Patriarchate of Istros

Patriarchate of Tengaria
The Eagle of Saint John, the symbol of the Patriarchate
Classification	Episemialism
Scripture	Septuagint, New Testament
Theology	Tengarian Episemialist Theology
Polity	Episcopal
High Primate	Archbishop of Istros and Patriarch of All Tengaria Angel V
Metropolitans	7
Archbishops	12
Bishops	27
Language	Old Church Marolevic
Headquarters	Cathedral of the Logos, Istros
Territory	Tengaria,
Possessions	Amathia, Ravnia, Tengarian Churches abroad
Founder	St. John (trad.)
Origin	First Century Istros
Recognition	1000 AD
Members	22,022,121

The Patriarchate of Tengaria (Tengarian: Патриаршия на Тенгария or Patriarshiya na Tengariya), otherwise known as the Tengarian Episemialist Church, is an Tengarian Sotirian Episemialist church and the established church of Tengaria. It is one of the autocephalous churches of the larger communion of the Episemialist Church. It is also the oldest of the junior Patriarchates of Episemialism, achieving the status after earning recognition from the Ecumenical Patriachate of Arciluco during the rise of the Grand Principality of Tengaria around the year 1000. Thus, it is the most senior of the Patriarchs after Arciluco. It is governed by the Patriarch of Tengaria, Angel V, and the Holy Synod of Tengaria. It has played a significant force in Tengarian politics throughout the Empire of Tengaria and currently the Kovachev era. It is known for being one of the more strictly rigid and conservative of the Episemialist Churches.

Tradition holds that John the Apostle was exiled from the Solarian Empire to the independent Piraean city state of Istros, and wrote his Apocalypse there and later died. As such he is held to be the first Bishop of the city, making Istros into an Apostolic see, although due to its distance and lack of power projection it was never considered one of the great sees of the early Church. Istros retained a Sotirian community throughout the Marolevic invasions, and later served as the springboard from which the Amathian missionary Saint Mihail of Tengaria first evangelized the Tengar tribes, making the Tengars the first major Marolevic group which converted to Sotirianity. The Tengars were underneath the Patriarchate of Arciluco for several centuries when the Empire of Arciluco held control over the area. However, when the Grand Principality of Tengaria was established around 1000, the Ecumenical Patriarch, along with a general council of the Western churches, recognized the see Istros as the Patriach of the land of the Tengars, in part due to the ancient standing of the see and in part due to the political situation at the time. Soon after, the Pope confirmed the Patriachal status of the see, and conferred a Pallium on the first Patriarch along with a message of approval, cementing its status as a junior patriarch. This was the first creation of such a junior patriach, and led to the later recognition of other junior Patriarchs.

Even after the capital moved from Istros to Lenovo in the thirteenth century and remained there, the Patriarchate remained in its ancient city. It was a major player in the beginning of the Tengarian Renaissance, and was a firm supporter of the Iconodule faction during the Iconoclast controversy. After the fall of the Empire of Arciluco and the translation of imperial authority to the Empire of Tengaria, the Patriarchate saw increased prestige and status as the primary spiritual authority in the lands of the nominal head of western Christendom. Despite some controversies between the Patriarchs and Emperors, for the most part, both shared a mututally beneficial relationship, with the Emperor ensuring the Church's status and involvement in state affairs while the Church provided legitimacy to the Emperors. The Patriarch of Tengaria was involved in the coronation of every Emperor after St. Vasil the Great, and the Emperor usually required a ratification by the Holy Synod. After the fall of the Empire during the Great War, the Patriarchate was pushed out of state affairs during the early republican theatre, although anticlerical measures were unable to do major harm. The Tengarian Civil War would see many clergy and faithful members of the Tengarian Church persecuted by leftist militias. After the rise of Simeon Kovachev, however, the Patriarchate has resumed much of its old political power and priveledges, and is closely emeshed in the workings of the government.

The Partiarchate of Tengaria is based in the city of Istros, and the seat of the Patriarch is the Cathedral of the Logos, named after Sotirias as the Logos, especially taken from the beginning of the Gospel of John. It owns extensive lands and properties through the entire country, including most of the nation's historic Churches, monasteries, and the surrounding land. These range from the historic Church of Holy Wisdom, built in the mid-fourth century, to the sixth-century Basilica of St. John, to the massive nineteenth-century Cathedral of the Dormition of the Theotokos in Silen. With over 22 million members, it is one of the larger Episemialist churches, mostly concentrated in Tengaria, but also with communities in Ravnia, Amathia and in diaspora countries such as Galenia and West Miersa. In Tengaria, it is the singular largest religious body, having over 90% of the populace as members of its communities. In exchange for the support and protection which the government offers, especially to its interests, the Patriachate has been a vocal supporter of the National Rally and works to actively promote its continuance. For example, in 2020, the Patriarchate proclaimed Simeon Kovachev to be a Saint, a move which some considered to be politically motivated.

