This article proposes a new reading of the account on the heresy of the Collyridians, conveyed by... more This article proposes a new reading of the account on the heresy of the Collyridians, conveyed by Epiphanius of Salamis in the last quarter of the fourth century. As the heterodoxy of this cult has rarely been placed and analyzed in wider religious, cultural, and geographical contexts, this essay offers a new hypothesis as to the origin, the spread and the raison d’être of the Collyridians. Additionally, we have taken into account the “forgotten” literature produced during the Baroque period of the Mariology debates in Western Europe, providing largely unknown references to the Collyridians. Our main thesis – conspicuously missing from scholarship ever since Epiphanius’ times – is that the Collyridians arrived in Arabia, not far from Jerusalem, and when they settled there, they performed their pilgrimage. The purpose of their pilgrimage was to visit the most ancient locus sanctus pertaining to the Virgin Mary in Judea, known as Kathisma.
This article proposes a new hypothesis regarding the background and religious activity of the fou... more This article proposes a new hypothesis regarding the background and religious activity of the fourth-century Christian community of Collyridians, to which Epiphanius of Salamis dedicated an entire chapter of his Panarion. Epiphanius provides only a few details about the origin of this sect, but even this limited amount of data betrays authenticity. The heterodoxy of the Collyridians has rarely been examined in the scope of the wider religious, cultural and social-historical frameworks pertaining to Roman and Early Christian history. This context includes not only the issues of Mariology, but also women’s religious service, non-Christian religious landscapes, and travel and pilgrimage in Late Antiquity. Epiphanius’ account has been observed through the combined contextual, social-historical and philological lenses. In order to elucidate the origin and character of the Collyridian ritual practice, this essay has paid more attention to both the original geographical setting and the later movement of this sect, pointing to their ultimate religious destination. Our main thesis is that the Collyridians fled from Thrace and Scythia to Roman Arabia under the Gothic persecution of Christians. In the aftermath of this event, they performed their pilgrimage at the most ancient locus sanctus pertaining to the Virgin Mary in Judea, known as Kathisma, and situated halfway from Jerusalem to Bethlehem.
IMAFO Blog Entry https://www.oeaw.ac.at/imafo/read/the-bogomils-zeitgeist-lay-religiosity-gnostic-leaning-and-extra-canonical-elements, 2022
The Bogomils were medieval dualists who roamed across the Byzantine landscape from for around fiv... more The Bogomils were medieval dualists who roamed across the Byzantine landscape from for around five centuries. They were-as this research would yield-mediators and carriers of antique tradition, Christian and lay religiosity, who called themselves the "inhabitants of Heaven" and Theotokoi ("God-bearers"). Words, carriers of meaning and message, are often endowed with nuances, which can sometimes make all the difference, and even more: textual threads, allegorical interpretation
Proceedings of the Ninth Days of Justinian I, 2022
This paper represents an outline of a more ample study in progress. The main issues addressed fal... more This paper represents an outline of a more ample study in progress. The main issues addressed fall under the scope of a wider research area revolving around the question of how the Bogomilism evolved over time. This paper will try to delineate the outlines of the Bogomil-ascribed kaleidoscope of ideas and concepts, judging by the accounts from the sources ranging from the tenth to the fourteenth century.
This article examines examine the role of women and, more broadly, the female imagery presented i... more This article examines examine the role of women and, more broadly, the female imagery presented in Bogomil doctrine and practice, as reflected in the Bogomil myth, Biblical exegesis and social reality. The paper explores the relationship between the Bogomil mythological accounts and exegetical practice on the one hand, and the society on the other, in order to clarify whether these Bogomil literary techniques were disconnected from society, or not, and to what extent. Bogomil exegesis mirrored the underlying situational contexts, or vice versa. This analysis will also contribute to the wider topic of re-assessing the Bogomil religious identity, as shaped by the elements of the apostolic Christian tradition, but also by extra-canonical and heterodox textual strands.
