Les Albigeois - L'église véritable ? Recherche sur l' interprétation ecclésiologique de l'Ecclesia Dei
Authors: Müller Daniela 
Published: June 2024

The expanding of historical research in mediaeval catharism makes it necessary to deepen the analysis of cathar theologie.

To be in the heart of the subject, it is necessary to try and understand what this group of Cathars represented in their own eyes , they who considered themselves as being the true «Ecclesia Dei», and were such a serious menace to the Roman Church during the 12 th century, because they claimed to be the direct sons of the apostles.

An attempt must be made to restore an objective image of the Albigenses, using their own account which contains a very rigorous, dualistic explanation of God and the Cosmos ; and this, even though they did have conceptions that were surprisingly divers. Which might mean that, after all, dualism was not really an essentiel basis of their faith and doctrine.

For the Albigenses themselves, what was essential was the authenticity of the apostolical filiation. It well seems that was a variant of absolute dualism, for the sme powers were never attributed to the good and to the evil principles.

If, as I believe, to the Albigenses, «being» always means «love-being», the position of «nihil» is then, in their eyes, that of «being without love» ! It is, to start with, by means of the «Consolamentum» that man may reach this degree of «love-being».

Thus, it was clear, for the Albigenses, that true Baptism had been founded by Christ. And in as much as he had generated the cathar Church, and the ceremony of Consolamentum so neces¬ sary for the salvation of the soul, so was He also the Saviour from demoniacal powers, the propria-tiation for the redemption of mankind, the messenger of the True Doctrine.

Without Him, there was no atonement possible for man. It was in the «Ecclesia Dei» that equality between all men, such as God willed it, was to be achieved. Considered as having been founded by Christ, the «Ecclesia Dei» was to be maintained, and brought to perfection, by the whole community. The concept of the «Ecclesia Dei», such as it was felt by the Albigenses, brought on a refusal to accept temporal power, and aimed at the abrogation of the Roman Church, out of which the Albigenses wished to remain because they already considered themselves as being a church in itself.

But even if the Roman Church used the means of Evil to inflict suffering and death upon good Christians ; and if it did offer to the Albigenses the very image of life as it was on this earth, it was, in fact, quite a necessary factor, because it was alone to proffer those means of purification that were required to attain salvation, and this even though the Albigensian religion was one that contained no anguish or fear, because their belief in reincarnation and the final redemption of all souls left no place for the threat of Purgatory or Hell. And thus did the Albigenses offer to mankind a faith that was devoid of horror. They lost their battle against the temporal power which, at that period, was detained by Church and State ; and they sadly failed in their mission which was an attempt to free man from physical constraints, and therefore from the grasp of Evil.
(Trad. G. Moreau)