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The Albigensian gnostic (Cathars) consolamentum ritual served as a baptism into the 'elect' of the faith, known to outsiders (somewhat scornfully) as Parfaits,* "Perfects." The ritual was purported by the Cathars to be an apostolic ritual passed down, person to person, through Christ and his disciples. The consolamentum was believed to transmit the "baptism by fire" received by the apostles at the Pentecost, which they believed supplanted the older Jewish ritual of water baptism.
Those who had received the consolamentum were at the same time ordained; they were expected to live ascetically, giving up meat, alcohol, and to maintain strict celibacy, accompanied by a companion of the same sex at all times. In emulation of the apostles, they were expected to give up their material goods and travel from town to town, ministering to believers and healing the sick.
The consolamentum was also conducted often on the sick and the dying, who in later times often undertook the Endura, a ritual fast to purify the body, to avoid soiling the sacrament at a time when the apparelhamentum (confession) was not available.
Burning
Cathars
*The name "Parfait" comes from the dictum of Mathew's gospel, "If thou wouldst be perfect , go and sell what thou hast. Give to the poor and thou shall have treasure in heaven. Come and follow m ," which formed the basis of the Cathar practices.
Related Resources:
- Cathars/ Albigensian Crusades
- Gnosticism
A belief system with a unique worldview, Gnosticism is both an ancient Pagan religion and an early Christian Heresy. Gnostic belief is purported by some to be the original Christianity, by others the greatest heresy. - The
Book of the Eight Aeons
A Gnostic creation story.
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