Miersan Episemialist Church
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 Miersan Episemialist Church | |
|---|---|
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| Classification | Episemialism |
| Scripture | Septuagint, New Testament |
| Theology | Soravian Episemialism |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Primate | Teodor VI, Archbishop of Żobrodź and Patriarch of All Miersa |
| Metropolitans | TBD |
| Archbishops | TBD |
| Bishops | TBD |
| Language | Church Marolevic, Miersan |
| Headquarters | Cathedral of Sotirias the Saviour, West Żobrodź |
| Territory | Miersa |
| Possessions | Miersa, Miersan Churches abroad |
| Founder | Iwon of Gdawiec |
| Origin | 736 Gdawiec |
| Recognition | 1938 |
| Separations | TBD Rite Catholic Church Lemovician Episemialist Church |
| Members | 17,718,131 |
The Miersan Episemialist Church (Miersan: Mierski kościół epizemialny), also known as the Patriarchate of Miersa (Miersan: Patriarchat Wszechmiersy), is a Miersan Sotirian Episemialist autocephalous church that operates within Miersa and among the Miersan diaspora. Governed by a Holy Synod, and overseen by the Partriarch, currently Teodor VI, the Miersan Episemialist Church has played a significant role in the histories of Miersa and of West Miersa.
According to tradition, the Miersan Episemialist Church was founded by Iwon of Gdawiec in 736 CE when he was sent by the Ecumenical Patriarch to proselytize and convert the Marolevs living in the Miersan Basin. Iwon's conversion would be successful, particularly in the western regions of Miersa, whereas in eastern Miersa, the Solarian rite became predominant. This divide between the Arcilucan and Solarian rites of Sotirianity was aggravated by the Lesser Schism in 1385, which led to several Miersan monarchs prosecuting and attempting to crack down on Episemialism in favour of Catholicism, before an Edict of Toleration was instituted in 1507 by Cesarz Michał the Lesser that permitted the church to operate in the Miersan Commonwealth, so long as they accepted a Catholic monarch.
Following the Miersan partitions in 1638 and 1687, the Episemialists in the Soravian Miersan Governate would become more influenced by the Soravian Episemialist Church, with the church itself for a period of time being reduced to an autonomous part of the Soravian Episemialist Church, while in the Gaullican-annexed provinces, Episemialism would go into significant decline as the Gaullicans converted many peasants to the Solarian Catholic Church, including setting up a uniate rite, leading to the modern religious divide in Miersa between East and West.
After the Godfredson Plan was implemented in 1936, the Miersan Episemialist Church would regain its autocephaly in 1938, and was raised to the status of a Patriarchate. However, the Miersan Episemialist Church would only flourish in West Miersa, since in East Miersa, anti-religious campaigns by the Miersan Section of the Workers' International weakened both the Catholics and the Episemialists. Today, Episemialism is the largest religion in West Miersa, with around 85% of those in West Miersa adhering to the church, but only around twelve percent in East Miersa adheres to Episemialism, making it the second largest religion after the Solarian Catholic Church in the country.
History
Early Church
While there is ample evidence that Sotirianity first reached present-day Miersa during the Solarian Empire between 311 CE and 400 CE, when the Empire had control over parts of the present-day partially recognised state of Lemovicia, and the present-day West Miersan voivodeship of Malomiersa, it is unclear whether these Sotirian communities lasted long enough to have a significant influence over the development of Miersan Sotirianity, let alone what rite these communities were associated with, despite claims from the Miersan Episemialist Church that they practiced the Arcilucan rite of Sotirianity, basing their claims largely on present-day Malomiersa's contiguity with present-day Amathia within the Solarian Empire. Over the centuries, Sotirianity withered in the region, as it was outcompeted by both Marolevic paganism and Lemovician paganism, to the point that by the eighth century, it was unclear whether "there were any communities that followed Sotirianity in accordance with either the Arcilucan or Solarian rites."
According to the Miersan Episemialist Church, the Sotirian Church was re-established in Miersa by Iwon of Gdawiec in 736 CE, with Iwon sent by Arciluco to proselytize the Marolevs living in the Miersan Basin. From his position in Gdawiec, Iwon of Gdawiec was able to spread Sotirianity using Old Church Marolevic, particularly among the peasantry in southwestern Miersa. Thus, Iwon of Gdawiec is traditionally seen to be the first head of the Miersan Episemialist Church.
Over the next few centuries, Episemialism would spread across the western regions of Miersa, particularly in Firencja and Zachódnia, but it also spread eastwards among the peasantry in Wybrzeże, although among the elites, it faced pushback from those who followed the Solarian rite. Thus, by the eleventh century, the Arcilucan rite was predominant in western Miersa and among the lower classes, whereas the Solarian rite was predominant in eastern Miersa and among the upper classes.
