Christianity in Inecuria

**Christianity** is the most significant religion of the Nesarian Empire that is not of indigenous Inecurian origin. Christians make up a notable minority of most Inecurian nations, and they form a slim majority in Epsilucia and the overwhelming majority in Mortana. The vast majority of Inecurian Christians belong to the Eastern Orthodox Church, under the Patriarchate of Inecuria.

First contact between Inecurians and Christianity was made in 1388, when a Roman diplomatic mission led by Thomas Laskaris arrived on the continent to establish relations with what they had heard was an unfathomably powerful empire ruling a mystical new land. Thomas's friend and confessor, Father Alexandros Krateros, led a cohort of priests who were there to introduce the Inecurians to Christianity.

The Roman mission was mostly sent as a response to reports of the Muslim mission of Abu Husayn ibn Abdullah al-Nasaj; fearing that the Inecurians could convert to Islam and become allies of the Muslim powers, the Romans resolved to get the newly found empire on their side first. Thomas Laskaris would only stay for a few years in the Nesarian Empire, but Father Alexandros spent the rest of his days there building a Christian community. He was eventually canonised as a saint in 1512, given the title of Equal-to-the-Apostles for his missionary work.

Compared to the spread of Islam, Christian missionaries - first foreign, and then indigenous - were far more successful at spreading their religion in terms of raw numbers; more Inecurians became Christian across a wider range of countries and cultures. However, they generally failed to establish truly Christian societies outside of Mortana, and in Epsilucia the religion would only barely hold its status as the most populous to this day. By contrast, whilst Islam has a much smaller presence on the continent - having fewer adherents over a much smaller expanse of land - the communities it exists in are overwhelmingly Muslim (typically at least 85%), enjoying majority status in their local regions.

Christianity grew rapidly amongst the common people, but had very little presence amongst the ruling elites, who grew increasingly alarmed and worried that their native faiths might be overtaken - leading to the only period of state-sanctioned religious persecution in Imperial history. The key exception to the persecution was Epsilucia, where a slim majority had become Christian and the aristocracy had almost completely Christianised, and as a result the country refused to comply with the anti-Christian legislation.

The persecution ended with the coronation of Empress Avia, the first and so far only Christian ruler of the Nesarian Empire, but the Christian presence had nonetheless been significantly reduced, and its growth would remain slow. Relations between Christians and the indigenous religions steadily improved after the persecution ended, especially when Empress Avia and later Emperor Athdus the Great were canonised as saints, which legitimised the Imperial State in the eyes of the Christians and convinced non-Christians that the Christians were not a rebellious or disloyal force.

After the persecution, the Inecurian religion that enjoyed the most comfortable relations with Christianity was Elveta, due to their shared moral code and similar aesthetics; after coming to terms with one another, followers of both religions began to see each other as stalwart allies. For the most part, Elvetans hold Jesus Christ and Christian saints in extremely high regard, and a small minority even believe that he was an Elvetan prophet who was misunderstood by his followers; such is the origin of the Christo-Elvetan syncretists, who are now largely extinct. While Christians of course reject the claim that the Elvetan gods are divine beings, most believe that they were real Titans who acted according to the Christian virtues of repentance and forgiveness, and a small number of Christians consider these Titans to be saints - though the Patriarchate of Inecuria itself has explicitly denounced this idea.

By contrast, relations are strained between Christians and Nakkalites. Unlike Elveta, Nakkalism is staunchly monotheistic and only begrudgingly tolerates the presence of other religions - and while they are disdainful of polytheists, they see monotheists as more dangerous to their own followers, for it is easier for a monotheistic infidel to lead the faithful astray.

## Persecution

The rapid spread of Christianity in the 14th and 15th centuries was concerning to the Imperial Government; though Imperial census data tended to under-report the presence of Christians, historians estimate that as much as 40% of the entire Inecurian population was either Christian or followed a syncretic religion comining Christianity with their indigenous faith.

