It so happened that heretics, or rather the punishment of heretics, are most often remembered in connection with witch trials and the Inquisition - phenomena characteristic of European countries: mainly Italy, Southern France, Spain and Portugal. But it would be a mistake to think that in the lands beyond the control of the Pope, dissidents could feel safe. Public burning of a heretic - the most common measure of punishment - was practiced both in Byzantium and in Russia.
The birth of heresies
From the Greek word "heresy" is translated as "direction" or "school". At the dawn of Christianity, in the 1st-2nd centuries AD. e., a single cult system has not yet developed. There were many communities, sects, each of which interpreted certain aspects of the doctrine in its own way: the trinity, the nature of Christ and the Mother of God, eschatology, the hierarchical structure of the church. In the 4th century A. D. e. Emperor Constantine put an end to this: without the support of the secular authorities, the official church, then still weak, could not have unified the cult. Heresies were declared firstArianism, then Nestorianism. Donatists and Montanists were persecuted. Church hierarchs of the early Middle Ages, guided by the New Testament epistles, gave this concept a negative connotation. However, the burning of heretics at the stake was not yet commonplace in those days.
There were no bright political or social overtones in the heretical teachings of the beginning of a new era. But over time, believers began to criticize the existing church hierarchy, the cooperation of the church with the secular authorities, the enrichment of the priests and their hypocrisy.
Qatar
In the 11th-13th centuries bonfires blazed all over Europe. The burning of a heretic began to be presented to church hierarchs as the easiest way to get rid of the oppositionists. The split of the Church into Western (Catholic) and Eastern (Orthodox) in the 11th century served as an incentive for the emergence of new teachings. The most famous ideological opponents of the Catholic Church were the Cathars, or "pure". To a large extent, their developed theological system was based on pagan traditions, in particular on Manichaeism, which assumed the equality of the forces of God and the devil. The Cathars did not consider the device of the world to be perfect. They criticized state institutions, the money-grubbing of the clergy, and openly called the Pope a servant of the devil. The Cathars preached asceticism, virtue, diligence. They created their own church organization and enjoyed great prestige. Sometimes the word "Cathars" unite representatives of other teachings that have similar features: the Waldensians, Bogomils,Paulician. In 1209, Pope Innocent III took the Cathars seriously, proposing to the neighboring feudal lords to eradicate the heretics and take their lands for themselves.
How they fought heretics
The clergy preferred to deal with the dissident hands of worldly rulers. Those most often did not mind, because they themselves were afraid of excommunication from the church. In 1215, Innocent III created a special body of church court - the Inquisition. Workers (mainly from the Order of the Dominicans - "Dogs of the Lord") were to look for heretics, make accusations against them, interrogate and punish.
The trial of a heretic was usually accompanied by torture (executive art during this period received an incentive to develop, and an impressive arsenal of torture instruments was formed). But regardless of how the inquiry ended, the sentencing and execution should have been carried out by a secular person. What was the most common verdict? The burning of a heretic in front of a large crowd of people. Why incineration? Because the execution had to be such that the Church could not be convicted of bloodshed. In addition, the flame was endowed with purifying properties.
Auto-da-fe
The burning of a heretic was an act of intimidation. Therefore, as many people of all classes as possible should have been present at the execution. The ceremony was scheduled for a holiday and was called "auto-da-fe" ("act of faith"). The day before, they decorated the square, built stands for noblemen and public toilets. It was customary to wrap church bells in wet cloth: this is how they soundedmore muffled and mournful. In the morning the priest celebrated mass, the inquisitor read a sermon, and the schoolchildren sang hymns. Finally, the verdicts were announced. Then they were carried out. The burning of a heretic was one of the most severe punishments carried out as part of the auto-da-fé. Also practiced: penance (for example, pilgrimage), life-long wearing of shameful signs, public flagellation, imprisonment.
But if the charge was serious, the convict had almost no chance. As a result of torture, the "heretic" in most cases admitted his guilt. After that, they strangled him and burned a corpse tied to a post. If, just before the execution, he suddenly began to deny what he had said the day before, he would be burned alive, sometimes on a slow fire (raw firewood was specially prepared for this).
Who else was equated with heretics?
If one of the relatives of the convict did not come to the execution, he could be suspected of complicity. Therefore, auto-da-fé has always been popular. Despite the fact that almost anyone could have taken the place of the convict, the crowd mocked the "heretics" and showered insults on them.
The burning threatened not only the political and ideological opponents of the Church and the feudal lords. Women were massively executed on charges of witchcraft (it was convenient to shift the blame for various kinds of disasters to them), scientists - mainly astronomers, philosophers and doctors (since the church relied on the ignorance of the people and was not interested in spreading knowledge), inventors (for attemptsimprovement of the world ideally arranged by God), fugitive monks, non-believers (especially Jews), preachers of other religions. In fact, anyone could be convicted for anything. Note also that the church took away the property of the executed.
The Church and heretics in Russia
The Old Believers have become the main enemies of the Orthodox Church. But the split occurred only in the 17th century, and before that time, representatives of various heresies of an ideological and social persuasion were actively burned throughout the country: Strigolniks, Judaizers and others. They were also executed for possession of heretical books, blasphemy against the church, Christ and the Mother of God, witchcraft, and escapes from the monastery. In general, Muscovy differed little from Spain in terms of the fanaticism of the local "inquisitors", except that the executions were more diverse and had national specifics: for example, the burning of a heretic was carried out not on a pillar, but in a log house.
The Russian Orthodox Church only in 1971 admitted its misconceptions about the Old Believers. But she never brought repentance to other "heretics".