Until the thirteenth century, the Miersan Episemialist Church was based in Gdawiec, but with the rise in importance of Żobrodź following the Unification of Miersa by Romuald the Bold, Archbishop Teodor IV moved to Żobrodź, primarily to be closer to the main political centre in Miersa, which would allow the church to influence the Miersan monarchs.
Miersan Commonwealth
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With the Lesser Schism in 1385 between the Episemialist Church and the Solarian Catholic Church, the peasantry and most of those in the western regions sided with the Episemialist Church, leading to what historians consider to be the creation of the Miersan Episemialist Church, who recognised the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Arciluco as a primus inter pares over the supremacy of the Pope in Solaria.
This led to a series of conflicts over religion, when in 1387, Maksymilian the Great ordered that all Miersan churches "follow the Solarian rite," and to crack down on all practices of the "western schismatics." This was opposed by Sebastian of Zieruń, who would emerge as the leader of the anti-Catholic forces. In 1394, Sebastian would meet Maksymilian the Great at the Battle of Zieruń, with Sebastian killing Makysmilian in battle, before being killed himself.
Throughout the next century, persecution against Episemialists ebbed and flowed, depending on the ruler in power: Henryk the Old forced nobles to convert to Solarian Catholicism on the pain of death and on the pain of having their lands seized and redistributed to Catholic nobles, while Matej the Young instituted policies to seize "all the wealth in Episemialist churches" to help fund the Miersan treasury. In contrast, Władysław the Great tolerated Episemialism among the peasantry, and even funded the reconstruction of "certain important churches," primarily in Żobrodź.
Maksymilian the Weak's reign from 1492 to 1501 saw the worst persecution of Episemialists in Miersan history: anyone suspected of being Episemialist was forced to either accept the teachings of the Pope, or be burnt at the stake for heresy, while Episemialist churches were "systemically plundered and destroyed." This would lead to several peasant revolts during Maksymilian's reign, particularly in the recently-annexed Malomiersa which had been Episemialist, but was influenced by Llorainism present in Malomiersa and in neighbouring Champania.
After the death of Makysmilian the Weak in 1501, Michał the Lesser sought to end the bloodshed between the Catholic and Episemialist communities. Despite pressure from some in his court to maintain his predecessor's policies, Michał maintained his course, and in 1507 issued the Edict of Toleration, which stipulated that in exchange for the Episemialists accepting a Catholic monarch, the monarchy will not discriminate against Episemialists. This ended the era of persecution against Episemialists, although Catholics would remain politically dominant in the Miersan Commonwealth.
Partition of Miersa
With the First Partition in 1638 between the Soravian Empire and Kingdom of Gaullica, with a rump Duchy of Żobrodź, the Miersan Episemialist Church only remained de-facto independent within the Duchy of Żobrodź, with this independence being short lived, since after the First Miersan Revolt in 1687, the Duchy of Żobrodź was annexed by Soravia, which led to the effective end of a fully independent Miersan Episemialist Church.
In the areas annexed by Gaullica, Episemialism would fall into further decline, exacerbated by Gaullican policies of promoting Solarian Catholicism. This was helped by the fact that most elites in the eastern regions of Miersa were already Catholic, in addition to immigration from Gaullica itself into Gaullican Miersa. Despite some efforts to resist Gaullican policy promoting the Solarian Catholic Church, these efforts would ultimately prove futile as Catholicism became even more dominant in the region than prior to the partition. Furthermore, during Gaullican rule, a uniate church was created, with those seeking to follow their traditional rites while maintaining loyalty to the Pope in Solaria.
In the areas annexed by Soravia, Episemialism would flourish under Soravian rule, although the Soravian Empire sought to impose the Soravian Episemialist Church upon the Miersan Governate. This was helped by an influx of Soravian immigrants into the Miersan Governate, who brought the Soravian Episemialist Church with them and their practices, while the Soravian Empire sought to institute tighter controls on the Miersan Episemialist Church. To this end, the Soravians revoked the autocephaly of the Miersan Episemialist Church, and reduced its Metropolitan to being a part of the Soravian Episemialist Church. This was met with significant resistance by Miersan Episemialists, particularly in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, with many clergy and peasants opposing the imposition of the Soravian Episemialist Church and its structures upon the existing Miersan Episemialist Church, which forced the Soravian Episemialist Church to grant the Miersan Metropolitan autonomy in (some date in the eighteeneth or nineteenth century), in exchange for acknowledging the supremacy of Patovatra over the Miersan church.
At the same time, with emigration of Miersans to Gaullican and Soravian colonies in the Asterias, Episemialists sought to maintain their religious traditions abroad, which led to the creation of churches to serve the Miersan Episemialist community in the Miersan diaspora.
