Gregorianism

Gregorianism
The Chamber of Beneficience in Sagard, East Ruthen
Type	Universalizing religion
Classification	Imirianic
Scripture	Gregorian Canon
Theology	Monotheism, Trinitarianism, Gnosticism
Region	Worldwide
Founder	Gregory, Princeps Mundi, Agnes Salvator
Origin	1st century CE Melia, Hernician Empire

Gregorianism is an Imirianic trinitarian religion focused on the teachings of Gregory, the proclaimed Divine Manifestation who preached in Calesia and Northern Hylasia in the 1st century CE. It is the largest religion on the world, with approximately 2.8 billion followers, more than X% of the global population, and it has shaped the cultural institutions, belief systems, and ideologies of most of the Old World.

Gregorian beliefs and practice are diverse amongst its many sects, but a unifying thread is the concept of a God whose triune nature manifests in creation and in the human experience. Gregorians hold that God's manifestation in the person of Gregory bridged the mundane and divine worlds, making possible human hierophany and enlightenment. This "divine realization" is believed to have been first facilitated by the reflection of God's three aspects in the persons of the earthly trinity, and is is currently perpetuated by the Gregorian religious body or the promised resurrection of the persons of the trinity, especially the Princeps Mundi and Agnes Salvator.

Gregorianism originated the 1st century CE in Hernician Melia from the teachings of Gregory, who is believed to have fled from Azeth following its sacking. The followers of Gregory, under an alliance with the Princeps Mundi, briefly took control of the Hernician Empire, but were later overthrown and then persecuted. Early Gregorians subsequently appear in the historical record as a sect of who idealized the leaders of the earlier political uprising as martyrs, and whose ideas quickly spread throughout the Empire (and across the sea to Abaria) in the 3rd century CE.

Disputes over the nature of the trinity and eschatology culminated in the division of the faith between Apostolic and Principal sects in the 4th century, while the Cathedralist organ that had become established in Calesia split into north and south in the 11th century, and later split with the Presterists during the Great Prester. The discovery of Elia and the increasing dominance of Calesian powers further spread the faith and practice of Gregorianism worldwide.

History

Origin

Main article: Palmerism

Theology

Main article: God in Gregorianism

Waldish depiction of the earthly trinity, 15th century

Trinity

Gregorian theology is centred on the Trinity, a framework inherited from Palmeric thought, which positions and defines God, Spirit, and Creation, while also structuring and explaining each of those hypostases themselves. The three faces of God as supreme being are disputed, but Spirit — as that which experiences the world naturalistically — is widely agreed to consist of the phenomenological divisions of sensation, action, and thought in the human mind. Creation — supernatural divinity that acts upon the world — is perceived through the archetypes of Father, Son, and Daughter, as all its appearances have narrative and mythic structure. Each element of these trinities corresponds to one in another, as well as fractally containing other trinities, and new trinities are devised ubiquitously as devices of Gregorian theology and mysticism.

Apprehension of any two of the three produces confusion over their apparent opposition, which is only completed and resolved through introducing the third to thus reach a full understanding of the divine, but (at least in orthodox understandings) without subsuming or occluding any of them. The natural and mundane world experienced by Spirit, via man's own ordinary faculties, seems hard to reconcile with the tremendous, unfathomable forces of Creation that must have been involved in creating it, but this is resolved through the disclosure of God, who acts through and upon both (but is not merely this simultaneity). The recognition of the divine Trinity is thus higher insight into reality itself, which does not just contain reflections of trinities but is itself constituted of one.

Reflection and "Schism"

Gregorianism follows the Imirianic tradition in defining Man as a reflection of God, having been created in the latter's image. However, this merely dualistic relationship positions Man as an inherently 'schismatic' character, overconfident of his own abilities, jealous of God, and seeking to usurp the latter's place, akin to mistaking a mirrored image for the real object. Yet the derivative, 'reflected' nature of Man means he will always fail in this rebellion, and this condemns him to a nauseous condition with existence. To overcome this is to recognize and submit to God through becoming aware of Creation, thus fully acknowledging and accepting one's own nature as image, remaining distinct but at the same time elevated by knowledge of the full picture. Evil simply comes from doomed attempts to reject and overthrow divine order by the schismatic, and is represented in Gregorian demonology by prideful beings such as Sahariel.

