Editing Catharism (section)

=== Sacraments ===
Cathars, in general, formed an anti-[[sacerdotal]] party in opposition to the pre-Reformation Catholic Church, protesting against what they perceived to be the moral, spiritual and political corruption of the Church.{{sfnp|Alphandéry|1911|p=505}} In contrast, the Cathars had but one central rite, the [[Consolamentum]], or Consolation.<ref name="Belloc 1938 91">{{harvnb|Belloc|1938|p=91}}</ref> This involved a brief spiritual ceremony to remove all sin from the believer and to induct him into the next higher level as a [[Cathar Perfect|Perfect]].{{sfn|Johnston|Renkin|2000|p=252}}

Many believers would receive the Consolamentum as death drew near, performing the ritual of liberation at a moment when the heavy obligations of purity required of Perfecti would be temporally short. Some of those who received the sacrament of the consolamentum upon their death-beds may thereafter have shunned further food with an exception of cold water until death. This has been termed the {{lang|la|endura}}.{{sfn|Murray|1998|pp=189–190}} It was claimed by some of the church writers that when a Cathar, after receiving the Consolamentum, began to show signs of recovery he or she would be smothered in order to ensure his or her entry into paradise. Other than extreme cases, little evidence exists to suggest this was a common Cathar practice.{{sfnp|Barber|2000|pp =103–104}}

[[File:Berruguete ordeal.jpg|thumb|Painting by [[Pedro Berruguete]] portraying the story of a disputation between [[Saint Dominic]] and the Cathars (Albigensians), in which the books of both were thrown on a fire and Dominic's books were miraculously preserved from the flames.]]

The Cathars also refused the sacrament of the [[eucharist]], saying that it could not possibly be the body of Christ. They also refused to partake in the practice of [[Baptism]] by water. The following two quotes are taken from the [[Inquisitor]] [[Bernard Gui]]'s experiences with the Cathar practices and beliefs:

{{Blockquote|Then they attack and vituperate, in turn, all the [[sacraments]] of the Church, especially the sacrament of the eucharist, saying that it cannot contain the body of Christ, for had this been as great as the largest mountain Christians would have entirely consumed it before this. They assert that the host comes from straw, that it passes through the tails of horses, to wit, when the flour is cleaned by a sieve (of horse hair); that, moreover, it passes through the body and comes to a vile end, which, they say, could not happen if God were in it.{{sfnp|Burr|1996}}

Of baptism, they assert that the water is material and corruptible and is therefore the creation of the evil power, and cannot sanctify the spirit, but that the churchmen sell this water out of avarice, just as they sell earth for the burial of the dead, and oil to the sick when they anoint them, and as they sell the confession of sins as made to the priests.{{sfnp|Burr|1996}}}}