Who were the Bogomils ?

Dualistic Theises (the basis of Bogomilis teachings) have a long and ancient tradition.

In the III century ce., before the roman empire had accepted the Christianity as its official faith, a certain Persian named Many, (lat. MANES, MANICHEUS), gathered Christian Gnostic and Buddhist elements, together with the Zaratustra teaching, (ie., Zoroaster - middle VI th century bce), and tried to give a simple explanation of the source of Evil in the world, preaching a new dualistic religion for which he was ultimately condemned by the Persian Mage and crucified (276 ce). By the 2nd half of the VII th century ce. in Armenia a Manicheo - Gnostic heretical sect named Pavlikianis was founded.

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By their combativeness the Pavlikianis became a threat to the state authorities, such that Tsars, Constantine V Kopronim (741-775 ce), and Ivan Cimiskes (969-976 ce), moved them into Trace and Macedonia, creatlng fertile grounds for the Dualistic Heresy.
The Bogomils or Bogumils, were followers of this heresy movement as it appeared in middle of the Xth century Macedonia, at the time of Bulgarian Tsar Peter (927-969 ce) .
The first written information about this heresy is the epistle of patriarch Teofilact to Tsar Peter, where he explains to the Tsar that this heresy is in fact "Pavlikian heresy mixed with Manicheanism".

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More information can be found in the apologetic tractate of the presbyter Cosma, titled "Speech on heresy" created around 972 ce. Cosma blamed the priest Bogomil for spreading wrong, new teachings "across the Bulgarian land", which opposed those of the orthodox Christian church which taught - there is only one god, creator of all visible and invisible worlds, a god who gives to its peoples, all that is good and all that is bad in their lives.

By contrast, the priest Bogomil taught - there are two gods - two principles: one is the God of Good, and the other - the principle of evil - mammon, Satan! The God of Evil created the material world, including the man, by his will exists all things visible : the sun, the stars, the air, the earth, man, his churches, and his crosses... Some bogomils even thought that Satan was God's younger son, along with the older Christ. Others thought of him, not God's son but as a fallen Angel.

Cosma went on to report, that the Bogomils severely attacked the establishment church, especially its clergy and bishops, from whom they denied authority over their believers. They rejected the Old Testament, and all the books of the church fathers.

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Cosma further told, that the Bogomils affirmed only the gospels, the acts of the appostles and their epistles, rejecting the cult of the Virgin Mary, cults of the saints, and all the other church literature and prayers, with the sole exception of the "Lords Prayer". They showed neither respect for the cross nor the icons, and refused to accept any church as God's house, but rather gathered in their own homes to pray, and to confess to each other. They had equaly sharp attitudes towards the goverments and all of the state establishment, and societies' rules. They iniciated their followers to rebel against the authorities, detering slaves from working for their lords. They attacked the elders and the nobility, teaching that those working for the Tsar were repulsive to God. They preach poverty and had very sharp attitudes towards the Rich.
Cosma described these heretics as quiet, silent people, pale from feasting, dresed in clothes with patriarchale style. Yet according to him, this was only a reflection, and in fact they were rapacious, lurking on people of simple spirit, approaching them talking about the salvation of their souls, seeding inside them the seeds of their teaching.

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From the preceeding pages we can see the reflection into orthodox Christian priest's mind of the new heretic science, in which center, as the most important, and for the orthodox church - the most dangerous, stands the heretic thesis of two gods, two principles. This thesis is affecting the consistent monotheism of the Christian church, their mighty God, the creator of all good and all evil.
The appearance of the dualistic heresy is an expression of the rebellion towards the hierarchy of the Christian church that uses the idea of god to keep its followers in obedience. It is also an expression of the rebellion towards the state governing institutions that leans on the Christian church, using it as an ideological mean for their power. The dualistic heresy may be an expression of the dissatisfaction of those kept in obedience, who can not understand why this all mighty and absolutely rights Christian God, gives so much good and so little bad to some people, and a lot of bed with so little good to the others. The Christian church with their apologetics cannot give an answer to this question, and the dualistic understanding resolves it by the existence of two gods.

