Goren Cardinal Kovacs' Saulite Report

[Lojo613 1882]

 

The Saulite Report 

compiled by Goren Cardinal Kovacs in 1785

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Context

In the year 1784 a newly printed manuscript was seemingly distributed across Arcas by an unknown source. This manuscript is an exact copy of a book found in the Pontifical Library, known as the Epistle of Repentance. Upon the publishing of the Epistle and its contents Goren Cardinal Kovacs was issued by Archbishop Alfred Cardinal Jorenus to write the following report.

 

Historical Findings

The Epistle of Repentance does not appear to be a new document, despite the new manuscripts being produced. The copy in the possession of the Pontifical Library claims to be dated from the time of Theodosius II who was High Pontiff from 1585-1588. Furthermore, according to the Pontifical Copy, Theodosius II personally transcribed and approved of this Epistle, despite its seemingly contradictory nature to the Holy Scrolls. Theodosius II himself is an interesting figure in Canonist History, having come to power after the inactive reign of Everard III. Theodosius II was an Anti-Pontiff, coming to rule in place of Adrian I, and most famously excommunicated Emperor Philip Frederick which led to his eventual deposition and execution follow the Diet of Johannesburg. While it is impossible to verify the validity of the claims to Authorship of the Epistle, the book does feature the signature and the Pontifical Seal of Theodosius II.

 

Canonical Background of the Scroll

Upon study of the Epistle of Repentance, it appears to be an account made by Saul. Saul, for those not versed in Canonist Scripture, is a figure who, in the Scroll of Gospel, famously betrayed Horen in favor of the temptations of Iblees, disguised himself as Horen, and tempted his people into sin, eventually leading to the destruction of all the people in the Camp. Saul later reappears in the Holy Scrolls as an undead commander, controlled by Iblees. The Epistle of Repentance seems to be an eyewitness account of the events of the Grotto of Gamesh, where Horen was cleansed by the Waters of Gamesh and granted the prophethood by the Aengul Tesion. In the Scroll of Gospel, Saul is noted as being at the camp of Horen whilst Horen is at the Grotto of Gamesh. It is also noted in the Gospel that the instance where Horen was promised the Sons of Spirit came after the war against Iblees, long after the death of Saul, and that Iblees cursed Malin, Krug, Horen, and Uruguan after around this same time. 

 

 “The Lord told him to go into the Grotto of Gamesh, which was many leagues’ walk from the land of Horen’s people, and to fast in the waters for three days.” (Gospel 2:16)

 

“Saul went among the people of Horen in his guise, and he began to work Iblees’ iniquity. And Julia, having cast out Iblees, had retired to her tabernacle where she cared for her three sons and awaited the end of her husband’s fast. Thus Saul worked Iblees’ iniquity in Horen’s camp, and it came that a great many there were corrupted.” (Gospel 2:31-33)

 

“But at the command of GOD, Aeriel did not alleviate Horen’s pain, which was his mortality. For to Horen, GOD promised the Skies. And Horen was assumed into them, and here at His seat, GOD spoke to His prophet.“See, Horen, your wife has borne you three sons of flesh. And heed, she shall bear you three sons of spirit. And witness these, your sons, O Son: Here is the first, the purifier, and he is aflame with righteous justice. Here is the second, the redeemer, and he is awash in august glory. Here is the final son, the preserver, and so I enlighten him with holy wisdom.”  So Horen was blessed with the divine Word, and the Lord released him from the Skies.” (Gospel 2:69-77)

 

Claims of the Epistle

The Epistle of Repentence makes a variety of claims regarding the nature of Horen’s meeting at the Grotto of Gamesh, as well as the events which resulted immediately after, these claims are:

• That Horen did not travel to the Grotto alone, and instead was accompanied by Saul
• Saul bore witness to the cleansing of Horen in the Grotto of Gamesh
• That Horen was met not by one Aengul, but a variety of Aenguls
• That these Aenguls promised Horen that his children shall hold dominion over Man through their intercession via the sons of spirit
• That these Aenguls intended to make Horen a “Son of Aeriel” rather than of GOD
• That some ritual known as the “Wine of Sacrament” existed prior to the revelation at the Grotto
• That the Aenguls intended for the Waters of Gamesh to replace this “Wine of Sacrament”
• That only the line of Horen was promised the skies, and all others were “claimed” by the Aenguls through the Waters of Gamesh
• That it was the Creator who cursed Krug, Malin, and Uruguan
• That the Aenguls intend to go against the Will of the Creator
• That the Aenguls caught Saul at the Grotto, and marked him as “an example of [their] rule to come for mankind.”
• That the Aenguls had forced Saul to enact his wicked deeds
• That Saul survived his inequity at the camp
• That Aeriel was the one who had corrupted him, from the quote “I beheld Krug, Malin, and Uruguan kneeling as benediction came onto them.”
• That Saul then penned this doctrine and continued to worship GOD

