Catholic Bulgarians and their dialect

Neno Nedelchev

doi:10.1515/IJSL.2006.031

Abstract

Bulgarian historical and linguistic literature has long since adopted the term “Paulicians” to designate Catholic Bulgarians who believed in the Paulician-Bogomil heresy until around the mid-17th century. Today, as was the case ninety years ago, the traditional term “Paulicians” has only a scientific and historical meaning. The majority of Catholic Bulgarians who resettled in the area of Banat and near Bucharest in Romania after the 1688 Chiprovitsi Uprising and later are descended from Paulicians. Some of the “Banat” and “Bucharest” Bulgarians returned to their home country after the 1878 Liberation and settled in Northern Bulgaria. The dualistic heresy of Paulicianism originated from Manichaeanism, which emerged in the 3rd century. After the Turkish conquest of Bulgaria, “Paulicians” came to be used as a general term for heretics, whereas the term “Bogomils” became obsolete. In the first half of the 17th century, the majority of Paulicians adopted Catholicism. The beginning of the Catholics is associated with the activities of missionaries from the Catholic Franciscan Order, who were intermediaries between Chiprovets and the Roman congregation. Saxon Catholic miners lived in Chiprovets at that time. The Catholic bishopric was based in Sofia. Part of the Catholicized Paulicians subsequently renounced Catholicism and converted to Eastern Orthodox Christianity.

Catholic Bulgarians and their dialect

Abstract

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