This article examines examine the role of women and, more broadly, the female imagery presented i... more This article examines examine the role of women and, more broadly, the female imagery presented in Bogomil doctrine and practice, as reflected in the Bogomil myth, Biblical exegesis and social reality. The paper explores the relationship between the Bogomil mythological accounts and exegetical practice on the one hand, and the society on the other, in order to clarify whether these Bogomil literary techniques were disconnected from society, or not, and to what extent. Bogomil exegesis mirrored the underlying situational contexts, or vice versa. This analysis will also contribute to the wider topic of re-assessing the Bogomil religious identity, as shaped by the elements of the apostolic Christian tradition, but also by extra-canonical and heterodox textual strands.
The oral biblical exegesis and oral transmission, or the unwritten tradition, represent pillars i... more The oral biblical exegesis and oral transmission, or the unwritten tradition, represent pillars in the circulation of texts and ideas since the very dawn of Christianity, both in orthodox and heterodox circles. Namely, this vast topic encompasses the concepts related to the concepts of the written sources and the spoken word, and their interrelation, and, furthermore, to the symbolism of the ear, Logos, and secret teachings (arcana). The role and impact of the oral transmission will be examined on the example of the Bogomils, and this paper will re-assess the importance and function of the oral transmission of the Bogomil doctrine. Therefore, the Biblical exegesis will also be analyzed in that key, and the question of the Bogomil preachers will be addressed. More broadly, the oral transmission of the Bogomil teachings can be observed as one of the modi operandi that the Bogomils resorted to in the aim of propagating their ideas, as well as possibly their interpretative manner to app...
ABSTRAIT: Le passage qui se présente au coeur de nôtre étude, provenant des écrits de Gottschalk,... more ABSTRAIT: Le passage qui se présente au coeur de nôtre étude, provenant des écrits de Gottschalk, découverts qu’en 1931, nous revèlent que les habitants de la Dalmatie qualifiaient Trpimir de roi, le fait qui est en contradiction avec la preuve que nous apporte le matériel épigraphique. En procédant par une analyse minutieuse de la pensée théologique de ce moine bénédictin, on essaiera d’éclairer ce passage qui a fait l’objet des polémiques multiples. MOTS CLÉS: Trpimir, Dalmaces, dux, ducatus, rex, regnum, imperator, imperium, hiérarchie céleste, potestas terrena, potestas Dei.
ABSTRAIT: Le passage qui se présente au coeur de nôtre étude, provenant des écrits de Gottschalk,... more ABSTRAIT: Le passage qui se présente au coeur de nôtre étude, provenant des écrits de Gottschalk, découverts qu’en 1931, nous revèlent que les habitants de la Dalmatie qualifiaient Trpimir de roi, le fait qui est en contradiction avec la preuve que nous apporte le matériel épigraphique. En procédant par une analyse minutieuse de la pensée théologique de ce moine bénédictin, on essaiera d’éclairer ce passage qui a fait l’objet des polémiques multiples. MOTS CLÉS: Trpimir, Dalmaces, dux, ducatus, rex, regnum, imperator, imperium, hiérarchie céleste, potestas terrena, potestas Dei.
Gottschalk of Orbais (ca. 804–868) was condemned for heresy by the Synods of Mainz and Quirzey (i... more Gottschalk of Orbais (ca. 804–868) was condemned for heresy by the Synods of Mainz and Quirzey (in 848 and 849) due to his doctrine of double predestination, and spent the last twenty years of his life in confinement in Hautvillers. Throughout Gottschalk’s last years, and perhaps due to the severe punishment he had suffered, another facette of this monachus gyrovagus surfaced. The image of a rebellious figure, somewhat subversive in his heretical self-defence, resorting to subterfuge, and endowed with protruding features, announcing the penchant to martyrium, prophecy and some uncommon strategies of religious self-representation for the Carolingian era, came to light.
