True Faith
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Church History
Following a large group of dissenter clergyman who had separated themselves from the Canonist Church to form the now defunct Lotharic Communion an internal conflict emerged.
On the side of the first Princeps, Princeps Valentyn, there were the reformists. These clergymen stressed anti-canonism and did not entirely focus on preserving the sacred tradition that they had inherited.
However, on the side of Bishop Abraham, an early founder of the Communion, there existed a sect of clergy who wished to bring the church back to the days prior to the Canonist Church and the Pontifical tradition itself. These few had the intent of going back to the time of the High Priests, the earliest known leaders of Creatorism. These clergymen had a single obstacle; since the time of High Priest Pontian no documentation on the old rites and traditions of the church were known of- at least not to the church.
This all changed once Bishop Abraham of Lorraine was elected Princeps. The new Princeps sent his flock to scour the land looking for documentation of that time. Most of the works that the clergy recovered would be translated by Bishop Vladimir ‘the Golden Hand’ into the ‘Docens’ or teachings in flexio. This new document would be used as a basis for everything in the church, from the liturgy to clerical garb.
When the ‘Donens’ were completed a new faith had to be established. The teachings of the Docens differed too greatly from the Lotharic Church. So, in 1598 a second schism occurred forming the True Faith.
While many clergymen were excited at the new prospect of an emerging religion, others were more hesitant to be cheerful during this time. The Faith was met with many challenges, for one they lacked any territory. The region that they had previously inhabited, the Kingdom of Lorraine, forced them into exile.
Through sheer luck and what was attributed to GOD the faith was summoned to the emerging Kingdom of Courland’s capital Aleksandria. There, King Tobias Staunton met with the first bishops of the True Faith and converted. Soon, the majority of Aleksandria's citizens followed the True Faith. The religion swept rapidly through the surrounding territories as well yet did not penetrate any surrounding Kingdoms at this time.
Under King Tobias and Queen Lisette Staunton the True Faith prospered and was upheld through the Kingdom's laws. There was total separation between the Church and State, yet both institutions saw each other as partners. Civil and Ecclesiastic courts were created to prosecute under both state and church laws. The militaries of the church and state also were separate, the Order of Saint Lothar was established for the protection of faithful in the Kingdom and abroad.
During the Heanse-Courland war a crusade was called by the True Faith at the Second Council of Aleksandria. While many declarations were made and blood spilt against the True Faith by Canonists prior to this announcement, this event sparked the official military conflict between the True Faith and Canonism. The attacking Courlanders and their allies went on to win what was known as the ‘Heansettian crusade’ an event that empowered the conversion of many Canonist Courlanders.
During the reign of the Lorrainian King Odo I, religious toleration was declared in his Kingdom. He personally invited delegates from the True Faith to Lorraine and allowed them use its capital Cathedral. High Priest Callixtus I sent the Sisterhood of St. Julia to the city where they established a temporary poor house. However, due to conflicts between Canonists and True Faithers the Sisterhood left Lorraine after facing harsh persecution.
By the time of the reign of Courtlandic King Joseph Staunton relations between the Church and State began to become strained. Officials within the government called for the breakup of ecclesiastic courts as well as barred the church from engaging with other Kingdoms. The Church at this time began accusing the government of corruption and began holding secret conclaves regarding the Kingdom’s leadership.
Through many factors, chiefly the weakening of the Kingdom of Courland, the Council of Episcopates under High Priest Callixtus I reached out to the Canonist Pontiff Clement II in 1610. After a few meetings where everything from dogma to diocese were discussed a plan for union was enacted. A ‘via media’ solution of union was passed which combined aspects from both bodies.
Church's Exalted
Horen I "the Father" - Golden Laurel Patron of Humanity, Covenants and Humility
Owyn I "the Purifier" - Flaming Sword Patron of Purity, War, and Fire
Church Dogma
The True Faith was rooted in Creatorism or the belief that the Seven Skies, the Void, and the realm which all life inhabits were created by a single deity. This belief was shared with their cousins the Lotharics and Canonists. The way in which the teachings of the True Faith diverged from that of their cousins is as follows:
The Canonists follow Four Prophets while the True Faith believed only in Two. Exalted Horen - “The Father” is the first and accepted by both, and Exalted Owyn - “The Purifier” is the second and accepted by both. The way in which they diverged was in the Prophets Godfrey and Siegmund.
The True Faith saw Godfrey as more political than religious. They disdained that he was an Emperor and not a religious figure. They also had cited many reports against the Prophet which alluded to his supposed sinful life. When speaking on his scrolls, his works were seen as a conglomeration of other’s works. The True Faith held the belief that priests and other religious worked to create the wording of Godfrey's scroll of Gospel, not GOD. It was criticized for not being finished. They only used the Gospel Scroll as a history book, detailing the life of the prophets etcetera.
Siegmund is not accepted by the True Faith either, they once again saw his life as ‘ too earthbound’ and sinful to be chosen to deliver GOD’s word. The First Council of Aleksandria looked to Prophets past before they expelled Siegmund however. They saw that Horen was a leader to his tribe, Owyn was orphaned and fought to regain his grandfather’s title, and Siegmund was simply born a noble. With regards to his scroll it was found that the work was incomplete which was met with criticism by the True Faith for ‘GOD does not leave unfinished works’.
The True Faith also rejects the belief that one man may speak infallibly, a privilege some Pontiffs had claimed. The True Faith claimed that only the entirety of the Church Body, the Synod of Bishops, may speak infallibly, for they were all equally considered the successors of the High Priests.
The church always strived to attempt to recreate what they saw as traditional. Bishops, like the first Diarchs wore Laurels on their head, which represented their ecclesiastical power. They also baptised their members in man-made grottos in their church’s grounds, to emulate the baptisms of Horen and Owyn.
The True Faith also upheld more sacraments than the Canonist Church, although many of these sacraments were already called sacraments by latter, although they weren’t de facto considered sacraments. The sacraments upheld by the True Faith were: Matrimony, Ordination, Divine Word, Reconciliation, Baptism and Consecration.
Besides these differences Canonism and the True Faith were alike, said likeness aided in the mending of the Schism in 1614, where both sides agreed to a ‘via media’ where both denominations would meet in the middle in terms of doctrine.
True Faith Governance
The ranks of the True Faith are as follows starting from the lowest: Subdeacon, Deacon, Priest, Bishop, High Priest. The True Faith was governed by the Conclave of Episcopates. The Conclave consisted of all Bishops of the True Faith presided over by the High Priest. The role of the High Priest was simply to call all fellow Bishops to council when disputes in the faith occurred, this happened four times in its history.
Acclaimed Leaders:
The Diarchy: High Priests Evaristus and Clement I
High Priest Sixtus I
High Priest Alexander I
High Priest Pontian I
High Priest Stephen I
High Priest Paul I
High Priest Paul II
High Priest Sixtus II
High Priest Liberius I
High Priest Marcus I
High Priest Bernard I
High Priest Callixtus I
