Dissimulation, secret et allégorie dans le dualisme chrétien du Moyen Age: paulicianisme, bogomilisme, catharisme
Despite the malevolent attitude of Orthodox and Catholic adversaries, their accusations are not out-and-out fabrications. Fear may not be considered sufficient motivation, given that these dissidents were generally credited with courage in the face of persecution and death, nonetheless, it is certai...
| Published in: | Annali di scienze religiose |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | French |
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| Published: |
Brepols
2011
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| In: |
Annali di scienze religiose
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Electronic
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| Summary: | Despite the malevolent attitude of Orthodox and Catholic adversaries, their accusations are not out-and-out fabrications. Fear may not be considered sufficient motivation, given that these dissidents were generally credited with courage in the face of persecution and death, nonetheless, it is certain that they spontaneously defined themselves as ‘Christians’ and founded their faith on the Bible, especially the New Testament. Indeed, they practised a progressive catechesis, gradually passing from the preaching of fundamental evangelical precepts to more sophisticated doctrines characterized by dualistic-inspired theology. This came about, above all, as a consequence of the transformation from a literal interpretation of Scripture to an allegorical or symbolic exegesis connecting the words and events of the Gospels to myths illustrating their cosmology and soteriology. In this biblical allegorism resides the underlying basis for what heresiologists tend to denigrate as dissimulation, opportunism, or falsehood. From such a perspective, a great deal of continuity can be observed between the three dualistic movements under consideration, except that the ‘gnosi’ which takes on a precise esoteric and visionary character in Bogomilism tends to become a theological and philosophical elaboration of the simpler teachings of the faith, without completely eliminating the myth, in mature Catharism. Accusations of dissimulation and hypocrisy are frequently brought against supporters of Paulicianism and Bogomilism in heresiological writings concerning these religious movements. Ecclesiastical writers generally attribute such behaviour to both the fear of being discovered and to the clever tactics used by heretical leaders to attract people and convert them, a little at a time, to their doctrines. Actually, in vast regions like Languedoc and Northern Italy, the Cathar religion had been openly practised and often protected, if not adopted, by political authorities for a very long time. There was, therefore, no valid reason to describe the dissidents as hypocrites and dissimulators. Malgré la malveillance des adversaires orthodoxes ou catholiques, leurs accusations ne sont pas de pures inventions. Si la crainte ne peut pas être considérée comme une motivation significative, le courage devant la persécution et la mort étant généralement reconnu à ces dissidents, en revanche il est certain qu’ils se nommaient eux-mêmes «chrétiens» et qu’ils ne fondaient leur foi que sur la Bible et notamment sur le Nouveau Testament. Ils pratiquaient ainsi une catéchèse progressive en passant graduellement de la prédication des préceptes évangéliques fondamentaux aux doctrines les plus avancées, marquées par une théologie d’inspiration dualiste. Cela avait lieu surtout grâce au passage d’une interprétation litterale de l’Écriture à une exégèse allegorique ou symbolique rapportant les faits et les paroles de l’Évangile aux mythes qui illustraient leur cosmologie et leur sotériologie. C’est dans cet allégorisme biblique que réside la raison profonde de ce que les hérésiologues ont tendance à dénigrer en tant que dissimulation, opportunisme ou fausseté. Sous cet aspect on peut observer une grande continuité entre les trois mouvement dualistes examinés, à ceci près que cette «gnose» qui prend dans le bogomilisme un caractère proprement ésotérique et visionnaire tend plutôt à devenir dans le catharisme le plus mûr - sans éliminer tout à fait le mythe - un approfondissement théologique et philosophique des enseignements les plus simples de la foi. |
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| ISSN: | 2294-8775 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Annali di scienze religiose
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1484/J.ASR.1.102572 |