Editing Bogomilism (section)

== Etymology ==
The term ''Bogomil'' in [[free translation]] means "dear to God", and is a compound of the [[Slavic languages|Slavic]] words for "god" ([[Common Slavic]]: [[wikt:Appendix:Proto-Slavic/bogъ|*bogъ]]) and "dear" (Common Slavic: *milъ). It may be also a translation of the Greek name ''Theophilos'', literally "dear to God; loved by the gods," from ''theos'' "god" + ''philos'' "loved, beloved". It is difficult to ascertain whether the name was taken from the reputed founder of that movement, the priest [[Bogomil (priest)|Bogomil]], or whether he assumed that name after it had been given to the sect itself. The word is an [[Old Church Slavonic]] [[calque]] of ''Massaliani'', the [[Syriac language|Syriac]] name of the sect corresponding to the [[Greek language|Greek]] [[Euchites]]. The Bogomils are identified with the [[Messalians]] in Greek and Slavonic documents from the 12th–14th centuries.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wolski |first1=Jan |title=Autoproscoptae, Bogomils and Messalians in the 14th Century Bulgaria |journal=Studia Ceranea |date=2014 |volume=4 |pages=234–238 |doi=10.18778/2084-140X.04.15 |url=https://www.academia.edu/12120359|doi-access=free |hdl=11089/10098 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref name=EB1911/>

The members are referred to as ''Babuni'' in [[Church Slavonic language|Church Slavonic]] documents, which originally meant "superstition; superstitious person" (Common Slavic: ''[[wikt:Appendix:Proto-Slavic/babonъ|*babonъ, *babunъ *babona]]''). Toponyms which retain the name include the river Babuna, the mountain [[Babuna (mountain)|Babuna]], the [[Bogomila Waterfall]] and village [[Bogomila]], all in the [[Azot (region)|region of Azot]], today in central [[North Macedonia]], suggesting that the movement was very active in the region.<ref name='obolensky1'>{{cite book |last= Obolensky |first= Dimitry|title= The Bogomils: A study in Balkan Neo-Manicheism |year= 1948|publisher= [[Cambridge University Press]]|location=Cambridge, England|isbn= 0-521-58262-8}}</ref><ref name='czech'>{{cite book |last= Loos |first= Milan|title= Dualist heresy in the Middle Ages |year= 1974|publisher= [[Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences]]}}</ref>