Modern era
With the implementation of the Godfredson Plan in 1936 to partition Miersa between a socialist republic and a Soravian client state, the Miersan Episemialist Church would become de-jure autocephalous in 1938, thereby officially separating from the Soravian Episemialist Church, although it would in practice remain extensively influenced by the Soravian Episemialist Church to this day. This restoration of autocephaly was marked by the Miersan Episemialist Church being elevated into a Patriarchate, due to Miersa's religious history.
Under Patriarch Szymon VII, in 1942, Miersan became a liturgical language alongside Church Marolevic, with the Holy Synod justifying the decision as making the Miersan Episemialist Church more accessible to the ordinary Miersan layperson. This move, although controversial among more conservative members of the Church, was largely supported among Miersan Episemialists. However, during this period, the Miersan Episemialist Church would be cracked down in East Miersa as a result of anti-religious policies made by the then-governing Miersan Section of the Workers' International, which led to many devout Catholics and Episemialists fleeing into West Miersa to escape persecution.
The Miersan Episemialist Church would experience a schism in 1980, when Lemovician-speaking priests, with the blessing of the breakaway Lemovician government, set up the Lemovician Episemialist Church, which claimed the territory of the Metropolitanate of Małomiersa within the borders of Lemovicia. The Lemovician government has, in the years since independence, and particularly since the end of the Lemovician War, cracked down on the Miersan Episemialist Church and its activites within the territory. Despite an agreement with the Ecumenical Patriarch that the Lemovician Episemialists would be placed under temporary Arcilucan administration until a final agreement is made on its status, the Miersan Episemialist Church still claims the territory of the Lemovician Episemialist Church to fall under the jurisdiction of the Miersan Episemialist Church.
Organisation
Patriarch
The head of the Miersan Episemialist Church is the patriarch (Miersan: patriarcha), officially the Archbishop of Żobrodź and the Patriarch of All Miersa. Until 1938, he was the Archbishop of Żobrodź and Metropolitan of All Miersa, before the Ecumenical Patriarchate elevated the Miersan Episemialist Church to a junior patriarchate. Since 2017, the current Patriarch of the Miersan Episemialist Church is Teodor VI, succeeding Borys V after his death.
Historically, the primate wielded extensive power alongside an endemic synod: however, with growing influence from the Soravian Episemialist Church, in 1889, under Metropolitan Tomasz IV (then the head of the Miersan Episemialist Church), the Endemic Synod was replaced with a Holy Synod, with all the day-to-day powers of the primate being subsumed under the holy synod. Since 1889, the Patriarch has served as a "symbolic figurehead representing the Church in All Miersa," with the Patriarch serving as a primus inter pares of the Holy Synod, and of the Miersan Episemialist Church. Thus, since 1889, the patriarch has no real power over the Miersan Episemialist Church.
Today, the duties of the Patriarch, besides chairing the Holy Synod, involve representing the Miersan Episemialist Church "at home and abroad," serving as a "pious role model" for all Miersans, and issuing anathema against those who have committed "serious and unrepetent heresy" against the Episemialist Church.
Holy Synod
The governing body of the Miersan Episemialist Church is the Holy Synod (Miersan: święty synod). Originally the endemic synod (Miersan: synod endemiczny), the endemic synod was replaced by a permanent Holy Synod in 1889 under Metropolitan Tomasz IV, due to increasing Soravian influence on the Miersan church brought on as a result of its closer integration with the Soravian Episemialist Church in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
The Holy Synod of the Miersan Episemialist Church's main duties is to "supervise the day-to-day operations of the Episemialist Church within All Miersa," including matters of religious doctrine, church property, and funding of the TBD churches under the Miersan Episemialist Church, as well as decisions to create new eparchies, archdioceses, bishoprics, archbishoprics, and metropolitanates, in addition to dissolving any one of those.
As of 2021, the members of the Holy Synod include the Patriarch, the four metropolitans of Miersa, the Archbishop of Krada, and one metropolitan from outside Miersa.
Structure
The Miersan Episemialist Church is organised into four metropolitanates within the territory of Miersa, who in turn oversee TBD archdioceses and TBA eparchies. As the Miersan diaspora spread, the Miersan Episemialist Church also operates metropolitanates in areas where there is extensive settlement by Episemialist Miersans, particularly in countries with no Episemialist patriarchate available to serve them.
