autosdafé

Autosdafé is a Spanish term that translates to "act of faith." It refers to a public ceremony conducted by the Spanish Inquisition, during which the sentences of condemned individuals, often accused of heresy, were announced and carried out. These ceremonies were elaborate and religiously charged events, designed to display the Church's power and deter dissent.

The proceedings typically began with a religious procession, followed by a sermon. Accused individuals, dressed in penitential garments called sanbenitos, would then be led before the Inquisitors. Their verdicts, ranging from penance and fines to imprisonment and, in the most severe cases, execution by burning at the stake, were read aloud. Those condemned to death were handed over to the secular authorities for punishment.

Autosdafé were not trials themselves but rather the public promulgation of judgments already rendered by the Inquisition. They occurred periodically over several centuries, with their frequency and severity varying depending on the region and the specific historical context. The practice aimed to enforce religious orthodoxy and suppress any perceived threats to Catholic doctrine. While the term is strongly associated with the Spanish Inquisition, similar public ceremonies of judgment and punishment for religious offenses existed in other Catholic countries during the same period. The last known auto dafé took place in Spain in 1781.