The Paulicians were a Christian sect that originated in Armenia in the 7th century. Their name comes from their reverence for the apostle Paul and his epistles. The Paulicians rejected the institutional hierarchy of the Catholic church and instead emphasized a personal relationship with Christ and the reading of scripture. They were denounced as heretics by both the Catholic and Orthodox churches for their rejection of ecclesiastical authority, the veneration of saints, the use of religious icons, and other traditional Christian practices. The Paulicians embraced an Adoptionist Christology, asserting that Jesus was a man who became the Son of God by adoption at his baptism rather than being born the Son of God. Their theology was influenced by Gnostic and Manichaean dualistic concepts about the inherent evil of matter. The Paulician movement spread into the Byzantine Empire through missionary efforts and military campaigns. Persecution by imperial and church authorities led them to revolt against the Byzantine Empire in the 9th century. After their defeat, many fled west and helped reinforce the Bulgar kingdom and perhaps even transmitted dualist ideas that influenced the Bogomils, Cathars, and other medieval Christian dualist movements. Although their influence waned over the centuries, the Paulicians left a unique theological legacy distinct from institutional orthodox Christianity.
The origins of the Paulicians are unclear, but most scholars date their founding to the 7th century in Armenia under a leader named Constantine-Silvanus who hailed from Mananalis. He built upon the teachings of an earlier, alleged Paulician teacher named Constantine of Samosata. Constantine-Silvanus promoted the writings of Paul and the New Testament as the sole authoritative source of Christian doctrine over the Old Testament, church tradition, and ecclesiastical decrees. He rejected aspects of orthodoxy such as the veneration of the Virgin Mary and propounded Adoptionist theology that Jesus was a wholly human messenger who only became divine through adoption. His teaching spread through Armenia and gained converts. However, Constantine-Silvanus was eventually arrested and stoned to death around 684 by order of the Armenian catholicos John II of Odzun after refusing to recant his views.
The Paulician movement continued under another leader Sergius who helped systematize their teachings and practices. Sergius emphasized he was not creating a new religion but restoring the original teachings of Paul. The Paulicians assembled as autonomous congregations. They rejected temples and church buildings as unnecessary. Their leaders were teachers who were elected by each congregation. They did not have formal sacraments but practiced adult baptism and a simple Eucharistic ceremony. The Paulicians only recognized the Gospel and Paul’s Epistles as truly inspired scripture and rejected the Old Testament, church tradition, and ecclesiastical hierarchy. They criticized other Christians as falsely believing the creator God of material world of the Old Testament was the same as the God of the New Testament. Some scholars tie their theological dualism to earlier Gnostic or Marcionite influences. Their most prominent text was called the Key of Truth.
By the 9th century, the Paulicians had grown to over 200,000 members and were actively evangelizing in the Byzantine Empire. Photius, the Patriarch of Constantinople, attacked them as Manichean heretics. Emperor Michael I Rhangabe prohibited their assembly, confiscated their books, and exiled their leaders, actions which elicited small revolts. Persecution against them intensified under Empress Theodora in 843, but this only spread their movement west and north. Paulicians fought as allies of the Muslim Abbasid Caliphate against the Byzantines, including partaking in the plundering of Nicea in 838. They helped establish the Tephrike principality in the Byzantine theme of Chaldia. Their alliance with Muslim powers exacerbated perceptions of them as traitorous heretics. Emperor Basil I defeated the Paulicians and destroyed Tephrike in 871-872, dispersing them further northwest into Thrace and Bulgaria.
In Thrace, the Paulicians helped strengthen the new Bulgar state under Tsar Boris I after he converted to Christianity. They influenced the official adoption of the Slavonic rather than Greek liturgy as well as perhaps inspiring Bogomilism. By the late 9th century, many Paulicians had fled persecution in the Byzantine Empire by emigrating to territories under the Abbasid Caliphate where they were welcomed and allowed to profess their faith. The Paulician emigrants established many Paulician congregations in northern Syria and along the upper Euphrates. The Paulician church of this region survived into the 12th century when it was annihilated by the Armenian catholicos Nerses the Gracious. Other Paulicians in Bulgaria petered out under persecution or were assimilated into orthodoxy in the 11th century as the Byzantines reasserted control. The Paulicians essentially vanished soon after although their teachings may have influenced dualist groups like the Bogomils of the Balkans and the Cathars of France.
