- Key People:
- Marcion of Pontus
- Cerinthus
- Related Topics:
- Arianism
- Montanism
- semi-Pelagianism
- Sabellianism
- Monarchianism
heresy
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What is heresy?
Heresy is a theological doctrine or system that is rejected as false by a religious authority. The term originally meant holding a particular set of philosophical opinions, but Christianity imbued it with a disapproving tone.
The Christian church considered itself the sole interpreter of divinely imparted revelation. Differing interpretations were deemed heretical. Churches historically combatted heresy by excommunicating heretics. The Inquisition was established to combat heresy in the 12th and 13th centuries, and unrepentant heretics were handed over to civil authorities, often for execution.
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Why was heresy important in the history of religions?
Heresy has played a significant role in the history of religions, particularly within Christianity. Initially, the term heresy was a neutral descriptor for holding specific philosophical opinions, but it evolved to denote theological doctrines rejected by religious authorities.
In Christianity, the church viewed itself as the sole interpreter of divinely revealed truths, thus considering differing interpretations as heresy. This led to the denouncement and combating of ideas and groups such as Docetism, Montanism, and Gnosticism. The Inquisition was established to combat heresy, and heretics faced excommunication, persecution, and even execution. The concept and combating of heresy has historically been less important in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam than in Christianity.
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How did different religions define heresy?
Heresy is a theological doctrine or system that ecclesiastical authority rejects as false. The Greek word hairesis, from which heresy is derived, originally meant holding particular philosophical opinions. However, Christianity appropriated the term, and it began to convey disapproval.
Christianity regards itself as the custodian of divine revelation and considers interpretations differing from the official one as heretical. St. Paul insisted his gospel message was identical to the Apostles', and the church devised criteria to test deviations to keep its teaching uncontaminated.
The concept of heresy has been historically less important in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam than in Christianity.
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What are some examples of heretical beliefs or groups?
Heresy is a theological doctrine or system that religious authorities reject as false. In Christianity, early heresies included docetism, which denied Jesus's human form, and Arianism, which denied his divinity. Gnosticism involved complex cosmologies to separate God from the evils of the material world.
The Pharisees and Sadducees were Jewish groups with differing interpretations of Jewish law and practice. The Pharisees emphasized oral tradition and were more flexible in interpreting the Torah, while the Sadducees, associated with wealthy landowners and priestly families, rejected the oral tradition.
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How were people accused of heresy treated in the past?
Historically, those accused of heresy faced severe consequences, particularly within Christianity. Heresy is a theological doctrine or system rejected as false by ecclesiastical authority.
The Inquisition was established to combat heresy. Those who voluntarily confessed to heresy and implicated others during a period of grace would receive light penances, but failure to appear before a tribunal was considered evidence of guilt. Those found guilty faced judicial penances such as pilgrimages, wearing yellow crosses (leading to ostracism), or imprisonment. Unrepentant heretics were handed over to secular authorities and burned at the stake, though the primary goal was reconciliation with the church.
The Roman Catholic Church viewed heresy seriously, with the ancient penalty of excommunication. Civil penalties, including death, emerged in the age of Constantine.
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How did the concept of heresy influence religious and political conflicts?
Heresy, a theological doctrine rejected by religious authority, has significantly influenced religious and political conflicts throughout history. In Christianity, differing interpretations of divinely revealed truths were deemed heretical, leading to excommunication and, during the Inquisition, punishment by civil authorities.
The concept of heresy also raised procedural questions in law. Legal procedure in criminal cases might be initiated by an accusation by a responsible individual or by a denunciation by a group of specially appointed synodal witnesses.
The Reformation brought a new situation in the 16th century that resulted in the breakup of Western Christendom’s previous doctrinal unity. The Roman Catholic Church has alone remained faithful to the ancient and medieval theory of heresy and occasionally denounces doctrines or opinions that it considers heretical.
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heresy, theological doctrine or system rejected as false by ecclesiastical authority. The Greek word hairesis (from which heresy is derived) was originally a neutral term that signified merely the holding of a particular set of philosophical opinions. Once appropriated by Christianity, however, the term heresy began to convey a note of disapproval. The term heresy also has been used among Jews, although they have not been as intense as Christians in their punishment of heretics. The concept and combating of heresy has historically been less important in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam than in Christianity.
In Christianity, the church from the start regarded itself as the custodian of a divinely imparted revelation which it alone was authorized to expound under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Thus, any interpretation that differed from the official one was necessarily “heretical” in the new, pejorative sense of the word. This attitude of hostility to heresy is evident in the New Testament itself. St. Paul, for instance, insists that his gospel message is identical with that of the Apostles, and in the later books of the New Testament the contrast in attitudes regarding approved doctrines and heretical ones is even more sharply drawn. In the 2nd century the Christian church became increasingly aware of the need to keep its teaching uncontaminated, and it devised criteria to test deviations. The Apostolic Fathers, 2nd-century Christian writers, appealed to the prophets and Apostles as sources of authoritative doctrine, and St. Irenaeus and Tertullian laid great stress on “the rule of faith,” which was a loose summary of essential Christian beliefs handed down from apostolic times. Later, the ecclesiastical and universal church council became the instrument for defining orthodoxy and condemning heresy. Eventually, in the Western church, the doctrinal decision of a council had to be ratified by the pope to be accepted.
During its early centuries, the Christian church dealt with many heresies. They included, among others, docetism, Montanism, adoptionism, Sabellianism, Arianism, Pelagianism, and gnosticism. See also Donatist; Marcionite; monophysite.
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Historically, the major means that the church had of combating heretics was to excommunicate them. In the 12th and 13th centuries, however, the Inquisition was established by the church to combat heresy; heretics who refused to recant after being tried by the church were handed over to the civil authorities for punishment, usually execution.
A new situation came about in the 16th century with the Reformation, which spelled the breakup of Western Christendom’s previous doctrinal unity. The Roman Catholic Church, satisfied that it is the true church armed with an infallible authority, has alone remained faithful to the ancient and medieval theory of heresy, and it occasionally denounces doctrines or opinions that it considers heretical. Most of the great Protestant churches similarly started with the assumption that their own particular doctrines embodied the final statement of Christian truth and were thus prepared to denounce as heretics those who differed with them, but, with the gradual growth of toleration and the 20th-century ecumenical movement, most Protestant churches drastically revised the notion of heresy as understood in the pre-Reformation church. It does not now seem to them inconsistent for people to stoutly maintain the doctrines of their own communion while not regarding as heretics those who hold different views. The Roman Catholic Church, too, draws a distinction between those who willfully and persistently adhere to doctrinal error and those who embrace it through no fault of their own—e.g., as a result of upbringing in another tradition.