Q. 1. What is the gnostic heresy of "paulicianism?"

A. 1. The gnostic heresy of "paulicianism" was a religion that flourished between 650 and 872 in Armenia and the Eastern Themes of the Byzantine Empire.

This gnostic (corruption of christianity) heresy was dualistic (having two parts). It believed in two kingdoms. The Evil Spirit is the author of, and lord of, the present visible world; the Good Spirit, of the future world. They ascribed the creation of the world to the evil God.

The founder of the sect is said to have been an Armenian by the name of Constantine, who hailed from Mananalis, a community near Samosata. The gnostic heresy of "paulicianism" was repressed by order of Emperess Theodora II in 843.