Mainly records of the Cathars which have been written by their persecutors and murderers have survived the centuries, but hardly any writings which have been produced by themselves. This is why this religious group, which probably dates back to the Essenes, a religious group to which Jesus and Mary Magdalene belonged as well, is often seen in a negative light. The Cathars lived in the South of France and in some other Mediterranean countries and were wide-spread during the Middle Ages. They practised their own “Christian religion”, which, however, deviated strongly from the institutional Church. This is why they were suppressed and nearly extinguished.

The Cathars used to ordain both men and women as priests. Before they could take the holy orders, they had to prepare themselves for this ritual in dedicated caves for years. Then the ritual was performed. In the course of our journey we are going to visit some of those caves.