The Paulician heresy : A study of the origin and development of Paulicianism in Armenia and the eastern provinces of the Byzantine empire.

Christian dualism originated in the reign of Constans II (641-68). It was a popular religion, which shared with orthodoxy an acceptance of scriptual authority and apostolic tradition and held a sacramental doctrine of salvation, but understood all these in a radically different way to the Orthodox Church. One of the differences was the strong part demonology played in the belief system. This text traces, through original sources, the origins of dualist Christianity throughout the Byzantine Empire, focusing on the Paulician movement in Armenia and Bogomilism in Bulgaria. It presents not only the theological texts, but puts the movements into their social and political context.

Excerpt from The Key of Truth: A Manual of the Paulician Church of Armenia Opinion. Its antiquity evidenced by John of Otzun, and by (lxxxvn) Lazar of Pharp (e. The organic unity of beliefs with rites seen in the Key is a proof of age and primitiveness. - (lxxxviii) Coherence of Paulician Christology with baptismal usages and with rite of election. - (lxxxix) The Key a monument of the Adoptionist Church, of which T fie Skep/zera' of Hermas is also a monument. - (xc) The Christology of latter book examined and shown to agree with that of Theodotus. - (xci) Traces of Adoptionism in Justin Martyr. - (xcii) Its identity with ebionitechristology. Hippolytus' account of Theodotus. - (xciii) Proba bility that Theodotus, like the Paulicians, accepted John's Gospel; though the Alogi, his predecessors, rejected ir. - (xciv) Adoptionism in Melito. Condemnation of Paul of Samosata. - (cxv) The latter's teaching - (xcvi) Traces of Adoptionism in Lactantius. Evolution of Christian dogmas in the great centres of culture. - (xcvii) The Disputa tion of Archelaus with Mani is an Adoptionist monument, for it teaches that Jesus was merely man before his baptism - (xcviii) and that he was not God incarnate. It excludes the ordinary interpretation of the miraculous birth. - (xcix) Jesus was filz'us fier profeetzem. Parallel descent of Holy Spirit on the faithful. - (c) Jesus became Christ and Son of God at his baptism. - (ci) Karkhar the see of Archelaus was near Arabion Castellum on the Stranga, or - (cii) upper Zab - (ciii) and was therefore an Armenian see. Antiquity of Christianity in south east Armenia. - (civ) The early Christianity of the Taurus range was Adoptionist, and - (cv) the name Paulician originally meant a follower of Paul of Samosata. - (cvi) The Paulicians, therefore, the same as the Pauliani of the Nicene fathers and of Ephrem. The Paulianist heresy reappeared in the empire in eighth century as a characteristically Armenian heresy. - (cvii) Early conflict in Armenia of the Adoptionist Christology with the Nicene, which came in from Cappadocia. (cviii) The Adoptionists under name of Messa'lians condemned in Armenian council of Shahapivan (a. D. Lazar of Pharp's descrip tion (a. D. 480) of Armenian heresy. - (cix) The heresy condemned at Shahapivan was the primitive Syriac Christianity of south-east Armenia, which - (cx) the grecizing Armenian fathers ignored, though it provided them with their earliest version of New Testament. (cxi) Gregory the Illuminator was probably an Adoptionist believer, but his 'teaching' has been falsified. - (cxii) Evidence of St. Basil's letters as to the conflict in Armenia in fourth century of the rival schools of Christology. St. Nerses (died a. Basil's lieutenant, de posed by King Pap, who - (cxiii) effected the final rupture with Caesarea. - (cxiv) Basil's description of the popular heresy of Armenia proves that it was Adoptionist. - (cxv) It affirmed, like Eunomius' creed, that Jesus Christ was a created being. - (cxvi) The orthodox Armenians shifted their ecclesiastical centre to Valarshapat from Taron, because of the prevalence of Adoptionists in latter region. Constantine V a Paulician. - (cxv11) The role of Smbat. He did not create the heresy of the Thonraki, but only organized the old believers of Taron. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

In a searching challenge to the paradigm of medieval Christian dualism, this study reenvisions the Paulicians as largely conventional Christians engendered by complex socio-religious forces in the borderlands of Armenia and Asia Minor.

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