The 'language of heresy' in Bogomil- and Cathar-related texts, 2020
The "language of heresy" in Bogomil-and Cathar-related texts1 Ever since Late Antiquity, the atte... more The "language of heresy" in Bogomil-and Cathar-related texts1 Ever since Late Antiquity, the attempt of structuring the narrative of religious dissent has included specific terminology, semantic fields, topoi, rhetoric and stylistic devices, symbolical representations and metaphors. Diversified forms of allegorical procedures were used to knit together the threads of the texts written in support, or as a refutation of religious dissenting practices, and were not seldom drawn on scriptural interpretation and the homiletic hermeneutic. At times, these filaments were made of analogous textual material: for example, the Bogomils were often portrayed as "wolves in sheep's clothing" (cf. Matthew 7:15), but at the same time, the Cathar ritual of Dublin referred to the Cathars as to "sheep among wolves" (cf. Matthew 10:16). The concept of heresy is reflected by language and literary means, as language plays a significant role in the process of understanding, perception, and perspective of the reality and phenomena2. This article represents a segment of a more comprehensive study on the role of textual procedures in medieval polemical literature, and represents a quest for the very "language of heresy". Hence, the aim is to delve more deeply into the ways of employing the figurative language in the writings attributed to Bogomils, Cathars and the orthodox theologians who refuted them, including some common literary patterns present in polemical texts. Namely, it would be important to see how the Bogomils and the Cathars could have been perceived on the basis of the literary analysis and symbolical language. Herewith, literary analysis may serve as an indicator unveiling the conceptual reservoir containing the elements of the "language of heresy". This article delves into the question of medieval dualist heresies in the period of their acme and the trajectories of their spread, by opening way towards the tracing of the specific "language of heresy"; it encompasses the period between the 11th and the 13th centuries, although it could also be understood as a segment within a more ample research framework stretching from the 10th to the 14th centuries. This study repositions the 1 This paper is designed as to announce some opening deliberations of the postdoctoral Erwin Schrödinger project number J 4431-G, funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). 2 Cf. Daniela Müller, "Neue Herausforderungen an die Kirchengeschichte: Abschied von den Katharern oder Neubesinnung auf die Quellen?" Internationale Kirchliche Zeitschrift 108 (2018): 205-227, here 205-207.
Proceedings of the 6th International Symposium "Days of Justinian I", 2019
"In between the Eastern and Western Christian empires: the role of mediators" This paper brings t... more "In between the Eastern and Western Christian empires: the role of mediators" This paper brings to the forefront the concept of the mediators in the Middle Ages, deemed important due to the fact that this lens offers a deeper comprehension of the currents and sub-currents linking East and West, as well as of the motifs lying behind the global picture of the particular research angle. This article represents an opening and an introductory stage to this topic through laying foundations for the implications and further elaboration of the concept of the mediators, upon which the first segment of the research, dating from the 9 th century, will be analyzed. The concept of the mediators (in the role of providing basis for contacts or division, and exchange) could also sketch a useful methodological frame for studying the medieval Balkans. The further elaboration of the concept of the mediators would imply 1) the agents/carriers of the mediating process: people (missionaries, monks, diplomats, merchants), texts, but also ideas (theological disputes and doctrines, which linked or divided East and West, sometimes through the Balkans; these often revolved around concepts of Orthodoxy/heresy). The spatial zone could also be understood as medial-which is observable on the example of the medieval Balkans. Namely, the Balkans, lying between East and West, could embody the concept of the mediators (applied here on the medial space), and be presented in a twofold aspect: 1) as a confluence in which the currents from Byzantium and West Europe joined, being geographically part of Europe in which tendencies from both parts coalesced; and 2) not only as a "state in-between", or the middle ground1, the isle, bridge, but also as the cross-intersection, which allowed and facilitated the transfer of people, ideas, doctrines, texts, Christian and non-Christian currents, as well as the contacts between Byzantium and Western Europe throughout the Middle Ages2. The important research question would equally imply the ways in which earlier trends, doctrines and textual authorities were employed (used/misused) in newly-arisen contexts (e.g. 1 1 Cf. Peter Brown, The Rise of Western Christendom. Triumph and Diversity, A. D. 200-1000 (Oxford: Blackwell, 2003), 37-52, 485. 2 The concept of the Balkans as the medial space will represent my future study a part.
