Cryrian Church of Ademar
| Church of Cryria | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Leidenstad Cathedral | |
| Belief | Ademarism |
| Leader | Queen Ulrika II |
| Deity | God-on-Urth |
| Founder | Conclave of Tarva (1030) |
| Place of worship | Church |
The Cryrian Church of Ademar, commonly known simply as the Cryrian Church, is the primary religious institution in the Kingdom of Cryria. It is the state religion of the Kingdom and traces its history back to the original Cryrians who migrated east from Yasteria. The Church is also present outside the Kingdom. The Church is the official religion of the Mandate of Ellesborg, although it only has a small number of adherents there. Cryrian Ademarism is the main religion in the Duchy of Charlottesborg, although the Duchy's religious institutions exist outside of the normal Church structure.
Today, the Church of Cryria claims an estimated 26,790,100 members worldwide. It is officially headed by the Drifting Throne, and is closely linked with the Cryrian state. Cardinals hold seats in the Upper Chamber of the Riksdag, and the Church has played an active role in Cryrian politics since its founding.
History
Antiquity
The original Cryrians in Yasteria had worshipped a trifecta of deities - The God-Under-Seas, the God-on-Urth, and the God-in-the-Void. There are few surviving records of this pantheon, but it is expected that these deities represented the seas, land, and skies respectively. The God-Under-Seas was depicted as a powerful and unpredictable entity, but one which also offered the wealth and bounties of the oceans, and as such was initially the primary deity for the seafaring Cryrians. The God-on-Urth, in contrast, represented the stability of homes and hearths where all sailors sought to return, and was generally depicted as a kinder and more welcoming god. The God-in-the-Void stood for the mysteries of the night sky, whose stars the Cryrians used to find their way, and where lost souls were said to rest. The God-in-the-Void was as often feared as it was worshipped for its strange unknowable nature.
Scholars believe that the Cryrian concept of the God-on-Urth was heavily influenced and ultimately overtaken by Ademarism, and over time it became the sole Cryrian deity as the other two fell out of formal use. However, remnants of the original Cryrian religion persisted in folktales, myths, and superstitions, and Cryrian sailors were often known to give tributes and prayers to the two "forgotten" gods as soon as they were on the open seas. Many ancient Cryrian practices were absorbed wholesale into Cryrian Ademarism.
Much like the older, pagan religion the Cryrians had kept, Cryrian Ademarism at this time was completely decentralized. Different clans had their own clerics who trained their own pupils and successors, and kept only a loose system of mutually understood traditions and practices in common. In a manner reminiscent of Älemsi Shamans, Cryrian clerics played an important role in communications between different groups. Clerics were considered to be above even their own clan loyalties, and attacking a religious figure was anathema. Cryrian clerics oversaw important traditions such as the Great Wardings and Bekännelsekväll.
Cryrian Migrations
This form of Ademarism was carried by from Yasteria to the Isles when the Cryrians began to settle in Nederborg and on the Arm of Tarva. Although initially insular, Cryrian Ademarists soon began to conduct missionary activities in the region. Throughout Cryrian history, Ademarist clerics were often the first to make contact with local groups and were frequently the ones most exposed to the existing cultures of the region. This role was further propelled by the priesthood's unofficial role as diplomats and emissaries within Cryrian culture. Indeed, in many cases Cryrian Ademarists took up local practices - Most notably, mask-wearing was adopted from the Elves and the Vhydaszi.
Ademarist missionaries were successful in making inroads in the peripheral areas which had come under Cryrian control, but Magnus' ascension to the throne of Vesterholm placed the Cryrians atop a large foreign population. That the Cryrian fleets had saved Vesterholm from defeat at the hands of Lindesgaard had cemented the legitimacy of the new regime, but the Cryrian priesthood was compelled to become increasingly organized during this period in order to ensure that Ademarism remained the dominant religion. The unification of the Cryrian clans around Magnus meant that the clergy itself increasingly began to revolve around the Drifting Throne. The new King's exploits had reached religious proportions, and both he and his successors were quick to proclaim their own divine right to rule.
