Glastonbury Abbey Bookshop

..

.
This is the Abbey Bookshop at Glastonbury. You will find all kinds of items on sale; including gifts, posters, cards, fancy goods, as well as plenty of books and magazines. But you will not find a copy of The Grail Church which is about the history of Glastonbury and how the earliest Christian Church was founded on a site within what is now the ruin abbey grounds, St Joseph of Arimathea's apostleship and the reflowering of a pure branch of Christianity in recent times.

My book used to be on sale at this Christian bookshop back in the 1990s, but something happened when influences bore down on those who run it. These influences are not Christian, needless to say, and visitors are surprised nowadays to discover what is on sale. Some of the books, magazines and other items on display are of a distinctly non-Christian nature. Some are blatantly pagan. One might have thought that there are sufficient shops in Glastonbury already specialising in witchcraft and paganism without it requiring an outlet in what is ostensibly a Christian bookshop run by the Church of England within the grounds of Glastonbury Abbey itself.

Do not imagine for a moment that I have not brought this matter to the attention of the establishment and the local vicar. But they are modernists and liberals. And I am a traditionalist. Moreover, I am Catholic, albeit autocephalous. So there you have it. Glastonbury is a concentrated microcosm of the macrocosm, the British Isles! We need to restore Christianity to not just one small market town in rural Somerset, but to the whole of Great Britain.

.

Ghosts and Demons

.

Thanks for your comments on the UFO question and for posting the links, I found them to be of interest. I appreciate your willingness to address my questions, I hope that any others who might visit your blog find the discussions of interest. I would like to ask another question if I may. Spiritualism is purported to be the practice of contacting the dead. It is (or was) more popular in England than in the United States. Practitioners of Spiritualism believe they are contacting the spirits of people who have passed on. Some however, believe they are contacting demonic spirits who masquerade as the deceased in order to deceive. Would you care to share your views on the subject? Thanks for your time, Sincerely, Scott.

A ghost is generally regarded as the soul or spirit of a deceased person capable of appearing as an apparition or manifesting itself by some means to the living. Such apparitions range from an invisible presence to translucent spectres and life-like forms. The deliberate attempt to contact the spirit of a deceased person is called necromancy. In spiritism (also known as spiritualism) it is described as conducting a séance.

Christianity teaches that the soul enters the afterlife after expiry. The person's soul is then judged as to whether or not it is a worthy candidate for entry into Heaven. Those souls that are not accepted into Heaven are consigned to Hell. Catholics believe in Purgatory, or a waiting place for such souls who are not obviously saintly or wicked, but there is little belief in Purgatory outside the Catholic Church. Most ghosts are considered to be souls assigned to Purgatory, condemned for a specific period to atone for their transgressions in life. Their penance is generally related to their sin. These ghosts in medieval times appeared to the living to ask for prayers to end their suffering. Other dead souls returned to urge the living to confess their sins before their own deaths. Some will point to the possibility that Earth is purgatory for those souls that have become ghosts, but only a very small number of Christians make this argument and it is not backed by general Christian doctrine.

The basic Christian premise of good souls going to Heaven and the bad ones go to Hell is strongly questioned by a belief in ghosts. Ghosts are considered by most who believe in them to be the spirits of people who have never departed the Earth. These spirits travel around continuing to do the same things that were done in life. This is completely against the fundamental tenet of Heaven and Hell as understood by most Christians. Paradoxically, many Christians still claim to believe in the existence of ghosts.

The Catholic Church, however, believes that ghosts, ie spirits, do exist. There are even times when spirits appear to our benefit, but Catholics are warned against attempting to contact spirits.

“Ghost” is simply another word for “spirit” (geist means “spirit” in German). Spirit is of three kinds: the human spirit which combined with body make up a human being; the defined spirit that has no body, such as angels; and the infinite Spirit, or God, of Whom the Third Person is the Holy Ghost. When someone asks whether ghosts exist, he usually has in mind the first kind, a human spirit. Hence Father John Hardon defines a ghost as “a disembodied spirit. Christianity believes that God may, and sometimes does, permit a departed soul to appear in some visible form to people on earth. Allowing for legend and illusion, there is enough authentic evidence, for example in the lives of the saints, to indicate that such apparitions occur. Their purpose may be to teach or warn, or request some favour of the living” - Fr John A Hardon SJ, Modern Catholic Dictionary (Garden City, New York: John A. Hardon, © 1980) published by Doubleday and Company, p. 229.

