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| {{Infobox Christian denomination | | | Name = Surrow |
| | icon =Grapevine_cross.svg | | | Article = |
| | icon_width =20px | | | Image = File:Surrow_Flag.png |
| | icon_alt = | | | Noborder = |
| | name = Miersan Episemialist Church
| | | Nickname = |
| | image = 20210607_164653_June_2021_in_Białystok.jpg
| | | Morenicks = |
| | imagewidth = 300px | | | Use = 111000 |
| | alt =
| | | Symbol = <!-- |Use="6-digit FIAV usage code" is required. --> |
| | caption = [[Cathedral of Sotirias the Saviour]] in [[West Żobrodź]]
| | | Proportion = 5:8 |
| | abbreviation = | | | Adoption = 1916 |
| | type = | | | Design = A centred white [[Tyrnican cross]] on a Rythenean green field with the {{wp|Big Dipper}} on the canton |
| | main_classification = [[Episemialist Church|Episemialism]] | |
| | orientation = | |
| | scripture = {{wp|Septuagint}}, {{wp|New Testament}} | |
| | theology = Soravian Episemialism | |
| | polity = [[wikipedia:Episcopal polity|Episcopal]]
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| | governance = | |
| | structure = | |
| | leader_title = Primate
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| | leader_name = [[Teodor Furmański|Teodor VI]], [[Patriarch of All Miersa|Archbishop of Żobrodź and Patriarch of All Miersa]]
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| | leader_title1 = Metropolitans
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| | leader_name1 = TBD
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| | leader_title2 = Archbishops
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| | leader_name2 = TBD
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| | leader_title3 = Bishops
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| | leader_name3 = TBD
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| | fellowships_type =
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| | fellowships =
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| | fellowships_type1 =
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| | fellowships1 =
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| | division_type =
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| | division =
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| | division_type1 =
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| | division1 =
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| | division_type2 =
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| | division2 =
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| | division_type3 =
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| | division3 =
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| | associations =
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| | area =
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| | language = {{wp|Church Slavonic|Church Marolevic}}, {{wp|Polish language|Miersan}}
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| | liturgy =
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| | headquarters = [[Cathedral of Sotirias the Saviour]], [[West Żobrodź]]
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| | territory = [[Miersa]]
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| | possessions = [[Miersa]], Miersan Churches abroad
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| | origin_link =
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| | founder = [[Iwon of Gdawiec]]
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| | founded_date = 736
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| | founded_place = [[Gdawiec]]
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| | independence =
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| | reunion =
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| | recognition = 1938
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| | separated_from =
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| | branched_from =
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| | merger =
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| | absorbed =
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| | separations = [[Solarian Catholic Church|TBD Rite Catholic Church]] <br>[[Lemovician Episemialist Church]]
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| | merged_into =
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| | defunct =
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| | congregations_type =
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| | congregations =
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| | members = 17,718,131
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| | ministers_type =
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| | ministers =
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| | missionaries =
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| | churches =
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| | hospitals =
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| | nursing_homes =
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| | aid =
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| | primary_schools =
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| | secondary_schools =
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| | tax_status =
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| | tertiary =
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| | other_names =
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| | publications =
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| | website =
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| | slogan =
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| | logo =
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| | footnotes =
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| }} | | }} |
| The '''Miersan Episemialist Church''' ({{wp|Polish language|Miersan}}: ''Mierski kościół epizemialny''), also known as the '''Patriarchate of Miersa''' ({{wp|Polish language|Miersan}}: ''Patriarchat Wszechmiersy''), is a [[Miersa|Miersan]] [[Sotirianity|Sotirian]] [[Episemialist Church|Episemialist]] {{wp|autocephaly|autocephalous}} church that operates within Miersa and among the {{wp|Polish diaspora|Miersan diaspora}}. Governed by a [[#Holy Synod|Holy Synod]], and overseen by the [[#Patriarch|Partriarch]], currently [[Teodor Furmański|Teodor VI]], the Miersan Episemialist Church has played a significant role in the histories of [[Miersa]] and of [[West Miersa]].
