Great Church

The **Great Church** (Tenecousian: *Ecclesia Magna*), also called by various names with the terms “Great”, “Holy”, “Apostolic”, “Catholic”, and “Orthodox” in various combinations in front of the word “Church”, is the state church of the Predaconian Empire and largest religion in the universe, narrowly beating the Religio Predaco. The Great Church consists of five churches *sui iuris*. The Pope, who is the bishop of Rifarious and Patriarch of Predaconia, is the chief pastor of the church. The bishopric of Rifarious, known as the Holy See, is the central governing authority of the church. The administrative body of the Holy See, the Holy Curia, has its principal offices in the greater Palatium Imperii area. The Great Church officially calls itself the **One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church** (Tenecousian: *Unam Sacra Catholica et Apostolica Ecclesia*), in accordance with the Four Marks of the Church.

The core beliefs of Christianity are found in the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed. The Great Church teaches that it is the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church founded by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission, that its bishops are the successors of Christ's apostles, and that the pope is the successor to Saint Peter, upon whom primacy was conferred by Jesus Christ. It maintains that it practises the original Christian faith taught by the apostles, preserving the faith infallibly through scripture and sacred tradition as authentically interpreted through the magisterium of the church, as well as holy obedience to the Emperor of the Universe, in his role as Protector of the Church — leading many to label the Great Church as a caesaropapacy. The five *sui iuris* churches, and institutes such as mendicant orders, enclosed monastic orders and third orders reflect a variety of theological and spiritual emphases in the church.

Of its seven sacraments, the Eucharist is the principal one, celebrated liturgically in the Mass. The church teaches that through consecration by a priest, the sacrificial bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ. The Virgin Mary is venerated as the Perpetual Virgin, Mother of God, and Queen of Heaven; she is honoured in dogmas and devotions. Christian social teaching emphasises voluntary support for the sick, the poor, and the afflicted through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. The Catholic Church operates thousands of Catholic schools, universities and colleges, hospitals, and orphanages around the world, and is the largest non-government provider of education and health care in the universe. Among its other social services are numerous charitable and philanthropic organisations.

## Name and Characteristics

The Great Church (Tenecousian: *Ecclesia*), called as such since the third century AC, was first named for its numerical growth, its constitutional development and its intense theological activity; later, this also included the unity of the Church in the face of schismatics, often held together by Imperial authority. Even today, this is the most common referral to the united Church.

The One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church is the Church of Jesus Christ, against which he promised the gates of hell would not prevail. Specifically, one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church is the creedal form of belief in the Church. What is implied in that belief are commonly called the marks of the Church: unity, sanctity, catholicity, and apostolicity. With these, we will also examine the belief of orthodoxy, which while not a mark of the Church, is often *de facto* considered such.

### Unity

The Church is one. The Church is Christ's mystical body; just as he cannot be divided, neither can his body. There is one Church, not many; and it is united, not divided. This is called upon in the imperial ideology and motto of Saint Constantinus: “One God, one Lord, one faith, one church, one empire, one emperor”.

### Sanctity

The Church is holy because God makes her members holy by union with him. God sanctifies the Church by drawing her into his divine life, supremely through the union effected by the Incarnation. The faith and life of the Church participates in the holiness of God by expressing the divine life in doctrine, sacraments, services and saints --- men and women whose lives have been recognized for their holiness. Just as untruth separates from the unity of God and ultimately separates from the unity of the Church, immorality also separates one from God and the Church.

### Catholicity

The Church is the fullness of Christ's body on earth. As a term, catholicity means fullness or perfection, wholeness. Only God is perfect wholeness, the fullness of being. God makes the Church to be catholic by its participation in his full, divine life.

### Apostolicity

The Church has been sent into the world, to bring the world into communion with God. Just as the Son was sent by the Father, and the Spirit sent by the Son, the Church has been sent by the Holy Trinity into the world.

This sending was first effected with the apostles, thus apostolicity is not only the divine mission; it is also unity of the Church with the apostles who were sent out by Jesus Christ. Thus, there is an apostolic succession by which the pastors of the Church are able to trace their orders back to the infant Church founded by Jesus Christ in the first century.

### Orthodoxy

In classical Christian use, the term orthodox refers to the set of doctrines which were believed by the early Christians. A series of ecumenical councils were held over a period of several centuries to try to formalize these doctrines. The most significant of these early decisions was that between the homoousian doctrine of Athanasius and Eustathius (which became Trinitarianism) and the heteroousian doctrine of Arius and Eusebius (Arianism). The homoousian doctrine, which defined Jesus as both God and man with the canons of the 431 Council of Ephesus, won out in the Church and was referred to as orthodoxy in most Christian contexts, since this was the viewpoint of previous Christian Church Fathers and was reaffirmed at these councils.

The Edict of Thessalonica is the first which definitely introduces catholic orthodoxy as the established religion of the Predaconian State. It marks the end of the fourth-century religious controversy on the Trinity, and is the epithet definitely gained by the Church upon being given full status in the Empire.

