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Casting Out Demons Before Constantine: Exorcism, Christian Identity, and the Contest for Religious Authority in the Early Church

Grace, Daniel J.

Exorcism was one of the practices through which early Christians publicly distinguished their religious claims from surrounding ritual cultures. This article surveys Christian exorcistic discourse before Constantine, concentrating on Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Origen. It argues that exorcism functioned simultaneously as pastoral…