We may drown, 1761

[Draeris 3124]

 

 

 

 

WE MAY DROWN

SAILING OVER THE WAVES OF HATE

 

THE PUBLISHED EDITION OF THE SERMON OF

 

 

His Eminence Krisztián Cardinal Ves

Secretariat to His Holiness

 

Spoken to his congregation in the Cathedral of St. Catherine’s in the Kaedreni capital of Owynsburg, 1760. 

 

PUBLISHED BY:

HELVETS HOUSE OF LITERATURE 

ST. OWYNSBURG, STREET C, NR. 1

 

THIS SERMON IS DEDICATED TO THE BRAVE ISA SOLDIERS OF ORENIA

 

The biggest fear of modern man is failure. The idea that despite the gallant defense by our brave soldiers, the care of our imperial functionaries, the voice of our elected representatives and the refinement of our cultural icons: we may not stay afloat, but instead, drown. 

 

Drown in the sea of hatred towards our modern existence: where the dark age concepts of absolutist rule and clerical autocracy swim freely. To mention this possibility is often seen as a form of distrust to the fine gentlemen in Helena: who sap their strength to march on from the fruits of their success. 

 

It is indisputable that mankind has progressed immensely since the end of the Lord-Protector’s reign: since we may exist in a blessed reality of wealth and enlightenment in excess. These gentlemen in Helena know, as much as those in our Canonist flock, that nothing is guaranteed or eternal. And while I spoke of gratitude towards these successes in Helena, I feel it is wise to go beyond gratitude: and seek to defend our bastion of civility. 

 

Defend against whom? You may ask. Imagination in your heads leads you from Haenseni separatists to Norlandic slaughterers. But do not heed these threats exclusively, for an enemy is amidst our flock. Not just the hecklers in my previous sermon, calling Helena a godless city. Not just the practitioning heretics beyond our borders: no, these are your common men and women who manifest in your circles. They are not your caricature type of evil: spitting on Imperial monuments every day. They are the priest that refuses to be accountable to the state, they are the guard that fantasizes of revolution or the separatist wishing for imperial disintegration: these can be the citizens that sit at your dinner table, that are the mother of your children or the local monarch you revere. 

 

But just because they are deserving of your affection or respect, does not mean that their ideas deserve tolerance. And herein lies our greatest challenge of today: truly enforcing the loyalty that GOD demands from us, without tearing the social fabric apart that has led to our prosperity. The Imperial government understands this fragile balance, but should not stand alone in maintaining it.

 

It is the calling of the Canonist flock to do so as well. For GOD spoke to us in the Canticle of Patience: “And as I have created for you the struggles of the world, so too do I create the struggles of the spirit. And as I have created the struggles of the world and the spirit, so too do I bring their remedies. [...] I bid my faithful this: You shall not raise a hand in wrath, nor in envy, nor in any kind of sin. [..] My trials are the holy trials, and My Cure is the virtuous cure, and all the reliefs of Virtue are open to the righteous forebear.”

 

If we do not remedy the struggles of the spirit through adherence to Canonism and loyalty to the state: we shall find more and more people becoming astray. They shall hate the institutions that granted them a liveable life, as they speak ill of those that affectionately take care of him. They shall become the wayward sons of GOD, leaving behind a path of destruction and social decay wherever they manifest. While no nation can conquer the Oren of today: its citizens certainly can poison it.

 

This is why the Canonist must carry the mantle of GOD’s mandated authority: His Majesty and His Holiness, with the Imperial government. A true Canonist goes beyond not heeding the words of sedition and hate, but decimates them with sheer faith and a rebuttal. It is not long ago that I was spat upon by a man who spoke of a Godless Helena, in Helena’s very cathedral. Barely a day has passed since the head of a crow was placed on our altar, with the proclamation that Haense will rule again. 

 

They reject the notion that GOD has established a rightful authority over mankind through his institutions. Much like the apostates and heretics of the AIS, they speak to GOD: “Your Word is of no relevance to me, and I shall act against your Word”. Even though the Holy Scrolls state that His Word shall not be blasphemed. The sons of Horen and Malin heeded the call to defend GOD’s institutions, and thus, they won. But they are the soldiers that fight under our banner during war. The head of the beard, as much as the spit on my robe, did not occur during wartime. They happened during a period in which the people of Oren enjoyed peace and prosperity: the status quo of modern life. It needs no context to be present, no justification: it merely disrupts the social order, and acts as the iconoclast to humanity's prosperity.

 

This is a sickness that only we, collectively, can defeat. By looking at the Canonist next to you, and asking to what extent he respects the doctrine of GOD. If one claims to be a Canonist but rejects the mandate of the Emperor or the sanctity of the Holy Canonist Church, he is nothing but a pretender and deceiver. If one identifies as a faithful, but rejects his fellow faithful, he simply is not a faithful. The Imperial apparatus, as much as the Holy Church of the Canon, cannot and should not have his eyes and ears everywhere. But you, the citizen of Oren, can be the witness of a soul gone astray. You are the only one with the access and understanding of the state of piety around you, or within yourself. Do not heed their words, reject their disruptions and isolate them from the benevolent life of mankind. This is your duty. Thus, it must fall upon you to protect your Canonist flock from these sinners. For if we don’t: the tides of hate and sedition might capsize our ship. And once it does, nothing is stopping us all from drowning.