Emperor Mavar (1531-1558 AD, 3031-3058 INC) broke the Imperial tradition of religious toleration and enacted Empire-wide anti-Christian legislation aimed at halting and reversing the spread. The construction of new churches and monasteries was banned, Christians were barred from serving the state and prohibited from moving across the borders of Imperial Countries, and many priests and monks were arrested on charges of corruption and fraud that were later found to be false. The state did nothing to prevent anti-Christian targeted attacks and pogroms, and may have encouraged anti-Christian orators and demagogues - though the evidence for this is uncertain.

When these measures were found to not be reducing the Christian population quickly enough, Mavar doubled down, again breaking with tradition by imposing a fine for conversion to Christianity and levying a special tax on Christians. Within Nesaria itself, he introduced a law obligating all non-Orcish citizens to make regular sacrifices to Elvetan gods; those who refused were imprisoned, only able to go free if they made the sacrifices. The law excluded Orcs because including them would mean forcing the Morrokhis to make sacrifices to Elvetan gods, a move which would be politically disastrous and which Mavar ound personally objectionable. This oversight is possibly what caused the eventual mass conversion of the Mortani Orcs to Christianity.

The persecutions of Mavar were continued by his successors Comanos, Magos and Thelon. From the accession of Mavar in 1531 (3031 INC) to the death of Thelon in 1618 (3118 INC), Imperial census data recorded a clear decline in the Christian population. However, the situation changed with the coronation of Empress Avia, an open Christian who immediately revoked the anti-Christian laws as her first act as Empress. The Christian population rebounded under her reign, though it would never again become as prominent as it had been before the persecutions. Avia became known as Avia the Great to Christians, and she was canonised as a saint in 1689, only ten years after her death.

The effect of the Imperial persecution of Christians is debated by historians. Given how quickly Christianity rose again under Avia, it is likely that the persecutions did not shrink the Christian populace as much as census data suggests, and that most Christians continued to practice their faith in secret. Many historians argue that the main effect of the persecution was not the reduction of the Christian population, but rather the general elimination of Christian syncretists, who combined elements of their indigenous faith with Christianity. The syncretists were persecuted just as Christians were, but found no friends amongst the Christians, who saw them as heretics. The presence of syncretists in modern Inecuria is negligible, though not zero.

## Elvic Rite

### Origins

Christianity made its way to Inecuria through Greek missionaries, and so the churches on the continent adhered to the Byzantine rite and were initially under the domain of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. However, as the Christian population rose and as the original Greek priests came to be succeeded by native converts, native Inecurian traditions began to steadily seep in - specifically Elvic traditions, since the overwhelming majority of Christians were from Elvic nations for the first few centuries of Christianity's presence.

The clergy in Europe, being so far removed from Inecuria, were generally not aware of the changes happening in the culture and traditions of the Church in Inecuria. After the initial mission in the 1380s and 1390s, European clergy would not make contact with Inecuria again until the fall of Constantinople in 1453, when some priests and monastics chose to move to the distant land of Inecuria to escape the Turks - and they were somewhat shocked to find that significant differences in aesthetics and chanting had already become entrenched in most churches. They sang like Elvetans, their priests dressed like Elvetans, and their icons were painted in Elvetan style. The opinions of the Greek migrants were divided; some saw this as spiritually dangerous and argued for "correcting" it back to the Greek ways, whereas others saw no issue and thought these developments to be evidence of Christianity healthily integrating with the native culture.

Some of the Greeks who moved to Inecuria sent messages back to the Church in Europe about their concerns, but it is unclear whether these messages were ever actually received - and if they were, whether anyone seriously paid them any mind. There is no surviving written evidence concerning the European reaction to the Inecurian developments. There would not, in fact, be a reaction until 1517 - just as the Latin West entered its tumultuous period of reformation - when a major delegation of Orthodox priests, both Greek and Slavic, travelled to Inecuria to meet with their spiritual brothers on the other side of the world.

