THE SYSTEM
(A) CONSTITUTION AND ORDERS
§ 1. ATTITUDE TO ROMAN CATHOLICISM
A movement which claimed to be a revival, and even a survival, of
primitive Christianity would not be likely to frame its constitution and
orders upon the lines of a Church which it regarded as hopelessly
corrupt, and which subjected it to pitiless persecution; any likeness
between the two would be due merely to the claim or fact that they were
derived from a common source. The Roman Church had three Orders--Priests,
Deacons, and Sub-deacons; the Catharists also had three Orders--Majors,
Presbyters and Deacons; but the difference was fundamental, for whereas
the Roman Orders were sacramental, the Catharist were merely executive.
Apostolic Succession was not confined to commissioned officers, but
included the rank and file. It was proved not by ecclesiastical
pedigrees, but by personal experience and responsive conduct. For it was
the direct gift of the Holy Spirit to the individual, and was not
mediated through man. These Spirit-filled persons composed the true
Church. It is less true to say that the heretics were "praecisi ab
ecclesia"[52] than that they deliberately repudiated and left the Church
because it had forfeited its status by quenching the Holy Spirit, as was
shewn by its corruptions and persecutions. The loss of the Holy Spirit
involved the loss of its power to excommunicate. Only those were
successors of the Apostles who copied their life.
As life is in the whole body and in every member of the body, so the Holy
Spirit was in their Church and in every member of the same. Hence, too,
every local Church possessed the authority of the whole to elect its
officers, whose authority, again, was not limited to such local Church,
but could be exercised anywhere. Nor, when once conferred, was this
authority regarded as a personal charisma. They did not say: "Ego te
absolvo," but "Deus tua peccata tibi dimittat."[53]
The Waldenses, however, were less uncompromising in their attitude
towards Roman Orders. Thus Raymond, the Waldensian Deacon, in his
inquisition at Languedoc, declared that their Majors did _not_ have the
keys of the kingdom of heaven, but did have the _same_ powers of
Absolution as Bishops of the Roman Church, and that their Presbyters had
equal powers with the priests of the Roman Church, "quia idem sunt in
fide et in credulitate." On the other hand, Raymond Valsiera of Ax,
described as a Manichee, and a pupil of the intransigeant William Autéri,
in his confession, denied to the prelates and priests of the Roman Church
any power to absolve, because they were the enemies of the Holy Faith.
§ 2. CREDENTS
Adherents were divided into Credents and Perfects, the latter being the
more advanced. A movement exposed to constant persecution and espionage
would exercise the greatest care in admission to its membership, and only
after the most searching examination and most solemn promises were its
doors thrown open to applicants. Initiation into membership was called by
enemies "heretication," and was of a more elaborate character with the
Catharists than with the Waldenses. According to Peter de Vaux-Sarnai in
his "Historia Albigensium," the Waldenses, of whom he held a higher
opinion than of other heretics,[54] had an initiatory rite which involved
a total renunciation of their Roman baptism and Creed. "When any one
joins the heretics, he who receives him says, 'Friend, if you wish to be
of us, you ought to renounce the whole Faith which the Roman Church
holds,' He answers, 'I do renounce it.' 'Therefore receive the Holy
Spirit from good men,' and then he breathes seven times on his face. Then
he says to him, 'Do you renounce that cross which the priest made on you
in your baptism on breast and shoulders and head with oil and chrism?' He
answers, 'I do renounce it.' 'Do you believe that water works salvation
for you?' He answers, 'I do not believe it.' 'Do you renounce that veil
which the priest placed on your head for you when you were baptized?' He
answers, 'I do renounce it.' Then he receives the baptism of the
heretics. All then place their hands upon his head and kiss him and
clothe him in a black robe, and from that hour he is one of them." This
catechism confirms the statement of Ermengard, who wrote a tract against
the Waldenses (although he does not mention them by name) that the
sacrament of Baptism was unprofitable, unless a person answered with his
own mouth and from his heart. Imposition of hands was substituted for
affusion of water, the kiss of peace for the oil of chrism, so that the
charge of _Ana_baptism cannot be maintained.
We are better served in our information of Catharist ritual since the
publication by L. Cledat in 1887 of the New Testament,[55] which was
translated in the thirteenth century into Provençal, and to which is
appended the Catharist ritual preserved in folio 235 of MS. 36 of the
MSS. in the Library of St. Peter's Palace at Lyons.
The Credents had first of all to make their confession in these words:
"We confess our sins before God and you, and before the ordinances of
Holy Church, that we may receive pardon and penance for all sins in
thought and word and deed, and for all offences in the sight of the
Father, the Son and the honoured Holy Spirit and of the honoured holy
Apostles, by prayer and faith and by the salvation of all the loyal
glorious Christians and blessed ancestors asleep and the brethren here
present, and before you, holy Lord, that you may pardon all that in which
we have sinned. Benedicite, parcite nobis. And whereas the holy word of
God instructs us, as also the holy Apostles, and our spiritual brethren
tell us that we should renounce all the lusts of the flesh and all
impurity, we confess that we have not done so. Benedicite, parcite
nobis." (Other sins are also confessed, and each confession ends with
"Benedicite, parcite nobis").
"The Credent must then fast, and when the Christians agree to deliver to
him the orison (Lord's Prayer) they shall wash their hands, and the
Credent shall do likewise. Then one of the Good Men, who is next unto the
Elder, shall make three bows (_révérances_) to the Elder, and then
prepare a table, and having made three more bows, shall place a cloth
upon it, and having made three more bows, shall place the book upon the
cloth, and shall say, 'Benedicite, parcite nobis.' Then the Credent shall
make his melioramentum,[56] and take the book from the hand of the Elder,
who shall then admonish him and preach to him with suitable proofs
(_témoignages_). And if the Credent is called Peter, he shall say:
'Peter, you must understand that you are before the Church of God, you
are before the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. For the Church means
union, and where are true Christians, there are the Father, Son and Holy
Spirit (St. Matt. xviii. 20; St. John xiv. 23; 2 Cor. vi. 16, 18;
xiii. 2; 1 Tim. iii. 14, 15; Heb. iii. 6). The Spirit of God is with the
faithful of Jesus Christ, and Christ dwells in them [as stated] in St.
