Abjurate concept - Definition

The word abjurar comes from the Latin word "abiurāre" composed of "ab" which means "to retract" or "go against", and by "iurare"="swear" derived from "ius" with the meaning of "justice "That means that abjuring means breaking a promise or oath, which had been made in advance.Who abjura makes abandonment or renunciation of what he previously believed, or his former group of belonging.Abjuration can be done in any order within the ideas or condition, whether political, social, nationality or religious.In the colloquial language that abjura is called renegade or convert.Example: in 1593, King Henry IV renounced his Protestant beliefs to accept Catholicism , and to be able to access the throne of France.

It was common at the time of the Spanish Inquisition that the supposed heretics be forced to renounce their false beliefs, contrary to the Holy Scriptures, according to the ecle authorities siastic.They should perform the abjuration in public form and before witnesses.Those who were suspected of being heretics, but had not been able to gather enough evidence to condemn them, were allowed to perform the “abjuracion de levi”, which included, among others, bigamos or blasphemers, being their minor penalties (fines, penances).The "de vehementis" abjuration, occurred when the suspicions were more likely, and the "fit" abjuration, for the confessed.In these last two cases the penalties were more severe , such as flogging, banishment or imprisonment, being able to reach the death penalty in case of recidivism.Example: Galileo (1564-1642) to avoid being sentenced to death he had to renounce his heliocentric theory, accurate, but unbelievable by the Church, in the year 1633.The sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, and after abjuration he was allowed to enjoy house arrest until his death.