 

Analysis of the Epistle

The claims made by the Epistle construct a narrative which is counter to almost everything taught in the Scrolls from the book of Horen and later. This narrative contradicts numerous events described in the Scrolls, including the Aengul who visited Horen at the Grotto, the location of Saul during the events of the Grotto of Gamesh, the statements made by the Aengul Tesion at the Grotto of Gamesh, the various curses afflicting the races, the ascension of Horen and receipt of the Scroll of Virtue and sons of spirit, the driving force of Saul’s wickedness, the validity of the prophethood, the validity of the Holy Scrolls, and the nature of the afterlife. The narrative presented by this Epistle paints the Aenguls as wicked usurpers who wish to actively act against the Will of GOD and instead promote the will of Aeriel, stealing souls for their own through use of the Waters of Gamesh in place of the “Wine of Sacrament”. As such, the receipt of all the Holy Scrolls, as well as the sons of spirit, are made invalid in this narrative, deceiving the population in the name of Aeriel at the behest of the Aenguls. 

 

Author’s Conclusion

The follow section represents the opinion of Goren Cardinal Kovacs regarding the Epistle:

This Scroll is not heretical, it is a heathen work. The claims made by it invalidate every single aspect of Canonism. Should any Saulite, as I shall dub them, exist, these individuals could not be considered Canonists. While they may worship a single GOD, their beliefs, if based off of this Epistle, would certainly include a disregard for the Holy Scrolls and disdain for anything derived from them, including the Holy Mother Church. The interesting supposed background of this work, which strongly implies was transcribed by Theodosius, may shift the boundary from heathenism to the realm of  heresy if Theodosius was the individual to have originally penned the Scroll. At current I believe the Saulite Book to hold significant historical value due to the nature of the man who transcribed it, and therefore should not be burned, merely labeled a heathen or heretical work. Much in the same manner as Bram’s thesis regarding a change from the structure of Bishops to elected bodies,  this work should be available to the public, but kept in Canonist libraries that educated scholars might advise laity and acolytes on the nature behind this information, preferably with this work sitting right next to it. This book should not be considered a dark work advocating for the glory of Iblees, as I have found no indication that Iblees factors into any part of the Saulite Epistle, rather it ought to be considered in a similar manner to a rare and historically important work of the Red Faith or Brathmordakin. 

 

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Praise be to Him, Master of Man, Bringer of Paradise, Font of Wisdom, Well of Mercy, the Lord GOD!

[Saulite 52]

*Upon the publication of this ecclesial explanation for the freshly distributed Epistle of Repentance, a verse from the Scroll of Virtue has been etched upon the great Basilicas of Arcas*

 

 

 “Scroll of Virtue, 3:6”

[Monomakhos 1849]

“The Cardinal Kovacs twice now advocates leniency and soft-handed approach in his condemnations of what should rightfully be considered anathema. First with the Aemeshites, whom I have no doubt himself engages with them in their dark cabal and all the sacrilege and occult practices they enact. And now he regards writings which can be viewed as nothing short of arch-heresy, as benign. Let us not forget that it was Saul who broke bread with the Denier and sowed his evil; so how, can these nonsensical writings that preach to his innocence be anything short of advocating for Iblees, of whom Saul was but a servant? I speak true when I say this much, brother. The Cardinal Kovacs is the Saul of our day, and certainly, his colors will be revealed God willing that sense and righteousness might befall the Pontificate in new clarity.”  Parchment caught fire soon after as Seraphim fed it to the hearth, whereafter he took up his cup of Rhenyari tea. A glance was cast over the rim of the porcelain, concern evident in those muddied eyes of his as he regarded his Bishop and friend Griffith, momentarily, before partaking of a long sip to subdue the nerves.

 

@JoanOfArc

[argonian 14254]

Ailred publishes an open letter in response to the report

 

“To the learned Cardinal Kovacs, 

 

Re: The Saulite Report

 

While I recognise the good work that went into the analysis of the Epistle and appreciate the clarification offered, I believe Your Eminence’s conclusion is wholly mistaken. While the author of the Epistle rejects the Holy Scrolls, he clearly claims to believe in same God we do and asserts that Canonists abandoned God’s sacraments and accepted false prophets, rather than accusing us of worshipping a different God entirely. The Epistle seems to be a work based on the Scroll of Gospel, attempting to legitimise its villains and vilify its heroes. Therefore I would brand it as heretical rather than heathenous. 

