The burning of a heretic. Church and heretics

It so happened that the heretics, or rather the punishments of heretics, are most often recalled in connection with the Vedov process and the Inquisition - phenomena typical of the countries of Europe: mainly Italy, Southern France, Spain and Portugal. But it would be a mistake to believe that in lands beyond the authority of the Pope, dissenters could feel safe. The public burning of the heretic - the most common measure of punishment - was practiced in Byzantium and in Rus.

The origin of heresies

From the Greek word "heresy" is translated as "direction" or "school". At the dawn of Christianity, in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, E., A single cult system has not yet developed. There were many communities, sects, each of which interpreted in its own way certain aspects of the teaching: the trinity, the nature of Christ and the Mother of God, eschatology, the hierarchical structure of the church. In the 4th century AD E. This was put an end to Emperor Constantine: without the support of secular authority, the official church, then still weak, could not unify the cult. Heresies first declared Arianism, then Nestorianism. The Donatists and the Montanists were persecuted. Church hierarchs of the early Middle Ages, guided by New Testament messages, gave this concept a negative connotation. However, the burning of heretics at the stake in those days was not yet a common occurrence.

In the heretical teachings of the beginning of a new era there was no bright political or social overtones. But over time, believers began to criticize the existing church hierarchy, the church's cooperation with the secular power, enriching the priests and their hypocrisy.

Qatar

In the 11th and 13th centuries, bonfires flamed all over Europe. The burning of the heretic began to be presented to church hierarchs in the simplest way to get rid of the oppositionists. The split of the Church into the Western (Catholic) and Eastern (Orthodox) in the 11th century served as an incentive for the emergence of new teachings. The most famous ideological opponents of the Catholic Church were Cathars, or "pure." To a large extent, their developed theological system relied on pagan traditions, in particular, on Manichaeism, which presupposed the equality of the forces of God and the devil. The device of the world of the Cathars was not considered perfect. They criticized state institutions, the greed of the clergy, and openly called the Pope the servant of the devil. Cathars preached asceticism, virtue, diligence. They created their own church organization and enjoyed great authority. Sometimes the word "cathars" is joined by representatives of other teachings, which have similar features: Waldenses, Bogomils, Pavlikians. In 1209, Pope Innocent III took the Cathars seriously, offering neighboring feudal lords to eradicate heretics and take their lands to themselves.

How they fought the heretics

The clergy preferred to deal with the dissident hands of worldly rulers. Those most often did not object, because they themselves were afraid of excommunication. In 1215, Innocent III created a special organ of the church court - the Inquisition. Workers (mainly from the Order of the Dominicans - "Psalms of the Lord") should find heretics, make accusations against them, interrogate and punish.

The trial of a heretic was usually accompanied by torture (Palacial art during this period received an incentive to develop, and an impressive arsenal of torture tools was formed). But regardless of how the inquiry was completed, the issuing of the verdict and its execution was to be carried out by a secular person. What was the most often verdict? Burning a heretic with a large crowd of people. Why burning? Because the execution had to be such that the Church could not be convicted of bloodshed. In addition, the flame was endowed with cleaning properties.

The autodofe

Burning the heretic Was an act of intimidation. Therefore, as many people of all classes as possible could be present at the execution. The ceremony was appointed on a public holiday and was called "auto-da-fefe" ("act of faith"). On the eve decorated the square, built stands for noble masters and public toilets. Church bells were made to wrap with a wet cloth: they sounded more deaf and "mourning". In the morning the priest served the Mass, the Inquisitor read the sermon, and schoolchildren sang hymns. Finally, sentences were announced. Then they were carried out. The burning of the heretic was one of the most severe punishments carried out within the framework of the auto-da-fe. Also practiced: penance (for example, pilgrimage), lifelong wearing shameful signs, public scourging, imprisonment.

But if the accusation was serious, the convicted person had practically no chance. As a result of torture, the "heretic" in most cases admitted his guilt. After that, he was slaughtered and burned the corpse tied to the pillar. If, before the execution himself, he suddenly began to deny what he had said the day before, he was burned alive, sometimes on slow fire (raw firewood was specially prepared for this).

Who else was equated with heretics?

If one of the relatives of the convict did not come to be executed, he could be suspected of aiding. Therefore, auto-da-fofs have always been popular. Despite the fact that almost everyone could be in the place of the convict, the crowd mocked the "heretics" and showered them with insults.

The burning threatened not only the political and ideological opponents of the Church and the feudal lords. Mass executions of women on witchcraft charges (it was convenient for them to shift the blame for various disasters), scientists - mainly astronomers, philosophers and doctors (because the church relied on ignorance of the people and was not interested in spreading knowledge), inventors (for attempts to improve Ideally arranged by God of the world), runaway monks, gentiles (especially Jews), preachers of other religions. In fact, anyone could be condemned and for anything. Let's also note that the church took away the property of the executed one.

Church and heretics in Russia

The main enemies of the Orthodox Church were the Old Believers. But the split occurred only in the 17th century, and before that, representatives of various ideological and social heresies were actively burned throughout the country: Strigolniki, Judaizers and others. They executed for storing heretical books, blaspheming against the church, Christ and the Mother of God, witchcraft, escapes from the monastery. In general, Muscovy differed little from Spain in the fanaticism of the local "inquisitors", except that the executions were more diverse and had a national specificity: for example, the heretic was burned not on a pillar, but in a cross.

The Russian Orthodox Church only in 1971 admitted its misconceptions about the Old Believers. But she did not bring repentance to other "heretics".