The Holy Inquisition

In religious history, the Inquisition is the most strange phenomenon, of which even legends go. It was a serious tool in anti-religious propaganda. What is it? This is an investigation through interrogation using force. In the Middle Ages and until recently, the Holy Inquisition sought to condemn believers and excommunicate if they were considered heretics.

Its main purpose was to prove that the accused person is a heretic. In the XV century, the history of the Inquisition was a secret. The clergymen had special rights: to blame and destroy. However, it was a struggle not only for the church, but for the nobility for power and domination over ordinary people.

The Middle Ages was a unique era. People perceived the world in their own way, because they could not understand many of the phenomena that occurred in their lives. There was no scientific evidence of why it rained or the sun was shining, why earthquakes were occurring, or there was a terrible drought. All these people tried to attribute to the dark forces: gods, fairies, demons, ghosts. Residents in the Middle Ages most did not want to become victims of witches and were afraid of the dark forces, which, in their opinion, could interfere with their lives.

That is why sorcerers and witches enjoyed great attention not only of the common man. The history of the Inquisition of witches shows that even in the midst of hunting for them, they lived peacefully in the homes of rich people. Wizards and witches were needed for people, but if they were accused of exceeding their power, they were severely punished. The Inquisition of witches is a measure of punishment that was used if they were found guilty of causing spoilage in the process of witchcraft.

How did the witches punish? The Holy Inquisition declared the sorcerer guilty and most often killed him. In certain cases, they had to compensate for any particular damage. The scripture helped the ministers of the church act as executioners, since they referred to this source in the process of execution.

The trial itself was interesting . First, in the presence of the secretary, the inquisitor interrogated the witnesses. When the crime in heresy was considered proven at a preliminary hearing, the accused person was shut in a church jail. He was interrogated, but the heretic did not have the right to be protected.

After this procedure, he was handed over to the secular authorities already with a copy of the verdict. The Holy Inquisition set a goal not to destroy the individual, but to return him to the bosom of the church. Since the heretic was not a Catholic, the church deprived him of his patronage.

The history of the Inquisition is closely related to the history of society as a whole. Fighting against heretics, the enmity of the two classes-the bourgeoisie and the oppressed-intensified. It was a struggle for power, and the Inquisition was identified as a leading role.

The main stages of the development of this punitive body: the Dodominican, the Dominican, the Spanish Inquisition. In the first period the persecution of heretics did not have a permanent character. In the second, specialized tribunals of inquisitors are created. In the third, the Holy Inquisition is closely connected with the monarchical system and serves as an instrument for the struggle for power.

In general, it adversely affected the intellectual progress of Europe. In the XVI century, it began to affect the censorship of books, however, in the XVII century the number of victims of the Inquisition has become much smaller. In the eighteenth century, it was completely abolished in almost all countries of Europe.

Results of the Inquisition:

The great scientist Giordano Bruno was burned in Rome, in the same place in 1633 Galileo Galilei was forced to renounce the teachings of Copernicus, but after a long time, Pope John Paul II decided to rehabilitate him.

It was recognized that the Inquisition for all the years of its existence has made many irreparable mistakes.