Holy Family (Pulacan)
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| Holy Fire World Renaissance Society (Holy Family) | |
|---|---|
 Flag and symbol of the Holy Family | |
| Abbreviation | HFWRS, HF |
| Classification | New religious movement |
| Orientation | Eschatological |
| Scripture | The Word of Lord Fire |
| Huetetateopixcatl | Tlaaquiani Tecpilconetl |
| Region | Pulacan Pulau Keramat Zacapican |
| Origin | 1 May 1994 Ghanzi, Pulacan |
| Members | Unknown, est. 2,500 |
| Other name(s) |
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The Holy Fire World Renaissance Society, commonly referred to as the Holy Family, is a millenarian new religious movement centered in Pulacan. It was founded by Huetetateopixcatl (Great Father-Priest) Tlaaquiani Tecpilconetl in 1994 in the city of Ghanzi under the name "World Renaissance Society." Tecpilconetl continues to run the group to this day, though it is suspected that he has multiple spouses and mistresses whom contribute significantly to day-to-day administrative operations.
The group's purported beliefs are based on Tecpilconetl's book and holy scripture, The Word of Lord Fire. These teachings are mainly based on N'nhivara beliefs on purity, but their apocalyptic bend is explained in terms of "doomsday cycles" from Cozauism and some ideas on actualizing the apocalyptics from Sarpetic religions. The movement itself is not well-known outside of Pulacan, as it deliberately maintains a high degree of closeness and secrecy. What attention the Family has received is overhwelmingly negative, with many criticizing its attempts to influence society, business, and even government toward its eschatological aims. Some members have even been accused of committing violent acts against high-profile detractors, though this has never been proven conclusively. Some sources have labeled the Family as a "dangerous cult," and it has repeatedly failed to achieve official registration as a religious group in Pulacan.
History
The exact circumstances of the group's founding are unclear. According to the group's own statements, founder Tlaaquiani Tecpilconetl declared the group in the railway station square of Ghanzi on the 1st of May, 1994. At the time of his announcement, it is asserted that a dry lightning storm formed and sent bolts into the city, setting some debris ablaze. This story is highly dubious, as no such storm was ever recorded on that day, but nonetheless features heavily in Family material as a sign. The group was originally founded as the "World Renaissance Society" as a proselytizing group. Printed material and statements from this time reveal an intent to spread the message as far and wide as possible, with early members being set up as a kind of missionary priesthood. The group gradually expanded, especially in the north where its N'nhivara elements found the most appeal, and in the city of Ghanzi. The city was the worst-hit by a general Pulatec economic decline in the 1990s, and many people were thus attracted to the message of coming rebirth and redemption. Despite this growth, the group failed to attain official "registered religion" status from the Pulatec central government when it applied in 1997.
Following its first rejection, the Society suffered a social implosion and many new members were either turned away or forced to prove their utmost loyalty as the group rebranded. The summer of 1997 saw the first mentions of the "Seed Movement" and "Holy Family" in print as group spokespeople began spreading new forms of gospel. Far from promoting salvation and a widespread gospel as before, only early members and those who proved themselves "sufficiently worthy" were allowed to stay in the group. This group became increasingly insular, as Tecpilconetl explained that their rejection was only proof that the end times was near. The chosen few were now an elite, world-rejecting cadre of "Elect" who were tasked with bringing about a so-called "spiritual purge" via performing acts to hasten the coming of a fiery renewal and "cleansing" of the world's souls. This description would only heighten the worries of those in government and academia keeping track of the group, with the Family now receiving more direct attention from select observers. Tshipe Monare, a professor of sociology from Mtsanga Ozeros University, took an extended "research sabbatical" in summer of 1997, managing to join the group incognito. Over the following 18 months, Monare conducted a clandestine sociological study on the group, creating one of the first extensive insider narratives of the Family. According to his observations, the rhetoric of the group grew increasingly antinomian and violent at an increasing pace as the group shrank; far from fracturing the group, the growing intensity of the rhetoric helped to filter out stragglers and reveal the so-called "true Elect." He also described techniques of manipulation used by Tecpilconetl and other elders on newer members to keep them unquestioningly loyal. Members were slowly deprived of outside information, moved into communal housing, and placed in social situations that encouraged groupthink, gaslighting, and self-correction. Monare's study was later turned into the book The Death of Rebirth. While the work at best straddled the line of scientific ethics, his work has nonetheless become one of the most exhaustive and insightful views into the thought processes of Tecpilconetl.
Into the first years of the new millennium, Tecpilconetl began emphasizing his role in the group and taking advantage of his high status. Female members were reportedly recruited into his "intimate network," as one former member described it. This group of mistresses and multiple wives would provide a source of controversy and ridicule for the Holy Family in the years to follow. Another aspect of the group at this time was a demonstrated desire to influence society at large. Former members divulged an intricate plan to bring the Family into positions of power; members would work jobs and then donate all of their wages to the group, with money being allocated to send other members to prestigious academic institutions in Pulacan, Zacapican, and various Ozerosi nations. From there, they would enter politics and the business world. Once well-established, it was unclear what influences they would try to exert on the population of Pulacan; the operation at times seemed to be made up by Tecpilconetl as he went along, only achieving its goals through happenstance. Over the years, the group was repeatedly subject to humiliation by a mostly-unreceptive populace as incident after incident was sensationalized and reported by Pulatec media.
