2003800th Ann of the Abjuration at Bilino Polje - First Day Cover

On April 8, 1203, Ban Kulin, Dragić, Ljubin, Dražeta, Pribiš, Ljuben, Radoš, Vladoš, Archdeacon Marin of Dubrovnik, together with other church and political leaders of the country, renounced the Bogomil heresy before the legate of Pope Innocent III, John de Casamaris, at Bilino Polje near Zeneca. This was accomplished through a written “Abjuration” and an oral vow that they and the inhabitants of their lands would obey the doctrines and edicts of the Roman Catholic Church. They pledged their lands in security. Ban Kulin further pledged that he and the Croatian-Hungarian king would pay a fine in silver if heresy were to be tolerated in their lands.