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Catharism (/ ˈ k æ θ ər ɪ z əm / KATH-ər-iz-əm; [1] from the Ancient Greek: καθαροί, romanized: katharoí, "the pure ones" [2]) was an alleged Christian quasi-dualist or pseudo-Gnostic movement, which thrived in the anti-materialist revival in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France, between the 12th and 14th centuries. [3]
The word "Cathar" is derived from the Greek word katharos, meaning "clean" or "pure." [5] Partially derived from earlier forms of Gnosticism, the theology of the Cathars was dualistic, a belief in two equal and comparable transcendental principles: God, the force of good, and the demiurge, the force of evil.
The Cathars presented a problem to feudal government by their attitude towards oaths, which they declared under no circumstances allowable. [8] Therefore, considering the religious homogeneity of that age, heresy was an attack against social and political order, besides orthodoxy.
In France the Cathars grew to represent a popular mass movement and the belief was spreading to other areas, [37] though some historians such as R.I. Moore point out a paucity of direct evidence. [36] The Cathar Crusade was initiated by the Catholic Church to eliminate the alleged Cathar heresy in Languedoc. [38] [39]
Consolamentum (called heretication by its Catholic opponents) was the unique sacrament of the Cathars. [1] Cathars believed in original sin, and – like Gnostics – believed temporal pleasure to be sinful or unwise. The process of living thus inevitably incurred "regret" that required "consolation" to move nearer to God or to approach heaven.
heretics better known as Cathars, members of a Christian dualist sect members of the Bosnian Church , considered to be a part of the Cathar movement by Italian writers against heresy Topics referred to by the same term
A Cathar Perfect had to undergo a rigorous training of three years before being inducted as a member of the spiritual elite of the religious movement. [ citation needed ] This took place during a ceremony in which various Scriptural extracts were quoted, including, most particularly, the opening verses of the Gospel of John [ citation needed ] .
The siege of Minerve was a military engagement which took place in June and July 1210 during the Albigensian Crusade in the town of Minerve in southern France.It was undertaken by the Catholic Crusaders against the Cathars in southern France, who were regarded as a heretical sect.