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| According to tradition, the Miersan Episemialist Church was founded by [[Iwon of Gdawiec]] in 736 CE when he was sent by the [[Ecumenical Patriarchate of Arciluco|Ecumenical Patriarch]] to proselytize and convert the {{wp|Slavic people|Marolevs}} living in the [[Miersan Basin]]. Iwon's conversion would be successful, particularly in the western regions of Miersa, whereas in eastern Miersa, the [[Solarian Catholic Church|Solarian rite]] became predominant. This divide between the Arcilucan and Solarian rites of Sotirianity was aggravated by the [[Lesser Schism]] in 1385, which led to several [[Monarchy of Miersa|Miersan monarchs]] prosecuting and attempting to crack down on Episemialism in favour of Catholicism, before an [[Edict of Toleration (Miersa)|Edict of Toleration]] was instituted in 1507 by Cesarz [[Michał the Lesser]] that permitted the church to operate in the [[Miersan Commonwealth]], so long as they accepted a Catholic monarch.
| | The '''flag of [[Surrow]]''' is the {{wp|national flag}} of Surrow. Designed in 1891 by [[Ervin Suchet]], it was adopted in 1916 after Surrow gained full {{wp|self-government}} from [[Rythene]] by the [[Parliament of Surrow|Surrowese Parliament]] the previous year over the [[#Red ensign|red ensign]] previously used until 1916, or [[Joerg Angstroem]]'s [[#Surrowese Tricolor|tricolor]], and retained its status as Surrow's flag after its independence from Rythene in 1950. |
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| Following the [[Partition of Miersa|Miersan partitions]] in 1638 and 1687, the Episemialists in the [[Soravia|Soravian]] [[Miersan Governate]] would become more influenced by the [[Soravian Episemialist Church]], with the church itself for a period of time being reduced to an autonomous part of the Soravian Episemialist Church, while in the [[Gaullica|Gaullican]]-annexed provinces, Episemialism would go into significant decline as the Gaullicans converted many peasants to the [[Solarian Catholic Church]], including setting up a {{wp|uniate rite}}, leading to the modern religious divide in Miersa between [[East Miersa|East]] and [[West Miersa|West]].
| | ==Design== |
| | The flag is comprised of a centred white [[Tyrnican cross]] on a Rythenean green field, with the {{wp|Big Dipper}} on the canton. |
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| After the [[Godfredson Plan]] was implemented in 1936, the Miersan Episemialist Church would regain its autocephaly in 1938, and was raised to the status of a Patriarchate. However, the Miersan Episemialist Church would only flourish in [[West Miersa]], since in [[East Miersa]], anti-religious campaigns by the [[Miersan Section of the Workers' International]] weakened both the Catholics and the Episemialists. Today, Episemialism is the largest religion in West Miersa, with around 85% of those in West Miersa adhering to the church, but only around twelve percent in East Miersa adheres to Episemialism, making it the second largest religion after the Solarian Catholic Church in the country.
| | When the flag was designed by [[Ervin Suchet]] in 1891, the flag was made similar to the [[Flag of Rythene|Rythenean flag]] of that time, with Suchet declaring in a pamphlet which saw the flag be distributed that the green was to "symbolise our islands' indisputable Rythenean heritage," white "for the purity of the souls who inhabit this far northern land," the cross representing both "the [[Perendism#Symbols|Sword of Perende]] spreading civilisation" to the [[Native Surrowese]] and Surrow's "indisputable Rythenean heritage," and the Big Dipper "representing our land being the closest to the {{wp|North Pole}}." Suchet did not include any red in the flag design as he claimed that "no Surrowese blood has ever been spilled in any war." |
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| ==History==
| | However, per the [[Constitution of Surrow]], the green is meant to symbolise Surrow's {{wp|krummholz|tuckamore}} forests that cover much of [[Holcot Island]], the white is meant to symbolise the long winters that Surrow experiences, the cross is meant to symbolise Surrow's democratic traditions, and the Big Dipper is meant to represent Surrow's geographic position as the northernmost nation of [[Maurceania Major]]. |
| ===Early Church===
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| [[File:Căpriana_monastery,_2007.jpg|250px|thumb|left|A fourteenth century church in a monastery near [[Hoikoćija]], 2007]]
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| While there is ample evidence that [[Sotirianity]] first reached present-day [[Miersa]] during the [[Solarian Empire]] between 311 CE and 400 CE, when the Empire had control over parts of the present-day {{wp|partially recognised state}} of [[Lemovicia]], and the present-day [[West Miersa|West Miersan]] voivodeship of [[Malomiersa]], it is unclear whether these Sotirian communities lasted long enough to have a significant influence over the development of Miersan Sotirianity, let alone what rite these communities were associated with, despite claims from the Miersan Episemialist Church that they practiced the Arcilucan rite of Sotirianity, basing their claims largely on present-day Malomiersa's contiguity with present-day [[Amathia]] within the Solarian Empire. Over the centuries, Sotirianity withered in the region, as it was outcompeted by both {{wp|Slavic paganism|Marolevic paganism}} and {{wp|Basque mythology|Lemovician paganism}}, to the point that by the eighth century, it was unclear whether "there were any communities that followed Sotirianity in accordance with either the Arcilucan or Solarian rites."
