MENDACIUM DE VICTUS, a reply to Boniface

[Draeris 3124]

MENDACIUM DE VICTUS

A RESPONSE TO ACTA NON VERBA BY @ReveredOwl

 

AUTHORED BY

His Eminence, Laurence August Pruvia

Cardinal Albarosa

Secretariat To His Holiness the High Pontiff

 

SIGNED

His Eminence, Anton Barclay

Cardinal Jorenus

 

His Grace, Erasmus von Gertreide

Prelate of Albarosa

Bishop of Ves

 

ON BEHALF OF

His Holiness the High Pontiff James II

 

 

Let us begin with a prayer to provide all men with guidance to see through the slanderous allegations made by the former Bishop of Ves, Friar Boniface: the only clergyman to be banished from his own former diocese and the Imperial capital simultaneously. 

 

Dominus, dux homines et mulieres de hoc pulchra gentem videre per fibs de Patre Bonifacio. Quaeso, ignosce, Pater, ut bene, quia ille fuerit occaecati a vera via.

 

The Holy Church of the Canon faces a grotesque generational issue among its membership. Most veterans who are nearing the age of natural passing, had in one way or another experienced a horrific era for the faith. Under the Pertinaxi, the Church was cornered, ridiculed and rendered useless: this trauma lives on through our older, more frail of mind contemporaries. 

 

While we can sympathize with these remnants of distrust to the state, new blood combined with a new era have established a superior paradigm for our Holy Mother Church. Our harmony with the Fidei Defensor, and our extensive network in secular organizations, forwards the interests of the Church at a pace and scale unseen before. We do not have to defend the success of this formula, as clergymen take the highest offices of mankind’s realm throughout. Can the state ignore the faith and His Word, if it is run in cooperation with the guardians of the Holy Scrolls? 

 

Let us begin with the affair regarding Vice-Chancellor Rodericus, where His Holiness the High Pontiff relieved him of his office. The Vice-Chancellor is a role that is founded on the notion that he stands above the parties in the church, either dogmatic or political. By signing an epistle that declared themselves a faction on both grounds, wherein they considered people of the clergy immune to accountability from secular organizations, he rendered his position untenable. Not only did he oppose direct dogma implemented by His Holiness himself, he told the collective congregations of mankind that their governments may not and cannot fulfill the will of its people. The banishment of Boniface was legislated into effect through a democratic mandate: citizens of his own diocese voted to banish their former Bishop. No man of the cloth can claim to transcend that, without clerical supremacist (and therefore Darfeyist) motives clouding his reason.

 

The leveled accusation that the church is politically divided is awkward, considering the unity and diversity of our current clergy. Whereas the Kingdom of Hanseti-Ruska and the Commonwealth of Kaedrin cling onto remnant hostilities over historical betrayals, the dioceses of Jorenus and Albarosa are close allies.  Whereas most Imperial Subjects are carved over ethnic lines, the dioceses are the most diverse of the realm, rivaling even Helena in the sheer wealth of different cultures and origins coming together for a singular purpose. Rhoswenii are tutored by the Waldenian Bishop of Jorenus, as Ruskans are baptized by a Rhoswenii Bishop. A former Pertinaxi runs a monastery, as former Curonians seek another in Vuillermoz. Vuillermoz also is a state of the Church that erases political and ethnic divides in favor of their common purpose to serve God. To what divide, then, does Friar Boniface refer? 

 

The divide is between those who recognize the authority of the High Pontiff, and those who reject it in favor of a pseudo-Church led by Boniface himself. He cites the absence of his mendicant compatriots in ecclesiastical governance as the reason for this ‘divide’, yet both he and his associate Friar Bram resigned their cardinalate voluntarily. Though His Holiness admitted he stumbled in removing Boniface from the Synod originally, the friar took the High Pontiff’s apology and spat in his face with it, using the restoration of his ecclesiastical authority only to resign in disgrace. Is it the Mother Church’s fault that these spiteful departures did not spark the popular uprising for which they hoped? And why ought there to be a popular uprising, when the majority of God’s faithful have enjoyed new heights of harmony and inclusion under His Holiness’ administration? In fact, it is Friar Boniface’s unwillingness to accept this prosperity, because it did not come through his iconoclastic ideals, that is the source of the ‘divide’. This serves as testimony that, while some claim to be more holy because they swear monastic vows, it is in fact nothing but clerical posturing and pretension. Is not the purpose of a friar to live in holy obscurity, to serve humbly and meekly? To constantly call attention to one’s own voluntary poverty, to criticize others and look down upon them for walking the path God ordained, is the true arrogance.

 

We move now to Boniface’s heterodox and unhistorical beliefs about the relationship between the temporal and the spiritual. He claims that clergymen ought to be barred from secular office, but this is not in keeping with the traditions of our faith. Priests and monastics have a long history of righteous participation in politics, namely:

 

• St. Evaristus and St. Clement served in the government of Exalted Owyn;

• High Priest St. Everard of Al’Khazar served as a minister in the Sheffield government;

• St. Thomas of Ager, a monastic brother, served as a steward in the government of Kralta;

• High Pontiff St. Daniel the Great served in government during his time as a priest;

• St. Noah of Petrus, the Bishop of Istria, served as Mayor of Petrus and in the government;

• St. Wilfriche, a priest, served as Lord Chancellor in the government of King Francis Carrion.

