Alcan Church

The Alcan Church is a Dionysian monotheistic religion centered on the Taqalid and the teachings of Miriam. Alcans believe that Alcanism is the complete and universal version of a primordial faith that was revealed many times through earlier prophets such as Clovis (believed to be the first man), Dionysius, Hieronymus, and Lucius, among others; these earlier revelations are attributed to Salvaty and Feilism, which are regarded in Alcanism as spiritual predecessor faiths.

Alcans consider the Taqalid to be the verbatim word of God and the unaltered, final revelation. They also consider Miriam as the main and final Alcan prophet, through whom the religion was completed. Alcanism teaches that God is one and incomparable. It states that there will be a "Final Judgement" wherein the righteous will be rewarded in paradise and the unrighteous will be punished in hell.

## Name

The name "Alcan" comes from the Arabic word "Alkawn", meaning 'universe', as God in Alcanism is seen as an omnipresent, universal entity. Alcanism itself was historically called *Miriamism* in the Salvatic world. This term has fallen out of use and is sometimes said to be offensive, as it suggests that a human being, rather than God, is central to Alcans' religion.

## Articles of faith

The Alcan creed requires belief in six articles: God, angels, revelation, prophets, the Day of Resurrection, and the divine decree.

### God

The central concept of Alcanism is the oneness of God, thought of as a *precise monotheism*, but also as pantheism. God is seen as incomparable and without partners such as in the Salvatic Trinity, and associating partners to God or attributing God's attributes to others is seen as idolatory. God is seen as transcendent of creation and so is beyond comprehension. Thus, Alcans are not iconodules and do not attribute forms to God. God is instead described and referred to by several names or attributes, the most common being "The Entirely Merciful," and "The Especially Merciful" which are invoked at the beginning of most chapters of the Taqalid.

Alcanism teaches that the creation of everything in the universe was brought into being by God's command as expressed by the wording, "Be, and it is," and that the purpose of existence is to worship God. He is viewed as a personal god and there are no intermediaries, such as clergy, to contact God.

### Angels

Angels are beings described in the Taqalid and Accounts. They are described as created to worship God and also to serve other specific duties such as communicating revelations from God, recording every person's actions, and taking a person's soul at the time of death. They are described as being created variously from 'light' or 'fire'. Alcan angels are often represented in anthropomorphic forms combined with supernatural images, such as wings, being of great size or wearing heavenly articles. Common characteristics for angels are their missing needs for bodily desires, such as eating and drinking. Some of them, such as Americus and Felix, are mentioned by name in the Taqalid. Angels play a significant role in the literature about the Night Journey, where Miriam encounters several angels during her journey through the heavens. Further angels have often been featured in Alcan eschatology, theology and philosophy.

### Scripture

The pre-eminent holy text of Alcanism is the Taqalid. Alcans believe that the verses of the Taqalid were revealed to Miriam by God, through the archangel Americus, on multiple occasions between 83 and 61 B.C.A., the year Miriam died. While Miriam was alive, these revelations were written down by her companions, although the prime method of transmission was orally through memorization. The Taqalid is divided into 114 chapters which combined contain 6,236 verses. The chronologically earlier chapters, revealed at La Bois, are concerned primarily with spiritual topics, while the later West Kronian chapters discuss more social and legal issues relevant to the Alcan community. Alcan jurists consult the 'Accounts', or the written record of Prophet Miriam's life, to both supplement the Taqalid and assist with its interpretation.

Alcanism also holds that God has sent revelations to different prophets numerous times throughout history. However, Alcanism teaches that parts of the previously revealed scriptures, such as the Salvatic Louther, had become distorted—either in interpretation, in text, or both, while the Taqalid is viewed as the final, verbatim and unaltered word of God.

### Prophets

Prophets are believed to have been chosen by God to receive and preach a divine message. Additionally, a prophet delivering a new book to a nation is called a "Messenger". Alcans believe prophets are human and not divine. All of the prophets are said to have preached the same basic message of Alcanism – submission to the will of God – to various nations in the past and that this accounts for many similarities among religions. The Taqalid recounts the names of numerous figures considered prophets in Alcanism, including Clovis, Michæl, Dionysius, Hieronymus and Lucius, among others.

Alcans believe that God sent Miriam as the final prophet ("Seal of the prophets") to convey the completed message of Alcanism. In Alcanism, the "normative" example of Miriam's life is called the Trodden Path. Alcans are encouraged to emulate Miriam's moral behaviors in their daily lives, and the Trodden Path is seen as crucial to guiding interpretation of the Taqalid. This example is preserved in traditions known as Accounts, which are accounts of her words, actions, and personal characteristics. The Sacred Account is a sub-category of Accounts, regarded as God's verbatim words quoted by Miriam that are not part of the Taqalid. An Account involves two elements: a chain of narrators and the actual wording. There are various methodologies to classify the authenticity of Accounts, with the commonly used grading being: "authentic" or "correct"; "good"; or "weak", among others. *The Six Books* are a collection of six books, regarded as the most authentic reports in Alcanism. Among them is the *Book of Bartholomew*, often considered by Alcans to be one of the most authentic sources after the Taqalid.

### Resurrection and judgement

Belief in the "Day of Resurrection" is also crucial for Alcans. It is believed that the Day of Resurrection is preordained by God, but unknown to man. The Taqalid and the Accounts, as well as in the commentaries of scholars, describe the trials and tribulations preceding and during the Day of Resurrection. The Taqalid emphasizes bodily resurrection, hence making cremation a taboo in Alcan culture.

On the Day of Resurrection, Alcans believe all humankind will be judged by their good and bad deeds and consigned to paradise or hell. The Taqalid describes this as: "So whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it. And whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it." The Taqalid lists several sins that can condemn a person to hell. However, the Taqalid makes it clear that God will forgive the sins of those who repent if he wishes. Good deeds, like charity, prayer, and compassion towards animals, will be rewarded with entry to heaven. Alcans view heaven as a place of joy and blessings, with Taqalidian references describing its features. Mystical traditions in Alcanism place these heavenly delights in the context of an ecstatic awareness of God. The Day of Resurrection is also identified in the Taqalid as the "Day of Religion", "the Last Hour" and "The Clatterer".

### Divide predestination

The concept of divine decree and destiny in Alcanism means that every matter, good or bad, is believed to have been decreed by God. Alcans often express this belief in divine destiny with the phrase "if God wills" when speaking on future events. In addition to loss, gain is also seen as a test of believers – whether they would still recognize that the gain originates only from God.