Perfect (also known as a in French or in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

) was the name given by

Bernard of Clairvaux Bernard of Clairvaux, O. Cist. ( la, Bernardus Claraevallensis; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templars, and a major leader in the reformation of the Benedictine Order through ...

to the leaders of the mediaeval Christian religious movement in southern France and northern Italy commonly referred to as the

Cathars Catharism (; from the grc, καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure ones") was a Christian dualist or Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France. Fol ...

. The were not clerics in any way, but merely members who had become 'adepts' in the teaching, and whose role was that of aiding other ordinary members achieve the rewards of belief and practice. The term reflects the fact that such a person was seen by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

as the "perfect heretic". As "" (their term), were expected to follow a lifestyle of extreme austerity and

renunciation Renunciation (or renouncing) is the act of rejecting something, especially if it is something that the renunciant has previously enjoyed or endorsed. In religion, renunciation often indicates an abandonment of pursuit of material comforts, in t ...

of the world which included abstaining from eating meat and avoiding all sexual contact. They were thus recognized as trans-material (i.e. spiritualized) angels by their followers, the ( in French, ''Believers'' in English). were drawn from all walks of life and counted aristocrats, merchants and peasants among their number. Women could also become and were known as or .

Catharism

Catharism Catharism (; from the grc, καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure ones") was a Christian dualist or Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France. Follow ...

itself was a Christian religious movement with dualistic and

Gnostic Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized pe ...

elements that appeared in the

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...

region of France (

Occitania Occitania ( oc, Occitània , , or ) is the historical region in Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe where the Occitan language, Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes still used as a second language. This ...

at the time) around the middle of the 12th century. The movement was branded by the

heretical Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

with some authorities denouncing them as not being Christian at all. It existed throughout much of Western Europe (including

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

and

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

in Spain, the

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

and

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

in Northern Europe and

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

and

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

in Italy), but its focus was in the

and surrounding areas of what is now southern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. In addition it had links with the similar Christian movement the

Bogomils Bogomilism ( Bulgarian and Macedonian: ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", bogumilstvo, богумилство) was a Christian neo-Gnostic or dualist sect founded in the First Bulgarian Empire by the priest Bogomil during the reign of Tsar P ...

(Friends of God) from the Balkans. The Cathars were ruthlessly suppressed and finally exterminated by the Catholic Church in the 14th century. The Cathars believed that there were two principal powers in the Universe. One,

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

, was entirely good and dwelt in a condition of pure Spirit and Light, while the other,

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...

Lucifer Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passage ...

, "the prince of this world" was entirely evil and ruled over the world of Matter, hence their rejection of physical pleasures. This dualism they drew from a particular reading of the Gospels, for example "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit" (

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

3:6). For the Cathars,

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

was an emissary of the Light sent into this world to lead humanity back to God. Each individual contained within them a shard of the Divine Light, the Angelic Soul which was trapped in a "garment" of flesh (the Body) by

. While confined in this "garment" of matter the Soul would forget its origin with God and instead find itself suffering the privations of this world. Cathars held to a doctrine of

Reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...

, believing that the Soul was doomed to incarnate into this world time and again until through a process of spiritual growth and purification it was able to return to God through Christ and the

Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...

. According to the records of the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

, it was believed that this process of death and rebirth towards final Perfection took place over seven lives:

Denying also the Resurrection of the flesh, they invented some unheard of notions, saying, that our souls are those of angelic spirits who, being cast down from heaven by the apostasy of pride, left their glorified bodies in the air; and that these souls themselves, after successively inhabiting seven terrene bodies, of one sort or another, having at length fulfilled their penance, return to those deserted bodies.