 

Saint Wilfriche in particular was slaughtered by Darfeyists, who believe in clerical supremacy over the state: is this saint now a Darfeyist to the likes of Friar Boniface? The Church is not a walled fortress, barring entry to all but the most virtuous, hurling down proclamations upon the masses. Exalted Owyn created the High Priests St. Evaristus and Clement, and “At Owyn’s command, the brothers set shepherds over the flock of men, and so created a priesthood for their instruction, in anticipation of the second son of spirit.” (Gospel 5:5) The clergy live amongst those they serve, taking an oath to GOD for their instruction. How can the Church be expected to implement GOD’s will if no man of GOD may take up temporal authority over their flock? 

 

The Holy Orenian Empire was established by Exalted Godfrey himself; it is only right that the Church should work through it, implementing the law of the Holy Scrolls. And what instead? In Friar Boniface’s world, much as in the days of Darfey, hordes of armed monks would tear down the institutions of state, rather than using them to correct moral failings where necessary. GOD created the estates of the world, and with the cooperation of a virtuous priesthood, they implement His justice. A priest swears oaths of virtue and instruction to GOD--he is arguably more qualified for secular office than a layman, who swears no such oaths.

 

Finally, we address Friar Boniface’s concern for the clerical vestments and wealth of some clergymen. We call his attention to the prophetic annunciations of the Exalted Owyn “There he fasted for three days, and on the third he was blessed with true holiness. He wore garb of fine make, and the signet of his father” (Gospel 4:30-31) and Exalted Godfrey “Eshtael girded Godfrey in kingly finery, and gave him the horn and laurel, and Godfrey’s weapon became a scepter of rebuke and rulership” (Gospel 6:23). And finally, we call attention to passages from the Canticles of Charity, Temperance, and Fidelity:

 

• “I am the Lord GOD without peer. I created the metals of the earth, and the onyx and the alabaster, and placed within your groves the trees of incense and resin, and gave the beasts of the earth their fine coats.” (Virtue 2:3-4)

•  “I am the Lord GOD without peer. I grew the first grapes of the vineyard, and gave unto Horen the first wife.” (Virtue 3:1-2)

• “For I have ordered your station and birth, and I have established the order of things. And you shall not envy the lives of others, for all virtuous paths are equal in My eyes, and all shall be rewarded not according to their station, but their virtue.” (Virtue 6:6-7)

 

By these verses, GOD demonstrates to us that there is no moral value, good or bad, to material wealth and finery: indeed, the prophets themselves wore riches according to their high rank. While we may congratulate those who voluntarily relinquish the comforts of the world, to honestly acknowledge one’s wealth is no shame in GOD’s eyes; shame arises when one values the material above the spiritual, when one envies the wealth of others, or when one fails in their charitable duty to the poor. Does Friar Boniface criticize Exalted Godfrey for wearing kingly finery and bearing a golden scepter? We know he does not. Thus we hope he will correct his view that wealth in any form is incompatible with virtue. GOD orders the estate of the world, and all virtuous paths are equal in His eyes, be they of high status or low.

 

So we do celebrate those who live in pious poverty and contemplation before GOD, but we chasten them not become arrogant by it. This is the true sin of Darfeyism: as John of Darfey did in his usurpation of the Orenian throne and his slaughter of King Francis’ court, it is to become arrogant and self-absorbed by one’s clerical status. In Acta Non Verba, Friar Boniface slanderously declaims one of the most successful High Pontiffs of our generation, alleging he is little more than an incompetent puppet. Thus the friar foolishly displays the pretension behind his actions. He would unrighteously usurp the authority of the High Pontificate, and as an autocrat enforce the mendicant life upon all clergymen, thereby robbing the monastic vows of all spiritual value. Clergymen, immune to civil authority, would wander the land as untouchable kings. Thus we call upon the faithful, consider this: in this age we have achieved an unprecedented expansion of the faith under His Holiness’ guiding hand. The High Pontiff, as the Exalted command us in the Holy Scrolls, works in pious harmony with the Empire, and clergymen serve loyally among their flock rather than in prideful separation. Who, then, are the true Darfeyists?

 

With our successes and prosperity universal, one wonders why a man such as Friar Boniface cannot cooperate with His Holiness. Why must the path of sedition and chaos reign supreme, when mankind has never known so many paths to address one’s concerns and to find it represented? The conscious and obsessive decision not to do so speaks more of the inadequacy of Friar Boniface, than any concerns that in his mind clouds the church. Instead of writing epistle upon epistle discrediting our valiant, diligent and loyal clergymen, he should do his job: to make the faith more appreciated and present in the realm of Arcas.

