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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 a 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]
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 ] .
In the Middle Ages, the Inquisition's main focus was to eradicate these new sects. Thus, its range of action was predominantly in Italy and France, where the Cathars and the Waldensians, the two main heretic movements of the period, were.
Catharism was a religious movement with dualistic and Gnostic elements that appeared in the Languedoc region of France around the middle of the 12th century. Cathars were dualist in their beliefs, and the Catholic symbol of the crucifix was, to the Cathars, a negative symbol. In the words of one 14th century Cathar Perfect Pierre Authié:
Christian polemics and apologetics in Europe during the Middle Ages were primarily directed inwards, either against "heretics," such as the Cathars, or between Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox. A subset of polemic and apologetic activity continued against Judaism and Islam, both openly in Christian Europe and more circumspectly in the pre ...
Bellito, Christopher M., (Ed.), A Companion to the Waldenses in the Middle Ages ISBN 9789004420410; Bost, Ami (1848) History of the Bohemian and Moravian Brethren, pp. 4–5, Religious Tract Society of London; Cameron, Euan (2001) The Waldenses: Rejections of Holy Church in Medieval Europe ISBN 0-631-22497-1, ISBN 978-0-631-22497-6
Arguments against Catharic dualism were the following: there were possibly other neo-Manichean dualists in the Middle Ages, but they were not Cathars; that it was a misinterpration of their theology because they denied religious hierarchy set by man or that the accusation of their dualism was merely a hostile false claim.
Nearly every Cathar text that could be found was destroyed, in an effort to completely extirpate their heretical beliefs; only a few are known to have survived. [65] Historians researching the Cathar religious principles are forced to largely rely on information provided by the manifestly hostile writings of their sworn opponents. [citation needed]