The Inquisition has an important place in the history of the Catholic Church. Inquisition means inquiry. It is a kind of tribunal which was established with the aim of detecting and handing over the people who deviate from the principles of Catholicism and hand them over to the government to get them punished.
The authorities of Catholicism were vigilant from the very beginning to maintain their religious beliefs and prevent the propagation of false doctrines in order to preserve the sacred nature of the religion. Catholicism was recognized by the Roman Empire in the 4th century AD.
Along with this, other religions were banned, but many people secretly believed in ancient Roman religion and many people refused to adopt Christianity. It was considered as treason as well as treason and such people were found and punished. Later Catholic Christianity was accepted as the 'state religion' in most countries of Europe.
In those countries, rebellion against Catholicism was considered treason. The governments there used to punish those who preached against Catholicism, such as deportation, confiscation of property, prison and burning alive.
During this period, the Pope's vision had narrowed so much that Christian groups that followed Catholic beliefs as well as their local traditions, or expressed their own independent views on any belief in Catholicism, were declared non-Christians. and by declaring a crusade against them, those groups were started to be eliminated. The intention behind this was that the nature of Catholicism should look exactly the same everywhere and it should be as the Roman Church was saying.
Death sentence for Arnold
Some people felt that the Pope and his disciples lead a luxurious life and spend a lot of money on luxuries. Because of this some people started disobeying the Pope and religion. Some people started losing faith in Catholicism and they started looking for light elsewhere, that is, they started looking for some other religion also. Controversies between the Emperor and the Pope and the failures and longevity of the Crusades also served to distance some Christians from Christianity.
On this some office bearers of the Christian Union started coercion on the public. Instead of solving the doubts of people who raised their fingers on the beliefs and conduct of the officials of Christianity, instead of love and good behavior, sticks and crucifixes were used.
Due to this the situation got worse. The scoundrel can be controlled with a stick, but the general public can be taken under confidence and control only by the high moral life and good conduct of the leaders.
'Brescia' of Italy in AD 1155 Arnold in the city There was a popular preacher named, who preached against the corruption and luxury life of the clergy. The Christian union caught him and hanged him and after burning his dead body threw his ashes in the river Tiber. Arnold kept repeating his words till the last minute and remained calm.
Conflict with Francis Union
In AD 1181, there was a rich man named Francis in a village called Assisi in Italy. He renounced his wealth and by following the path of religion he started living in poverty and started traveling from place to place to serve the poor and sick. Later he began to serve the lepers because they were the most miserable and destitute in the world.
Many people became his followers. Francis created a union with the help of those called 'Saint Francis Union' was called This Sangha was similar to the Indian Buddhist Sangha which was dedicated to the service of the downtrodden. Francis' whole life was spent serving the people, traveling from place to place and preaching the service-dharma. It was just like the life of Jesus Christ. Thousands of Christians would have taken refuge in him and accepted his discipleship.
Saint Francis also went to Palestine and Egypt during the Crusades and took his disciples with him and served the poor and the sick there too. Although he was a Christian and the era of the Crusades was going on, the Muslims respected this Christian saint very much and did not obstruct his work.
This saint died in AD 1226. After his death, there was a clash between the office bearers of the Christian union and the office bearers of the Franciscan union. The Christian union of this era did not want people to put so much emphasis on living a life of poverty, but the monks of the Franciscan Sangh refused to give up their doctrine.
Now the Christian union started looking for such a system that people should not adopt any principles, rules, practices and conduct other than the path prescribed by the church. Soon they found a tool called 'Inquisition'.
Rise of the Albijansus Sect
In the 12th century AD, due to the propagation of Christian sects in European countries like Germany and France etc. This led to social and political unrest in European countries. 'Albizens' in the southern parts of France The sect became more popular.
The people of this sect had a belief that- 'The whole material world (Prakriti) is the creation of some evil person and the human body is also contaminated. So committing suicide is right but getting married is bad because it is a means of sustaining a physical life.'
The 'Siddha' people of this sect used to follow celibacy but used to teach their ordinary followers that- 'If one cannot maintain complete restraint, then it is better for him to commit adultery than marriage.'
There was a fierce reaction against this sect from the Christian people of France. For this reason the government of France decided to execute the followers of 'Albijansus'.
The church took the responsibility of tracing the people of this denomination. For this purpose, an institution called Inquisition was established in AD 1233 and later it spread to almost all Christian countries. It was a kind of court. Its office bearers were appointed by the Roman Church and they toured the whole country.
The accused were requested to renounce their misguided theories and repent. Those who were not ready for this were caught and handed over to the government so that they could be punished.
When some people were suspected or when a complaint was made against them by the officers of the tribunal, the accused were questioned and their beliefs were tested through them. Punishments were given to those who did not pass this test. The names of the prosecutors were kept secret and 'repentant convicts' was burnt alive. For these reasons historians have strongly condemned the Inquisition.
