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

Cathars Catharism ( ; from the , "the pure ones") was a Christian quasi- dualist and pseudo-Gnostic movement which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France, between the 12th and 14th centuries. Denounced as a he ...

, 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 ...

'' to the assembled Cathar bishops (some newly appointed), was ''papa'' Nicetas, Bogomil bishop of

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. 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 Archdiocese of Albi(); () is a Latin archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is suffragan to the Archdiocese of Toulouse, and it comprises the department of Tarn. In the 12th century, the spread of alternative beliefs in the regio ...

Mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

, bishop of Lombardy, apparently synonymous with

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Bernard Raimond Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It has West Germanic origin and is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern ...

bishop of Toulouse The Archdiocese of Toulouse (–Saint Bertrand de Comminges–Rieux) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the Department of Haute-Garonne and its seat is Toulouse Cathedral. Archbi ...

# Gerald Mercier, bishop of Carcassonne # 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 churches of early Christianity mentioned in the New Testament Book of Revelation. All of them were located in Asia Min ...

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

Bogomils Bogomilism (; ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", bogumilstvo, богумилство) was a Christian neo-Gnostic, dualist sect founded in the First Bulgarian Empire by the priest Bogomil during the reign of Tsar Peter I in the 10th century. I ...

, 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 ( , , ; ; ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and was ...

to Lerida.

Bibliography

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

Saint Félix Felix is a masculine given name that originates from the Latin word (genitive ), meaning "happy" or "lucky". The feminine forms are Felicia or Felicity. The name was popularized by early Christian saints and Roman emperors. In modern usag ...

1167 in Europe 1160s in France