Gottschalk of Orbais (ca. 804-868) was condemned for heresy by the Synods of Mainz and Quirzey (i... more Gottschalk of Orbais (ca. 804-868) was condemned for heresy by the Synods of Mainz and Quirzey (in 848 and 849) due to his doctrine of double predestination, and spent the last twenty years of his life in confinement in Hautvillers. Throughout Gottschalk's last years, and perhaps due to the severe punishment he had suffered, another facette of this monachus gyrovagus surfaced. The image of a rebellious figure, somewhat subversive in his heretical self-defence, resorting to subterfuge, and endowed with protruding features, announcing the penchant to martyrium, prophecy and some uncommon strategies of religious self-representation for the Carolingian era, came to light.
Proceedings of the International Conference "Days of Justinian I", 2018
Paganism was often considered by the Early Medieval Christian missionaries only as an erroneous ... more Paganism was often considered by the Early Medieval Christian missionaries only as an erroneous approach/interpretation of Christian religion. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate, on the chosen case-studies, the textual treatment of heresy and paganism in the selected passages of 9th-century Greek and Latin authors, and in their texts which offer some insights on the Slavic populations. The topics discussed include: the accounts of Photius and Pope Nicholas I on the baptism of the Bulgarians; Photius’s narrative on the Russians and pagans, and the account of the rebellion of Thomas the Slav. After having conducted the analysis of the accounts of Photius, Pope Nicholas I and Michael II, and having submitted the relevant examples to the terminological scrutiny, the underlying semantic field of the “foreigner” can be emphasized as predominant in the given narratives, whether on pagans, or on the heretics. We may conclude that the concept of “alien”, “foreign” was the bearer of meaning, or the key-word, in theological positioning and self-representation in respect to other groups and/or individuals who were designed as “others”, pertaining to a much wider discourse, encompassing broader religious and chronological frame.
This article proposes a new reading of the account on the heresy of the Collyridians, conveyed by... more This article proposes a new reading of the account on the heresy of the Collyridians, conveyed by Epiphanius of Salamis in the last quarter of the fourth century. As the heterodoxy of this cult has rarely been placed and analyzed in wider religious, cultural, and geographical contexts, this essay offers a new hypothesis as to the origin, the spread and the raison d’être of the Collyridians. Additionally, we have taken into account the “forgotten” literature produced during the Baroque period of the Mariology debates in Western Europe, providing largely unknown references to the Collyridians. Our main thesis – conspicuously missing from scholarship ever since Epiphanius’ times – is that the Collyridians arrived in Arabia, not far from Jerusalem, and when they settled there, they performed their pilgrimage. The purpose of their pilgrimage was to visit the most ancient locus sanctus pertaining to the Virgin Mary in Judea, known as Kathisma.
This article proposes a new hypothesis regarding the background and religious activity of the fou... more This article proposes a new hypothesis regarding the background and religious activity of the fourth-century Christian community of Collyridians, to which Epiphanius of Salamis dedicated an entire chapter of his Panarion. Epiphanius provides only a few details about the origin of this sect, but even this limited amount of data betrays authenticity. The heterodoxy of the Collyridians has rarely been examined in the scope of the wider religious, cultural and social-historical frameworks pertaining to Roman and Early Christian history. This context includes not only the issues of Mariology, but also women’s religious service, non-Christian religious landscapes, and travel and pilgrimage in Late Antiquity. Epiphanius’ account has been observed through the combined contextual, social-historical and philological lenses. In order to elucidate the origin and character of the Collyridian ritual practice, this essay has paid more attention to both the original geographical setting and the later movement of this sect, pointing to their ultimate religious destination. Our main thesis is that the Collyridians fled from Thrace and Scythia to Roman Arabia under the Gothic persecution of Christians. In the aftermath of this event, they performed their pilgrimage at the most ancient locus sanctus pertaining to the Virgin Mary in Judea, known as Kathisma, and situated halfway from Jerusalem to Bethlehem.