Punishment for burning alive the saints of the Saint Francis Sangh
In AD 1318, the dispute between the Union of St. Francis and the Roman Christian Union increased greatly. The Church of St. Francis did not consider a life of luxury to be proper, while the Church said that such emphasis on living in poverty is not justified from the point of view of Christianity. After this dispute, four sadhus of this sangha were inquisitioned and they were burnt alive in Marsai. Even then the Roman Church could not completely destroy the Franciscan union.
Jawaharlal Nehru has written- 'The infidels were caught and searched and hundreds of them were burnt alive. What was worse than being burnt alive was that people were tortured to make atonement for them. Many poor unfortunate women were accused of being witches and they were burnt, but this work was often done by rioting mobs in England and Scotland.
This was not the case by order of the Inquisition. The Pope issued an edict called the Edict of Faith, ordering everyone to become an informant. The Pope gave a fatwa against chemistry and called it a satanic skill. All these atrocities and terror were done with true faith.
They believed that by burning a man alive, they were saving his soul or the souls of others from sins. Religious people have often tried to force their point of view on others. They have forcibly put their thoughts in the throats of other people and they have been thinking that they are serving the public.
In the name of God they have killed people and committed murders. Talking about saving the immortal soul, he has not hesitated in burning the mortal body to ashes. The account of the religion has been very poor, but in my opinion nothing in the world has happened to beat the Inquisition in arrogance and ruthlessness.'
Inquisition of Spain
Parts of Spain were ruled by Muslims for seven centuries. After the end of Muslim rule, most of the Muslims either left Spain or accepted Christianity. Nevertheless, some Muslims secretly lived in Spain. Similarly some Jews also lived secretly in Spain. The King of Spain ordered such Muslims and Jews that- 'They should either become Christians or leave the country.'
In Spain in the thirteenth century AD, a Christian saint named Dominic created a 'Dominic union' within the Christian confederacy. established. This union was fierce and fanatical. The people of this union issued some religious orders for the Christians of Spain and forced the people to follow them. Those who did not listen to him were beaten to agree, but this union did not last long.
In AD 1478, the King of Spain established the Inquisition in Spain to find out the secret Muslims and Jews living in Spain. The Spanish government had doubts about the new Christians, whether they were intrinsically Muslims or Jews.
They were repeatedly tested and those who did not pass the test were burnt alive. The Spanish Inquisition ended in the first half of the 19th century.
Roman Inquisition
The Medieval Inquisition remained active in the 13th and 14th centuries. It was reorganized and refined in AD 1542. At that time its name was 'Roman Inquisition' Which was later changed to 'Holy Office' been done. This organization still exists today with the same name. The main responsibility of this institution is to protect the sanctity of Catholicism and to properly formulate and explain religious principles. The Catholic Church suffered more losses than gains due to the Medieval and Spanish Inquisition.
Although the description of the atrocities of the Inquisition has often resorted to exaggeration and the number of punishments has been exaggerated, it cannot be denied that the fundamental rights of man were neglected by this institution. It is clearly written in the law of Catholicism (Church) prevalent today that no person can be made Catholic against his will.
Universal-Church Order
Some historians believe that the kind of atrocities that Christian saints had to bear the distinction of keeping this religion alive, similar atrocities were committed by the state during Christianization. The Church and the oracles, their sinful credentials and their strict control eclipsed the core teachings of Jesus Christ. The Church of Rome and the power of the Emperor became one. The new doctrine was propounded - 'The empire is the secular and armed system of government of the Church, which was coined by the Pope and which is responsible only to the Pope.'
That is why there is a close link between European colonialism and Christianity. Christianity originated in the first century. Initially it was a progressive religion. This gave a tough challenge to the Roman Empire. Its appearance was simple and pomp-free.
Saint Paul and Saint Austin emphasized the simplicity of Christianity and faith for human salvation, but in the 8th century and onwards, two sages, Peter Lombard and Tomas Aquenasch, reversed the teachings of the old saints, saying that it is not faith but good deeds. - are necessary for salvation.
These saints interpreted good deeds with priesthood and ritualism. In his view, the priest is a person chosen by God, so every Christian should obey his instruction. During this time rituals took hold in the Christian cult and the medieval church system began.
It was named the Universal Church System because its headquarters were in Rome and its branches were spread throughout Europe. Now the Roman Catholic Church had a profound influence on the lives of Europeans. Education and art were also controlled by the Church, the texts written by ancient Greek and Roman scholars were completely lost after the spread of Christianity. So a major obstacle in the way of further change was the universal church system.
During the Renaissance period of medieval Europe, the all-time church system colluded with the monarchy and sometimes with the aristocracy for its own benefit. रोमन साम्राज्य के पतन और यूरोप के अंधकारमय युग के लिए उत्तरदायी कारणों में आडम्बरों से युक्त चर्च व्यवस्था भी एक कही जाती है।
पश्चिमी रोमन साम्राज्य के पतन के कई कारण थे, जिनमें से एक कारण ईसाई धर्म का रोम में फैलना था। पोप का यूरोप की राजनीति में हस्तक्षेप हो जाने से सम्राट की शक्ति कमजोर हुई। इस कारण सम्राट और पोप के बीच कई बार संघर्ष की स्थिति बनी जिसमें आम आदमी पिसता चला गया।