text:
Monday, December 20, 2010
A Christmas Lasagna
196 comments:
Looking amazing!!!
Thanks chef - December 20, 2010 at 5:30 AM
- Carolyn™ said...
Love this :)
- December 20, 2010 at 6:04 AM
- Unknown said...
You know just yesterday, I was talking to my wife about what to take out to my Folks for Christmas. "Does he have a Lasagna?", she asked. "Nope", I said dejectedly. Wait till I tell her!
Thanks for the Christmas wish Chef John! - December 20, 2010 at 7:01 AM
- imanoodle said...
Oh My Gosh Finally! Thank you Thank you! best Christmas gift to us ever!
- December 20, 2010 at 7:02 AM
- blogagog said...
"If you can use a grater, you should be a hater."
Are you SURE that's an old saying? :) - December 20, 2010 at 9:55 AM
i'll try it soon
amaizing blog
thank u - December 20, 2010 at 10:27 AM
I just can't wait to make this!! I was one of those 300 who requested this so THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart! I always enjoy watching your videos...thanks for all your hard work. I hope you are feeling better! Merry Christmas to you and your family Chef John!
- December 20, 2010 at 10:32 AM
- Kevin said...
Great! I havn't been visiting the site a lot recently due to lack of interest (Lets face it, the freakishly small wooden spoon can only make a certain number of comebacks). But the garlic pasta thingy looks great and i've waited OVER A YEAR for you to make a lasagne recipe! What took you so damn long? ;)
Most Authentic-Fishianados don't pre boil pasta sheets but if you don't preboil it the sheets become tasteless and the top becomes rock solid. Whereas if you preboil them it gives it more flavour (Don't forget to salt the water) and they become soft and almost creepy. It makes the dish more unified and 'melded together' as opposed to "Pasta Sheets with a meat and cheese sauce. Anyone agree?
This is actually quite different to how I make it but i'm going to give it a go! My faith in this site has been restored! - December 20, 2010 at 11:46 AM
- Chef John said...
It amazing how much you can tell about a person from just a single comment.
- December 20, 2010 at 12:02 PM
- Kevin said...
Was that directed towards me? What kind of person am I? :S
- December 20, 2010 at 1:01 PM
Looks amazing chef!! You are on roll! Thanks!
- December 20, 2010 at 1:05 PM
Whoa, nice lasagna! Not sure what some people are looking at, but for me your videos have never looked better or been more interesting. Thanks and MERRY CHRISTMAS to u and michele!
- December 20, 2010 at 1:08 PM
Chef, just wanted to let you know, I saw this video and immediately went and bought twice the amount of ingredients so I can cook it today (meat sauce is simmering right now actually) and on Christmas day, too. Thanks for the recipe and I can't wait until a couple hours from now when it's done!! And to Kevin - how the heck does one actually lose interest in this site? This is the best video cooking blog on the internet by far!!
- December 20, 2010 at 1:51 PM
- Hilah said...
I got really excited watching this. Never occurred to me to lay the noodles down in different directions. I guess it would hold together better. Thanks for the recipe and video!
- December 20, 2010 at 1:52 PM
- Healthy and Homemade said...
I should not have watched this. Now instead of working out I have the urge to throw on my raincoat, rush to the grocery store, and buy every last ingredient I need. Even though, the husband and I are having a steak dinner tonight to celebrate our anniversary. Pshhh, who needs steak?
I want lasagna. - December 20, 2010 at 3:02 PM
- Chef John said...
Sorry! Sounds like I messed up your anniversary plans! ;-) Happy anniversary!
- December 20, 2010 at 3:11 PM
- Kevin said...
I didn't mean it in a bad way, I never visit recipe sites apart from this one, so even if this site only manages to keep me slightly interested, that's an amazing achievement ;)
I really didn't mean it in a negative way, I think it's a great site, it just got a bit boring the last 1 or two months.. just my opinion..
I'll probably me making this recipe tomorrow though! :) - December 20, 2010 at 4:44 PM
D'OH! A Lasagna Pan is what I forgot to ask for Christmas! This looks awesome. And a perfect meal to make for my inlaws and outlaws. Thanks
- December 20, 2010 at 5:45 PM
- Food Junkie said...
A good lasgna recipe is something to treasure. After suffering through a few too many frozen, meatless "meat lasagnas" from the grocery store this will be a real treat. I will have to see if I can get my son to build this with me over the holidays. Thanks Chef John and Merry Christmas.
- December 20, 2010 at 5:59 PM
- Unknown said...
i live in denmark and we dont have the Italian sausage so i was wondering what the flavor profile is of the sausage and what kind of meat it is made of??
- December 20, 2010 at 6:54 PM
- Chef John said...
just a basic pork mixture with fennel, garlic, Italian herbs, etc.
- December 20, 2010 at 6:59 PM
- Chris K. said...
Oh man, I want to make this RIGHT NOW. But because of the holidays our fridge is full of food already!
New Year's resolution for 2011: make more lasagna! - December 20, 2010 at 7:15 PM
- grumbleghoul said...
I believe I have been watching the videos on this site for about a year. I have been through the archives and have tried about 20 recipes. I have not been disappointed. ever. Sundays are my days to cook and I will be pairing this with your wonderful garlic bread recipe! THANKS CHEF JOHN.
- December 20, 2010 at 9:20 PM
Thank you for the great recipe! Do you think that ricotta can be substituted with quark? It is quite difficult to find good quality ricotta where I am from. Thank you!
Alex - December 21, 2010 at 10:29 AM
- Barbara said...
Hi Chef John,
I'm italian and i want tell you that your Christmas Lasagna is fantastic and i really think i'll do it for Christmas
Hello from Barbara,
Verona,Italy - December 21, 2010 at 12:38 PM
- leonthelion said...
Where are you located? I order Ricotta from Amazon sometimes. Though it sounds funny to order cheese from the internet, it is much better than the range I have near my house. - December 21, 2010 at 1:33 PM
Is it okay to just put this in the fridge after i layer everything to bake later?
- December 21, 2010 at 3:33 PM
- Chef John said...
Sure, may take a little while longer, but that's how lots of people do it.
- December 21, 2010 at 4:27 PM
I am amazed both by this delicious sounding recipe--thank you...and also that your wood spoon you use has a hole in it.
- December 21, 2010 at 5:25 PM
Alex, (are you my brother??? Are you in Finland?? Because it would be funny if you were my brother, and I know he reads this site.....)
You could use quark, although it might be a little tangier than ricotta. What I've also done is used good cottage cheese whizzed til smooth in the food processor. - December 21, 2010 at 6:00 PM
- Unknown said...
Hi Chef John, Greetings from the Dominican Republic. I want to express that I am a fan of FW and that Id never seen a recipe of lasagna that used a mixture of Italian sausage and ground meat, must be incredible. Keep up the good work!
- December 21, 2010 at 6:36 PM
- Food With Josh said...
Hi Chef John,
Great pasta recipe. Reminds me very much of the one I've been using, except that I don't combine the ricotta cheese with the mozzarella and parmesan. Have you tried it without combining the cheeses?
Been loving FW, keep it up! - December 22, 2010 at 8:17 AM
- Rita said...
YAY! good to know that i'm not the only one who uses italian sausage in making her spaghetti sauces.
- December 22, 2010 at 10:34 AM
- Chef John said...
yes i have, it just takes longer to layer and I don't see the advantage of not mixing it in.
- December 22, 2010 at 11:25 AM
- charlie_g68 said...
happy holidays chef! love your recipes and can't wait to try your
lasagna. btw the bread recipe is a hit @ my house and go to it frequently... so once again happy holidays to you and yours and hope everyone good health. - December 22, 2010 at 3:49 PM
- Μαίρη (Ginger) said...
Chef John, I had lasagna scheduled for the second day after New Year's one. It would be a classical recipe I have from my Milanesa amica - I already added to my shopping list the extra cheese. Bechamel goodbye !
Thanks - I love trying new versions. Enjoy your Holidays!
Mary (Ginger)
Greek living in Hungary - December 23, 2010 at 4:54 AM
- SethnJess said...
Chef John, thank you yet again for taking the time out of your busy schedule and making an amazing dish. It means a lot to me when I see people like you who strive to not only create but to teach how to create, it really is rare. I did not know I could create delicious dishes until I found this website, I love it
Thanks again for your effort, and Merry christmas!.
Seth T - December 23, 2010 at 6:04 AM
As a culinary graduate, i love seeing recipe videos, especially yours. very helpful
Im going to be making this soon for the holidays. Seems absolutely delicious. I`ve been watching all of your recipe videos. They are so helpful and entertaining. Please keep up the good work!! - December 23, 2010 at 9:43 PM
um.. can you prepare the meat sauce and cheese mixtures in advance, like a day or so before you assemble and bake? would love to know.
- December 24, 2010 at 11:35 AM
- Chef John said...
Yes u can!
- December 24, 2010 at 12:45 PM
the freakishly small wooden spoon never gets old. in my kitchen it's the one i use the most!! - December 24, 2010 at 7:41 PM
- Clararar said...
My husband loves lasagne so I'll definitely be trying this recipe soon! Up till now I've been using the one on the back of the box, which is all fine and good, but I bet yours is going to be tastier!
Also, by the way, I cooked my first turkey ever for Xmas yesterday using your instructions, and as always it turned out fantastically! Apparently it was so good I have volunteered myself for turkey duty in all future family Xmases. =) Thanks again for your wonderful videos! I don't know what I'd do without them... - December 25, 2010 at 3:04 PM
- Bos said...
Chef John you are an inspiration. We made this for our Boxing Day (crazy Canadians) dinner. I only changed one thing - GARLIC EH! Added it to the meat and cheese filling.
Thanks - even our kids are watching your videos now. They love Chef John. (So much so that if a meal on my table is really good they ask "Is this from Chef John?" I may actually be chopped liver - not one of my food wishes by the way.
You Rockstar! - December 27, 2010 at 5:40 PM
- Hiker9 said...
So what if I made this and froze it for later? How long would I need to bake it to properly thaw and thoroughly heat it?
- December 27, 2010 at 10:37 PM
- Chef John said...
Sorry, never done. Until it's hot! ;-)
- December 27, 2010 at 11:10 PM
- Bos said...
The nasty frozen ones that you can buy take 2hrs from freezer to table.
This would be much better to make big batches of and freeze I would think. - December 28, 2010 at 3:05 AM
There is enough on this site to cook, learn about, and enjoy for a long time. Oh, and it's all for free thanks to the dedication of Chef John. Cheers, and thanks Chef!
- January 1, 2011 at 4:18 PM
I made this dish. My boyfriend now thinks I am a God. Thank you Chef John. Thank you.
- January 2, 2011 at 10:27 PM
- Chef John said...
You are a God. We all are. :-)
- January 2, 2011 at 10:45 PM
- Paul D said...
This site really improves people's lives, and brings families back to the table, which is something I believe this country is in desperate need of, so my sincere gratitude to you Chef.
On another note, I always assumed my Aunt served Lasagna on Christmas day because Nana's Spaghetti and Meatballs was simply too informal for the holiday. I never knew this was an actual Italian-American tradition until now - I finally feel I have a culture all my own! (half kidding). Don't forget the Antipasto appetizer :)
Sorry for the long-winded comment - I'm having a good evening. Hey Chef John, what about some Calabrian-American dishes? I like my pasta with lots of heat & anchovies! I think Napolitano cooking drowned other influences out.
