By far the highlight of the century was the emergence of an Islamic fundamentalist political movement. Extremism in Islam is a powerful current within the framework of modern Islamism, understood as a political movement that seeks to influence the process of social development based on religious norms. Having deployed its activities all over the planet, this movement has actually turned into a worldwide confrontation between the forces of Islam and the rest of the world.
The soldiers of Islam have been waging an ongoing war for many years in many parts of the world (Algeria, Egypt, Indonesia, the Philippines and many other countries). It is no coincidence that the attack on the World Trade Center was almost immediately attributed to radical Islamic groups. And one of them - "Al-Qaeda" - the United States of America actually recognized as the organizers of this operation.
The object of aggressive attacks by religious extremists are modern political institutions and power structures, presented as "infidels", since they are the main obstacle to establishing the foundations of the Islamic order. The practice of Islamic radicals consists in active and immediate, and therefore usually aggressive actions to establish an Islamic state, the coming to power of true Muslims. The driving forces of modern Islamic extremism are mainly students, workers, small traders, engineers, and doctors. The expansion of the ranks of religious extremists is facilitated by the ongoing process in the modern Muslim world of the introduction of Western culture unacceptable to Islam and the lumpenization of the population. To date, according to rough estimates, under the banner of various extremist groups professing Islam, there are about sixty million fighters.
2. RELIGIOUS CONTROL IN IRELAND
The confrontation, in a huge number of cases armed, between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, complicated by the unwillingness of the former to remain part of Great Britain, is very, very significant. It demonstrates the presence of the most serious conflict in a fairly prosperous region of Western Europe and once again refutes the myth of "harmony", which supposedly reigns in the countries of Western democracy.
In this case, religious contradictions are closely connected with ethnic, as well as with ideological ones. The ideological and theoretical basis of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), which was at the forefront of resistance, can be described as radical socialist. By the way, socialist and even communist ideas are being actively adopted by the majority of European "separatists". Thus, the terrorist organization ETA, which is fighting for the independence of the Basques and their secession from Spain, professes Marxism, paradoxically (it would seem paradoxically) combined with radical nationalism. Inside the famous UCHK ("Kosovo Liberation Army"), radical socialist sentiments are very strong, whimsically intertwined with nationalism and Islamism.
At the moment, Irish resistance is in a phase of fading, only an irreconcilable minority of the so-called. "true" IRA. However, the problem itself remains, and in the foreseeable future we can expect the emergence of new radical movements, moreover, of a religious-fundamentalist color.
3. ISLAMIC REVOLUTION IN IRAN
The revolution that took place in Iran is one of the most unexpected victories of Islamic fundamentalism, which certainly shook the usual course of human history. For many then, in 1979, it was a surprise that such a phenomenon as the Islamic revolution was even possible. However, all doubts were decisively dispelled by the revolutionary Iranians.
At the very source of spiritual resistance to the Shah's tyranny that shook the country stood a spiritual teacher, Ayatollah Khairi, who became a mentor and inspirer of Shiite thinkers and spiritual figures - Khomeini, Tabatabai, Motaharri, Mortezalari and others. Through his efforts, a circle of "revolutionary ayatollahs" arose, which made possible the victory of the "renovator" faction.
The cleansing of the Islamic space from the agents of the World System was successful and has withstood the test of time. More than twenty years have passed since the revolution. When the Islamic Revolution took place, the population of Iran was 37 million, now it is 60 million. Population growth occurred despite the fact that the damage from the post-revolutionary wars amounted to about 200 billion dollars.
For the Islamic religious consciousness, the figure of Imam Khomeini has outgrown the purely social worldly framework. The very word "imam" applied to Khomeini is an unprecedented concession to the special status of the leader of the Islamic revolution, since the Shia tradition recognizes only 12 imams, the last of which will be the Mahdi. The leader of the last great war that will end injustice and oppression.
