The Piagnoni were a group of Christians who followed the teachings of

Girolamo Savonarola Girolamo Savonarola, OP (, , ; 21 September 1452 – 23 May 1498) or Jerome Savonarola was an Italian Dominican friar from Ferrara and preacher active in Renaissance Florence. He was known for his prophecies of civic glory, the destruction of ...

. The later Piagnoni remained in 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 ...

and kept a mixture with the teachings of

Catholic dogma A dogma of the Catholic Church is defined as "a truth revealed by God, which the magisterium of the Church declared as binding." The '' Catechism of the Catholic Church'' states: Dogma can also pertain to the collective body of the church's d ...

and the teachings of Girolamo Savonarola. The name Piagnoni (meaning weepers) was given because they wept for their sins and the sins of the world.

Beliefs

The Piagnoni believed the message of Savonarola: that clergy need to stick to their sacramental functions, leave charitable work for the laity, Savonarola also preached against what he saw as "lax and corrupt clergy", and called for a theocratic republic and religious reform. The Piagnoni also opposed secular items deemed sinful by Girolamo Savonarola such as cosmetics, secular art and many musical instruments, which they burned in 1497.

History

While Savonarola was still alive the Piagnoni supported the campaigns of Savonarola against illicit sex, gambling and blasphemy. Savonarola also organized bandits that persuaded the people to hand over secular items to be burned. The Piagnoni survived underground, even after Medici rule was installed into Florence, however they gradually abandoned their goals. The Piagnoni are also linked to the presence of reformation ideas in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

as some later Piagnoni already in 1520 praised the views of

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

. Many other late followers of Savonarola were first attracted to Luther's attacks of the pope and clergy, but later had disagreements with his other theology. Houghton Inc 6316

Some Piagnoni converted to

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

, while other Piagnoni wrote against the views of Luther. Petrus Bernandinus was a follower of Savonarola and had a fanatical zeal to the teachings of Savonarola. Peter preached in Florence while Savonarola was alive and after he died. Later Peter and his companions were burned for heresy and others were expelled from Florence.

Philip Neri Philip Romolo Neri ( ; it, italics=no, Filippo Romolo Neri, ; 22 July 151526 May 1595), known as the "Second Apostle of Rome", after Saint Peter, was an Italian priest noted for founding a society of secular clergy called the Congregation of th ...

was a devoted follower of the teachings of Girolamo Savonarola, later he would be an influential figure in the

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...

References

{{Proto-Protestantism 15th-century Christianity Girolamo Savonarola