IMAFO Blog Entry https://www.oeaw.ac.at/imafo/read/the-bogomils-zeitgeist-lay-religiosity-gnostic-leaning-and-extra-canonical-elements, 2022
The Bogomils were medieval dualists who roamed across the Byzantine landscape from for around fiv... more The Bogomils were medieval dualists who roamed across the Byzantine landscape from for around five centuries. They were-as this research would yield-mediators and carriers of antique tradition, Christian and lay religiosity, who called themselves the "inhabitants of Heaven" and Theotokoi ("God-bearers"). Words, carriers of meaning and message, are often endowed with nuances, which can sometimes make all the difference, and even more: textual threads, allegorical interpretation
Proceedings of the Ninth Days of Justinian I, 2022
This paper represents an outline of a more ample study in progress. The main issues addressed fal... more This paper represents an outline of a more ample study in progress. The main issues addressed fall under the scope of a wider research area revolving around the question of how the Bogomilism evolved over time. This paper will try to delineate the outlines of the Bogomil-ascribed kaleidoscope of ideas and concepts, judging by the accounts from the sources ranging from the tenth to the fourteenth century.
This article examines examine the role of women and, more broadly, the female imagery presented i... more This article examines examine the role of women and, more broadly, the female imagery presented in Bogomil doctrine and practice, as reflected in the Bogomil myth, Biblical exegesis and social reality. The paper explores the relationship between the Bogomil mythological accounts and exegetical practice on the one hand, and the society on the other, in order to clarify whether these Bogomil literary techniques were disconnected from society, or not, and to what extent. Bogomil exegesis mirrored the underlying situational contexts, or vice versa. This analysis will also contribute to the wider topic of re-assessing the Bogomil religious identity, as shaped by the elements of the apostolic Christian tradition, but also by extra-canonical and heterodox textual strands.
This article examines examine the role of women and, more broadly, the female imagery presented i... more This article examines examine the role of women and, more broadly, the female imagery presented in Bogomil doctrine and practice, as reflected in the Bogomil myth, Biblical exegesis and social reality. The paper explores the relationship between the Bogomil mythological accounts and exegetical practice on the one hand, and the society on the other, in order to clarify whether these Bogomil literary techniques were disconnected from society, or not, and to what extent. Bogomil exegesis mirrored the underlying situational contexts, or vice versa. This analysis will also contribute to the wider topic of re-assessing the Bogomil religious identity, as shaped by the elements of the apostolic Christian tradition, but also by extra-canonical and heterodox textual strands.
The oral biblical exegesis and oral transmission, or the unwritten tradition, represent pillars i... more The oral biblical exegesis and oral transmission, or the unwritten tradition, represent pillars in the circulation of texts and ideas since the very dawn of Christianity, both in orthodox and heterodox circles. Namely, this vast topic encompasses the concepts related to the concepts of the written sources and the spoken word, and their interrelation, and, furthermore, to the symbolism of the ear, Logos, and secret teachings (arcana). The role and impact of the oral transmission will be examined on the example of the Bogomils, and this paper will re-assess the importance and function of the oral transmission of the Bogomil doctrine. Therefore, the Biblical exegesis will also be analyzed in that key, and the question of the Bogomil preachers will be addressed. More broadly, the oral transmission of the Bogomil teachings can be observed as one of the modi operandi that the Bogomils resorted to in the aim of propagating their ideas, as well as possibly their interpretative manner to app...
ABSTRAIT: Le passage qui se présente au coeur de nôtre étude, provenant des écrits de Gottschalk,... more ABSTRAIT: Le passage qui se présente au coeur de nôtre étude, provenant des écrits de Gottschalk, découverts qu’en 1931, nous revèlent que les habitants de la Dalmatie qualifiaient Trpimir de roi, le fait qui est en contradiction avec la preuve que nous apporte le matériel épigraphique. En procédant par une analyse minutieuse de la pensée théologique de ce moine bénédictin, on essaiera d’éclairer ce passage qui a fait l’objet des polémiques multiples. MOTS CLÉS: Trpimir, Dalmaces, dux, ducatus, rex, regnum, imperator, imperium, hiérarchie céleste, potestas terrena, potestas Dei.
ABSTRAIT: Le passage qui se présente au coeur de nôtre étude, provenant des écrits de Gottschalk,... more ABSTRAIT: Le passage qui se présente au coeur de nôtre étude, provenant des écrits de Gottschalk, découverts qu’en 1931, nous revèlent que les habitants de la Dalmatie qualifiaient Trpimir de roi, le fait qui est en contradiction avec la preuve que nous apporte le matériel épigraphique. En procédant par une analyse minutieuse de la pensée théologique de ce moine bénédictin, on essaiera d’éclairer ce passage qui a fait l’objet des polémiques multiples. MOTS CLÉS: Trpimir, Dalmaces, dux, ducatus, rex, regnum, imperator, imperium, hiérarchie céleste, potestas terrena, potestas Dei.