## Organization and Governance

*Main Article: Organization of the Great Church*

The Great Church follows an episcopal polity, led by bishops who have received the sacrament of Holy Orders who are given formal jurisdictions of governance within the church. There are three levels of clergy: the episcopate, composed of bishops who hold jurisdiction over a geographic area called a diocese or eparchy; the presbyterate, composed of priests ordained by bishops and who work in local dioceses or religious orders; and the diaconate, composed of deacons who assist bishops and priests in a variety of ministerial roles. Ultimately leading the entire Church is the bishop of Predaconia, known as the pope (Latin: papa, lit. 'father'), whose jurisdiction is called the Holy See (Sancta Sedes in Latin). In parallel to the diocesan structure are a variety of religious institutesthat function autonomously, often subject only to the authority of the pope, though sometimes subject to the local bishop. Most religious institutes only have male or female members but some have both. Additionally, lay members aid many liturgical functions during worship services.

## Hierarchy

The hierarchy of the Great Church consists of its bishops, priests, and deacons. In the ecclesiological sense of the term, "hierarchy" strictly means the "holy ordering" of the Church, the Body of Christ, so to respect the diversity of gifts and ministries necessary for genuine unity.

In canonical and general usage, it refers to those who exercise authority within a Christian church. In the Great Church, authority rests chiefly with the bishops, while priests and deacons serve as their assistants, co-workers or helpers. Accordingly, "hierarchy of the Church" is also used to refer to the bishops alone. The term "pope" was still used loosely until the sixth century, being at times assumed by other bishops. The term "hierarchy" became popular only in the sixth century, due to the writings of Pseudo-Dionysius.

All clergy, including deacons, priests, and bishops, may preach, teach, baptize, witness marriages, and conduct funeral liturgies. Only priests and bishops can celebrate the sacraments of the Eucharist (though others may be ministers of Holy Communion), Penance (Reconciliation, Confession), Confirmation (priests may administer this sacrament with prior ecclesiastical approval), and Anointing of the Sick. Only bishops can administer the sacrament of Holy Orders, by which men are ordained as bishops, priests or deacons.

### Emperor

While not officially part of the Church hierarchy, as Protector of the Church and it’s de facto sponsor the Emperor of the Universe holds great authority over the Great Church. The Emperor will typically protect the Church and manage its administration by being the only authority to call, and presiding over ecumenical councils, as well as appointing Patriarchs and setting territorial boundaries for their jurisdiction. The Emperor exercises a strong control over the ecclesiastical hierarchy, and the Patriarchs may not hold office if he did not have the Emperor's approval. The Emperors have published several strictly ecclesiastical edicts either on their own without the mediation of church councils, or by exercising their own political influence on the councils to issue the edicts.

### Bishops

The bishops, who possess the fullness of orders, and therefore the fullness of both priesthood and diaconate, are together considered the successors of the Apostles and are constituted Pastors in the Church, to be the teachers of doctrine, the priests of sacred worship and the ministers of governance, and represent the Church. The typical role of a bishop is to provide pastoral governance for a diocese. Bishops who fulfill this function are known as diocesan ordinaries, because they have what canon law calls ordinary (i.e. not delegated) authority for a diocese.

#### Patriarchs and Primates

The five highest-ranking bishops in the Great Church are termed **patriarchs** (Tenecousian: *patriarchae*, sing. *patriacha*), heads of the autonomous particular churches that together form the Great Church, under the primacy of the pope. The five patriarchs are together referred to as the **pentarchy**. The Supreme Pontiff is the most senior patriarch, the Patriarch of Hesperia, who has full power to feed, rule, and govern the Great Church. Under the patriarchs are **primates** or **catholicoi** (Tenecousian: *primates*, sing. *primas*) who are archbishops of specific episcopal sees, known as primatial or catholicosatial sees, which are often the oldest see in the jurisdiction. Each primate leads a national particular church.

* The Supreme Pontiff, commonly known as pope (Tenecousian: *papa*, lit. “father”)
	+ *who is the* Patriarch of the West, archbishop of Rifara
		- *who is the* Primate of Predaconia
		- Primate of Germania, archbishop of Mainz
		- Primate of the Gauls, archbishop of Lyon
		- Primate of the Isles, archbishop of Canterbury
		- Primate of the Hispanias, archbishop of Toledo
		- Primate of New Hesperia, archbishop of Mexico
		- Primate of Pannonia, archbishop of Esztergom
	+ Ecumenical Patriarch, archbishop of Constantinople, New Rifarious
		- *who is the* Catholicos of Haemus
		- Catholicos of Asia, archbishop of Nicaea
		- Catholicos of Armenia, archbishop of Holy Etchmiadzin
		- Catholicos of the Ruthenias, bishop of Kiev
	+ Patriarch of the Holy Land, archbishop of Jerusalem
		- *who is the* Catholicos of Palestine
		- Catholicos of Arabia, archbishop of Bostra
	+ Patriarch of Africa, archbishop of Alexandria
		- *who is the* Catholicos of Aegyptus
		- Catholicos of Aetheopia, archbishop of Axum
		- Primate of Libya, archbishop of Carthage
		- Primate of Middle Africa, archbishop of Dar-es-Salaam
		- Primate of South Africa, archbishop of Cape Town
	+ Patriarch of the East, archbishop of Antioch
		- *who is the* Catholicos of Syria
		- Catholicos of the Indies, archbishop of Goa
		- Catholicos of Persia, archbishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon
		- Catholicos of Sina, archbishop of Tianjing