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| According to the Miersan Episemialist Church, the Sotirian Church was re-established in Miersa by [[Iwon of Gdawiec]] in 736 CE, with Iwon sent by [[Ecumenical Patriarchate of Arciluco|Arciluco]] to proselytize the {{wp|Slavs|Marolevs}} living in the [[Miersan Basin]]. From his position in [[Gdawiec]], Iwon of Gdawiec was able to spread Sotirianity using {{wp|Old Church Slavonic|Old Church Marolevic}}, particularly among the peasantry in southwestern Miersa. Thus, Iwon of Gdawiec is traditionally seen to be the first head of the Miersan Episemialist Church.
| | ==Historic flags== |
| | ===Red ensign=== |
| | [[File:Surrowese_red_ensign.png|250px|thumb|left|Red ensign]] |
| | The first Surrowese flag was adopted in 1859, when the Rythenean government granted the Colony of Surrow the right to have its own {{wp|civil ensign}} to be used by Surrowese civilian boats. The Surrowese red ensign is comprised of the Rythenean {{wp|red ensign}}, with the Rythenean flag in the canton, and the [[Coat of arms of Surrow|colonial seal]], comprised of the shield of the [[Coat of arms of Surrow|Surrowese coat of arms]] surrounded by the text "Colony of the Surrow Islands" on a white disk in the fly half. |
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| Over the next few centuries, Episemialism would spread across the western regions of Miersa, particularly in [[Firencja]] and [[Zachódnia]], but it also spread eastwards among the peasantry in [[Wybrzeże]], although among the elites, it faced pushback from those who followed the [[Solarian Catholic Church|Solarian rite]]. Thus, by the eleventh century, the Arcilucan rite was predominant in western Miersa and among the lower classes, whereas the Solarian rite was predominant in eastern Miersa and among the upper classes.
| | The red ensign became associated with the Surrowese colonial government, and in 1866, the red ensign was declared by the Surrowese colonial government to be its {{wp|state ensign}}, allowing ships owned by the Surrowese government to use the red ensign. From the 1870s onward, the Surrowese red ensign was increasingly used on land by both the colonial government and by Surrowese civilians, and in 1886, the colonial government officially adopted the Surrowese red ensign as its official flag, "to be used in all circumstances where a local flag is deemed neccessary," although the Rythenean flag remained a co-official flag of Surrow. By the 1890s, the Surrowese red ensign became the only flag regularly flown at government buildings, with the Rythenean flag being consigned to military bases or at [[Government House, Holcot Inlet|Government Inlet]]. |
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| Until the thirteenth century, the Miersan Episemialist Church was based in Gdawiec, but with the rise in importance of [[Żobrodź]] following the [[Unification of Miersa]] by [[Romuald the Bold]], Archbishop Teodor IV moved to Żobrodź, primarily to be closer to the main political centre in Miersa, which would allow the church to influence the [[Monarchy of Miersa|Miersan monarchs]].
| | However, the Surrowese red ensign faced competition from both Suchet's flag and the Surrowese tricolor, leading to the Surrowese red ensign declining in popularity until it was replaced in 1916 with Suchet's flag design. The red ensign remained in use as a civil ensign until 1950, but by then, the red ensign has fallen into "virtually complete disuse" in favor of the Surrowese national flag. |
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| ===Miersan Commonwealth=== | | ===Surrowese Tricolor=== |
| [[File:Autor_nieznany_(malarz_z_kręgu_Lukasa_Cranacha_Starszego),_Bitwa_pod_Orszą.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Painting of the 1394 [[Battle of Zieruń (1394)|Battle of Zieruń]], {{circa|1524-1530}}]] | | [[File:Surrowese_Tricolour.png|250px|thumb|right|Surrowese Tricolor]] |
| With the [[Lesser Schism]] in 1385 between the [[Episemialist Church]] and the [[Solarian Catholic Church]], the peasantry and most of those in the western regions sided with the Episemialist Church, leading to what historians consider to be the creation of the Miersan Episemialist Church, who recognised the [[Ecumenical Patriarchate of Arciluco]] as a {{wp|primus inter pares}} over the supremacy of the Pope in [[Solaria]].
| | In 1887, [[Joerg Angstroem]] designed a green-white-blue {{wp|tricolor}} for the [[Fishermen's Protective Union (Surrow)|Fishermen's Protective Union]] as a party flag. According to Angstroem, green was meant to represent the Rythenean population, white was meant to represent Surrow's long winters, and blue was meant to represent the Tyrnican population, with Angstroem seeing the [[#Red ensign|red ensign]] used by the Surrowese government at the time as being "too Rythenean to be accepted by a sizable portion of the Surrowese population." |
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| This led to a series of conflicts over religion, when in 1387, [[Maksymilian the Great]] ordered that all Miersan churches "follow the Solarian rite," and to crack down on all practices of the "western schismatics." This was opposed by [[Sebastian of Zieruń]], who would emerge as the leader of the anti-Catholic forces. In 1394, Sebastian would meet Maksymilian the Great at the [[Battle of Zieruń (1394)|Battle of Zieruń]], with Sebastian killing Makysmilian in battle, before being killed himself.