John xiv. 15-18; St. Matt. xxviii. 20; 1 Cor. iii. 16, 17; St. Matt.
x. 20; 1 St. John iv. 13; Gal. iv. 6. For God's people separated
themselves of old from their Lord God. And they separated themselves from
the counsel and will of their Holy Father by the deceit of evil spirits
and by yielding to their will. And for these and many other reasons they
were made to understand that the Holy Father wishes to have mercy upon
His people, and to receive them into peace and concord by the advent of
His Son, Jesus Christ, and this is your opportunity. For you are here
before the disciples of Jesus Christ in the place where spiritually dwell
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, as we have shewn above, to
receive the holy orison which Jesus Christ has given to His disciples in
order that your orisons and prayers may be granted by our Holy Father.
This is why you ought to understand, if you wish to receive this holy
orison, that you must repent of all your sins and forgive all people.
(St. Matt. vi. 15).... It follows that you purpose to keep this holy
orison all your life, if God give you grace to receive it, according to
the custom of the Church of God, with chastity and truth and all other
virtues which God shall please to give you. This is why we pray to the
good Lord Who has given to the disciples of Jesus Christ the virtue to
receive this holy orison with stedfastness, that He may give you also the
grace to receive it with stedfastness, both to His honour and your
salvation. P.N.'
"Then the Elder says the orison, and the Credent repeats it. Then the
Elder says: 'We deliver this holy orison in order that you may receive it
of God and of us and of the Church, and have power to say it all your
life, day and night, alone and in company, and that you never eat or
drink without first saying this orison.' And he shall say, 'I receive it
of God and of you and of the Church.' He shall then make his
melioramentum and give thanks, and then the Christians shall make a
'double avec veniae' (? 'Benedicite, parcite nobis,' twice), and the
Credent shall say it after them.
And if he ought to be 'consoled'[57] on the spot, the Credent must make
his melioramentum, and take the book from the hand of the Elder. And the
Elder shall admonish him and preach to him with suitable proofs and such
words as are appropriate to his consolamentum,[57] and say thus: 'Peter,
you wish to receive spiritual baptism whereby is given the Holy Spirit
unto the Church of God, with the holy orison, with the imposition of the
hands of the Good Men. Of this baptism our Lord speaks (St. Matt.
xxviii. 19, 20; St. Mark xvi. 15; St. John iii. 5; i. 16, 17; St. Mark
iii. 11; Acts i. 5). This baptism by the imposition of hands has been
instituted by Jesus Christ (St. Mark xvi. 18; Acts ix. 17, 18), and
afterwards Paul and Barnabas practised it in several places. This holy
baptism by which the Holy Spirit is given the Church has kept since the
Apostles until now, and it has come from the Good Men to the Good Men
until now, and will be unto the end of the world. And you must understand
that power is given to the Church of God to bind and loose, to forgive
and retain sin, as Christ said (St. John xx. 21; St. Matt. xvi. 18, 19;
xviii. 19, 20 [18, 19]; x. 8; St. John xiv. 12; St. Mark xii. 17; St.
Luke x. 19). And if you wish to receive this power, you must keep all the
commandments of Christ and the New Testament according to your power. And
know that He has commanded that man shall not commit adultery, or murder,
or lie; that he shall not swear any oath; that he shall not seize or rob;
he must pardon and love his enemies; pray for his calumniators; if one
strike him on one cheek, turn to him the other also; must hate the world
and the things that are in the world (1 St. John ii. 16, 17; St. John
vii. 7; Book of Solomon [Eccles.] i. 14; St. Jude, brother of St. James,
23).' And he shall say: 'I have this will: pray to God for me that He
will give me His power.' And then one of the Good Men shall make his
melioramentum with the Credent to the Elder and say, 'Parcite nobis. Good
Christians! we pray you by the love of God that you grant this blessing,
which God has given you, to our friend here present.' And the Credent
shall make his melioramentum and say, 'Parcite nobis. For all sins I ask
the pardon of God and the Church and you all.' And the Christians shall
say, 'By God and us and the Church they have been forgiven you. And we
pray God that He will forgive you.' And then they shall console him. And
the Elder shall take the book and place it upon his head and the other
Good Men shall each take his right hand, and say the 'parcias' and
'adoremus' three times, and then: 'Holy Father, receive Thy servant into
Thy righteousness and put Thy grace and holy spirit upon him,' And then
they shall pray to God with the orison, and he who directs the service
ought to say in a low voice the 'sixaine,' and then the 'adoremus' three
times and the orison once in a loud voice, and then the Gospel. And when
the Gospel is said, they ought to say 'Adoremus' three times and the
Gratia and the Parcias.
Before a Credent was admitted to membership he had solemnly to promise to
submit to the "Abstinence" or discipline of the Church which comprised
certain rules of conduct, and the Church had to satisfy itself that the
applicant was of sufficient moral strength to discharge his obligations.