I love this site – what a contribution!
All my best you and your family for 2011,
Paul from NY - January 3, 2011 at 10:19 PM
- Chef John said...
Thanks for the great comment!!
- January 3, 2011 at 10:50 PM
Hey Chef John,
What kind of pot are you using? It's a Creuset style one? Is the heat distribution better than stainless? Less sticky?
Thanks for your great recipes. - January 4, 2011 at 1:22 PM
- Chef John said...
Yes, its a le creuset. I think all heavy bottomed pots work about the same. Never noticed a diff.
- January 4, 2011 at 1:44 PM
- Unknown said...
Like the former persons that posted here - I love this recipe too. Very well explained. Thank youf or this!
I am supprised that you have not used any garlic in this recipe, which I had to change in my version of it ;-).
Anyways - great food - great recipe! - January 8, 2011 at 9:13 PM
- Chef John said...
The sauce and sausage had garlic in them! Thanks!
- January 8, 2011 at 9:17 PM
- Unknown said...
Hi Chef John,
Greetings from Singapore! We don't have Reggiano-Parmigiano here, so is there any other cheese/product that we can replace it with?
Thanks! - January 10, 2011 at 7:26 PM
- Chef John said...
Sorry, I don't know your options. A hard, dry, sharp grating cheese. I know there are some Italian restaurant there, what do they use?
- January 10, 2011 at 8:13 PM
- Unknown said...
Well, they have their Reggiano-Parmigiano cheese shipped overseas.
Although there are some restaurants that use Romano or Parmesan cheese instead. :D - January 11, 2011 at 9:40 AM
- Eric said...
I made this for the family last night and it was delicious! Even my teen daughter mentioned that was a special recipe and very good. Today the left overs went to my starving college musician son downtown, where it will be ravaged no doubt.
Thanks Chef John for another well prepared video of a classic pushed to the edge of wonderfulness! - January 12, 2011 at 9:55 AM
Made this the other night and my family really enjoyed it. I told them how I stumbled upon your amazing blog. <3 Thanks for a great recipe Chef John.
- January 13, 2011 at 12:12 AM
I noticed a couple of comments about garlic and I wanted to mention that adding a bunch of garlic to the cheese mix really works well. I added almost a whole bulb of diced garlic and it didn't overpower the dish with too much garlic flavor. It's just for the cheese layers. And, for those layers, what goes better together than cheese, garlic & italian parsely?
- January 18, 2011 at 3:03 AM
Thanks for this recipe, I will do exactly as you instructed, but... (there's always butts ;-) - think this coz I'm Polish ;-D). But I would like to see the "traditional" one from you too. There's much rumour about bechamel, so I would like to taste it too to compare both and see the advantage of yours :-D. Please, show us, and by the way - is there any simple way to make lasagna noodles itself?
And one technical question - can you force your webmaster to swich off that annoying "home" scrolling (up to the start) after clicking left mouse button? It is important to ppl who want to scroll the page with keyboard but "lost focus" (I mean technical term), and have to click the page to say to the browser "I need focus here now", and BAH! You are AGAIN ath the top of the page, while you've wanted to browse something at the and or a middle - and as you know, some sections has plenty of recipes down there... Big thanks in advance for "repairing" this issue :-)
And keep up being the best food blogger I've seen so far :-). You have a very good sound/tone/timbr of your voice for the job (maybe not the most important, but very NICE :-D). - January 29, 2011 at 8:27 PM
- Bish said...
The lasagna pan you used looked about as full as you could get by the time everything got put in there.
If it was something like 15x10x3, do you think a 16x11x2.5 pan would work (only 440 cubic inches vs. 450; about 0.7 cups difference), or is it more important that the pan be as deep?
I really want to make this tomorrow, but finding the right size pan that doesn't bleed my wallet dry is proving harder than I expected.
Thanks for your help! - January 29, 2011 at 8:59 PM
- Chef John said...
of course deeper is better, BUT it should work fine. Just bake on a foiled sheet pan in case of any bubble-overs. enjoy!
- January 29, 2011 at 9:57 PM
- Chef John said...
Polish Anon,
I'm sure you will eventually see a lasagna bolognese on the blog!
btw, I have absolutely no idea what the rest of your comment means! My mac mouse doesn't have a left button, so I can't even begin to figure out what you are saying.
And, I have no webmaster to ask! ;-) - January 29, 2011 at 10:01 PM
Hi again,
Ok, you can call me Chris instead of polish anon ;-). Sorry not for introducing myself before - the internet habits ;-).
It's nice to hear about bolognese version, and you can ignore the webmaster stuff in such circumstances as you described, we will handle this :-D
Thanks and keep warm ;-) - January 31, 2011 at 5:40 AM
- Food Junkie said...
Finally got a chance to make this lovely lasagna. Using jarred sauce it definitely benefited from extra garlic - but it all depends on what you start with and how you like it. My preference on the next go might be to up the sauce just a little but this is one of the best lasagnas I've ever enjoyed. Thanks for the recipe Chef John.
Kim - February 5, 2011 at 10:17 PM
Chef John
Before finding this site, I always had this inner desire to cook food but never really knew where to start or what to cook. Silly but true. Then I found FW and in the past three weeks, I have tried five six of your dishes here and even though some didn't turn out as good as i would have liked but who cares. I can't can't can't wait for the weekends so I can cook. I truly enjoy the process. It feels like a spiritual journey to me. honestly. taking something from nature and turning it into food. It's like meditation. LOVE IT and I thank YOU for awakening this passion in me. After three weeks of non stop reading of articles on this site, I think I may have found a new passion in my life. So exciting. :) Thank You
I am now a hero in my family. :)
everyone is waiting for the lasagna to finish cooking. :)
Peter. - February 6, 2011 at 2:29 PM
what kind of mushrooms did u use???
- February 9, 2011 at 2:42 PM
- Chef John said...
Just regular button mushrooms
- February 9, 2011 at 3:59 PM
- WikiCards said...
Big thanks for this blog! I'm gonna try this tomorrow! You wouldn't believe how much trouble I have to go through here in Finland to get all the ingredients for your recipes.
But so far it was all worth it! :) - February 9, 2011 at 4:22 PM
Stumbled upon your video of this dish a couple weeks ago & my husband & I agreed we needed to make this soon. It's in the oven right now & I can't wait to try it. This is only the second time I've made scratch lasagna & I'm anxious to see how it turns out.
Someone else commented they couldn't find good ricotta but they can easily make their own which was another video we stumbled upon from Working Class Foodies. I made it yesterday & used it in today's lasagna.
This will be a memorable Valentine's dinner to say the least. Cheesecake for dessert anyone? - February 13, 2011 at 3:18 PM
@Fadhilah: I'm from Singapore too, and I've found blocks of Parmigiano Reggiano at Cold Storage. The brand I have is Granarolo. Good luck!
@Chef John: Once again, I find myself barely an inch from the screen. Watching you spread that cheese mixture sooo slowly was just heaven. This site makes me so happy. Thanks for the vid - I'm gonna spread some Italian love to my family now. - February 15, 2011 at 1:57 AM
- Unknown said...
I made this last weekend and oh my god it was so tasty, thanks for a great recipe.
You inspire me a lot Chef John! - February 19, 2011 at 4:26 AM
- Jessica said...
I just made this and had a question... why do you have to cook the meat and mushrooms until there is no more liquid at the bottom? You add the spaghetti sauce right after and add water when it's simmering, so what's the difference?
I did it your way but was just wondering! I love your blog! - February 26, 2011 at 8:52 PM
- Chef John said...
Reducing the liquid in the mushrooms concentrates the flavor. :-)
- February 28, 2011 at 7:04 AM
Chef John, I would like to halve this recipe and make this in a 9x9 pyrex pan. What changes would there be in cooking temp or time? Thank you!
- May 10, 2011 at 10:48 AM
- Chef John said...
Sorry, not sure, I'd have to test. Never made small lasagna!
- May 10, 2011 at 11:11 AM
- Vincent said...
I'll have 9 huge portions :)
- May 17, 2011 at 8:23 PM
- Mark said...
What about onion. garlic & mirepoix? - May 28, 2011 at 3:10 AM
- Mark said...
What about the addition of garlic, onion & mirepoix...? A must in lasagne? - May 28, 2011 at 3:12 AM
I'm on a tight budget and couldn't afford a lot for my boyfriend's big birthday this weekend, but I knew that he loves lasagna and cheesecake, so I decided to make both instead of spending tons of money on something materialistic. I'm using your recipes for both dishes, and I've already made the cheesecake...it turned out great, and sans-crack! I'm attempting the lasagna tonight. Thank you so much, Chef John! Cheers.
- May 28, 2011 at 7:05 AM
- Alexander said...
I tried this recipe today and it worked out perfect. Very moist very cheesy( maybe because i put too much cheese, but it was nice still! ) and over all resturant quality hands down. I never post on blogs but chef John, i tried your turkey ( beautiful even for a hot Australian summer ) and now this and your videos have been very helpful.
- June 5, 2011 at 6:02 AM
- Unknown said...
Iam about to make this today!
Hope it will be good! - August 3, 2011 at 1:41 PM
- Unknown said...
I made it!
Was so delicious! - August 7, 2011 at 10:15 AM
Chef John,
Thank you so much for your contribution.. I'll be making this lasagna TODAY!!! Love your instructions... soooo perfect!!
Christy - September 15, 2011 at 8:21 AM
Chef John,
Thank you so much for your contribution.. I'll be making this lasagna TODAY!!! Love your instructions... soooo perfect!!
Christy - September 15, 2011 at 8:21 AM
- Ayr-onn said...
You think creminis will work? Whatever, i'll use 'em anyway!
- September 15, 2011 at 7:45 PM
Chef John,
I've been searching YouTube for a lasagna recipe and this looks delicious! (I am now obsessed with watching your videos and want to make everything!) I'm planning on doing a lasagna dinner for my boyfriend. He always says "it's all about the sauce." My two questions are:
1. Would your tomato sauce recipe go well with your lasagna?
2. What would you reccommend for an appetizer and side?
3. I will be having Chianti with dinner and will be making tiramisu for dessert. Good choices?
<3 Emily - September 25, 2011 at 8:32 PM
- Chef John said...
Just add a simple green salad and you have a perfect menu. Enjoy!
- September 26, 2011 at 3:01 AM
I don't eat sausage, so what can I use instead? Can I make it 2 1/2 pound of lean gound beef?
- November 10, 2011 at 10:21 PM
- Chef John said...
Of course!!
- November 10, 2011 at 10:53 PM
- philogaia said...
This recipe is such a classic example of a good lasagna that I use it as a template no matter what goes into mine. I just used it to make a vegetarian version with chantrelle mushrooms, caramelized onions, and dinosaur kale. It is yummy. My lasagnas come out much better since I started using this as a base. Not sure if that is a good thing or not. Well, portion control online.
- November 17, 2011 at 4:19 PM
Chef John,
I tried out the lasagna recipe today. Came out great. Much better than anything I have bought frozen or had at a restaurant.
I made my own sauce by sweating the onions and garlic first, then I threw in some peeled tomatoes with the cores taken out, added a diced carrot, and then I let it stir for about 1/2 an hour. The sauce came more as a paste and did not have as much liquid to it but worked very well when I added the meat to it.