| | Angstroem's flag became popular, with the flag being extensively promoted by the Fishermen's Protective Union throughout the late 1880s and early 1890s. By the mid-1890s, the Surrowese Tricolor became a popular flag, especially among Surrow's Tyrnican population. However, its rise in popularity among the Surrowese Tyrnican population led to a decline in the flag's popularity among Surrow's Rythenean population, especially in the context of the then-ongoing [[Surrowese language question]], with ethnic Rytheneans trending towards flying the red ensign, or towards Suchet's flag. This led to the Fishermen's Protective Union changing its flag in 1896 from the tricolor to a blue banner with a white fish. |
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| Throughout the next century, persecution against Episemialists ebbed and flowed, depending on the ruler in power: [[Henryk the Old]] forced nobles to convert to Solarian Catholicism on the pain of death and on the pain of having their lands seized and redistributed to Catholic nobles, while [[Matej the Young]] instituted policies to seize "all the wealth in Episemialist churches" to help fund the Miersan treasury. In contrast, [[Władysław the Great]] tolerated Episemialism among the peasantry, and even funded the reconstruction of "certain important churches," primarily in [[Żobrodź]].
| | With the outbreak of the [[First Great War (Levilion)|First Great War]] in 1908, the colonial government banned the Surrowese tricolor as the colonial government feared that the flag could be used by "traitors who seek to bring Surrow back under the Tyrnican yoke." Although the flag was relegalized in 1913 after Tyrnica negotiated a separate peace with the Coalition, high levels of anti-Tyrnicanism at the time meant that the Surrowese Tricolor was not adopted by the Surrowese government in 1916, and the flag largely fell into disuse until the mid-1940s, when the [[Independence League (Surrow)|Independence League]] adopted the flag and used it to promote Surrowese independence, with leader [[Todd Lester]] proposing that the flag be adopted as the flag of an "independent Surrow." |
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| [[Maksymilian the Weak]]'s reign from 1492 to 1501 saw the worst persecution of Episemialists in Miersan history: anyone suspected of being Episemialist was forced to either accept the teachings of the Pope, or be burnt at the stake for heresy, while Episemialist churches were "systemically plundered and destroyed." This would lead to several {{wp|peasant revolts}} during Maksymilian's reign, particularly in the recently-annexed [[Malomiersa]] which had been Episemialist, but was influenced by {{wp|Catharism|Llorainism}} present in Malomiersa and in neighbouring [[Champania]]. | | However, [[Ted Fisher]]'s decision to keep the current Surrowese flag led to the Surrowese Tricolor falling back into disuse. The Surrowese Tricolor would only see a revival in the mid-1980s, with [[Deacon Parker]]'s administration encouraging its use as a "secondary Surrowese flag," with a particular focus on touristic areas. Since then, the Surrowese Tricolor has become more popular, particularly in and around [[Holcot Inlet]] and [[Tern Harbour]]. |
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| After the death of Makysmilian the Weak in 1501, [[Michał the Lesser]] sought to end the bloodshed between the Catholic and Episemialist communities. Despite pressure from some in his court to maintain his predecessor's policies, Michał maintained his course, and in 1507 issued the [[Edict of Toleration (Miersa)|Edict of Toleration]], which stipulated that in exchange for the Episemialists accepting a Catholic monarch, the monarchy will not discriminate against Episemialists. This ended the era of persecution against Episemialists, although Catholics would remain politically dominant in the Miersan Commonwealth.
| | ==Gallery== |
| | Below are a list of flags used by the Surrowese government in the modern day. |
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| ===Partition of Miersa===
| | <gallery>Surrow_Flag.png|National flag |
| [[File:Warsaw-Pilsudski-Square-1900s.jpg|250px|thumb|left|View of [[Cathedral of Sotirias the Saviour]] and its surroundings, 1919]]
| | Surrow_presidential_standard.png|Presidential standard |
| With the [[Partition of Miersa|First Partition]] in 1638 between the [[Soravian Empire]] and [[Kingdom of Gaullica]], with a rump [[Duchy of Żobrodź]], the Miersan Episemialist Church only remained ''{{wp|de-facto}}'' independent within the Duchy of Żobrodź, with this independence being short lived, since after the [[First Miersan Revolt]] in 1687, the Duchy of Żobrodź was annexed by Soravia, which led to the effective end of a fully independent Miersan Episemialist Church.