- Patriarchate of All Miersa and Archbishopric of Żobrodź
- Metropolitanate of Firencja and Archbishopric of Gdawiec
- Eparchy of Dąmyśl
- Eparchy of Tarcław
- Eparchy of Zieruń
- Metropolitanate of Małomiersa and Archbishopric of Sechia
- Archbishopric of Krada
- Eparchy of Gorgard
- Eparchy of Mistózburó
- Metropolitanate of Wybrzeże and Archbishopric of Dyńsk
- Eparchy of Kordyn
- Eparchy of Łószcław
- Eparchy of TBD
- Metropolitanate of Zachódnia and Archbishopric of Podgórzyca
- Eparchy of Nowyburg
- Eparchy of TBD
- Eparchy of Zanica
- Metropolitanate of the West and Archbishopric of Velike Vishnavaya
- Eparchy of TBD
- Eparchy of TBD
- Eparchy of TBD
- Metropolitanate of the East
- Eparchy of TBD
- Eparchy of TBD
- Eparchy of TBD
- Metropolitanate of Firencja and Archbishopric of Gdawiec
List of Bishops, Archbishops and Patriarchs
Bishop of Gdawiec
- Iwon of Gdawiec (736-755)
- Michal I (755-766)
- Jerzy I (766-772)
- Tomasz I (772-783)
- Szymon I (783-790)
- Lukasz I (790-806)
- Teodor I (806-819)
- Jozef I (819-838)
- Maurycy I (838-842)
- Benedykt I (842-853)
- Cyryl I (853-861)
- Pawel I (861-869)
- Mikolaj I (869-877)
- Iwon II (877-883)
- Feliks I (883-895)
- Andrzej I (895-901)
- Teodor II (901-904)
- Szymon II (904-908)
- Lukasz II (904-911)
- Ignacy I (911-913)
- Cyryl II (913-917)
Archbishop of Gdawiec
- Cyryl II (917-928)
- Szczepana the Great (928-947)
- Metodego (947-972)
- Jerzy II (972-983)
- Tomasz II (983-997)
- Maurycy II (997-1008)
- Lukasz III (1008-1013)
- Mikolaj II (1013-1024)
- Jerzy III (1024-1026)
- Pawel II (1026-1030)
- Lukasz IV (1030-1043)
- Iwon III (1043-1046)
- Cyryl III (1046-1056)
- Piotr the Incompetent (1056-1058)
- Jozef II (1058-1066)
- Szymon III (1066-1078)
- Mikolaj III (1078-1086)
- Michal II (1086-1092)
- Feliks II (1092-1101)
- Tomasz III (1101-1111)
- Teodor III (1111-1117)
- Pawel III (1117-1124)
- Jerzy IV (1124-1130)
- Maurycy III (1130-1136)
- Jozef III (1136-1149)
- Ignacy II (1149-1155)
- Iwon IV (1155-1177)
- Boguslaw II (1177-1185)
- Borys I (1185-1186)
- Fabian I (1186-1197)
- Konstantyn II (1197-1203)
- Feliks III (1203-1214)
- Michal III (1214-1229)
- Wasilij I (1229-1241)
- Pawel IV (1241-1258)
- Lukasz V (1258-1264)
- Szymon IV (1264-1276)
- Jozef IV (1276-1284)
- Teodor IV (1284-1287)
Archbishop of Żobrodź
- Teodor IV (1287-1303)
- Franciszek I (1303-1316)
- Jerzy V (1316-1327)
- Benedykt II (1327-1352)
- Konstantyn III (1352-1368)
- Pawel V (1368-1371)
Metropolitan of All Miersa
- Pawel V (1371-1377)
- Cyryl IV (1377-1386)
- Lucjan (1386-1394)
- Franciszek II (1394-1406)
- Boguslaw III (1406-1422)
- Jerzy VI (1422-1435)
- Konstantyn IV (1435-1452)
- Szymon V (1452-1484)
- Lukasz VI (1484-1495)
- Fabian II (1495-1498)
- Sylwester II (1498-1517)
- Iwon V (1517-1535)
- Ignacy III (1535-1541)
- Maurycy IV (1541-1569)
- Mikolaj IV (1569-1593)
- Wasilij II (1593-1598)
- Michal IV (1598-1606)
- Jerzy VII (1606-1610)
- Cyryl V (1610-1624)
- Borys II (1624-1631)
- Benedykt III (1631-1647)
- Feliks IV (1647-1662)
- Jozef V (1662-1673)
- Lukasz VII (1673-1689)
- Konstantyn V (1689-1710)
- Jerzy VIII (1710-1734)
- Fabian III (1734-1758)
- Teodor V (1758-1781)
- Maurycy V (1781-1783)
- Pawel VI (1783-1799)
- Szymon VI (1799-1829)
- Borys III (1829-1842)
- Lukasz VIII (1842-1866)
- Iwon VI (1866-1888)
- Tomasz IV (1888-1896)
- Andrzej II (1896-1918)
- Borys IV (1918-1929)
- Pawel VII (1929-1938)
Patriarch of Miersa
- Pawel VII (1938-1940)
- Szymon VII (1940-1953)
- Jozef VI (1953-1979)
- Boguslaw IV (1979-1991)
- Konstantyn VI (1991-1999)
- Borys V (1999-2017)
- Teodor VI (2017-present)