The five last Czars, from Alexander I (1777-1825) to Nicholas II (1868-1918), practiced magic and the occult, culminating in Rasputin (1869-1916) and ending in the Russian Revolution and their assassination

Magic at the Russian Court

Standard of the Tsar of Moscow (1693–1700)

The Russian Church is an offshoot of the Byzantine (Greek Orthodox).  At first it had bishops under the control of Byzantium (Constantinople, now Istanbul).  Later some of these were raised to the rank of archbishops and even metropolitans, finally a patriarch was appointed (Patriarch of Moscow).  Meanwhile the Czar, who was the recognised temporal head of Russia had been gaining in power.  It was intended, by the clergy, to make Moscow the third Rome (Byzantium being the second).  Finally the Czar however acquired the supreme power over Church and State, and this was the position until the Revolution.

There was always a great deal of mysticism and occultism in the Russian Church.  Some of the clergy were not particular about associating with magicians, and mediums were freely consulted.  The last five czars (Alexander I, Nicholas I, Alexander II, Alexander III and Nicholas II) and their consorts were remarkable for their interest in occultism, and made contacts with mystics, occultists and mediums both in and out of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Alexander I (1777-1825)

Equestrian Portrait of Alexander I by Franz Krüger

Alexander I (1777-1825) who ascended the throne in 1801 was much influenced by Baroness von Krudener.  This mystic, who had some sort of an organisation in Switzerland, visited many European cities and was undoubtedly influential in cementing the Holy Alliance signed between Russia, Prussia, and Austria in 1815.  Baroness Krudener combined the vision-seeing of Swedenborg with the beliefs of the Moravians, and made a number of successful predictions, notably the return of Napoleon from Elba, and his subsequent expulsion.

The next arrival was Sister Salome (Madam Bouche nee Therese des Isard) who was at the Russian Court from 1819 to 1821.  She was a member of a French occult society (Society of St. John).  She predicted the failure of Napoleon's Russian campaign and his subsequent fall.  She persuaded Alexander I to have talismans of pure gold prepared.  These were impressed with the triangle, as the symbol of the Holy Trinity.  They were distributed from time to time to princes.

Nicholas I (1796-1855)

Emperor Nicholas I. Portrait by Franz Krüger

Nicholas I (1796-1855) who succeeded his brother Alexander I was much influenced by the aforementioned Hoene Wronski.  The latter addressed two publications to this Czar, dealing with the destiny of the Slav peoples.

Alexander II (1818-1881)

Portrait of Alexander II by Yegor Botkin

Alexander II (1818-1881) who succeeded his father Nicholas I in 1855 was interested in all forms of divination, but particularly astrology.  D. D. Home, the great medium was one of those consulted.  He said he could not continue to advise the Czar, but that a German would do the work.  Later a German medium called Baron Langsdorff (d. 1908) told the Czar in 1880 of a bomb outrage that might take place at a dinner at which he was expected.  The Czar delayed his arrival for half an hour, during which a terrible explosion took place.  The next year the medium was sent on an important mission in Paris.  During his absence the Czar was killed by another bomb.

Alexander III (1845-1894)

Portrait of Alexander III (1845-1894), the Russian Tsar, oil on canvas by I.N. Kramskoi (1837-1887)

He was succeeded by his son Alexander III (1845-1894).  The new Czar recalled Langsdorff, and held seances with him almost daily until 1886, when the medium retired owing to poor health.  Under this influence an alliance was concluded with France.  The medium fell into trances, but also used an instrument, called a psychograph, a rotating disc moved by the fingers of the medium, to facilitate the rapid selection of letters of the alphabet, spelling out the words of a message.  This was invented by the spirits, and was subsequently adopted by other mediums.

Towards the end of the reign of Alexander III a Russian priest named John of Constadt (1821-1908) became very popular both at court, and among the people.  He was supposed to perform miracles, and certainly carried out many works of charity.  He was unable to save the life of Alexander in h is last illness.