Organisation

Structure

The Patriarchate is divided into seven administrative regions, each headed by a Metropolitan Archbishop.

• Patriarchate of All Tengaria
  • Metropolitanate and Archbishopric of Istros (Held by Patriarch)
    • Archbishopric of Drangovo
    • Archbishopric of Vihren
    • Archbishopric of Rodev
    • Archbishopric of Brestovo
    • Bishopric of XXX
    • Bishopric of XXX
    • Bishopric of XXX
    • Bishopric of XXX
    • Bishopric of XXX
    • Bishopric of XXX
  • Metropolitanate and Archbishopric of Lenovo
    • Archbishopric of Vasilya
    • Archbishopric of Bogorodista
    • Archbishopric of Plastina
    • Archishopric of Rhŭn
    • Bishopric of Isen
    • Bishopric of XXX
    • Bishopric of XXX
    • Bishopric of XXX
  • Metropolitanate of Visoclesia and Archbishopric of Garna
    • Archbishopric of Visnagrad
    • Bishopric of Drenta
    • Bishopric of XXX
    • Bishopric of XXX
    • Bishopric of XXX
  • Metropolitanate of Iztochna and Archbishopric of Avren
    • Bishopric of Osina
    • Bishopric of XXX
  • Metropolitanate of Armonica and Archbishopric of Elena
    • Bishopric of Dimovsti
    • Bishopric of XXX
  • Metropolitanate and Archbishopric of Silen
    • Bishopric of Khŭlm and Cosmingrad
    • Bishopric of XXX
    • Bishopric of XXX
    • Bishopric of XXX
  • Metropolitanate of Dubnitsa and Archbishopric of Kraljovice
    • Bishopric of Miensk
    • Bishopric of Růžyn

In addition, there are several other administrations of the Patriarchate for the Tengarian diasporia communities.

• Archbishopric of Western Euclea
  • Bishopric of Miersa
  • Bishopric of Soravia
• Archbishopric of the Asterias
• Archbishopric of Eastern Euclea
• Bishopric of Coius

Metropolitanate of Dubnitsa

Metropolitanate of Dubnitsa
Location
Territory	Bistravia
Headquarters	Kraljovice
Statistics
Population - Total	475,000
Information
Denomination	Episemialist Church
Sui iuris church	Tengarian Patriarchate (Autonomous Metropolis)
Established	1650
Language	Old Church Marolevic
Current leadership
Bishop	Metropolitan Nikolay IV

The Metropolitanate of Dubnitsa, sometimes referred to as the Dubnistan Episemialist Church, is a autonomous Metropolitan bishopric of the Tengarian Patriarchate which has canonical jurisdiction over the territory of the Bistravian Republic. The Metropolitanate is part of a centuries-long liturgical dispute over the administrative authority and litrugical practices of the Bistravian Church between the Churches of Tengaria and Soravia, which resulted in the creation of it and the Bistravian Episemialist Church. "Dubnitsa" was a historic name of the region and is used to distinguish it from the other.

The Metropolitinate has liturgical and inguistic differences with its counterpart, with the Metropolitinate following the Tengarian liturgical tradition and using Old Church Marolevic for its liturgies. Compared to its rival, the Metropolitinate is significantly smaller, having approximately 475,000 members, which is roughly 5% of Bistravia's Episemialist population and 4.5% of its total population. It mainly is located in the southern regions of Bistravia, but also has communities in the larger cities and also some ethnic Bistravian communities in Tengaria. Despite jurisdictional disputes, both churches are in communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Arciluco, although tension continues to exist between the Tengarian and Soravian Church over the issue. The head of the Metropolitinate is the Metropolitan of Dubnista and Archbishop of Kraljovice, currently Nikolay IV.

Dubnitsa Controversy

Sotirianity had spread to modern Bistravia in the sixth century, largely by missionaries from Arciluco and the growing Sotirian communities in Tengaria. The early bishops in the region ultimately answered to Arciluco, as did all of the churches in Tengaria. Once Istros was raised to the title of Patriarch in 1000, the churches in Bistravia fell under its general jurisdiction, but still retained a great deal of autonomy. During this time, Old Church Marolevic, also known as Old Tengarian, became the predominant liturgical language in the Patriarchate, and thus also in the Bistravian churches. The Bistravian church was centred around the city of Kraljovice, which was elevated to an archbishopric in 1144. The area coming under control of Tengaria further solidified ties of the Tengarian Church.