Thus, if a Christian comes into a place of danger he shall pray the
Gratia. If anyone mounts a horse he shall observe the double (i.e. says
the orison twice). If he goes on board ship, or enters a town, or passes
over a plank or a dangerous bridge, he shall say the orison. If he finds
anything on the road, he must not touch it, if he knows the owner. If he
knows the owner, but cannot overtake him, he must leave the article on
the road. If he wishes to drink or eat he must say the orison twice
before and twice after doing so. Christians must visit sick Christians,
and inquire into their life. Christians must pay their debts, and shall
not be received into membership until they have done so, but if they
cannot pay, they are not to be repelled on that account. They must
promise to hold their heart and their goods, both present and future, at
the disposal of God and the Church. If an applicant for membership agrees
to all this, the Good Men answer: "We impose on you this Abstinence that
you may receive it of God and of us and of the Church, and may you keep
it all your life. For if you observe it well, with the other things which
you have to do, we have hope that your soul will have life." And he shall
answer: "I receive it of God and of you and of the Church."
The rite of initiation was called Consolamentum, but further
consideration of this word must be deferred owing to certain obscurities
in its use. It is sufficient here to remark that the ceremonies
accompanying it varied according to the physical condition and
ecclesiastical position of the recipient. From the chief act in the
ceremony it received the alternate title of the imposition of hands,
whereby was conveyed the gift of the Holy Spirit the Consolator (hence
its name), but the gift could not be conveyed if the officiating minister
were in sin as interpreted by their own laws.
§ 3. PERFECTS
Next to the Credents came the Perfecti,[58] who undoubtedly formed the
core of the whole movement. Between the Credents and the Perfect, Peter
de Vaux-Sarnai draws the distinction as follows: "Credents are those who
love a secular life, and do not aim at imitating the life of the Perfect,
although they hope to be saved by the same Faith. They are different in
their manner of living, but are one in faith and unfaith (_fide et
infidelitate_)." Only after a long probation and distinguished service
were they chosen to the honourable position of the Perfect. Although, as
such, the position carried with it no special office, yet they were
required to devote their whole time to discreet propaganda and the
interests of their co-religionists. They professed absolute poverty and
were forbidden to work or to engage in any trade, as that would expose
them to lying, fraud or taking an oath. They were supported in money,
food and hospitality by the Credents. Only to avoid detection and arrest
were they allowed to work; or when safe, as a protest against Catholicism
on the fast days of the Church. Since from them alone were elected the
officers--Majors, Elders, Deacons--it was of the utmost importance that
they should observe all dietary rules as described already, since a
violation of them would invalidate any ceremonial function in which they
took part, e.g. the Consolamentum.[59] Their relation to women is not
quite clear, and qualifications for "Perfection" varied. While strict
celibacy was aimed at, facts modified the ideal. Some insisted that no
Perfect could be married, and if married, he must dismiss his wife.
Raymond de Costa, a Waldensian Deacon, affirmed that according to the New
Testament, no one who had a wife could be ordained a Bishop or an Elder,
and any ordination of the married was null and void, 1 Timothy iii. and
Titus i. he referred to the one Church. A Perfect would not sit on the
same bench with a woman, however long it might be. On the other hand,
women travelled about with them to attend to their personal wants, a
practice which provoked much unfavourable comment. Some excluded even
widowers from the rank of Perfect. There were two grades among the
Perfect--the Novellani, or novices, and the Sandaliati. These latter were
promoted to the higher grade only after long and faithful and
distinguished service, and for their proved knowledge of the Scriptures
and ability to teach others. They dressed in black and wore sandals which
protected only the soles, leaving the rest of the foot bare.[60] They
went from place to place, encouraging the "faithful," and instructing
them in the Scriptures, so far as they accepted them, and taking with
them interpreters when necessary.
From the Perfect were taken the three Orders--Deacons, Presbyters (or
Elders) and Majors (or Bishops[61]), whose authority was derived not from
the Roman Church, but from the Holy Spirit in their own Church.
§ 4. DEACONS
The qualifications for the office of Deacon were membership of at least
six years, a knowledge of the Scriptures, ability to say the Pater noster
and Ave Maria (!),[62] a blameless life and unimpeachable loyalty, not
under twenty years of age and unmarried; if married, he was not allowed
to dismiss his wife in order to be ordained. He had to take the threefold
vow of chastity, poverty and obedience to Majors or Bishops. His duties
were to attend upon the Majors or Bishops, as Mark upon Barnabas and
Paul, when itinerating. He might be sent from one Church to another to
widen his knowledge. Thus Raymond the Waldensian said, under examination,
that he had been a Deacon for twenty-seven years, having been ordained by
John Lotaringa, who after two years' instruction sent him to other
members of the community, and he did not return for seven years. A Deacon
was ordained by the prayer and imposition of the hands of a Major only,
and was subject to his authority. He was not allowed to hear
Confessions[63] or to carry the reserved Sacrament or to preach, but he
could read the Gospel in Church, although he seldom did so, and take a
minor part with Presbyters and Majors in the election and ordination of a
Major.
§ 5. PRESBYTERS
Although it is correct to speak of three orders, it does not appear that
the Diaconate was that from which alone the Presbyterate was supplied. A
Deacon might be "perpetual," and a Presbyter was elected direct from the
ranks of the Perfect. The consent of the local Church must be unanimous.
The ordination took place once or twice a year at the Conferences[64] at
which all the business was transacted. He took the three vows of poverty,
chastity and obedience. The congregation said the Lord's Prayer and
confessed their sins, after which the Major and Presbyters laid their
hands upon him. The only difference between the ordination of a Deacon
and that of a Presbyter appears to have been that at the former the
people also laid their hands upon him. A Presbyter was now qualified to
hear Confessions, and impose but not remit penalties, the latter office
of remission being reserved for the Major. In the absence of the Major he
could "make the Body of Christ." If there was danger of the Succession
failing, a Presbyter could appoint and ordain a Major, since by virtue of
his forsaking all and following Christ he was like the Apostles and had
Apostolic authority. As a rule, however, he only took part with other
Presbyters and Deacons in the ordination of Majors. With the Waldenses
the Clergy of the Roman Church were not "re-ordained," but ordered to
take the above threefold vow and reminded of the persecutions to which
they were exposed, before being allowed to officiate.