| | Surrow_military_flag.png|Military flag |
| | | Surrow_constabulary_flag.png|Constabulary flag</gallery> |
| In the areas annexed by Gaullica, Episemialism would fall into further decline, exacerbated by Gaullican policies of promoting [[Solarian Catholic Church|Solarian Catholicism]]. This was helped by the fact that most elites in the eastern regions of Miersa were already Catholic, in addition to immigration from Gaullica itself into Gaullican Miersa. Despite some efforts to resist Gaullican policy promoting the Solarian Catholic Church, exemplified by the TBD, these efforts would ultimately prove futile as Catholicism became even more dominant in the region than prior to the partition. Furthermore, during Gaullican rule, a {{wp|uniate church}} was created, with those seeking to follow their traditional rites while maintaining loyalty to the Pope in Solaria.
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| In the areas annexed by Soravia, Episemialism would flourish under Soravian rule, although the Soravian Empire sought to impose the [[Soravian Episemialist Church]] upon the [[Miersan Governate]]. This was helped by an influx of Soravian immigrants into the Miersan Governate, who brought the Soravian Episemialist Church with them and their practices, while the Soravian Empire sought to institute tighter controls on the Miersan Episemialist Church. To this end, the Soravians revoked the autocephaly of the Miersan Episemialist Church, and reduced its Metropolitan to being a part of the Soravian Episemialist Church. This was met with significant resistance by Miersan Episemialists, particularly in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, with many clergy and peasants opposing the imposition of the Soravian Episemialist Church and its structures upon the existing Miersan Episemialist Church, which forced the Soravian Episemialist Church to grant the Miersan Metropolitan autonomy in (some date in the eighteeneth or nineteenth century), in exchange for acknowledging the supremacy of [[Patovatra]] over the Miersan church.
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| At the same time, with emigration of {{wp|Polish people|Miersans}} to Gaullican and Soravian colonies in the [[Asterias]], Episemialists sought to maintain their religious traditions abroad, which led to the creation of churches to serve the Miersan Episemialist community in the {{wp|Polish diaspora|Miersan diaspora}}.
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| ===Modern era===
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| With the implementation of the [[Godfredson Plan]] in 1936 to partition [[Miersa]] between a [[East Miersa|socialist republic]] and a [[West Miersa|Soravian client state]], the Miersan Episemialist Church would become ''{{wp|de-jure}}'' autocephalous in 1938, thereby officially separating from the [[Soravian Episemialist Church]], although it would in practice remain extensively influenced by the Soravian Episemialist Church to this day. This restoration of autocephaly was marked by the Miersan Episemialist Church being elevated into a Patriarchate, due to Miersa's religious history.
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| Under Patriarch Szymon VII, in 1942, {{wp|Polish language|Miersan}} became a {{wp|liturgical language}} alongside {{wp|Church Slavonic|Church Marolevic}}, with the Holy Synod justifying the decision as making the Miersan Episemialist Church more accessible to the ordinary Miersan layperson. This move, although controversial among more conservative members of the Church, was largely supported among Miersan Episemialists. However, during this period, the Miersan Episemialist Church would be cracked down in [[East Miersa]] as a result of anti-religious policies made by the then-governing [[Miersan Section of the Workers' International]], which led to many devout Catholics and Episemialists fleeing into [[West Miersa]] to escape persecution.
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| The Miersan Episemialist Church would experience a {{wp|schism}} in 1980, when {{wp|Basque language|Lemovician}}-speaking priests, with the blessing of the breakaway [[Lemovicia|Lemovician]] government, set up the [[Lemovician Episemialist Church]], which claimed the territory of the Metropolitanate of Małomiersa within the borders of Lemovicia. The Lemovician government has, in the years since independence, and particularly since the end of the [[Lemovician War]], cracked down on the Miersan Episemialist Church and its activites within the territory. Despite an agreement with the [[Ecumenical Patriarchate of Arciluco|Ecumenical Patriarch]] that the Lemovician Episemialists would be placed under temporary Arcilucan administration until a final agreement is made on its status, the Miersan Episemialist Church still claims the territory of the Lemovician Episemialist Church to fall under the jurisdiction of the Miersan Episemialist Church.
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| ==Organisation==
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| ===Patriarch===
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| [[File:J._E._metropolita_Sawa.JPG|250px|thumb|left|Patriarch [[Teodor Furmański|Teodor VI]], 2017]]
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| The head of the Miersan Episemialist Church is the '''patriarch''' ({{wp|Polish language|Miersan}}: ''patriarcha''), officially the Archbishop of Żobrodź and the Patriarch of All Miersa. Until 1938, he was the Archbishop of Żobrodź and Metropolitan of All Miersa, before the [[Ecumenical Patriarchate of Arciluco|Ecumenical Patriarchate]] elevated the Miersan Episemialist Church to a junior patriarchate. Since 2017, the current Patriarch of the Miersan Episemialist Church is [[Teodor Furmański|Teodor VI]], succeeding Borys V after his death.
