Letter 25: Severus combines pastoral sympathy with a firm ban on allowing an afflicted presbyter to perform the bloodless sacrifice.

We have heard that a presbyter in the village called Pessinus has fallen under a human affliction: he is being tormented by demonic possession, wandering about and being driven from place to place through the countryside. I have thought it right to warn Your Holiness to treat the man with sympathy and fatherly care. But you must not go so far as to allow the bloodless sacrifice [the Eucharistic liturgy] to be performed by his hands. The canons do not even allow those who are possessed to receive communion in the divine mysteries; still less do they allow such people to share in priestly functions. If he were permitted to serve, those who came forward to receive might find in this some cause for stumbling. They might approach the divine mysteries with doubt and anxious thoughts. We must therefore be "without offense" toward everyone, as the apostolic rule requires.

It has come to our ears that a presbyter in the village called Pessinus has contracted a human affliction; and that, being harassed by the possession of a demon, he is wandering about and being driven to and fro through the land. We have thought it right to warn your holiness to behave in a sympathetic and fatherly manner towards the man, but not to go on to allow the bloodless sacrifice also to be performed by his hands, seeing that the canons do not even allow communion in the divine mysteries to those that are possessed, still less do they allow such to have any communion in priestly functions. For it may be that through this those who approach to receive also will hereby find occasion for some stumbling, and will approach the divine mysteries with doubt and hesitating thoughts. But we must be "without offence" towards every man in accordance with the apostolic statute.