§ 6. MAJORS OR BISHOPS
This was the highest of the three Orders, although we find traces of a
superior Major, called the Pontifical, whose relation to a Major would
correspond roughly to that of an Archbishop to a Bishop. Reinéri Saccho
states that the Cathari had four Orders: (1) Episcopus; (2) Filius Major;
(3) Filius Minor; (4) Diaconus, and that on the death of a Bishop, a
Filius Minor ordained a Filius Major to be the new Bishop, and that he in
turn ordained the Filius Minor to be a Filius Major. But some objected to
this procedure on the ground that it was like a son appointing a father.
Hence, authority was given to a Bishop to appoint an elder son as Bishop
to succeed him on his decease. But this was not general. As a rule, as
already stated, the threefold order obtained, although possibly the title
of _Major_ was taken from that of the Filius _Major_ and made equivalent
to that of Episcopus. When a vacancy in the Majoralty occurred, the
Presbyters and Deacons met together, and the oldest in orders, "like
Peter at the election of Matthias," explained the purpose of their
assembly, and nominated a Presbyter for the vacant office. His nominee
then left the room, and the president enumerated the qualifications of a
Major--learning, loyalty, length of service, personal sanctity and
capacity to rule the household, the Church, and declared that in his
opinion the Presbyter nominated possessed all these qualifications. If
the meeting agreed,[65] the Presbyter was called in, and on being
questioned promised to keep the laws of the Society and to exact the
obedience of all under his authority. A Major took no part in the
_election_ of a Major, but except in an emergency, his presence was
essential to a Major's ordination. After the promise (not oath) of
obedience had been given, the congregation knelt and said the Lord's
Prayer; and on rising from their knees, the Major-elect made his private
confession to the Major, and a general confession to the congregation,
and prayed to God to give him His Holy Spirit. Then came the most
important ceremony of all, the imposition of hands, first by the Major,
having obtained the assent of the congregation, and then by the
Presbyters and Deacons. If, however, there was no Major present, the
eldest Presbyter, with the consent of the other Presbyters and Deacons
could act for him.
Neither Deacon, Presbyter nor Major wore any dress distinctive of their
order. Of the Majors it was said: "He is clothed in good work, fastings
and prayers; his mitre is spiritual, i.e. his authority to rule is from
God and man; his pastoral staff also is spiritual, viz. the threatenings
of Holy Scripture against sinners, and his encouragements of the weaker
brethren by word and deed; his episcopal ring was his integrity in the
Faith."
The first Pontifical Major was ordained in the same way as a Major, but
afterwards only a Pontifical could ordain a Pontifical. If, however,
there was no Pontifical available, either by death or absence, the
authority to ordain reverted to the Presbyters and Deacons.
Full disciplinary powers were vested in a Major, and therefore there
could not be two Majors in one local Church. In the discipline of
Deacons, he was not bound to consult the Church; for the Deacon vowed
direct obedience to the Major, and therefore the Major could inflict and
remove penalties for offences. He could expel a Deacon from the Church
and re-admit him. The rite for reconciliation of a Deacon was imposition
of hands, but this did not imply re-ordination. In the Major alone was
vested the power to impose penance upon and to receive lapsed brethren,
but the addition of treachery _ipso facto_ precluded any re-admission,
for treachery was the unpardonable sin. Penance was imposed in a
prescribed form.[66] The Order of Major also carried with it the duty of
preaching and making (_conficere_) the Body and Blood of Christ, and
authority to commission Presbyters to do the same, except that at Easter
only Majors could consecrate at Holy Communion.[67]
The heretics regarded their Orders as in no whit inferior to those of the
Roman Church. To their own and Roman Bishops alike they denied the powers
of the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, as then understood, but their
powers of absolution were the same, seeing that both had the Apostolic
Succession through the Holy Spirit. But this recognition of Roman Orders
was only ideal and theoretical, because the heretics maintained that the
Roman Church had practically forfeited its authority through its
corruptions and persecutions. The Catharists regarded this forfeiture as
irremediable and final: the Waldenses as recoverable by repentance and
reformation along the lines of their own tenets. In this way we may
reconcile the conflict of evidence as to the relationship between
Catholic and heretical Orders.
[52] Inquis. of Carcassonne "De Manichaeis moderni temporis" (p. 58).
[53] Inquis. of Languedoc, beginning of fourteenth century (Cod.
Vat. 4070).
[54] "Quidem mali erant, sed comparatione aliorum haereticorum _longe
minus perversi_."
[55] M. Chabaneau ("Revue des langues romanes," XXXIII, 462) remarks that
several of the passages quoted in the ritual from the N.T. as well as the
ritual itself present features characteristic of the dialect in Vaudois
books, a fact which, he points out, should not be overlooked in
considering the problem, "qu'on croit peut-être à tort pleinement
résolu," of the origin of the ritual of Lyons.
[56] _vide infra_, p. 84.
[57] _vide infra_, pp. 73, 83.
[58] A title based on St. Matt. xix. 21. Outside Scripture the title
meets us as early as the Council of Ancyra (A.D. 314), which is
noteworthy in view of the association of Catharism with Galatia, of which
Ancyra was the capital; several of its Canons also deal with matters
closely resembling the doctrines and practices of the Catharists.
[59] Si quis de perfectis peccaret mortaliter comedendo, videlicet
modicissimum carnium, etc., omnes consolati ab illo amittebant Spiritum
Sanctum, et oportebat eum iterum reconsolari (Peter de Vaux-Sarnai,
Ermengard, etc.). But, on the other hand, as eating flesh was distasteful
to them, they might eat it on Fast Days to afflict the soul, thus
reversing Catholic usage (Inquis. of Carcassonne).