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| Historically, the primate wielded extensive power alongside an {{wp|endemic synod}}: however, with growing influence from the [[Soravian Episemialist Church]], in 1889, under Metropolitan Tomasz IV (then the head of the Miersan Episemialist Church), the Endemic Synod was replaced with a [[#Holy Synod|Holy Synod]], with all the day-to-day powers of the primate being subsumed under the holy synod. Since 1889, the Patriarch has served as a "symbolic figurehead representing the Church in All Miersa," with the Patriarch serving as a ''{{wp|primus inter pares}}'' of the [[#Holy Synod|Holy Synod]], and of the Miersan Episemialist Church. Thus, since 1889, the patriarch has no real power over the Miersan Episemialist Church.
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| Today, the duties of the Patriarch, besides chairing the Holy Synod, involve representing the Miersan Episemialist Church "at home and abroad," serving as a "pious role model" for all Miersans, and issuing {{wp|anathema}} against those who have committed "serious and unrepetent heresy" against the Episemialist Church.
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| ===Holy Synod===
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| The governing body of the Miersan Episemialist Church is the '''Holy Synod''' ({{wp|Polish language|Miersan}}: ''święty synod''). Originally the '''endemic synod''' ({{wp|Polish language|Miersan}}: ''synod endemiczny''), the {{wp|endemic synod}} was replaced by a permanent {{wp|Holy Synod}} in 1889 under Metropolitan Tomasz IV, due to increasing [[Soravia|Soravian]] influence on the Miersan church brought on as a result of its closer integration with the [[Soravian Episemialist Church]] in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
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| The Holy Synod of the Miersan Episemialist Church's main duties is to "supervise the day-to-day operations of the Episemialist Church within All Miersa," including matters of religious doctrine, church property, and funding of the TBD churches under the Miersan Episemialist Church, as well as decisions to create new dioceses, archdioceses, bishoprics, archbishoprics, and metropolitanates, in addition to dissolving any one of those.
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| As of 2021, the members of the Holy Synod include the [[#Patriarch|Patriarch]], the four metropolitans of [[Miersa]], the Archbishop of Krada, and one metropolitan from outside Miersa.
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| ===Structure===
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| The Miersan Episemialist Church is organised into TBD metropolitanates within the territory of [[Miersa]], who in turn oversee TBD archdioceses and TBA dioceses. As the Miersan diaspora spread, the Miersan Episemialist Church also operates metropolitanates in areas where there is extensive settlement by Episemialist Miersans, particularly in countries with no Episemialist patriarchate available to serve them.
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| *Patriarchate of All Miersa and Archbishopric of Żobrodź
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| **Metropolitanate of Firencja and Archbishopric of Gdawiec
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| ***Bishopric of Dąmyśl
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| ***Bishopric of Tarcław
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| ***Bishopric of Zieruń
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| **Metropolitanate of Małomiersa and Archbishopric of Sechia
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| ***Archbishopric of Krada
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| ***Bishopric of Gorgard
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| ***Bishopric of Mistózburó
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| **Metropolitanate of Wybrzeże and Archbishopric of Dyńsk
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| ***Bishopric of Kordyn
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| ***Bishopric of Łószcław
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| ***Bishopric of TBD
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| **Metropolitanate of Zachódnia and Archbishopric of Podgórzyca
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| ***Bishopric of Nowyburg
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| ***Bishopric of TBD
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| ***Bishopric of Zanica
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| **Metropolitanate of the West
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| ***Bishopric of TBD
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| ***Bishopric of TBD
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| ***Bishopric of TBD
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| **Metropolitanate of the East
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| ***Bishopric of TBD
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| ***Bishopric of TBD
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| ***Bishopric of TBD
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| | |
| ==List of Bishops, Archbishops and Patriarchs==
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| ===Bishop of Gdawiec===
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| # [[Iwon of Gdawiec]] (736-755)
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| # Michal I (755-766)
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| # Jerzy I (766-772)
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| # Tomasz I (772-783)
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| # Szymon I (783-790)
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| # Lukasz I (790-806)
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| # Lukasz I (798-806)
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| # Teodor I (806-819)
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| # Jozef I (819-838)
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| # Maurycy I (838-842)
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| # Benedykt I (842-853)
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| # Cyryl I (853-861)
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| # Pawel I (861-869)
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| # Mikolaj I (869-877)
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| # Iwon II (877-883)
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| # Feliks I (883-895)
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| # Andrzej I (895-901)
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| # Teodor II (901-904)
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| # Szymon II (904-908)
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| # Lukasz II (904-911)
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| # Ignacy I (911-913)
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| # Cyryl II (913-917)
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| | |
| ===Archbishop of Gdawiec===
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| # Cyryl II (917-928)
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| # Szczepana the Great (928-947)
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| # Metodego (947-972)
