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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
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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
444:, "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" (
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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
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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
574:(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
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
633:, 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
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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.
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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
595:(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
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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
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Many
Perfects chose to become so late in their lives, choosing to abjure their previous existences for their spiritual beliefs. The famous female Perfect
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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
425:(Friends of God) from the Balkans. The Cathars were ruthlessly suppressed and finally exterminated by the Catholic Church in the 14th century.
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were drawn from all walks of life and counted aristocrats, merchants and peasants among their number. Women could also become
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with some authorities denouncing them as not being Christian at all. It existed throughout much of Western Europe (including
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seven terrene bodies, of one sort or another, having at length fulfilled their penance, return to those deserted bodies.
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Christian religious movement in southern France and northern Italy commonly referred to as the
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at the time) around the middle of the 12th century. The movement was branded by the
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806:– the story of the last cathars 1290–1329. René Weis. Penguin Viking 2000.
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in the pay of the Church, and burnt to death in the 14th century.
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itself was a Christian religious movement with dualistic and
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Massacre at Montsegur: A History of the Albigensian Crusade
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601:. This meant that many Perfects would not administer the
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in twos, in imitation of Christ's instructions to the
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London: C. J. G. and F. Rivington. pp. 392–394.
152:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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849:The Perfect Heretics: Conference and book (1995)
587:One of their main roles was to administer the
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741:Text and the Repression of Medieval Heresy
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738:Bruschi, Caterina; Biller, Peter (2003).
523:. The ceremony was completed by a ritual
230:Learn how and when to remove this message
212:Learn how and when to remove this message
110:Learn how and when to remove this message
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73:This article includes a list of general
16:Religious leaders of the Cathar movement
771:History of the Albigenses and Waldenses
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647:before death to enable its ascent to
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430:two principal powers in the Universe
413:in Italy), but its focus was in the
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834:(3rd ed.). Phoenix Press.
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746:York Medieval Press
689:Cathar yellow cross
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719:Two by Twos
655:Persecution
645:Holy Spirit
485:Bonne Femme
467:Inquisition
463:Holy Spirit
330:in French,
92:introducing
858:Categories
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616:Convanenza
172:newspapers
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39:improve it
874:Catharism
826:(2002) .
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563:(such as
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415:Languedoc
399:Rhineland
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561:Gospels
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455:Lucifer
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432:. One,
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327:Croyant
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