Apolitan Church

Apolitan Catholic Patriarchate of Kartha
Patriarkana Katolike Apólytos e Kartës
Cathedral of Kartha, the mother church of the Apolitan Church
Classification	Western Sotirian
Orientation	Apolitan Catholicism
Theology	Apolitanism
Polity	Episcopal
Governance	Holy Synod
Head	Karekin II the Patriarch of Austeria
Region	Austeria
Language	Ecclesiastical Solarian
Liturgy	Austerian Rite
Headquarters	Kartha, Austeria
Founder	Gregory the Illuminator
Separated from	Episemialist Church (1441)
Members	3,000,000 (self-reported)
Other name(s)	Austerian Church Apolitan Catholic Church

The Apolitan Church, officially the Apolitan Catholic Patriarchate of Kartha, is the national church of Austeria. It traces its history to the early Sotirian church established in the Solarian province of Austeria in the 4th century CE. Following the events of the Lesser Schism of 1385, it became an autocephalous church in communion with the wider Episemialist Church.

The Apolitan Church formally broke communion with the rest of the Episemialist churches in 1441 at the conclusion of the Iconoclast Wars due to a dispute over the church's bishopric succession and the iconoclastic controversy. Initially the split continued due to political reasons, but the Church's theology began to diverge following the Admendist and Valduvian Reactions, culminating in the Apolitan Declaration. The Declaration led to the adoption of parts of Amendist theology by the church, such as the Amendist view of the eucharist, branch theory and sola scriptura. Most controversially, the Church redefined their relations with the Irfanic minority of Austeria, expanding the principle of error has no rights and opening the communion to willing Irfanics. Under the Apolitan Kingdom, it remained as the state church until the kingdom's conquest by the Etrurian First Republic in 1789, where it faced suppression under the Solarian Catholic governments of Etruria. Following the Legionary Reaction, the Church played a major role in the resistance against the Functionalists; for this reason it was not repressed under the Austerian People's Republic, although the socialist government had significant influence over its leadership.

The bishop of Kartha, known as the Patriarch of Austeria, heads the church and possesses apostolic succession through James the Less, according to sacred tradition. As a broad church, the Apolitian Church contains several distinct doctrines; the main traditions today are the Absolutists, Kausists, Ritualists, and Galenists. Tensions between the doctrines are reflected in the central dispute over open communion with Ifranics as well as the debates over ordination of women and homosexuality. The church follows the Austerian Rite for its liturgy, prayer and devotional patrimony and uses Ecclesiastical Solarian as the official and liturgical language. Austeria is religiously divided and Sotirianity makes up just over 51% the population of which half are Apolitans, which forms Austeria's largest Sotirian sect.