Christian Unity (the book) - The Maranatha Community

Two notorious Inquisitors must be named, Torquemada of Spain and Conrad ofMarburg, Germany.Tomas Torquemada (1420-1498), a Dominican, was created the first InquisitorGeneral of the newly established Spanish Inquisition in 1482. His Inquisitionwas independent of the Papal Inquisition, and was thorough and effective,especially against Jewish ‘converts’ (Marranos) and Muslim ‘converts’(Moriscos) who had lapsed from their professed faith in the Catholic Church. Itis estimated that 2,000 executions by burning occurred under Torquemada inSpain.In Germany Conrad of Marburg (c.1180-1233) was a fanatical Papal Inquisitorappointed by Gregory IX to root out Cathari and Waldensians. He wasresponsible for the deaths of many ‘heretics’ and his excesses of persecutionswere denounced by a court of bishops at Mainz. Later he was assassinated.Two groups, the Lollards and Waldensians, were regarded by the Church asdangerous sects. But they were not at all like the main threat to the Church,the Cathari-like sects, whose basic world-view was a Gnosticism that rejectedmost of the tenets of the Christian faith.‘Lollards’ was the nickname for those preachers in England who followed themain teachings of John Wycliffe (c.1330-1384). The word ‘lollard’ probablycame from a derogatory view of popular preachers (Dutch word lollen, to sing,to chant) who purveyed Wycliffe’s ideas across the country; it could be laterused of anyone critical of the Church.Their views would later be embraced by mainstream Protestantism. Theyincluded rejection of the institution of the Papacy; the right of an individual tointerpret the Scriptures, which were regarded as the sole authority for faith;and the rejection of a celibate priestly class, of transubstantiation and ofconfession. They also rejected the many appurtenances to the Christian faithwhich they felt had been added by the Church, such as indulgences, the needfor pilgrimage and so on.Lollard ideas lingered in English religious life and, to some degree, preparedthe way for its reception by the middle of the 16 th Century of Lutheranteaching.Page 57