Let's look at what an indulgence is. Its definition is as follows - this is a complete or partial exemption from punishment for committed sins, which the church gives to the believer. Repentance (this is the very absolution of sin) was usually given during confession. Why was it necessary to introduce such a complex concept? A believer will come to
priest. Repent. The priest will punish him. The believer will do. And all his sins will be forgiven. This was the case under normal circumstances. But more and more often situations began to arise when a weekly visit to the Temple became impossible. For example, there were believers everywhere who wanted to undertake a pilgrimage to the Holy Places. What to do in this case? Not to repent is unthinkable. But there is nothing in the pilgrimage that is not pleasing to God.
The concept of "indulgence" was coined
This is a kind of absolution in advance. That is, a person, having paid a certain amount, transferred to the church his obligation to atone for sins. Priests and monks did this for him, carrying out his “punishment”. At the same time, the believer was exempted from the obligatory attendance of the Church, since the possibility of suchhad no travel. Everything seems to be completely logical. A man paid to have his spiritual obligations fulfilled by the church
employees, while he himself will be busy with other charitable affairs.
Meaning of the word indulgence
Latin indulgentia translates as "mercy" or "forgiveness". This privilege was not given lightly. In order to receive a scroll (and an indulgence was a written document), one had to have quite serious reasons. If at the initial stages the reasons for which the believer asked for “mercy” were taken very seriously (these included: pilgrimage, participation in the crusades, and some others), then over time it became possible to receive indulgence for anyone who wanted a bribe. The money was donated to the needs of the church. Thus, over time, it became possible to somewhat rephrase the concept: indulgence is the receipt of atonement for a sin that has not yet been committed for a monetary reward. But the concept did not immediately acquire this meaning.
Flourishing indulgence
Since the introduction of the concept, in fact, it has been used very rarely, considering that repentance should still be done personally. The Church did not want to allow this responsible act to be shifted onto someone else's shoulders. Only in very rare cases could an indulgence be issued to a person.
This was considered a kind of proof of human imperfection. He is weak and sinful. Infrequent instances of the use of indulgences by the Church onlyemphasized this fact. But during the Crusades, everything changed dramatically. Many soldiers of the Church went to distant countries with a charitable mission. Not only did they lose the opportunity to perform repentance, they also accumulated countless sins during the campaign. Thus, everyone who went on a campaign in the name of Christ received from the Church the remission of all the sins that he committed during the journey.
Expanding the concept
In the Middle Ages, "repentance" is already issued not only to travelers. Since, in a broad sense, “indulgence” is “mercy”, it is being used in less fundamental cases. Thus, it becomes possible to “buy” oneself the right to eat eggs in fasting. Monastic orders received special "mercy". Over time, the very concept of indulgence has changed a lot. It was perceived not as repentance, but as the permission of the Church to commit any sin. They began to believe that the document freed not only from redemption, but also from the most objectionable act to God. Such a position caused great criticism from enlightened minds.