2 questions -
Any ideas how I can make my sauce have more liquid?
The meal tasted great but it did not look as good as yours. Any tricks to making it look as good as yours? - December 11, 2011 at 12:54 AM
- Chef John said...
If you want more liquid, just simply add more sauce. I can't give you any tips on the beef look since I'm not sure what you mean, but maybe you need to break up the meat much smaller when you prepare the sauce. Thanks!
- December 11, 2011 at 10:41 AM
- TammyCakes said...
Yummmm I love your blog!!!!!!!!!!
- December 12, 2011 at 11:43 AM
- Brian McNamara said...
Hey Chef John,
I love your site, it's probably one my favourite things on the internet, so thanks :)
Anyways, I made thing lasagna today. Followed the recipe to the letter, but I think something went wrong.
The ricotta cheese mixture seems to have a weird (not very nice) consistancy. Almost like wet sand or something :(
Did I get really bad quality ricotta or did I do something wrong? I'm so disappointed, lasagna is my favourite dish, I was looking forward to this so much :( - December 16, 2011 at 3:29 PM
- Wendy B. said...
This recipe is just one more reason that I love you, Chef John. Thanks.
(p.s. I think you mean "marinara" sauce not "marina" sauce in your ingredient list. Unless I am wrong...then you have to tell me what marina sauce is!) - December 19, 2011 at 5:49 PM
Just made this and it almost turned out perfect, almost. I was a little to conservative with the spices so it ended up a little tame(no chili, cayenne,nutmeg or anything exiting in the house)But the parents loved it so i choose to mark down as a sucess.I added some grated carrot and a dash of red wine vinegar in the meatsauce and it ended up with a very pleasant taste. Thanks for the lovely recipe!
- December 21, 2011 at 2:50 PM
Making this for Christmas day for 24 so quadrupled the recipe. The sauce is simmering in a huge pot and plann on building the four lasagnas in an hour. Serving with sensation salad, Italian bread and wine. Wish me luck,
- December 23, 2011 at 6:44 PM
I love Chef John.
- December 25, 2011 at 12:52 AM
Hi chef John. I hope this isn't a silly question, I only have cheddar and mozzarella cheese at home. Where I live, it's hard to find the cheeses you mentioned, and i don't have enough time. do you think i can use cheddar and mozzarella only?
- January 2, 2012 at 1:09 AM
Hi chef John. I hope this isn't a silly question, I only have cheddar and mozzarella cheese at home. Where I live, it's hard to find the cheeses you mentioned, and i don't have enough time. do you think i can use cheddar and mozzarella only?
- January 2, 2012 at 1:09 AM
- Chef John said...
You can use any cheeses you want, but the ricotta is kind of important here.
- January 2, 2012 at 11:20 AM
- ChefJohnsBiggestFan said...
Made this this week. my husband can't stop talking about how i have really raised the bar on my cooking abilities and i owe it to you. Thank you for this recipe it was so great ONLY i omitted the shrooms cuz they make me shiver and i didn't use sausage cuz hubby wont eat pork. BUT that being said it ROCKED and tasted EVER so quality. Thank you Chef John.
- January 6, 2012 at 3:57 PM
- adnan said...
Hi Chef John
Tried it and loved it! Absolutely super delicious, perfect texture all around! I think your advice "you need a great meat sauce, and a great cheese mixture" is really the key--I tried lasagna before but this time it was much better.
And somehow, we ended up with some extra cheese mix, about 1.5 cup to 2 cups worth. Any idea how to use them? Thanks! - January 16, 2012 at 4:02 PM
- adnan said...
About that extra cheese mix....just got an idea....making calzones/pizza pockets. I Just whipped up a batch of pizza dough, will add some onion and peppers too. :-)
- January 17, 2012 at 10:05 PM
- 1Bigg_ER said...
I just finished eating my lasagna.I think I'm Italian!!! You should see our plates..... CLEAN!! DAMN GOOD LASAGNA!!
You really need a real fully blown lasagna pan for this one. - January 21, 2012 at 8:59 PM
This lasagna was amazing! I will never make it another way again. I used spinich instead of parsley and cottage cheese with the ricotta and mozzerella. All else was the same as yours. Thank you!
- January 30, 2012 at 8:47 PM
i cannt wait im doin this for my 1 yr and 3 mon. anneversary which is in less then 24 hrs. (:
- February 7, 2012 at 11:37 PM
I promised my boyfriend lasagna for Valentine's day. I'm so glad that I found this! I can't wait to try it out.
- February 8, 2012 at 10:49 PM
Im making this for my valentine. thank goodness i found this recipe. i love your site!! wish i found it sooner.
- February 10, 2012 at 3:50 AM
- Carmen said...
We cook this Lasagna for Valentine`s Day in a heart baking dish:
http://kochen-mit-carmen.blogspot.com/2012/02/lasagne-herzform-valentinstag.html - February 12, 2012 at 11:36 AM
- Jessica said...
So I've made this twice now and they both turned out soupy....what did I do wrong??
- February 15, 2012 at 8:56 PM
- Jessica said...
So I've made this twice now, and they've both turned out soupy! It's still good, but pretty watery...Do you know what I'm doing wrong?
- February 15, 2012 at 8:58 PM
- Chef John said...
Probably overcooking and the cheese is separating. You can also try and drain the ricotta first. Watery sauce? Watery pasta? Hard to say!
- February 15, 2012 at 10:34 PM
@Jessica, are you draining the grease out of the browned beef and mushrooms? I know I drained like a cup of liquid.
- February 19, 2012 at 1:02 PM
chef john
could i have tehg recipe for the marinara sauce
thank you - February 20, 2012 at 11:58 PM
- Frank0wnsMe said...
Hey Chef John!
I just made the lasagna today. I think it turned out pretty good and the taste was pretty good as well. Mine turned out a bit watery/soupy but I guess that's because I either put too much meat sauce or the cheese were still abit watery.
Anyway, thanks for taking for time to teach us all these recipes, I'm thinking to trying to make the Tiramisu Chocolate Mousse next :) - February 23, 2012 at 5:26 AM
This is my FIRST homemade lasagne :) The sauce is cooking on the stove as I type! My husband has never been as excited for one of my meals. I think this one will set the standards high! Thank you so much for sharing these recipe videos! This is the second one I've made. You make cooking easy, fun and most importantly, delicious! THANK YOU!
- March 11, 2012 at 4:35 PM
Question. I'm thinking of cooking this for a church gathering and would rather not have much more than 30 minutes of cooking to do when the actual event starts. Would you recommend cooking it part of the way and then finishing once I'm at the event (there are some ovens there) or cooking all the way beforehand and then simply reheating. If so, how long and at what temp to reheat?
- April 4, 2012 at 5:38 PM
- Chef John said...
Id cook all the way and reheat. Cant give time, but Id go with 350 until heated through.
- April 4, 2012 at 9:33 PM
- 1sweetday said...
We're going to do this for Easter!!
- April 7, 2012 at 2:36 PM
- Corey P said...
how long do you cook your pasta, and do you boil the water first?
- May 2, 2012 at 7:39 AM
I have never attempted to make lasagna at home before. I tried your recipe and it turned out great, the cheese mix was so yummy. Thank you so much. I will never buy frozen again.
- July 8, 2012 at 11:23 PM
- Huru said...
Hi Chef John
How can I replace Italian sausage in this recipe ?
Can I use any other sausage ?
Thanks :) - August 21, 2012 at 12:27 PM
- Celia Soudry said...
Hi Chef! I am new to your site and I fucking love it. I'm Jewish but this is almost enough to make me want to celebrate Christmas. Anyhow, is this dish appropriate for a random small dinner party? I'll pair it with red wine and side salad with fresh corn. What do u think? Thanks!!!
- September 20, 2012 at 2:34 AM
- Chef John said...
Of course!
- September 20, 2012 at 10:57 AM
- Unknown said...
Hi Chef,
greetings from Germany.
This is the first time I've seen Lasagna being done with a prepared cheese filling, I usually just add crème fraîche and cheese during the layering.
Do you think that it makes sense to use the good buffalo mozarella for a lasagna or is that just a waste?
Love your show,
Markus - October 6, 2012 at 6:28 PM
- Unknown said...
I don't understand how you can cook a pasta dish for 30min - 1 hr in the oven without the pasta becoming over cook.... I tried once and the pasta was all mushy after 30min of cooking.... Am I doing something wrong?
-C - November 3, 2012 at 8:59 PM
- Unknown said...
Hi Chef Jhon just want to ask if there's any substitute cheese for reggiano parmigiano because it is hard to find here in Saudi Arabia? I have visited to many sites to look for a good recipe of lasagna until I saw your video in YouTube and I got interested but the problem is those cheese that you used. I went to all the well known supermarkets here in Saudi but still I haven' bought any of those cheese except for the grated parmasen cheese which comes in a small plastic bottle. I can't wait to try your recipe... (sigh)
- December 13, 2012 at 8:02 PM
- Unknown said...
Can I cut out the mushrooms? Or is it an important ingredient to this recipe?
Thanks! - December 13, 2012 at 10:09 PM
- Chef John said...
Yes you can cut out, and yes, it's important. Both are true, that's why there is no answer for these types of questions.
- December 13, 2012 at 11:22 PM
- Chef John said...
Sorry, but I just don't have any idea what's available to you! Any Italians in town? They would know! - December 14, 2012 at 12:20 AM
- DJ said...
I made this for Christmas Eve dinner with my big Italian-American family this year, and it was a big hit! What leftovers there were are being contended over between grandma and my toddler, lol. Great recipe and great instruction - thank you! (Just checked the dates, your excellent recipe lives on 3 years after posting, bravo!)
- December 27, 2012 at 8:35 PM
- Unknown said...
chef, do i have to use goat cheese, i hate that cheese! any other substitute or can i just not use it all?!
- January 5, 2013 at 11:51 AM
- Chef John said...
Of course!!! It's your lasagna! Use what you like!
- January 5, 2013 at 1:49 PM
- Kayla said...
Hi Chef!
I have made this lasagna twice and it is sooooo delicious. I have a question: how do you keep the layers from sliding apart when you cut into them? It looks so lovely until I cut it with my fork and then it falls apart into a crazy mess. Doesn't affect the wonderful taste, of course, but I would so rather show off those sexy layers. Thanks! - January 22, 2013 at 6:26 PM
Why am I just finding this blog??? Chef, you are a genius! Love the video's and humor. Looking forward to trying this recipe tomorrow.
Cheers! - January 23, 2013 at 12:51 PM
- Jenf13 said...
Hi Chef John!
I love this recipe and I've made it multiple times :)
I've also tried to make a "lighter" version....don't yell at me please!
But I would love if you could check out my blog post!
Jenna - February 1, 2013 at 12:47 PM
I made this today for my extended family. I pretty much followed the instructions, but started with a half recipe of Chef John's basic tomato sauce (which yielded about 3 cups of sauce) and just under 2 lbs (combined) of sausage and ground beef. After combining the sauce and meat it resembed sloppy joe, which is what I was shooting for.... I had in my mind that I was going to have four cups of pasta sauce before adding to the meat for whatever reason.
I used a 9x13 pan (gasp) because that's what I have.
Turned out great. The tastes were spot-on for what I had in my mind -- though I could have standed for a little more tomatoe sauce (I guess b/c I'm psycing myself out from not having enough sauce to start with). The last lasagna I made was Tyler Florence's "ultimate" lasagna -- which I thought was a total dud.
