THE DEVILS (1971): An Orthodox Christian Reflection on a Controversial Film Addressing Religious Hypocrisy, Hysteria and Injustice

I recently watched Ken Russell’s The Devils (1971) in a theater, in its new 4K restoration. I saw it on October 20, the day before the feast of Saint Ursula and her Companions, and am publishing this reflection on her feast day, October 21. The coincidence is worth mentioning because the nuns at the center of the film belong to the Ursuline order, named after Saint Ursula. What stayed with me after the screening, however, was not simply the film’s notorious imagery, but the historical tragedy behind it and the questions it raises about religious authority, human weakness, and the terrible consequences of mistaking institutional interests for the interests of God.

More than half a century after its release, The Devils remains a disturbing film. Russell portrays a world in which political ambition, sexual scandal, religious fanaticism, and personal vengeance become entangled until the language of faith itself is turned against the people it should serve. His indictment of religious hypocrisy has considerable force, but his treatment of sacred imagery raises questions of its own. An Orthodox Christian can recognize the injustice at the heart of the story without necessarily accepting every artistic choice Russell makes.

The Prayer of the Holy Hieromartyr Cyprian for Deliverance from Magic

Introduction 

The Prayer of the Holy Hieromartyr Cyprian occupies a distinctive place in the tradition of Orthodox prayers for protection and deliverance. It is a long and forceful prayer concerned with magic, sorcery, curses, the evil eye, harmful words, demonic activity, and every kind of spiritual or human affliction associated with them. Its language is unusually direct. Rather than speaking of such dangers only in general terms, the prayer repeatedly names them, describes the various ways in which they may have been imposed, and asks God to dissolve and destroy them. The result is a prayer that at times reads almost like a catalogue, as though it intends to leave no possible form of magical or spiritual harm outside the scope of its supplication.

Its association with Saint Cyprian is particularly appropriate. According to his traditional Life, Cyprian was once a pagan magician who had acquired extensive knowledge of the magical arts. He was hired to use this knowledge against the Christian maiden Justina, but her prayer, fasting, and steadfastness in Christ rendered his efforts powerless. Cyprian eventually recognized the emptiness of the powers in which he had trusted, renounced magic, destroyed his books of sorcery, became a Christian, and suffered martyrdom together with Justina. The story gives the prayer bearing his name an important theological context. Cyprian does not appear in Christian tradition as someone who discovered a better form of magic after becoming a Christian. He became a Christian precisely by abandoning magic and turning to Christ.

On Angels and Giants (Chapter 2) - Interpretations Through the Ages (A. The Nature of the Relationship)

...continued. 

CHAPTER 2

Interpretations Through the Ages

A. The Nature of the Relationship

In ancient times, when the Adamic race was still in its infancy, the “sons of God,” impressed by the beauty of the “daughters of men,” apparently entered into permanent marital unions with the latter. This is evident because the expression “to take a wife for oneself” (laqaḥ ishah) does not signify a temporary sexual relationship but rather the enduring relationship of a lawful marriage (Genesis 4:19; 11:29; 12:19; 20:2–3; 24:4).

Foreign commentators on this passage are in agreement with the above interpretation, among them John Skinner in his famous commentary on Genesis included in the International Critical Commentary (p. 142), and C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch in Commentary on the Old Testament in Ten Volumes, vol. I, p. 131, where, among other things, they state that: “This fact alone is sufficient in itself to exclude the idea that angels are meant.” (1)

In the case of the abduction or rape of women (Judges 21:23), the expression would have been “nasa ishah” (“to carry off a woman”). Although not explicitly stated in the text, it is nevertheless implied that this union resulted in the sinfulness of mankind and in the extraordinary intervention of God in the affairs of the world (v. 3).

The principal subjects connected with the above episode, namely the “sons of God,” the “daughters of men,” and the “giants,” will be examined in the following sections.

Notes

1. U. Cassuto, A Commentary on the Book of Genesis, p. 294; Kenneth A. Mathews, The New American Commentary, vol. I, p. 329; Claus Westermann, A Commentary on Genesis, p. 368.

Continued

 

On Angels and Giants (Chapter 1) - Genesis 6:1–4 and the Problems of Its Interpretation

...continued.

