a sickness to be healed.
Interior Purification	The soul is searched and cleansed from within, restoring the image of God.
Recreation of Humanity	“The works of Thy hands” — the human person is re-created in holiness.
Victory and Dominion Restored	Satan is crushed under the feet of the baptized, fulfilling Genesis 3:15 and Romans 16:20.
Mercy as the Source of Triumph	Salvation is the gift of divine compassion, not human effort.
Preparation for Communion	The purpose of purification is participation — readiness for the Holy Mysteries.
Trinitarian Glory	All salvation culminates in the glorification of the Father, Son, and Spirit.

In Summary

The Third Exorcism brings the baptismal preparation to its climax.
It completes the movement from:

1. Confrontation (First Exorcism: Christ vs. the Devil),

2. Judgment (Second Exorcism: condemnation of evil),

3. Healing and Restoration (Third Exorcism: renewal of the person).

The person, once under bondage, is now a healed, cleansed, and victorious creature of God — ready to be illumined.

Thus, this final exorcism is not a battle cry but a benediction of peace, as the “Lord of Sabaoth” transforms the human soul from a field of conflict into a temple of the Holy Spirit.

The Second Exorcism Prayer

Second Exorcism

Deacon: Let us pray to the Lord.

People: Lord, have mercy.

Priest: God, holy, awesome and glorious, Who is unsearchable and inscrutable in all His works and might, has foreordained for you the penalty of eternal punishment, O Devil. The same God, through us, His unworthy servant, commands you, with all your hosts, to depart om him (her) who has been newly sealed in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, our true God. Wherefore I charge you, most crafty, impure, vile, loathsome and alien spirit, by the might of Jesus Christ, Who has all power, both in heaven and on earth, Who said to the deaf and dumb demon, "Come out of the man, and in nowise enter a second time into him:" Depart! Acknowledge the vainness of your might, which has not power even over swine. Call to mind Him Who, at your request, commanded you to enter into the herd of swine. Fear God, by Whose decree the earth is established upon the waters; Who has made the heavens, and has set the mountains with a line and the valleys with a measure; and has fixed bounds to the sands of the sea, and a firm path upon the stormy waters; Who touches the mountains and they smoke; Who clothes Himself with light as with a garment; Who spreads out the heavens like a curtain; Who covers His exceedingly high places with the waters; Who has made the earth so sure upon its foundations, that it shall never be moved; Who gathers the water of the sea and pours it out upon the face of the whole earth: Begone, and depart from him (her) who has made himself (herself) ready for Holy Illumination. I charge you by the redeeming Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by His precious Body and Blood, and by His awesome Coming-again; for He shall come, and shall not tarry, to judge the whole earth; and He shall chastise you and all your host with burning Gehenna, committing you to outer darkness, where the worm does not cease and the fire is not quenched. For of Christ our God is the dominion, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages.

the Second Exorcism Prayer in the Orthodox baptismal rite builds directly upon the first, intensifying its tone and deepening its theological meaning.

If the First Exorcism announced Christ’s cosmic victory and the expulsion of the devil, this Second Exorcism declares that this victory is final, judicial, and cosmic in scope. It moves from battlefield imagery to the courtroom of divine justice, and from the historical acts of Christ to His eschatological judgment.

Let’s unpack it section by section.

1. The Address to God: The Holy and Fearsome Creator

“God, holy, awesome and glorious, Who is unsearchable and inscrutable in all His works and might…”

The prayer begins not by addressing the devil, but by confessing who God is —
the holy, transcendent Creator, beyond comprehension and human measure.
The adjectives “holy,” “awesome,” “glorious,” “unsearchable,” and “inscrutable” emphasize God’s transcendence — His majesty that dwarfs the devil’s limited being.

This mirrors the language of Job and the Psalms, where God’s power in creation is invoked to show His dominion over chaos (which, in Hebrew thought, is linked to demonic and disorderly powers).

• Cf. Psalm 145:3 — “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; His greatness is unsearchable.”

• Job 9:10 — “He does great things past finding out, and wonders without number.”

This establishes a theological foundation: Exorcism depends not on man’s power, but on the infinite majesty of the Creator.

2. The Devil’s Condemnation Is Already Foreordained

“…Who has foreordained for you the penalty of eternal punishment, O Devil.”

This phrase announces that the devil’s defeat is not in question — it is already decreed.
The exorcism is therefore not a negotiation or contest, but the execution of a divine verdict already sealed from eternity.

This draws on Matthew 25:41 — “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”
Theologically, it proclaims the irreversibility of God’s judgment and the impotence of Satan’s rebellion against the divine will.

3. The Minister’s Role: God Commands Through His Servant

“The same God, through us, His unworthy servant, commands you…”

This line shows the synergy of divine and human agency in sacramental acts.
The priest acknowledges his unworthiness, underscoring that authority to cast out demons comes only through Christ acting in the Church.

In Orthodox theology, this reflects the principle that the priest acts “in persona Ecclesiae” (in the person of the Church), who acts through Christ.
Thus, it is Christ Himself who commands the evil spirit to depart — the priest is merely His voice.

4. Direct Command to the Devil

“Depart from him (her) who has been newly sealed in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ…”

The baptized person is now described as “newly sealed.”
The “seal” here refers to the sign of the Cross, which the priest has already made upon the catechumen. In Orthodox theology, the Cross is the mark of ownership—a claim that the person now belongs to Christ.

