Katarernas teologi

Sammanfattning: Catharism, in southern France, was one of many Christian movements in the thirteenth century that was classified as heretical because it did not conform to current church regulations. The image of the Cathars, given mainly from the Catholic Church's point of view, has been negative and distorted. For many, Catharism is relatively unknown and the aim of this study is to introduce the reader to the issues of the historical, social and economic background in the region and the historical roots of Catharism and to address the question of, “What distinguishes Cathar theology?” In this essay a limited comparative study, regarding the sacraments, has been done with the aim of clarifying the specific characteristics of Catharism, as well as identifying its similarities to and differences from the theology of the Catholic Church. The Cathar position, regarding the sacraments and deadly sins, are examined in three primary sources. One of the things that characterized the Cathar theology was that the concept of the sacraments did not exist. However, a baptism in the Spirit and a bread blessing ritual, which can be claimed to have similarities to the Eucharist, was practiced regularly.