4. WAR ON THE HOLY GROUND
The most widely reported religious conflict is the ongoing war for the Holy Land of Palestine. A feature of the Middle East crisis, unlike any other local religious conflict, is that the main subject of the dispute - Jerusalem - is of great importance not only for the direct participants in the conflict (Muslims and Jews), but also for representatives of all Christian denominations. The issue of the status of Jerusalem is the main stumbling block in Israeli-Palestinian relations, this problem could be resolved without sacrificing religious feelings and maintaining access for believers to shrines, but so far this long-awaited peace has not been established. Endless large and small military clashes have been taking place here for more than a decade. The number of victims of this confrontation has not yet been calculated by anyone. Events in the Middle East cause a sharply negative reaction from representatives of the Arab world. Palestinian detachments continuously draw new recruits for themselves from among Muslims who are ready to fight for the liberation of Islamic shrines. In turn, the Israeli authorities constantly declare that Jerusalem was, is and will be the single and indivisible capital of Israel, remaining a holy city for the Jews. And the Israelis do not agree to give it away under any circumstances. The participants in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict are still far from agreement. Whether they will be able to find a common language and end the long-term confrontation - time will tell.
5. PERSECUTION OF RELIGION IN THE USSR
In the last century, an unprecedented atheist campaign unfolded in Russia, the most important element of which was mass repressions against clergy and ordinary believers. It is hardly worthwhile now to characterize in detail the scale of the repressions that have fallen upon the Orthodox and representatives of other confessions. Enough has been written and said about this.
I would like to say a few words about the fact that Orthodoxy did not act in those days only in a “passive”, so to speak, role. There were cases of active and passive resistance to the godless authorities. During the Civil War, the organs of church administration that existed on the "white" territory took an openly anti-Soviet position. In the army of Admiral Kolchak, a whole regiment formed from Orthodox clergy successfully fought. Demolition of churches and atheistic mockery of communist activists were often disrupted by believers, and sometimes resistance took the form of armed uprisings.
Already in the 30s, according to the NKVD, from 20 to 30% of the population did not come to work on major religious holidays, which was fraught with criminal prosecution. Along with the "Sergian" ROC, which was forced to take a conciliatory position, there were secret and overt structures of the so-called catacomb - independent - church. In emigration, the theomachist power was condemned by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.
It was the stubborn unwillingness of people to give up their faith that in many ways forced the communist leadership to take certain steps towards the believers in the 40s - the rejection of mass repressions, the return of priests from places of imprisonment and exile, the return of churches, the revival of the system of church education, etc.
6. CHINESE OCCUPATION OF TIBET
This event did not cause much resonance in the international arena, although its significance for the destinies of the world can hardly be overestimated. On May 23, 1951, the 40,000-strong army of communist China (PRC) invaded the territory of Tibet, then an independent state.
Formally, the Tibetans were guaranteed the broadest religious and political autonomy, but the Chinese communists began to violate their own promises from the very first days of their rule. During the 50 years of Maoist rule in Tibet, one and a half million people died, out of 6 thousand monasteries only 13 survived (later, for purely pragmatic reasons, the Chinese authorities allowed 1.5 thousand monasteries to open). In addition, the PRC pursued an unfavorable demographic policy for the Tibetans, aimed at ensuring Chinese ethnic predominance in the region. At present, the ratio of the local population to the Chinese is 6.5:7. The territory of Tibet has become a dumping ground for nuclear waste from China.
There was (and still is) a place for Tibetans to resist Red China. In 1959, an armed popular uprising broke out in the region, brutally suppressed by the communists. Then about 100 thousand people died. The Tibetan leader, the Dalai Lama, fled to India, where he set up a government in exile.
Recently, the interest of the world community in Tibet and its religious and political problems has been awakening more and more. To give just one example, in 1989 the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Prize. However, attention to this ancient, "magical" country still cannot be called sufficient.
