History of the Bogomils

...permitted, and who should never be mentioned by me without an honorable preface original: "sine praefatione honoris non unquam commemorandi"; a formal Latin expression of deep respect for a colleague or mentor. This Codex of Euthymius’s Panoplia Euthymius Zigabenus was a 12th-century monk; his Panoplia Dogmatica (Dogmatic Panoply) was a massive defense of Orthodox Christianity against various heresies. is owed to the care of JOHN FELL, formerly Bishop of Oxford, who achieved a distinguished celebrity of name among our citizens no less than among foreigners through his many merits in literary matters. He had seen to it that this work be transcribed from a manuscript of an older character at his own expense, with the intention that the entire work might one day see the light of day in print. But since either an untimely death or the difficulties of the times had interrupted this plan, it happened that that transcript original: "ἀπόγραφον" (apographon); a handwritten copy of a manuscript passed into the public library along with other similar monuments—among which are numbered the books of Damascius On Principles original: "περὶ ἀρχῶν" (Peri Archon); Damascius was the last head of the Neoplatonist Academy in Athens—and thus the opportunity was given to me to transcribe from it both this part, which I now present, and other matters which I shall explain elsewhere.

I have used this fragment of the work in such a way that, because I saw that Euthymius had handed down the history of Bogomil doctrines without order or connection, I have referred some things, drawn here and there from the Narrative itself, to history; others to Theological Topics original: "Locos Theologicos"; a method of organizing theology by categorized "commonplaces" or themes; and others to Customs and rites. I have omitted nothing at all that is read in Euthymius’s own treatment. However, so that the entire narrative might be restored afterward to the same order that Euthymius followed, I have always carefully cited those Sections which the Latin translation contains.

I have intentionally not added a Latin translation [to the Greek text], but have only presented a summary and compendium of what is to be said. I did this partly because a translation is available both separately and in the Libraries of the Fathers original: "Bibliothecis Patrum"; large printed collections of works by early Christian writers, and partly because I did not want this commentary to wander beyond its established limits. Sometimes, however, where the Latin translator seemed to have departed from the Greek context, or failed to grasp its meaning, or followed an incorrect reading, I decided that the Reader should be warned; I did not neglect to do this even when something seemed wanting in both the [existing] version and the transcript.

Equipped, therefore, with these aids, I have handled the matter by dividing it into three parts: in the first, I present those things which look toward history—that is, the origin, growth, and likewise the fate and destruction of this heresy; in the second, I encompass the doctrines; and in the third, finally, I review their customs and way of life. To these—