The last sentence of Father Hardon’s definition implicitly gives the Church’s teaching on ghosts. Appearances of ghosts are understood with regard to our salvation. Ghosts can come to us for good, but we must not attempt to conjure or control spirits. The Church teaches that spiritism, ie seeking recourse or power from ghosts, is contrary to the virtue of religion (the Commandment: “You shall have no other gods before Me”):
.

“All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one's service and have a supernatural power over others — even if this were for the sake of restoring their health — are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion. These practices are even more to be condemned when accompanied by the intention of harming someone, or when they have recourse to the intervention of demons. Wearing charms is also reprehensible. Spiritism often implies divination or magical practices; the Church for her part warns the faithful against it. Recourse to so-called traditional cures does not justify either the invocation of evil powers or the exploitation of another’s credulity.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, number 2117).

Thus, while the Church recognises the existence of ghosts, Catholics are not to intentionally seek them out — for good or for ill. Another theory about ghosts is that these spectres are actually a space-time-continuum replay of events that have happened in the past. This theory is possible, and is the most likely one that could fit into the belief system of the majority of Christians. Finally, there is always the strong risk that a "ghost" might, in fact, be a demon masquerading as a departed soul to torment and deceive the living. The Catholic Church unequivocally teaches that angels and demons are real personal beings, not just symbolic devices. The Catholic Church has a cadre of officially sanctioned exorcists who perform many exorcisms each year. These exorcists teach that demons attack humans continually but that afflicted persons can be effectively healed and protected either by the formal rite of exorcism, authorised to be performed only by bishops and those they designate, or by prayers of deliverance which any Christian can offer for themselves or others.

In contemporary Christianity, demons are generally considered to be angels who fell from grace by rebelling against God. However, other schools of thought in Christianity or Judaism teach that demons, or evil spirits, are a result of the sexual relationships between fallen angels and human women. When these hybrids (Nephilim) died they left behind disembodied spirits that "roam the earth in search of rest" (Luke 11: 24). Many non-canonical historical texts describe in detail these unions and the consequences thereof. This belief is repeated in other major ancient religions and mythologies. Christians who reject this view do so by ascribing the description of "Sons of God" in Genesis 6 to be the sons of Seth (one of Adam's sons).

In religion and mythology, occultism and folklore, a demon (or daemon, daimon; from Greek δαίμων daimôn) is a supernatural being that is generally described as a malevolent spirit.

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus casts out many demons, or evil spirits, from those who are afflicted with various ailments. Jesus is far superior to the power of demons over the beings they inhabit, and He is able to free these victims by commanding and casting out the demons, by binding them, and forbidding them to return. Jesus also lends this power to some of His disciples, who rejoice at their new found ability to cast out demons.
.

By way of contrast, in the book of Acts a group of Judaistic exorcists known as the sons of Sceva try to cast out a very powerful spirit without believing in or knowing Jesus, but fail with disastrous consequences. Jesus, on the other hand, never fails to vanquish a demon; irrespective of how powerful the demon might be (see the account of the demon-possessed man at Gerasim); and even defeats Satan in the wilderness (see the Gospel of Matthew).

There is a description in the Book of Revelation 12: 7-17 of a battle between God's army and Satan's followers, and their subsequent expulsion from Heaven to Earth to persecute humans (although this event is related as being foretold and taking place in the future). In Luke 10: 18 it is mentioned that a power granted by Jesus to control demons made Satan "fall like lightning from heaven."

.

UFO Phenomena

.

Dear Bishop Manchester, Varying schools of thought exist concerning the UFO phenomenon. For example, some suggest it is a ruse to mask sightings of secret military craft, others suggest they are legitimate visitations by biological beings from other planets elsewhere in our universe. There is however a group of Christians who minister specifically to UFO ubductees and have successfully stopped reoccurring abduction scenario's by leading the victims into a relationship with Christ and teaching them how to pray for protection from evil. In their view, it is believed that genuine UFO phenomena is of demonic agency and is possibly the context in which the Evil One would stage an end times deception. I would like to ask if in your experiences whether you have dealt with the UFO phenomena and would you please share any comment you may have on the subject? Thanks very much for your time and consideration. Warm Regards, Scott.