During the Iconclast Crisis, much of the Bistravian clergy and population sided with the the iconclast teachings, in contrast to the Tengarian Church which was the spiritual leader of the iconophile side during the war. With the Patriarchate focused on the broader issues such as the Council of Lenovo, iconoclasm was able to become a force in Bistravia. The region rose in rebellion during the Iconoclast Wars, which was put down by Imperial forces. The Patriarchate restructured the church structure in Bistravia under the control of iconphile clergy, but iconoclast sentiment remained in the rural regions. The conflict also created religious tension between the Patriarchate and the churches in Bistravia.

Saint Mihail Cathedral, Kraljovice, main church of the Tengarian Patriarchate in Bistravia.

The Church in Bistravia benefited from the Tengarian Gold Age, with the church founding schools and seminaries which promoted learning. With the formation of the Verominian Principality in 1549, the Archbishop of Kraljovice was raised to be a Metropolitan and the Church structure became de facto independent and had large control over its affairs, although it was still nominally answering to Istros. Nontheless the mainstream church still used the Amtatho-Tengarian traditions and language for its liturgy.

This system continued until 1650, when Soravia annexed the territory surrounding Bistravia. Following the annexation the Soravian Church restructured the churches in Bistravia under the authority of the Patriarch of Samistopol, and imposed the Soravian liturgy and liturgical language, the more recent Church Marolevic, on Bistravian Churches. This move was immediately contested by the Tengarian Patriarch, who refused to recognize the Soravian hierarchy of the church as legitimate. The Patriarch refused to recognize the Soravian bishops and appointed pro-Tengarian clergy to hold the sees. However, due to Soravian influence over the region, these candidates were generally unable to operate in Bistravia, causing the titles to become effective titular sees. Due to the effective victory of the Soravian Church, the issue became largely dormant for a time.

Over the next centuries, the Bistravian Church became Soravianized, for the large part becoming integrated into the Soravian Church. A few communities, esepcially in the southern region, continued to follow the Tengarian liturgical practices, but were generally isolated from Tengaria and largely independent. The formation of the Bistravian Federal Sovereign Republic in the All-Soravian Union of Republics saw the rise of more Tengarian communities, particularly among the Tengarian-speaking portions of the country, and the return of the Tengarian Bishops to Soravia, setting up a formal structure for the Metropolitinate. The Metropolitinate grew somewhat after Bistravia gained full independence in 1980, as several parishes and communities expressed interest in switching to the historic rite, but the Bistravian Church remained dominanted by pro-Soravian practices, and the vast majority of churches.

The presence of rival bishops reignited the controversy between the two, which has remained active to this day. Both Patriarchates claim that the other Church is illegitimate, or applying only to ethnic communities of each native country. Supporting Soravia, the Churches of Vedmed, Radushia, Kantemosha also do not recongize the Metropolitanate. Arciluco has not made a decisive judgement on the matter, but has had relations with the Bistravian Episemialist Church and not with the Metropolinate. The Dubnitsan Church is not recognized by the government of Bistravia and remains a smaller movement. Despite the dispute between the two churches, an uneasy state of practical co-existence has emerged. The current attitude of the Tengarian Patriarchate is to maintain this coexistence, and sees the need for the churches to both to maintain a common Episemialist identity.

List of Bishops, Archbishops and Patriarchs

Bishop of Istros (72-580)

1. St. John I the Evangelist (72-100)
2. Pertinax (100-110)
3. Diogenes (110-128)
4. Theocritus I (128-149)
5. St. Anaxemor (149-171)
6. Polycrates (171-174)
7. Memnon (174-175)
8. Eudoxius (175-192)
9. Evodius (192-192)
10. Theocritus II (192-208)
11. Philadelphus (208-210)
12. Dorotheus (210-223)
13. Porphyrus I (223-241)
14. Kalos (241-249)
15. Eleutherius (249-261)
16. St. Timaeus I (261-285)
17. Porphyrus II (285-301)
18. Cleon (301-303)
19. Agathetes (303-316)
20. John II (316-330)
21. Philetus (330-337)
22. Amadocus (337-342)
23. Timaeus II (342-368)
24. Climacus (368-372)
25. Theophilus I (372-381)
26. Cotys (381-395)
27. Teres (395-404)
28. Theocritus III (404-423)
29. Theophilus II (423-438)
30. Seuthes (438-447)
31. John III (447-465)
32. Paul I (465-469)
33. Sabin (469-482)
34. Metrophanes (482-501)
35. Peter I (501-524)
36. Telerig (524-529)
37. Sevar (529-541)
38. Geto (541-544)
39. Umor (544-558)
40. Tervel (558-578)
41. St. Mihail I (578-580)

Archbishop of Istros (580-777)

1. St. Mihail I (580-605)

Patriach of All Tengaria (1000-Present)

1. Boris I "the Confessor" (1381-1428)
2. Angel V (2006-)