Studia Islandica - 01.06.1960, Síða 26

24
sect came into being in Armenia in the seventh century.
Its members claimed to constitute the only true Catholic
Church. They maintained there was a special universal
Creator other than God, who created the soul. They re-
jected the doctrine of incarnation, and said God had sent
His angel to earth, calling him His son. Their administrat-
ive machinery was simple, and they refused monastic
vows. They also seem to have rejected the Epistles of
St. Peter. In the 9th century they were severely persec-
uted by the Emperors of Constantinople and by the
Greek Orthodox Church. But about the middle of the
8th century and again about the middle of the lOth
century, great numbers of them were transported by the
State to Thrace to offer resistance to the Bulgarians.
They carried out missionary work amongst them, which
may have given rise to a new sect called the Bogomils.
Their principal doctrine was to the effect that the Creat-
or of the world had two sons. Satanael or Satan, and
Christ or Logos. They were against worshipping the
Virgin Mary, saints and images. This sect made itself
felt to some extent in the eastern half of Middle and
Southern Europe between the eleventh and fifteenth
centuries. Some historians believe that there were traces
of these sects in Northern Europe, their followers being
called publicani. This, however, is by no means clear.
On the other hand, it is possible that the Albigenses and
the Catharists in Northern Italy and Southem France
were influenced by the Paulicians.2
In Scandinavia there are no traces of these sects. We
shall therefore seek another explanation for the presence
in Iceland of the five men claiming to be bishops, espe-
cially for the three “Armenian” ones. Our knowledge of
two of them is confined to the names alone, örnólfr
and GoÖiskálkr. They indicate Teutonic origin. Although
the names are common, there seems to be no reference
to these men in any other sources.