Nicholas II (1868-1918)

Nicholas II, unknown source

Alexander's eldest son was Nicholas II (1868-1918) who succeeded on his father's death.  He and all his family were murdered by Bolsheviks in the Revolution.  The Czar and his wife the Czaritza were deeply involved in mysticism and magic.  After the failure of John of Cronstadt they called in a magus of Lyons, France, Nizier Anthelme Philippe, known as le Maitre Philippe (1849-1905).  This individual was undoubtedly a remarkable personality.  When at school a priest told him he had diabolical powers, and at the age of thirteen he performed marvellous cures.  He married in 1877 and a daughter of this marriage married a doctor interest in Kabalism, but she died at an early age.  Philippe became a medical student, but towards the end of his course of instruction news had reached the college that he was already practising occult medicine, which was regarded there as charlatanism, so he was not allowed to complete his fifth inscription.  He was subsequently allowed to open a clinic and courses of lectures at Lyons under the auspices of the Practical School of Magnetism and Massage at Paris, run by the celebrated hypnotist H. Durville, helped at times by the equally celebrated occultist and kabalist G. Encausse, otherwise known as Papus.  He was, on several occasions fined for practising medicine without a licence.

Nicholas II relies on Le Maitre Philippe

Paracelsus (1493 - 1541) was a Swiss German occultist who influenced Le Maitre Philippe

Le Maitre Philippe classified diseases, rather after the manner of Paracelsus, into three classes: those of their origin which may be (i) physical, (ii) astral and (iii) spiritual.  But in all cases he seems to have detected a kind of moral responsibility for each disease.

Main buildings of the University of Moscow (1798) where Le Maitre Philippe was educated

Philippe was called to Russia and journeyed there late in 1900.  There his faculties of clairvoyance and clairaudience, enabling him to diagnose, even at a distance, astonished and enthralled the Czar.  He predicted that a male heir to the throne would be born, and this prophecy was soon fulfilled.  Philippe finally received the honorary Doctorate in Medicine of the University of Moscow, and permission to visit the royal family without special appointment.

However opposition was raised to the magus, on the grounds that he exerted political influence over the Czar, and in 1901 he returned to Lyons, continuing there to correspond with the Russian court.  In 1903 he was in Russia again, conducting seances on a large scale and founding a Martinist lodge with the help of the Czar and the King of Denmark.  He returned to Lyons for some reason, having been given a superb automobile as a parting gift from the royal family.  In 1904 his daughter died, and this so upset him that he retired into obscurity, dying himself the next year.

Nicholas II moves to new occult experiences

Nicholas II in Coronation by Valentin Serov

Attempts were no made to interest Nicholas in Russian Orthodox mystics, or at least in Russian occultism.  For a time he held sessions with Mitia Koliaba, a dumb crippled monk who communicated only by gestures, which were interpreted by another monk, Elpifidor, or Egorov of the same monastery.  Then attention was focused on a priest calling himself Heliodorus, a learned man, supposed to work miracles, and the leader of a group considered heretical by many theologians.  He had been a friend of Philippe, and his policy was so pro-French that there was political as well as religious opposition.

Enter Rasputin

Rasputin and the Imperial couple. Anonymous caricature in 1916.

However help was coming from Siberia.  Not only so, but it was rumoured at court that the new prophet had been predicted by Philippe, so the newcomer ought to be pleasing to both parties.  Grigori Rasputin (1871-1916) was the newcomer.  He had been born in the province of Tobolsk in Western Siberia as the son of poor peasants and when he grew up worked at first as a groom.  He married and had a family, and was regarded by some as a drunkard and libertine, but nevertheless claimed to have had a vision of the Mother of God, whilst doing some farming work in a field.  Soon after this a remarkable change came over Rasputin.  He joined the sec of the Khlysty, left his wife and family and became an itinerant preacher.

