Henry of Lausanne(variously known as ofBruys,ofCluny,ofToulouse,ofLe Mansand as the Deacon, sometimes referred to asHenry the MonkorHenry the Petrobrusian[1]) was a Frenchheresiarchof the first half of the 12th century. His preaching began around 1116 and he died imprisoned around 1148. His followers are known asHenricians.
Life and teachings
editPractically nothing is known of Henry's origin or early life. He likely received his orders in theBenedictineAbbey of Cluny.IfSt Bernard's reproach (Ep.241) is correct, Henry was anapostatemonk—a Benedictine black monk according to the chroniclerAlberic de Trois Fontaines.[2]
Henry was an itinerant preacher. He was a tall, charismatic ascetic, with a beard and long hair. His voice was sonorous, and his eyes flashed fire. He went bare-footed, preceded by a man carrying a staff surmounted with an iron cross; he slept on the bare ground, and lived by alms.[2]
When Henry arrived at theepiscopal town of Le Mansin 1101, probably fromLausanne,BishopHildebertwas absent and Henry was granted permission to preach from March to July, a practice reserved for theregular clergy,and soon attained considerable influence over the people.[2]Knowledge of his ministry is mostlyhearsayfrom a pamphlet by AbbotPeter of Cluny.He is said to have preachedpenitence,rejecting both theintercession of saintsand second marriages. Women, encouraged by his words, gave up their jewels and luxurious apparel, and young men married prostitutes in the hope of reforming them.[3]
At his instigation the inhabitants of Le Mans soon began to slight the clergy of their town and to reject all ecclesiastical authority. On his return from Rome, Hildebert had a public disputation with Henry, in which, according to theMauristAntoine Beaugendre'sActa episcoporum Cenomannensium,Henry was shown to be less guilty ofheresythan of ignorance. He, however, was forced to leave Le Mans due to hisanti-clericalism,[4]and probably went toPoitiersand afterwards toBordeaux.Later we find him in the archdiocese ofArles,where the archbishop arrested him and had his case referred to the tribunal of the pope.[2]
In 1135 Henry was brought by the archbishop ofArlesbeforePope Innocent IIat theCouncil of Pisa,where he was condemned for heretical views and told to return to a monastery.[5]It appears thatSt Bernardoffered him an asylum atClairvaux.Instead, he returned tothe Midiwhere he came under the influence ofPeter of Bruys.[6]He adopted the Petrobrusians' teaching about 1135 and spread it in a modified form after its author's death.[7]
Around 1139,Peter of Cluny,wrote a treatise calledEpistola seu tractatus adversus Petrobrusianos(Migne,Patr. Lat.clxxxix) against the disciples ofPeter of Bruysand Henry of Lausanne, whom he calls Henry of Bruys, and whom, at the moment of writing, he accuses of preaching, in all thediocesesin the south of France, errors which he had inherited from Peter of Bruys. According to Peter of Cluny, Henry's teaching is summed up as follows: rejection of the doctrinal and disciplinary authority of the church; recognition of theGospelfreely interpreted as the sole rule of faith; condemnation of thebaptismof infants, of theeucharist,of the sacrifice of the mass, of the communion of saints, and of prayers for the dead; and refusal to recognize any form of worship or liturgy.[8]
The success of this teaching spread very rapidly in the south of France. Speaking of this region, St Bernard (Ep. 241) says: "The churches are without flocks, the flocks without priests, the priests without honour; in a word, nothing remains save Christians without Christ."[9]On several occasions St Bernard was begged to fight the innovator on the scene of his exploits, and in 1145, at the instance of the legateAlberic, cardinal bishop of Ostia,he set out, passing through the diocese ofAngoulêmeandLimoges,sojourning for some time at Bordeaux, and finally reaching the heretical towns ofBergerac,Périgueux,Sarlat,CahorsandToulouse.At Bernard's approach Henry departed Toulouse, leaving there many adherents, both of noble and humble birth, and especially among the weavers.[8]
Death and legacy
editSt Bernard's eloquence and reported miracles made many converts, and Toulouse andAlbiwere quickly restored to Roman orthodoxy. After inviting Henry to a disputation, which he refused to attend, St Bernard returned to Clairvaux. Soon afterwards Henry of Lausanne was arrested, brought before thebishop of Toulouse,and probably imprisoned for life. In a letter written at the end of 1146, St Bernard calls upon the people of Toulouse to extirpate the last remnants of the heresy. In 1151, however, some Henricians still remained inLanguedoc,forMatthew Parisrelates (Chron. maj.,at date 1151) that a young girl, who gave herself out to be miraculously inspired by theVirgin Mary,was reputed to have converted a great number of the disciples of Henry of Lausanne.[8]
It is impossible to designate definitely as Henricians one of the two sects discovered atCologneand described by Everwin, provost of Steinfeld, in his letter to St Bernard (Migne,Patr. Lat.,clxxxii. 676-680), or the heretics ofPérigordmentioned by a certain monk Heribert (Martin Bouquet,Recueil des historiens des Gaules et de la France,XII.550-551).[8]
According to the British Puritan Rev. Dr. William Wall, "the Petrobrusians—otherwise called the 'Henricians'—did own water-baptism, and yet deny infant-baptism.... Peter Bruis and Henry [of Lausanne were] the two firstantipaedobaptistpreachers in the world. "
TheJehovah's Witnessessuggest that Henry of Lausanne may have been one of a long line of "genuine anointed Christians" who defended Bible truth down through the ages.[10]
References
edit- ^Costen, Michael D. (1997).The Cathars and the Albigensian Crusade.Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press. p.84.ISBN0-7190-4331-X.
sacraments.
- ^abcdAlphandéry 1911,p. 298.
- ^Moore, R. I. (1995).The birth of popular heresy.Toronto: University of Toronto Press in association with the Medieval Academy of America. p. 36.ISBN0-8020-7659-9.OCLC33104971.
- ^"Henry of Lausanne",The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church,OUP
- ^Walker 2014,p. 298.
- ^Müller, Daniela, "Henry of Lausanne",Religion Past and Present.Brill, 2006ISBN9789004146662
- ^Weber, Nicholas. "Petrobrusians." The Catholic EncyclopediaVol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 12 May 2020
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
- ^abcdAlphandéry 1911,p. 299.
- ^Moore 1995,p. 39.
- ^Watchtower, August 15, 2012, page 18
Sources
edit- This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Alphandéry, Paul Daniel (1911). "Henry of Lausanne".InChisholm, Hugh(ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 298–299.
- Peter of Cluny,Tractatus Contra Petrobrussianos,found in Migne,Patrologia Latina,vol. 189, pp. 720–850.
- Les Origines de l'hérésie albigeoise,by Vacandard in theRevue des questions historiques(Paris, 1894, pp. 67–83).
- W. Wall: op. cit. I p. xliv.
- Walker, Williston (2014).History of the Christian Church.Scribner.
