Bogomil (priest) explained

Bogomil (Cyrillic: Богомил) was a 10th-century Bulgarian priest who was connected with the origins of Bogomilism.^[1] Bogomil is a Theophoric name consisting of Bog (God) and mil (dear) and means "[one who is] dear to god". He was declared a heresiarch by both the Catholic and Orthodox churches.^[2]

According to Cosmas the Priest, Bogomil first began to preach his beliefs in Bulgaria during the reign of Peter I of Bulgaria (927 to 969),^[3] which indicates that Cosmas must have been writing later than 969.^[4] As with Cosmas, the life of Bogomil is shrouded in mystery and what little is known of him comes from the sermons written against him.^[5] There is some uncertainty about his relationship to Jeremiah or whether they are the same person.^[6] The statement that Jeremiah was "a son (disciple) of Bogomil" may be an interpolation.^[7] His name is mentioned in the Book of Boril.

The village of Bogomil in Bulgaria, as well as Bogomil Cove on Rugged Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica are named after Bogomil.

Notes and References

1. William H. Brackney (2012) Historical Dictionary of Radical Christianity, Scarecrow Press, 2012, Bogomilsim on pp. 55-56; .
2. John Anthony McGuckin as ed. The Encyclopedia of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, vol. 2,, Wiley, 2011; pp. 82-83.
3. "In the days of the orthodox czar Peter, there lived in Bulgaria a priest named Bogomil..., who was the first to disseminate the heresy in the land of Bulgaria." Thus begins Cosmas's tract against the Bogomils. For more see: Heinrich Fichtenau, Heretics and Scholars in the High Middle Ages, 1000-1200, Penn State Press, 2010,, p. 70.
4. Arnold Joseph Toynbee Constantine Porphyrogenitus and his world 1973 "that the priest Bogomil first began to preach his heresy in Bulgaria in the reign of the Emperor Peter. Since Peter reigned from 927 to 969, Cosmas must have been writing later than 969."
5. Michael Frassetto Heretic lives: medieval heresy from Bogomil and the Cathars to ... 2007 p. 12 "The life of Bogomil is as shrouded in the mists of the past as is that of Cosmas, and, as with Cosmas, what little we know of that life comes from the sermon written against him, and from his teachings. The founder of the heresy is ..."
6. Emil Ivanov Georgiev Literatura na izostreni borbi v srednovekovna Bŭlgariia 1966 - 321 Това можеше да става, докато не бяха познати произведенията на Йеремия. Днес можем да посочим убедителни факти, които говорят, че Поп Богомил и Поп Йеремия са две различни лица. Източниците добре разграничават единия от другия.
7. Zdenko Zlatar The poetics of Slavdom: the mythopoeic foundations of Yugoslavia - 2007 - 494 "There is thus no question, as Emile Turdeanu points out, that "the assertion that Jeremiah was 'a son and disciple of Bogomil' is certainly an interpolation."