Hand of the Weeping Way

*"May the Divine have mercy on us, for we have no mercy for ourselves."*

*“Part sin eaters, part suicide cult, part assassins guild, part fanatical utilitarians.” - Anonymous*

## Overview/History

**The Hand of the Weeping Hand** is a militant sect of the Church of Humanity, Repentant.  For many years it existed as a highly informal and almost apocryphal order, connected primarily by whispered networks of confessors and acolytes, and by a loose collection of shared vows and practices.  It became more public in its declarations, denouncements, and recruitment following CHR’s merger with the STO, the ascendance of the Liberator faction, outright war with the Empire, and news of atrocities on Dio and Orpheus.  It has a small but adamant following among CHR faithful who are part of militaries, revolutionary movements, and certain bureaucratic structures.

## Practices

The Hand of the Weeping Way is one means by which members of the CHR reconcile their continued participation in violence and atrocities against fellow conscious beings.  The actions of its members have included, but are not limited to, murders, torture, “liberatory actions” against oppressive nobles or corporate stakeholders, bombings, incitement to violence, destruction of civilian targets, blockading or destruction of relief shipments, intent to cause collateral damage, and authorization of and participation in other genocidal actions.

If a member of their CHR goes to their friend or pastor or confessor, burdened with guilt for certain actions and unsure of what to do next, they might be referred quietly to a member of the Weeping Way for either counsel or recruitment. (Other related organizations they might be referred to are the Order of the Ouroborus Cycle or the Tapeinoisi).

If members of an institution have moral qualms about executing an action or order, they might turn to a member of the Weeping Way to put their hand to the deed.

They have no clearly defined or recognized scriptures or teachings, but rather have coalesced around a shared group of beliefs, propagated and embodied by those they consider their models and Rethinkers:

* We have, individually and as a society, failed to thread the camel through the needle’s eye and find a nonviolent path of living and repentance.
* We must never call or consider those conscious lives we harm “soulless” or “subhuman.”  In this way we continue to show our respect for them.
* The actions we do are evil and unforgivable, and the fact we believe we do them for some greater good does not obviate this.
* The Repentant of the future must condemn and repent the deeds we do today.
* A necessary part of our own personal Repentance will be our own suicide and/or execution.

Less officially, there’s an accepted cutoff of about a decade, from one’s conversion to the Weeping Way and one’s Final Repentance.  This is their loose hedge against the tendency to frame the present moment as a state of perpetual crisis and exceptions. If you’re a member pushing well beyond that limit, you’d better be giving some good reasons, and you’re probably still going to be looked at askance by other acolytes of the Weeping Way, and possibly assassinated by them.

## Application of the Three Tenets

1. The Soul begets Consciousness, Consciousness begets the Soul.

* We must never rationalize our deeds by declaring those we injure had no souls, or were no better than animals, and thus that there was no sin, no injustice, and no need for repentance.

2. All conscious life is valuable and should be treated with respect.

* Respect for life must include resisting those souls and those systems who deny the humanity of their siblings.
* Respect for life must include a refusal to parse words.  We must always call murder "murder," and we must always call genocide "genocide."

3. We must atone for the mistakes of our past through Repentance, through Word and Deed.

* We accept that the evils we visit upon others must be visited upon ourselves.
* A necessary part of our own personal Repentance will be our own suicide and/or execution.

## Noted Rethinkers

Statements and sentiments commonly embraced by or attributed to those they consider their Rethinkers:

* “May the Divine have mercy upon us, for we have no mercy upon ourselves.”
* “I have turned my hand against my brother, my sister, my sibling, my equal."  (Murder is murder, torture is torture, and genocide is genocide.  You don’t get to dehumanize those you harm and kill.  You don’t get to rationalize away your deeds this way, and you must protest any tendency for others to engage in this rationalization.)
* "I have committed great evil in the eyes of the Divine.” (To order or commit these atrocities is to do evil and harm one’s soul, even if it is in service of some greater good)
* “Remember your vows, and face your Repentance.”
* “He who sheds a soul's blood, by souls let his blood be shed.” (We accept that evils we have visited on others must be visited upon ourselves).
* “Let there be no place for us in the age to come.”  (There is no place for those who order or commit such acts, in the world after the present crisis).
* “Are those who sign the order less culpable than those who handle the blade?”  (They are judgmental and contemptuous of any authority figure who would try to wash their hands of culpability).

## Mentions

* Cabina NEWS! The Church Unveiled?! (Twitter link) - the (attempted) Final Repentance of Exarch Katarina Kurloshev, Autumn 3200

* Clockworkers' Faith
* Concord of the Sanctified Souls
* Deadbound
* Devotees of the Good Work
* Divinity of the Sky Whales
* Gardens of the Repented
* **Hand of the Weeping Way**
* Helping Hands
* Hieratic Jabal
* Infinite Chant of the Soul Indivisible
* Initiates of the Holy Void
* Kindly Ones
* Mudders of the Earth
* Order of the Ouroboros Cycle
* Order of the Quill
* Soul ex Sol
* SPACE Initiative
* Stewards of Knowledge
* Students of God’s Empire
* Tapeinosi
* The Sky is a Lie
* Wave Whisperers
 Culture & Activities
* Great Rethinkers
* Lux Gravare Founding Day
* SERAPH
* Vigil Pilgrimages
* Vigil's Railroad
 History (Pre-CHR)
 History (CHR)
* CHR Welcome and Outreach Centers
* Treaty of Cabina
* Sector Trade Organization
* Concord of Peace
* Liberatory Coalition
* Temperance Coalition
* Four Deeds
* Statement of Shared Values
* Phoenix Foundation
* Dissolution of the CHR
 FAQ