Berengar of Tours (bĕ`rĭng–gər), c.1000–1088?, French theologian, also called Bérenger and Berengarius, b. Tours. He was archdeacon of Angers (c.1040–1060). After studying at Chartres, he returned to Tours to become head of its cathedral school. Berengar is said to have denied the Real Presence in the Eucharist Eucharist (y

`kərĭst) [Gr.
..... Click the link for more information. . His defiance of authority angered his contemporaries, particularly Lanfranc Lanfranc (lăn`frăngk), d. 1089, Italian churchman and theologian, archbishop of Canterbury (1070–89), b. Pavia.
..... Click the link for more information. . Berengar was defended by Pope Gregory VII Gregory VII, Saint, d. 1085, pope (1073–85), an Italian (b. near Rome) named Hildebrand (Ital. Ildebrando); successor of Alexander II. He was one of the greatest popes. Feast: May 25.
..... Click the link for more information. and Peter Damian. He wrote a reply to Lanfranc, De Sacra Coena, which was condemned. He was declared a heretic, but became reconciled with the church before his death. Berengar's controversy with the church brought about a more explicit formulation of the doctrine of the Eucharist.

Bibliography

See A. J. Macdonald, Berengar and the Reform of Sacramental Doctrine (1930).

Berengar of Tours

(born c. 999, Tours, Touraine—died Jan. 10, 1088, priory of Saint-Cosme, near Tours) French theologian. He became canon of Tours Cathedral and archdeacon of Angers (c. 1040). He rejected the prevailing eucharistic theology and argued against any material change to the bread and wine. He was opposed by numerous theologians, most notably Lanfranc, and may have been excommunicated (1050) by Pope Leo IX. He was condemned by the Council of Vercelli (1050) and the Synod at Paris (1051). After a compromise, he was again condemned in 1076, 1078, 1079, and 1080 and spent the rest of his life in ascetic solitude.