[60] De Paup. de Lugdano (Cod. Vatic. lat. 2648, no date or author).
[61] Reinéri Saccho, a Catharist, not a Waldensian, gives _four_ Orders.
(1) Episcopus; (2) Filius Major; (3) Filius Minor; (4) Diaconus (Gretzer,
Vol. XII).
[62] Others deny this on the ground that it was the custom of the Roman
Church. If used at all, its use was probably understood as referring to
their own pure (Catharist) Church. The Waldenses did not use either the
Ave Maria or the Creed.
[63] Inquis. of Languedoc, fourteenth century. But Reinéri Saccho, the
ex-Catharist, says that the Deacons could hear confessions of venial sins
once a month.
[64] At these Conferences no Credent, _young_ Perfect or woman attended.
[65] Their opinions were ascertained individually, beginning with the
eldest.
[66] _v. infra_, p. 86.
[67] _v. infra_, p. 81.
CHAPTER IV
(_continued_)
(B) RITES AND CEREMONIES
§ 1. THE LORD'S SUPPER
The Records of the Inquisition of Languedoc[68] (beginning of the
fourteenth century) preserve a description of the Lord's Supper on Good
Friday which is uncorroborated. "The Major on the Day of the Supper after
the ninth hour, when the Supper has been prepared, washes the feet of the
company (_sociorum_). He then places himself with them at the table, and
blesses the bread, wine and fish, not as a sacrifice or offering
(_holocaustum_), but in memory of the Lord's Supper, and prays as
follows: 'O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, God of our fathers, and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who by the hands of the Bishops and
Presbyters, Thy servants, hast commanded sacrifices and offerings and
various oblations to be offered: O Lord Jesus Christ, Who didst bless the
five loaves and two fishes in the wilderness, and blessing water didst
turn it into wine: bless in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
this bread, fish and wine, not as a sacrifice or offering, but in simple
commemoration of the most holy Supper of Jesus Christ and His disciples,
since, O Lord, I do not dare to offer to Thee by impure hands and defiled
mouth the sacrifice of our Lord Bishop, Jesus Christ Thy Son, but this
bread and the substance of this fish and wine we beseech Thee to bless in
the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and may the communion
(_communicatio_) of this bread as a simple Host please Thee, Eternal
Father, and so direct my soul and my body, even all my senses, and so
guide my footsteps that I may be worthy to offer Thee that most sacred
Body which is worshipped by angels in heaven.'" The Major eats and drinks
first, and then distributes to others.
This, however, did not take the place of the celebration on Easter Day,
which was the most important of the whole year, and devolved upon a Major
only. For this highest service of the year the Major was the better
prepared (_melius dispositus_) by the Lenten Fast, and particularly by
the more severe fast upon bread and water only for three days previously.
When the congregation, of both sexes, is assembled, a table or bench is
spread with a clean cloth, and a cup of good pure wine and a cake or
loaf, unleavened, placed upon it. Then the president says: "Let us ask
God to forgive us our sins for His mercy's sake, and to fill us with
those things which we ask worthily, for His mercy's sake, and let us say
seven times the Pater noster to the honour of God and the Holy Trinity."
This the congregation does on bended knee. Then the president takes a
napkin (_tersorium_) and, hanging it over his left shoulder, with his
bare right hand he wraps the loaf (_panis_) or cake (_placenta_) wholly
in the napkin and holds it thus to his breast. Standing thus he repeats
(some said "inaudibly") the exact words our Lord used at the
Institution.[69] He then makes the sign over (_signat_) the bread and the
wine, breaking (or cutting with a small knife lengthwise) the bread.
During these ceremonies the congregation stand, but at this point they
and he seat themselves at the table according to (Church) rank. As each
receives the bread and wine from him, he (the recipient) says:
"Benedicité, Senher," and he replies, "Deus vos benedicat." Thus "their
sacrifice is finished, and they believe that this is the Body and Blood
of Jesus Christ." The remains, if any, are reserved (_conservari_) until
after Easter, when they are consumed by the faithful.
§ 2. GRACE AT MEALS
First of all they stand in silent prayer, long enough to say thirty or
forty Pater nosters. Before sitting down they all bless the table by
saying, "Benedicite, Kyrie Eleison, Christe Eleison, Kyrie Eleison." Then
the eldest says in the vulgar tongue, "God, Who blessed the five loaves
and two fishes in the wilderness for His disciples, bless this table and
the things that are on it and shall be placed upon it," and he makes the
sign of the cross saying: "In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy
Spirit." After the meal the Elder gives thanks, saying in the vulgar
tongue Revelation vii. 12, adding: "May God give good reward and food to
all who benefit and bless us: may God Who gives us temporal food give us
spiritual food: may God be with us and we with Him always," and the rest
answer, Amen. In blessing the table and in returning thanks they lift
their hands clasped and faces to heaven. Then, if time and place were
opportune, would follow a sermon or instruction, but this was usually
deferred until after supper when the day's work was done, and they could
speak with less danger, and, if prudence suggested, in the dark. Teaching
was positive rather than negative, for they began not by denouncing the
errors and vices of others, but by pointing out what being a disciple of
Christ involved according to the Scriptures. These they had in the vulgar
tongue, as well as in Latin. They would "read round," and those who could
not read would repeat from memory. They further supported their tenets by
"saint and doctor."
§ 3. THE CONSOLAMENTUM
This rite was, according to Reinéri Saccho, peculiar to the Catharists,
who gave it the alternative title of Imposition of hands, but Catholics,
Heretication.[70] By it Catharists believed that a person received the
gift of the Holy Ghost the Consolator, or Comforter--hence its name, and
those who submitted to the rites were called Consolati. Hence, as only
those were admitted who had proved themselves staunch and true to
Catharism, they were called indifferently Consolati or Perfecti, although
more strictly, the former was applicable only to the Catharists, and the
latter to the Waldenses. Many who shrank from the austere life which the
Consolamentum demanded postponed it until what they supposed to be their
last illness, so that the ceremonies had to be altered to suit the
circumstances, provided always that the imposition of hands was retained.