Manifestation

Schism is overcome through the manifestation — or more specifically in Gregorian symbology the tangible 'grasping' with one's hands — of God. This is the very definition of Gregorianism as the practice of religion, which both presents and demonstrates the truth, and as the act of approaching God. The dogmas and objects of veneration of Gregorianism — most importantly the earthly trinity and the Gregorian canon — are significant in that they are manifestations in the world, tremendous acts of Creation that are nonetheless intelligible to the Spirit to understand God. Along these lines, the organized practice of Gregorianism is understood as a path which involves both studied doctrine and passionate devotion.

Earthly trinity

The earthly trinity are the central figures of Gregorianism. Gregory is the central prophet and teacher of the religion, who not only taught the nature of trinity and reflection and manifested God on Earth, but further demonstrated it recursively through his work with his two greatest apostles, Agnes Salvator and Princeps Mundi, during the Thearchy in which they briefly assumed power over the Hernician Empire.

As is generally accepted, Gregory declared both the Prince and Agnes to hold parts of his power, known as Influence that would be preserved and passed down. He further declared that one would 'return' to herald the end and remaking of the world, but without naming whom. This is the point of schism (and at various points in history, mutual denunciation as heresy) between Principal, Apostolic, and Maximal Gregorianism, which interpret differently the candidate to return, and the correct way to venerate Influence before that return. Regardless of these differences, however, all three figures are heavily (if not equally) venerated and celebrated across most major branches of Gregorianism.

Afterlife and eschatology

There are very few widely agreed upon Gregorian doctrines concerning the afterlife. The permanence of the soul is a prominent point of theological schism, while folk beliefs on the matter are diverse and often contradictory even within the same cultural sphere. Scripture discusses various higher planes, which have been sometimes interpreted as heavens for the virtuous to seek manifestation more conveniently, as well as various abyssal visions that have been interpreted as hells that the schismatic fall to suffer in.

Gregorian eschatology centers on the Cosmoclasm, an event which is heralded by the return of one or several members of the earthly trinity depending on the interpretation, and which results in the resurrection of the dead, the appearance of God before all, and the destruction and recreation of the universe. Cosmoclasm is understood as a final great act of Creation that will fully convince a Spirit of it and God's existence, opening and ending existence in the same terms. It is also the final great act of Manifestation, as God shows His supremacy in the most manifest manner to all beholding souls that would have otherwise doubted.

Texts

Main article: Gregorian Canon

The Patras manuscript, dated 3rd century CE, one of the earliest complete versions of the Gregorian Canon.

Cleronomy

The Cleronomy is a compilation of texts from before Gregory's ministry, which Gregory designated as valid, credible demonstrations of God preceding him. However, such recommendations cannot be attested for all of these works, and different churches have very different collections of Cleronomy, all maintaining that theirs were what had been preserved by early Gregorians from Gregory's ministry. In some interpretations, previous Gregories had authored these works for the current Gregory to re-reveal them to the world. The texts themselves are primarily Ifrahi Palmerist in origin, deriving from the literary and philosophical tradition of classical Azeth, although some show influence from or incorporate elements of Melian epics.

Triptych

The Triptych consists of three books centred on Gregory: the Book of Witnesses, of his early life and studies in Azeth; the Book of Disciples, of his teachings in Azeth and Melia; and the Book of Faithful, of his political career in Hernicia and alongside the other two members of the earthly trinity. The books consist of accounts from several authors, later codified by early Gregorians to provide a definitive account of Gregory's life and ministry. The central status of the Triptych is accepted among all Gregorian churches, although the selection of narratives varies.

Elucidations

Many branches of Gregorianism also revere teachings of Gregory that had been purportedly sealed away or lost, but then miraculously revealed or rediscovered, known as Elucidations. Common genres include Apocalypses, detailed visions of the Cosmoclasm and the times preceding it, Panegyrics, or poems of praise to God and/or members of the earthly trinity, and the Esoterica, or "mystery gospels" supposedly revealing the true nature of the universe, often via a vision from one of the apostles of Gregory.