The biggst problem for me was that I over-estimated how much meat sauce I had -- meaning I didn't accurately divide it by four -- and I probably used too much on the bottom of the pan, which left too little for the top... But really, this was a relatively easy, yet very tasty lasagna.
This will definitely be my default lasagna recipe from now on. Thanks Chef John for another great recipe! - February 24, 2013 at 8:23 PM
- JoJo Chiu said...
If I don't have the 10x15 lasagna pan.. would it be the same if i used the one time use pans that is purchased at the dollarge store?
- March 10, 2013 at 9:34 PM
- Chef John said...
- March 10, 2013 at 10:03 PM
- Unknown said...
Hi Chef, I found and made this recipe yesterday. It was amazing. Absolutely the best lasagne I've ever made. And more importantly, my wife said it was the best lasagne she's ever tasted! And you know that old saying - "if mama's not happy...". Thank you so much Chef John! You are the man!!
- March 13, 2013 at 6:10 PM
- Chef John said...
Happy fo help! :)
- March 13, 2013 at 6:45 PM
- Unknown said...
Hi Chef John,
Just wanted to express my thanks. Before these vids, I never really cooked anything out of the ordinary, much less something that tasted so good. Thanks to these videos I have found a new hobby. This lasagna and your banana choc chip bread...wow. Now I can cook for my fiancee!
Thanks man, and thanks for keeping it all free.
Big Cheers! - March 24, 2013 at 9:31 AM
- Yardog59 said...
Came up 1 1/2 ladles short of sauce; too much tasting perhaps? Great Recipe, Chef John. This was my best lasagna yet.
- March 26, 2013 at 5:21 PM
I made this recipe for the second time a couple weeks ago for a family gathering. Because I had to accommodate a couple vegetarians in the family, I decided to prepare this as stuffed shells so that I could keep everyone happy. Not a huge surprise, but it worked out great. The cheese filling is good enough to stand alone, but the addition of the meat sauce just puts it over the top.
For the stuffed shells, I found that three cups of sauce to two pounds of meat was perfect... When I made the lasagna I wish I had had four cups of sauce. (I think the recipe calls for six cups.)
Thanks again Chef John. My family was thoroughly impressed with this recipe (even the vegetarians). - June 18, 2013 at 11:27 AM
- Julie Buell said...
I have been on your site off and on for years, but I didn't try this recipe until last night! OH MY GOODNESS, I've been missing out! That was the best lasagna I've ever had! It was so light and scrumptious. We're happily eating leftovers tonight. I used your recipe to make two smaller batches so we could freeze the other for later. It won't be in the freezer long. ;)
Thank you for the time you put into these videos, they make me smile and give me the desire to cook REAL food! - July 29, 2013 at 10:50 AM
- Michele Cryan said...
Hey CJ,
Just wanted to let you know (brag) I auctioned off 'A Christmas Lasagna" as part of a drive to raise money for the United Way and the winning bid was $150.
I delivered the lasagna and was later told it was worth double what they paid!!!!!!!
So......isn't that cool?
Michele from Courtice, Ontario - October 31, 2013 at 5:35 PM
- Chef John said...
Nice work!! Thanks!
- October 31, 2013 at 6:07 PM
- Akeem said...
Hey Chef John love your site, could you adjust the recipe for a 13x9 dish or would it still fit regardless?
- December 18, 2013 at 10:56 AM
- Tasha said...
Hi Chef John! I adore your videos (and you),and I've made quite a few of your recipes. I made your lasagne tonight: it was fantastic! Until I dropped it :(
I managed to gather it all up and slop it all back in my dish, topped it again with some cheese I had leftover, and stuck it in the oven. Of course, it tasted great, even if it was more of a de-constructed lasagne.
Thanks for all the work you put in to share your talent with us, you rock!
- December 20, 2013 at 8:17 AM
- Alex in Shanghai said...
I discovered Food Wishes and Chef John stumbling over this recipe on Google 3 years back. It was the best thing ever, and launched an obsessive love of the blog and of cooking, much to my family's delight! Chef John, you're amazing: from this to your beef merlot to your twice baked potatoes to your mini quiches (to everything), you've showed me so many wonderful ways to show love through the stomach to family and friends. And all of this with the sometimes odd array of ingredients available here in my expat home of Beijing! (I, too, miss San Francisco for its crab meat). And your sense of humor and calming touches are peerless. Just made this lasagna again, for Christmas this time, and am so looking forward to serving it with pride! Thank you thank you! And the Happiest of Holidays!
- December 24, 2013 at 8:15 AM
- Unknown said...
AMAZING! I can't deskribe how happy I am that i discovered food wishes! Thank you for your amazing recepie describtion an nice humor in it, I am right now eating this lazagna that tingles my tongue. Thank you so much for your amazing work! :)
- January 1, 2014 at 8:10 AM
- Unknown said...
Hey John,
u want to make me heavy, don`t u ;)?
Yesterday I made ur tomatoe soup and instead of a plate, I ate the whole pot. All gone!
And now I just made ur lasagne. Oh, I counted 5.000 kcal... . Hopefully someone will visit me, before it`s all eaten the next days... .
I live in europe and visit the italian alps often. I never had a lasagne like this, but it is fantastic and especially a very interesting variation.
I think it`s a real joker for guests and many will need much time to guess what ingredients have been added / replaced :).
Thanks for ur channel, I will surely visit it again many times. Inspiring and nice to watch :)!
Have a nice weekend!
Joe - January 4, 2014 at 1:37 PM
- herwineherway said...
Thank you for this amazing recipe! The best lasagna I've ever made!! Everyone else loved it too.
Chef John, if you can come up with a vegetarian version that is that good, I will be forever in your debt! - January 20, 2014 at 8:44 PM
- J. Charles Chaplin Churchill said...
Can't wait to try this one! It looks amazing. My girlfriend is Type 1, so we don't each much pasta..or carbs in general..but we may have to treat ourselves in the near future. Thanks Chef John!
- February 26, 2014 at 11:26 AM
- Unknown said...
Hey Chef john, I'm using store bought Barilla marinara sauce. For 6 cups of marinara sauce, should I use 1 24oz jar or 2 24oz jars?
Is the conversion the same as 8fl ounces per cup?
Thank you. - June 6, 2014 at 2:13 PM
- Chef John said...
Yes, 2 jars! Enjoy!
- June 6, 2014 at 11:07 PM
- Unknown said...
Hey! I was wondering if I could use my regular 9x13 baking dish? Would all the measurements still be the same? THANKS!happy Friday the 13th.. lol its also my birthday today
- June 13, 2014 at 1:05 PM
- Chef John said...
Happy birthday!
I believe that pan will be too small, sorry! - June 13, 2014 at 1:24 PM
- Unknown said...
Whenever I cook I always make enough to put a 2nd meal in the freezer. I also have enough time on my hands to use homeade pasta sheets in my lasagna. Chef, do you think the homemade pasta would keep in an assembled lasagna in the freezer?
- June 19, 2014 at 8:51 AM
- Gerardo said...
This is by Far the best Lasagna Recipe Saludos desde Mexico
- August 19, 2014 at 1:45 PM
- Unknown said...
Hi Chef John. Do you recommend cooking the noodles al dente? I've heard that's the best way to ensure a good, non watery texture.
- October 16, 2014 at 11:37 PM
- Unknown said...
Hi Chef.
Made this last night. Its an absolute winner! :)
Cooking can be intimidating to a noob cook like myself and your videos make these recipes do-able for me.
This is far from the first recipe that I have made from FWs and certainly wont be the last.
Thanks for the recipe!
- A huge fan :)) - October 17, 2014 at 10:25 PM
- Novonia said...
Just made this for supper and I loved it, though I did omit the eggs and ricotta since I had a really bad experience with ricotta about a decade ago that put me off the stuff for life. I just doubled the mozzarella and it turned out just fine :D
Also I do not have the lasagna pan that is extra deep so I ended up with *two* lasagna in 10x10 and 9x13 pans. (I just tore the noodles to fit) (note: I also didn't boil my noodles but let them sit in hot tap water for a few minutes - they were also wheat noodles) - November 10, 2014 at 8:25 PM
- Unknown said...
Too salty if you use store-bought sauce. Eliminate the 1 tsp of salt when cooking the meat.
- December 14, 2014 at 7:48 PM
- Unknown said...
Just made this for my girlfriend, the cooking process was so long, but the meat sauce is heavenly. After the 1 hour in the oven, the lasagna came out gorgeous, and looks really delicious, but the taste is a bit disappointing.
The cheese mixture tasted bland, i really dont understand what went wrong. This is the first time i've tried cooking with ricotta cheese and i really didnt like it, due to its lack of flavour. was soo sad. - December 20, 2014 at 12:43 AM
- Chef John said...
I guarantee you it was under-salted! Ricotta is very bland. Did you taste the filling? Next time taste after seasoning the filling, and if that tastes good (which it will with enough salt), then you are ready to layer! Good luck!
- December 20, 2014 at 12:50 AM
- Unknown said...
Another successful dish. A hit as usual. Thank you chef! Ontario Canada
- April 26, 2015 at 7:46 PM
What can i use as a substitute for italian sausage? I can't really eat pork so if you can give me a kosher substitute i'd really appreciate it :)
- May 13, 2015 at 10:49 PM
- Dan and Hilary said...
Food brings families together. Thanks chef John. I was visiting my brother from out of town and his mother-in-law passed away. After a quick trip to the grocery store, i made four of these lasaghnas in his and fed an entire family of out of towners on a sad occasion. We all had a great meal and I really came through for my brothers wife's family.
I couldn't have done it with out you. Very sincere thanks. - June 6, 2015 at 4:29 PM
- Chef John said...
Sorry to hear about your loss. I'm glad you were able to bring everyone together for a nice meal.
- June 7, 2015 at 12:49 PM
- Unknown said...
I see food and wish for a sea food lasagna, chef!
- October 7, 2015 at 10:29 PM
- Lisa said...
Thank you so much. I am so happy to say this was the best lasagna I ever had or made. Appreciate your site, use it for everything I want to cook now :)
- October 25, 2015 at 5:33 PM
- Unknown said...
Hi chef John! My sauce is simmering for 3hrs already and I find the meat a tad dry when I chew it.
Could that be the result of the medium-high heat cooking stage when I was trying to evaporate off the juices from meat and mushrooms? That process took like 20mins for me.
Or would that be more due to the type of beef that I grind and use?
Or do I just need to simmer it more?
Just want to know how to make it more tender in the future. Thanks for helping! - November 13, 2015 at 1:32 AM
- Unknown said...
Hi Chef John, my lasagne came out looking good but once cut and serving started, there was a pool of water at the base of the pan. It was really depressing. What did I do wrong?
- November 16, 2015 at 2:10 AM
- namomof3 said...
Can leftovers be frozen? If so, any tips?
- December 13, 2015 at 10:02 PM
- Unknown said...
Win-win everytime.
- December 22, 2015 at 7:06 AM
- Unknown said...
Chef John -
I have cooked so many of your delicious recipes.
I am planning on making this dish for a few friends. Will this taste better if I make it very early in the day and then re-heat it later?