The person to be "consoled" must, if in health, prepare himself by a
three days' rigorous fast. At the service of initiation, a table or bench
covered with white towels and a book, called the Text, upon it, were
placed in the midst of the congregation arranged according to Church
rank. Within their midst, but at some distance from the table, stood the
candidate. The minister at the head of the table reminded him of the
ascetic life he would have to lead, the dangers and persecutions he would
have to endure, and that lapse meant eternal damnation, for there was no
salvation in the Roman Church. He was then asked if, with all this before
him, he would surrender himself wholly to God and the Gospel. On his
answering, Yes, he was further asked whether he would promise never to
eat meat, eggs, cheese, venison, oil or fish, never to lie or swear,
never to indulge any lust, never to touch a woman, never to kill, never
to eat without a companion or without saying the Lord's Prayer, never to
sleep unclothed, never to betray the Faith. Having made these promises,
the candidate advanced towards the minister by certain, usually three,
stages (_intervalla_), making at each stage his "melioramentum," i.e. he
bent the knee, touching the ground with his hands and saying,
"Benedicite," thus shewing that the minister was better (_melior_) than
himself.[71] At each stage the minister replied, "Deus vos benedicat." On
reaching the table he said: "Good Christians, I beg for God's blessing
and yours. Pray to God that He may keep me from a bad death, and bring me
to a good end and to the hands of good Christians." Then the minister
gave him the book to kiss, and placed it upon his head. Then all placed
their hands upon his head or shoulders, saying: "We worship Thee, Father,
Son and Holy Ghost," and the minister prayed that the Holy Ghost the
Consolator might descend upon him. When all had said the Lord's Prayer,
the minister read St. John i. 1-17. He then gave the candidate the kiss
of peace, and the candidate to the one next to him, and so on until all
the congregation had exchanged the salutation. If the "consoled" were a
woman, the minister, instead, touched her shoulder with the book, and her
elbow with his elbow, and she did the same, if the one next to her were a
man. He (or she) was given a small cord, "quo pro haeresi cingeretur," to
be worn round the body, next to the skin. The congregation then
separated, after congratulating the new member.
In the case of the sick, treatment varied. Some would not "console"
anyone not in full possession of his faculties and able to make the
answers. Others admitted such, provided that in some way other than by
speech he signified his assent. Others went further and "consoled" even
the unconscious at the urgent request of his friends anxious for his
eternal welfare. Thus sometimes even children were "consoled." In these
cases certain modifications were allowed in the ritual. Thus if the sick
man could not make his melioramentum, the minister took his hands within
his own, and the sick man would say "Benedicite," bending his head each
time. If he could not say the Lord's Prayer, others would say it for him.
If it were discovered that the officiating minister was in mortal sin
(according to Catharist law), the Consolamentum was invalid.
§ 4. THE ENDURA
Every inducement was now made to the sick man to end his life by any
means other than by direct violence. He was urged to undergo the
_Endura_, which took various forms. We read of this as early as A.D. 1028
in connection with a community at Montfort, near Turin, which taught that
death by illness or senile decay only shewed that Satan was still master
of the situation and could send the soul into another body. Here probably
we have the clue to the reasons for encouraging the practice of the
Endura. The "consoled" had solemnly promised not to kill, and therefore
could not directly commit suicide. But he could consummate the purpose of
God, Who had sent him the illness, by indirect means, and thwart the
world, the flesh and the devil by a speedy death. Several expedients were
adopted. Thus the "consoled" sick was asked whether he would be a martyr
or a confessor. If he said the former, a cushion or pillow was held over
his mouth for some time. Whether he recovered or succumbed, he was
henceforth held to be a martyr. If he said, a confessor, he had to remain
three days without food and drink, and whether the fast proved fatal or
not, he was called a confessor. At Ax, Peter Autéri, after some
hesitation, "consoled" an unconscious woman, and ordered that nothing
should be given her but pure water. She recovered and asked for food,
which, however, her daughter refused on religious grounds, but the mother
indignantly declined to be bound by promises made for her by others.
Mengard, a woman examined at Carcassonne in A.D. 1308, said her little
boy was hereticated when at the point of death, and she was ordered to
give him nothing but bread and water, for when he died he would be an
angel. But she refused not to give him the breast, and so he was not
fully hereticated. At the same Inquisition Raymond Issaun said that his
brother, William, after heretication had placed himself completely in the
Endura for about seven weeks, and stayed in a certain hut where he died,
and he was buried in the house of their father. Another method was
opening a vein and slowly bleeding to death in a bath; another, drinking
the juice of wild cucumbers mixed with powdered glass so that the
intestines were torn to pieces.
§ 5. PENANCE
This was administered by the Major, or by a Presbyter by delegation in
minor offences. After the penitent had confessed, the Major (or
Presbyter) pointed out how and to what extent he had offended against the
Holy Scriptures, and imposed a penance accordingly, saying: "I, being
entrusted with the authority of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, bid
thee on behalf of our Lord Jesus Christ Who instituted this holy
sacrament of penance in His Church, perform such penance as I impose upon
thee."[72] No indulgences were granted. Absolution was from the fault,
not from its punishment.
