Portal:Bulgaria/Selected article/7

Bogomilism (Bulgarian: Богомилство) is the Gnostic dualistic sect, the synthesis of Armenian Paulicianism and the Bulgarian Slavonic Church reform movement, which emerged in Bulgaria between 927 and 970 and spread into Byzantine Empire, Serbia, Bosnia, Italy and France.

The now defunct Gnostic social-religious movement and doctrine originated in the time of Peter I of Bulgaria (927–969) as a reaction against state and clerical oppression. In spite of all measures of repression, it remained strong and popular until the fall of Bulgaria in the end of the 14th century.

Bogomilism is the first significant Bulgarian "heresy" that came about in the first quarter of the 10th century in the area of today’s Plovdiv (Philippopolis). It was a natural outcome of many factors that had arisen till the beginning of 10th century. The forced Christianization of the Slavs and proto-Bulgarians by khan Boris I in 863 and the fact that the religion was practiced in Greek, which only the ‘elite’ knew, resulted in a very superficial level of understanding of the religion, if any understanding at all. Another very important factor was the social discontent of the peasantry.