Thanks! - January 7, 2016 at 6:13 PM
Just made this last night and wow it was delicious! I swear the left overs taste even better lol Thanks for the great recipe Chef John
- April 10, 2016 at 10:53 AM
- Gongoozler said...
Hi Chef John
We are big fans of yours over here in the UK.
One question: Do you use dried or fresh lasagna sheets? I've normally used fresh and put it straight into the dish but do you think it would be better to cook it first, even when using fresh pasta? - August 25, 2016 at 11:50 AM
- Unknown said...
so i thought that this recipe looked a little light on the cheese & gravy. couldn't even get 2 layers of cheese or 4 layers of gravy into my 14x17 lasagna pan. next time I'm doubling both.
love the recipe, delish! - November 14, 2016 at 6:17 PM
- Alex in Shanghai said...
I need to find a way to master boiling the lasagna noodles so they don't all clump up and stick together; but Chef J is right when he says it's allll good when it bakes. Regret taking the commenters advice to add garlic to the cheese sauce; otherwise, was scrumptious as always.
- December 31, 2016 at 11:07 PM
- Mirorih2 said...
Wish you put grams and kg in as well, and not only lbs and oz
- January 2, 2017 at 11:33 AM
- Redcaddy said...
Such a good thing that Kevin has taken a 6 year hiatus from smart bass comments! This is wonderful. Thanks CJ! One of the best lasagnas that I've ever cooked!
- January 18, 2017 at 8:59 PM
- Unknown said...
Made this last month for Christmas. It's beyond wonderful. I will never make my recipe again. Thank you CJ.
- January 22, 2017 at 10:47 PM
- Unknown said...
made this for my maiden voyage to lasagnadom. it turned out a little too liquid-y coming out of the oven. i'm not sure if it's because i didn't let enough liquid drain out of the mushroom/meat, or because i put a lid on the meat/tomato while it was simmering, or because my dish was not deep enough to contain all the wondrous meat and cheese? these questions have kept me up at night. i will say, however, that the day after, and the day after that, and the day after that, the lasagna only kept getting better. i'm not sure what sorcery was happening, but it turned out to be the lasagna of my dreams. i guess it just needed to go through puberty.
- May 12, 2017 at 4:29 PM
- Unknown said...
Chef John, I so enjoy watching you on Saturday mornings while deciding what weekend fare I will be choosing. I have to ask, though, do you not like garlic? I never see you mention it. I love your recipes, just wondering. Also love the tips you give.
Happy Saturday!
Colleen - August 26, 2017 at 12:14 PM
- Fazli Mordor said...
This looks mouth dropping! Now I must make it!
Wishing you all the warmestMerry Christmas Wishes - December 4, 2017 at 7:24 PM
- Turkey Taster said...
How would ground lamb work as a substitute for ground pork and beef?
- January 3, 2018 at 10:09 PM
- Healer said...
I just made this with my mother, and it turned out wonderfully. I did the sauce the day before and it marinaded perfectly. One thing I did wrong was that I let the sauce get too thick, so when I was building the lasagna I had to use more per layer and ended up with not enough for the top. Rookie mistake, given it was my first lasagna. That's alright because I just used cheese to cover up the empty spots!
Our dinner guest was Italian and he recognized this as a classic recipe instantly. He said that he hasn't been served a traditional lasagna in years and he has had to get used to "white people lasagna". Haha. He said it brought back memories of childhood when his whole family would get together to eat 2 or 3 of his grandmother's lasagnas before everyone passed out from being so full.
Thanks Chef John for teaching me this!! I will definitely be doing it again. - May 11, 2018 at 10:52 PM
- Unknown said...
Chef John,
A quick question regarding the boiling of the lasagna noodles. I read the blog post and watched the video and I was left a little curious. In particular, when you're preparing the lasagna noodles, do you boil them fully prior to assembly (i.e., the full time according to the directions on the box) and then bake for the hour in the oven?
I know some folks' lasagna recipes call for partially cooking the pasta and then baking the rest of the way. I just don't want the finished product to be too dry as you warned about in the blog post. Obviously, having it a little crispy around the edges is great, but I've had too many finished products in the past that were way too dry with way too crunchy noodles. Or, is simply having ample amounts of sauce enough to make it not too dried out regardless of how long the noodles boil for?
You are without a doubt, "THE MAN !!!! ," and are worthy of some sort of distinguished medal or other personal decoration for having your videos and blog posts available free of charge. I'm looking at you Mr. British tv celebrity chef whose online cooking tutorials cost $90 for each lesson. I bet he doesn't even cover "the 'ole tap-a tap-a" or "the 'ole shake-a shake-a." Unbelievable!
THANKS ! - June 16, 2018 at 7:38 PM
- Unknown said...
Hey again Chef,
So I found the link to click on "view the complete recipe" and I was taken to 'All Recipes' where it says to boil the noodles for about 8 minutes until it's cooked through but firm to the bite. So, I guess I answered my own question.
Anyhow, you're still the man. - June 16, 2018 at 8:03 PM
- Unknown said...
@chef John can you please show me a wonderful Lasagna that is tomatoless. I am absolutely in love with Lasagna but have recently acquired an allergy to tomatoes. So all my infatuation for Italiano has been ruined. Please show me some techniques. firstname.lastname@example.com
- October 7, 2019 at 8:34 AM


text:
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A second person faces a charge of murdering a Georgia woman who died from an illegal buttocks implant in Mississippi in March, authorities said Monday.
The Mississippi attorney general's office said in a news release that 39-year-old Natasha Stewart of Memphis, Tenn., was arrested Jan. 3. The release said she waived extradition and will be returned to Mississippi.
Stewart, who also goes by the name Pebbelz, was indicted on charges of murder, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, authorities said.
It wasn't immediately clear whether she had an attorney.
Morris Garner, who also goes by the name Tracey Lynn Garner, was previously charged with depraved-heart murder and is said to have performed the procedure at his house in Jackson, Miss., on 37-year-old Karima Gordon of Atlanta. Investigators have said the silicone-like substance that was injected into Gordon caused blood clots in her lungs and killed her.
Depraved-heart murder is a legal term for an action that demonstrates a "callous disregard for human life" and results in death. It carries a life sentence.
Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood has said Garner had no training or license to perform the implant procedure.
Hood had said earlier in the investigation that Gordon, who had served in the military and wanted to become a model, found Garner after meeting someone on the Internet known to authorities at that time only as "Pebbles."
Gordon met the woman in person in New York City and paid her $200 for the referral to Garner, according to Hood.
Gordon drove to Mississippi with a friend to have the procedure but became ill a few hours later. Her friend called Garner and asked what to do, and he told them to buy some cough medicine, authorities say. Gordon died at a Georgia hospital a few days later.
Deaths from illegal cosmetic procedures have happened sporadically around the country as people seek cheaper alternatives to plastic surgeons. A New Jersey woman pleaded not guilty last year after authorities charged her with giving a man a fatal dose of silicone during a penile enhancement procedure. Prosecutors say the suspect in that case had no medical training.
(Photo: Newsone)

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Exorcism (Greek: Εξορκισμος) is the rite of prayer which expels demons from a person or physical object. The most common use of exorcism in the Church is at the reception of a catechumen, which is most often included at the beginning of the baptismal rite, and during the Great Blessing of Water which is done on the baptismal waters and at Theophany. An exorcism may also be performed if it is believed that a person is suffering from demonic influence.
- Exorcism is the practice of expelling evil spirits by means of prayer or set formulas adopted by the Christian Church from pre-Christian practices. Christ Himself and his Apostles practiced exorcism for the people possessed. (See Matthew 10:1 and foll; Luke 11:14 and foll; Acts 16:18, 19:13 and foll.). Exorcism has been practiced on persons possessed by an evil spirit all through the development of the Christian Church beginning with New Testament times. The most well-known exorcisms are those applied to Catechumens about to be baptized. Since infant Baptism was introduced in the Church, the statements denouncing Satan and accepting Christ are given by the Godfather/mother in the place of the candidate to be baptized. The Orthodox exorcisms before Baptism are four in number. Following them, and after the candidate or sponsor gives the affirmations in Christ, he is required to recite the Nicene Creed as the final seal of a successful candidacy.
- It should be noted here at this point that the Orthodox exorcisms are in essence prayers for averting the influence of evil spirits rather than for expelling the devil, especially in ceremonies such as sanctifying the waters (Hagiasmos), blessing the ceremonial oil, or blessing sacred vessels. It should also be noted that the importance of exorcism in Orthodox ecclesiastical life is not as great as it is in both the Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches. In recent years certain semi-pagan exorcistic rituals have been practiced by a number of people uncertain as to their religious belonging, including clergymen of the Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches. Assuming the role of an exorcist is a serious offense against the Church's conception of evil and of the sacramental means by which it should be warded off. Needless to say, evil in man, whether personified or not, naturally requires the help of the Church for its expulsion but, above all, requires the spiritual strength of the individual concerned.[1]
- 1 Exorcism Prayers
- 1.1 Prayer by St. John Chrysostom
- 1.2 The prayers of entrance into the Catechumenate
- 1.3 Prayers of St. Basil the Great
- 1.4 Prayer by a Priest for a Home Troubled by Evil Spirits
- 1.5 Prayer to be Free of the Evil Eye
- 1.6 Holy water. Theophany
- 1.7 Blessing of objects. Censings. The Sign of the Cross
- 1.8 Other Orthodox Prayers
- 2 Exorcist as a minor order. History and significance
- 3 Exorcism today
- 4 List of Saints
- 5 See also
- 6 Further Reading
- 7 External links
- 8 References
- 9 Sources
Exorcism Prayers
Prayer by St. John Chrysostom
EXORCISMS or PRAYERS OF DELIVERANCE FOR GENERAL USE by St. John Chrysostom (344-407 A.D.)
O Eternal God, Who has redeemed the race of men from the
captivity of the devil, deliver Thy servant/handmaid from all the
workings of unclean spirits. Command the evil and impure spirits
and demons to depart from the soul and body of your
servant/handmaid and not to remain nor hide in him/her. Let them
be banished from this the creation of Thy hands in Thine own holy
name and that of Thine only begotten Son and of Thy life-creating
Spirit, so that, after being cleansed from all demonic influence,
he/she may live godly, justly and righteously and may be counted
worthy to receive the Holy Mysteries of Thine only-begotten Son
and our God with Whom Thou art blessed and glorified together
with the all holy and good and life-creating Spirit now and ever
and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
O Thou Who hast rebuked all unclean spirits and by the power of
Thy Word has banished the legion, come now, through Thine only
begotten Son upon this creature, which Thou hast fashioned in
Thine own image and deliver him/her from the adversary that
holds him/her in bondage, so that, receiving Thy mercy and
becoming purified, he/she might join the ranks of Thy holy flock
and be preserved as a living temple of the Holy Spirit and might
receive the divine and holy Mysteries through the grace and
compassion and loving kindness of Thine only-begotten Son with
Whom Thou art blessed together with Thine all-holy and good and
life-creating Spirit now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
We beseech Thee, O Lord, Almighty God, Most High, untempted,
peaceful King. We beseech Thee Who has created the heaven and
the earth, for out of Thee has issued the Alpha and the Omega, the
beginning and the end, Thou Who has ordained that the fourfooted
and irrational beasts be under subjection to man, for Thou
hast subjected them. Lord, stretch out Thy mighty hand and Thy
sublime and holy arm and in Thy watchful care look down upon
this Thy creature and send down upon him/her a peaceful angel, a
mighty angel, a guardian of soul and body, that will rebuke and
drive away every evil and unclean demon from him/her, for Thou
alone are Lord, Most High, almighty and blessed unto ages of ages.
