Christianity

Christianity is an Abrahamic religion centered around the 1st century CE teachings of Jesus Christ, who Christians believe was the incarnation of God, crucified by Pontius Pilate, and resurrected. Christianity, as with Islam and Judaism, is a monotheistic faith, believing that there has only ever been one creator god. By the 21st century CE, Christianity remains the dominant religion on Earth in both Shrouded Piety and F-Zero: Seppuku. Due to many different interpretations of the Bible to arise following the timeline of Jesus Christ, many different sects of Christianity would take form over history and even at times lead to immense infighting. In Siontix Realm literature, it is Catholicism that tends to be highlighted the most.

## Sects

### Catholicism

Roman Catholics contend that their church was declared by Christ himself, legitimized through his supposed establishment of Catholic bishops as the successors to his apostles. This sect designates religious authority to one central figure, the pope, who is seen as the successor to Saint Peter. The pope leads the Catholic world from his place in Rome, where he also acts as a political leader (once of the Papal State, later of Vatican City) backed by the governing Holy See.

Catholics place immense importance in preserving the sacred traditions and role of church, seeing it equally important as the Bible itself in the life of a Christian.

#### Catholicism in Shrouded Piety

*"This meeting is without purpose anyway. Once Pope Alexander catches ear that a woman has been enlisted into your ranks, the Templar will be terminated."*

*"Suri has been with us for over four years now. The pope surely knows already, and yet we still receive funding." ―The Teutonic Grand Master and Grand Master Bérard, Order of Yaktosh - Chapter 7*

Catholicism is most present in Shrouded Piety, especially as Suri Yaktosh interacts regularly with the Knights Templar and later the Papal State. Its earliest presence in the series comes in the Order of Yaktosh prologue, as the story centers around a Gothic Crimean population that is attempting to move beyond its pagan path and adopt Catholicism as its new state religion. Consequentially, Suri's resistance to fully abandoning her old faith leads to her exile down a well, only for her to be rescued by the Knights Templar centuries later. From this point on, Catholicism becomes a strong recurring aspect of her every day life, and even more so as question arises of whether Suri's place is beside the pope in Rome, rather than by the Templar.

The Catholic faith makes a regular appearance in Selina Osiris' early story as well, as she is rescued by Napoleon Bonaparte in the 18th century during France's occupation of Egypt, thus introducing her to Catholicism. Although Napoleon himself hardly plays the role of a Christian, he nevertheless chooses to temporarily call Selina 'Mary' based on Biblical thought deriving from a Catholic education. Throughout her story, Selina's interactions with the Catholic world becomes very frequent as she arrives in Catholic France, and as it becomes apparent to Napoleon and his wife that Selina may be directly linked to the Biblical story of Exodus, he chooses to try and stop her from learning about Catholicism, fearing that it may prompt disloyalty from her if she converts.

The original story of Shrouded Piety, Tale of Two Godcrafts, made very frequent use of the Catholic faith. Suri and Selina were both practicing Catholics, with the former also associated with Father Vickers, a Catholic revolutionary seeking to keep Catholicism alive by using Cuba as a base.

#### Catholicism in F-Zero: Seppuku

*“I imagine you are willing to fight for the blessing, correct?”*

*Chiya widened her eyes, “F- fight?”*

*The Pope nodded, “Allow me to, rephrase the question… Would you be willing to race for the blessing?”* *―Pope Marinus III* *and Chiya Flower, Part 2/3, Lap 59*

Catholicism does not play as large of a role in F-Zero: Seppuku compared to Shrouded Piety, but still commands many minor moments in the story as well as a few major points. It is implied that Jody Summer is a Catholic, and stated that Earl Bendek is as well, albeit by his own confession not a very strong one. Most notably, Chiya Flower is considered a Catholic, however, due to the significant government and military intervention into Mysterian religious practices, it is more accurate to say that she is a follower of the Church of Mysteria. Nevertheless, Chiya and Earl, in Part 2/3, Lap 59, travel to New Vatican (formerly Rome) to secure Pope Marinus III's blessing; in the next chapter this results in a friendly race between the two in what was likely a publicity stunt to get people to open their eyes to the Catholic Church.

