It was the spread of Christianity that led to the emergence of heresy: every person who challenged or denied the Catholic Church was called a heretic. Contrary to the belief propagated by churchmen, heretics were rarely Satanists or non-believers. In many cases they had a stronger and stronger faith in God than the clergy themselves. They believed that the classical religious ways were wrong, and so they decided to create their own beliefs.
What it is
A heretic is a person who preaches false teaching, accepting it as truth. Usually the term is used in a religious sense. Often the difference in its interpretations may seem insignificant to outsiders, but it is often a matter of life and death for believers.
Origin of the word
"Heresy" is translated from the Greek αἵρεσις as "direction", "choice" or "current". The term used in Jewish, Islamic or Christian contexts implies different meanings in each. In Judeo-Hellenistic culture, philosophical or religious movements, schools and movements were designated this way. For example, this was the name given to the religious and political parties of the Sadducees and Pharisees. The leader or founder of a heretical movement is a heresiarch, and people who support this teaching are heretics.
The meaning of the concept according to the Bible
In the New Testament Apostolic Epistles, the concept takes on a different semantic connotation: in the scriptures it is rarely mentioned and in most cases means belonging to sects, opposition to correct dogma, denial of the truth of Divine Revelation.
Biblical meanings of the word heresy:
- A statement, concept, or teaching that is contrary to the teachings of the Church.
- Misconception regarding Orthodox dogmas, supported by conscious persistent opposition to the Truth.
- Deliberate distortion of Orthodox dogma.
Modern definition
In a broad sense, it is any opinion that contradicts generally accepted customs or beliefs. The term is also used to refer to a person who promotes views that are categorically opposed to generally accepted ideas, and not only to denote a violation in the interpretation of religious teachings.
The original meaning of the definition in history is an error in matters of faith, recorded in someone’s teaching or opinion that appeared within the Church. In philosophy, teachings that deny faith in Christ, in whom perfect man and perfect God are inseparably united (according to V. Solovyov), are called heretical.
Phenomenon in the religious life of Europeans
Heretical movements in Europe are a fairly uniform phenomenon and quite straightforward in their ideology, if we consider it from the point of view of dogma. It should be said that European heretical movements and non-canonical sects of Moscow Rus' of the 15th–16th centuries. were similar in this way. Participants in such movements sought to interpret the Bible without the mediation of the church. This was the main leitmotif of all heretical sects and movements in Medieval Europe, of which there were a great many.
Holy Scripture is the source of knowledge about God and the divine law, on which the ideologists of heresies relied. In their opinion, a simple person could understand the Bible himself.
Crusade against the Waldenses. (Pinterest)
The Church believed that the Holy Scriptures could not be correctly interpreted without its mediation, because the Bible is replete with a number of formal contradictions. For example, the law of Moses and the word of Jesus have differences. The position of the churchmen was firm - they represent an institution of public life, which is called upon to teach people the law of God. After all, without this it is impossible to find salvation, to understand the Lord and his laws. At the beginning of the 17th century, these ideas were formulated by the leader of the Catholic Church, Cardinal Roberto Bellarmine. The Inquisitor believed that the Bible for an ignorant person is a collection of confusing information.
In other words, if society no longer needs the intermediary mission of the church in knowledge of the Bible, then the church hierarchy will also be unclaimed. That is why the overwhelming majority of medieval heretical movements in Western Europe opposed the church organization as an institution of public life.
Who are heretics
This is the name given to people who deliberately deviate from religious teachings considered true.
Historical meaning
Initially, Gnostics were called this, although it is hardly legitimate to consider Gnosticism a Christian teaching. Simon Magus is considered the first heretic (Acts 8:9).
The following heretical teachings belong to the early period:
- Ebioniteism;
- Kerinthianism;
- Christmas tree;
- docetism;
- Manichaeism;
- Montanism;
- chiliasm.
The historical significance of the appearance of heretics and schismatics is that they called the church to increased intellectual activity, thereby prompting it to more accurately formulate and disclose its teaching in more detail. The ultimate goal was systematization, which was done for the Eastern Church back in the 8th century by John of Damascus.
The essence of doctrine and faith
In the Middle Ages, heretical teachings were common, and their essence was quite diverse.
The main directions of the teachings and beliefs of the heretics:
- Denial of the simultaneous presence of the Divine and human principles in the Savior.