§ 6. FASTS
"The Manichees of modern times," as they are called in the Acts of the
Inquisition at Carcassonne, had three Fasts of forty days during the
year, (_a_) From St. Britius (Nov. 13th) to Christmas. (_b_) Lent. (_c_)
From Whitsun to SS. Peter and Paul (June 29th), which, therefore, could
not always have been forty days. The first and last week of each Fast
they called "strict," for then they fasted on bread and water, but in the
other weeks of the Fast on only three days--Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Others observed these three days as Fasts throughout the year, unless
they were travelling or were ill. Others, again, because flesh was
repulsive to them, and to mark their difference from the Roman Church,
would eat flesh on Roman Fast days, but not when their own and Roman
Fasts coincided.
[68] Cod. Vat. 4030.
[69] _v._ pp. 47, note, 62.
[70] Also, more rarely, la Convenenza or the Agreement.
[71] This obeisance was made to him not personally but officially, as
merely the instrument or agent of the Holy Spirit.
[72] _v. supra_, p. 66.
CHAPTER V
A SUMMARY
In attempting to summarize the foregoing testimonies of friend and foe we
must again guard ourselves against the inference that doctrinal
similarity with previous heresies involves organic succession. Historical
links fail us when we attempt to construct the genealogical table. The
general fact to be recognized is that while the Catholic Church had
expelled those ancient heresies from her doors, their odour remained,
and, remaining, reminded her members of problems about God and man,
spirit and flesh, time and eternity to which only revelation, and not
speculation, could supply the answer.
_The Nature of God._ The resemblance between the Dualism of Gnosticism
and Catharism is obvious. Each taught both an absolute and a modified
Dualism; but a closer study shews us that whereas with Gnosticism (and
particularly Manicheism) this dogma was fundamental, with Catharism it
became more and more subordinate to discipline and conduct. It was
offered as a solution to the mystery of evil, but in the catechizing of
their candidates for membership, no question touching Dualism was put to
them. Thus discipline of life was presented to them not as a struggle
with an evil God, but as a following of Apostolic Christianity and a
practical protest against a corrupt hierarchy. The Lord's Prayer was used
as much as a Creed as a Prayer, yet there is not the slightest evidence
that they understood "ἀπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ" to be "from the evil _one_."
_The Nature of Christ._ The Albigenses were constantly charged with
holding Docetic views of Christ. Yet they believed in an Incarnation,
though not that of the Nicene Creed. They were prepared to say that
Christ was born "in virgine," but not "ex virgine," or as the Paulicians
put it, "δι' αὐτῆς ὡς διὰ σωλῆνος διεληλυθέναι" The basic belief in the
utter sinfulness of flesh was an insuperable obstacle to belief in the
sinlessness of the Incarnate Christ, an obstacle which late in
Christianity the theory of the Immaculate Conception attempts to
surmount. The Manichees, under Parsic influence, taught that as "the
light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness overcame it not," so the
Christ could not enter a human body, except in appearance; and the
Priscillianists denied a human body to Him, and said He was innascibilis,
because the human body was the seat of sin. The Albigensian solution was
that Christ was created sinless man in heaven, and in His perfect nature
of body, soul and spirit was born in the Virgin Mary. The one passage of
Scripture which was read at their distinctive service--the
Consolamentum--was St. John i. 1-17, where the order is "the Word was
made flesh and (then) dwelt among us." The two clauses in the Creed,
therefore, should be reversed and run: "He was made man, and came down
from heaven." It followed from this real humanity of Christ that His
suffering was real and not Docetic. Hence the Albigenses regarded the
Cross as an instrument and symbol of the actual shame and suffering of
Christ, and, as such, should not be honoured.
_The Nature of the Holy Ghost._ Although the Albigenses in their services
paid worship to the Holy Trinity by their frequent "Adoremus," they did
not accept the position of the Council of Chalcedon. Both the Son and the
Holy Spirit were, according to them, created by God the Father, and there
was a difference of essence (_substantia_) between the three Persons. The
Father was greater than the Son (St. John xiv. 28) and the Holy Ghost,
and the Son greater than the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost did not function
in the world until after the Ascension of Christ. He does not Himself
enter into man at the imposition of hands. The perfect man as made in the
image of God has a tripartite nature of body, soul (_anima_) and spirit.
Owing to sin man's spirit went back to heaven, and hence the present
imperfect man consists of corpus and anima. But the spiritus of each man
is guardian and guide (_custos_, _rector_) of the anima, and is restored
to him by the Paraclete or Principal (i.e. _the_ Holy) Spirit by the
imposition of hands.[73]
_The Nature of their Church._ The basis of Gnosticism was knowledge
(γνῶσις), but that of Catharism faith (_fides_). The Gnostics or
γνωστικοί repelled the πιστικοί, whereas the πιστικοί or Credents formed
the great majority of the Catharists. Gnosticism was esoteric, Catharism
exoteric. Gnosticism was intellectual, Catharism spiritual. Catharism
taught that none could be saved outside its fold, but none were
predestined from entering that fold. If this is Gnosticism it is the
Gnosticism of Marcion, the mildest of all Gnostics. (The only exception
to this "Catholicism" was due to the emphasis which the Catharists laid
upon Faith itself, whereby they were led to exclude infants from
membership, because they could not be certain of a member's faith until
he avowed it.) Hence, where Gnostics founded schools, admission to which
was grudgingly granted, Catharism founded churches with an ever-open door
for all.