Rasputin is helped by the monk-priest Iliodor and the Doctor of Tibetan Medicine, S. Badmaev

Ascetic Russian monk (1897)

In some manner, not now determinable, Rasputin had acquired tremendous hypnotic powers, and a persuasive way of reconciling the doctrines of the Khlysty with those of the Orthodox Russian Church.  Moreover he was an able speaker, with a manner that was as direct as it was uncommon.  As he wandered around the country he became known as a miracle worker.  Son he was invited among the nobility and clergy.  But two persons, particularly, who had great influence in Russia at the time, helped in greatly.  One was the monk-priest Iliodor, Russia's most famous preacher and a most vigorous opponent of Western influence in Russia and of all foreign interference.  The other was S. Badmaev, Doctor of Tibetan Medicine, one of the Czar's leading medical advisers.  The latter worked at the magical and alchemical laboratory of his elder brother in St. Petersburg, where they dispensed Tibetan medicine, otherwise unknown in the West, obtaining remarkable cures.  Badmaev studied, not only the physiology and pathology of his patients, but also their politics, which he charted carefully, and thus gave much useful information to the Czar for making state appointments.

Rasputin helps assuage the Czarevitch's hemophilia

Tsarevich Alexei (1904 - 1918) in a sailor uniform

Now it so happened that the heir to the throne, the Czarevitch, suffered from hemophilia, a disease in which slight wounds or bruises produced long and serious illness.  Owing to the illness the Czarevitch was not allowed to ride or indulge in outdoor sports of any kind, and his play was restricted.  Even Badmaev could not cure him.  One day when the child was seriously ill with the complaint, and was lying inert, apparently near death, the Czar and Scarina were persuaded to allow Rasputin to come and see the invalid.  He told the Czarevitch that there was nothing really wrong with him, that he would soon be up and about, and would be able to play all sorts of games, in particular he began to talk about horses.  The Czarevitch soon began to listen attentively and Rasputin recounted all sorts of adventures.  The child began to improve from the first interview, and whenever he had a relapse Rasputin was called in to make him better.

Rasputin's power increases

Grigori Rasputin (1869 - 1916)

Soon Rasputin acquired great power at the Russian court, and many of his friends received official appointments, both in Church and State.  As most of the newcomers were hitherto unknown and uneducated, this caused dismay.  Although Rasputin was never severe with his enemies, he and his friends were disliked by many.  He had a large following of women, and very scandalous stories were circulated.  Worst of all was the power which Rasputin seemed to possess of instantly hypnotising most of those with whom he came into contact.

Noblemen attempt to murder Rasputin

Rasputin's corpse on a sledge

Eventually a group of noblemen plotted to destroy Rasputin, whom they regarded as a menace to the security of the State.  He was invited to a party by Prince Yusupov, who had gained his confidence.  Rasputin was plied with wine, and finally given cakes containing cyanide.  The poison, however, did not work, and Rasputin was finally shot.  The Prince was banished to a remote part of Russia, and at the time of writing is living in America.

The Revolution begins and the Czar and his family are murdered

One of the last photographs taken of Nicholas II, showing him at Tsarskoye Selo after his abdication in March 1917

The Revolution began in 1917 and the Czar abdicated.  The murder of the Czar and his family took place in 1918.  There is no evidence that Rasputin had any intention of fostering revolution, but it is held by many that his extraordinary activities weakened an already tottering throne.

Source: Crow, W. B.  A Fascinating History of Witchcraft Magic & Occultism.  Hollywood, CA: Wilshire Book Company, 1968, pages 268-273.

There is greater evidence for the historical accuracy of the New Testament than for any other piece of ancient literature. The New Testament passes three crucial tests for historicity: the biographical, internal and external tests.

Papyrus 46, one of the oldest New Testament papyri, showing 2 Cor 11:33-12:9

The New Testament passes three crucial tests for historicity

Judea Province during the first century

There is greater evidence for the historical accuracy of the New Testament than for any other piece of ancient literature. Although I can only quickly paint the picture with a few wide but bright strokes, it can be shown that the New Testament passes three crucial tests for historicity: the biographical, internal and external tests.

The Biographical Test

Papyrus Bodmer VIII, at the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, showing 1 and 2 Peter.

