The Heresiarch & Co by Guillaume Apollinaire. Short summary

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The story «The Heresiarch and K» tells the story of Father Benedito and his heresy «The Three Desires. The heresiarch was a contradictory man: he liked to eat good food, but he kept his body in constant torment.

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Benedito Orphei represented his «Three Lives» order. He was «papering» among his supporters: local children, servants, and a few women from a neighboring village. According to the heresiarch, this sect was to replace Catholicism. Benedito claimed that God gave him the right to establish his own church and preach his doctrine. He even wrote several gospels.

Father Benedito was a gourmand and a great connoisseur of wine. But he kept his flesh in constant torment: he had a rigid belt with large, sharp spikes hanging from his belt, and his entire body was covered with scars and bruises.

The Three Lives sect did not spread widely. After Father Benedito died, all of his disciples eventually dispersed and the cause died. Medics were never able to determine from what the heresiarch died, whether from indigestion or excessive mortification of the flesh.