Apostolic Brethren facts for kids
The Apostolic Brethren were a Christian group that started in northern Italy in the late 1200s. They were founded by Gerard Segarelli, who came from a humble background and didn't have much schooling. Segarelli wanted to live a simple life, like the early apostles of Christianity. He believed the Church should go back to its original ways. Much of their ideas continued in the Dulcinian movement later on.
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History of the Apostolic Brethren
Around 1260, Segarelli started dressing like the apostles he had seen in pictures. He sold his house, gave away the money, and began to preach about changing one's ways, living by begging. He soon found followers, and his new group spread across Italy.
At first, other church leaders just made fun of Segarelli. But around 1280, the Bishop of Parma put him in prison and later sent him away. In 1274, a big church meeting (the Second Council of Lyon) had said that no new groups could start without the Pope's approval. Because of this, Pope Honorius IV spoke out strongly against the Apostolic Brethren in 1286. Pope Nicholas IV did the same in 1290.
This led to a time of trouble for the group. In 1294, four members were put to death in Parma, and Segarelli was sent to prison forever. Six years later, he was forced to admit he had gone back to beliefs he had given up. He was then put to death in Parma on July 18, 1300.
After Segarelli, a more skilled leader named Dolcino took charge. He was a priest's son and had joined the group in 1291. Dolcino was a powerful speaker who shared exciting prophecies about God's judgment on the Church.
Dolcino and his followers believed God's judgment was coming soon. They fought against those who tried to stop them in the mountains of Novara and Vercelli. But cold and hunger were even bigger problems. Finally, the remaining 150 members, including Dolcino and his "spiritual sister" Margareta, were captured. They refused to change their beliefs and were put to death on June 1, 1307.
This was mostly the end of the Apostolic Brethren as a large group. Later, in the mid-1300s, some small groups were still found in northern Italy, Spain, and France, but they were not as strong or widespread.
What the Apostolic Brethren Believed
The Apostolic Brethren wanted to live a very holy life. They believed in being completely poor, having no fixed home, and not worrying about tomorrow. They didn't take any special vows like monks or nuns.
Their way of life was a protest against what they saw as the Church becoming too worldly. They also felt that other religious groups weren't truly following their vows, especially the vow of poverty.
At first, their ideas might have seemed harmless. But when the Church officially banned their group, they refused to obey. This made the Church see them as heretics, or people with wrong beliefs.
Being persecuted made them even more determined. They came to believe that the Church had completely lost its original holiness. They also had ideas about the end of the world, similar to other groups of the time. They did not allow taking oaths and were against the death penalty.
Their Main Ideas
The Apostolic Brethren didn't have a lot of complex theories because Segarelli wasn't highly educated. Their main belief came from the Acts of the Apostles (2:44-45) in the Bible:
All who believed were together, and had all things in common. They sold their possessions and goods, and distributed them to all, according as anyone had need.
They lived a simple life of fasting and prayer. Often, they worked to earn enough to eat, or they lived off charity. They always preached about the need for people to change their ways.
Their main saying was Poenitentiam agite, which means "make penitence" or "change your ways." This phrase was even mentioned in The Name of the Rose, a famous novel by Umberto Eco.
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