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The apearance of the Bogomils in Macedonia and Bulgaria occures in time of hard pressure over them by Byzant, after the death of the tsar Simeon, in the time of tsar Peter.
Ideologicaly, this teaching was completely pointed against the Byzantian conceurer, agains the domestic nobility and the hierarchy of the christian church, which, according to the Cosma's notes, was completely corrupted. The experiance of the Christian church shows that it would rather ignore or fisicaly destroy the dualistic heresy, than enter into theological disputes with it.
Without doubt, there are also other, less important elements, as for example, the rebelion of the pagan remainings of the recently baptized.
There are only few information on the further developments of this heresy in Macedonia and Bulgaria.
The heresy spread on outside the teritory were it originaly apaired.
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The heretics were known under different names, in dependence of the places where they were acting or where they came from: bogomils, kudughers (greek name for the bogomils), babunes (characteristic name in Serbia, coming from the name of the macedonian mountain Babuna), christians (characteristic name for Bosnia) patarens (italian name taken from the poor quator in Milano, Pataria), christiani boni or veri, boni homines, bonomii, katari (name characteristic in France and Germany according to th greek word kaqaros: that means pure), kataristi (form from kathari), katafrigi (twisted from kathari), Bulgari or Bougres (name used in France according to Bulgarus: that means Bulgarian), konkorecani (Concorretti according to the place Concorezzo, northeast from Milano), garatenses ( from Garatus, one from the elders of the sect in Italy), de Desenzano (the one from Desenzan, place on the Gard lake), Scalvini (Slavs-name for those heretics in Italy that were supporting the connections with the Bosnian bogomils), – caloiani (name in Italy according to the name of one italian bishop named Caloian), bagnolenses (frase used in Italy according to the place Bagnolo near Mantova), albignezes (according to the city Alba in the county Toulouse), and others.
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The basic studies of the neomanihistic dogmatic heres from the second half of the XII-th century still are these ones:
¯ two gods, the one-the supreme good, the other-the supreme evil; the first one have constructed the invisible, and the other one the visible world. Concerning this fact we can find two points of view:
¯ the radical dualistic point of view: claims that from the very beginning there are two principles;
¯ softer dualistic point of view: claims that there is a connection between the two principles and that the principe of evil came from tha principe of good.
¯ they are rejecting the Old Testemony, together with the prophets, and also the scripts of the holy fathers.
¯ they are rejecting the cult of Maria
¯ they are learning that Christ only appeared to have a human body, so exactly he didn't suffer and he didn't died.
¯ They think that only the dualists consist a real church and that they are the inheriters of the apostols, their elber is an inheritan of the desciple Peter, and not the roman pope.
¯ The churches are resented and called synagogs of the satan.
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The usage of the holy images is called idole woreshiping and they make fun of those one that are respecting the power of the holy fathers.
¯ They condamn the church ceremonies and the hollinesses, baptisam and marriage, that is nothing else but fornecation.
¯ They are denying the reseraction of the body because it comes from the satan.
¯ They are denying the excistance of the puregatory.
¯ They are forbiding the usage of cheese and meat and milk products.
¯ They are forbiding taking vaus.
¯ They deny the right of the world leaders to sentance death.
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In the organization of their churches there are no main differences. Their followers are divided in to the real christians (according to the cathars -perfects), and the others are common beleivers. Only the real beleivers (the perfects) know all the secrets of their science and only they are commited to exercise rigide ascetic life discribed in their teaching. The number of the real related to the common beleivers is small. The perfects are making an special order (ordo) taht is actualy the basement of their church. The hierarchy that rules with the church is consisted of oldmen,guests and elbers, actualy for the cathars: bishop, an older son and younger son.
The dualistic heretics didn't have their own churches as buildings where they would perform their ceremonies, so they were gathering in some of their houses to pray and make confessions.
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