We make this great, divine, holy and awesome invocation and
plea, O devil, for thine expulsion, as well as this rebuke for your
utter annihilation, O apostate!
God Who is holy, beginningless, frightful, invisible in essence,
infinite in power and incomprehensible in divinity, the King of
glory and Lord Almighty, He shall rebuke thee, devil! -- He Who
composed all things well by his Word from nothingness into being;
He Who walks upon the wings of the air.
The Lord rebukes thee, devil! -- He Who calls forth the water of
the sea and pours it upon the face of all the earth. Lord of Hosts is
His name. Devil: the Lord rebukes thee! He Who is ministered to
and praised by numberless heavenly orders and adored and
glorified in fear by multitudes of angelic and archangelic hosts.
Satan: the Lord rebukes thee! He Who is honored by the encircling
Powers, the awesome six-winged and many-eyed Cherubim and
Seraphim that cover their faces with two wings because of His
inscrutable and unseen divinity and with two wings cover their
feet, lest they be seared by His unutterable glory and
incomprehensible majesty, and with two wings do fly and fill the
heavens with their shouts of "Holy, holy, holy, Lord Sabaoth,
heaven and earth are full of Thy glory!"
Devil: The Lord rebukes thee! He Who came down from the
Father's bosom and, through the holy, inexpressible, immaculate
and adorable Incarnation from the Virgin, appeared ineffably in the
world to save it and cast thee down from heaven in His
authoritative power and showed thee to be an outcast to every man.
Satan: The Lord rebukes thee! He Who said to the sea, be silent, be
still, and instantly it was calmed at His command. Devil: The Lord
rebukes thee! He Who made clay with His immaculate spittle and
refashioned the wanting member of the man blind from birth and gave him his sight.
Devil: The Lord rebukes thee! He Who by His word restored to life
the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue and snatched the son of
the widow out from the mouth of death and gave him whole and
sound to his own mother. Devil: The Lord rebukes thee! The Lord
Who raised Lazarus the four-days dead from the dead, undecayed,
as if not having died, and unblemished to the astonishment of many.
Satan: The Lord rebukes thee! He Who destroyed the curse by the
blow on His face and by the lance in His immaculate side lifted the
flaming sword that guarded Paradise. Devil: The Lord rebukes
thee! He Who dried all tears from every face by the spitting upon
His precious expressed image. Devil: The Lord rebukes thee! He
Who set His Cross as a support, the salvation of the world, to thy
fall and the fall of all the angels under thee.
Devil: The Lord rebukes thee! He Who spoke from His Cross and
the curtain of the temple was torn in two, and the rocks were split
and the tombs were opened and those who were dead from the ages
were raised up. Devil: The Lord rebukes thee! He Who by death
put death to death and by His rising granted life to all men.
May the Lord rebuke thee, Satan! -- that is, He Who descended
into Hades and opened its tombs and set free those held prisoner in
it, calling them to Himself; before Whom the gatekeepers of Hades
shuddered when they saw Him and, hiding themselves, vanished in
the anguish of Hades. May the Lord rebuke thee, devil! -- That is,
Christ our God Who arose from the dead and granted His
Resurrection to all men.
May the Lord rebuke thee, Satan! -- He Who in glory ascended
into heaven to His Father, sitting on the right of majesty upon the
throne of glory. Devil: May the Lord rebuke thee! He Who shall
come again with glory upon the clouds of heaven with His holy
angels to judge the living and the dead. Devil: May the Lord
rebuke thee! He Who has prepared for thee unquenchable fire, the
unsleeping worm and the outer darkness unto eternal punishment.
Devil: May the Lord rebuke thee! For before Him all things
shudder and tremble from the face of His power and the wrath of
His warning upon thee is uncontainable. Satan: The Lord rebukes
thee by His frightful name!
Shudder, tremble, be afraid, depart, be utterly destroyed, be
banished! Thee who fell from heaven and together with thee all
evil spirits: every evil spirit of lust, the spirit of evil, a day and
nocturnal spirit, a noonday and evening spirit, a midnight spirit, an
imaginative spirit, an encountering spirit, either of the dry land or
of the water, or one in a forest, or among the reeds, or in trenches,
or in a road or a crossroad, in lakes, or streams, in houses, or one
sprinkling in the baths and chambers, or one altering the mind of
Depart swiftly from this creature of the Creator Christ our God!
And be gone from the servant/handmaid of God ___________,
from his/her mind, from his/her soul, from his/her heart, from
his/her reins, from his/her senses, from all his/her members, that
he/she might become whole and sound and free, knowing God,
his/her own Master and Creator of all things, He Who gathers
together those who have gone astray and Who gives them the seal
of salvation through the rebirth and restoration of divine Baptism,
so that he may be counted worthy of His immaculate, heavenly and
awesome Mysteries and be united to His true fold, dwelling in a
place of pasture and nourished on the waters of repose, guided
pastorally and safely by the staff of the Cross unto the forgiveness
of sins and life everlasting.
For unto Him belong all glory, honor, adoration and majesty
together with Thy beginningless Father and His all-holy, good and
life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
The prayers of entrance into the Catechumenate
Note: these exorcisms are at the very beginning of the making of the Catechumanate service. They precede the candidate renouncing the devil, pledging allegiance to Christ, baptism and Chrismation.
Priest: Let us pray to the Lord
People: Lord, have mercy
Priest: The Lord rebukes you, O Devil, for he came into the world and dwelt among men in order to shatter your tyranny and free mankind; hanging on the Cross, he triumphed over all the hostile powers, when the sun was darkened and the earth was shaken, when the graves were opened and the bodies of the Saints rose; he destroyed death by death and conquered you, O Devil, who had the power of death. I adjure you in the name of God who revealed the tree of life and appointed the Cherubim and the fiery sword that turns each way to guard it. Be rebuked and depart; for I adjure you in the name of him who walked on the water as if it were dry land, and calmed the tempest whose look dries up the abyss and whose threatening makes the mountains melt away. It is this same Lord who now commands you, through us. Fear, come out and depart from this human being(these human beings), and never return, not hide in him(her/them), neither meet nor act upon him(her/them), not by night or by day, not at dawn or at noontime, but depart to your own darkness until the appointed day of judgment. Fear God who sits upon the Cherubim and looks down into the abyss; before whom tremble Angels, Archangels, Thrones, Dominions, Principalities, Authorities, Powers, the many-eyed Cherubim and the six-winged Seraphim; before whom tremble the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them. Come out and depart from this soldier(these soldiers) or Christ our God, for he(she) has (they have) been marked with the sign of the Cross and newly enlisted. For it is in His name that I adjure you, the name of the Lord who walks upon the wings of the wind, who makes his Angels spirits and his ministers a flaming fire. Come out and depart from this human being (these human beings), with all your power and your angels. For the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is glorified, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen
Priest: Let us pray to the Lord
People: Lord, have mercy
Priest: God the holy, the fearful, the glorious, incomprehensible and inscrutable in all his works and all his might, who ordained for you, O Devil, the punishment of eternal torment, through us his unworthy servants, orders you, and all the powers that work with you, to depart from him(her/them) who has(have) been newly sealed in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, our true God. Therefore, I adjure you, most wicked, impure, abominable, loathsome and alien spirit: Come out of the man and never again enter into him. Depart, admit the vanity of your power which could not even control the swine. Remember him who, at your own request, commanded you to enter into the herd of the swine. Fear God, by whose command the earth was made firm upon the waters; who made the heaven, who weighted the mountains in a balance and the valleys on a pair of scales (Is 40,12) who placed the sand as a boundary to the sea and a safe path in the raging waters; who makes the mountains smoke at his touch; who clothes himself with light as a garment; who covers over his lofty dwellings with waters; who laid the foundations of the earth so secure that it should never be shaken from them; who lifts up the water and the sea and returns it as rain upon the face of all the earth. Come out and depart from him (her/them) who is (are) now preparing for holy illumination. I adjure you by the saving Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ and his sacred Body and Blood and his awesome return; for he shall come without delay to judge all the earth, and shall assign you, and all the powers working with you, to the fire of hell, having deliver you to the outer darkness, where the worm constantly devours, and the fire is never extinguished. For the power belongs to Christ our God, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever unto the ages of ages Amen.
Priest: Let us pray to the Lord
People: Lord, mercy
Priest: O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, who heal every illness every infirmity, look upon your servant(s) (N); seek out examine and expel from him (her/them) all the workings of the Devil. Rebuke the impure spirits and banish them, and cleanse the work(s) of your hands; by your swift action crush Satan under his (her/their) feet, and grant to him (her/them) victory over the Devil and his impure spirits; so that, having received your mercy, he (she/they) may become worthy of your immortal and heavenly mysteries and may give glory to you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to ages of ages. Amen.
