Church of Lyncanestria

United Church of Lyncanestria
Église unie de Lyncanestrie
Cathedral of St. Robert in Montroi
Type	Protestant
Polity	Episcopal
Head	Philippe IV
Archbishop of Montroi	Jacques-Pascal de Guermin
Founder	Philippe I 6 December 1871
Separated from	Fabrian Catholic Church
Members	28.4 million (2018)
Official website	egliseunie.lyn

The United Church of Lyncanestria (Audonic: Église unie de Lyncanestrie) is a United church of Protestant Christianity in Lyncanestria founded in 1871 as a union of Formians and Loussienite churches by Imperial decree. It is the largest church in Lyncanestria, numbering 28.4 million registered parishioners. With its formation, the church united the two main branches of Protestant Christianity which had sprung up in Lyncanestria as reformist movements against the perceived excesses of the Fabrian Catholic Church and Holy Audonian Emperor.

History

Stained-glass detail in Saint Arnoul's Cathedtral in Hesbaye, showing both Audonic reformers Formier and Loussien.

Theology

Church governance

The church is governed by the Association of the National Episcopacy (Audonic: association de l'épiscopat national, AEN), a body of bishops and archbishops of which the Archbishop of Montroi is recognized as the primus inter pares. They gather every five years (or at the calling of the primate) in Montroi to debate social questions, review church theology, and issue revisions to church publications such as the catechism and confession of faith. The current Archbishop of Montroi is the Hon. Mgr. Jacques-Pascal de Guermin.

The church government has been described as theologically conservative, but with a growing number of bishops in the liberal wing who promote theologically progressive stances among which are allowing divorced individuals to remain members of the church, permitting the ordination of women, and, even more uncommonly, letting clergy perform same-sex marriages. Most recently in 2021, the governing body narrowly rejected (43-39 vote) permitting the ordination of women, something which had been supported by the Archbishop of Montroi.

The Emperor of Lyncanestria serves as the ceremonial head of the church, who confirm clerical appointments recommended by the ANE. As an elected monarch, there is the possibility that a non-protestant may be elected to the position of head of the church and there have been calls that the church be made independent from the headship of the Sovereign. Ordination of new priests is done independently of the monarchy, though all bishops and archbishops are appointed by the Emperor. Currently there are 79 bishops and 3 archbishops, including the Archbishop of Montroi.

All clergy holding the rank of bishop or higher also serve on the Federal Council, the upper house of the Imperial Diet and are able to vote on the Imperial succession.

Doctrine

The Church of Lyncanestria maintains it is the continuation of Christ's One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

The church holds to only two sacraments: baptism and holy eucharist, with an additional four ordinances: confession, holy matrimony, priestly ordination and unction.

Christenings may be performed in some parishes, though keeping to Marceau Loussien's theology it is not considered a baptism, paedobaptism is not considered valid baptism for membership in the United Church. Rather, credobaptism is done at the age of adulthood, which the church holds to be the age of twelve—the age in which Jesus debated the priests in the Temple.

Ecumenism

Since the early 2000's, the church has been in ecumenical talks with the Fabrian Catholic church and the Hellenic Churches.

Demographics

As of 2018, the church had a registered 28.4 million parishioners, of which only 51% attended services at least once a month. Recent polling has indicated that religiosity in general is on the decline in Lyncanestria, as it is in most of Belisaria.

See also

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