In summary, the Paulicians originated as an Adoptionist Christian sect in 7th century Armenia under leaders like Constantine-Silvanus who promoted the writings of Paul over theological Orthodoxy, formal hierarchy, and ecclesiastical practices. They spread west reaching their zenith in the 9th century even as they were persecuted as heretics by imperial and church authorities. Their alliance with Muslim powers against the Byzantines exacerbated their reputation as dangerous dissidents. After military defeats, many Paulicians fled west into Europe while others were absorbed into orthodoxy over the following centuries until their independent communities gradually disappeared as a distinct social movement. Nevertheless, the Paulicians created a theological tradition distinct from institutional orthodox Christianity with influences that persisted in later medieval dualist heterodox movements.
The Paulicians arose as a Christian sect in Armenia in the late 7th century led by Constantine-Silvanus, who believed Paul’s epistles as the sole source of doctrine over the Old Testament, church tradition, and hierarchy. He espoused Adoptionist theology of Jesus as the human Son of God, not born divine. Despite persecution, the Paulicians spread under Sergius’ leadership, who systematized their teachings restoring the original gospel of Paul by rejecting priests, churches, icons and veneration of Mary while adopting a quasi-Gnostic dualism of material world as evil. They assembled as congregations guided by elected teacher-leaders without formal sacraments besides adult baptism and a simple Eucharist referred to the Key of Truth. By the 9th century, over 200,000 Paulicians were evangelizing the Byzantine Empire until Photius condemned them as heretics prompting persecution. Undeterred, they revolted and fought as allies of the Abbasid Caliphate against Byzantium, helping establish a new principality in Chaldia. Emperor Basil I finally defeated the Paulicians, dispersing them into Thrace and Bulgaria where they reinforced the nascent Bulgarian state, influenced the Slavonic liturgy and Bogomilism before their assimilation into Orthodoxy by the 11th century, although their legacy lived on in later medieval dualist movements.
The Paulicians were a heretical Christian Adoptionist sect originating in 7th century Armenia under the leadership of Constantine-Silvanus who promoted the epistles of Paul over the Old Testament, church tradition and hierarchy by rejecting ecclesiastical authority, veneration of saints, iconography and the Virgin Mary. He espoused the belief Jesus was a wholly human Son adopted by God at baptism rather than being born divine. Persecuted after refusing to recant, the Paulicians persisted as congregations guided by teachers elected to restore Paul’s gospel without priests, churches, sacraments except baptism and communion. Influenced by Gnostic and Marcionite dualism they believed the material world was evil while the spiritual was good. By the 9th century under Sergius’ systematization they numbered over 200,000 members and actively evangelized the Byzantine Empire despite condemnations as Manichean heretics by Photius and persecution by Empress Theodora. They allied with Muslim Abbasids against Byzantium, establishing a principality in Chaldia until defeated by Basil I and dispersed into Thrace and Bulgaria where they influenced the Slavonic liturgy, Bogomilism and reinforced the Bulgars before assimilation into orthodoxy by the 11th century. Though vanishing as a distinct movement, the Paulicians left a theological legacy of dissent from institutional Christianity.
In the 7th century, a new Christian sect called the Paulicians arose in Armenia under the leadership of Constantine-Silvanus. He promoted the epistles of Paul as the sole source of doctrine over the Old Testament, church tradition, and hierarchy. Rejecting formal priesthood, icons, and the veneration of saints and Mary as unnecessary, the Paulicians aimed to return to the original teachings of Paul and the uncorrupted gospel. They assembled as self-governing congregations guided by teachers elected to instruct members. By the 9th century, the Paulicians numbered over 200,000 members and were actively evangelizing the Byzantine Empire despite condemnations as heretics by imperial and church authorities for their rejection of orthodox beliefs and practices in favor of their own Adoptionist theology, simple sacraments, and quasi-Gnostic dualism. Undeterred by persecution, they allied with Muslim powers against Byzantium to establish their own principality before being defeated and dispersed by Emperor Basil I into Bulgaria and Thrace. Although the Paulicians faded away as a distinct sect through assimilation and further persecution by the 11th century, their influence persisted in the dualist teachings of later groups like the Bogomils and Cathars. Regardless, during their height in the 9th century, the Paulicians left a significant theological legacy as Christian dissenters challenging institutional orthodoxy.
In summary, the Paulicians were a heretical Christian sect originating in 7th century Armenia under Constantine-Silvanus, who exalted Paul’s epistles over orthodox doctrine and authority by rejecting aspects of Catholicism to restore the original gospel as self-governing congregations guided by teachers with Adoptionist theology, simple sacraments, and Gnostic-influenced dualism. Spreading rapidly despite persecution, the Paulicians revolted against Byzantium as allies of the Abbasid Caliphate, establishing a principality before defeated and dispersed by Emperor Basil I in the 9th century. Although fading away through assimilation and persecution, their influence persisted in later medieval dualist movements like the Bogomils and Cathars. At their height, the Paulicians posed a dissenting theological challenge to institutional Christianity from within before their suppression as schismatic heretics.