 

In Domini Nomen Oramus

 

Laurence August Pruvia

[sergisala 3451]

Edward Williams would nod in approval as he reads the document

 

“GOD bless His Holiness the High Pontiff James II and his secretariat! Hurrah!”

[VIROS 2915]

High Pontiff James II receives Laurence’s draft, and after a few choice edits, sends it back to his desk. “Regrettable that such a statement is necessary, though I am glad to see that Cardinal Albarosa, Cardinal Jorenus, and Cardinal Avalain are in agreement. May this harmony among my Synod put an end to the matter, permanently.”

[BigMacMoMo 214]

Bishop Erasmus von Gertreide signs the Kaedreni Cross as he reads the final writings before they are sent out into the public. He gazes around his humble room within the Monastery of St. Thomas before beginning to send the responses. Truly this was an honest and true writing.

[rukio 8924]

”Of course the corrupt cannot see the corruption in themselves.” Lily would say idly to her adopted sister, sipping tea. ”I’ve no doubt they’re all in on the murder of the last religious leader in Canonism.” 

[Porkgasm 267]

Cardinal Wilhelm nods in agreement with the penned response. "The systems and methods of the past will not serve GOD or Modern Humanity. To serve GOD's will as we are able, we must make use of what roads are available to the Church, in order to ensure that GODs will remains relevant in the hearts and minds of those within the Empire, and without"

[yopplwasupxxx 5946]

 

Arthur the Atheist does a default dance, “Canonism fights among themselves! Hahahahaha”

[sergisala 3451]

33 minutes ago, Porkgasm said:

Cardinal Wilhelm nods in agreement with the penned response. "The systems and methods of the past will not serve GOD or Modern Humanity. To serve GOD's will as we are able, we must make use of what roads are available to the Church, in order to ensure that GODs will remains relevant in the hearts and minds of those within the Empire, and without"

“There’s no life worthy to live outside of the Empire, Cardinal.” Edward Williams would say to him before signing the Horen cross due to the heresy the Cardinal said.

[MunaZaldrizoti 8037]

The Princess of Pruvia sits alongside her cousin and the Count of Rocheforte, raising a wine glass in praise to Laurence’s work.

 

“To Boniface, the greatest sore on the backside of humanity!”

[osumanduas 1442]

“Once again the hypocrisy of the decedent has been laid low by our heavenly bound Archbishop. Let these folk see for themselves the hypocrisy of that Friar Boniface’s words. Good bloody riddance.” states the Count of Rochefort

[CrownedLime747 162]

“An excellent rebuttal to the slanders of Boniface, Laurence is truly my brother’s successor.” Lajos would say as he read the document and signs the Kaedrini cross.

[Porkgasm 267]

24 minutes ago, sergisala said:

“There’s no life worthy to live outside of the Empire, Cardinal.” Edward Williams would say to him before signing the Horen cross due to the heresy he’s said.

"Plenty of Faithful Canonists live beyond the borders of the Empire - The Trade city of Sutica, the Holy State of Vuillermoz, The Principality of Vitenna, the Duchy of Savania. It is the duty and responsibility of the Holy Church to provide Spiritual guidance to all who follow GOD, no matter where they choose to reside." he would reply. "It is simply a matter of broadening your horizons. Indeed, I met a member of the faithful who chooses to reside in the Silver City of the High Elves! GOD's purpose is not restricted to the borders of any kingdom or empire."

[thesmellypocket 1859]

A note is written:

 

“An excellent thing which you have written, but for two things:

 

1)Do you not know what a Dogma is? Dogma concerns Faith and Morals surely, not things of this nature. Surely there is no ‘dogma’ about the regulations concerning the Chancellor: it is a matter of clerical practice, not a tenant of Faith. Also, there is only correct and false Dogma. One cannot belong to a Dogmatic ‘Party’ but only enforce what is true. Truth is not decided by a majority vote.

 

2)Correct me if I misread, but you essentially said that no man can claim to transcend democratic mandate without falling into a kind of ultra-clericalism, which is heterodox? This is revolutionary innovative nonsense, surely? You men live only a few decades, but we Elves live for centuries, and so, I can see that this is something that belongs to the democratic spirit of our age, rather than to the eternal principles of the Church. There is no ‘Democratic Mandate’ to throw out Bishops – they do not receive their authority from the people they govern, but from above.

 

I have not kept at all with this affair. Temporal politics bores me, so I could easily have misread you. I know God is in control. That is enough for me.

 

This whole affair, hearing the words of others, seems to lack the spirit of Charity. We should be correcting Fr. Boniface out of charity, and nothing else. Not that you have not, but others some to take a relish in this affair that does not belong to them. (I hear them calling him a ‘sore’, etc.) It is good that you pray for him. We should all continue to pray for one another and hope that we can love and see God, together with the Saints, in our heavenly home. Amen.

 

God love you,

 

Pius.”

[kipps 726]

Cardinal Anton gives a single nod as he read the missive. 

[ReveredOwl 5639]

Boniface begins work on a response.