The biographical test considers (a) how many manuscript copies we possess of a document and (b) the time gap between the documents and the originals.  Although it is a well-kept secret, the New Testament is highly attested in the number of extant manuscripts (over 5,000), much more so than other pieces of classical literature.  Because of recent discoveries of ancient documents, biblical scholars today have more manuscripts to work with than scholars did two hundred years ago.  So, paradoxically, the further we are in time from the life of Christ, the more early manuscripts we have that confirm the biblical records!

The time gap between the original writing and the earliest copies is short

Evangelist Mattheüs en de engel by Rembrandt

The time gap between the original writing and the earliest copies is also quite short, with manuscripts dating as early as A.D. 120, 200 and 350.  Here again the New Testament leaves other ancient documents -- with time gaps averaging a thousand years -- in the historical dust.

The Internal Evidence Test

Saint Paul Writing His Epistles, 17th-century painting. Most scholars think Paul actually dictated his letters to a secretary.

Concerning internal evidence, the New Testament claims to be written by eyewitnesses or by those who based their writing on the testimony of eyewitnesses (Luke 1:1-4; Galatians 1; 2 Peter 1:16; 1 John 1:1; and so on).  The style and content of the documents do not indicate fraud or deception.  The writers had nothing to gain and much to lose by inventing a new religion that was so quickly and violently opposed by Judaism.  Paul, who wrote more New Testament books than anyone else, suffered greatly for his faith (2 Corinthians 11:23-29) and declared that if Christ had not been raised from the dead, Christian faith was futile (1 Corinthians 15:17).  The early church appealed to the historical knowledge of unbelievers (Acts 2:22) and Paul confidently affirmed that over five hundred people witnessed the resurrected Christ and that many of them were still living at the time in which he wrote (1 Corinthians 15:6).  The accounts read as legitimate historical documents, not myths.  Furthermore, the New Testament books all may be safely dated before A.D. 95 and possibly even before A.D. 70, putting them quite close to the time of the events they record.

The External Evidence Test

A Roman portrait bust said to be of Josephus (37 - 100 AD)

Modern statue representing Tacitus (56 - 127 AD) outside the Austrian Parliament Building

Illustration of Suetonius (67 - 122 AD) from the Nuremberg Chronicle

A 17th-century fictional portrait of Lucian of Samosata (125 - 180 AD)

The New Testament is also substantially corroborated by the external evidence of archaeology and extrabiblical historians.  The Jewish historian Josephus, the Roman historians Tacitus and Suetonius, the Greek satirist Lucian, and others comment on the historicity of Christ and other events recorded in the New Testament.

William F. Albright (1891 - 1971)

Renowned archaeologists such as William F. Allbright, Sir William Ramsay and others have also testified to the historicity of the New Testament documents and the Old Testament as well.

God is interested in communicating with us

The Psalms Scroll (11Q5), one of the 972 texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls, with a partial Hebrew transcription.

Finally, on a presuppositional level, if a personal God exists who is interested in truthfully communicating with us, creatures made in his image, it is not unreasonable to believe that he would sovereignly preserve his Word for his purposes and our good.

Source: Groothuis, Doug.  Confronting the New Age.  Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 1988, pages 92-93.

Before following Christianity, Saint Augustine (354 - 430 AD) followed Astrology

The astrological signs

Augustine dislikes astrology because it is not true: it presents man as guiltless and sin as predetermined in the heavens

'An Astrologer Casting a Horoscope' from Robert Fludd's Utriusque Cosmi Historia, 1617

The same reasoning did not prevent me from consulting those impostors, the astrologers, because I argued that they offered no sacrifices and said no prayers to any spirit to aid their divination. Nevertheless, true Christian piety rightly rejects and condemns what they do. For sweet it is to praise the Lord and say Have mercy on me; bring healing to a soul that has sinned against you. And it is wrong to impose upon your readiness to forgive, taking it as licence to commit sin. Instead we must remember Our Lord's words to the cripple: You have recovered your strength. Do not sin any more, for fear that worse should befall you? This truth is our whole salvation, but the astrologers try to do away with it. They tell us that the cause of sin is determined in the heavens and we cannot escape it, and that this or that is the work of Venus or Saturn or Mars. They want us to believe that man is guiltless, flesh and blood though he is and doomed to die despite his pride. Instead they have it that the blame is to be laid on the Creator and Ruler of the heavens and the stars, none other than our God, himself the very source of justice, from whom its sweetness is derived - on you, O God, who will award to every man what his acts have deserved you who will never disdain a heart that is humbled and contrite

