GLI ICONOCLASTI E I PAULICIANI - THE ICONOCLASTS AND THE PAULICIANS

The Iconoclasts and the Paulicians by Federico E. Perozziello Emperor Leo III the Syrian (717-741), a native of the city of Germanicea, bordering the Caliphate of Baghdad, believed that the Byzantine army's constant defeats were due to the use of sacred images as objects of worship, despite the prohibition in the Scriptures. The proximity of the Anatolian populations to the Arabs and Muslims must have fostered this different vision of Christian worship. Indeed, Leo III, and especially his son Constantine V, inaugurated a historical period lasting over a century in which sacred images were destroyed in places of worship and many clerics were forcibly forced to abandon the veneration of sacred images. The iconoclastic period ended in 843 thanks to the intervention of Empress Theodora the Armenian. The Paulicians The Paulicians were a religious sect that practiced a Christianity based on a form of Dualism. They believed in the existence of two supreme deities: the God of the Old Testament, who had created matter and the frailty of man in sin, and the God of the New Testament, who had instead announced the triumph of the Spirit and the redemption of the soul from matter. The influence of ancient Persian Zoroastrianism was obvious, but the Paulicians were driven by a firm faith. Although little known due to its secrecy, this sect, of great historical importance, considered itself a universal, apostolic church. It rejected the clergy, the luxurious lifestyle, the cross, and the divinity of Jesus. For this reason, it had gained popularity among the disillusioned masses. This name was given to him by the Armenians, and Paulicianus meant "follower of Paul," the spelling of which is uncertain, as it could refer to Saint Paul, the Manichaean missionary Paul of Callinicum, or Bishop Paul of Samosata, who was bishop of Antioch in 260. Thanks to the persecution of Orthodox Christians and their deportation to the West and to what is now Bulgaria, Paulicianism spread to the West, taking the name of Bogomilism and finally Catharism, the heretical movement that affected Provence and led to the proclamation of the Albigensian Crusade by Pope Innocent III (1161-1216). The Iconoclasts and the Paulicians by Federico E. Perozziello Emperor Leo III the Syrian (717-741), a native of the city of Germanicea, on the border with the Caliphate of Baghdad, imagined that the constant defeats of the Byzantine army were due to the use of sacred images as objects of worship, despite the prohibition of Scripture. The proximity of the populations of Anatolia to the Arabs and Muslims must have favored this different view of Christian worship. In fact, Leo III and especially his son Constantine V, inaugurated a historical period lasting more than a century in which sacred images were destroyed in places of worship and many religious people were forcibly forced to abandon the cult of sacred images. The iconoclastic period ended in the year 843 thanks to the intervention of Empress Theodora the Armenian. The Paulicians The Paulicians were a religious sect that practiced a Christianity based on a form of Dualism. They believed in the existence of two supreme deities, the God of the Old Testament, who had created matter and man's frailty in sin, and the God of the New Testament, who had instead announced the triumph of the Spirit and the redemption of the soul from matter. The influence of ancient Persian Zoroastrianism was intuitive, but the Paulicians were animated by a firm faith. Although little known for its secrecy, this sect, of great importance in terms of historical influence, considered itself a universal apostolic church. It rejected the clergy, the luxurious lifestyle, the cross and the divinity of Jesus. For this reason, it had gained popularity among the disillusioned masses. This name was given to him by the Armenians, and Paulician meant follower of Paul, the diction of which is uncertain, as it could refer to St Paul, or to the Manichean missionary Paul of Callinicus, or to Bishop Paul of Samosata, who was Bishop of Antioch in the year 260. Thanks to the persecution of the Orthodox Christians and their deportation to the West and today's Bulgaria, Paulicianism spread to the West, taking the name of Bogomilism and finally Cataria, the heretical movement that affected Provence and provoked the calling of the Crusade against the Albigensians by Pope Innocent III (1161-1216).