Founding and First Inquisition
One of two defining moments for the formation of the Cryrian Church took place at the Conclave of Tarva. In 1030 AD, the coastal city was home to what was up till then the largest gathering of Cryrian clergy in history. There, four priests and priestesses were selected and each appointed to one of the cardinal directions. They were tasked with spreading the Ademarist faith within these assigned regions. The Conclave of Tarva is generally considered to mark the official founding of the Cryrian Church, as well as the establishment of the Council of Cardinals that has since governed it. The Conclave also witnessed the first effort to compile and promulgate a single set of canon law out of the varying doctrines which had previously existed. These writings were labeled as The First Oath, and in conjunction with a later set of dictates would form the basic teachings of the Church.
These missionary activities were the main focus of the Church for the next decade, but were largely halted due to the sudden death of King Joar II. The Cardinal in Vesterholm was quick to leverage his religious authority to gain control of the regency for the child-king, Joar III. The rest of the Church rallied behind the Cardinal, while the remaining non-Ademarist population of the Kingdom formed an opposition to the new regency. These groups were by and large nonhumans who had long resided on Vesterholm, and they soon faced accusations of having poisoned the late monarch. In order to consolidate its control, the Church initiated a series of pogroms and purges which later became known as the First Inquisition. This marked the final transition of Cryrian Ademarism into an organized, militant movement directly entwined with the state.
The Flaying of Vesterholm later forced both the Drifting Throne and the Regency to flee to a new capital at Leidenstad, and created a period of political competition between the Church and the newly established Lords Admiral who had been appointed to conduct the war against the marauding Vhydaszi. The Church itself continued to take part in the Vhydaszi wars as parallel armed force when it eventually launched the Aisis Inquisition that sacked many ancient Vhydaszi settlements and looted significant amounts of wealth. The destruction of countless temples removed large part of Vhydaszi religion from historical records. The Church later prevailed in its power struggle with the Lords Admiral when Lord Admiral Tynam was effectively exiled from court and sent to establish a remote outpost in the Rotantic. This territory later formed into the Duchy of Tynam, and conflicts between its rulers and the Church continued over the following centuries.
By the end of the Vhydaszi Wars, the Cryrian Church had established itself as an institution with a considerable degree of independence that was able to command significant holdings and wealth of its own.
Union with Talvere and the Scouring
The personal union with Talvere fundamentally changed the Church's position in Cryria. Talvere represented a large, culturally distinct and still-powerful. Although numerous Ademarist practices and traditions had been adopted in Talvere by the 11th-century, they were often absorbed into a broader Mlythlaist context and the Church's institutions were rarely present. The union accelerated the establishment of Ademarism in Talvere but also spread many Talveri practices among the Cryrians, including Talvere's inheritance laws. Thus, the establishment of Leidensen rule over Talvere effectively introduced entirely new power structures that now directly competed with the Church.
This was accentuated after King Karsten was slain by elven armies at the Battle of Barren Hill in 1107. The Church immediately found itself in a contest for the regency against the Talveri-born Queen Lielsta. Despite her foreign birth and rumored non-Ademarist beliefs, Lielsta was successful in rallying the Cryrian aristocracy to her cause as much of the nobility had grown wary of the Church's power, and did not desire a return to the days of the First Inquisition.