Once again concerned by the superficial aesthetic changes, but also suspicious of increasing deviation in actual practice, it was eventually agreed that a synod needed to be called to settle the matter. Given the extreme distance between Inecuria and the Archbishops of Europe and the very slow speed of communication, this synod was one of the lengthiest in Church history, taking place from 1519 to 1527.

### Synod of Amoria

The synod was held in the Avamorican coastal city of Amoria, a stronghold of Christianity in the country which was chosen for its central location. The sluggish pace of the synod, caused by the slow communciation times between Inecuria and Europe, often led to confusion and further delays as a significant portion of its members came to be replaced over the 8-year discussion, often due to age laying them at rest or rendering them too incapable to attend. The character of the discussion changed as the personalities taking part in it changed; in particular, the synod is remembered to have been significantly more heated from 1524-26, largely due to the presence of two particularly passionate and stubborn hieromonks on either side; Rion Vedela and Gerasimos Epiphanis.

Eventually, the synod concluded in 1527 and published its canons, sending them out to all the churches of Inecuria as well as the archbishops of Europe and Asia. The text of the synod's conclusions condemned some Inecurian practices that were thought too deviant, but also praised some traditions and assured that they would remain. The text is the first recorded usage of the term "Elvic rite", and came to define what it exactly is.

The synod affirmed the legitimacy of the more superficial changes; it endorsed Inecurian priests dressing "in the manner of their ancestors" and it praised the Elvic chanting style, particularly how its polyphony and emphasis on distinct melody and harmony reflects the dual nature of Christ. It also praised the Elvic style of icons, but made a point of harshly condemning the Elvetan practice of depicting figures with animalistic features as pagan and heretical. It is unclear how prevalent such icons actually were before the synod; it clearly must have been a known issue for it to be addressed in the first place, but there is debate over how widespread it was since all icons and statues depicting figures with animal features were either irreparably changed or destroyed, leaving no archaeological evidence.

The synod also made no complaint with the Elvic method of veneration. Elvics in particular had always taken issue with the practice of kissing icons or holy objects; in Elvic culture, and to some extent in Inecuria as a whole, kissing has long been seen as a deeply intimate act that generally has no place in sacred spaces whatsoever. Particularly when it came to icons - as the veneration (and subsequently the kiss) is directed towards the figure depicted and not the icon itself - kissing was seen as extremely improper and inappropriate. The canons of the synod accepted this intractable cultural difference and affirmed the legitimacy of the Elvic way of veneration. The Elvic method took inspiration from the Elvetan method of venerating holy icons, which has the worshipper kneel (if physically able), bow their head and place their hand over their heart; the Elvic rite added making the sign of the cross to this formula.

### Athdus the Saint?

Many outsiders mistake the canonisation of Emperor Athdus III as a saint by the Patriarchate of Inecuria as a minor and fairly trivial issue, but this is not the case. Although Athdus is not recognised as a saint anywhere outside of the Patriarchate of Inecuria, to suggest that Athdus is not a saint to an Inecurian Christian is tantamount to blasphemy - whereas to the hardline Orthodox outside of Inecuria, the canonisation itself is deeply offensive and borders on paganism.

Particularly amongst the Elvic people and *especially* amongst the Nesarians, Athdus is seen as the greatest Inecurian who ever lived, by no means a person without sin but one who always fought for what he knew to be right, who treated his worst enemies with chivalry, who acted benevolently to his conquered subjects, who was always humble and charitable despite being the most powerful man in the known world, and who led the effort to save the world from the Cosmovore swarm. Although this view of him is certainly a very romanticised version of the truth, and it brushes over his many failings and faults and the suffering his wars caused, this is how he is seen. This combined with several pious Imperial people (monastics, priests and laity alike) having visions - or at least, claiming to have them - of Athdus in heaven, all of which contain the same details despite being received independently, confirm to the Inecurian Christians that Athdus had the gospel revealed to him after his passing, and he subsequently embraced it, leading to his sainthood. To the Inecurian Christians, there is no reason why Athdus should *not* be a saint.