Gottschalk of Orbais (ca. 804–868) was condemned for heresy by the Synods of Mainz and Quirzey (i... more Gottschalk of Orbais (ca. 804–868) was condemned for heresy by the Synods of Mainz and Quirzey (in 848 and 849) due to his doctrine of double predestination, and spent the last twenty years of his life in confinement in Hautvillers. Throughout Gottschalk’s last years, and perhaps due to the severe punishment he had suffered, another facette of this monachus gyrovagus surfaced. The image of a rebellious figure, somewhat subversive in his heretical self-defence, resorting to subterfuge, and endowed with protruding features, announcing the penchant to martyrium, prophecy and some uncommon strategies of religious self-representation for the Carolingian era, came to light.
The 'language of heresy' in Bogomil- and Cathar-related texts, 2020
The "language of heresy" in Bogomil-and Cathar-related texts1 Ever since Late Antiquity, the atte... more The "language of heresy" in Bogomil-and Cathar-related texts1 Ever since Late Antiquity, the attempt of structuring the narrative of religious dissent has included specific terminology, semantic fields, topoi, rhetoric and stylistic devices, symbolical representations and metaphors. Diversified forms of allegorical procedures were used to knit together the threads of the texts written in support, or as a refutation of religious dissenting practices, and were not seldom drawn on scriptural interpretation and the homiletic hermeneutic. At times, these filaments were made of analogous textual material: for example, the Bogomils were often portrayed as "wolves in sheep's clothing" (cf. Matthew 7:15), but at the same time, the Cathar ritual of Dublin referred to the Cathars as to "sheep among wolves" (cf. Matthew 10:16). The concept of heresy is reflected by language and literary means, as language plays a significant role in the process of understanding, perception, and perspective of the reality and phenomena2. This article represents a segment of a more comprehensive study on the role of textual procedures in medieval polemical literature, and represents a quest for the very "language of heresy". Hence, the aim is to delve more deeply into the ways of employing the figurative language in the writings attributed to Bogomils, Cathars and the orthodox theologians who refuted them, including some common literary patterns present in polemical texts. Namely, it would be important to see how the Bogomils and the Cathars could have been perceived on the basis of the literary analysis and symbolical language. Herewith, literary analysis may serve as an indicator unveiling the conceptual reservoir containing the elements of the "language of heresy". This article delves into the question of medieval dualist heresies in the period of their acme and the trajectories of their spread, by opening way towards the tracing of the specific "language of heresy"; it encompasses the period between the 11th and the 13th centuries, although it could also be understood as a segment within a more ample research framework stretching from the 10th to the 14th centuries. This study repositions the 1 This paper is designed as to announce some opening deliberations of the postdoctoral Erwin Schrödinger project number J 4431-G, funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). 2 Cf. Daniela Müller, "Neue Herausforderungen an die Kirchengeschichte: Abschied von den Katharern oder Neubesinnung auf die Quellen?" Internationale Kirchliche Zeitschrift 108 (2018): 205-227, here 205-207.