A wise old man warns Augustine that astrology is deception

Page from an Indian astrological treatise, c. 1750

There was at that time a man of deep understanding, who had an excellent reputation for his great skill as a doctor. As he was proconsul at the time, his was the hand that laid upon my head the wreath I won in the poetry competition, but it was not a doctor's hand that could cure my disordered state of mind. This is a disease that only you can cure, you who thwart the proud and keep your grace for the humble. But you did not fail to use even that old man to help me, nor did you cease to give my soul through him the medicine which it needed. He and I became better acquainted and I listened intently and without fail to what he had to say, for though he was not a gifted speaker, his lively mind gave weight and charm to his words. In the course of our conversation he learned that I was an enthusiast for books of astrology, and in a kind and fatherly way he advised me to throw them away and waste no further pains upon such rubbish, because there were other more valuable things to be done. He said that as a young man he had studied astrology himself, intending to make a living by it, and that if he could understand Hippocrates I need not doubt that he had been able to master these textbooks as well. All the same, after a time he had given them up and taken to medicine instead, for the very good reason that he had found out that they were entirely wrong, and, being an honest man, he had no wish to earn his living by deception. 'But you can support yourself by your rhetoric', he went on. 'Your interest in this trickery is mere curiosity and you do not have to depend upon it for a living. All the more reason, then, why you should believe what I say, because, as it was to be my only means of support, I tried to learn as much about it as I could.'

The wise old man advises Augustine that the future foretold by astrology is by chance and not by skill

Two Women with the Signs of Libra and Scorpio. Marcantonio Raimondi engraving, 15th century 

I asked him why it was then that the future was often correctly foretold by means of astrology. He gave me the only possible answer, that it was all due to the power of chance, a force that must always be reckoned with in the natural order. He said that people sometimes opened a book of poetry at random, and although the poet had been thinking, as he wrote, of some quite different matter, it often happened that the reader placed his finger on a verse which had a remarkable bearing on his problem. It was not surprising, then, that the mind of man, quite unconsciously, through some instinct not within its own control, should hit upon some thing that answered to the circumstances and the facts of a particular question. If so, it would be due to chance not to skill.

Augustine persists in believing that astrologers are skilled in reading the stars

Chart showing the 24 Chinese cardinal directions and the symbols of the sign associated with them.

This answer which he gave me, or rather which I heard from his lips, must surely have come from you, my God. By means of it you imprinted on my mind doubts which I was to remember later, when I came to argue these matters out for myself. But at that time neither he nor my great friend, Nebridius - a young man of high principles and unexceptionable character, who ridiculed the whole business of soothsaying - could persuade me to give it up. I thought that the authors of the books made out a better case, and I had as yet found no evidence as positive as I required to prove beyond doubt that when the astrologers were found to be right, it was due to luck or pure chance and not to their skill in reading the stars.

Augustine turns his back on the astrologers

The zodiac signs in a 16th-century woodcut

By this time I had also turned my back upon the astrologers with their illusory claims to predict the future and their insane and impious ritual. In this too, my God, let me acknowledge your mercy from the deepest depths of my soul! For you, and you alone, are the life that recalls us from the death we die each time we err. You alone are the life which never dies and the wisdom that needs no light besides itself, but illumines all who need to be enlightened, the wisdom that governs the world, down to the leaves that flutter on the trees.

You provided me with a friend who cured my stubborn resistance both to that wise old man Vindicianus and to Nebridius who, for all his youth, was gifted with spiritual qualities that I greatly admired. Vindicianus was quite outspoken on the subject of astrology. Nebridius was not so ready to declare himself, although he too repeated often enough that there was no art by which the future could be foretold. They said that guesswork was often borne out by mere chance. If a man made a great many predictions, several of them would later prove to be true, but he could not know it at the time and would only hit upon them by chance, simply by opening his mouth to speak.