 

CHAPTER 1

 

Genesis 6:1–4 and the Problems of Its Interpretation

 

Within this particular passage, a tradition has been preserved concerning the union of the “sons of God” with the “daughters of men,” as well as the origin of the “giants.”

The present study will attempt to answer the questions that arise from an investigation of this subject. Are the “sons of God” distinguished individuals, “good and virtuous” men, descendants of the line of Seth, “spiritual beings” (angels), or something else?

Are the “daughters of men” descendants of the line of Cain, mortal and sinful women in general, or something else?

And are the “giants” mythological beings, demigod heroes of antiquity, or renowned men?

All of these questions will be examined in what follows on the basis of the tradition preserved in Genesis 6:1–4, within the framework of primeval history, and through a detailed analysis of the text—especially the Hebrew text—as well as an investigation of the philological problems presented by the passage.

On Angels and Giants (Introduction)

INTRODUCTION

As we begin the present study, we feel the need to say a few things concerning Holy Scripture.

The more one studies Scripture, together with its interpretations and translations, the more one realizes that it contains passages that are difficult to interpret, enigmatic, and literally mysterious—veritable stumbling blocks for interpreters. This is so because Scripture is at once simple and profound, easy and difficult. It resembles the sea, which has a surface upon which one may swim with ease, but also depths into which only skilled divers are able to descend. Superficial and ignorant people, such as most heretics happen to be, are the only ones who imagine that Scripture is an easy book and that anyone is capable of interpreting it.

There is a passage in Scripture, Galatians 3:20, for which more than four hundred interpretations have been proposed. What the Apostle Peter said concerning Paul's epistles—that they contain “some things hard to understand” (2 Peter 3:16)—applies more generally to Holy Scripture as a whole. The Fathers likewise acknowledge that Scripture contains difficult passages and that it is an abyss of questions. For this reason, while the Fathers are in agreement concerning the doctrines of the faith, they differ, to a greater or lesser degree, in their interpretation of many passages. Their interpretations are pious, though not all are equally successful. The Fathers—and especially Saint John Chrysostom, the prince of interpreters—correctly interpreted the greater part of Scripture. They left a portion uninterpreted, however, so that lovers of God's sacred text might continue to enjoy the labor of inquiry and the discovery of divine meanings until the Second Coming. Holy Scripture is an inexhaustible mine.

Should We Believe in Luck? Are There Unlucky and Lucky People?

Should We Believe in Luck? Are There Unlucky and Lucky People?

By Archimandrite Athanagoras Karamantzanes

For Christianity and our Orthodox Church, luck does not exist. Nowhere in Holy Scripture or in the entire body of Patristic literature is belief in luck taught. The word luck expresses nothing other than our ignorance of the causes of the phenomena or events of life. There is no goddess and no blind force called luck (τύχη). Whatever appears to us as accidental or coincidental always springs from a deeper cause.

When we say that an event is due to luck, it is merely a manner of speaking, and we mean nothing more than that its cause was unknown to us — not that luck is the cause of things. That is why someone once said: “Luck is perhaps the pseudonym of God, when He does not wish to put His signature.”

But then what does exist? The Providence of our Almighty, All-wise, and All-good God, which is expressed as the uncreated energy of creation, preservation, and governance of the visible and invisible world. Through the Providence of God, every created being is helped to fulfill the purpose for which it was created. In the Old Testament we read: “For Your providence, O Father, governs all things, because You have given even in the sea a way and amid the waves a safe path, showing that You are able to save from every danger” (Wisdom of Solomon 14:3).

Kat Von D Gracefully Explains Why An Historic Piece of Her Furniture Is Not Demonic

Kat Von D, a recent Orthodox Christian convert known for her dark aesthetic and artistry, which she did not entirely abandon upon her conversion, was recently accused by her fellow Christians of having a demonic piece of furniture in her home. The piece of furniture is a beautifully carved 19th century cabinet shaped like a cello that Napoleon had commissioned for his favorite cello player. In a response to this on her Instagram page, she gracefully explains why dark aesthetics like this gothic furniture piece are not necessarily demonic upon closer examination.

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