As this power struggle continued, Leidenstad itself was put under siege by the Veiled King and elven armies rampaged freely across the coastal plains. Support from Talvere became vital to Leidenstad's survival, a fact which helped cement Lielsta's position. Amidst the siege political turmoil, the entire Council of Cardinals was slain and Leidenstad Cathedral put to the torch when the elves briefly breached the city walls. The idea that Lielsta's own forces committed this act during the confusion remains a popular conspiracy theory in Cryria, but at the time the blame was placed solidly on the besiegers and the destruction of the cathedral became a defining point in the Church's history. While the death of the Church's leadership ended its ambitions for the regency, the burning also served to inflame religious support for the war. Cryrian Ademarism now strongly nestled in anti-nonhuman sentiments and formed an ideological backbone for the Scouring. A new Council of Cardinals was established after the siege, and at the Conclave of Leidenstad issued a second religious text - The Final Oath. This continues to serve alongside its earlier companion as one of the two main doctrinal writings of the Church. The Final Oath was a highly militant text which focused primarily on the ongoing war and the need to cleanse the Isles of nonhumans and nonbelievers. Among other things, soldiers were offered religious absolution if they fought under the Leidensen banner, and though Lielsta authorized no inquisitions many flocked to her armies out of a religious imperative.
The final victory over the High Places in 1137 brought with it the formal unification of Cryria as a single kingdom. As this act was largely orchestrated by Lielsta, it ensured broad rights and autonomies for Talvere. Notably, Talveri religious institutions remained independent of the Cryrian Church. Despite this limitation, the Scouring and the Unification served to restore much of the power lost in the burning of Leidenstad Cathedral. The Church had once again established its irreplaceable ideological value to the Drifting Throne, and soon afterwards was authorized to launch the Rose Inquisition against elven populations around what would later become Karlin.
The Sorrows
In the centuries following the Scouring, the Cryrian Church was strongly established as the primary religious institutions across the Kingdom, save for Talvere. It later spread to the west Novaran mainland with the Cryrian capture of Segolstad, later renamed to Charlottesborg.
The 16th-century Cryrian civil war known as the Sorrows marked a turning point in the relationship between mainstream Cryrian Ademarism and the independent strains practiced in Talvere. While the Church backed King Isak and indeed fostered many of his ambitions for the throne, Talvere supported Queen Charlotte. After Charlotte's defeat, much of Talvere's power was reduced. Though Talvere retained religious autonomy, the Church was allowed to establish itself over several formerly Talveri territories, including the newly established Duchy of Storlund. These areas had fallen early inthe war to Isak's armies, and suffered purges at the hands of the Church. Conversely, Segolstad broke away from Cryrian rule at this time, and though it remained Ademarist the Duchy ceased to report to the Church for all practical purposes.
The Absolute Era and the Cinder Inquisition
After the Sorrows, power within the Kingdom increasingly centralized in the hands of the Drifting Throne. The rise of Absolutism in Cryria both relied upon and furthered the power of the Church, which was by now firmly ensconced as the ideological driver and religious justification for the state. The expansion and consolidation of Leidestad's power was often supported on religious grounds, and the Church was a major driver for early Cryrian nationalism. This was in no small part entwined with Leidenstad's efforts to reign in and dismantle various regional authorities and identities in the Kingdom, which often clashed with the Church's own power. Chief among these were the Duchy of Talvere and the Peninsular March, which had remained outside the mandate of the Church and its inquisitions. Here more than anywhere else, Ademarist beliefs had enmeshed with existing Mlythlaist practices, and Ademar himself was considered to be an aspect of the Ezethla.
This religious divide coincided with Leidenstad's own desire to reign in what remained of Talveri and Peninsular autonomy. The tail-end of the 17th century was marked by the unleashing of the Cinder Inquisition, named for the many Talveri sacred gardens that were burned over its course. The Inquisition violently quelled religious dissent in the two territories. The Cinder Inquisition marked the end of the long erosion of political and religious independence on the Cryrian periphery, and by the end of it Church authority had been cemented throughout the Kingdom, save for remote and politically shielded areas such as Northern Tynam.