Prayers of St. Basil the Great
FIRST PRAYER OF EXORCISM & HEALING - St. Basil the Great – 330 -379AD
Let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
O God of gods and Lord of lords, Creator of the fiery spirits and Artificer of the invisible powers, of all things heavenly and earthly: Thou Who no man has seen -- nor is able to see; Thou Whom all creation fears and before Whom it trembles; Thou Who didst cast into the darkness of the abyss of Tartars the angels who did fall away with him who once was commander of the angelic host, who disobeyed Thee and haughtily refused to serve Thee, do Thou expel by the terror of Thy name the evil one and his legions loose upon the earth, Lucifer and those with him who fell from above. Set him to flight and command him and his demons to depart completely. Let no harm come to them who are sealed in Thy image and let those who are sealed receive dominion, "to tread on serpents and scorpions and all the power of the enemy." For Thee do we hymn and magnify and with every breath do we glorify Thy all-holy name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
SECOND PRAYER OF EXORCISM - St Basil the Great
Let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
I expel you, primal source of blasphemy, prince of the rebel host,
originator of evil. I expel you, Lucifer, who was cast from the
brilliance on high into the darkness of the abyss on account of your
arrogance: I expel you and all the fallen hosts which followed your
will: I expel you, spirit of uncleanness, who revolted against
Adonai, Elohim, the omnipotent God of Sabaoth and the army of
His angels. Be gone and depart from the servant/handmaid of God
______________. I expel you in the name of Him Who created all
things by His Word, His Only-Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus
Christ, Who was ineffably and dispassionately born before all the
ages; by Whom was formed all things visible and invisible, Who
made man after His Image: Who guarded him by the angels, Who
trained him in the Law, Who drowned sin in the flood of waters
from above and Who shut up the abysses under the heaven, Who
demolished the impious race of giants, Who shook down the tower
of Babel, Who reduced Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes by sulfur
and fire, a fact to which the unceasing vapors testify; and Who by
the staff of Moses separated the waters of the Red Sea, opening a
waterless path for the people while the tyrannical Pharaoh and his
God-fighting army were drowned forever in its waves for his
wicked persecution of them; and Who in these last days was
inexplicably incarnate of a pure Virgin who preserved the seal of
her chastity intact; and Who was pleased to purge our ancient
defilement in the baptismal cleansing. I expel you, Satan, by virtue
of Christ's baptism in the Jordan, which for us is a type of our
inheritance of incorruption through grace and sanctified waters: the
same One Who astounded the angels and all the heavenly powers
when they beheld God incarnate in the flesh and also revealed at
the Jordan His beginningless Father and the Holy Spirit with
Whom He shares the unity of the Trinity. I expel you, evil one, in
the name of Him Who rebuked the winds and stilled the turbulent
sea; Who banished the legion of demons and opened the eyes of
him who was born blind from his mother's womb; and Who from
clay fashioned sight for him, whereby He re-enacted the ancient
refashioning of our face; Who restored the speech of the
speechless, purged the stigma of leprosy, raised the dead from the
grave and Who Himself despoiled Hades by His death and
Resurrection thereby rendering mankind impervious to death. I
expel you, in the name of Almighty God Who filled men with the
inbreathing of a divinely inspired voice and Who wrought together
with the Apostles the piety, which has filled the universe. Fear and
flee, run, leave, unclean and accursed spirit, deceitful and
unseemly creature of the infernal depths, visible through deceit,
hidden by pretense. Depart wherever you may appear, Beelzebub,
vanish as smoke and heat, bestial and serpentine thing, whether
disguised as male or female, whether beast or crawling thing or
flying, whether garrulous, mute or speechless, whether bringing
fear of being trampled, or rending apart, conniving, whether
oppressing him/her in sleep, by some display of weakness, by
distracting laughter, or taking pleasure in false tears whether by
lechery or stench of carnal lust, pleasure, addiction to drugs,
divination or astrology, whether dwelling in a house, whether
possessed by audacity, or contentiousness or instability, whether
striking him with lunacy, or returning to him after the passage of
time, whether you be of the morning, noonday, midnight or night,
indefinite time or daybreak, whether spontaneously or sent to
someone or coming upon him/her unawares, whether from the sea,
a river, from beneath the earth, from a well, a ravine, a hollow, a
lake, a thicket of reeds, from matter, land, refuse, whether from a
grove, a tree, a thicket, from a fowl, or thunder, whether from the
precincts of a bath, a pool of water or from a pagan sepulcher or
from any place where you may lurk; whether by knowledge or
ignorance or any place not mentioned. Depart, separate yourself
from him/her, be ashamed before him who was made in the image
of God and shaped by His hand. Fear the likeness of the incarnate
God and no longer hide in His servant/handmaid____________;
rather await the rod of iron, the fiery furnace of Tartars, the
gnashing of teeth as reprisal for disobedience. Be afraid, be still,
flee, neither return nor hide in him some other kind of evil, unclean
spirits. Depart into the uncultivated, waterless waste of the desert
where no man dwells, where God alone vigilantly watches, Who
shall bind you that dares with envy to plot against His image and
Who, with chains of darkness shall hold you in Tartars, Who by
day and night and for a great length of time has devised all manner
of evils, O devil; for great is your fear of God and great is the glory
of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
THIRD PRAYER OF EXORCISM BY St Basil the Great
Let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
O God of the heavens, God of Light, God of the Angels and Archangels obedient to Thine Authority and Power; O God Who art glorified in Thy Saints, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Thine Only-begotten Son, Who delivered the souls which were bound to death and Who enlightened them that dwelt in darkness; He Who released us from all our misery and pain and Who has protected us from the assaults of the enemy. And Thou, O Son and Word of God, has purposed us for immortality by Thy death and glorified us with Thy glory; Thou Who loosed us from the fetters of our sins through Thy Cross, rendering us pleasing to Thyself and uniting us with God; Thou Who didst rescue us from destruction and cured all our diseases; Thou Who set us on the path to heaven and changed our corruption to incorruption. Hear Thou me who cry unto Thee with longing and fear, Thou before Whom the mountains and the firmament under the heavens do shrink; Thou Who makest the physical elements to tremble, keeping them within their own limits; and because of Whom the fires of retribution dare not overstep the boundary set for them but must await the decision of Thy Will; and for Whom all creation sighs with great sighs awaiting deliverance; by Whom all adverse natures have been put to flight and the legion of the enemy has been subdued, the devil is affrighted, the serpent trampled under foot and the dragon slain;
Thou Who has enlightened the nations which confess and welcome Thy rule, O Lord; Thou through Whom life hath appeared, hope hath prevailed, through Whom the man of the earth was recreated by belief in Thee. For Who is like unto Thee, Almighty God? Wherefore we beseech Thee, O Father, Lord of mercies, Who existed before the ages and surpasses all good, calling upon Thy holy name, through the love of Thy Child, Jesus Christ, the Holy One, and Thine All-powerful Spirit.
Cast away from his/her soul every malady, all disbelief, spare him/her from the furious attacks of unclean, infernal, fiery, evil-serving, lustful spirits, the love of gold and silver, conceit, fornication, every shameless, unseemly, dark and profane demon. Indeed, O God, expel from Thy servant/handmaiden _________ every energy of the devil, every enchantment and delusion; all idolatry, lunacy, astrology, necromancy, every bird of omen, the love of luxury and the flesh, all greed, drunkenness, carnality, adultery, licentiousness, shamelessness, anger, contentiousness, confusion and all evil suspicion. Yea, O Lord our God, breathe upon him/her the Spirit of Thy Peace, watch over him/her and produce thereby the fruits of faith, virtue, wisdom, chastity, self-control, love, uprightness, hope, meekness, longsuffering, patience, prudence and understanding in Thy servant/handmaiden that he/she may be welcomed by Thee in the name of Jesus Christ, believing in the coessential Trinity, giving witness and glorifying Thy dominion, along with the Angels and Archangels and all the heavenly host, guarding our hearts by them; for all things are possible to Thee, O Lord. Therefore, we ascribe glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Prayer by a Priest for a Home Troubled by Evil Spirits
O Lord God of our salvation, Son of the Living God, Who is borne by the Cherubim, being above all dominions, principalities, authorities and powers: You are great and fearsome to all around You. You are the One Who set the heavens like a vault and made the earth in Your might; Who directs the universe in Your wisdom. When earthquakes occur under heaven from the foundations, its pillars are unshaken. You speak and the sun does not shine. You sealed the stars. You forbad the seas and dried them up. Authorities and dominions hide from Your wrath, and the rock trembles before You.
You obliterated the gates of brass and demolished the bars of iron. You bound the Mighty One and smashed his vessels. By Your Cross You cast down tyrants and drew in the Serpent with the hook of Your humanity. Having cast him down, You bound him with hooks in the gloom of Tartarus.
As the same Lord, the Hope of those who place their confirmation on You, and the Wall of might for those whose expectation is in You, anathematize, drive away and transform all diabolical actions and all satanic indictments, all slanders of the Adversary, and of the powers lying under this roof. Free those bearing the Sign which is awesome against demons: the Cross of Your victory, and calling upon Your gracious Name, from possession by him and from those wandering about under this roof.
Yea, Lord, You drove away legions of demons, and the demons and unclean spirits by which the deaf and dumb were held. These You commanded to depart and not to return again. You have consumed all the armies of our invisible enemies, and have made wise the faithful who have known You. For You said, "Behold, I give you power to trample underfoot snakes and scorpions, and all the power of enemies" (Luke 10:19).
Preserve, O Master, all who live in the house from all harm and every temptation from below, delivering them from fear of the feeble one and the arrows that fly by day, from things proceeding from the darkness and attacks by demons at midday. Let Your servants and Your children, delighting in Your help, and preserved by armies of angels, faithfully sing with one accord: "The Lord is my Helper and I will not be afraid; what can man do to me?" and again, "I will fear no evil, for You are with me."
As You are my Confirmation, O God, Mighty Master, Prince of Peace, and Father of the age to come, for Your kingdom is an eternal Kingdom, to you alone is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Prayer to be Free of the Evil Eye
Let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy
O Lord Our God, the King of the ages, almighty and all powerful, who create and alter all things by your will alone; who changed into dew the flames of the furnace in Babylon that had been heated seven times more than usual, and preserved in safety your three holy youths; the physican and healer of our souls; the security of those who hope in you; we pray you and beseech you: Remove, drive away and banish every diabolical activity, every satanic attack and every plot, evil curiousity and injury, and the evil eye of mischievous and wicked men from your servant (Name); and whether it was brought about by beauty, or bravery, or happiness, or jealousy and envy, or evil eye, do you yourself, O Lord who love mankind, stretch out your mighty hand and your powerful and lofty arm, look down on this your creature and watch over him(her), and send him(her) an angel of peace, a mighty guardian of soul and body, who will rebuke and banish from him (her) every wicked intention, every spell and evil eye of destructive and envious men; so that, guarded by your, your supplicant may sing to you with thanksgiving: The Lord is my helper, and I shall not be afraid; what can man do to me? And again: I shall fear no evil because you are with me.
For you are God my strength, the powerful ruler, the Prince of Peace, the Father of the age to come. Yes, Lord, our God, spare your creature and save your servant (Name) from every injury and brought about by the evil eye, and keep him (her) safe above every ill. For your are our King and all things are possible to Thee, O Lord. Therefore, we ascribe glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Holy water. Theophany
Blessing of objects. Censings. The Sign of the Cross
Other Orthodox Prayers
Xiropotamou 98
This is a text of a manuscript, no. 98 (ff.133-39) according to the catalogue compiled by S.P. Lambros (1895), held in the library of Xiropotamou Monastery on Mt. Athos. Although Lambros dates the manuscript to the sixteenth century, this particular part appears to have been written in the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century…The transcription was made from a microfilm of the original provided by the Patriarchal Institute for Patristic Studies, Moni Vlatadon, Thessaloniki. This is a text that would have been consulted by priests before performing exorcisms.[2]
- " 'I exorcise you, evil Devil, enemy of truth, by the awful and holy name of All-Powerful God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost to tell me immediately how your name is called. I adjure you by the holy angels, thrones, dominions, principalities, powers, and authorities; by the many-eyed Cherubim and the six-winged Seraphim to tell me immediately how your name is called. I adjure you by the supremely pure Maria, Mother of God, by the twelve and seventy holy apostles; by the terrible and unimpeachable judgement and by the holy blood that flowed from the side of our Lord, Jesus Christ; by the twenty-four presbyters, forever presiding at the invisible throne of God and singing the unhalting song and by all the wondrous works of All-Powerful God that have occurred in heaven and on earth, by the holy patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the saints [who lived] before the Law; by the holy fourteen thousand infants, those slaughtered under Herod; by all holy men and women, those who pleased holy God in their lifetime. I adjure all you evil spirits, by all the saints, that you tell me your names' - then show the holy cross, holding it in your hand and say, - 'Behold the holy cross of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Depart evil Devil! Jesus Christ conquers. The lion; he of Judah's race; he of the root of David; the Emmanuel [the Saviour]. Christ reigns, Christ holds power, Christ slays, Christ grants life; holy, holy, holy Lord Sabaoth, heaven and earth are filled with his glory, Hosannah in the highest, and who is blessed through the ages. Amen. Let God arise and let his enemies be scattered and let them flee from his countenance. As smoke vanishes so may they disappear; as wax melts away from the face of fire, and snow from the burning heat of the sun. Cursed Devil, why do you delay and not speak your name? Give glory to holy God; take fright at these varied and many oaths [exorcisms]. I adjure you by our Lord Jesus Christ. Speak your name. I adjure you by him for whom every knee bends in heaven and on earth and in the underworld, that you tell your name. I adjure you by him who made himself of no reputation and assumed the form of a servant. Tell what your name is. I adjure you by that blood, the same as that which poured out upon the cross. Speak your name; say it plainly. I, the servant of God, ask you what is your name. Tell whether you have other accomplices with you as well, and how you are and from what class, or what your leader is called. In what power and authority or where and in which place are you dwelling? Before coming out of this person you must tell me to whom you are subordinate. Tell me when you emerge and what sign you make when you emerge. I adjure you by the Holy Spirit that revealed you through Peter, supreme among the apostles, in Simon Magus, and in Kynops Angkhistos, by the Apostle John the Theologian on the island Patmos. Answer what I have asked you, wily Devil. Humble yourself. Hades has been appointed as your seat of power; therein is your dwelling. So, there is no time to wait. The Lord will soon arrive and [ . . . ] in judging the earth and He will punish you and your accomplice force, in hell-fire, giving you over to the outer darkness where there is the unsleeping worm and the unquenchable fire. Speak your name, for great is the fear of God and great the glory of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and always and to [the ages. . .]' " [3].
