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In past centuries, epidemics, the scourge of humankind, caused pain, anger, uncertainty of the future, social as well as economic disorder and a significant impact on their victims, involving also their spiritual sphere. The latter effect led to undoubted effects on participation in the religious and social life of communities. The custom of preparing artistic votive expressions has been lost in the mists of time and evidence of ex voto gifts, offered by believers to pagan gods, has been found in prehistoric archaeological sites. Furthermore, several finds from the Ancient Greek and Roman worlds may be observed in our museums. These remains are generally ceramic and metal artifacts, reproducing limbs and other body parts which had been healed. These elements, according to the belief of those making the offerings, had benefited from the miraculous intervention of a thaumaturgical deity. With the advent of Christianity, some pre-existing religious practices were endorsed by the new religion. Believers continued to demonstrate their gratitude in different ways either to miracle-working saints or to the Virgin Mary, because they thought that, thanks to an act of faith, their own health or that of a family member would benefit from the direct intervention of the divine entities to whom they had prayed. In the Ancient Greek world, it was believed that the god Asclepius could directly influence human events, as testified by the popularity of shrines and temples to the god, especially at Epidaurus. In the Christian world as well, particular places have been detected, often solitary and secluded in the countryside or in the mountains, where, according to tradition, direct contact was established between the faithful and Saints or the Virgin Mary Herself. Manifestations occurred by means of miracles and apparitions, thereby creating a direct link between the supernatural world and believers. Religious communities, in these extraordinary places, responded to the call through the building of shrines and promotion of the cult. Over time, the faithful reached these places of mystery, performing pilgrimages with the aim of strengthening their religious faith, but also with the purpose of seeking intercession and grace. In this case, the request for clemency assumed spiritual characteristics and also became a profession of faith. Accordingly, the shrines in the Christian world are places where supernatural events may occur. In these environments the believer resorted to faith, when medicine showed its limits in a tangible way. For the above reasons, while epidemics were occurring, the requests for clemency were numerous and such petitions were both individual and collective. In particular, by means of votive offerings (ex voto) the believers, both individually and collectively, gave the evidence of the received grace to the thaumaturgical Saint. Through the votive act, a perpetual link between the believer and the Saints or Holy Virgin was forged and a strong request for communion was transmitted. The aim of the present study is to describe the role played by votive tablets (ex voto) in the last 500-600 years, as visible evidence of human suffering. From this perspective, these votive expressions may assume the role of markers because, in accordance with the expressions of popular faith, they allow us to follow the most important outbreaks that have caused distress to Christian communities.

A brief history of medicine in Amazonas: the end of shamanism and the progressive Christianisation of therapeutical rites among the Tarianos, in the suburbs of Manaus.

The textual and visual tradition of the story of the woman with the haemorrhage (Mark 5.24b-34parr), the so-called Haemorrhoissa, is related in a specific way to Christ's healing miracles but also to conceptions of female menstrual blood. We notice that with regard to the specific 'issue of blood' of the Haemorrhoissa, there is a visual lacuna in the specific iconography that developed around the story from early Christian times: in the transposition from text to image, there is no immediate depiction of her bleeding. However, the early medieval reception of the story also became an important catalyst for uterine taboos, menstruation and tits relation to magical healing, understood as a system of health practices. In this context, the dissemination of the motif in everyday material culture clearly points to a deep-rooted connection to uterine and menstrual issues. The paper considers both expressions and their-anthropologically framed-relation to this female 'issue of blood', which the Haemorrhoissa came to embody and epitomise literally, as well as figuratively.

The medieval mystic altarpiece towers above the altar table. It is linked to the evocation of a religious mystery beyond our faculty of reasoning. Symbolism of an enclosed garden evokes the image of the Heavenly Garden isolated by a wall from the rest of earthly world. In this mystic chiefly Rhenan altarpiece the enclosed garden is that of Virgin Mary who in the Middle Ages was likened to the spouse in the song of songs. The Blessed Virgin is painted with flowers, lily, rose, violet, lily of the valley. Most of these are medicinal plants in order to implore a faith healing for the believers. All in all about fifty plants are showed on Rhenan altarpieces and on 14th century mystic altarpieces almost contemporary of Issenheim's altarpiece, some Italian, some Rhenan.

