“If your right eye tempts you, pluck it out and throw it away from you, for it is better for you that one of your members should perish, and not your whole body should be cast into Gehenna” (Matthew 18: 9)
On the pages of TOPWAR, more than once, not twice, it has been told about the cruel religious wars that were unleashed in the name of God and for His glory. But perhaps the most illustrative example is the Albigensian Wars in the South of France, launched to eradicate the heresy of the Cathars. Who are they, why did the Catholic Christians consider them heretics, and they themselves called themselves true Christians, as well as about the Cathar castles that have survived to this day and our story will go today …
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THE HERESY OF THE QATARS (part 1)
“Everything has its time and time
of every thing under the sky:
time to be born and time to die …
a time to hug and a time to shy away from
hugs …
a time for war and a time for peace (Ecclesiastes 3: 2-8)
Let's start with the fact that Christianity has long been split into two major trends (in this case, you can not even remember about numerous sects: there were and are so many of them!) - Catholicism and Orthodoxy, and both of them in the past considered each other friend as heretics, and some, especially zealous believers, consider their "opponents" as such now! This schism was long-standing: for example, the Pope and the Patriarch of Constantinople cursed each other back in 1054! However, the differences between the churches on the issue of a number of church dogmas and, above all, such an important dogma as, for example, the Symbol of Faith, took place at the beginning of the 9th century, and the initiator of such a disagreement was, oddly enough, not the Pope or the Patriarch. and the emperor of the Franks Charlemagne. This is a theological controversy over the issue of "Filioque" - "Filioque" (lat. Filioque - "and the Son").
The Gospel of John clearly speaks of the Holy Spirit as coming from the Father and sent by the Son. Therefore, as early as 352, the First Council of Nicaea adopted the Creed, which was subsequently approved by the Council of Constantinople in 381, according to which the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. But in the 6th century, at the Toledo local cathedral, “in order to better explain the dogma”, the Creed was first added with “and the Son” (Filioque), as a result of which the following phrase appeared: “I believe … in the Holy Spirit, which comes from the Father and the Son ". Charlemagne, who had tremendous influence over the popes, insisted that this addition be included in the Creed. And it was precisely this that became one of the reasons for the desperate church disputes, which eventually led to the split of the Christian Church into Catholic and Orthodox. The Orthodox Symbol of Faith reads like this: "I believe … And in the Holy Spirit, the Life-giving Lord, Who comes from the Father" … That is, the Orthodox Church is guided by the decisions of the First Council of Nicaea. One of the fundamental sacred festivals of Christians also differs - the Eucharist (Greek - expression of gratitude), otherwise - communion, which is held in memory of the last meal arranged by Christ together with the disciples. In this sacrament, the Orthodox Christian, under the guise of bread and wine, tastes the very body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, while Catholics receive communion with unleavened bread, Orthodox Christians - with leavened bread.
Everything in the world is afraid of time, the last Cathar burned long ago in a bonfire, but the "Cross of Toulouse" can still be seen on the wall of a house in the fortress of Carcassonne.
But in addition to the Catholics and Orthodox believers who considered each other heretics, separated at that time from each other by the peculiarities of nature, even in Europe, within, for example, France and Germany, there were many religious movements that significantly differed from traditional Christianity according to the Catholic model. Especially a lot at the beginning of the XII century. there were such Christians in Languedoc, a region in the south of France. It was here that a very powerful movement of the Cathars arose (which, by the way, had other names, but this is the most famous, therefore we will stop at it), whose religion was significantly different from traditional Christianity.
However, Cathars (which in Greek means "pure") began to call them later, and their most common name at first was "Albigensian heretics", after the city of Albi, which was given to them by the followers of Bernard of Clairvaux, who preached in the cities of Toulouse and Albi in 1145. They did not call themselves that, because they believed that real Christians were exactly who they are! Following Jesus Christ, who said: "I am the good shepherd," they called themselves "bon hommes" - that is, "good people." It was about a dualistic religion of eastern origin, recognizing two creative divine beings - one good, which is closely related to the spiritual world, and the other evil, associated with life and the material world.
Cathars rejected any compromise with the world, did not recognize marriage and procreation, justified suicide, and refrained from any food of animal origin, with the exception of fish. Such was their small elite, which involved both men and women from the aristocracy and the rich bourgeoisie. She also supplied cadres of clergymen - preachers and bishops. There were even "houses of heretics" - real male and female monasteries. But the bulk of the faithful led a less strict lifestyle. If a person received before death a unique sacrament - consolamentum (Latin - "consolation") - and if he agrees to leave this life, then he will be saved.
The city of Albi. This is where it all began, and this is where the "Alibigian heresy" began. Now it looks like this: an old arched bridge, the bulk of the cathedral-fortress of St. Cecilia in Albi, built after the defeat of the Cathars, as a reminder of the power of the mother church. Here, every stone is steeped in history. There will be an opportunity, take a look at this city …
The Cathars did not believe in either hell or heaven, or rather, they believed that hell is the life of people on earth, that confessing to priests is an empty matter, and that prayer in the church is tantamount to prayer in an open field. The cross for the Cathars was not a symbol of faith, but an instrument of torture, they say, in ancient Rome people were crucified on it. Souls, in their opinion, were forced to move from one body to another and could not return to God in any way, since the Catholic Church points out the path to salvation for them incorrectly. But, having believed, so to speak, "in the right direction," that is, following the commandments of the Cathars, any soul can be saved.
This is how it looks from below … It was conceived by the local bishop (also the inquisitor) as a stronghold of the true faith, reliably protected from heretical inclinations. Hence such a strange, fortified architecture with thick walls and a minimum of openings. And all the Gothic lace is adorned only by the entrance portal, which is glued from the side to this colossal structure. There is no entrance to the tower (its height is 90 m) from the outside.