In fact, the policy of the Chinese communists in Tibet can be compared with the persecution of Orthodoxy in Russia, which was carried out by the Soviet communists.
7. RELIGIOUS WARS IN AFRICA
Throughout the last century, the African continent has become a battlefield for sectarian wars. Many countries of the continent experienced a real religious massacre. Some are still experiencing it. For the past fourteen years, Sudan has been torn apart by a fierce confrontation between the government and the opposition. The bloody civil war has already claimed 2 million human lives, and 600 thousand Sudanese were forced to leave their homeland.
Political contradictions here recede into the background and give way to religious contradictions. The Sudanese authorities express the interests of the Muslim part of the country, which makes up 70% of the total population, while the opposition is strictly focused on pagans (25%) and Christians (5%). Moreover, the situation is complicated by the fact that the ruling regime is also struggling with unorthodox Nubian Muslims, as well as with numerous Islamic sects.
In Nigeria, the largest country on the African continent, there is an ongoing religious conflict between Christians, Muslims and pagans.
Ethnic and religious strife, constantly tearing apart Nigeria, has become one of the biggest dangers for this young country. The struggle for power in the federation between the politicians of the North (Hausa Muslims, Fulbe) and the South (Yoruba Christians, Igbo) continuously complicates the political situation in the country.
Violent clashes often paralyze Lagos, Nigeria's economic capital and largest city. In this ten-million African metropolis, bloody clashes in the streets between Christians and Muslims are considered quite commonplace. In Lagos, the former capital of Nigeria, extremists from the Odua People's Congress, a paramilitary group of the Yoruba people, have captured and lynched the Hausa people.
In the state of Kaduna, after the introduction of sharia, Christians, who make up about half of the state's population, staged a massive protest march. In a matter of hours, the city was engulfed in pogroms.
8. CONFLICT BETWEEN HINDUISTS AND ISLAMS
The India-Pakistan border is in danger of becoming a global front line at any moment. The two states continuously accuse each other of starting hostilities.
The conflict between India and Pakistan, like the conflict in Yugoslavia, is a clash of two different faiths - Hinduism and Islam. The very division of India into Pakistan and the Indian Union in 1947 took place along confessional lines. Now in India, Hinduism is practiced by more than 80% of the country's population, but in some states the majority are adherents of other religions. Thus, in the state of Punjab, the majority of the population are Sikhs, more than half of the inhabitants of the state of Nagaland profess Christianity, and about two-thirds of the population of the state of Jammu and Kashmir are Muslims. Therefore, Pakistan does not stop making territorial claims against India, wanting to annex the states whose population professes Islam. A number of separatist political Islamic organizations operate in these states, whose activities are aimed at creating an independent state (for example, the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front). Seeds of discord, sown in the late 40s. with a rather conditional and arbitrary territorial delimitation, they repeatedly led to outbreaks of violence, border conflicts, which more than once escalated into local wars. Hundreds of thousands of adherents of Islam and Hinduism have already died in the course of many years of confrontation.
Assessing Pakistan's attitude to this problem, one should not forget the circumstances of the latest military coup: the reason for the dissatisfaction of the Pakistani military was the order of President Sharif to withdraw the Pakistani military from Kashmir.
As practice shows, conflicts based on confessional or ethnic reasons can last for decades or even centuries. This is evidenced by the experience of the Balkans, and the Caucasus region, and the confrontation in Northern Ireland. However, in the case of Indo-Pakistani relations, for the first time, a confessional conflict may arise between states possessing nuclear weapons.
9. OPPOSITION OF SERBS AND CROATS
This phenomenon is more than significant. It once again confirms the fact that mutual religious enmity can also be inherent in ethnically similar communities. In the case of Serbs and Croats, we are dealing with the same ethnic group, divided into two nations precisely on religious grounds.
The scale of religious and ethnic cleansing organized by Croatian Catholic nationalists against Orthodox Serbs during the Second World War is striking. The figure of five hundred people is called killed, as for various fanaticism, they amazed even the worldly-wise German Nazis. The official Vatican also condemned the persecution of the Serbs.