Faith-based organizations might be ideal social service providers, claiming to transform clients' lives with holistic support while meeting immediate needs. While organizations have such goals, their success is impacted by constituencies with differing goals for the organization. Clients with goals not commensurate with an organization's may compromise its ability to attain its goals. Three questions are examined here: What are the goals of faith-based service providers? When asked what they think about the services, do clients share the organizational goals? Are organizations likely to meet either set of goals? Homeless persons patronizing faith-based soup kitchens were interviewed; service activities of organizations were observed. Clients' goals focused on survival in their current situation. Organizations' goals ranged from meeting clients' immediate needs to transforming clients through spiritual restoration. Congregations studied met clients' immediate needs. However, clients' accommodational goals were potentially problematic for organizations with spiritual goals.

The contemporary dialogue between religion and psychiatry has its roots in what is called the clinical pastoral movement. The early leaders of the clinical pastoral movement (Anton Boisen, Elwood Worcester, Helen Flanders Dunbar, and Richard Cabot) were individuals of talent, even genius, whose lives and work intersected one another in the early decades of the twentieth century. Their legacy endures in the persons they inspired and continue to inspire and in the professional organizations and academic programs that profit from their pioneering work. To understand them and the era of their greatest productivity is to understand some of what psychiatry and religion have to say to each other. Appreciating their legacy requires attention to the context of historical movements and forces current in America at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century that shaped religious, psychiatric, and cultural discourse. This essay attempts to provide an introduction to this rich and fascinating material. This material was first presented as a Grand Rounds lecture at The New York Presbyterian Hospital, Payne Whitney Westchester in the Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medical College.

This article examines the church's embrace of scientific methodologies in the late nineteenth century. It is argued that in general, the shift worked to repel liberal ridicule and control popular devotions. However, in Mexico the effects were mixed. During the Mexican Revolution, a desperate church was forced to apply these new scientific methodologies to increasingly unauthorized cults., (Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This article seeks to understand how people in the early modern age interpreted the nature of illness and the role that morality played in these interpretations. From this point of view illnesses were not only psycho-physical states or subjects for medical diagnosis but they were also subjects for narratives or stories through which people tried to understand what had caused their illness, and why it was happening to them. Illnesses were understood as strictly connected with the patient's character and were regarded as possible consequences of his personality. On the other hand, the interpretations also emphasised the ambivalence of a healer. Personal experiences and an understanding of one's life situation intertwined in these stories.

This paper seeks evidence among our extensive Scandinavian mythological texts for an area which they seldom discuss explicitly: the conceptualisation and handling of illness and healing. Its core evidence is two runic texts (the Canterbury Rune-Charm and the Sigtuna Amulet) which conceptualise illness as a "purs" ("ogre, monster"). The article discusses the semantics of "purs," arguing that illness and supernatural beings could be conceptualised as identical in medieval Scandinavia. This provides a basis for arguing that myths in which gods and heroes fight monsters provided a paradigm for the struggle with illness.

Around the year 1000 many problems have been put throughout the beginning of urbanization, the increase of the country people, the pilgrimages and the spreading trade. The study of the medieval Charts allows to clarify how the sick were cured in the first hospitals-hôtels-Dieu- and how the lepers were isolated and kept outside the cities. When the recovery was impossible the intercession of saints was the only hope for the knight as well as for the peasants.