This anticipates the final seal of Chrismation, when the priest says, “The seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Thus, the exorcism anticipates a new spiritual identity: this person no longer belongs to the power of darkness but to the Kingdom of Christ.

5. The Scriptural Basis for the Exorcism

“By the might of Jesus Christ, Who has all power, both in heaven and on earth, Who said to the deaf and dumb demon, ‘Come out of the man, and in nowise enter a second time into him.’”

This refers to Mark 9:25, where Christ commands the unclean spirit to come out of the boy and not return.

This moment in the Gospels is paradigmatic for baptismal exorcism:
Christ’s words to the demon are literally re-enacted in the rite.

By recalling this Gospel episode, the prayer identifies baptism as the continuation of Christ’s own ministry of exorcism—His ongoing victory made present through the Church’s sacramental life.

6. The Devil’s Power Shown to Be Ridiculous

“Acknowledge the vainness of your might, which has not power even over swine. Call to mind Him Who, at your request, commanded you to enter into the herd of swine.”

This alludes to Matthew 8:31–32 — the Gerasene demoniacs.
The irony is deliberate: the devil, who claims dominion over man, is reminded that he had to ask permission to enter pigs.

This is a theological humiliation — a reminder that Satan’s power is parasitic, limited, and dependent on divine permission (cf. Job 1–2).
It reveals that evil is not a rival principle to God (as in dualism) but a fallen distortion still subject to divine sovereignty.

7. The Cosmic Imagery of Creation

“Fear God, by Whose decree the earth is established upon the waters… Who clothes Himself with light as with a garment…”

This section bursts into a litany of creation imagery, drawn from Psalms 103, 104, and Job 38–39.
It describes God as the cosmic architect, Who measures mountains, sets boundaries for the sea, and lays foundations of the earth.

The purpose of this imagery is theological:

• The devil is reminded that creation belongs to God, not to him.

• The elements themselves testify to divine order and resist demonic chaos.

• The baptized person is being restored to their rightful place within that cosmic order, as a creature of God, not a captive of chaos.

In short: the Creator is reclaiming His creation.

8. The Catechumen’s Readiness for “Holy Illumination”

“Begone, and depart from him (her) who has made himself (herself) ready for Holy Illumination.”

“Holy Illumination” is the ancient term for baptism — the sacrament of enlightenment, as in Hebrews 6:4 (“those who have once been enlightened”).

This marks the transition: the exorcism is nearly complete, and the soul is now prepared for the entrance of divine light.
The darkness (evil) must be banished before the uncreated light of the Trinity can dwell within.

9. Invocation of Christ’s Passion and Coming Judgment

“I charge you by the redeeming Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by His precious Body and Blood, and by His awesome Coming-again…”

This recalls the threefold mystery of Christ’s work:

1. His Passion and Cross — the defeat of sin and Satan.

2. His Body and Blood — the ongoing victory of the Eucharist.

3. His Second Coming — the final judgment where evil is eternally destroyed.

The exorcism therefore spans the entire economy of salvation: past (the Cross), present (the sacraments), and future (the Judgment).

This reveals a key Orthodox principle: the sacraments are eschatological — they bring into the present the reality of the end times.

10. The Threat of Final Judgment

“…for He shall come, and shall not tarry, to judge the whole earth; and He shall chastise you and all your host with burning Gehenna…”

This final warning frames the devil’s fate as irreversible condemnation.
It evokes the imagery of Isaiah 66:24 and Mark 9:48 — “where the worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.”

The theological meaning is twofold:

• Evil is finite — it has an end.

• The baptized person stands on the side of eternal life, whereas the devil’s path leads to eternal ruin.

This eschatological declaration ensures that the exorcism is not only a present deliverance but also a prophetic proclamation of the world to come.

11. The Trinitarian Doxology

“For of Christ our God is the dominion, with the Father and the Holy Spirit…”

Once again, the exorcism ends in Trinitarian praise.
All dominion, authority, and victory belong to the Triune God — the Father as Creator, the Son as Redeemer, the Spirit as Sanctifier.

This doxology affirms that the newly baptized will soon be sealed in the life of the Trinity, entering the divine communion that evil can never touch.

Summary of Theological Themes

Theme	Theological Significance
God’s Absolute Sovereignty	The exorcism begins with God’s majesty and power over all creation.
The Devil’s Defeat is Decreed	Evil’s end is already sealed by divine decree.
Christ’s Authority	The command to the demon rests solely on Christ’s dominion in heaven and earth.
The Seal of Baptism	The person now belongs to Christ — marked for illumination and new life.
Humiliation of Evil	The devil’s impotence (even before swine) exposes the falsity of his “power.”
Creation as Witness	The natural order reflects God’s authority and rejects demonic intrusion.
Eschatological Victory	Evil’s final destruction is proclaimed; baptism is participation in that future reality.
Trinitarian Dominion	The prayer ends by glorifying the Father, Son, and Spirit — the true source of all power.

In Summary

The Second Exorcism Prayer is a majestic proclamation of God’s sovereignty, Christ’s authority, and creation’s restoration.
It shifts from the personal expulsion of the devil (as in the first exorcism) to the cosmic and judicial scale — situating the baptismal act within the entire narrative of creation, fall, redemption, and final judgment.

In the first prayer, the devil is banished; in the second, he is condemned. The catechumen is now ready for illumination — to enter into the light of the Kingdom, where no darkness can dwell.