The canonisation of Athdus has never been officially denounced by any Church authority, but there was never any attempt made to veil the criticisms of this action by other national churches, and it continues to be a contentious issue to this day.

### Dress of Priests

The dress of the priests of the Elvic rite is inspired predominantly by Elvetan priests, and the typical dress of Inecurians at the time when Christianity was introduced. The non-liturgical clerical clothing is similar to but still distinct from its counterparts elsewhere, however the liturgical vestments differ substantially.

For their non-liturgical clothing, Elvic rite priests and monastics usually wear black shirt and trousers with a thin black coat on top that reaches to the knees, fastened at the front typically with bronze buttons for priests and steel buttons for monks, atop which a black leather belt is worn, fastened with a bronze buckle for priests and a steel buckle for monks. The nuns wear a black dress that reaches to the ankles with a black leather belt fastened with a steel buckle, and use white close-fitting veils tucked in underneath their robes, essentially the same as Nakkalite veils, similar to Islamic hijabs, rather than the black apostolnik/epimandylion found in other Orthodox churches. Priests, monks and nuns all wear socks with black leather boots. The height of these boots is variable, but may not come up further than halfway up the calf.

The liturgical vestments of Elvic rite priests differ substantially from their counterparts elsewhere, as they are chiefly inspired by Elvetan priests - who had established a regular and somewhat elaborate manner of dress by the time of Christianity's arrival - and not comparable Christian ones. Since the vestments are made up of several layers, they will be described in this format, from innermost layer to outermost.

* The innermost layer is the black shirt and trousers of the non-liturgical dress, with the coat not worn and set aside. All the parts of the liturgical dress are worn on top of the non-liturgical dress.
* Atop the shirt is a close-fitting white doublet. For deacons and priests this is unpatterned, but bishops have small gold-coloured crosses embroidered in a regular pattern.
* Atop the doublet is a sleeveless stiff cloth jerkin, fastened with bronze buttons, or silver-gilt buttons for bishops. For deacons, this is plain red, but priests have it red with small gold crosses embroided in a regular pattern. Bishops have purple jerkins with gold crosses. During Lent, the background colour is replaced with black for deacons, priests and bishops and the gold crosses are replaced by red ones. For priests this is merely gold-coloured thread, but bishops have actual goldwork thread.
* Black gloves are worn whenever handling the sacramental bread and wine, regardless of whether it has been consecrated or not. These are not worn at other times, unless it is cold inside the church.
* Atop the jerkin is a fairly substantial cape that trails down to the knees, bearing the same colour and pattern as the jerkin, and fastened with a bronze chain across the collarbones.
* The Elvic rite version of the bishop's mitre mimics the relatively simple Imperial Crown. It is a simple silver-gilt headband with an oval-shaped icon of Christ at the front. The Patriarch's mitre also sports a cross on top of the icon.
* The Patriarch also wears a ceremonial sword at their side, which is normally kept sheathed during the liturgy unless the Empire is at war, in which case the Patriarch will draw the sword and offer it up to the heavens while praying for the soldiers of the Empire. The sword is also used for the knighting of Christian Imperial Knights.

When attending liturgy, both monks and nuns who have progressed beyond the rank of novice wear a stiff cloth jerkin atop their coat (for monks) or dress (for nuns), similar to the one worn as part of the liturgical vestments by priests. Rassophores wear black jerkins, and both stavrophores and great schema monastics wear black jerkins with dark red crosses, although great schema monastics wear the jerkin at all times, not just in liturgy, and additionally they wear an analavos embroidered with dark red thread in the same manner as the Greek and Slavonic analavos.

