Mr. Kersey.org - Mr. Kersey's Lecture Notes

The Inquisition - Battling Heresy

(Lecture Notes from Mr. Kersey's 8th Grade Religion Class - Church History)

Since the first days of the Church, people who taught ideas that were against the teachings of the Church were called heretics.
Committing heresy was sometimes an accident, sometimes it was on purpose.
Teaching from gospels not included in the Bible would be a heresy, for example.
Many laws were based on the teachings of the Church before and during the Middle Ages.
Because of this, committing heresy was often a crime against the state and the Church.

As time went on heresy became a real problem for the Church.
By the 13th century, Christian Europe was so threatened by heresy the pope had to do something.
The pope appointed special, permanent judges who acted in the name of the pope.
Wherever they went, that was the Inquisition.
Inquisition is from the Latin word inquirere, which means “to look to.”
One of these special judges, or inquisitors, would secretly question suspected heretics and witnesses.
If he thought a heresy had been committed, he would officially charge the person.
The person charged with heresy would then have a trial, and the inquisitor would pass judgment.

Inquisitors were usually priests from the Dominican and Franciscan orders.
These priests had superior theological training and an excellent understanding of the Church’s teachings.
They also often took vows of poverty, which made them immune to bribery and selfish motives.

Usually when an Inquisitor arrived in town, they allowed every one a month-long grace period.
Anyone who came forward during this period and confessed to being a heretic received a light penance or sentence.

After the grace period, the inquisitor would question suspected heretics and witnesses in secret.
If he thought there was enough evidence, he would charge someone with heresy.

If someone charged with heresy made a confession after being charged, they were usually let off with a light punishment.
More often the accused would not admit heresy and other methods had to be used to get the truth.
The inquisitor had about four methods of getting a confession.

When an accused heretic would not admit his or her guilt, the inquisitor had to rely on the testimony of witnesses.

When the trial was over, the inquisitor would often ask for the opinions of respected members of the community, both priests and laymen alike.
It was the job of these men to determine the guilt or innocence of the accused and what punishment they should receive.

More often than not, punishment for heresy was pretty forgiving.
If you were sentenced by the Church, the sentence focused on coming back into the Church.
These sentences often included attending Mass on Sundays or helping to build a church. More severe ones might include participation in a Crusade or going on a pilgrimage.
When a case was particularly serious, the convicted heretic might be turned over to the civil authorities for punishment.
These punishments could include imprisonment, fines, a beating, or sometimes death.
Still, even these sentences were often commuted by the inquisitor to something less severe.

Despite the efforts of the Church to keep the Inquisition fair, some inquisitors became corrupt or even drunk with power.
It is these men that brought such a dark history to the Inquisition.
The Inquisition is a controversial but important part of the history of Christianity.