Ad abolendam ("On abolition" or "Towards abolishing") was the November, 1184
decretalDecretals is the name that is given in Canon law to those letters of the pope which formulate decisions in ecclesiastical law.They are generally given in answer to consultations, but are sometimes due to the initiative of the popes...
and
bullA Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a pope. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end to authenticate it....
of
Pope Lucius IIIPope Lucius III , born Ubaldo, was pope from September 1, 1181 to his death.A native of the independent republic of Lucca, he was born ca. 1100 as Ubaldo, son of Orlando. He is commonly referred to as a member of the aristocratic family of Allucingoli, but this is not proven...
, written at
VeniceVenice is a city in northern Italy, the capital of the region Veneto, a population of 271,367 . Together with Padua, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area . The city historically was an independent nation...
. It was developed after the Council of Verona settled some jurisdictional differences between the Papacy and the
Holy Roman EmperorThe Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a Middle Ages ruler, who as German King had in addition received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope of the Holy Roman Church, and after the 16th century, the elected monarch governing the Holy Roman Empire, a Central...
Frederick Barbarossa. The document prescribes measures to uproot
heresyHeresy is proposing some unorthodox change to an established system of belief, especially a religion, that conflicts with the previously established opinion of scholars of that belief such as canon. It is sometimes confused with apostasy which is disaffiliation from orthodoxy and blasphemy which is...
and sparked the efforts which culminated in the
Albigensian CrusadeThe Albigensian Crusade or Cathar Crusade was a 20-year military campaign initiated by the Catholic Church to eliminate the Cathar heresy in Languedoc...
and the
InquisitionsThe Medieval Inquisition is a series of Inquisitions from around 1184, including the Episcopal Inquisition and later the Papal Inquisition...
. Its chief aim was the complete abolition of Christian heresy.
Lucius condemned all heretical sects and persons who preached without the authorisation of the
Roman ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
, whether publicly or privately, and placed them under
excommunicationExcommunication is a religious censure used to deprive or suspend membership in a religious community. The word literally means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
.
Ad abolendam ("On abolition" or "Towards abolishing") was the November, 1184
decretalDecretals is the name that is given in Canon law to those letters of the pope which formulate decisions in ecclesiastical law.They are generally given in answer to consultations, but are sometimes due to the initiative of the popes...
and
bullA Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a pope. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end to authenticate it....
of
Pope Lucius IIIPope Lucius III , born Ubaldo, was pope from September 1, 1181 to his death.A native of the independent republic of Lucca, he was born ca. 1100 as Ubaldo, son of Orlando. He is commonly referred to as a member of the aristocratic family of Allucingoli, but this is not proven...
, written at
VeniceVenice is a city in northern Italy, the capital of the region Veneto, a population of 271,367 . Together with Padua, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area . The city historically was an independent nation...
. It was developed after the Council of Verona settled some jurisdictional differences between the Papacy and the
Holy Roman EmperorThe Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a Middle Ages ruler, who as German King had in addition received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope of the Holy Roman Church, and after the 16th century, the elected monarch governing the Holy Roman Empire, a Central...
Frederick Barbarossa. The document prescribes measures to uproot
heresyHeresy is proposing some unorthodox change to an established system of belief, especially a religion, that conflicts with the previously established opinion of scholars of that belief such as canon. It is sometimes confused with apostasy which is disaffiliation from orthodoxy and blasphemy which is...
and sparked the efforts which culminated in the
Albigensian CrusadeThe Albigensian Crusade or Cathar Crusade was a 20-year military campaign initiated by the Catholic Church to eliminate the Cathar heresy in Languedoc...
and the
InquisitionsThe Medieval Inquisition is a series of Inquisitions from around 1184, including the Episcopal Inquisition and later the Papal Inquisition...
. Its chief aim was the complete abolition of Christian heresy.
Lucius condemned all heretical sects and persons who preached without the authorisation of the
Roman ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
, whether publicly or privately, and placed them under
excommunicationExcommunication is a religious censure used to deprive or suspend membership in a religious community. The word literally means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
. Among the particular sects mentioned in
Ad abolendame were the Cathars,
Humiliati-Origins:Its origin is obscure. According to some chroniclers, certain noblemen of Lombardy, taken prisoner by the Emperor Henry V following a rebellion, were taken as captives to Germany and after suffering the miseries of exile for some time, "humiliated" themselves before the emperor, assuming...
,
WaldensiansWaldensians, Waldenses or Vaudois are names for a Christian spiritual movement of the later Middle Ages, descendants of which still exist in various regions. Over time, the denomination joined the Genevan or Reformed branch of Protestantism. About the earlier history of the Waldenses considerable...
,
ArnoldistsArnold of Brescia, , also known as Arnaldus , was a monk from Italy who called on the Church to renounce ownership of property, participated in the Commune of Rome, and was burned alive by the Church and had his ashes thrown into the Tiber River...
, and Josephines. More important than the direct attack on heresy, however, was the stipulation of equal measures for those who supported heretics, overtly or indirectly. They too were placed under excommunication.
Those accused of heresy, if they could not prove their innocence or forswear their errors, or if they backslid into error subsequently, were to be handed over to the lay authorities to receive their
animadversio debita ("due penalty"). All those who supported heresy were deprived of their many rights: the right to hold public office, the right to trial, the right to draft a will, and the hereditability of their fiefs and offices.
For the enforcement of the measures demanded by the decretal, Lucius obligated all
patriarchOriginally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy...
s,
archbishopIn Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated bishop. In many Christian Churches, this means that they lead a diocese of particular importance called an archdiocese, or in the Anglican Communion an Ecclesiastical Province, but this is not always the case. An archbishop is equivalent to a bishop in...
s, and
bishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s to re-announce the excommunication on certain feasts and holidays. Those who did not observe this for three years consecutively would be deprived of their ecclesiastical offices. The bishops were furthermore obligated to "seek out" heretics. They were to make bi- or triannual rounds of their dioceses, visiting locations of suspicion and question the people about the existence of heresy. The people would be required to swear under oath (
compurgationCompurgation, also called wager of law, is a defence used primarily in medieval law. A defendant could establish his innocence or nonliability by taking an oath and by getting a required number of persons, typically twelve, to swear they believed his oath.Compurgation was found in early Germanic...
) anything they knew about heretical activity. All oath-breakers were to be treated as heretics.
Sources