### Churches

Elvic rite churches are based on Elvetan temples. Much like Elvetan temples, they come in both the Round and Long style (see the Elveta page for more information on what these are), although the Long style is almost always modified to take the form of a cross rather than a simple rectangle. They share essentially the same features, with the narthex taking the place of the entrance hall and a row of icons and shrines to saints taking the place of the shrines to the Gods. The Open Altar is replaced by a simple speaking platform, whereas the Closed Altar is the main altar of the church, and the screen separating the sanctuary from the rest of the church forms the iconostasis. Elvic rite churches do not have a Holy Garden, as no such concept exists in Christianity, but they are almost always accompanied by gardens.

The most striking trait that differentiates Elvic rite churches from other churches is the omnipresence of plants; flowers, bushes, creeping vines and even trees grow within the churches, and (particularly in Avamorica) they also often contain fountains, which are blessed by the priests before every service so that the water may be holy water. In the churches that contain fountains, the faithful are free to take a cup of the water and drink it, but they are not permitted to drink straight out of the fountain or dip their bodies in it, for obvious health reasons.

### Militaristic Tradition

Likely due in large part to the Elvetan tradition of the War for Heaven and the related Annihilation-related myths of other religions Christianity in Inecuria has a strong tendency to present their beliefs in militaristic terms. Perhaps inspired by the Elvetan deities King Yacela and Sir Acras, Elvic worshippers present Jesus Christ as a kind of warrior-king, leading the righteous to victory in the "Great War" against the three Great Enemies; sin, death, and the devil.

Although some Inecurian Christians correlate the War in Heaven with the Annihilation (possibly due to the very similar name of the event given by the Elvetans, the War *for* Heaven), the official position of the Patriarchate of Inecuria is that the two events have no relation. Nonetheless, Inecurian Christians typically see the War in Heaven - whether they believe it to be a reference to events which already occurred or are yet to come - as a literal battle between two opposing armies, with angels on one side and demons on the other.

The Harrowing of Hell also has a tendency to be depicted by Inecurian Christians as a literal battle, in which Christ led an army of angels into hades to liberate the souls lying there from the shackles of death, routing the demonic legions of Satan without a single loss. Christians from other traditions have varied opinions on this interpretation; some see it as a permissible interpretation, whereas others call it problematic, insisting that Christ is merely a soldier in symbolic terms, not a literal warrior who fights demons.

At the celebration of the Harrowing of Hell at Easter, the supposed battle is re-enacted by the faithful at the larger churches. Mounted soldiers in armour - Imperial Knights, if they can be found - with full helms covering their faces "kill" a battle-line of mannequins dressed up as demons in a great charge with lances, performed outside the church and usually taking place after the liturgy is complete. This particular event is often accompanied by a jousting competition. Upon charging and destroying the "demons", the faithful cheer and shout "Marati!" ("Victory!") three times. A feast then takes place to break the fast of Great Lent, traditionally to which all the townsfolk are invited.

## Elvic translations of Christian terminology

Inecurian Christians use the Elvic forms of Christian terminology, which are themselves derived from Greek. For purposes of simplicity, these will only be listed in the Nesarian form, but these words do have variations according to specific dialect and language. An inexhaustive list of such terms follows.

### General Terms

* **God** - **Astar**, a simple direct translation meaning "deity"
* **Mother of God** - **Astamanicor**, meaning "God-birther", translation of Greek Θεοτόκος (*theotokos*)
* **Jesus Christ** - **Isu Cristo**, from Greek Ιησούς Χριστός (*Iēsoûs Khristós*)
* **Liturgy/Mass** - **Lituga**, from Greek λειτουργία (*leitourgia*)
* **Christmas** - **Cristolituga**, alternatively **Cristoluga**, from Christ (*Cristo*) + Liturgy (*Lituga*), though in common usage the feast is called **Dayecena**, meaning Midsummer (it should be remembered that Inecuria, in the southern hemisphere, experiences the height of summer during December)
* **Easter** - **Pasca**, from Greek Πάσχα (*pascha*)
* **Devil/Satan/Lucifer** - **Satena**, from Greek ὁ Σατανᾶς (*ho satanas*)
* **Demon** - **Daimon**, from Greek δαιμόν (*daimon*). Rather than the Nesarian word *morcano*, often translated as "demon" (but literally meaning dread-person, i.e. Dreadfolk), Inecurian Christians use the Greek word *daimon* to refer to demons, to avoid any confusion with the Dreadfolk who go by the name of Demons, as these are very different to the Christian supernatural entities named demons