At the same time, it is necessary in everything and always to follow the principle of objective coverage of events. There is no doubt that in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (that was the name of Yugoslavia until 1941), the Croatian population was clearly in a humiliated position. In all significant areas of socio-political and economic life, it was the Serbs that dominated, the standard of living of the Croats was much lower than the Serbian. Serbian nationalism was rather aggressively planted in the country.
But, of course, the reaction of the Croatian nationalists to all this was, to put it mildly, inadequate. Ordinary Serbs paid for the mistakes and abuses of the ruling elite.
In conclusion, let us once again pay attention to the closest, mystical, one might say, connection between the two Orthodox Slavic peoples - Russians and Serbs. And now we are not even talking about a joint struggle against fascism. Few people know, but during the Second World War, the so-called. "Russian corps", consisting of monarchist-minded members of the White movement of 1917-1921, who found themselves in exile. They collaborated with Nazi Germany, fought against the Tito partisans, but selflessly defended fellow Serbs from the encroachments of their ill-wishers.
10. Liberation Theology
In the 1970s, a powerful religious movement arose in Latin America known as "liberation theology". Its ideologists (Gustav Gutierrez, Leonardo Boffa, Sergio Menendez and others) challenged the world capitalist system, based on their own interpretation of the religious principles of Christianity.
According to "liberation theologians", the life and teachings of Christ represented a social revolt against the Roman Empire and the selfishness of the nobility. In fact, they put forward the concept of a kind of Catholic "jihad" - a revolutionary religious war against capital.
In principle, the appearance of "liberation theology" is another evidence in favor of the fact that in the 20th century religions are becoming more and more politicized, being actively involved in the socio-political confrontation.
It should be noted that the phenomenon of "liberation theology" cannot be understood without considering it in conjunction with the person of the legendary Ernesto Che Guevara, who back in the 60s proposed creating an alliance between the left and Catholics. The fiery Comandante, often compared to Christ by many of his followers, is a cult figure for "liberation theologians" and indeed for many Catholics. In Bolivia, in those places where the commander fought, in every family they pray to the saint of Santo Ernesto de La Higuera - Che Guevara.
The "Great Soviet Encyclopedia" and "Electronic Encyclopedia of Cyril and Methodius" give only a religious war in France between Catholics and Huguenots. It says nothing about the Crusades and the religious of the twentieth century. It turns out a clear definition, "war of religions" does not exist.
However, conflicts on religious grounds occur all the time in the world. In many countries of the Muslim world, even today there is a "holy jihad", which implies the widespread spread and establishment of Islam, up to a "holy war" against the infidels.
There are signs by which a "war of religions" can be defined. These include: religious rituals by military personnel, participation in hostilities by clergy, and the direct involvement of spiritual images. But the main sign is that the opposing forces belong to different religions.
Unfortunately, it is often used as a tool to settle scores and unleash a bloodbath. In order to raise a wave of indignation in society, and get many supporters on your side, it is enough to publicly burn the Bible or the Koran.
Often billions in profits are behind the "war of religions". This has been the case since the time of the Crusades, when those who did not even have the moral right to wear a Christian cross joined the Crusaders.
What factors can serve as an impetus for the start of the "war of religions"
The desire of the people to gain autonomy, based on the difference of religions. In this case, it is a kind of generator that fuels the desire to form a new national state.
A unifying religious war, which is based on the desire of the people scattered across the territory of different countries to reunite. At the same time, the divided people profess a religion that differs from the generally accepted one in the state where they live.
Communal or internal religious conflicts that occur within the same state between different sects within the same religion. Today, the confrontation between Sunnis and Shiites is happening throughout the Middle East.
Religious-absolutist conflicts arise in countries where, on the basis of the propaganda of one religion, intolerance towards representatives of another religion is manifested.
