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The Cathari—Were They Christian Martyrs?The Watchtower—1995 | September 1
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The Cathari—Were They Christian Martyrs?
“SLAY them all; God will recognize His own.” On that summer day of 1209, the population of Béziers, in southern France, was massacred. The monk Arnold Amalric, appointed as papal legate at the head of the Catholic crusaders, showed no mercy. When his men asked how they were to distinguish between Catholics and heretics, he reportedly gave the infamous reply quoted above. Catholic historians water it down to: “Do not worry. I believe very few will be converted.” Whatever his exact answer, the result was the slaughter of at least 20,000 men, women, and children at the hands of some 300,000 crusaders, led by prelates of the Catholic Church.
What brought about this massacre? It was just the beginning of the Albigensian Crusade that Pope Innocent III had launched against so-called heretics in the province of Languedoc, south-central France. Before it ended some 20 years later, possibly one million people—Cathari, Waldenses, and even many Catholics—had lost their lives.
Religious Dissent in Medieval Europe
The rapid growth of trade in the 11th century C.E. brought about great changes in the social and economic structures of medieval Europe. Towns sprung up to house the growing number of craftsmen and tradesmen. This provided scope for new ideas. Religious dissent took root in Languedoc, where a remarkably tolerant and advanced civilization prospered as nowhere else in Europe. The city of Toulouse in Languedoc was the third richest metropolis in Europe. It was the world in which the troubadours flourished, some of whose lyrics touched on political and religious subjects.
Describing the religious situation in the 11th and 12th centuries, the Revue d’histoire et de philosophie religieuses states: “In the 12th century, as in the previous century, the morals of the clergy, their opulence, their venality, and their immorality, continued to be called into question, but it was principally their wealth and power, their collusion with the secular authorities, and their servility that were criticized.”
Itinerant Preachers
Even Pope Innocent III recognized that the rampant corruption within the church was to blame for the increasing number of dissident, itinerant preachers in Europe, particularly in southern France and northern Italy. The majority of these were either Cathari or Waldenses. He berated the priests for not teaching the people, saying: “The children are in want of the bread that you do not care to break for them.” Yet, rather than promote Bible education for the people, Innocent claimed that “such is the depth of divine Scripture, that not only the simple and illiterate, but even the prudent and learned, are not fully sufficient to try to understand it.” Bible reading was banned to all except the clergy and then permitted only in Latin.
To counteract the itinerant preaching of the dissidents, the pope approved the founding of the Order of Friars Preachers, or Dominicans. In contrast with the opulent Catholic clergy, these friars were to be traveling preachers commissioned to defend Catholic orthodoxy against the “heretics” in southern France. The pope also sent papal legates to reason with the Cathari and try to bring them back into the Catholic fold. Since these efforts failed, and one of his legates was killed, supposedly by a heretic, Innocent III ordered the Albigensian Crusade in 1209. Albi was one of the towns where Cathari were particularly numerous, so church chroniclers referred to the Cathari as Albigenses (French, Albigeois) and used the term to designate all the “heretics” in that region, including the Waldenses. (See box below.)
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The Cathari—Were They Christian Martyrs?The Watchtower—1995 | September 1
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[Box on page 28]
THE WALDENSES
Toward the end of the 12th century C.E., Pierre Valdès, or Peter Waldo, a rich merchant of Lyons, financed the first translations of parts of the Bible into various local dialects of Provençal, the vernacular language spoken in southern and southeastern France. A sincere Catholic, he gave up his business and dedicated himself to preaching the Gospel. Disgusted with the corrupt clergy, many other Catholics followed him and became itinerant preachers.
Waldo soon encountered hostility from the local clergy, who persuaded the pope to ban his public witnessing. His reported reply was: “We ought to obey God rather than men.” (Compare Acts 5:29.) In view of his persistence, Waldo was excommunicated. His followers, called the Waldenses, or the Poor Men of Lyons, zealously strove to follow his example, preaching two by two in the homes of the people. This resulted in the rapid spread of their teachings throughout southern, eastern, and parts of northern France, as well as northern Italy.
In the main, they advocated a return to the beliefs and practices of early Christianity. They challenged, among other teachings, purgatory, prayers for the dead, worship of Mary, prayers to the “saints,” adoration of the crucifix, indulgences, the Eucharist, and infant baptism.b
The teachings of the Waldenses sharply contrasted with the non-Christian dualistic teachings of the Cathari, with whom they are often confused. This confusion is primarily due to Catholic polemists who deliberately attempted to identify Waldensian preaching with the teachings of the Albigenses, or Cathari.
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