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| # Jerzy II (972-983)
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| # Tomasz II (983-997)
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| # Maurycy II (997-1008)
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| # Lukasz III (1008-1013)
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| # Mikolaj II (1013-1024)
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| # Jerzy III (1024-1026)
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| # Pawel II (1026-1030)
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| # Lukasz IV (1030-1043)
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| # Iwon III (1043-1046)
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| # Cyryl III (1046-1056)
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| # Piotr the Incompetent (1056-1058)
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| # Jozef II (1058-1066)
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| # Szymon III (1066-1078)
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| # Mikolaj III (1078-1086)
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| # Michal II (1086-1092)
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| # Feliks II (1092-1101)
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| # Tomasz III (1101-1111)
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| # Teodor III (1111-1117)
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| # Pawel III (1117-1124)
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| # Jerzy IV (1124-1130)
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| # Maurycy III (1130-1136)
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| # Jozef III (1136-1149)
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| # Ignacy II (1149-1155)
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| # Iwon IV (1155-1177)
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| # Boguslaw II (1177-1185)
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| # Borys I (1185-1186)
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| # Fabian I (1186-1197)
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| # Konstantyn II (1197-1203)
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| # Feliks III (1203-1214)
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| # Michal III (1214-1229)
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| # Wasilij I (1229-1241)
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| # Pawel IV (1241-1258)
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| # Lukasz V (1258-1264)
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| # Szymon IV (1264-1276)
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| # Jozef IV (1276-1284)
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| # Teodor IV (1284-1287)
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| | |
| ===Archbishop of Żobrodź===
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| # Teodor IV (1287-1303)
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| # Franciszek I (1303-1316)
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| # Jerzy V (1316-1327)
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| # Benedykt II (1327-1352)
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| # Konstantyn III (1352-1368)
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| # Pawel V (1368-1371)
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| | |
| ===Metropolitan of All Miersa===
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| # Pawel V (1371-1377)
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| # Cyryl IV (1377-1386)
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| # Lucjan (1386-1394)
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| # Franciszek II (1394-1406)
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| # Boguslaw III (1406-1422)
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| # Jerzy VI (1422-1435)
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| # Konstantyn IV (1435-1452)
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| # Szymon V (1452-1484)
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| # Lukasz VI (1484-1495)
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| # Fabian II (1495-1498)
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| # Sylwester II (1498-1517)
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| # Iwon V (1517-1535)
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| # Ignacy III (1535-1541)
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| # Maurycy IV (1541-1569)
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| # Mikolaj IV (1569-1593)
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| # Wasilij II (1593-1598)
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| # Michal IV (1598-1606)
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| # Jerzy VII (1606-1610)
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| # Cyryl V (1610-1624)
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| # Borys II (1624-1631)
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| # Benedykt III (1631-1647)
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| # Feliks IV (1647-1662)
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| # Jozef V (1662-1673)
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| # Lukasz VII (1673-1689)
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| # Konstantyn V (1689-1710)
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| # Jerzy VIII (1710-1734)
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| # Fabian III (1734-1758)
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| # Teodor V (1758-1781)
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| # Maurycy V (1781-1783)
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| # Pawel VI (1783-1799)
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| # Szymon VI (1799-1829)
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| # Borys III (1829-1842)
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| # Lukasz VIII (1842-1866)
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| # Iwon VI (1866-1888)
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| # Tomasz IV (1888-1896)
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| # Andrzej II (1896-1918)
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| # Borys IV (1918-1929)
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| # Pawel VII (1929-1938)
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| | |
| ===Patriarch of Miersa===
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| # Pawel VII (1938-1940)
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| # Szymon VII (1940-1953)
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| # Jozef VI (1953-1979)
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| # [[Bogusław Wojdyla|Boguslaw IV]] (1979-1991)
| |
| # Konstantyn VI (1991-1999)
| |
| # Borys V (1999-2017)
| |
| # [[Teodor Furmański|Teodor VI]] (2017-present)
| |
The flag of Surrow is the national flag of Surrow. Designed in 1891 by Ervin Suchet, it was adopted in 1916 after Surrow gained full self-government from Rythene by the Surrowese Parliament the previous year over the red ensign previously used until 1916, or Joerg Angstroem's tricolor, and retained its status as Surrow's flag after its independence from Rythene in 1950.