Augustine's friend Firminus loves astrology and asks Augustine for a reading

Wheel of the zodiac: This 6th century mosaic pavement in a synagogue incorporates Greek-Byzantine elements, Beit Alpha, Israel.

So to cure my obstinacy you found me a friend who was usually ready enough to consult the astrologers. He had made no real study of their lore but, as I have said, he used to make inquiries of them out of curiosity. He did this although he was perfectly well aware of certain facts about them which he said he had heard from his father. If only he had realized it, these facts would have been quite enough to destroy his belief in astrology.

Augustine is almost convinced that astrology is absurd and meaningless

17th-century fresco, Cathedral of Living Pillar, Georgia of Christ in the Zodiac circle

This man, whose name was Firminus, had been educated in the liberal arts and had received a thorough training in rhetoric. He came to consult me, as his closest friend, about some business matters of which he had high hopes, and asked me what prospects I could see in his horoscope, as they call it. I was already beginning to change my mind in favour of Nebridius's opinions on astrology, but I did not refuse outright to read the stars for him and tell him what I saw, though I had little faith in it myself. Nevertheless I added that I was almost convinced that it was all absurd and quite meaningless. He then told me that his father had studied books of astrology with the greatest interest and had had a friend who shared his enthusiasm for the subject. Each was as intent upon this nonsense as the other, and by pooling their experiences they whetted their enthusiasm to the point that, even when their domestic animals had litters, they would note the exact moment of birth and record the position of the stars, intending to use these observations for their experiments in this so-called art.

A rich baby and a slave baby are born at the same moment

Angers Cathedral South Rose Window of Christ (centre) with elders (bottom half) and Zodiac (top half). Mediaeval stained glass by Andre Robin after the fire of 1451

Firminus went on to tell me a story about his own birth. His father had told him that when his mother was pregnant, a female slave in the household of this friend was also expecting a child. Her master was of course aware of her condition, because he used to take very great care to find out even when his dogs were due to have puppies. The two men made the most minute calculations to determine the time of labour of both the women, counting the days, the hours, and even the minutes, and it so happened that both gave birth at exactly the same moment. This meant that the horoscopes which they cast for the two babies had to be exactly the same, down to the smallest particular, though one was the son of the master of the house and the other a slave. For as soon as labour began, each man informed the other of the situation in his house, and each had a messenger waiting, ready to be sent to the other as soon as the birth was announced. As the confinements took place in their own houses, they could easily arrange to be told without delay. The messengers, so Firminus told me, crossed paths at a point which was exactly halfway between the two houses, so that each of the two friends inevitably made an identical observation of the stars and could not find the least difference in the time of birth. Yet Firminus, who was born of a rich family, strode along the smoother paths of life. His wealth increased and high honours came his way. But the slave continued to serve his masters. Firminus, who knew him, said that his lot had been in no way bettered.

The rich baby and the slave baby born at the same moment have different outcomes -- astrology is a matter of luck, not of skill

Sculpture showing Castor and Pollux the legend behind the third astrological sign in the Zodiac and the constellation of Gemini

I believed this story when I heard it, because Firminus was a man whom I could trust. It marked the final end of all my doubts, and my first reaction was to try to redeem Firminus from his interest in astrology. I told him that if I had cast his horoscope and my reading of the stars was correct, I could only have seen in them that his parents were important people, that he belonged to one of the noble families of his town, that he was a freeman by birth, that his upbringing suited his rank, and that his education was liberal. But the slave was born under the very same constellations, and if he had asked me to tell him their meaning, my interpretation of them could not have been true unless I saw in them a family of the meanest sort, the status of a slave, and various other details entirely different from and inconsistent with those which applied to Firminus. This proved that if I were to say what was actually the truth, I should give a different answer to each, though the stars I read were the same; whereas, if I gave the same answer to each, I should be wrong in fact. It was therefore perfectly clear to me that when predictions based on observations of the stars turn out to be true, it is a matter of luck, not of skill. When they turn out to be wrong, it is not due to lack of skill, but to the perversity of chance.

