Catharism

founder of the Order of the preachers, fell into a coma (Marshall, 2011). St Dominic experienced an apparition of Mary whilst in the coma and who presented him with the Rosary to help in his quest to convert the Albigensian Cathar heretics from Catharism, the Christian dualist, into Catholicism (Marshall, 2011). Once he woke up from his coma, Saint Dominic prayed the holy Rosary and it soon started to become a popular form of prayer in the catholic religion. Rosary beads essentially…

Number I There are several reasons for the start of the Crusades. The rapid expansion of Islam leading to the Holy War is one of the main causes. Western Europe is the main region where Christian concept took root and grew into Holy War. Even with the close measures of the Islamic Kingdoms, Byzantine Christians, never found value in waging or condoning war. Within a century of Constantine I’s rule, “[c]hristians in government found themselves faced with questions of life and death, war and…

From the Christian Martyrs in Ancient Rome to the suppression of Catharism in the 13th and 14th centuries, the Counter-Reformation and the 30 Years War that followed it, religious condemnation and persecution has been commonplace throughout European History, including the medieval era. Often, this persecution in fact benefitted the persecutors personally, rather than being a selfless act to ensure the faith remained ‘pure’. This was no less true during the 12th century Renaissance – the time of…

Thessa G. Smith 103 Stratford Road-Greenwood, SC 29649 864.377.0400 tgsmith@umcsc.org Thessa G. Smith 103 Stratford Road – Greenwood, SC 29649 Cell phone: 864.377.0400 tgsmith@umcsc.org Disciplinary Questions – Part I Describe your personal experience of God and the understanding of God you derive from biblical, theological and historical sources. I have a personal relationship with God the Father through the redemptive power of Jesus Christ and the keeping power of…