Purpose: To compile and appraise the accounts of the miracles of vision in the New Testament., Methods: We carried out a critical analysis of the compilation of ocular miracles using past medical knowledge and historical reconstruction based on the accounts of the apostles and of various historians living in the first three centuries ad., Results: Three blind adult male beggars residing on three different street locations were described. Two had previously had good vision that had declined over a long time and the third had been born blind. The manifestations of the ocular diseases in these cases were meagre, precluding any precise diagnosis. The healing methodology did not rely on physical examination, detailed history, or the use of medicines. Jesus' tools consisted of spitting, touching, praying and the use of words. Visual outcome reported as a complete cure was realized in all three incidents., Conclusions: The accounts of miracles in the Gospels appear to be historically reliable, yet subject to different interpretations: faith in the miracle (the Christian perspective); sorcery (the Jewish perspective); mythology (the atheist perspective), and scientifically possible human action by a charismatic, compassionate, knowledgeable man (the scientific perspective: psychotherapy or suggestion).

This article is a study of the mystical and apocalyptic dimensions of Teresa Urrea. As explained in this article, Urrea’s mystical experiences and visions are unique for their connection with a propheticapocalyptic and political worldview. This apocalyptic dimension is more than a communication of a hidden message or spiritual world; it also includes a reading of history that is catastrophic and discontinuous. The crisis and terror of history are given expression in Urrea’s mystical and apocalyptic pronouncements. In particular, the chaotic and oppressive circumstances of Mexican society during the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz was confronted and denounced in Urrea’s mystical and apocalyptic ministry. This apocalyptic healer castigated those culpable or even complicit with the injustices affecting the indigenous communities of Mexico during the late nineteenth century. In the case of Urrea, the transformation and healing of Church and society was an important aspect of her spiritual, healing powers. Because Urrea possessed neither arms nor the weapon of the pen, her sole weapon became her mystical experiences and the insight and healing powers that flowed from them. People of Mexico—especially indigenous groups—began to flock to her hoping that she would bring God’s presence to the troubled and chaotic circumstances of their lives. Her compassion and tenderness for the afflicted as well as the apocalyptic expectations that she stirred up among the indigenous groups of Northern Mexico were enough to get this mystical-political Mexican mestiza exiled from her homeland.

The hematologist-historian author became interested in the nature 'medical miracles', following a request to write a report on a set of bone marrows that was sent to the Vatican as a possible miracle cure in a cause for canonization. She questioned the prevalence of medical miracles, their structure, and relationship to other 'official' miracles that are recognized by the Church. Evidence was drawn from a variety of sources: oral testimony of pilgrims at feast day celebrations, ex voto paintings, and 160 miracle files in 67 canonization records of the Vatican Archives. Some changes can be detected through time, but the results also testify to remarkable longue durée in the healing experience: the patterns of suffering and despair, the gestures of pleading, the presence of beds and dreams, the astonishment of the caregivers, and above all the simultaneous recourse to medicine and religion both.

Most school doctors, who lived in the period of Early Christianity from 1st to 4th century A.D. and who were canonized saints, have been known, up to these days, among people and in scientific and medical circles as Holy Healers. It is understood that only exclusively educated medical experts, trained to heal professionally and prepare medicines are considered Holy Healers. Out of all Holy Healers, St. Kosma and Damian, St. Panteleimon, St. Luke, etc., are highly respected by our people. St. Luke (1st century A.D.) is specially honored by Serbian nation. His relics were taken to Smederevo in 1453 and then the town became "the place of many cures and new healing spot". Out of these relics, only the foot of St. Luke was preserved in a very good condition and it remained in the possession of the Serbian Orthodox Church. In old documents written in old Greek and clerical-slavic language, St. Luke is glorified as "reliable doctor both for soul and body..." St. Luke is respected as a protector of medicine and pharmacy, doctors and pharmacists, and patients, as well as many families (family patron of the Serbs), even of the whole regions. Many chemist's shops and hospitals are named by this Saint, what is the confirmation that his cult and recognition of his personality and his work are still present in our milieu.