Design
The flag is comprised of a centred white Tyrnican cross on a Rythenean green field, with the Big Dipper on the canton.
When the flag was designed by Ervin Suchet in 1891, the flag was made similar to the Rythenean flag of that time, with Suchet declaring in a pamphlet which saw the flag be distributed that the green was to "symbolise our islands' indisputable Rythenean heritage," white "for the purity of the souls who inhabit this far northern land," the cross representing both "the Sword of Perende spreading civilisation" to the Native Surrowese and Surrow's "indisputable Rythenean heritage," and the Big Dipper "representing our land being the closest to the North Pole." Suchet did not include any red in the flag design as he claimed that "no Surrowese blood has ever been spilled in any war."
However, per the Constitution of Surrow, the green is meant to symbolise Surrow's tuckamore forests that cover much of Holcot Island, the white is meant to symbolise the long winters that Surrow experiences, the cross is meant to symbolise Surrow's democratic traditions, and the Big Dipper is meant to represent Surrow's geographic position as the northernmost nation of Maurceania Major.
Historic flags
Red ensign
The first Surrowese flag was adopted in 1859, when the Rythenean government granted the Colony of Surrow the right to have its own civil ensign to be used by Surrowese civilian boats. The Surrowese red ensign is comprised of the Rythenean red ensign, with the Rythenean flag in the canton, and the colonial seal, comprised of the shield of the Surrowese coat of arms surrounded by the text "Colony of the Surrow Islands" on a white disk in the fly half.
The red ensign became associated with the Surrowese colonial government, and in 1866, the red ensign was declared by the Surrowese colonial government to be its state ensign, allowing ships owned by the Surrowese government to use the red ensign. From the 1870s onward, the Surrowese red ensign was increasingly used on land by both the colonial government and by Surrowese civilians, and in 1886, the colonial government officially adopted the Surrowese red ensign as its official flag, "to be used in all circumstances where a local flag is deemed neccessary," although the Rythenean flag remained a co-official flag of Surrow. By the 1890s, the Surrowese red ensign became the only flag regularly flown at government buildings, with the Rythenean flag being consigned to military bases or at Government Inlet.
However, the Surrowese red ensign faced competition from both Suchet's flag and the Surrowese tricolor, leading to the Surrowese red ensign declining in popularity until it was replaced in 1916 with Suchet's flag design. The red ensign remained in use as a civil ensign until 1950, but by then, the red ensign has fallen into "virtually complete disuse" in favor of the Surrowese national flag.
Surrowese Tricolor
In 1887, Joerg Angstroem designed a green-white-blue tricolor for the Fishermen's Protective Union as a party flag. According to Angstroem, green was meant to represent the Rythenean population, white was meant to represent Surrow's long winters, and blue was meant to represent the Tyrnican population, with Angstroem seeing the red ensign used by the Surrowese government at the time as being "too Rythenean to be accepted by a sizable portion of the Surrowese population."
Angstroem's flag became popular, with the flag being extensively promoted by the Fishermen's Protective Union throughout the late 1880s and early 1890s. By the mid-1890s, the Surrowese Tricolor became a popular flag, especially among Surrow's Tyrnican population. However, its rise in popularity among the Surrowese Tyrnican population led to a decline in the flag's popularity among Surrow's Rythenean population, especially in the context of the then-ongoing Surrowese language question, with ethnic Rytheneans trending towards flying the red ensign, or towards Suchet's flag. This led to the Fishermen's Protective Union changing its flag in 1896 from the tricolor to a blue banner with a white fish.
With the outbreak of the First Great War in 1908, the colonial government banned the Surrowese tricolor as the colonial government feared that the flag could be used by "traitors who seek to bring Surrow back under the Tyrnican yoke." Although the flag was relegalized in 1913 after Tyrnica negotiated a separate peace with the Coalition, high levels of anti-Tyrnicanism at the time meant that the Surrowese Tricolor was not adopted by the Surrowese government in 1916, and the flag largely fell into disuse until the mid-1940s, when the Independence League adopted the flag and used it to promote Surrowese independence, with leader Todd Lester proposing that the flag be adopted as the flag of an "independent Surrow."
However, Ted Fisher's decision to keep the current Surrowese flag led to the Surrowese Tricolor falling back into disuse. The Surrowese Tricolor would only see a revival in the mid-1980s, with Deacon Parker's administration encouraging its use as a "secondary Surrowese flag," with a particular focus on touristic areas. Since then, the Surrowese Tricolor has become more popular, particularly in and around Holcot Inlet and Tern Harbour.
Gallery
Below are a list of flags used by the Surrowese government in the modern day.
