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The Rite of the Sublime Return (Luziycan: Obryad vozvyšennogo vozvraščeniya) is a new religious movement that was established in 1949 by Ilarion Kartashyov (1908-1983). It is currently led by Eparch Pavel Savrasov since the death of Kartashyov in 1983.
Etymology
History
Beliefs
God
Like mainstream Costeny, they believe in the existence of a True Lord (pravi gospod) which transcends all reality and has always been and will be eternal. As well, they also believe that his nature is beyond human comprehension, and nobody can ever become God.
However, followers of the Rite of the Sublime Return believe that the True Lord only created a single infinite universe, as opposed to a multiverse.
Creation of the Demiurge
According to the beliefs of the Rite of the Sublime Return, the Demiurge was once "an insignificant sector" of the universe. However, ninety million years ago, an angel who governed the sector, Diachoristis became malicious and ruinous.
As part of his fall from grace, he sent "trillions of beings" to Enydrium, placed them around "twenty or so volcanoes," and then detonated them with H-bombs. Following this incident, the True Lord separated "Diachoristis' sector" from the rest of the universe, so to prevent him from destroying the rest of the universe.
Thus, to this day, the Demiurge continues to be a celestial prison, "preventing humanity from ascending to its rightful status," and also preventing humanity from leaving the sector.
Life
Similar to Cositenes, followers of the Rite of the Sublime Return believe that life and sapience are divine substances, tracing themselves back to divine essence.
However, unlike Cositenes, they believe that the primary life form is the being (suščestvo), which is immortal and can reincarnate. According to Ilarion Kartashyov, the being is "merely a creator," just like the True Lord, but the being is inherently limited in the abilities to create, with Kartashyov claiming that "while the True Lord can create an infinite number of things in an instant, the being must take time to create objects."
The issue is that since Diachoristis created the Demiurge, all human bodies are infested with body beings, which hinders the ability for them to have free will. These beings over time accumulate engrams, implants, and other negative memories.
It is believed that in order to rid the body of these "accumulated properties," adherents must undergo a process of healing (isceleniye) until they reach the Clear state. However, many are encouraged to become operating beings, with the end goal of becoming completely clear beings.
Seal of the prophets
While the Rite of the Sublime Return recognizes all prophets in the White Light branch of Costeny that had been recognized by the Eparchate of Bethlehem prior to 1949, the first revelation that Ilarion Kartashyov received explicitly said that:
"You shall be the last Cositene prophet before the return of Mstis: your task shall be to reform the faith so to enable it to destroy the Demiurge and bring this world to the Kingdom of God."
As a result, the Rite of the Sublime Return says that with the death of Kartashyov in 1983, there will be no further prophets until the return of Mstis and his liberation army.
Theophagy
It is believed that only Operating Beings are able to effectively consume false Gods and the Demiurge.
This is a major reason why adherents of the Rite of the Sublime Return are encouraged to undergo regular healing sessions to rid the body of its accumulated properties that hinder the being from achieving its true potential, and then once reaching the Clear state, to learn how to consume false Gods, as well as receiving psychic powers in order to help the person consume Gods.
As one goes up the levels of Operating Being, the being is able to consume Gods and other deities, until by the time one reaches the highest level, completely clear, they may be able to "consume some of the Demiurge."
Ilarion Kartashyov claimed in Returning to the Lord that "once one thousand people become completely clear, the Demiurge will be mortally wounded, and if ten thousand people become completely clear, the Demiurge shall be destroyed."
Eschatology
Adherents of the Rite of the Sublime Return believe that as more of the world is "cleared from Diachoristis' influence," Mstis will amass a "liberation army" (osvoboditelnaya orda) to take back the sector, with the help of the faithful in Esquarium. When "a critical balance is reached," the liberation army will attack the Demiurge.
Ilarion Kartashyov claimed that:
"This war will be devastating: the non-believers who have not seen the light shall join Diachoristis against the forces of Mstis and those who have seen the light. The world shall be all but destroyed, but with the help of the liberation army, we will be able to sweep away the last of Diachoristis, and destroy both him, his followers, and those who have turned away from the faith."
Once the Demiurge has been consumed, like mainstream Costeny, adherents believe that the natural world will be destroyed, but humanity will acquire the essence of the Demiurge, and thus be able to meet the True Lord.
With humanity being able to access the Kingdom of God, they may now visit rest of the universe.
Scriptures
The central scriptures used by followers of the Rite of the Sublime Return are Mstis' Word of the True Lord (Reč pravog Vladiki), and Ilarion Kartashyov's Returning to the Lord (Vozvraščayas k Gospodu).
