Editing Dulcinians (section)

==Theories==
The main concepts of the Dulcinians were:
* The fall of the ecclesiastical hierarchy, and return of the Church to its original ideals of [[humility]] and [[poverty]];
* The fall of the [[feudal system]];
* Human liberation from any restraint, and from entrenched power;
* Creation of a new [[egalitarian]] society based on mutual aid and respect, holding property in common and respecting gender equality.

Fra Dolcino was inspired by the [[Millenarism|millenarist theories]] of Gioacchino da Fiore.  He viewed the history of humanity as 4 ''epochs'':
*The period of the [[Old Testament]];
*The period of [[Jesus Christ]] and the [[Twelve Apostles|Apostles]], characterized by [[chastity]] and poverty;
*The period of [[Emperor Constantine I]] and [[Pope Sylvester I]], characterized by the decline of the church due to ambition and excessive wealth;
*The period of the Apostolics, led by Segarelli and Dolcino, characterized by poverty, chastity and the absence of government.

In his first letter, Dolcino gave his interpretation of the seven angels and [[Seven churches of Asia|seven churches]] of the [[Book of Revelation|Apocalypse of John]]: 
*The angel of Ephesus was [[Benedict of Nursia|Saint Benedict]], and his church was the monastic order;
*The angel of Pergamom was [[Pope Sylvester I]], and his church was the clerical order;
*The angel of Sardis was [[Francis of Assisi|Saint Francis]], and his church was the [[Order of Friars Minor|Friars Minor]];
*The angel of Laodicea was [[Saint Dominic]], and his church was the [[Dominican Order|Friars Preacher]];
*The angel of Smyrna was [[Gerard Segarelli|Gerard of Parma]], and his church was the Apostolic Brethren;
*The angel of Thyatira was Fra Dolcino, and his church was the Dulcinian movement;
*The angel of Philadelphia would be the ''new holy pope'', and the last three churches would constitute "''the new church of these new days''".

Following the death of [[Boniface VIII]], Dolcino produced a schedule of 4 popes:
*[[Celestine V]]
*Boniface VIII: ruin would fall on him and the ''[[Charles II of Naples|king of the south]]''
*Boniface's successor: ruin would fall on him and all the [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|cardinal]]s
*The new holy pope

Thus, the advent of the "new holy pope" was postponed to the second pope after the death of Boniface VIII.  Dolcino never proposed himself as the new pope in his letters, although this was one of the accusations by the Inquisition. The rallying cry ''[[poenitentiam agite]]'' (do penance) was attributed to them in ''[[The Name of the Rose]]'', a novel by [[Umberto Eco]].