The Cathars taught that since the world is imperfect, only a select few can keep all the commandments of their religion, and everyone else should only follow their instructions, without being bound by the burden of fasting and prayer. The main thing was to receive before death "consolation" from one of the elect, or "perfect", and so, until his deathbed, no religious morality of the believer mattered. Since the world was so hopelessly bad, the Cathars believed, no bad deed would be worse than another. Again, just a wonderful faith for knights - something like a life "according to concepts", but not according to the law, because in "hell, any law is bad."
What the Cathars taught their flock can be imagined using examples that have come down to us in the descriptions of Catholic priests: for example, one peasant went to "good people" - to ask if he could eat meat when true Christians are fasting? And they answered him that both on fast and on fast days meat food pollutes the mouth in the same way. “But you, peasant, have nothing to worry about. Go in peace! " - the "perfect" consoled him and, of course, such a parting word could not but reassure him. Returning to the village, he told what the “perfect” had taught him: “Since the perfect person cannot do anything, then we, imperfect ones, can do anything” - and the whole village began to eat meat during fasting!
Naturally, the Catholic abbots were horrified by such "sermons" and assured that the Cathars were true worshipers of Satan, and accused them of the fact that, in addition to eating meat during fasting, they also indulge in usury, theft, murder, perjury and all other carnal vices. At the same time, they sin with great enthusiasm and confidence, they are convinced that they do not need either confession or repentance. It is enough for them, according to their faith, to read “Our Father” before death and partake of the Holy Spirit - and they are all “saved”. It was believed that they take any oath and immediately break it, because their main commandment is: "Swear and testify, but do not divulge the secret!"
And this is how it looks from above and … it is difficult to imagine a more majestic structure.
The Cathars wore an image of a bee on buckles and buttons, which symbolized the secret of fertilization without physical contact. Denying the cross, they deified the pentagon, which was for them a symbol of eternal diffusion - dispersion, dispersion of matter and the human body. By the way, their stronghold - the Montsegur castle - just had the shape of a pentagon, diagonally - 54 meters, width - 13 meters. For the Cathars, the Sun was a symbol of Good, so Montsegur seemed to be at the same time their solar temple. Walls, doors, windows, and embrasures were oriented in it by the sun, and in such a way that only by observing the sunrise on the day of the summer solstice here it was possible to calculate its sunrise on any other days. Well, and, of course, it was not without the statement that there is a secret underground passage in the castle, which, on the way, branching into many underground passages, permeates all the nearby Pyrenees.
Montsegur Castle, modern look. It is hard to imagine that hundreds of people were accommodated there during the siege!
This was a pessimistic faith, divorced from earthly life, but it received a fairly wide response, primarily because it allowed the feudal lords to reject the earthly and moral authority of the clergy. The scale of the influence of this heresy is evidenced by the fact that the own mother of Bernard-Roger de Roquefort, Bishop of Carcassonne since 1208 wore clothes “perfect”, his brother Guillaume was one of the most ardent Cathar lords, and two other brothers were supporters of the Qatari faith ! The Qatari churches stood directly opposite the Catholic cathedrals. With such support from those in power, it quickly spread to the regions of Toulouse, Albi and Carcassonne, where the most important was the Count of Toulouse, who ruled between the Garonne and the Rhone. However, his power did not extend directly to many feuds, and he had to rely on the power of other vassals, such as his brother-in-law Raymond Roger Trancavel, Viscount Beziers and Carcassonne, or the king of Aragon or the Count of Barcelona allied to him.
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Modern reconstruction of the castle of Montsegur.
Since many of their vassals were themselves heretics or sympathized with heretics, these lords could not or did not want to play the role of Christian princes defending the faith on their lands. The Count of Toulouse informed the Pope of Rome and the King of France about this, the church sent missionaries there, and, in particular, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, who in 1142 studied the state of affairs in the Provencal dioceses and delivered sermons there, which, however, did not have much success.
After becoming pope in 1198, Innocent III continued the policy of returning the Cathars to the Catholic Church through persuasion methods. But numerous preachers were greeted in the Languedoc rather cool than joyfully. Even Saint Dominic, who was distinguished for his eloquence, did not manage to achieve tangible results. The Qatari leaders were actively helped by representatives of the local nobility, and even some bishops, dissatisfied with the church order. In 1204, the Pope removed these bishops from their posts and appointed his legate in their place. That in 1206, he tried to find support from the aristocracy of Languedoc and turn it against the Cathars. The seniors, who continued to assist them, began to be excommunicated. In May 1207, even the powerful and influential Count Raimund VI of Toulouse himself fell under excommunication. However, after meeting with him in January 1208, the pope's viceroy was found stabbed to death in his own bed, and this finally pissed off the pope.
Inside the Cathedral of St. Tsicily houses an equally impressive organ.
Then the angry pope reacted to this murder with a bull, in which he promised to give lands to the heretics of Languedoc, all those who would take part in the crusade against them and in the spring of 1209 declared a crusade against them. On June 24, 1209, at the call of the Pope, the leaders of the crusade gathered in Lyon - bishops, archbishops, lords from all over the north of France, with the exception of King Philip Augustus, who expressed only restrained approval, but refused to lead the campaign itself, more fearing the German emperor and the English king … The goal of the crusaders, as it was announced, was by no means the conquest of the Provencal lands, but their liberation from heresy, and, at least, in 40 days - that is, the period of traditional knightly service, above which the employer (whoever he was!) was already paid!
And the ceiling is covered with simply fantastically beautiful painting, clearly to the envy of everyone who believed in the Lord differently!
