Written by Archbishop Julian Porteous on Grace & Truth
March 12th 2026
Several times in his letters St Paul speaks of “principalities and powers”. For example, in his letter to the Ephesians in speaking about the spiritual struggle that all Christians are involved in he comments that we are not just fighting against “human enemies” but against the “Sovereignties and the Powers who originate the darkness in this world”. He continues and refers to them as “the spiritual army in the heavens”. St Paul is conscious that there are supernatural powers of darkness at work in the world (see Eph 6:12).
In the mind of St Paul these powers, understood as fallen angels, influence human affairs, seeking to subvert God’s purposes. While Christ has been victorious over all the powers of darkness by his death and resurrection, they continue to operate and can hold sway over peoples and societies. They are active in manufacturing the “present darkness” which afflicts much of human society.
One finds reference to these forces in Romans 8:38, Ephesians 3:10, 6:12, and in Colossians 1:16, 2:15. They remind us of the cosmic dimension of the work of salvation. Christ’s authority is far above that of all principalities and powers, but their presence and influence remain.
In a catechesis on the teaching of St Paul Pope Benedict, on January 14, 2009 said, “For the pagan world that believed in a world filled with spirits for the most part dangerous and from which it was essential to protect oneself the proclamation that Christ was the only conqueror and that those with Christ need fear no one seemed a true liberation.” The pagan worldview was populated with all sorts of malevolent forces which often had to appeased. Christ’s coming has liberated people from this fear.
Christ is the conqueror of the powers of darkness and so we need not fear their eventual supremacy. However, this is not to eliminate the potential for such powers to have considerable damaging effect in people’s lives and in societal patterns.
In an age of unbelief and of a secular interpretation of life the idea of spiritual forces at work is something quite foreign to the minds of many. Even believers are drawn into an understanding that ideologies at work in shaping society are human constructions alone.
As Christianity recedes as a spiritual and moral presence in many societies, it is not surprising that other forces fill the void created. While many would view secularism as a benign and reasonable way of seeing human existence, it is blind to the reality of the spiritual world.
A vacuum is thus created, and it has to be filled with something. We could see interest in and engagement with the New Age ideas as one example of filling this gap. However, we have seen much more at work in our society in recent decades as powerful social forces are reshaping our societies in ways which are foreign to the tradition of Christianity.
Even at a popular level a preoccupation with darkness and evil is evident in some aspects of popular music and in many video games. Looking for entertainment and visual stimulation many young people can become engrossed in a dark, violent and evil virtual world. This corrupts their spirit and deadens their desire to pursue what is true, good and beautiful.
When we look at the almost manic determination by some to have abortion completely accessible, one cannot but sense something evil is afoot. It is not only necessary that abortion is freely available but that any effort to resist the view that abortion is the right of every woman must be crushed, usually by legislative and legal prohibitions.
The meteoritic rise of transgenderism is another case in point. Activists are determined that everyone is required to fully affirm any child who wishes to change their gender. Indeed, it is demanded that everyone comply with the young person’s new view of themselves. They must be addressed by their chosen pronouns and new name. To object to this is to be labelled phobic and inspired by hatred.
With laws enacted like those under the title of ‘conversion therapy’ the pressure to conform is immense.
As we consider what has transpired in our society in a rather brief period of time we can ask whether there is more at work that just the human promotion of social change.
Can we also see evidence of the work of principalities and powers that operate in the spiritual realm?
It also raises the question of what response a Christian can make. If we see these issues as having a possible spiritual source, then our response needs also to be in the spiritual realm.
St Paul invites us to open our minds to a cosmic perspective. While we maintain our confidence that Christ is triumphant over all that afflicts humanity, we need to consider the possibility of dark spiritual powers currently at work in our society.
In seeing the possibility of the action of malevolent spiritual forces then our response to movements in our society which we view as destructive of human flourishing will not only engage us at the human level, but also at the spiritual level. We will heed St Pau’s advice to engage in the spiritual battle not only for our own personal salvation, but for the good of our society. We are to pray against the rise of the powers of darkness.
In doing so we will be encouraged by the testimony of St Paul when he says in his letter to the Romans: “For I am certain of this: neither death nor life, no angel, no prince, nothing that exists, nothing still to come, not any power, or height or depth, not any created thing can come between us and the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord (8:38-39).