Proceedings of the 6th International Symposium "Days of Justinian I", 2019
"In between the Eastern and Western Christian empires: the role of mediators" This paper brings t... more "In between the Eastern and Western Christian empires: the role of mediators" This paper brings to the forefront the concept of the mediators in the Middle Ages, deemed important due to the fact that this lens offers a deeper comprehension of the currents and sub-currents linking East and West, as well as of the motifs lying behind the global picture of the particular research angle. This article represents an opening and an introductory stage to this topic through laying foundations for the implications and further elaboration of the concept of the mediators, upon which the first segment of the research, dating from the 9 th century, will be analyzed. The concept of the mediators (in the role of providing basis for contacts or division, and exchange) could also sketch a useful methodological frame for studying the medieval Balkans. The further elaboration of the concept of the mediators would imply 1) the agents/carriers of the mediating process: people (missionaries, monks, diplomats, merchants), texts, but also ideas (theological disputes and doctrines, which linked or divided East and West, sometimes through the Balkans; these often revolved around concepts of Orthodoxy/heresy). The spatial zone could also be understood as medial-which is observable on the example of the medieval Balkans. Namely, the Balkans, lying between East and West, could embody the concept of the mediators (applied here on the medial space), and be presented in a twofold aspect: 1) as a confluence in which the currents from Byzantium and West Europe joined, being geographically part of Europe in which tendencies from both parts coalesced; and 2) not only as a "state in-between", or the middle ground1, the isle, bridge, but also as the cross-intersection, which allowed and facilitated the transfer of people, ideas, doctrines, texts, Christian and non-Christian currents, as well as the contacts between Byzantium and Western Europe throughout the Middle Ages2. The important research question would equally imply the ways in which earlier trends, doctrines and textual authorities were employed (used/misused) in newly-arisen contexts (e.g. 1 1 Cf. Peter Brown, The Rise of Western Christendom. Triumph and Diversity, A. D. 200-1000 (Oxford: Blackwell, 2003), 37-52, 485. 2 The concept of the Balkans as the medial space will represent my future study a part.
Gottschalk of Orbais (ca. 804-868) was condemned for heresy by the Synods of Mainz and Quirzey (i... more Gottschalk of Orbais (ca. 804-868) was condemned for heresy by the Synods of Mainz and Quirzey (in 848 and 849) due to his doctrine of double predestination, and spent the last twenty years of his life in confinement in Hautvillers. Throughout Gottschalk's last years, and perhaps due to the severe punishment he had suffered, another facette of this monachus gyrovagus surfaced. The image of a rebellious figure, somewhat subversive in his heretical self-defence, resorting to subterfuge, and endowed with protruding features, announcing the penchant to martyrium, prophecy and some uncommon strategies of religious self-representation for the Carolingian era, came to light.
Proceedings of the International Conference "Days of Justinian I", 2018
Paganism was often considered by the Early Medieval Christian missionaries only as an erroneous ... more Paganism was often considered by the Early Medieval Christian missionaries only as an erroneous approach/interpretation of Christian religion. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate, on the chosen case-studies, the textual treatment of heresy and paganism in the selected passages of 9th-century Greek and Latin authors, and in their texts which offer some insights on the Slavic populations. The topics discussed include: the accounts of Photius and Pope Nicholas I on the baptism of the Bulgarians; Photius’s narrative on the Russians and pagans, and the account of the rebellion of Thomas the Slav. After having conducted the analysis of the accounts of Photius, Pope Nicholas I and Michael II, and having submitted the relevant examples to the terminological scrutiny, the underlying semantic field of the “foreigner” can be emphasized as predominant in the given narratives, whether on pagans, or on the heretics. We may conclude that the concept of “alien”, “foreign” was the bearer of meaning, or the key-word, in theological positioning and self-representation in respect to other groups and/or individuals who were designed as “others”, pertaining to a much wider discourse, encompassing broader religious and chronological frame.
The oral biblical exegesis and oral transmission, or the unwritten tradition, represent pillars i... more The oral biblical exegesis and oral transmission, or the unwritten tradition, represent pillars in the circulation of texts and ideas since the very dawn of Christianity, both in orthodox and heterodox circles. Namely, this vast topic encompasses the concepts related to the concepts of the written sources and the spoken word, and their interrelation, and, furthermore, to the symbolism of the ear, Logos, and secret teachings (arcana). The role and impact of the oral transmission will be examined on the example of the Bogo mils, and this paper will reassess the importance and function of the oral transmission of the Bogo mil doctrine. Therefore, the Biblical exegesis will also be analyzed in that key, and the question of the Bogo mil preachers will be addressed. More broadly, the oral transmission of the Bogo mil teachings can be observed as one of the modi operandi that the Bogomils resorted to in the aim of propagating their ideas, as well as possibly their interpretative manner to approach the Scriptural material and parables.
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Papers by Bojana Radovanović