As Alice Kimiksana indicated, the Healing Circle or Healing Teams evolved to help First Nations people who attended residential schools deal with the aftermath of the abuse many of them suffered there. They use a variety of interventions, some traditional and some more Western in origin, for an innovative approach to a very serious problem. One technique developed by Western psychology, but very useful and adaptable in other cultural settings, is guided imagery or visualization. Often used for performance enhancement in sports, it is also applicable to other situations from medical settings to mental health treatment. In this presentation, Novaliinga Kingwatsiaq of Kingnait (Cape Dorset) led the audience through a modified version of a visualization used by her Community Healing Team. (During visualization one assumes a relaxed state with one’s eyes closed and imagines oneself in the context of a story told by the person guiding the imagery.) The imagery she chose is both symbolically and culturally appropriate. Most audience members were unfamiliar with the process of visualization, and several indicated that they were intrigued by the experience. Kumaarjuk Pii introduced Novaliinga Kingwatsiaq and translated for her.

Edith Turner has been studying healing as a sensitive, spiritually attuned participant-observer for a long time. Despite her academic background, experiential learning and knowing are important parts of Turner’s approach to research. Her efforts to understand healing have taken her on journeys to Africa, Mexico, Ireland, and more recently, Alaska’s North Slope. In these contexts, she has experienced healing offered by others, and learned to heal in various traditional ways herself. In her book, The Hands Feel It (1996), Turner focuses on the role that touch and spirit presence have in healing in a North Slope Iñupiat community. However, her book makes clear that narrative and storytelling are important parts of the healing process, as well. In this paper, Turner elaborates on some aspects of the connection between narrative and healing based on her North Slope experience.

Several presenters made the point that one cannot look at narrative alone, without taking into account the music, dance, and drumming that, in many settings, go along with it. One of these presenters was Marilyn Walker, who has had the good fortune to work with healers in Siberia. Although academic in approach, Marilyn’s paper also recognizes the importance of experiential ways of knowing. In her Quebec City presentation, she shared some of this experiential dimension by showing and commenting on videotaped segments featuring three Siberian healers. Walker’s paper discusses healing at several levels. In addition to several healing dimensions that she lists at the end of her paper, she mentions the physiological effects of music, dance, and drumming. Current research is leading to a better understanding of how trauma affects the brain and the body, and ways that various therapies, including new therapies focusing on sensorimotor effects, can promote healing. Along with these developments has come a greater appreciation and understanding among some mental health practitioners of some of the neuropsychological processes by which traditional practices such as narrative, singing, drumming, and dancing, may bring about healing.

For decades, Bible stories have been a source of both conflict and healing. In earlier days, Christian missionaries often went to considerable lengths to question the accuracy of traditional northern Native stories, especially those with supernatural dimensions, and to discredit traditional Native spiritual leaders, such as medicine men and women, angakoks, and shamans. The missionaries’ efforts often undercut Native culture and sometimes contributed to the intergenerational trauma that creates widespread hurt and pain in northern Native communities today. At the same time, a significant number of northern Native people derive considerable solace and support from their Christian beliefs and church affiliations, and many Christian religious organizations active in the North today no longer oppose traditional Native stories, practices, and values. Many northern Native people recognize that there is great value in both Native stories and the stories found in the Bible, but some still feel a tension in trying to reconcile acceptance of both. In his presentation, Walter Porter provided an interesting perspective on this issue, and his approach has considerable potential for healing.

For about 15 years, Carol Jolles has been traveling to St. Lawrence Island, Alaska to study the role faith plays in the lives of Sivuqaq (Gambell) residents. From the outset, she was aware of the strong presence of two Christian faith traditions in the community. She was present when people “spoke in tongues” (entered a spiritual state, sometimes identified as an altered state of consciousness), and she was aware that people relied on prayer, often uttered in a spiritually inspired context, to ease the pain of daily life and to find the strength to do difficult tasks. Many months passed, however, before she realized that many people relied on faith to heal. From the perspective of her long-term working relationships and friendships with community members, Jolles takes a fresh look at some of the situations from her early work where faith and healing were intertwined. She also looks at more recent examples to place faith-based healing in a more general context. In the process, she focuses on a few special individuals to highlight the components of faith and healing associated with illness and mental distress.