- The world is an arena for the struggle between the forces of good and evil.
- Emphasis on broad social reforms.
- A call for equality in property or the complete abolition of all property.
- Prediction of the imminent arrival of the Kingdom of God on earth.
- Denial of the Sacrament of Communion.
- Conducting baptism with one laying on of hands.
- Denial of the cult of the Crucifixion.
The Cathars and Waldenses were the most influential doctrines in the X-XIII centuries. The French merchant Pierre Waldo became the founder of the Waldensians. He argued that salvation can only be achieved through serving Jesus Christ and following his teachings, and not through the church. Waldo believed that the church was corrupted by wealth and deprived of its original holiness.
The Cathars (from the Greek Cathar - “pure”) convinced people that the church was the creation of the devil, and therefore it was necessary to create a new one. The city of Albi (southern France) became the center of the doctrine, which is why the movement itself was called Albigensian. It enjoyed the favor of the Count of Toulouse and was extremely influential.
Ancient heretical texts were usually destroyed, so information about the teachings can be gleaned from their denouncers:
- St. Irenaeus of Lyon;
- St. Hippolytus of Rome;
- Tertullian;
- Origen;
- St. Cyprian of Carthage;
- St. Epiphany of Cyprus;
- Clement of Alexandria;
- Eusevia Pamphilus;
- bl. Theodorite;
- bl. Augustine;
- Euphemia Zigabena.
Reasons for appearance
There were many heretics, but despite all the differences in their teachings, they were united by dissatisfaction with the existing order. People tried to understand the reasons for the injustice reigning in society. They looked for answers to their questions in the Bible, but what they found was not at all what the priests preached. It turned out that the holy fathers were hiding the true meaning of Holy Scripture from believers. Therefore, the entire church serves the devil and not God.
Catholic priests imposed on people complexes of insignificance and inferiority before God: for this purpose, the construction of famous cathedrals began, impressive in majesty and grandeur. The priests zealously preached: the only way to receive divine grace is to live in poverty. The ministers themselves bathed in luxury, collected tithes from the population and performed expensive rituals, and the church had unlimited power and countless possessions.
The appearance of the abbots and bishops, dressed in luxurious clothes and well-fed, had nothing in common with the lifestyle of Christ and the apostles. Heretics sought to revive evangelical simplicity and poverty and demanded that the clergy renounce wealth and land holdings. They dressed in rags, distributed their property to the poor, traveled and preached, and ate alms.
From the point of view of the common man, the heretics were much more like the apostles than the “successor of the Apostle Peter.”
Historical reference
In the space of history, from the beginning of the emergence of churches to the present day, a string of countless heretical movements, ancient and new, continuously stretches. From the repetition of old conditions, non-church modified teachings about Christian dogmas arise. The Church refutes them, fights with them and wins, and excommunicates the heretics after unsuccessful attempts to convert them to their faith.
In the interests of peace, “protecting its mother, the holy church,” the Greco-Roman state subjects heretics to criminal prosecution. Western European medieval Catholic states are even more fanatical: they burn them, often refusing to distinguish between real heretics and people of science who have nothing to do with church doctrines, but should be dependent on their dogma. This example is followed by ancient pre-Petrine and partly post-Petrine Rus'.
At all times, the sources of heretical movements have usually been:
- The reluctance of pagans, Jews and followers of Eastern dualism, having adopted Christianity, to finally part with their previous religious worldview. They tried to combine new Christian doctrines with their old ones into a single whole.
- The desire of stronger minds to put the teaching given as revealed by God on the same level with the philosophical worldview of the ancient world. These teachers had a good intention, but by the very nature of things it was impossible to fulfill. Everything led to rationalism. This was the most powerful teaching of heretics of all times - Arianism with all its branches.
- Original theology of teachers of church tradition and the general voice of the Ecumenical Council. With self-confidence and conceit, the absence of legal principles led to a violation of the normal composition of the teachings of the church.
This video examines the origins of heretical teachings using the example of Arianism.
Modern heretics
In modern times, the term is used to refer to representatives of any religious movement that may cause a believer to break away from orthodoxy or conventional wisdom. Most modern representatives of the movement preach views that contradict the contents of the Bible.