Leading up to these chapters in Part 1/3 has Chiya suffering from a near death experience, where she sees into the future and makes contact with an anonymous supernatural figure she interprets as belonging to the Catholic faith. Furthermore, when Earl suffers his own near death experience and finds himself unconscious, Chiya leaves a crucifix with him.

While the communist government in Mysteria would eventually alter the dominant Catholic faith to serve their interests, Catholicism nevertheless played a substantial role in Mysterian colonization, as early colonists mostly comprised of South German Catholics. Even with the Church of Mysteria taking over, the people still first and foremost identify as Roman Catholic, simply not realizing that the old faith had been gradually corrupted over time by the communist government and military.

Due to the limited attention given to religion in the story, Catholicism gets almost exclusive attention for the simple reason that Chiya and Earl identify with the sect.

### Protestantism

Protestants arose in 16th century Europe as a reactionary response to the Catholic Church, whom they felt had led Christians astray from Scripture with their heavy focus on other traditions and rituals. Protestants do not see a need for a pope and therefore do not recognize his religious authority; additionally, they believe salvation can be achieved through faith in God and adherence to Scripture.

#### Protestantism in Shrouded Piety

*“And then after you’re done laughing in Hell, you will be crying with regret for saying those mean things about Selina, because that excommunication will not go away, and you will remain in Hell forever!”*

*“Protestant. She’s a protestant, Suri...”*

*Suri proudly replied, “All the more reason she should fear papal excommunication!”* *―Suri Yaktosh and Selina Osiris, Tale of Two Godcrafts, Flashlore 11*

Protestantism will be featured prominently in Shrouded Piety as Suri and Selina come to interact with Protestant Europe.

In the old story, Tale of Two Godcrafts, Protestantism was most recurring in the 'Flashlore' segments of the story, usually used for comedic routines. During this time, Selina was considered Frankish and always Catholic, leading to a lifelong resentment for everything German and therefore by extension Protestant as well come the days of Martin Luther. Suri contributed to this in a comedic fashion, somehow displaying a complete unawareness to what a Protestant is, despite her lifelong fealty to the Papal State. This comedic routine would typically see Suri threatening Protestants with papal religious authority, never understanding Selina when she tries to explain why this is irrelevant to them.

Outside of the Flashlore, Protestantism had its only major representation through Seth Myland, a Protestant Scot who daringly chose to hide from religious persecution by serving as a soldier of the Consortium. His cover was blown only when he was ordered to demolish a Protestant holy site, which he refused to do, hence the imprisonment that would follow.

Father Vickers, although preferring a Catholic revolution, reluctantly agreed to set aside his focus on Catholicism and view Protestants as equals for the sake of a more stable revolution.

#### Protestantism in F-Zero: Seppuku

Protestantism plays almost no visible role in F-Zero: Seppuku, except for the implication that early Mysterian settlers from England arrived with their Protestant beliefs secure. It can just as well be assumed that, over time, many Mysterian Protestants would convert to Catholicism, or rather be assimilated into the later Church of Mysteria that would result from increased intervention by the communist government and military. Outside of this, although not stated, it can be assumed that Protestant Christianity remains active both on Earth and planets colonized by the Galactic Space Federation.

### Church of Mysteria

The Church of Mysteria—or Mysterian Catholic—is the state promoted Christian sect started by the communist government. With the communist government so strongly gripping everyday aspects of Mysterian living, the government felt that Christianity could continue existing under a communist system, but only if they could figure out how to assert some level of control over Scripture. Thus, over the course of many years, the Mysterian government and military would gradually alter Scripture to conform with Mysterian politics and communist ideology. While the people of Mysteria would still identify as Roman Catholic, unknown to them was that the Mysterian government had over time completely manipulated their understanding of the faith, even to such a degree that they essentially established a Mysterian antipope,

Features of the Mysterian Catholic faith would include altered stories of Christ that suggest he was a communist, subtle prophecies that would hint at Mysteria being God's special planet to be colonized, as well as adjustments to the Bible that would help encourage people to respect the government's authority.

The most notable character to follow this faith is Chiya Flower, as well as her entire family. Despite the fact that Chiya grew up knowing a vandalized form of Catholicism, her lack of knowledge or even interest in Christianity to begin with meant that she would blend in as any ordinary—albeit uneducated—Christian, demonstrating a lack of understanding in Mysterian Catholicism and Roman Catholicism alike.