The Church also became involved in the Kingdom's overseas colonial adventures. The most notable of these was the disastrous Lost Inquisition of 1675, in which an entire Church-sponsored army was sent to Älemsi only to vanish in the Oynuri Forests. This setback greatly dampened the Church's interest in foreign expeditions, and later missionary activity in Älemsi and Aikthudr'zhur made little headway in the face of strong local belief systems. Cryrian Ademarism was brought to Arcturia with the establishment of the Mandate of Ellesborg, with some success.
1865 Constitution
While the Absolute Era brought the Church to the zenith of the power, it also facilitated and accelerated scientific and industrial revolutions in the country. These were often tolerated or even encouraged by Church authorities as they stood in keeping with the work ethic and innovative spirit espoused by Cryrian Ademarism. However, by the late 19th century these shifts had begun to threaten the ideological underpinnings of the Church. While faith remained a central tenet of Cryrian life, many, particularly those within the ruling elite, were now drawn to the ideologies espoused by the nascent eugenics movement. Cryrian eugenics took often adopted the most militant Church tenets such as human-supremacism and Cryrian nationalism, but added a scientific veneer that many found appealing and modern in this era. Notably, King Albert was a strong proponent of eugenics and saw it as instrumental to the next step in building the Cryrian nation. The rise of the Tomorrow Ministry seemed to mark the start of a process in which eugenics would replace the Church's ideological role within the state.
While the 1865 Constitution enshrined the Church's position and privileges in the Kingdom, it also demonstrated a shift in power away from the Court and towards the Riksdag. This further undermined the Church's power, which had long been centered upon the Drifting Throne. Indeed, the Church as an institution was increasingly seen as archaic and outmoded for the modern era, and its political influence had become severely curtailed by this point. The use of clergy as advisors, tutors, and scribes had all but fallen away in the face of an increasingly ubiquitous and sophisticated education system, and while it held significant wealth and lobbying power the Church's direct government presence after the 1865 Constitution was limited to its Riksdag seats.
The Charottesborg Succession
The coronation of Queen Katharine brought about a turnaround for the Church's political power. Educated in Charlottesborg, Katharine had long been unimpressed by her father's wholehearted endorsement of the eugenics movement. While the Tomorrow Ministry remained a potent and growing force thanks to the support it had from the general population, Katharine herself was quick to involve the Church in her own political ambitions. The Church played an instrumental role in maintaining the Queen's claim during the Charlottesborg Succession Crisis. Katharine had invoked pan-Cryrian sentiments in order to rally local support to her cause, and though the Duchy had long been independent of Leidenstad it maintained its own autonomous branch of Cryrian Ademarism with ties to the Council of Cardinals. The Church's maneuvering was successful in winning the support of its Charlottesborg branch for Katharine, and thus secured the Queen's position there.
The events of the Charlottesborg Succession later led to the Tanznozhiv, during which the Charlottesborg branch would briefly be wholly brought back into the Church's governing institutions. The Succession also forged a powerful new political alliance between the Queen and the Council of Cardinals, particularly as Katharine grew frustrated with the Riksdag and sought to extend the Throne's direct power back over the government.
Great War
At the outbreak of the Great War, Cryria had been swift to announce its support for the Ademarist homeland in Asendavia. The conflict against large nonhuman powers such as Packilvania was quick to raise imagery of Cryria's own founding myths from the Scouring, and the Church seized upon the opportunity this represented. Prior to the war's spread to Novaris, Cryrian involvement had been limited and relied upon volunteers. The Church took up a leading role in drumming up support and soldiers, and even opened up its coffers for the effort. Thus, in domestic politics the war effort took on an increasingly religious overtone.
This coincided with Katharine's own domestic ambitions for Cryria. While her attempt to turn the Säkerhetspolisen into a domestic security force loyal to the Throne had been foiled by the Riksdag, the Queen now saw an opportunity. Taking advantage of the rising religious sentiments, Katharine authorized a new Inquisition in 1905. The Final Inquisition was charged with targeting subversive and heretical elements on the home front, and was effectively intended to be a secret police force that answered to the Queen through the Council of Cardinals. As raising and commanding an Inquisition fell wholly within the authority of the Church and the Throne, the Riksdag lacked measures to halt such a move particularly in wartime conditions where support for the Church was strong and vocal.
