Pope Innocent III's Crusade To Eradicate The Heretical Cathars In Southern France

In 1209 AD, Pope Innocent III called a crusade to eradicate the heretical Cathars in southern France. The Catharis religious movement began in the town of Albi, which is why the twenty-year period of fighting became known as the Albigensian Crusade. The Catholic Church condemned Cathars as being heretics because of their dualistic beliefs; however, Cathars considered themselves to be “true” Christians since the term Cathar comes from the Greek katharos, which means pure or clean. The religion was based on the notion that the material world was evil, and that the God of the New Testament was a good God and creator of the spiritual world, while the Old Testament God was evil and creator of the physical world. Furthermore, they believed that since