Medieval southern European Christian dualist movement
"Cathar" redirects here. For the Star Wars race, see Cathar (race).
Not to be confused with Cathare or Kathar.
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Catharism (/ˈkæθərɪzəm/KATH-ər-iz-əm; from the Ancient Greek: καθαροί, romanized: katharoí, "the pure ones"[1]) was a Christian quasi-dualist or pseudo-Gnostic movement which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France, between the 12th and 14th centuries.[2]
Denounced as a heretical sect by the Catholic Church, its followers were attacked first by the Albigensian Crusade and later by the Medieval Inquisition, which eradicated the sect by 1350. Many thousands were slaughtered,[3][4] hanged, or burnt at the stake,[5] sometimes without regard for "age or sex."[3]
Followers were known as Cathars or Albigensians,[2] (after the French city Albi where the movement first took hold),[6] but referred to themselves as Good Christians. They famously believed that there were not one, but two Gods—the good God of Heaven and the evil god of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4). Cathars believed that the good God was the God of the New Testament faith and creator of the spiritual realm; many Cathars identified the evil god as Satan, the master of the physical world. [vague] The Cathars believed that human souls were the sexless spirits of angels trapped in the material realm of the evil god. They thought these souls were destined to be reincarnated until they achieved salvation through the "consolamentum," a form of baptism performed when death is imminent. At that moment, they believed they would return to the good God as "Cathar Perfect."[7] Catharism was initially taught by ascetic leaders who set few guidelines, leading some Catharist practices and beliefs to vary by region and over time.[8]
The first mention of Catharism by chroniclers was in 1143, four years later the Catholic Church denounced Cathar practices, particularly the consolamentum ritual. From the beginning of his reign, Pope Innocent III attempted to end Catharism by sending missionaries and persuading the local authorities to act against the Cathars. In 1208, Pierre de Castelnau, Innocent's papal legate, was murdered while returning to Rome after excommunicating Count Raymond VI of Toulouse, who, in his view, was too lenient with the Cathars.[9] Pope Innocent III then declared de Castelnau a martyr and launched the Albigensian Crusade in 1209. The nearly twenty-year campaign succeeded in vastly weakening the movement; the Medieval Inquisition that followed ultimately eradicated Catharism.
The lack of any central organization among Cathars, regional differences in beliefs and practices, as well as the lack of sources from the Cathars themselves, has prompted some scholars to question whether the Church exaggerated its threat, and others to wonder whether it even existed.[10]
Catharism (/ˈkæθərɪzəm/ KATH-ər-iz-əm; from the Ancient Greek: καθαροί, romanized: katharoí, "the pure ones") was a Christian quasi-dualist or pseudo-Gnostic...
could also become Perfecti and were known as Parfaites or Perfectae. Catharism itself was a Christian religious movement with dualistic and Gnostic elements...
Roquefixade Château de Saissac Château d'Usson List of castles in France Catharism Association des Sites du Pays Cathare: historical and tourist information...
albigeois) or Cathar Crusade (1209–1229) was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, what...
response to Catharism, and a crusade was ultimately declared against Catharism. Repentant first offenders (who admitted to having been Cathars), when released...
Protestants while German Protestants rarely discussed the Cathars. Affiliations with Catharism and Protestantism have been criticized by many historians...
true for the lesser-known Christian gnostic religions, such as Bogomils, Catharism, and so on. More complex forms of monist dualism also exist, for instance...
Chinon, Château d'Angers, the massive Château de Vincennes and the so-called Cathar castles. During this era, France had been using Romanesque architecture...
Catharism and Waldensians in Southern France and Northern Italy. These were the first movements of many inquisitions that would follow. The Cathars were...
Europe the Cathars, who were rooted in Gnosticism, dealt with the problem of evil, and developed ideas of dualism and demonology. The Cathars were seen...
of the Cathars, the heterodox Christian movement thriving in the 12th to 14th Centuries, Oholah and Oholibah inspired the belief that the Cathar Invisible...
into eternity. According to a few known cases in the latter years of Catharism, the terminally ill would voluntarily undertake a complete fast known...
writes, "There is a direct link between ancient Gnosticism and Catharism. The Cathars held that the creator of the world, Satanael, had usurped the name...
was the target this time. The reason for this was the development of Catharism in the south of France, which the Pope Innocent III wanted to eradicate...
decision to heal or not heal is God's will alone. A Cathar Perfect, the highest initiate in the Cathar hierarchy after spending time as a Listener and then...
connected the Templars and Grail to the Cathars. In 1906, French esoteric writer Joséphin Péladan identified the Cathar castle of Montségur with Munsalväsche...
inspired by his professor, Baron von Gall, to study the Albigensian (Catharism) movement and the massacre that occurred at Montségur. In 1924, he gained...
Catholic dogmas by the most radical groups such as the Waldensians and Cathars. To suppress heresies, the popes appointed special commissioners of investigation...
20-year military campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, in southern France. Dominic saw the need for a response...
being, in which some later saw a Bogomil or Cathar Church, while in reality no trace of Bogomilism, Catharism or dualism can be found in the original documents...
pre-18th century conflicts Albigensian Crusade Catharism debate Crusades Islamic views Eighty Years' War Origins Fall of Babylon Gallic Wars Late Bronze...
expulsions in Europe. Beginning around 1184, following the crusade against Cathar heresy, various institutions, broadly referred to as the Inquisition, were...
Neoplatonists also used the term to refer to spiritual purification. Catharism was a term used by outsiders to describe the thinking of a Christian movement...
centuries. Credentes constituted the main part of the Cathar community in the region. Although Catharism sprang up in Spain, the Rhineland, Flanders and Italy...
pre-18th century conflicts Albigensian Crusade Catharism debate Crusades Islamic views Eighty Years' War Origins Fall of Babylon Gallic Wars Late Bronze...
pre-18th century conflicts Albigensian Crusade Catharism debate Crusades Islamic views Eighty Years' War Origins Fall of Babylon Gallic Wars Late Bronze...