Modern heretical movements (XX century - to the present) and their essence:
- Pentecostalism, USA. Heresiarch - Charles Fox Parham. They attach special importance to the baptism of the Holy Spirit and understand it as a special spiritual experience, identical to the emotional state of the apostles on the fiftieth day after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are convinced that the power received as a result of baptism is manifested in the ability to speak in other tongues.
- Anthroposophical Society (Waldorf Schools), Switzerland. Founder: Rudolf Steiner. Through freely chosen meditation exercises, everyone can develop a sense of the spiritual world. Such training should help the individual become more creative, moral and free; become a person who is motivated solely by love.
- Roerich movement (Agni Yoga, Spiritual Center named after Sergius of Radonezh, Living Ethics), USSR. Heresiarchs - Nicholas Roerich, Helena Roerich. They believe that many religions contradict each other, and their followers have long abandoned the main occult truths, leaving behind false ones.
- Church of the Last Testament, Russia. Founder: Sergei Torop (“Vissarion”). It is a synthesis of Abrahamic religions, Buddhism, Hinduism, the atheistic teachings of Karl Marx, anti-trinitarianism, apocalypticism and much more.
- Ivanovo, USSR. Heresiarch - Porfiry Ivanov. The cult of improving the body, unity with nature.
- Rodnoverie, Russia. There is no single leader. They proclaim the goal of reviving paganism, pre-Christian and Slavic rituals.
- Mother of God Center, Russia. Founder: John Bereslavsky. Syncretic movement includes some Catholic dogmas, sophiology, Judeo-Christian and Gnostic views. The goal is to create a totalitarian theocratic state “New Holy Rus'” on the territory of the former USSR.
- White Brotherhood, USSR. Heresiarch - Yuri Krivonogov, Maria Tsvigun. The leaders of the movement consider themselves new hypostases of the Triune God and preach their doctrines.
- International Society for Krishna Consciousness, USA. Founder: Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. A conditional group of Hindu movements of Vaishnavism. They consider Krishna to be the only true god, and all others as his avatars.
- Karma Kagyu, Denmark. Heresiarch - Ole Nydahl. “New Buddhism” combines traditional Tibetan culture with European culture.
- Charismatic movement, USA. Director: Dennis Bennett. The movement proclaims that the gifts of the Holy Spirit (healing, prophecy) are being manifested in its communities.
- Scientology, USA. Heresiarch - Ron Hubbard. The cult is aimed at people striving for success and career. It is a synthesis of Buddhism, Gnosticism, Judaism, Taoism, the philosophy of Nietzsche and the psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud.
- Anastasia, Russia. Founder: Vladimir Megre. They revere the mythical woman Anastasia, a character in Maigret’s books, who has paranormal and occult powers.
- New Age, USA. Heresiarch - Alice Bailey. They preach that everything in the world is divine and has unlimited potential.
The fight of the Catholic Church against heretics
Heretics preached the “truth,” thereby undermining the foundations of the power of the Catholic Church, so they were persecuted.
Reasons for development
The emergence and development of sectarian teachings is usually associated with ideological and social changes that appeared in the life of society during the period of persecution. The poorest segments of the population sought equality and reconciliation in the new religion, therefore the gradual enrichment of the clergy, apostasy during the period of persecution and the strengthening of the administrative principle caused condemnation from ordinary believers. The ideals of simple and modest early Christian life continued to live in the poorest segments of the population.
The reasons for the emergence and spread of the ideas of heretics, with whom the Catholic Church waged a long and bloody struggle:
- contradictory moods of the masses;
- various interpretations of Christian teaching;
- general dissatisfaction with the well-fed life of the higher clergy.
Persecution of heretics
According to medieval chronicles and annals, a heretic was a person who denied the authority and teachings of the Councils. The first mention of the church’s struggle with such people dates back to 1022: in Orleans, all dissidents were sentenced to be burned. The first victims of the fires were educated confessors, justifying their dissent with the help of theology.
Executions in Orleans opened the way to the most brutal repressions; bonfires were burned in Toulouse and Aquitaine. Entire communities of other faiths appeared before bishops, appearing with the Bible in their hands before church courts. By quoting from the Holy Scriptures they tried to prove the correctness of the doctrines they preached. The condemned were sent to the stake in their entirety, not sparing children and the elderly. The burning is the most striking example of how the Catholic Church fought against heretics.