Exorcist as a minor order. History and significance
As of present day, in the Orthodox Church, the office of an Exorcist no longer exists, but rather, all priests are required to be able to conduct an exorcism.
Exorcism today
List of Saints
The following is a general list of Orthodox Saints whose intercession may be enlisted in prayer for healing, and against unclean spirits and mental disorders (listed in chronological order).
- Archangel Michael
- Anastasia the Deliverer from Potions
- Anthony the Great
- George
- Panteleimon
- Marina of Antioch
- Cyprian and Justina
- Mathurin of Larchant
- Genevieve of Paris
- Theodore the Sykeote
- Dymphna
- Gerasimos of Cephalonia
- Mitrophan of Voronezh
- Nectarios of Aegina
- Matrona of Moscow
- Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky) of Simferopol and Crimea
See also
- Orthodox Psychotherapy
- Demonology
- The Evil Eye (vaskania)
- Halloween
Further Reading
There are many books about exorcism and demonology that go to one extreme or another. These resources are some of the better ones we have found. As always, read with discretion.
- Archimandrite Vassilios Bakoyannis. Confronting the Devil, Magic & the Occult. Orthodox Book Centre, Athens 2003. 172 pp.
- Rev. George C. Papademetriou, Ph.D. Exorcism in the Orthodox Church. Goarch.org.
- Rev. George Mastrantonis. Exorcism. Goarch.org.
- Richard P H Greenfield. Traditions of Belief in Late Byzantine Demonology. Published by Adolf M. Hakkert, Amsterdam, 1988. (369 pp.) (ISBN 9025609627) (ISBN 9789025609627)
- (Comprehensive scholarly study; Greek text in several places; includes list of sources of the standard Orthodox tradition. Compares the standard Orthodox tradition to alternative traditions).
- Jean-Claude Larchet. Mental Disorders and Spiritual Healing: Teachings from the Early Christian East. 1st Ed. Transl. by G. John Champoux and Rama P. Coomaraswamy. Published by Sophia Perennis, July 2005. (ISBN 9781597310611)
- Irénée Hausherr. Spiritual Direction in the Early Christian East. Issue 116 of Cistercian studies series. Transl. by Anthony P. Gythiel; Foreword by Bp. Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia. Kalamazoo, Mich. : Cistercian Publications, 1990. ISBN 0879074167
In Greek
- (Greek)
Christodoulos (Paraskevaides) of Athens. "Οι σατανικές-καταστροφικές λατρείες και ο τρόπος προφύλαξης των παιδιών μας." Κοινωνία. ECCLESIA: ΔΙΑΔΙΚΤΥΑΚΟΣ ΟΙΚΟΣ ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑΣ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ. 1/1/2007.
- (Greek)
Church of Greece. "Εγκύκλιος υπ. αρ. 2565: Περί νεοσατανισμού." Encyclical.
Roman Catholic
- (Full text of "The Roman Ritual" (1952 AD) included)
- Fr. Gabriele Amorth. An Exorcist Tells His Story. ISBN 0898707102
- (Fr. Amorth is an official exorcist of the diocese of Rome. His commentary and experience is certainly worth engaging).
- Fr. Gabriele Amorth. An Exorcist: More Stories. ISBN 0898709172
- Fr. Jose Antonio Fortea. Interview With an Exorcist: An Insider's Look at the Devil, Demonic Possession, and the Path to Deliverance.
- Fr. J.L. Ashcraft (Traditional Byzantine Catholic, Sedevacantist, and Superior General of the Sacerdotal Society of St. Vincent of Lerins [1]. ), (Ed.)Author of The Biblical Rite of Exorcism. ("The very first rite of exorcism to bring together the strengths of the Roman, Anglican, Orthodox and Evangelical movements approach to exorcism into one rite...; also the very first rite to mention the Watchers and Nephilim by name")
- Fr. Malachi Martin. Hostage to the Devil: The Possession and Exorcism of Five Living Americans. 1976. Perennial Library (1987 reprint), New York, 1986. ISBN 0060971037, 2nd edition with a new preface by the author: Harper San Francisco, 1992, ISBN 006065337X
- The Catechism of the Catholic Church (s. 1673) has this to say about exorcism:
- When the Church asks publicly and authoritatively in the name of Jesus Christ that a person or object be protected against the power of the Evil One and withdrawn from his dominion, it is called exorcism. Jesus performed exorcisms and from him the Church has received the power and office of exorcizing. [Cf. Mk 1:25-26; 3:15; 6:7, 13; 16:17.] In a simple form, exorcism is performed at the celebration of Baptism. The solemn exorcism, called "a major exorcism," can be performed only by a priest and with the permission of the bishop. The priest must proceed with prudence, strictly observing the rules established by the Church. Exorcism is directed at the expulsion of demons or to the liberation from demonic possession through the spiritual authority which Jesus entrusted to his Church. Illness, especially psychological illness, is a very different matter; treating this is the concern of medical science. Therefore, before an exorcism is performed, it is important to ascertain that one is dealing with the presence of the Evil One, and not an illness.
- Michael O'Donnell. "Demonical Possession." The Catholic Encyclopedia (New Advent). Vol. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911.
Protestant & Other
- Dr. Kurt Koch (ThD) and Dr. Alfred Lechler. Occult Bondage and Deliverance: Advice for Counselling the Sick, the Troubled and the Occultly Oppressed. Transl. from the German and published by Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI, 1971. (198 pp.) ISBN 0825430062
- (By noted Lutheran German theologian, minister and evangelist Kurt E. Koch (1913-1987), along with psychiatrist Dr. Alfred Lechler, both well acquainted with the other's field; Dr Koch pastored in the state Lutheran Church as well as studied the occult and ministered to those suffering from demon afflication and the occult. His ministry took him to more than sixty-five countries on five continents).
- (A classic Protestant/Pentecostal work).
- Gerald Brittle. The Demonologist: The Extraordinary Career of Ed and Lorraine Warren.
- (Please read with caution. Note that the subjects (Ed and Lorraine Warren) are in the tradition of 'paranormal investigators').
- William Menzies Alexander. Demonic Possession in the New Testament: Its Relations Historical, Medical and Theological. Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1902.
Medical Sources
- Michael Streich. Demon Possession and Psychological Disorders: Differentiating Between Medieval Doctrine and Rational Science. Suite101.com. April 8, 2009.
- Stefano Ferracuti, Roberto Sacco, and Renato Lazzari. "Dissociative Trance Disorder: Clinical and Rorschach Findings in Ten Persons Reporting Demon Possession and Treated by Exorcism." In Journal of Personality Assessment, 1996, Vol 66, No. 3, pp.525-539.
- Hayward, Rhodri (Rhodri Lloyd). Demonology, Neurology, and Medicine in Edwardian Britain. Bulletin of the History of Medicine, Volume 78, Number 1, Spring 2004. pp.37-58.
- (Explores the points of contact between the medical and demonological communities in order to demonstrate the contested nature of biomedical innovation. Keywords: demonology, psychiatry, neurology, germ theory, possession.)
- (Ukrainian)
O. H. Karahodina. Phenomenon of Religious Experience in the Structure of Feelings of Individuals with Mental Disturbances. Lik Sprava. January 2002, Issue 7, pp.32-36.
- (Eastern Orthodoxy; Emotions; Humans; Mental Disorders; Mental Healing; Psychometrics; Religion and Psychology; Ukraine)
- Prof. F. C. Conybeare. "The Demonology of the New Testament." The Jewish Quarterly Review. Vol. 8, No. 4 (Jul., 1896), pp. 576-608.
- Daniel Ogden. Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds. Oxford University Press, 2002.
- H. C. Erik Midelfort. "Johann Weyer and the Transformation of the Insanity Defense." In: The German People and the Reformation. Ed. R. Po-Chia Hsia. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1988.
- Jonathan L. Pearl. French Catholic Demonologists and Their Enemies in the Late Sixteenth and Early Seventeenth Centuries. Church History. Vol.52, No.4, December 1983. pp.457-467.
- Prof. Charles Stewart. Demons and the Devil: Moral Imagination in Modern Greek Culture. Princeton University Press (Modern Greek Studies), NJ, 1991.
- (See chapters on Exorcism and Baptism).
- Sarah Ferber. Demonic Possession and Exorcism in Early Modern France. Routledge, 2004.
- Mark Bancroft, MA. The History & Psychology of Spirit Possession & Exorcism. EnSpire Press.
External links
- Exorcism at CopperWiki.
- BBC News Online: World. Vatican issues new exorcism rules. January 27, 1999.
Orthodox Cases
- Video of Russian Orthodox Exorcism
- News stories about the exorcism and death of a Romanian nun (see June 19 & 24, 2005).
- A Coptic Exorcist - An Exorcism preformed by a Coptic Orthodox priest, notice that some of those possesed are Muslims.
- A Coptic Exorcist part 2 - Another clips of a Coptic Orthodox priest performing an exorcism, many of the people present are Muslims. The young man confesses, "Jesus is Allah."
Roman Catholic Cases
- The Exorcism of Nicola Aubrey, (1565-1566), written by Fr Michael Müller.
- Anneliese Michel (+1976) at Wikipedia.
- ↑ Rev. Dr. Nicon D. Patrinacos (M.A., D.Phil. (Oxon)). A Dictionary of Greek Orthodoxy - Λεξικον Ελληνικης Ορθοδοξιας. Light & Life Publishing, Minnesota, 1984. pp.168-169.
- ↑ Professor Charles Stewart. Demons and the Devil: Moral Imagination in Modern Greek Culture. Princeton University Press (Modern Greek Studies), NJ, 1991. pp.292.
- ↑ Professor Charles Stewart. "Appendix 2 - Xiropotamou 98", in Demons and the Devil: Moral Imagination in Modern Greek Culture. Princeton University Press (Modern Greek Studies), NJ, 1991.pp.255-258.
- Rev. Dr. Nicon D. Patrinacos (M.A., D.Phil. (Oxon)). A Dictionary of Greek Orthodoxy - Λεξικον Ελληνικης Ορθοδοξιας. Light & Life Publishing, Minnesota, 1984.
- (Rev. Patrinacos was pastor at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in St. Louis, Missouri, serving from 1950-53, in 1953 becoming Dean of Holy Cross Theological Seminary, Brookline, MA. (+1990).