The movement failed--failed in spite of all its zeal, self-sacrifice,
sincerity and Scripturalness. With the political and military forces
ultimately brought to bear against it we are not here concerned. Without
these, however, it was doomed to failure through its own weaknesses and
divisions. It was a bold bid for freedom of thought and speech in all
matters of religion. It was a revolt against the assumption that all must
believe alike, and that the laity must never question what the priesthood
taught. The Infallibility of the Church had become practically an Article
of the Faith. And because this indefeasible right of man was declared by
the Church to be indefensible, independence changed into intolerance, and
freedom into disruption. But any upheaval, social or religious, to be
successful must be united and progressive. It must be of one heart and
one mind in defence and attack. It must also convince the people that it
has recovered old truths or discovered new. The indispensable Foundation
of Belief is one God: a religion which starts with two, and yet protests
that it is Christian, whatever other merits it may possess, can never
attract and retain the adherence of that or any other age, whatever
relation it might seek to establish between the two. Catharism from the
very beginning was a house divided against itself as to the God of its
worship and obedience. The Albigensian Christ offered no Atonement,
all-sufficient and complete, for the sins of men, and so brought to men
no peace which passeth all understanding. Their "perfect" life was
impracticable and would have brought society to an end. All agree that
the Waldenses, who started _de novo_ from the Scriptures, and endeavoured
to live and teach according to their precepts, began solely as reformers
and not as schismatics. Yet even they could not keep themselves untainted
by the stronger and more numerous Catharists, and it was easy for their
enemies to convince an uncritical age that there was little difference
between them. The Albigenses have perished, the Waldenses remain, and
such seekers after truth ever will, who
"Correct the portrait by the living face,
Man's God by God's God, in the mind of man."
[73] This is Moneta's view. Moneta's great work is the chief, as it is
the only contemporary systematic investigation of Catharism. It was
published under the editorship of Augustine Riccheni, Professor at
Bologna, at Rome in A.D. 1743. Of Moneta himself we know little. He was
born at Cremona, and, fired by the eloquence of the Dominican Friar,
Reginald, entered that Order in A.D. 1220, an Order which arose specially
to combat Albigensianism. He was appointed Censor of the Faith at Milan,
and died some time after A.D. 1240.
INDEX
A
Absolution, 53, 66, 71, 79
Abstinence, 72
Ademar, 32
Agobard, 26
Alan de Insulis, 48
Albi, 5, 41, 47
Angels, 34, 51, 64
Apocrypha, 10, 12
Apostolic Succession, 65
Ave Maria, 75
B
Baptism, 31, 36, 43, 45, 53, 57, 60, 62, 67, 70
Bernard, 40
Bible, 13, 16, 22, 34, 47, 54, 75, 83
Bishops, 15, 24, 28, 44, 52, 75
Bogomiles, 14
Bulgaria, 12
C
Celibacy, 32, 39, 74
Charlemagne, 22, 24
Christ, 51, 53, 55, 89
Confession, 31, 44, 49, 56, 57, 76
Consolamentum, 15, 32, 70, 83 _seq._
Conversion, 21
Councils, 15, 23, 33, 35, 36, 39, 41, 42, 47
Credents, 51, 52, 60, 66 _seq._
Creed, 44, 46
Cross, 37, 38, 53, 57
Crusaders, 14
D
Deacons, 52, 75 _seq._
Donatists, 10
Dualism, 10, 15, 30, 40, 51, 54, 56, 63
E
Easter, 81
Endura, 85
Ermengard, 50, 67
Euchites, 14
Eymeric, 30
F
Fasts, 81, 87
G
Galatia, Gaul, 13, 19, 20
Gascony, 47
Gnosticism, 16, 18, 90
Good Friday, 37, 80
Good Men, 42, 51, 68, 71
Grace at Meals, 82
H
Henricians, 38
Heresy, 5
Heretication, 67
Holy Spirit, 34, 57, 58, 65, 84, 89
I
Imposition of hands, 34, 40, 52, 54, 67, 75, 78
Incarnation, 34
Indulgences, 57
Innocent III, 27, 50
Inquisitions, 12, 56, 59, 60, 61, 86
K
Kiss of peace, 67, 84
L
Laity, 57
Literature, 26, 28
Lombers, 42
Lord's Supper, 31, 34, 37, 40, 43, 44, 51, 53, 57, 62, 76, 79, 80 _seq._
M
Majors, 60, 66, 75, 77 _seq._
Manichees, 6, 9, 32, 39, 58
Matrimony, 27, 32, 36, 37, 40, 43, 45, 53, 54, 57, 59, 62
Melioramentum, 69, 70, 71, 84
Moneta, 6, 26, 90
N
New Testament, 12, 16, 22, 40, 43, 54, 71
Nicetas, 15
Novellani, 74
O
Oaths, 29, 40, 56, 58, 71
Old Testament, 10, 16, 40, 43, 51, 55, 60
Orders, 36, 54, 57, 76, 79
P
Pater noster, 12, 52, 68 _seq._, 75, 81, 84
Paulicians, 11 _seq._
Penance, 31, 43, 53, 54, 86 _seq._
Perfecti, 15, 28, 32, 51, 59, 73 _seq._
Peter Chrysogonus, 46
Peter de Vaux-Sarnai, 5, 50
Peter Waldo, 25, 49
Petrobrusians, 36
Philippopolis, 13, 14
Pontifical, 77, 78
Poplicani, 11, 17, 41
Prayer, 34, 37, 53, 59
Presbyters, 44, 63, 68 _seq._, 76 _seq._
Priscillianists, 10
Provençal, 22
Purgatory, 53, 54, 57
R
Reinéri Saccho, 52
Resurrection, 32, 34, 40, 51, 54
Revenge, 61
Rheims, 35, 39
S
Sacraments, 31
Sandaliati, 74
Septuagint, 12
Slavs, 20
T
Tithes, 53
Toulouse, 5, 28, 35, 36, 41, 46, 47, 50, 56
Tours, 41
Trinity, 34, 69
U
Unction, extreme, 57
V
Virgin Mary, 32, 34, 57
Vulgate, 12
W
Waldenses, 47, 49, 50, 52, 55-58, 61, 62, 66, 67, 76, 79
STUDIES IN CHURCH HISTORY
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Transcriber's note:
Apparent typographical errors have been corrected.
One unpaired double quotation mark remains in the text.