This work presents a new perspective on the wave of sects and the response it received from the forces of repression.

The government of the state, using a combination of old and new methods, attempted to stifle the ever-growing discontent among the popular classes, the circles of intellectuals, and to prevent the manifestation of dissent from specific ecclesiastical circles.

The quintessential method of repression used was the synodal condemnations. However, the Byzantine 'Inquisition,' which was institutionalized by the Comnenian dynasty, included a wide range of psychological pressures, terror, and primarily torture.

(. . .) [Excerpt from the text of the preface]