However, the Rite of the Sublime Return says that "all of Ilarion Kartashyov's lectures, speeches, writings, and research shall be the main scripture of the Rite of the Sublime Return."
The language used in most of the scriptures are Luziycan, with only the Word of the True Lord being in Literary Vitrian. However, Ilarion Kartashyov explicitly permitted translations of all the scriptures, claiming that "the revelations of the True Lord has to be broadcast in every language, in order to clear the planet from the Demiurge."
Practices
Ethics
- Main article: Ethics (Rite of the Sublime Return)
The ethics of the Rite of the Sublime Return are largely derived from the use of statistics, as enumerated in Ilarion Kartashyov's Statistics in Life (Statistika v žizni). According to Pavel Savrasov in 1993, he stated that "with knowledge of statistics, one will be able to determine whether a given action is good or not."
As Kartashyov believed that technology can be used to help "free the world from the Demiurge," he extended its application to statistical analysis, as he said that:
"...since the advent of modern statistics in the seventeenth century, humanity has been able to use these patterns to quantify the positive and negative effects of these things. If we want to live good lives and free ourselves from the influence of Diachoristis, we must use the tools that we have to predict our decisions."
Worship
Public worship
Public worship is held in a temple, as it was believed by Ilarion Kartashyov that holding public services at a resuast would arouse suspicion by the authorities, as they were primarily used in Luziyca for mainstream Cositene services.
Like mainstream Cositenes, as they believe that time, like the rest of the universe is an illusion produced by the Demiurge, there are no fixed schedules for services, and can be held whenever the religious leader wishes it to be held.
However, the typical service includes readings from the Word of the True Lord and Kartashyov's writings, in his 1956 book, On Designing the Perfect Temple (O razrabotke soveršennogo hrama), which is then followed by a sermon relating to an important passage from one of these books.
Following the sermon, the congregants perform a silent prayer to the True Lord, as opposed to traditional Cositene prayers, as Kartashyov believed that the traditional Cositene prayers "only hindered the ability of the beings to become individuals."
Private worship
As there is no fixed schedule for services, due to time being an illusion being produced by the Demiurge, followers of the Rite of the Sublime Return, while encouraged to engage in silent prayer to the True Lord at least once a day, are not required to do so.
However, the process of healing is encouraged in order to release the accumulated properties that hinder the ability of the being from fulfilling their true potential: to this end, these sessions are usually done privately, with the average session costing around ₤25 ($50) as of 2017.
Religious buildings
The most important religious building is a temple (hram).
According to Ilarion Kartashyov's 1956 book On Designing the Perfect Temple (O razrabotke soveršennogo hrama), the temple must conform to an idea of podesy, and has to be newly built.
To this end, Kartashyov urged temples used by the Rite of the Sublime Return to use brutalism, as Kartashyov argued that such design would maximize human benefit at the expense of the Demiurge.
Since the death of Ilarion Kartashyov in 1983, his successor, Pavel Savrasov has relaxed the restrictions, allowing new temples to built in other styles of modern architecture.
Holidays
While adherents of the Rite of the Sublime Return observe many traditional Cositene holidays, there are several holidays unique to the religion.
Revelation Day
The most important of these is Revelation Day, which falls on April 21st, which commemorates the date in 1949 that Ilarion Kartashyov received the first revelation from Mstis.
On this date, services are held at all temples of the Rite of the Sublime Return, with a heavy focus on Kartashyov's first revelations, and emphasizing his role as the last prophet of the Cositene religion. Following the service, followers will hold a feast of thanksgiving.
The date is so important that it has become known as "Day 1" for the New Cositene Calendar used by the sect. According to followers, the current date is Day 27,609, as they believe that years and months are products of the Demiurge. Officially, each day is meant to be divided into tenths, so for example, if it was noon on March 25, 2018 (unification day of Luziyca), the church would record it as Day 25,176.5.
Kartashyov's Birthday
The second most important holiday unique to the Rite of the Sublime Return is Ilarion Kartashyov's Birthday, which was on September 17th.
On this date, services are held at all temples of the Rite of the Sublime Return, with a heavy focus on Kartashyov's passages concerning birth and renewal. Following the service, the congegration gathers for a lunch, usually consisting of the local cuisine, followed by chocolate cake for dessert, which was Kartashyov's favorite type of cake.
Evaluation Day
The least important of the holidays unique to the Rite of the Sublime Return is Evaluation Day. Unlike the other two holidays which uses the Gregorian calendar, or the traditional Cositene holidays, the holiday is held every five hundred days, in accordance with the New Cositene Calendar.
