Church of Lyncanestria
 United Church of Lyncanestria | |
|---|---|
| Église unie de Lyncanestrie | |
 | |
| 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
In 1294, Pope XXXX issued two bulls aimed at combatting the spread of new heresies in Audonia. Historically a bastion of the Fabrian faith since the adoption and diffusion of Christianity by the Latin-installed Audonic gubernatorial class, transcriptions of councils by the Fabrian hierarchy evidence that the church feared new heresiarchs were gaining followers enough to establish new competing heterodox rivals such as the Aletheians, Albanists, and Docetics. The bulls demanded stricter subscription to the church's orthodox beliefs and doctrines by the clergy, and proscribed new punishments for heretics.
Despite the religious repression, the preachings of one Marceau Loussien began to gain a large following in Audonia. Loussien was previously court confessor to the Marquise of Vignerot until 1403, when he adopted hermiticism and became a travelling monk. During his travels, he claimed to have been visited by God in a dream who told him all the ways in which the church had "strayed from righteousness". In 1405 he wrote his first manifesto and began to preach a new Christian doctrine rooted in anti-Papism and the necessity of credobaptism, as well with minor doctrinal adjustments such as the rejection of most sacraments.
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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