The session began with three presenters - LouAnn Benson, Walter Porter, and Lisa Dolchok - all of whom are or have been affiliated with the Circle of Healing Program at Southcentral Foundation in Anchorage, Alaska. The Southcentral Foundation is a Native Health Corporation that administers what used to be the Indian Health Service Hospital and Medical Center. In the Circle of Healing Program, the Southcentral Foundation has designed and implemented an approach to health care that allows its patients simultaneously to access Western medicine, traditional Native healing, and other alternative approaches to health care, such as acupuncture. An important figure in this effort is Dr. Robert Morgan, a psychologist who has worked with the program for several years, and who helped suggest presenters for this part of the program. Originally, Bob planned to be present in Quebec City, but family priorities meant a change in plans. Bob's absence had a silver lining, however, because in his stead he sent LouAnn Benson, one of his able colleagues, who talked about the program from the perspective of an insider.

Some stories enjoy a very widespread distribution in the North. Anthropologists and folklorists have long collected and analyzed these stories, and scrutinized their regional variants. Craig Mishler taps into this longstanding scholarly tradition as he looks at the widespread story of “The Blind Man and the Loon.” However, he goes beyond analyzing the form of this tale to explore what gives it healing properties. He wants to know why this story has become part of virtually every Native storyteller’s repertoire throughout the Arctic and Subarctic. One answer is that the main character and events of the story evoke the undeserved suffering that shapes the human condition everywhere. Much of the story’s power stems from its depiction of a ritual for healing the handicapped, thereby becoming a medicinal oral text. Additional power comes from the wide range of local and regional forms that adapt it to local sensibilities.

One of our goals in this session was, not just to talk about the healing power of narrative, but to experience it as well. Louise Profeit-LeBlanc is one of the presenters we invited specifically because of her skills as a storyteller. She has been heavily involved for several years as both an organizer and a participant in the Yukon Storytelling Festival, held every year in late May in Whitehorse. Woven into her presentation is a useful framework for differentiating various kinds of stories. As she tells us a series of stories, she takes us through a wide range of emotions from grief and loss to laughter and awe. For each of her stories, she gives us some personal contextual information that adds to the story’s meaning and helps us appreciate its significance. Her final story, in particular, is the kind of traditional story that has probably existed for a very long time. Such stories may be told with slightly different emphases, depending on the occasion, but they carry wisdom and value for every generation that hears them.

Southcentral Foundation had to overcome several organizational and procedural hurdles when developing their Circle of Healing program. Among these hurdles was finding a way to credential Alaska Native healers so the Foundation could be reimbursed for their services and pay the healers, and so the healers could work in the hospital along with the staff delivering Western and alternative medical treatment. Southcentral Foundation chose to develop a process for certifying Alaska Native healers as tribal doctors. Rita Blumenstein is the first such person to be certified. Lisa Dolchok is the second. An important strength of Lisa’s presentation is that she helps us broaden our understanding of healing from an Alaska Native perspective. So often we equate healing with curing, and while it can have this dimension, Lisa reminds us there is much more to it. She echoes LouAnn Benson’s presentation in asserting that healing can address illness of the spirit or wounds to the soul.

Aimee Semple McPherson was an important factor in the spread of Pentecostalism in the first half of the 20th century. Although she always identified herself as Canadian, she built her temple in Los Angeles, from which she hoped to evangelize the world. Before settling down in 1923, however, she experienced unnerving success as a faith-healer. Never comfortable with the role, not least of all because she was committed to saving souls, not bodies, Sister McPherson attempted during her secluded final decade to devise a theory of faith-healing. Although still celebrated by her followers as a prophet and a healer, she had expressed discomfort in her lifetime with both these roles. Physically, she ran herself into the ground and died at the age of 54 from a drug overdose.