It is indicative of how one thoughtless provocative act on religious grounds can lead to the death of people. American pastor Terry Jones staged an action with the burning of the Koran, which caused massive attacks on employees of international organizations in Afghanistan. The pastor himself got off with a small fine, and the result of his act was the death of innocent people.
The French Wars of Religion were intermittent from 1562 to 1589. The main parties to the conflict were Catholics and Huguenots (Protestants). The result of numerous wars was the change of the ruling dynasty, as well as the consolidation of the right to freedom of religion.
Prerequisites
The bloody religious war in France between Catholics and Protestants began in 1562. She had several superficial reasons and deep reasons. In the 16th century, French society split into two irreconcilable camps - Catholic and Protestant. The new doctrine penetrated the country from Germany. His supporters advocated the rejection of some of the norms of the Catholic Church (selling indulgences, positions, etc.).
The most popular Protestant movement in France was Calvinism. His adherents were called Huguenots. The centers of this teaching were scattered throughout the country, which is why the religious war in France was of such a significant scale.
The plot was uncovered on the eve of execution. Francis and his associates fled to Amboise. Nevertheless, the conspirators did not abandon their plans and tried to capture the king by force right in this city. The plan failed. Many nobles died in battle, others were executed afterwards. Those events of March 1560 became the reason for the outbreak of a religious war in France.
The beginning of the war
Just a couple of months after the failed plot, Francis II died due to his poor health. The throne passed to his brother Charles IX, during whose reign the religious wars in France began. The year 1562 was marked by the massacre of the Huguenots in Champagne. The Duke of Guise and his army attacked the unarmed Protestants who were peacefully celebrating. This event was the signal for the outbreak of a large-scale war.
The Huguenots, like the Catholics, had their own leaders. The first of these was Prince Louis de Condé of the Bourbon family. After the incident in Champagne, he captured several cities, making Orléans a stronghold of Protestant resistance to power. The Huguenots entered into an alliance with the German principalities and England - countries where they fought against Catholic influence in the same way. The involvement of external forces in the civil confrontation further exacerbated the religious wars in France. It took years for the country to exhaust all its resources and, drained of blood, finally came to a peace agreement between the parties.
An important feature of the conflict was that there were several wars at once. The bloodshed began, then stopped, then resumed again. So, with short breaks, the war went on from 1562 to 1598. The first stage ended in 1563, when the Huguenots and Catholics concluded the Peace of Amboise. According to this treaty, Protestants received the right to practice their religion in certain provinces of the country. The parties came to an agreement thanks to the active mediation of Catherine de Medici - the mother of three French kings (Francis II, Charles IX and Henry III). Over time, she became the main protagonist of the conflict. The Queen Mother is best known to the modern layman thanks to Dumas' classic historical novels.
Second and third war
The Guises were unhappy with concessions to the Huguenots. They began to look for Catholic allies abroad. At the same time, in 1567, the Protestants, as they had a few years before, tried to capture the king. The incident known as the surprise at Mo ended in nothing. The authorities summoned the leaders of the Huguenots, Prince Condé and Count Gaspard Coligny, to court. They refused to come to Paris, which served as a signal for the resumption of bloodshed.
The reasons for the religious wars in France were that intermediate peace treaties, involving small concessions to the Protestants, did not satisfy either side. Because of this irresolvable contradiction, the conflict was renewed again and again. The second war ended in November 1567 due to the death of one of the leaders of the Catholics - the Duke of Montmorency.
But just a few months later, in March 1568, firing and the death cries of soldiers again sounded on the fields of France. The third war mainly took place in the province of Languedoc. The Protestants nearly took Poitiers. They managed to cross the Rhone and force the authorities to make concessions again. The privileges of the Huguenots were extended by the Treaty of Saint-Germain, signed on August 15, 1570. Freedom of religion was established throughout France, except for Paris.