In a number of radio interviews and one or two television interviews, I have speculated on the similarity between the description given of unfriendly extraterrestrial "greys" and demons; especially demons described by those who have confronted them at close quarters; even the demons depicted in some medieval art. I have not personally investigated or otherwise dealt with what might be regarded by certain folk as "UFO phenomena." In the case of "greys" allegedly making an appearance, I would most probably view them as demonic and nothing whatsoever to do with UFOs.

An attempt was made three years ago to fraudulently attribute comments concerning "mysterious lights" over southern England to me.  Dorset police confirmed they had received a number of calls and suggested it could possibly be a meteor shower. They discounted the possibility of a military cause because the military services inform them if they are conducting exercises at night in the area. The James Randi Educational Foundation Forum, however, were not slow to pick up on a fake comment made in my name that appeared on an online newspaper website courtesy of a mischief-maker.

Then someone calling himself "CLD" recorded on 19 June 2007:

"Imagine many people in a seaside town encounter strange lights in the sky. Some feel they are alien space craft. Others feel the lights are the work of a 'witch' who is casting a spell from afar. The evidence:

1. Newspaper stories reporting the lights

2. Eyewitness accounts of people who saw the lights

3. Testimony of a prominent citizen attesting that the witch caused the lights

4. Newspaper accounts of the witch's occult beliefs and practices

As you can see, some 'evidence' - although it may appear concrete - is simply not reliable. Even though there may be a large quantity of it, and some people are convinced by it, the evidence can't be considered conclusive in any way. It would be irrational to conclude the lights are something fantastic like aliens or the work of a witch when more ordinary explanations (such as chinese lanterns) are available."

Imagine, morover, a person with the intials "DF" noticing reports on television, in national and local newspapers, about mysterious lights over a coastal county in England. This person clearly recognised the probable mileage in these myserious lights for his agenda, ie self-publicity and furthering his personal vendetta. "DF" noticed that online comments in the Dorset Echo were unmoderated and alerted one of his collaborators. This crony then posted in my name a controversial comment claiming that the mysterious lights over Dorset had nothing to do with UFOs but were rather the remarkable supernatural powers of "DF" who some still believe to be a witch.

Stage one accomplished: publicity in a newspaper for "DF."

Stage two is already set in place because the original comment posted had been fraudulently attributed to "Bishop Seán Manchester," namely myself, which naturally left the way open for a tirade of abuse aimed at me in subsequent comments.

There were three problems with the plan:

1. When checked by the newspaper's webmaster, the IP behind the fraudulent "Bishop Seán Manchester" comment was found to be identical to that of a pro-"DF" poster who just happened to also post multiple attacks against me.

2. The comments were speedily removed by the newspaper's editor after being alerted by my secretary who requested that a record be kept for the police.

3. I do not believe (and has never believed) that "DF" has any supernatural powers. I do believe (along with most journalists, editors and especially most witches) that "DF" is disingenuous and has been since his pseudo-occult career began in the 1970s.

"DF" could not resist exlpoiting "CLD"'s inane message for his own self-aggrandisement:

"By the way, I wonder who this (obviously very powerful) 'witch' you referred to could be!?"

- "DF" (20 June 2007 @ 04:52 am - James Randi Educational Foundation Forum)

I only recall this otherwise trivial matter for those seeing mention of UFOs who might remember this incident, or, as is more likely, one of the myriad of oft-repeated regurgitations of the false attribution to me which was subsequently spammed across the internet on message boards and forums by this man's sorry clique.

The argument for the "demonic nature of UFOs and ascended masters in their connection to the occult" is made by by Paul Christopher at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyMCXTGkc8k

Other links pursuing the demonic connection with UFOs can be found at:

http://www.bibleufo.com/links_90.htm

http://www.rense.com/general32/expose.htm

http://www.cuttingedge.org/NEWS/n1308.cfm

http://home.att.net/~warplover/08_ufos_and_demons.html

http://www.asoldierofgod.com/UFOs_-_Demonic_Deception.html

http://www.rb59.com/prophecy-news/2008/02/bible-scholar-talked-with-alien-demon.html
.