Augustine believes that the birth of twins with different outcomes disproves astrology and cites the Bible's example of Jacob, whom God loved, and Esau, whom God hated

Hendrick ter Brugghen, Esau Selling His Birthright, c. 1627

Taking this as my starting point I began to think the matter over in my mind, so that I should have an answer ready if the eccentrics who made their living at this trade should raise the objection that the story, as Firminus told it, was untrue, or that he had been misinformed by his father. By now I was eager to move to the attack and reduce these people to silence by ridicule. So I turned my attention to the case of twins, who are generally born within a short time of each other. Whatever significance in the natural order the astrologers may attribute to this interval of time, it is too short to be appreciated by human observation and no allowance can be made for it in the charts which an astrologer has to consult in order to cast a true horoscope. His predictions, then, will not be true, because he would have consulted the same charts for both Esau and Jacob and would have made the same predictions for each of them, whereas it is a fact that the same things did not happen to them both. Therefore, either he would have been wrong in his predictions or, if his forecast was correct, he would not have predicted the same future for each. And yet he would have consulted the same chart in each case. This proves that if he had foretold the truth, it would have been by luck, not by skill. For, O Lord, though neither the astrologers nor those who consult them know it, by your secret prompting each man, when he seeks their advice, hears what it is right for him to hear. For you rule the universe with the utmost justice, and in the inscrutable depths of your just judgement you know what is right for him, because you can see the hidden merits of our souls. And let no man question the why or the wherefore of your judgement. This he must not do, for he is only a man.

Source: Saint Augustine. Confessions. Translated by R.S. Pine-Coffin. London: Penguin Group, 1961, Books IV.3 and VII.6, pages 73-74 and 139-142.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 1,600 years ago, after being kidnapped from Britain by pirates and enslaved in Ireland, St. Patrick became a Christian

St. Patrick depicted with shamrock in detail of stained glass window in St. Benin's Church, Kilbennan, County Galway, Ireland

Patrick confesses that he is a sinner and that he did not know the True God

The Shrine of St. Patrick's Bell

I am Patrick, a sinner, most unlearned, the least of all he faithful, and utterly despised by many. My father was Calpornius, a deacon, son of Potitus, a presbyter, of the village of Bannavem Taburniae; he had a country seat nearby, and there I was taken captive. I was then about sixteen years of age. I did not know the true God. I was taken into captivity to Ireland with m any thousands of people -- and deservedly so, because we turned away from God, and did not keep his commandments, and did not obey our bishops, who used to remind us of our salvation. And the Lord "brought over us the wrath of his anger" (Isaiah 42:25) and "scattered us among many nations," (Jeremiah 9:16) even "unto the utmost part of the earth" (Acts 13:47) where now my littleness is placed among strangers.

God uses Patrick's kidnapping to draw Patrick to Himself

The neo-gothic St Patrick's Cathedral in New York City

And there (in Ireland) the Lord opened the sense of my unbelief that I might at last remember my sins and be converted with all my heart to the Lord my God, who had regard for my abjection, and mercy on my youth and ignorance. After I came to Ireland -- every day I had to tend sheep, and many times a day I prayed -- the love of God and his fear came to me more and more, and my faith was strengthened. And my spirit was moved so that in a single day I would say as many as a hundred prayers, and almost as many in the night, and this even when I was staying in the woods and on the mountain; and I used to get up for prayer before daylight, through snow, through frost, through rain, and I felt no harm, and there was no sloth in me -- as I now see, because the Spirit within me was then fervent.

Patrick is kidnapped from Britain by Irish pirates, experiences six years of captivity as a slave in Ireland, escapes and returns to Britain, and then returns to Ireland to be a missionary

Slemish, County Antrim, where Saint Patrick is said to have worked as a shepherd while a slave.

