Peter of Bruys

Peter of Bruys (also known as Pierre De Bruys or Peter de Bruis; fl. 1117 – c.1131) was a popular French religious teacher, who is called a heresiarch (leader of a heretical movement) by the Roman Catholic Church because he criticized infant baptism, opposed the erecting of churches and the veneration of crosses, opposed the doctrine of transubstantiation, and denied the efficacy of prayers for the dead. An angry mob killed him in or around the year 1131. Information concerning Peter of Bruys is derived from two extant sources, the treatise of Peter the Venerable against his followers and from a passage written by Peter Abelard.