Metamorphosis

.

Dear Bishop Manchester, I happened upon a podcast interview you gave for "World Of The Unexplained" a few years back where you discussed the events at Highgate. That led me to your book on the subject which I finished a few days ago. Thank you for writing it, I am glad to have it among my collection of books. I have been a Christian for many years and hold firmly to a Biblical world view. I would never seek to experience any manifestation of evil supernaturalism, but I do think it wise to have a basic understanding of its diverse forms. It is my hope, that you would have the time and inclination to answer a few basic questions with which your book left me. (1) Is it correct to understand that the human corpse of a vampire never leaves it's resting place, but remains in an undead state as sort of a placeholder for the demonic agency, which materializes on its own, possibly retaining the physical likeness of the human corpse, with the possibility of assuming other likenesses as well? (2) The climax of your book describes an incantation to demand that the demonic agency materialize before you. An opening in the ground occurs and the agency appears in the form of a large spider. (This is not the first time I've read of demonic agency taking this form. See the book "23 Minutes in Hell" by Bill Wiess.) Upon impaling this form, it changes into the body of Luisa which then begins to decompose to her proper state in our time. You then state that you return her to the ground. Am I understanding this correctly? If my understanding in the first question is correct then their seems to be an inconsistency between the two incidents. How could Luisa's bodily form exit the grave? Does it have something to do with the incantation that you spoke? I would very much appreciate any comment you could offer. It would serve to help me understand this phenomena as much as it can be understood. (3) You speak some incantations in Latin and you also mention various vampiric deterrents but you don't give much detail as to exactly what they are. (Admittedly, I am a detail person, and the level of detail you give may be more than sufficient for most readers.) Where do the incantations come from? Are they contained in literature specific to the Catholic Church? And the physical deterrents, like the circle of salt, where did your learn of these, from the work of Montague Summers? (His books I have not read.) I very much appreciate any consideration you give my message. In closing I would suggest a book for your interest, "The Handbook of Spiritual Warfare" By Dr. Ed Murphy. This is an extraordinary work, with many interesting case studies dealing with people who have demonic attachments and their subsequent removal. These are not exorcisms in the classic sense, these situations are more subtle and harder to detect, and therefore much more common. Thank you sir, for your time. Warm regards, Scott.

 
 

It is not correct, in my experience, to understand that the corporeal form "never leaves its resting place," though I have read of the theory you postulate. Not, however, in the works of Montague Summers who was also aware of the efficacy of salt, a substance used in Christian ceremonial for the blessing of holy water and much else besides when attempting to present a barrier to demonic intrusion.

The corporeal form, through its demonic agency, does have the supernatural ability to dematerialise and rematerialise outside the confines of its tomb. This is extended to all manner of metamorphosis, as described in my book. So it can "assume other likenesses," and retain more than just the spectral appearance of an apparition when it returns to the corporeal from something else.

 

 

Due to the words I uttered, Lusia took the form of what I at first thought to be "a misty vapour stealing towards me." The exorcism continued for almost an hour before "an uncanny change" in my environment occurred that led to "the outline of a figure on the grave before me." Whether or not it was metamorphosing into what I was about to behold, the next manifestation was indeed a diabolical abomination "the size of a large cat" which "scurried back and forth in the most terrifying manner around the perimeter" of salt interspersed with cups of holy water. This form was impaled as the exorcism reached its climax. It straight away began to metamorphosise back to a corporeal state, albeit now God's true dead, requiring reinterrment and the prayers for the dead. The formula I used is found in the pre-Vatican II Rituali Romano. 

 

I recommend the works of Montague Summers; particularly The Vampire: His Kith & Kin and The Vampire in Europe. There will be much found within these volumes to satisfy your curiousity. My own The Vampire Hunter's Handbook contains sections on antidotes and exorcisms, exhuming and invoking, tradition and blood lust. This, too, might prove helpful and go some way to addressing deterrents.
.