Peter of Bruis

Peter of Bruys
Born	Bruis, France
Died	c. 1131 St Gilles, France
Occupation	Theologian, priest

Peter of Bruys (also known as Pierre De Bruys or Peter de Bruis; fl. 1117 – c.1131) was a popular French religious teacher, who is called a heresiarch (leader of a heretical movement) by the Roman Catholic Church because he criticized infant baptism, opposed the erecting of churches and the veneration of crosses, opposed the doctrine of transubstantiation, and denied the efficacy of prayers for the dead. An angry mob killed him in or around the year 1131. Information concerning Peter of Bruys is derived from two extant sources, the treatise of Peter the Venerable against his followers and from a passage written by Peter Abelard.

Sources suggest that Peter was born at Bruis in southeastern France. The history of his early life is unknown, but it is certain that he was a Roman Catholic priest who had been deprived of his office by the Church hierarchy for teaching unorthodox doctrine. He began his preaching in Dauphiné and Provence probably between 1117 and 1120. The local bishops, who oversaw the dioceses of Embrun, Die, and Gap, suppressed his teachings within their jurisdictions. In spite of the official repression, Peter's teachings gained adherents at Narbonne, Toulouse, and in Gascony.

Peter of Bruys admitted the doctrinal authority of the Gospels in their literal interpretation; the other New Testament writings he seems to have considered valueless, as he doubted their apostolic origin. He questioned the Old Testament and rejected the authority of the Church Fathers and that of the Roman Catholic Church itself. Petrobrusians also opposed clerical celibacy, infant baptism, prayers for the dead, and organ music.

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