Anglican Priest Serves as Deliverance Minister, Investigating Unexplained Phenomena

The Very Reverend Canon Dr Jason Bray, an Anglican priest and the Dean of Llandaff Cathedral, also functions as a deliverance minister, a role more commonly recognized as an exorcist. Dr. Bray, who discussed his work with BBC News, stated, “We’re the people that go out and deal with the paranormal.” He further elaborated, “A bit like ghostbusting, that sort of thing, and a bit of an exorcist as well. Although, we don’t very often do the exorcism, certainly not of people.” Dr. Bray is one of four deliverance ministers in Cardiff who are called upon by the Church in Wales to investigate reports of paranormal and supernatural activity. According to the church, these deliverance ministers receive training through a program shared with the Church of England and collaborate closely with safeguarding officers and medical professionals. Dr. Bray explained his responsibilities, saying, “What I deal with is haunted houses, people who think that Auntie Brenda is lurking in the airing cupboard and she really shouldn’t be there.” He also mentioned addressing reports of poltergeist activity, which refers to the belief held by some individuals that a spirit or force can move furniture or throw objects around a house. “For some reason, it’s always shoes. I’m not quite sure why,” Dr. Bray commented. He continued, describing incidents where “Things go missing or things go bump in the night, or doors open.” He added, “Or the TV turns itself on and off, that’s another thing we deal with – poltergeist activity.” Dr. Bray noted that there is often a rational explanation for reports of the paranormal, a term sometimes applied to events that seemingly cannot be explained. He stated, “We occasionally deal with people who come along and say ‘help me, I’m possessed’ so they’re looking for an exorcism.” Dr. Bray clarified, “That’s one of the things we never do because the chances are, if you come and say ‘I’m possessed’, if something has taken over your entire being, your will, your entity, it’s not going to let you speak to your local vicar to say ‘throw me out, will you’.” He added, “We deal with those people very gently and explore mental health issues with them because very often people who are hearing voices will be suffering from schizophrenia or another psychiatric problem.” Dr. Bray indicated that his job sometimes involves simply providing reassurance. He remarked, “I know that what I do works, and that people appreciate what I do, but sometimes there is an element of psychology and making people feel better. And sometimes, actually that does work.” Dr. Bray recounted that his interest in deliverance first emerged 27 years ago, at the time of his ordination. After moving into the curate’s house at his new ministry, Dr. Bray and his wife observed that the house was unusually cold, even during the summer. He recalled, “While we were there, our first child was born, Thomas, and we noticed that his room was actually colder and darker than the others. We thought that was a bit strange.” The couple described perceiving a draft coming down the stairs, which they said appeared to originate from nowhere. Subsequently, after returning from a trip, Dr. Bray stated that his wife informed him of a strange occurrence. His wife recounted, “She said: ‘There’s something awful about this house… it was so cold while you were away that it felt like I was walking into a walk-in freezer – it was really, really bad, particularly around [Thomas’] cot.’” Dr. Bray then described a “frightening” experience he had in the middle of the night. He explained, “I was standing at the bathroom door and it was like this sensation of knowing that there was somebody standing on the other side of the door.” He continued, “It was somebody who was about my height, but was absolutely hostile towards me. I don’t know why. I could see his eyes, and it was a man, I could see his grey eyes piercing through the door, and I could also see this strange shape around him, like a sunburst mask.” He concluded, “I felt really, really frightened.” Dr. Bray sought assistance from his superior, the local vicar, who subsequently visited the house. He recounted, “The vicar came around and he said some prayers, some of them I think were in Latin.” Dr. Bray added, “He splashed some holy water around the place, we said the Lord’s prayer together, and the house just returned to what it should have been. It was then warm, it was sunny – it was quite a pleasant place to be.” Dr. Bray noted that most deliverance ministers carry a bag, whose contents, he observed, “people were always intrigued by.” He explained, “I’ve got various bits and pieces that I need.” He specified, “The most important thing I’ve got is a holy water sprinkler… The idea is that water is blessed and it’s then quite literally sprinkled around the house.” Additionally, Dr. Bray possesses a portable communion kit, which he stated enables him to celebrate mass in individuals’ homes. He commented, “There are lots of people out there who don’t believe in the supernatural. There are lots of people out there who don’t believe in God, and that’s fine.” He asserted, “I’m not imposing my beliefs on you, and I don’t expect you to impose your beliefs on me.” Dr. Bray found it “really interesting is the number of people I come across who don’t believe in God, but also believe in ghosts, and for me that’s just a little bit puzzling.” A spokesperson for the Church in Wales affirmed: “Deliverance is a key part of the ministry we offer.” The spokesperson added, “Each of the Church in Wales’ six dioceses has a deliverance minister. They are licensed by their bishop and they make up the deliverance team.” Furthermore, the spokesperson stated, “They are fully trained in a programme we share with the Church of England and they work closely with our safeguarding officers and medical professionals.” Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.