Many Perfects chose to become so late in their lives, choosing to abjure their previous existences for their spiritual beliefs. The famous female Perfect Esclarmonde of Foix, for instance, became a after having reared eight children with her husband, who consented to her choice. Thus, the decision to achieve this state was reached after some experience in the world. The Cathar Perfect was believed to have reached the point in his or her cycle of incarnations at which the state of spiritual purity had been achieved through which the Holy Spirit could dwell within them, thus releasing them from the burden of reincarnation and the suffering of this world. Their ministry among the was to help them in their journey through this life and perhaps enable them to move closer to the spiritual state in which they too could return to God. As Perfects they were seen to be "equal unto the angels" and thus already semi-divine by Cathar believers.

Initiation and lifestyle

A Cathar Perfect had to undergo a rigorous training of three years before being inducted as a member of the spiritual elite of the religious movement. This took place during a ceremony in which various Scriptural extracts were quoted, including, most particularly, the opening verses of the

Gospel of John The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...

. The ceremony was completed by a ritual

laying on of hands The laying on of hands is a religious practice. In Judaism ''semikhah'' ( he, סמיכה, "leaning f the hands) accompanies the conferring of a blessing or authority. In Christian churches, this practice is used as both a symbolic and formal met ...

, or ''Manisola'', as the candidate vowed to abjure the world and accept the Holy Spirit. At this point, the believed, the Holy Spirit was able to descend and dwell within the new Perfect—hence the austere lifestyle needed to provide a pure dwelling place for the Spirit. Once in this state of housing the Holy Spirit within themselves, the Perfect were believed to have become "trans-material" or semi-angelic, not yet released from the confines of the body but containing within them an enhanced spirituality which linked them to God even in this world, as expressed in the

Gospel of Luke The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-volu ...

But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels: and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.
Luke People *Luke (given name), a masculine given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke (surname) (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luke. Also known as ...
20:36

Cathar Perfects travelled the

in twos, in imitation of Christ's instructions to the Apostles in the

Gospels Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

(such as

Luke People *Luke (given name), a masculine given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke (surname) (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luke. Also known as ...

10:1–12). Male and female Perfects always travelled with partners of the same sex to avoid sexual temptation. This prompted their enemies to accuse them of homosexuality. On their travels, Perfects ministered to the (Believers), the rank and file of Catharism who were not expected to follow the austere lifestyle of the Perfects. They were healers and worked with the sick, sometimes using medicinal remedies, sometimes with laying on of hands. Following the instructions described in the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

, they walked from place to place and stayed in the houses of . Services and sacraments were held in people's homes or in places such as fields, forests or caves. One of their main roles was to administer the (Consolation) to the dying, which ensured admittance of the soul of the deceased to heaven, and normally required a request from the recipient to a Perfect for the . This meant that many Perfects would not administer the to those who were beyond reason or sentient speech, as they clearly undisposed to make the necessary request. One of the conditions of being a was the uttering of the , or Covenant when encountering a Perfect, which involved the request for the should they be dying. This was aimed at enabling the Perfect to bestow the sacrament to those whose illness meant they could not ask for it. As mentioned above, the

believed in a doctrine of

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...

, interpreting the idea of Eternal Life promised in the Bible as meaning release from the cycle of successive births in this world, which they believed to be ruled over by

. The was thought to purify the soul through the

before death to enable its ascent to

Persecution

Perfects often took great personal risks to visit the dying and faced certain death if caught. During the time of the Cathar suppression when the Church sent a

Crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were i ...

to destroy them, many Perfects led a hidden and itinerant existence – moving around under cover of darkness, and spending the days in barns or the woods. Many were burned at the stake by the Church. The last recorded Cathar Perfect was

Guillaume Bélibaste Guillaume Bélibaste ( occitan: Guilhèm Belibasta) is said to have been the last Cathar parfait in Languedoc. He was burned at the stake in 1321, as a result of the Inquisition at Pamiers led by Jacques Fournier (afterwards Pope Benedict XII). M ...

who was betrayed by a in the pay of the Church, and burnt to death in the 14th century.

Catharism

Initiation and lifestyle

Persecution

See also

References

Further reading