### Types of Angel

* **Angel** - **Agela**, corruption of Greek άγγελος (*ángelos*)
* **Archangel** - **Retagela**, translation of Greek ἀρχάγγελος (*archángelos*)
* **Seraph** - **Serafa**, from Greek σεραφείμ (*serafeím*)
* **Cherub** - **Eruva**, from Greek Χερουβείμ (*herouveím*)
* **Ophan** - **Ovan**, from Hebrew אוֹפַנִּים (*’ōphannīm*)
* **Throne** - **Tiron**, from Greek θρόνος (*thronos*)
* **Chalkydri** - **Calcida**, from Greek χαλκύδραι (*khalkýdrai*)

### Names of Angels

* **Michael** - **Micai**, from Greek Μιχαήλ (*mikhaḗl*), though some scholars assert it is from Arabic ميكائيل (*mīkā'īl*)
* **Gabriel** - **Gaberi**, heavy corruption of Greek Γαβριήλ (*gabriḗl*)
* **Raphael** - **Raviye**, from Greek Ραφαήλ (*rafaḗl*)
* **Uriel** - **Orilo**, from Greek Ουριήλ (*ouriìl*)
* **Selaphiel/Sealtiel** - **Shelti**, from Hebrew שאלתיאל (*shealtiel*)
* **Jegudiel** - **Yeudiye** (where *yeu* is pronounced "ye-oo" and not "yew"), from Hebrew יהודיאל (*yehudiel*)
* **Barachiel** - **Buracil**, rarely **Beracil**, from Arabic **بُراقيل** (*burāqīl*); an oddity here because the Elvics learnt of this Angel from the Arabic-speaking Islamic missionaries before the Christians

## The Titans

The problem of the Titans - in particular, those which are worshipped as deities in the Elvetan pantheon - is a long-running issue amongst Inecurian Christians. The tendency of Inecurian Christians to want to venerate the Titans, the gods of their ancestors, is typically met with harsh criticism from the rest of the Church.

The core of the conundrum relates to what exactly Titans *are* under Christian belief; they are not mentioned anywhere in Scripture or Tradition, which Inecurian Christians explain simply by the information not being necessary to relay to the faithful due to the context of the time and place. Overseas Christians say that, on the contrary, if the Titans had some important role in faith beyond merely being powerful creatures, they surely would have been mentioned by God. This issue is also tied up in the attempts of the Church to explain the existence of magic, something which has largely been dismissed as one of the many mysteries of God's will amongst Orthodox Christians.

The more moderate Inecurian Christians (mainly Elvic ones) argue that the Titans were similar to mankind (which, it should be noted, Inecurian Christians use as a shorthand term to refer to all intelligent species, not just Humans) in that they possessed immortal souls, citing the ancient stories of the Titans and arguing that their behaviour could only have arisen from such a state of being. Since the Titans had souls, the righteous amongst them would have been raised up to Heaven by Christ during the Harrowing of Hell, and so become saints. This is the logic used by Inecurian Christians to justify their veneration of the Titans.

More unorthodox (and un-Orthodox) Christians in Inecuria argue that the Titans are Antediluvians, often associated with the Gibborim (or Giants), and less commonly the Nephilim. Proponents of this belief often argue that, since Inecuria was insulated from the rest of the globe, it did not experience the Great Flood described in the Bible, but rather the Annihilation served as a substitute, to cull the population of the wicked and leave only the righteous to forge a new world. Even less orthodox Christians propose that the Titans were a unique class of angel, sometimes called the "world-angels" (due to their physical nature), but this is dismissed as nonsensical by the overwhelming majority.