Kirche der Königlich

Church of the Royal
Kirche der Königlich
Hunberht Cathedral in Reichsstadt
Abbreviation	KK, KdK
Classification	Entstehung Reformationist
Orientation	Calvinism
Scripture	Bible, Five solae
Theology	Binitarianism
Polity	Episcopal
Governance	Hunberht Holy See
Königlich Papst	Theotleib V
Region	Imperial
Language	Commoner German, English
Liturgy	Roman Rite
Headquarters	Hunberht Cathedral/Hunberht Holy See
Founder	Hunberht Bernhard Feld
Origin	December 3rd, 1152 Maximus State, TECT
Branched from	The Imperial Orthodox-Catholic Church & Protestant Church
Members	1.1 - 1.5 Billion people
Slogan	"In the Name of the Father, His Son, and the Holy Spirit."

The "Kirche der Königlich" (often shortened to "Königlich Kirche"), translated as "Church of the Royal"/"Royal Church" in German, is the largest Christian denomination and religion within The Empire of Common Territories. Over 1 billion people are baptized into the faith according to the Hunberht Holy See with other sources claiming the faith is well over 1.5 billion strong. Königlich Kirche is among the oldest surviving institutions within the Empire, having roots well past its creation in the 12th Century and playing a major part in the development of the modern Empire. The Königlich Kirche became the Empire's official religion in 1174, serving as the State religion ever since. Several Sui iuris Churches have came into existence since the 15th Century, including offshoots such as the Luttenried Kirche and Green Belt Kirche. Lead by the Königlich Papst (Royal Pope), whom also serves as Bishop of The Reichsstadt and hence the Supreme Pontiff, governance of the Kirche's world-wide affairs also resides in the Diocese of Reichsstadt, otherwise known as the Hunberht Holy See.

At its core, Königlich Kirche can be described as a hybrid denomination, largely evolving from both Commoner Mythos and Catholicism. The Kirche teaches that as a legitimate successor to the original Catholic Church, it too carries on spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ but in its own interpitations. Ever since the Protestant Reformation when the Kirche reformed itself to reflect Protestant values it aligned better with, the Kirche fundamentally changed its teachings to reflect what it says is the one true authority among man, otherwise known as the Holy Bible. So although many of the practices and core beliefs are no longer left to Kirche authorities, Kirche authorities are tasked with interpreting them for the greater community. As adherents to the Theotleib Creed, which is said to have been crafted after Emperor Theotleib V's Covenant with God and His Son, believers in the Kirche practice a mishmash of Catholicism, Protestantism, and incorporate old cultism in order to achieve a perfect balance. Balance is a core belief within KK due to Kirche teachings of Binitarianism, which is the theological belief of the dual personas, "Twoness," in that there is God and His Son Jesus Christ but no other. Strictly speaking, Kirche teachings regarding the Holy Spirit say that the Holy Spirit is the culmination of the "Holiness" born from both God and Christ, and that rather it being a third persona it is actually "Holiness" emanated from the two. So while believers are not strictly held to Kirche authorities on how to worship, things such as Kirche communities and rosaries are common practice among the faithful. Incorporating old Mythos such as demons and angels is one of the few stark changes outlining KK among other denominations.

History

Christianity is said to have first arrived on Imperial shores shy of the 12 Century, largely from early english speaking traders and migrants who took up home in modern day Maximus State. It did not take long for priests and other Catholic Church leaders to eventually arrive with the stated goal of converting Imperial citizens and erecting churches whever they visited. The response from the Empire, the local lords, and citizenry were generally mixed. While some of the locals were open to listening with some successes reported, including the conversion of a number of remote villages and towns, the higher echelons of society cared not to listen. Partially due to the mistrust they had with foreigners, local noblemen saw the new religion as not only an invasion but as a challenge to their authority. Duke Theudemer Walherich Buchholz, ruler of much of the eastern half of the Empire, dismissed the faith initially. Imperial officials, including Emperor Theotleib V, also dismissed it but were instead cautious of the influence the faith brought from foreign actors. So while the Empire didn't necessarily crack down on the faith, its distrust of it did trickle down to lower nobles whom took the opportunity to persecute growing Christian communities.

Although priests and other officials failed to convert huge numbers of citizens, they did see successes in converting settlements along the coastline, namely port towns and villages close by. Between locals resisting conversion away from the cults and regional nobles persecuting them, Christian populations to this point never reached large population centers.

Etymology

Origins of the Kirche's name have long been shrouded in mystery as no official origin source has ever been confirmed. There were texts written during and after the initial years of the Kirche's founding that may have gave insight on why the founders went with the term "Königlich" instead of a more unifying/simplified title; for example, Papst Jonathan III attempted to change the name to "Kaiserliche Ursprungskirche" (could be translated into many names, but in english most preferred "Imperial Founding Church") but was defeated by his Bishops in doing so. There are few mainstream theories on the origin of the Kirche's name, but two specific theories are supported by Kirche historians as being the most legitimate. These two theories are the "Emperor's Theory" and the "Continental Theory."

Emperor's Theory

The first theory is that the Royal moniker was adopted by (or accepted in large part) by the Kirche's founding Papst, Emperor Theotleib V. Theotleib V abdicated the throne in his later years to his eldest son Walther largely because of his declining health. Believing he was mere months away from death, abdicated Emperor Theotleib V sought a quiet retirement in the countryside of modern Maximus State. It was here that Theotleib V was met with many of the Empire's first Christian populations. Theotleib V had prayed to many of the Angels within TECT Mythology in order to recover his health but no breakthroughs would occur. That is until he gave a local priest, a devout Catholic immigrant from the deep south, the chance to convince him of Christianity's power. According to Theotleib V, the day he spent with the priest was largely spent learning the faith and its practices, and then praying that night together for the first time. That next morning Theotleib V awoke from a long dream in which he claims to have spoken to a strangely familiar man whom fondly spoke to him as if they had known each other since childhood. The man, whom he later described as Jesus Christ, told him a great many things about his future he outlined in a diary years later, but said Jesus had told him that God had heard of his many prayers from his Angels and awaited for this day when he would seek out the Lord and His Son so that those prayers may finally be heard. Theotleib V also said that at the end of the dream, Jesus told him that to save himself he must rescue his soul so that God's plan for him could reach its climax. "And he said unto me, 'Theo, rescue your soul and deliver that same compassion onto your countryman. I promise you in the name of the Lord that if you do, my Father's plan for you will only conclude after you are ready for my embrace in God's Kingdom.'" Later that morning when Theotleib V went to meet the same priest so that he could be baptized, he was met by a different man claiming to be that town's priest. After a short conversation, the priest had never heard of the man Theotleib V had met, especially since he was not familiar with Christianity spreading south of the Empire as of yet. Theotleib V quietly concluded that the familiar man in his dream, whom he believed was Jesus Christ, was only familiar because the man he had spent the day with prior was the same individual.

Once Baptized, Theotleib V continued learning the Catholic faith and atteneding services every chance he got. His health not only ceased declining but had otherwise turned around; Theotleib V could now not only walk again but even run, a miracle for a man in his early sixties. Theotleib V decided to keep his promise with Jesus Christ, forgoing retirement and returning to the capital to begin preaching the word of Jesus Christ. Theotleib V would later pass away at the age of eighty-two, but not before converting his family, a great number of people in the Homeland, and of course helping to found the Kirche as its first Papst and Saint. Therefor the theory states that the name either came directly from Theotleib V's and his family's status, or that Kirche adopted it in honor of Theotleib V.