Against the Petrobrussians

One of the lesser-known movements discussed by Louis Newman in his Jewish Influence on Christian Reform Movements is the twelfth-century heresy initiated by Peter of Bruys and known as the Petrobrussian heresy.

The Petrobrussians were similar to earlier and later movements in their rejection of infant baptism, their renunciation of holy places and their opposition to the Mass, their repudiation of tradition and much of the Old Testament.

What is striking here is how heavily Catholic responses depended upon the Old Testament. Newman writes, “in a discussion of the doctrine of the validity of baptism for children who had not yet attained intelligence, Peter the Venerable, Abbot of Cluny, argued from the precedent of circumcision (Lev. 12) ; in rebuttal of the Petrobrussian argument that the building of the Temple is unnecessary, Peter cites the Old Testament examples of the consecration of sacred places to God. (Gen. 8:22, 28; Ex. 40; I Kings 8). In his opposition to the Petrobrussian view of the Sacrament and the Mass, Peter refers to the sacrifices brought by Abel, Noah, Abraham and Jacob and to the sacrificial cult introduced by Moses; the staff of Moses is mentioned as symbolic of the change of the elements in the Mass. The performance of sacrificial rites, the offering of prayer and charity on behalf of the dead by the faithful -practices which were scorned by the Petrobrussians, -evoked from the Abbot of Cluny a defense largely based upon Old Testament passages. That God hearkens to prayers of the departed Saints whom the Church adores is vindicated by numerous passages from canonical and apocryphal books of the Jewish scriptures” (209-10).

This reliance on the Old Testament led to some ironies. On the basis of the Second Word, Peter of Bruys rejected veneration of images, but in response “Peter of Cluny defended the Catholic practice by means of the same Old Testament wherefrom the Jews drew an opposite opinion. Thus he cited Ex. 12:15, 17, I. Sam. 17; Ezech. 8, in favor of venerating the cross, and, quoting from Deut. 6, describes the manner of adoration due it; the sacrifices mentioned in the Old Testament furnish him with additional evidence” (211).

It’s an intriguing glimpse into the weight the medieval church placed on the Old Testament, including Old Testament ceremonies, as well as the inconsistent way they deployed the Old Testament.