Messianic Angelism

**Messianic Angelism** encompasses any Angelic religion that recognises Scratch and English as twin Mirthful Messiahs meant to take the role of Lord of Angels from Yaldabaoth. Messianic concepts date back to the earliest forms of traditional Angelism; however the most common modern example of the Messianic tradition is Mirthful Messianism, which was developed from the original concept by and for the practice of the Mirthful Church of Subjugglators.

## Origins

### Beginnings of standard Messianism

The idea of a Messiah to take on the title of Yaldabaoth, the Lord of Angels from earlier Angelic canons, was first proposed by a figure known as the Hatchetman. The Hatchetman preached his ideas to his traditionally Angelic peers and amassed a larger and larger following to the point that he was considered to be dangerous to the then-mostly Brimite Imperial authority at the time; so he was captured and publicly hacked to death with a hatchet by the Brimite Court.

The hatchet used to execute the Hatchetman was stolen and went into circulation among the Hatchetman's followers; quickly the imagery of the living Hatchetman with a hatchet in hand came to be a symbol of the persistance of the Messianic belief. Messianic Angelists faced constant persecution under the Brimite government until the rise of Empress Theodora, who enacted laws establishing Messianism as the church of the Alternian Commonwealth. Theodora gave the members her government powers to tweak and change the ideals of the original Messianic concept to fit their needs as governors and over time these changes saw the beginning of the Mirthful sect.

## Beliefs

The Hatchetman's teachings, which he claimed to have come from personal visits from angels, fit mainly into two distinct categories; the first were a series of stories and prophecies which described the current Lord of Angels Yaldabaoth as a malevolent entity who was destined to fall and pass on his title to English and Scratch. This event was supposed to result in the unification of the English and Skratte clans, which were the largest Angelic clans at the time and were at constant conflict due to their differing interpretations of the early Angelic texts.

Into the latter half of the Hatchetman's life his sermons began to take a more moral tone; his teachings of the equality between not only all Angelists but all of all trollkind, as well as about more general injustices in the line of violence and sexual immorality, make up the second category of the revolutionary's word.

The Hatchetman taught his followers that it was not necessary to actively involve oneself in religious gatherings or practices in order to gain the favour of the angels; in fact he is commonly quoted in numerous contexts as having said that worship in itself was not a compulsory act. The Hatchetman preached that the only necessity for entry into the paradise world at the end of life was to maintain a moral and just life, and accept all trollkind as one's brothers, sisters and family.

While angel worship is uncommon in more modern practicers of the traditional Messianic faith, followers of the religion do take part in various festivals to praise the Hatchetman for his feats in enlightening trollkind; one such event being held on 12th Perigee's Eve for its universal Angelic significance.