Marriage of Heinrich and Margot
In 1572, the Wars of Religion in France reached their climax. The 16th century knew many bloody and tragic events. But, perhaps, none of them could compare with Bartholomew's night. So in historiography was called the massacre of the Huguenots, arranged by the Catholics. The tragedy occurred on August 24, 1572, on the eve of the day of the Apostle Bartholomew. Scholars today give varying estimates of how many Protestants were then killed. Calculations give a figure of approximately 30 thousand people - a figure unprecedented for its time.
The massacre was preceded by several important events. From 1570, the religious wars in France briefly ceased. The date of the signing of the Treaty of Saint-Germain became a holiday for the exhausted country. But the most radical Catholics, including the powerful Giza, did not want to recognize this document. Among other things, they were against the appearance at the royal court of Gaspard Coligny, one of the leaders of the Huguenots. The talented admiral enlisted the support of Charles IX. The monarch wanted to annex the Netherlands to his country with the help of the commander. Thus, political motives triumphed over religious ones.
Catherine de Medici also cooled her ardor for a while. There was not enough money in the treasury to lead an open confrontation with the Protestants. Therefore, the Queen Mother decided to use diplomatic and dynastic methods. The Parisian court agreed on the terms of a marriage between Marguerite of Valois (Catherine's daughter) and Henry of Navarre, another Huguenot leader.
Bartholomew night
The wedding was to be celebrated in Paris. Because of this, a huge number of Huguenots, supporters of Henry of Navarre, arrived in the predominantly Catholic city. The mood in the capital was the most explosive. The common people hated the Protestants, blaming them for all their troubles. At the top of the government there was no unity in relation to the upcoming wedding.
The marriage took place on August 18, 1572. After 4 days, Admiral Coligny, who was traveling from the Louvre, was fired upon from a house that belonged to the Guises. It was a planned assassination. The Huguenot leader was wounded but survived. However, what happened was the last straw. Two days later, on the night of August 24, Catherine de Medici ordered the massacre of the Huguenots, who had not yet left Paris, to begin. The beginning of the religious wars in France struck contemporaries with its cruelty. But what happened in 1572 could not be compared with the previous horrors of battles and battles.
Thousands of people died. Gaspard Coligny, who miraculously escaped death the day before, was one of the first to say goodbye to life. Henry of Navarre (the future King Henry IV) managed to survive only thanks to the intercession at the court of his new relatives. Bartholomew's Night was the event that turned the tide of the conflict known in history as the religious wars in France. The date of the massacre of the Huguenots was marked by the loss of many of their leaders. After the horrors and chaos in the capital, according to various estimates, about 200 thousand Huguenots fled the country. They moved to the German principalities, England and Poland in order to be as far away as possible from the bloody Catholic power. Valois's actions were condemned by many rulers of that time, including Ivan the Terrible.
Continued conflict
The painful Reformation and religious wars in France led to the fact that the country did not know peace for many years. After Bartholomew's night, the point of no return was passed. The parties stopped looking for a compromise, and the state again became a victim of mutual bloodshed. The fourth war ended in 1573, but in 1574 King Charles IX died. He did not have an heir, so his younger brother Henry III came to Paris to rule, who had previously managed to be the autocrat of Poland for a short time.
The new monarch again brought the restless Guises closer to him. Now the religious wars in France, in short, have resumed again, due to the fact that Henry did not control some regions of his country. So, for example, the German count of the Palatinate invaded Champagne, who came to the rescue of local Protestants. At the same time, a moderate Catholic party appeared, known in historiography as "discontented". Representatives of this movement advocated the establishment of religious tolerance throughout the country. They were joined by numerous patriotic nobility, tired of the endless war. In the Fifth War, the "dissatisfied" and the Huguenots acted as a united front against the Valois. Giza again defeated both of them. After that, many "dissatisfied" were executed as traitors.
