While I was reading...
I stumbled upon this:
"The wicked shall go to the sanctuary, with axes and with fire they will break down and burn it's doors; and they will take the just men and burn them in the center of the city"
Savonarola, Sermon of 1491
(Stalin and his Hangmen, D. Rayfield, p. 119, 2004 edition)
It reminded me of this movie, although it's not an exact depiction of the scene, somehow it had the same feeling like Tarr created (at least for me). So maybe Tarr new about this guy, a dominican priest from Florence who was anti-Renaissance.