I came to the people of Ireland to preach the Gospel, and to suffer insult from the unbelievers, bearing the reproach of my going abroad, and many persecutions even unto bonds, and to give my free birth for the benefit of others; and, should I be worthy, I am prepared to give even my life without hesitation and most gladly for his name, and it is there that I wish to spend it until I die, if the Lord would grant it to me. Patrick follows Jesus Christ's Great Commission I must accept with equanimity whatever befalls me, be it good or evil, and always give thanks to God, who taught me to trust in him always without hesitation, and who must have heard my prayer so that I, however ignorant I was, in the last days dared to undertake such a holy and wonderful work -- thus imitating somehow those who, as the Lord once foretold, would preach his Gospel "for a testimony to all nations before the end of the world." (Matthew 24:14) So we have seen it, and so it has been fulfilled: indeed, we are witnesses that the Gospel has been preached unto those parts beyond which there lives nobody.

'Patrick the Pilgrim' statue near the dock for the ferry to Station Island.

Source: Haykin, Michael A.G. Rediscovering the Church Fathers: Who They Were and How They Shaped the Church. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2011, pages 135, 137, 138, 140, 141.

Badges of the Order of St Patrick. Top: Badge of the Grand Master of the Order. Bottom: Badge and Riband of a Knight Companion of the Order

Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Tertullian testify regarding exorcism in the early church in the pre-Christian Ancient Roman Empire 1,800 years ago

The reality of of demon possession to the early Church

Painting of Saint Francis Borgia performing an exorcism, by Goya

The early Church considered demon possession a dangerous reality.  They dealt with it consistently and effectively, and their efforts remain for posterity.

Justin Martyr (c. 150 AD)

Saint Justin Martyr

Justin Martyr (c. 150 AD) said in his Dialogue with Trypho, a Jew: "For we call Him (Jesus) Helper and Redeemer, the power of whose name even the demons do fear and at this day, when they are exorcised in the name of Jesus Christ, crucified under Pontius Pilate, governor of Judaea, they are overcome."

Irenaeus (c. 190 AD) 

An engraving of St Irenaeus, Bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul (now Lyons, France)

Irenaeus (c. 190 AD) recorded this concerning Christians: "For some do certainly and truly drive out devils, so that those who have thus been cleansed from evil spirits frequently both believe [in Christ], and join themselves to the Church."

Tertullian (c. 200 AD) 

A woodcut illustration depicting Tertullian

Tertullian (c. 200 AD) discussed the well-known conflict of Christians and demons with Scapula, proconsul of Africa.  "As for daemons, we not only abhor them, but we overcome and draw them forth daily, and we drive them out of men, as is known unto very many of yourselves."

Demon worship

Saint Wolfgang and the Devil, by Michael Pacher.

Demon worship was rampant in the ancient word, the wealth of deities available for adoration in the Greco-Roman sphere, mind-boggling.  In addition to the official Roman pantheon of gods and goddesses, there were divine infiltrators from any number of cultures, conquered under the rule of Rome.  The Church answered the threat of these religions by calling them what they were: the organized worship of demons.

Mithras

Bas-relief of the tauroctony of the Mithraic mysteries, Metz, France.

One example of this is Justin Martyr's criticism of the cult of Mithras, whose secret rites included the perversion of the Christian Last Supper:

For the apostles, in the memoirs composed by them, which are called Gospels, have thus delivered unto us what was enjoined upon them; that Jesus took bread, and when He had given thanks, said, "This do ye in remembrance of Me, this is My body'" and that, after the same manner, having taken the cup and given thanks, He said, "This is is My blood;" and gave it to them alone.  Which the wicked devils have imitated in the mysteries of Mithras, commanding the same thing to be done.  For, that bread and a cup of water are placed with certain incantations in the mystic rites of one who is being initiated, you either know or can learn.

History reveals a widespread belief in supernatural powers and supernatural beings.  It details real and constant battles against the forces of darkness, battles that resulted in consistent victories.

Source: Martin, Walter, Jill Martin Rische, and Kurt Van Gorden. The Kingdom of the Occult. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2008, pages 524-525.