Main sects and denominations

The taxonomy of Gregorianism has been a topic of dispute amongst many scholars of religion; while classical historians cleanly divided the faith into Apostolic and Principal denominations, with the Apostolic faith further divided into the various Cathedralist and Presterist sects, contemporary historians have challenged this viewpoint by highlighting the Maximal Gregorians in western Abaria, the Western Apostolics in Muharanta, the sheer diversity of Principal thought in Abaria, and the common pan-Abarian Gregorian traditions of Multifacetism and Emergence.

The modern consensus splits Gregorianism into four predominant philosophical "strands": Apostolic, Principal, Maximal, and Hylasian. Apostolic Gregorianism in turn is traditionally divided into Northern Cathedralism, Southern Cathedralism, and Presterism, which differ in conceptions of the manifestation of and rites to maintain the Influence of the Princeps Mundi. More broadly, a distinction is made between the Calesian ("eastern") and Abarian ("western") practices of the faith, which often transcend sectarian divisions.

Apostolic

Hyacinthean depiction of the Agnes Salvator, circa 1650

Apostolicism is the largest division of Gregorianism, consisting of approximately 48% of adherents, and is primarily practiced in Calesia, southwest Abaria, and Elia. A defining trait is the belief that Agnes Salvator, the ninth apostle of Gregory and the leader of the proto-Gregorians following his death, is the promised savior who will return to guide the Gregorians before the end and remaking of the world.

Apostolics believe that Influence directly corresponds to an Office, or divine role, that must be maintained in the mundane world to allow for the guidance of human beings by Gregory's divine reflection. While it is believed that the Office of the Salvator (that of redemption from schism and of witnessing the creative glory of God) is occulted until her return, the Office of the Princeps Mundi (that of maintaining political and religious order on earth) is not, and so must be maintained either by a cathedral (as held by Cathedralists) or by a divine prester (as held by Presterists).

Northern Cathedralism

• claims a Cathedral only holds an office and role once in the hands of the Princeps Mundi

Southern Cathedralism

• claims that a Cathedral is the Princeps Mundi

Presterism

• a 'prester' (divine fire-wind, RL from Heraclitus) inheres in everyone that obviates the need for an exalted Cathedral. Basically just protestantism. Branches quarrel over if the prester is the Princeps Mundi discorporated or other stuff

Western Apostolicism

• completely demotes the Princeps Mundi to an ordinary follower of Gregory. Common in eastern Abaria as an equivalent to the Church of the East. Another branch present in Muharanta

Principal

Principal aula in western Razan

Principal Gregorianism is the second-largest division of Gregorianism, consisting of approximately 40% of adherents, and is practiced across northern, central, and western Abaria. While beliefs vary significantly among denominations, a common thread is that the Princeps Mundi will return to assume earthly authority before the end and remaking of the world.

Principalists commonly conceptualize Influence in prophetic and cyclic terms, as a manifestation of the divine reflection on earth; due to its transcendent nature, Influence cannot be maintained solely by humans and must be restored by an external, divine element. The Princeps Mundi is thus seen as a pivotal figure who, by resuming earthly authority in a time of great injustice and tyranny, will shape the world in a divine image and prepare it for the appearance of God before all. This belief is commonly accompanied by one in Multifacetism, or the belief that the manifestation of Gregory was just one among many personal revelatory appearances, and in Emergence, the belief that individual human beings can "foreshadow" the Prince's return through manifestation of his powers.

Principal thought is highly varied depending on culture and location, and cannot be cleanly divided into distinct sects. Common schools of thought, however, include the Hagnopedians and Heliolotians.

Maximal

Maximal Gregorianism is commonly followed in the Western Abaria, and is generally distinguished by a belief of the sole primacy of Gregory in the earthly trinity. In particular, Maximalists hold that Influence is held by Gregory alone and can only be temporarily delegated. As a result, discussions of successorship to Gregory or maintaining Influence are held as meaningless: Gregory alone came to guide humans by his divine reflection, and he alone will return before the end and remaking of the world. Multifacetism is commonly held by Maximalists, to an extent much greater than in Principalism.

Some scholars have posited that modern Presterism in Calesia has veered towards a Maximalist viewpoint of scripture, a position termed Maximal Convergence in circles of religion.

Hylasian

Hylasian Gregorianism refers to the forms of Gregorianism endemic to northern Hylasia. Common beliefs include a downplaying of the divine nature of Gregory; Gregory and the earthly trinity are instead mainly conceptualized as teachers in a carefully guarded mystical tradition.