Catholic League
In 1576, Henry de Guise established the Catholic League, which, in addition to France, included the Jesuits, Spain, and the purpose of the union was the final defeat of the Huguenots. In addition, aristocrats who wanted to limit the power of the king acted on the side of the league. Religious wars and absolute monarchy in France during the second half of the 16th century were the main factors influencing the course of the history of this country. Time has shown that after the victory of the Bourbons, the power of the kings only increased, despite the attempts of the nobles to limit it under the pretext of fighting the Protestants.
The Catholic League unleashed the Sixth War (1576-1577), as a result of which the rights of the Huguenots were noticeably limited. Their center of influence shifted to the south. The generally recognized leader of the Protestants was Henry of Navarre, after whose wedding there was once a massacre on St. Bartholomew's night.
The king of a small kingdom in the Pyrenees, who belonged to the Bourbon dynasty, became the heir to the entire French throne due to the childlessness of Catherine de Medici's son. Henry III really did not have offspring, which put the monarch in a delicate position. According to dynastic laws, he was to be succeeded by his closest relative in the male line. Ironically, he became Henry of Navarre. Firstly, he also descended from and secondly, the applicant was married to the monarch's sister Margarita (Margo).
War of the Three Heinrichs
A dynastic crisis led to the War of the Three Heinrichs. Namesakes fought among themselves - the king of France, the king of Navarre and the Duke of Guise. This conflict, which lasted from 1584 to 1589, was the last in a series of religious wars. Henry III lost the campaign. In May 1588, the people of Paris rebelled against him, after which he had to flee to Blois. The Duke of Guise has arrived in the capital of France. For several months he was actually the ruler of the country.
In order to somehow resolve the conflict, Guise and Valois agreed to hold a meeting in Blois. The duke who arrived there fell into a trap. The king's guards killed Guise himself, the guards, and later his brother. The treacherous act of Henry III did not add to his popularity. The Catholics turned their backs on him, and the Pope completely cursed him.
In the summer of 1589, Henry III was stabbed to death by the Dominican monk Jacques Clement. The killer was able, with the help of forged documents, to obtain an audience with the king. When the guards made way for Heinrich, the monk unexpectedly thrust a stiletto into him. The killer was mauled on the spot. But Henry III also died from his wound. Now nothing prevented the king of Navarre from becoming the ruler of France.
Edict of Nantes
Henry of Navarre became King of France on August 2. He was a Protestant, but in order to gain a foothold on the throne, he converted to Catholicism. This act allowed Henry IV to receive absolution from the Pope for his former "heretical" views. The monarch spent the first years of his reign fighting his political rivals, who also claimed power throughout the country.
And only after his victory, Henry in 1598 issued the Edict of Nantes, which secured free religion throughout the country. Thus ended the religious wars and the strengthening of the monarchy in France. After more than thirty years of bloodshed, the long-awaited peace came to the country. The Huguenots received new rights and impressive subsidies from the authorities. The results of the religious war in France consisted not only in ending the long conflict, but also in the centralization of the state during the reign of the Bourbon dynasty.
The history of Western civilization is full of evidence of mass bloodshed and atrocities that have become commonplace not only in the life of medieval Europe, but also in the recent twentieth century. In terms of the scale of bloodletting and atrocities, the 20th century surpasses the Middle Ages, and there are no guarantees that European civilization will not return to its usual practice. The narcissism of Western civilization looks rather strange when it has the audacity to teach morality and ethics to Russia.
One of the most prominent contemporary historians, Oxford professor Norman Davies, said "Everyone will agree that the crimes of the West in the twentieth century undermined the moral basis of his claims, including his past claims."
Catherine de Medici(1519 - 1589) - Queen of France from 1547 to 1559, who organized a mass massacre of the Huguenots (Protestants) in a day St. Bartholomew on the night of August 24-25, 1572 Catholics. About 30 thousand people died on Bartholomew's night. The expression "St. Bartholomew's Night" has long been included in the languages of many peoples of the world, and means the cruel treacherous murder of defenseless people who do not have the ability to resist. In other cities of France, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lyon, Bourges, Rouen and Orleans, about 6 thousand Huguenots (Protestants).