In the 12th century, fires broke out in the Rhineland. There were so many condemned that the monk Everwin de Steinfeld asked for help from the Cistercian monk Bernard, who had a reputation as a cruel persecutor of non-believers. After large-scale raids and pogroms, bonfires were lit in Cologne. Court verdicts were no longer full of unfounded accusations of licentiousness and witchcraft, but contained clear points of disagreement between sectarians and orthodox church concepts.
The convicted and sentenced “apostles of Satan” accepted their death so steadfastly that they caused murmurs and concern from the crowd present at the burning.
At that time, the lands of Southern Europe were considered the main centers of heretical movements. Communities were built in the image of Catholic churches, but leadership positions were also given to women. Heretics in the Middle Ages were called "good men and women." Later researchers began to call them Cathars.
It is known that heretics had their own church institutions, held their own councils, and attracted new adherents to their ranks. France and Germany destroyed dissent in the bud, but in Italy and Languedoc the Cathars strengthened and expanded their influence. At that time, many noble families accepted the new faith, provided shelter and food to their persecuted coreligionists, and spread the teachings they preached.
Inquisition and public execution
Despite the despotic policies of the church, more and more people appeared among the townspeople and peasants who questioned the fidelity of its teachings. They accused the clergy of idleness and excessive waste of money. The Catholic clergy instantly reacted to religious rebellion, responding with severe repressions that troubled the whole of Europe for several centuries.
To combat heretics, the Inquisition was created, which is a secret church court that, through the practice of anonymous reports, dealt with the “messengers of the devil on earth.” The trial lacked an investigative procedure; it was accompanied by prolonged and cruel torture and ended with the death penalty of the person.
Often, prosecutors and judges did not even know the names of those convicted and designated them “accused number one, number two...”. The medieval Inquisition delegated to secular authorities the power to execute non-believers, but always controlled the execution of the sentence. The death penalty was carried out by public burning. This punishment was widespread.
At the initial stage, the victims were people who did not agree with the classical teachings of the church. Over time, the categories of apostates increased exponentially. Attractive women and girls were accused of vicious relationships with the devil and witchcraft. Babies born with physical disabilities were considered children of Satan. An inevitable death fate awaited them all.
The families of heretics were ruined, their property was divided in half between the clergy and the state treasury. Scientific figures whose views radically diverged from the teachings of the church also became victims of the inquisition processes. The famous astronomer Galileo Galilei was able to avoid death at the stake only after he publicly renounced the teachings of Copernicus.
It is estimated that the fire of the Holy Inquisition claimed the lives of more than 12 million Europeans, 98% of whom were innocent.
Southern Europe: the main region of the anti-church movement
At the end of the 12th century, two powerful anti-church heretical movements arose in the mountainous regions of northern Italy and southern France. We are talking about the Cathars and supporters of Pierre Waldo. The Waldensians would become a real scourge of the County of Toulouse at the turn of the 12th–13th centuries. The church here finds itself in an unenviable position. At first, the “poor people of Lyon” did not seek conflict with the clergy, but their sermons about the free reading of the Bible by the laity provoked the clergy. The Cathars also posed a serious threat to the church in southern France.
Pierre Waldo. (Pinterest)
One of the main ascetics in the fight against heresies then became Saint Dominic, who went with his comrades to the troubled region with sermons. The center of the spread of heretical movements was the Occitan city of Montpellier. The emergence of the communities of St. Dominic and his active work as a preacher did not convince dissenters. In 1209, an armed conflict began: a crusade against heretics was declared, led by the Count of Toulouse, Simon IV de Montfort. He was an experienced warrior and a seasoned crusader. By 1220, the Waldenses and Cathars were defeated: the Catholics managed to cope with the main centers of heretical movements in the county of Toulouse. Dissenters were burned at the stake. In the future, the royal administration would finally deal with the Waldenses.
King Philip II Augustus of France at the fire with heretics. (Wikimedia Commons)
The monastic orders also made a significant contribution to the victory over the heretics of the south of France. After all, it was they who became the main ideological opponents of the apostates - the mendicant monks were engaged only in preaching. In the person of the Dominicans and Franciscans, the heretics were opposed to the idea of a mendicant church.
Dominicans. (Wikimedia Commons)
