Berengar of Tours facts for kids
Berengar of Tours (died January 6, 1088) was an important French Christian thinker and teacher in the 11th century. He was known for leading a famous school at Chartres, where he encouraged students to think deeply and ask questions. Berengar had two main ideas that were different from the main Catholic Church teachings at the time. He believed that the Bible (Scripture) was the most important guide for faith. He also disagreed with the idea of transubstantiation, which is the belief that during a church service, bread and wine truly become the body and blood of Jesus.
Contents
Berengar's Early Life and Education
Berengar of Tours was likely born in Tours in the early 1000s. He started his education at the school of Bishop Fulbert of Chartres. While Fulbert taught traditional religious ideas, Berengar was more interested in other subjects like Latin literature, logic (dialectic), and general knowledge. He loved to think freely and question things. Later, he studied the Bible and writings by early Christian leaders like Augustine of Hippo. This helped him develop his own religious ideas.
Becoming a Teacher and Archdeacon
After his teacher Fulbert died in 1028, Berengar went back to Tours. He became a canon at the cathedral. Around 1040, he became the head of the cathedral school. He made the school much better, and students came from all over to learn from him. People admired him not just for his teaching, but also for his simple and disciplined life.
Berengar was so respected that many monks asked him to write books to inspire them. He also became an archdeacon in Angers, which is a church official, but he stayed in Tours to run the school. Powerful people, like Count Geoffrey of Anjou, trusted him.
The Eucharist Controversy Begins
Even with all this praise, some people started to say that Berengar had heretical (wrong) ideas about the Eucharist. The Eucharist is a Christian ceremony where bread and wine are shared, remembering Jesus's last supper.
In the past, there had been arguments about what the bread and wine truly meant. Some believed they literally became Jesus's body and blood. Berengar's ideas caused a big stir because he seemed to disagree with the idea that the bread and wine were the actual body and blood of Christ. However, it's important to know that different historians have different opinions on exactly what Berengar believed.
One of his former classmates, Adelmann, was the first to formally notice his different views. Adelmann asked Berengar to change his mind and follow the Church's teaching.
Councils and Condemnations
Around 1050, Berengar wrote a letter to Lanfranc, a church leader, saying he disagreed with Lanfranc's views on the Eucharist. Berengar believed his ideas were supported by important early Christian writers. Lanfranc received this letter in Rome, where it was read at a church meeting (council). Berengar's ideas were immediately condemned.
Berengar was told to come to another council in Vercelli, Italy, in September. He asked King Henry I of France for permission to go, but for unknown reasons, the king put him in prison instead. The council at Vercelli still looked at Berengar's teachings and condemned them again. He was also excommunicated, meaning he was temporarily removed from the Church.
After he was released from prison, probably with help from Count Geoffrey, the king still wanted to deal with him. A meeting was called in Paris in October 1051. Berengar avoided going, and the king's threats didn't work because Berengar was protected by Count Geoffrey and his former student, Eusebius of Angers, who was now a bishop. Many ordinary people also supported Berengar.
In 1054, a council was held in Tours. Here, Berengar wrote a statement of faith saying that after the special prayer, the bread and wine were truly the body and blood of Christ. The bishops at the council were satisfied with this statement.
Challenges and Recantations
In 1059, Berengar went to Rome. At a council there, he was not allowed to speak much. He was given a statement to sign that described the Eucharist in a very literal way. Feeling overwhelmed by the powerful people against him, he signed the document, seeming to give in.
When Berengar returned to France, he felt terrible for giving up his beliefs. His friends were becoming fewer, and Count Geoffrey had died. However, Pope Alexander II wrote him an encouraging letter, but also warned him not to cause more trouble.
Berengar still held his beliefs strongly. Around 1069, he wrote a book expressing his anger at the pope and his opponents. Other church leaders, like Lanfranc, wrote responses to him.
The feeling against him in France grew so strong that there was almost violence at a meeting in Poitiers in 1076. Pope Gregory VII (who was Cardinal Hildebrand earlier) tried to help him. He called Berengar to Rome again in 1078. The Pope tried to get Berengar to agree to a general statement of faith. But Berengar's enemies were not happy. Three months later, at another meeting, they forced him to sign a statement that clearly supported the idea of transubstantiation. Berengar admitted he had made mistakes and was sent home.
Once back in France, he wrote his own version of what happened in Rome, taking back his earlier statement. This led to another trial at a meeting in Bordeaux in 1080, where he again took back his words.
After this, Berengar stopped speaking out. He went to live a quiet, religious life on an island near Tours. He died there in 1088, having made peace with the Roman Catholic Church.
Berengar's 1059 Confession (Excerpt)
"...the bread and wine... are after consecration not only a sacrament but also the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, and... are taken and broken by the hands of the priests and crushed by the teeth of the faithful."
Berengar's 1079 Confession (Excerpt)
"I, Berengarius, believe... that the bread and wine... are... changed into the true... flesh and blood of Jesus Christ our Lord; and that after the consecration is the true body of Christ, which was born of the Virgin... and sits at the right hand of the Father; and (is) the true blood of Christ which flowed from his side; not only through the sign and power of the sacrament but in his proper nature and true substance..."
Berengar's Ideas on the Eucharist
Berengar's main ideas about the Eucharist included four points:
- The bread and wine keep their original form and appearance after the special prayer, but they gain a new, deeper meaning.
- However, the wine and bread are not just symbols. In some way, they still represent the body and blood of Jesus.
- Jesus is present in a spiritual way, and people receive him spiritually through their faith.
- When people take communion, they are connecting with the whole person of Jesus Christ, not just separate parts of his body and blood. Since Jesus's body was sacrificed and is now in heaven, we must connect with him spiritually, looking towards heaven.
Berengar's views on the Eucharist were quite similar to those of John Calvin, a key leader of the Protestant Reformation centuries later.
Why Berengar Was Important
Berengar of Tours can be seen as an early example of someone who used rationalism (thinking based on reason) in Christian thought. He questioned the authority of the Church, which was a big deal at the time.
Even though his ideas were often debated, the arguments he started made people think more deeply about the meaning of the Eucharist. This led to a clearer understanding of the doctrine of transubstantiation within the Church. Also, when both Berengar and his critics used logic and grammar to discuss religious matters, it opened the door for a new way of thinking called scholasticism in the 12th century. Scholasticism was a method of learning that used logic and reason to understand Christian teachings.
Berengar of Tours was also a "forerunner" (someone who came before) of later religious reformers like Zwingli and John Calvin.
See also
In Spanish: Berengario de Tours para niños
- Berengarians, followers of Berengar
- Eucharist in the Catholic Church
