Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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.
John Foxe believed the Cathars to be precursors of the reformation. [2] [1] John Foxe believed that the Albigenses were similar to reformed theology; he praised the Albigenses as martyrs. [4] Today, the Cathars are still seen as protestant precursors by some Baptists, particularly those who adhere to the theory of Baptist successionism. [5]
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 ] .
It was undertaken by the Catholic Crusaders against the Cathars in southern France, who were regarded as a heretical sect. The Crusaders, led by French nobleman Simon de Montfort, besieged and captured the town. The Crusaders allowed the soldiers defending the town, Catholics, and any Cathars who had not yet reached the status of perfect to go ...
Another theory is that the Cagots were descendants of the Cathars, [12] [1] who had been persecuted for heresy in the Albigensian Crusade. [7] With some comparisons including the use of the term crestians [48] to refer to Cagots, which evokes the name that the Cathars gave to themselves, bons crestians. [49]
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.
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.