Heretic meaning
Each of the ever multiplying denominations regarded all other denominations as heretical. There was no one doctrine, or even two doctrines, to check heresy against. There were suddenly many different forms of Christianity once again, returning the religion to how it looked in the early days of its existence. The Orthodox Church was composed of patriarchs, bishops, presbyters and deacons.Īfter the Protestant Reformation, the word heresy lost a great deal of its weight. The Catholic Church had the Pope, various cardinals, bishops and priests. Both denominations had detailed and explicit doctrines and clear structures of authority. There were really only two denominations of Christianity, the Roman Catholic Church that effectively controlled Western Europe and the Orthodox Church which held most of Eastern Europe and parts of the modern day Middle East. At that time, Christianity was structured in a way that made heresy easy to identify. Heretical teachings were a matter of concern for every church authority and, given the consequences of falling prey to heresy, for the average lay person as well. The Middle Ages and the Inquisition are still seen, in some ways, as the heyday of heresy. People used accusations of heresy to get revenge on those they did not like, and King Ferdinand of Spain, not the Pope, was the one who initiated and controlled the infamous Spanish Inquisition. Naturally, the matter rapidly spiraled out of control. The original purpose of the Inquisition was actually to search out and suppress heretical ideas that were becoming of increasing concern to authorities within the Catholic Church. The majority of people, however, seem to forget that the Inquisition was formed neither in order to become a sort of twisted boogeyman for people in later centuries nor to kill people for no reason. People are aware of its bloody history and knack for using brutal torture to extract, often false, confessions. Although the existence of the Inquisition, especially the Spanish Inquisition, is common knowledge today, many people are unaware of why the Inquisition was formed or what purpose the Inquisition was meant to serve. It was fears of and ideas about heresy that gave rise to one of Christianity’s greatest shames, the Inquisition. Islam, Judaism and Christianity are the religions most likely to use the term heresy, but Neo-Confucianism has described various forms of heresy and Zoroastrianism has historically persecuted Zuvansits and Mazdakists as heretical sects.Īlthough the word could technically be applied to a member of any organized religion who speaks English, heresy is most heavily associated with Christianity.
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Though it is sometimes used mockingly, heresy is meant to be a loaded word in organized religion. As such, claims that a person is a heretic can cause others to shy away from them or, should they be accused themselves of heresy, to feel an automatic, visceral need to defend themselves. When stated fiercely, the single word “heresy” becomes an accusation that seems so outdated to many people today that rather than causing horror or shame, it makes people snicker and think of mocking portrayals of Disney’s Judge Claude Frollo shrieking “witchcraft!” On the other hand, the word “heresy” does still carry a great deal of weight to some people. Fervent declarations of “heresy!” tend to be viewed on the same level as semi-joking statements that hating chocolate is blasphemy. We've arranged the synonyms in length order so that they are easier to find.When someone accuses another person of being a heretic, the image that most people conjure today is a rather amusing one. Synonyms, crossword answers and other related words for HERESYWe hope that the following list of synonyms for the word heresy will help you to finish your crossword today. HERESY 'HERESY' is a 6 letter word starting with H and ending with Y Crossword clues for 'HERESY' ClueĬrime that Joan of Arc was charged with (6)