First crowned in 1553 Queen of England Mary I Tudor(1516-1558) was nicknamed Bloody Mary. Having entered the English throne, Mary I, the daughter of Henry VIII from her marriage to Catherine of Aragon, began the reconstruction of Catholic monasteries, the restoration of the Catholic faith in the state, mass executions of Protestants began, in 1555 bonfires blazed all over England, about 300 ardent Protestants and church hierarchs were burned. It was ordered not to spare even those Protestants who agreed to accept Catholicism.
February 16, 1568 the Holy Inquisition condemned to death all the inhabitants of the Netherlands as heretics, and the Spanish King Philip II ordered that this sentence be carried out. It was not possible to kill everyone, but the royal army did what they could - destroyed in the Netherlands - 100 thousand people, in Haarlem alone, 20,000 inhabitants were killed.
Another classic of English "history for readers" John Richard Green in 1874 quoted Oliver Cromwell's report on the work done in Ireland: "I ordered my soldiers to kill them all ... About a thousand people were killed in the church itself. I believe that all the monks, except for two, had their heads broken ... ”(John-Richard Green“ The History of the English People ”, v.3, M., ed. Soldatenkov, 1892, p. 218)
aim "pacification of Ireland" in 1649-53 by the troops of Oliver Cromwell(1599 - 1658) was the subordination of Catholic Ireland to the authorities of Protestant England. Cromwell's punitive expedition was aimed at the physical destruction of the massacre of Irish Catholics in Drogheda and Wexford, 32,000 Irish fled the country. 1/6 of the Irish population of Ireland submitted to England, from this deadly blow Ireland was never able to recover.
Historical background Schisms (schisms) of the Christian Church began in late antiquity - 410 AD. e., when Rome was sacked by troops Visigoths led by the king Alaric I. In the Christian Church, new elements appeared in church rituals, ethical and aesthetic differences in between the Western and Eastern traditions of Christianity.
The gap between Western and Eastern Christianity continued into the early Middle Ages. At the insistence of the king of the Franks and the Lombards Charlemagne(768-774) at the Council of Bishops in Aachen in 809, in " Symbol of faith" , despite the protest of Pope Leo III, the word was introduced "filioque" - "... and from the Son", that is, the Holy Spirit proceeds equally "from the Father and from the Son ..."
Charlemagne distinguished by particular cruelty not only in religious matters. During the war with the Saxons, he ordered the execution of 4,500 captured Saxon warriors in Germany.
When the Christian Church Was One. Until 1054 Christ's church was one. The Patriarchs of Constantinople did not recognize the claims of Pope Leo IX of Rome to the complete power of Rome over all the Christian Church. The church schism of 1054 divided the Christian Church into Western and Eastern.
Western Christians turn to Saint Peter, as to the main stone of his Church, who set up for them the supreme cathedra in Rome. The Western Christian Church began to be called Latin Catholic, with its center in Rome.
ATEastern Christians, with love flow to St. Andrew who traveled around their lands with the gospel message. ‘The path of Andrew the First-Called through Scythia, around Pontus. Saint Andrew the First-Called set the first bishop in Constantinople, in Byzantium, who became the head of everything Greek OrthodoxEastern Christianity.
After the capture of Kazan by the troops of Ivan the Terrible on October 2, 1552, the tsar ordered Archbishop Gury to convert the inhabitants of Kazan to Orthodoxy solely at the request of each person ( religious freedom), and invited the entire Kazan nobility to his service. In 1555 the ambassadors of the Siberian Khan asked Ivan the Terrible to " took all the Siberian land under his name ... and put his tribute on them and sent his man to whom to collect tribute". The Astrakhan Khanate joined the Russian kingdom, with free religion for all new citizens of Russia.