The act marked a return to the more active and militant Church of old, and the adoption of uniforms that resembled military coats symbolized the Inquisition's ties to the war effort. Initially the Final Inquisition was loosed upon radical organizations that were already despised by much of Cryrian society. This tactic served to normalize and establish the Inquisition as it gradually expanded its scope and sophistication. While the Final Inquisition initially consisted of deputized Red Hundreds gangs, it was quickly given form by handpicked officers from the SÄPO and other agencies.
Ironically, while the establishment of the Final Inquisition restored worldly power to the Church, it also began to badly undermine its public support. Over its twelve years in operation the Inquisition grew increasingly heavy-handed, and for many the Church went from a still-beloved part of public life to a symbol of fear and oppression. Harsh measures against nonhumans were to be expected, but labor movements now faced increasingly brutal crackdowns, and thousands of dissidents were deported to harsh labor camps in central Älmark. While the Inquisition rarely sought to enforce religious edicts any more than other contemporary Cryrian agencies, they were still inseparable from the image of the Church and that image became tarnished. Katharine's autocratic tendencies were a further cause of worry for elements of the Cryrian elite which had become empowered by the 1865 Constitution, and few desired a return to absolute rule.
While the needs of the war and the efficiency of the Inquisition was sufficient to quell these worries, by 1917 even the entrenched support for the Church and the Drifting Throne had begun to erode. The Cardinal Charlottesborg outright rejected a planned 1915 expansion of the Inquisition into the Duchy, and as a result Katharine was forced to abandon her intention to gradually introduce similarly repressive measures in Volscina. Already recruiting from the most militant parts of the population, the public's antipathy increasingly separated the Inquisition from broader society in a phenomenon that heralded the insular nature of later Cryrian security institutions.
Post-War
The end of the war in 1917 also ended the justifications used for the Inquisition, and a reinvigorated Riksdag forced Katharine to begin dismantling the force. Many members would later join or rejoin the SÄPO and the National Police and brought the same repressive training, culture, and ideology which had pervaded the Inquisition. This was deemed to be broadly acceptable by ruling elites, whose primary concern with the Inquisition had been the fact that it placed power entirely in the hands of the Throne. Thus, many scholars still consider the Final Inquisition to be the forefather of later policing practices which defined the Cryrian Anarchy and the Age of Tomorrow. The demise of the Final Inquisition is similarly seen as less a true dismantling of the institution, and more a restructuring.
Even as the Inquisition wound down, it would leave one last scar on the Kingdom. In 1918, the Council of Cardinals had been summoned in order to address Charlottesborg's future standing within the Church in the aftermath of the Tanznozhiv. By this time there remained only one serving Inquisitor, Freya Odhner, who had been assigned as a security detail for the Cardinal Leidenstad following an assassination attempt. As soon as Leidenstad Cathedral was cleared and its doors sealed for the deliberations, Odhner proceeded to execute each of the Cardinals in turn, with the gunshots drowned out by the hourly bell ringing.
Odhner's motives were never recorded, and her few associates had claimed only that the Inquisitor had grown distant as a result of her wartime experiences. Nor had any others been present in the Cathedral with her save for the dead Cardinals, and those outside were initially unaware and confused when the doors opened and the Inquisitor emerged alone. According to onlookers, Odhner made one final statement before shooting herself with a pistol:
Odhner died on the Cathedral steps, and her final act effectively gutted the Church's leadership. This along with the institution's declining legitimacy would prove to be one of the contributing factors to the turmoil of the Cryrian Anarchy. Similarly, much as the SÄPO and the NP took over the role of the Inquisition, the Tomorrow Ministry would now grow to fill the void left behind by the Church.