Mstis
Mstis | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Mstis in a 1868 depiction | |
| Born | Unknown 870s |
| Died | June 17, 941 Site of the Sacred Departure, Template:Country data Volomeria |
| Known for | Founder of Costeny |
| Spouse(s) | Great-Saint Danica |
| Children | Great-Saint Sovoron Great-Saint Luther |
Mstis (Literary Vitrian: Mĭsŭtisŭ; c. 870s – 941) was the prophet and founder of Costeny. Beginning in around 921, while in Oteki, Mstis received a series of revelations from the True Lord; he taught these messages to a circle of students and later published it as the Word of the True Lord, the fundamental and most important scripture of Costeny, establishing the faith. Although he was forced into exile by persecution, he nonetheless seeded a Cositene community that would reemerge about a century later at a much larger scale.
Little is known of Mstis's origins and life prior to his prophecy, and speculation of details about his person have usually been based on the Otekian Canon, which transcribed his teachings in Oteki. He is generally considered by scholars and hagiologists to have been a merchant, as his first disciples were of his fellow trading caravan. His birth is generally speculated to be around the 870s. His name, Mstis, is considered to be either a name-defilement of Mstislav, which would suggest a Vitrian origin, or a link to Argilian mastikháō or 'chew', which has been linked due to its thematic similarity to the concept of Theophagy. Both of these proposed etymologies would of course make his designation a religious name or title, and his birth name is not known. All Cositene scriptures make minimal reference to Mstis's person and its details except in parabolic contexts.