WHO
WERE THE CATHARS?
THE hill at Montsegur, in the south of France near the Pyrenees
Mountains, is a sacred place and a reminder of the great movement
that was Catharism, a great Gnostic church and movement that flourished
in this region in the 13th and early 14th century. Below the hill,
or the Pog, lies a peaceful meadow named "The Field of the Burned".
It is here on March 16, 1244, that over 200 Cathars died at the
hands of the Catholic church, rather than renounce their simple
faith.
Who were the Cathars, or Bons Hommes, as they called themselves?
Catharism appeared in Western Europe in the 11th Century.
Cathar beliefs spread from northern Italy, carried by travellers
and Cathar preachers - Parfaits. The religion probably originated
in the eastern part of the Byzantine Empire. It became hugely
popular and by the early 13th Century was the majority religion
in the area.
The Parfaits renounced worldly riches, were vegetarian and lived
a strictly ascetic life. They believed Christ was cosmic (and
so could not be crucified). Marriage, baptism, and communion were
not recognised as valid rituals. Their ritual of the Consolamentum
entailed the transmission of spiritual energy to help a person
progress on his or her journey towards the Light, especially at
the time of death.