The first observation of Evaluation Day was on January 16th, 1952, where Ilarion Kartashyov stated that "we should look back on our accomplishments in the past five hundred days, and plan for the future."
Followers of the Rite of the Sublime Return, on this day, will gather at the temple to hear the accomplishments that they have achieved over the past five hundred days, and to look towards the future.
Life-cycle events
Birth
According to followers of the Rite of the Supreme Return, the best way for a child to be born is to have it be done as silently as possible, as it makes the transition from the womb to the outside world less painful for both the mother and the baby. Following the birth, while silence is no longer required, it is recommended for seven days.
After seven days, the infant is formally named in a ceremony at the temple: the parents present the child to the priest, and a temple name (nazvaniye hrama) is given by the local priest, usually based off of religious or scientific concepts. This name is to be used inside the church, and can be separate from the given name (sobstvennoye imya).
Marriage
Followers of the Rite of Sublime Return believe that marriage is between one man and one woman.
However, Ilarion Kartashyov said in 1967 that "while we strongly believe that marriage is solely between one man and one woman, we must consider the fact that beings may end up in the bodies that do not correspond to their identity."
As a result of this 1967 directive, same-sex marriage is permitted under limited circumstances, provided that both partners "prove that their beings are of opposite sex."
Traditional Cositene weddings are used, although there are often decorated with scientific concepts. The outfits are thus rooted in mid-1950s designs.
Death and mourning
In the Rite of the Sublime Return, it is believed that the being is immortal: thus, when a person dies, the being acquires another body, and assumes its identity. Thus, as death is not seen as a major worry, Ilarion Kartashyov states that "the body can be disposed of by any means lawfully possible, as it is no longer necessary for the being to continue existing."
A typical funeral service takes place a week after the death of the adherent, although it varies depending on the method used, and on the wishes of the family of the deceased: usually the following formula will be used:
"At [time in 24 hour clock], on [date in the New Cositene calendar], [name] discarded the body that was used in this lifetime for [years, months, and days]. [His/her] body had become an impediment to [his/her] work, and has ceased to be useful. The being we knew as [name] still exists, and although you may feel grief, understand that [he/she] did not, and does not now."
Those gathered will then say "Goodbye, goodbye, our dear [first name], goodbye."
Following this response, the funeral ends.
Organization
The primary organization overseeing the Rite of the Sublime Return is the Eparchate of the Sublime Return. Much like mainstream Costeny, the Eparchate is organized in a command center-style organization, where the managing clergy are inherently positioned superior, and who are meant to be obeyed.
The head of the Eparchate is the Eparch, currently Pavel Savrasov, who has served since 1983, with the death of his predecessor, and founder of the religion, Ilarion Kartashyov. Unlike mainstream Cositenes, followers of the Rite of the Sublime Return believe that it will function as the governing body of a world-state.
Assisting the Eparch is the squadron (Luziycan: eskadrilya). The squadron comprises of nine members, including the Eparch, and oversees the day-to-day operations of the Eparchate of the Rite of the Supreme Return.
The squadron comprises of three fireteams (požarnye komandy), comprising of three people, each with a specific role with regards to the church:
- Požarnaya komanda 1 - Eparch and direct assistants of the Eparch
- Požarnaya komanda 2 - Management of religious affairs
- Požarnaya komanda 3 - Management of the finances of the Rite
According to the rules of the Eparchate, following the death of the incumbent Eparch, the entire squadron is supposed to convene to appoint a new Eparch from one of their own: prior to Savrasov's assumption to the office in 1983, he was part of Požarnaya komanda 3.
Below the Eparch and his squadron are the bishops (yeepiskopy), who are in charge of dioceses and govern from a central temple. The bishops are required to have reached operating being status, in addition to having knowledge of all of the works of Ilarion Kartashyov, and any appointment must be approved personally by the Eparch, or his squadron.
Beneath the bishops are the priests, who govern temples. They are required to have become Clear, have a complete knowledge of Mstis' 'Word of the True Lord, and Kartashyov's Returning to the Lord, as well as a basic understanding of Kartashyov's other works.
Demographics
As of the 2015 Luziycan census, around 5% of the Luziycan population (13,491,218 people) are adherents to the Rite of the Sublime Return. It is estimated that there are around fifteen million adherents as of 2015.
Criticism
Scientific criticism
Historical criticism
Sociopolitcal criticism
Criticism by other religions
In 1951, the Eparch of Bethlehem at the time, Kvetoslav II said that the Rite of the Sublime Return was a heresy, and that "any Cositene following the teachings of Ilarion Kartashyov shall be considered irreverent."