Heresies:CATHARISM
The Cathars: Cathar Beliefs
Cathars clearly regarded themselves as good Christians, since that is exactly what they called themselves. When Saint Bernard visited the Languedoc in 1145 his main impression seems to have been the shameless corruption in his own Church. Of the Cathars he noted that their morals were pure and that no sermons were more Christian than theirs. The position seems to have been much the same sixty years later, in the early thirteenth century. On the surface, their basic beliefs seem unremarkable. Most people would have difficulty in distinguishing the principle Cathar beliefs from what are now regarded as convential orthodox Christian beliefs. However, pursuing their fundamental beliefs to their logical conclusion revealed surprising implications, (for example that Roman Catholics were mistakenly following a Satanic god rather than the beneficent god worshipped by the Cathars.)
Like the earliest Christians, the Cathars recognised no priesthood. They did however distinguish between ordinary believers ( Credentes ) and a smaller, inner circle of leaders initiated in secret knowledge, known at the time as boni homines, Bonneshommes or "Goodmen" , now generally refered to as the Elect or as Parfaits. Cathars recognised only one ceremony that might be regarded as anything like the Catholic sacrements. This was the Consolamentum, a ceremony that converted a simple believer into a Parfait. They did however have a number of ceremonial practices.
The Cathar view was that their theology was older than that of the Roman Church and (correctly, as modern scholars confirm) that the Roman Church had corrupted its own scripture, invented new doctrine and abandoned the beliefs and practices of the Early Church. The Catholic view, of course was exactly the opposite. But in addition to accusing the Cathars of faulty theology, they imagined a range abominable practices which would have been amusing if such imaginings, converted into propaganda, had not led to the death of countless thousands through the Cathar Crusades and the Inquisition. The Roman Church seemed to have successfully exterpated Cathars and Cathar beliefs by the early fourteenth century, but the truth is more complicated. There is a stong case that the Cathar legacy is more influential today than has been at any time over the last seven hunded years.
Where did Catharism come from ?
From a few certain pieces of evidence and a mass of circumstantial evidence, it seems likely that the Cathars represented a very ancient dualist belief from the East. Perhaps the easiest way to trace its origins is to work back from the Languedoc. Catharism appeared in Western Europe in the eleventh century. Cathar beliefs seemed to popped up around the same in many countries, not only the Languedoc but also France, the Netherlands and various German states. It almost certainly spread from Northern Italy, carried by travellers, merchants and probably Cathar preachers. Certainly Catharism was already well established in Northern Italy. (This Occitan speaking area would later provide a refuge for Cathars from the Languedoc obliged to flee their homeland during the Cathar Crusade).
How did Catharism get to Northern Italy ? It came from the Balkans, arond the area we know as Bulgaria. This area was part of the Byzantine Empire at the time, and imperial records mention the dualist heresy. A priest called Bogomil was recorded as having indroduced this so-called heresy, which explains why believers were called Bogomils. (Remember that Cathars never called themselves Cathars. In fact at this time the name had not even been invented). Bogolism became influential in Bulgaria during the reign of Peter the First (927-928). The religion flourished in the Balkans for centuries, until it was wiped out by (or incorporated into) Islam after the fall of Constantinople in 1453. A Bogomil bishop is known to have attended a Cathar Council in the Languedoc.
The next question is how the religion got to Bulgaria. The answer is that it probably spread from the Eastern Part of the Byzantine Empire to the Western Part. It may have originated in a form of Manichaen belelief, itself a melange of Persian Zoroastrianism and early Christian Gnostic dualism. Early Christianity possessed three main strands: the Jewish one (led by James, Jesus' brother), the Pauline one (created by Paul himself and now represented by the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches), and the Gnostic one (at least some of whom followed St John, the disciple). It is well within the bounds of possibility that Catharism represented this early tradition. Certainly the Cathars favoured the John Gospel over all other scripture.
Do Cathars Still Exist ?
It depends what you mean. If you mean "Are there people living today who claim to be Cathars ?", then the answer is Yes. If you mean "Are there people who live like cathars, and believe what the Cathars believed ?", then the answer is also Yes. But neither of these answers tells the whole story. For example, quite a few of the people calling themselves Cathars will tell you that they are re-incarnated Cathar Parfaits. But a central Cathar belief was that on their deaths Parfaits were released from the cycle of rebirth. Which means that either these claimants hold to a belief system that they know to be wrong, or that they are imposters who have not troubled to do their homework. A more interesting question is whether any living Cathars can claim a continuous chain of succession with the Parfects of the thirteenth century. The reason that this is significant is that the Cathars themselves claimed a continual chain of descent, each Parfait having joined the inner circle of the Elect by being given the Consolamentum by an existing Parfait. There therefore existed a continuous chain of succession from any Parfait all the way back to the original biblical Pentecost. (If this looks suspiciously like the doctrine of Apostolic Succession claimed by Catholic and other mainstream bishops, it is worth bearing in mind that the mainstream Church is known to have copied the idea from a Gnostic sect in the fourth century, and then fabricated lines of apostolic succession for the missing centuries).
After the depredations of the Inquisition in the fourteenth century, the chain of succession was restored in the Languedoc by two brothers who travelled to Piedmont to receive the Consolamentum from a Parfait there. But this line was apparently exterminated with the burning of Guillem Belibaste in 1321. The Italian line was exterminated by the Roman Church soon after, and in the fifteenth century the Balkan line was suppressed, or absorbed, by Islam, which shares the characteristicly Gnostic belief that Jesus was not a man but a divine phantom. Did a secret succession survive from any of these traditions, or from any of the more remote Eastern ones? Perhaps. No one seems to know for sure. But even if not, all of their principal beliefs are to be found in one or another Christian sect. Even the idea that the Roman Catholic Church is mistakenly worshipping the Evil God is still current (Jehovah's Witnesses for example believe this). Also, perhaps significantly, you never hear anyone talking about God in the Languedoc, always specifically the Good God.
(courtesy of www.languedoc-france.info)
ADDITIONAL ARTICLES ON THE SUBJECT:
Cathar Doctrine. Duality. The fight between two equals Good and Evil as set down in St.John':s Gospel good being the kingdom of the good lord evil being the material and time passing reality of the visible physical world.
Cathar. Cathars being expelled from Carcassone in 1209.Catharism was a Gnostic movement that originated around the middle of the 10th century, branded by the contemporary Roman Catholic Church as heretical.
A Study Of Cathar Dualism And Its Eschatological Vision Of Reform. In 1803, English-speakers adapted the word “catharsis” from the Greek word katharsis, which means “purging” or “cleansing.” The Greek root of katharsis is katharsos, (literally, “throughout the whole”—that is, “utterly clean” or “pure”).
Introduction to Catharism. The essential historical importance of Catharism lies in the Albigensian Crusade. During a war that lasted fifty years, the crusade led to the progressive annexation of Occitania in the south by the Kingdom of France in the north.
Cathar Spirituality and the Awakening of Consciousness. This book has so far stressed that Catharism aimed at developing and preserving a certain form of Christianity and inasmuch as the Roman Church had rejected a good part of the elements composing the tradition, elements not neglected in the teachings of Christ and the apostles.