 

But the question of whether the document is heresy or heathenry is irrelevant. Either way, the Epistle is blasphemous and preaches a false faith, enticing the Canonist flock to apostasy. These are not only high crimes under Divine Law, but also under Orenian Law. As such, it is impossible to tolerate the existence of this document. It would be appropriate for the Church to keep its own copy to study for the purposes of refuting its content and understanding these ‘Saulites’, but allowing copies to be available to the public would cause great scandal among the faithful and, God forbid, even mass apostasy.

 

In the interests of protecting the Canonist flock, all copies of this document in the public domain ought to be destroyed and its possession made illegal.

 

Yours sincerely,

Ailred Barclay.”

 

 

 

[Lojo613 1882]

An open letter,

“To the respected Ailred Barclay,

 

You make good points regarding the nature of the book. I do continue to see the work as heathen rather than heretical, in much the same way one would view the religion of Rashidun as heathen than heretical, but it is understandable if a scholar would consider this a heretical work especially given it’s possible origin. You are correct that the appropriate action in both cases would be the same, as the distinction between heretic and heathen merely extends to a matter of classification.

 

I also concede that this document should not remain in the hands of the general populace at large, and due to this letter I am now aware perhaps my concluding opinion may be misconstrued as an advocation of the dissemination of blasphemous information. I shall further clarify, and any who may transcribe the above document in the future ought to include our letters. All instances of this document should be collected by the Canonist Church. The public should not be allowed to own any copies, nor have access to copies in state or local libraries. Only Church libraries (of which the Pontifical Library is at current the only one) directly administrated by the Holy Mother Church ought to hold copies of heretical or heathen works in their possession.

Now to explain where our opinions will once again differ. I loathe the destruction of books by groups which are not under the watchful eye of His Holiness, as the eager crowd may in their excitement destroy something of historical import which the Church of Canon could have made excellent use of. This is why I advocate confiscation over annihilation. Furthermore, my statement regarding public availability was in reference to the open nature of the Pontifical Library. Scholars and laymen do have the right to visit and enter the Pontifical Library and peruse the collection at will. Recently, the copy that we had on display had been removed, most likely out of worry that the contents may influence fellow priests or visiting laymen. It is my firm opinion that this Library ought to keep copies of this work available on the main shelves (therefore making them publicly available) so that priests and scholars who are properly educated in a canonist environment may learn and know of this group that they might better combat them. 
 

I hope this serves to offer some clarity into that issue, I do not advocate for leniency with this book or the Saulites, simply that their works be collected and placed in the care of the Holy Mother Church and that the Church Library have the exclusive right to display this book upon her shelves in our section labeled “Heresy and Heathenism”. How much harder this report would have been had we not somehow had an ancient copy of this book in our archives, it is for the sake of future Canonist Scholars and Inquisitors which I argue to preserve this book and allow nominal access to it through our library.

 

God Bless you,

Goren Cardinal Kovacs”

 

 

[argonian 14254]

Ailred nods and, having nothing else to say on the matter, sends the Cardinal a brief letter expressing his agreement.

[thesmellypocket 1859]

Pius of Sutica, seeing the exchange of letters between the two learned men, writes:

 

"Your Eminence,

 

Your report was enlightening. As shepherds entrusted with a flock, we ought to be sober and watchful, for our foe goeth about the world like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. My recommendation is this: that this Epistle be publicly declared Apocryphal, and that it be marked as a condemned literature. Any Canonist who reads it without permission from their Bishop, incurs grave sin. This is a way to balance the need to study heathen and heretical texts with the safety of the faithful. I remain your humble servant,

 

Pius."

 

[Froschli 838]

His Eminence, Alfred Cardinal Jorenus, the Archbishop of Jorenus and Auditor of the Tribunal reads the verdict with great discretion and nods to himself. He then raises his cup of warm tea before swiftly being interrupted by the Archdeacon of Jorenus storming into the room. The Cardinal spills his tea all over the document and grunts to the Archdeacon, who swiftly says “Your Eminence, I deeply apologize. I shall bring you a second copy.” The Archdeacon says with a bowed head before continuing  “Furthermore, I must inform you that the saulite report by Cardinal Kovacs has received great criticism from both the laity and clergy.” The Cardinal then nods thrice, still mad about having tea all over his desk. He then answers “I see. Then I shall look into the matter myself.” With that, the Auditor gestures for the Archdeacon to leave and sends out a courier to inform the Cardinal Judges of the Church of his personal insight and investigation into the matter.