Beliefs
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The Holy Family finds its spiritual origins in the first decades of the 20th century, with the Tlachipahuanemachtilcalli ("Eastern Learning") school of Tlaloc Cozauism. This religious school of thought advocated the syncretic adaptation of Ochranian religions (particularly N'nhivara), at a time when intellectuals and theologians in a newly-independent Pulacan were looking to internalize new ideas from neighboring cultures. While never influencing the majority of temples or believers, the Eastern Learning school brought religious concepts from N'nhivara into the popular consciousness, such as the ideas of meditation and the pursuit of higher spiritual understanding of reality. The way was paved for multiple new religious movements in the 20th century, including the Holy Family, to develop from this milieu of ideas. The most notorious of the Holy Family's beliefs, that of an imminent and destructive apocalypse, is considered unfit for new followers and usually goes unmentioned in group promotional material. Instead, the Family's public teachings focus primarily on the need for individual spiritual salvation. Much of their teaching emphasizes a need to purge, or cleanse, the earth's peoples of their sins, which dirty their spiritual beings. The Cozauist belief in a cyclical apocalypse is used as inspiration, with terminology from the belief being used to explain the concept of spiritual cleansings in the doctrine. According to Tecpilconetl, the world has fallen too far into the ways of sin and too far from salvation for individual religion to make any impact; as such, the Holy Family will fill the need to accelerate the cycle of cleansing. When a world has fallen to sin, according to their scriptures, it will be reborn in divine fire, to be made again as a new, clean world for the souls to enjoy and not pollute. It remains unclear as to how the Family aims to bring about these changes, but the belief that the date of the end times can be known, much less altered by mortal hands, eschews many core tenets of mainstream Cozauist thought. It is also likely that the group's penchant for attempting to place members into high positions of power and influence is intrinsically tied to this belief.
Secrecy
The Holy Family is secretive, and information surrounding the group is elusive. Besides the testimony of former members and official group-owned publications, it is nearly impossible to observe the group objectively. As such, opinions differ wildly on the group's motivations and internal circumstances. Former members often speak of ritualized abuse by the elders in the group, with humiliation and mortification practices common as well as group punishments and even corporal punishment. Likely due to the power of member testimony, connections to the outside world and media has grown strictly-controlled over the years. Group exits have similarly been made difficult. During the turn of the century, members were gradually compelled to surrender their finances and possessions to the group, both giving the Family extra resources to enact schemes and hindering the flight of dissenters. Members often live in cells or semi-autonomous communal housing, usually in the city of Ghanzi or scattered around small towns in Pulacan. These members are deliberately kept isolated from the surrounding populace, allowed to speak to them only to purchase essentials. Non-Family residents of towns with Holy Family housing often describe members as "strange" or "aloof," either regarding the residents as curiosities or staying away out of genuine fear.
Controversy
Due to a variety of factors, the Holy Family has been embroiled in numerous controversies throughout the years. The first major issue for the group came in June of 1997, shortly after their first application for religious recognition from the Pulatec government was rejected. The World Renaissance Society, as it was called at the time, began an open campaign to have the central government's Internal Affairs Secretary resign over accusations of bias and discrimination against their beliefs. The campaign garnered significant attention and press coverage in the Ghanzi area at the time, but failed to receive success. The incident garnered the group much negative attention and wider scrutiny from local press groups that contributed significantly to their social implosion that year.
Another, more unusual controversy came in 2011, with the macuaollamaliztli team MOLC Ytzac Tlalocan Priests. The Priests franchise as a whole had been performing poorly for nearly a decade, and were seen as the worst in the nation's major league. The team was widely viewed by Tlalocan residents as an embarassment and a blemish on their otherwise-prestigious city, and the owner was under threat of financial investigation for poor team handling. At this time, a local minor businessman named Puso Neboko created a plan to purchase the Priests, proposing major changes including new coaches described as "promising amateurs" to introduce "creative management" intended to increase the entertainment value for residents. Shortly after preliminary procedures were begun on the purchase, however, Neboko was unmasked as a lackey for the Holy Family. Additionally, much of the promised money never materialized, leading to an investigation into the group by Pulacan's Central Revenue Bureau. The Bureau uncovered evidence of significant fraud and mass tax avoidance, leading to Tecpilconetl, Neboko, and other prominent members to be arrested and convicted.
At the same time, this sudden investigation prompted new media interest in the Family, along with an investigation by the local Yocoxcaquizque (YQ) bureau. Tecpilconetl's polygyny was discovered at this time, becoming the central subject of 2012 documentary exposé Fire. Aired first on independent pirate stations, the documentary was quickly picked up on mainstream HMP channels and gained explosive popularity. The Family quickly received severe and widespread ridicule, and the jailing of many key members threatened to destroy the group. On appeal, however, Tecpilconetl's bigamy charges were reversed by an appeals court in early 2013 due to technical irregularities; a new state prosecutor declined to retry the case. This decision was highly controversial in and of itself, with many calling for both the judge's and the prosecutor's resignation and investigation into corruption. The general anti-cult hysteria put extreme pressure and scrutiny on the Family for some years until it finally died down, during which time they were subject to numerous investigations by both law enforcement and the press on increasingly untrue allegations and rumors. Fears began spreading that the Family had members in high positions of government, which ultimately proved groundless in the following years.