The Council of Saint-Félix, a landmark in the organisation of 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 ...

, was held at Saint-Felix-de-Caraman, now called

Saint-Félix-Lauragais Saint-Félix-Lauragais (; Languedocien: ''Sant Felitz de Lauragués'') is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France. History The village was previously called Saint-Félix-de-Caraman or Carmaing. In 1167 the Cathars held ...

, in 1167. The senior figure, who apparently presided and gave the ''

consolamentum ''Consolamentum'' (called heretication by its Catholic opponents) was the unique sacrament of the Cathars. Cathars believed in original sin, and – like Gnostics – believed temporal pleasure to be sinful or unwise. The process of living thus i ...

'' to the assembled Cathar bishops (some newly appointed), was ''papa''

Nicetas, Bogomil bishop Nicetas, known only from Latin sources who call him ''papa'' Nicetas, is said to have been the Bogomil bishop of Constantinople. In the 1160s he went to Lombardy. His purpose was apparently to reinforce the dualist beliefs of the Cathars of these r ...

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

. The acts of the council are known from a printed text published by Guillaume Besse in the 17th century, a copy he made of a now lost 1223 copy that he possessed. The genuineness of this document has been doubted. The copy seen by Besse had been made in 1223 by Pierre Poulhan, who was (at that date or soon after) Cathar bishop of Carcassonne. According to Besse's text, the following Cathar bishops were recognised by the council and consoled by Nicetas: # Robert d'Espernon, bishop of the French, i.e. of northern France # Sicard le Cellerier,

bishop of Albi The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Albi (–Castres–Lavaur) (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Albiensis (–Castrensis–Vauriensis)''; French: ''Archidiocèse d'Albi (–Castres–Lavaur)''), usually referred to simply as the Archdiocese of Albi, is a ...

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fi ...

, bishop of Lombardy, apparently synonymous with

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

# Bernard Raimond,

bishop of Toulouse The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toulouse (–Saint Bertrand de Comminges–Rieux) ( la, Archidioecesis Tolosana (–Convenarum–Rivensis); French: ''Archidiocèse de Toulouse (–Saint-Bertrand de Comminges–Rieux-Volvestre)''; Occitan: ''A ...

# Gerald Mercier,

bishop of Carcassonne The Diocese of Carcassonne and Narbonne (Latin: ''Dioecesis Carcassonensis et Narbonensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Carcassonne et Narbonne'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese c ...

# Raymond de Casals,

bishop of Agen The Diocese of Agen (Latin: ''Dioecesis Agennensis''; French: ''Diocèse d'Agen'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The Diocese of Agen comprises the ''département'' of Lot-et-Garonne, in t ...

Nicetas instructed the assembly that, just as the

Seven Churches of Asia The Seven Churches of Revelation, also known as the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse and the Seven Churches of Asia, are seven major Churches of Early Christianity, as mentioned in the New Testament Book of Revelation. All of them are located in ...

did not interfere with one another's independence, neither did the modern bishoprics of 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 ...

, and nor must the bishoprics of the Cathars. Boundsmen were appointed to determine the boundary between the bishoprics of Toulouse and Carcassonne: the latter was given a large territory extending from

Narbonne Narbonne (, also , ; oc, Narbona ; la, Narbo ; Late Latin:) is a commune in France, commune in Southern France in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. It lies from Paris in the Aude Departments of Franc ...

Lerida Lleida (, ; Spanish: Lérida ) is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital city of the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It is also the capital city of the Segrià comarca, as ...

Bibliography

* Guillaume Besse, ''Histoire des ducs, marquis et comtes de Narbonne'' (Paris, 1660) pp. 483–6: Latin text. *

Jean Duvernoy Jean Duvernoy (1 January 1917 – 19 August 2010, Saint-Jean de Luz) was a French medievalist. Born in 1917 in Bourgoin to a Protestant family, he began to study the Waldensians and later Catharism. He edited and translated a great number of sour ...

, ''Le catharisme: l'histoire des cathares'' (Toulouse: Privat, 1979) pp. 215–219: French translation. * B. Hamilton, J. Hamilton, ''Christian dualist heresies in the Byzantine world c. 650-c. 1450'' (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1998) pp. 250–252: English translation. * Judith Mann, ''The Trail of Gnosis'' (Gnosis Traditions Press 2002) p108 {{DEFAULTSORT:Council of Saint-Felix Catharism 12th-century church councils 1167 in Europe 1160s in France