OWYN: A THEOLOGY OF SPIRITUAL VIGILANCE

[Piov 2431]

 

OWYN:

A Theology of Spiritual Vigilance

 

By Benedict Cardinal Jorenus, O.W.F.

 

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Table of Contents 

 

I. Introduction

II. Finding God in Battle

III. Executing God’s Decree

IV. Admonishing the Unholy

V. Conclusion

 

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Introduction

 

Few figures in the Church bear a passionate and militant figure than that of the Exalted Owyn. The historicism of the prophet most often depicts an angry crusader who was quick to strike down all who came before him. He is a figure represented by a blade of fire as he wielded the judgment of God to cast out his enemies. While there is truth to these representations, it perhaps gives an undue picture that makes believers forget his principled and virtuous nature. The Owyn of the Scrolls draws us back to reflect on our own service in the Church and how we might reexamine our consciences to be spiritually vigilant in times when faith has become marginalized by other forces.

 

Almighty God, shield us from all evil.

Bring forth the shining example of Exalted Owyn.

Send us into battle to fight in defense of the good.

Instill courage and strength to those who serve to protect us.

Grant wisdom in our soldiers and priests,

And may our charity be a weapon against the impure

This we ask and pray, through Exalted Owyn, Amen.

 

Chapter I. Finding God in Battle

Taking on the mantle of a marshal, Exalted Owyn served at the behest of King Joren to protect his kingdom and serve diligently against forces that sought to put man asunder. We begin this story in the Scroll of Gospel, Chapter 4, whereby Owyn is introduced to us as a trained warrior and a leader of men. We are immediately compelled to think about obedience and loyalty, both to God and to country. This sense tells us outright how Exalted Owyn’s stature as a man of martial prowess inspires strength of self but also strength of character. Initially, God was to call this man, a paragon of Horenic virtue, to succeed in the prophetic succession to carry out the divine will. 

 

In battle as he was to dispel barbaric forces and a darkness engulfed the land, Owyn engaged in a divine encounter in a cavern where God spoke with earnestness to His new servant to answer the cries of the people who yearn for justice and purity (Gospel 4:23). Just like Horen before him, Owyn was anointed and brandished the blade of holiness with the mandate to purify creation and rid the world of sin (Gospel 4:24). We reflect on this as a metaphor for our own service to our neighbor and our necessary submission to God’s calling to serve Him faithfully in both times of peace and war. Exalted Owyn’s story compels us to ask ourselves—How can we find God in our own battles?

 

Chapter II. Executing God’s Decree

 

Exalted Owyn’s anointing signified a new phase of his life. He would no longer be a marshal to any temporal power nor command men with respect to human authority. Exalted Owyn was now the marshal of God. And there, he was sent with the signet of his ancestry and the blade of holiness to traverse to the court of Harren to serve as a seneschal and to await the purity that God was to send forth. Owyn sat in the court of Harren for seven years, proclaiming with the authority the spirit of God’s decrees to sanctify the land. Owyn, at the behest of the Lord, instructed Harren to free his people who suffered at the dominion of “mixed lords.” However, Harren did not relent and refused such orders and engaged in battle against God’s prophet. In haste, Owyn brandished the sword of holiness and blinded Harren, rendering him impotent. This compelled him to heed the instructions to free the people (Gospel 4:37-46). 

 

Reminded of Harren’s plunder against Godwin, the prophet drew his sword again and slew his uncle in retribution. The Lord grew angry at Owyn’s wrath and admonished him for slaying his own uncle out of rage (Gospel 4:46-49). There is much richness in this literature. First, we see that Owyn wielded his authority in both fidelity to God and in fragility to his moral nature. It is a humanizing emotion to seek revenge or to go beyond one’s mandate. Immediately, Owyn seeks forgiveness from the Lord (Gospel 4:54) and embarks on what is essentially a lifelong penance to atone for his misdeed. We see how he retreated both physically and spiritually to institute the Holy Church, establishing the heads of the faith, stewarding a holy priesthood among men, and later was rewarded to steward over the kingdoms of his ancestry. 

 

We are thus reminded that true contrition and atonement offers liberation for even the mightiest of people. God calls on all of creation to renew their lives after great sin to seek forgiveness and to rectify our wrongdoings. The true fulfillment of Canonism as displayed through Owyn’s virtue is the necessary acknowledgement that sin must always be vigilantly rebuffed. True holiness derives from the recognition that we are all sinful and must work both individually and collectively to set right the path of life. Exalted Owyn’s destiny reminds us that God’s decree is not at any particular moment. It is the lifelong pilgrimage of our worldly lives.

 

Chapter III. Admonishing the Unholy

One of the difficult parts of exegesis particular to the Prophet Owyn is to interpret the Scroll of Spirit. Indeed, I am not the first to do so, as many clerics and traditions have sought to appropriate these revelations into their own charism. Notably, the Owynists have taken the decrees and militancy of Exalted Owyn’s journey into their own devotional methods. What has resulted is a profane expression of divine justice and a distortion of God’s love for creation. What we cannot pursue is an interpretation that gives license to wage violence against non-humans. Instead, let us use the Scroll of Spirit to examine the underlying precepts of the prophet’s message: a calling for purity and justice.

 

These admonitions, organized into specific epistles, are taken from the revelation of the Scroll of Spirit, which aims to convey the ways Exalted Owyn sought to set the path of holiness to the other brothers of creation. While they are addressed to particularly races and beings, we must tread lightly to extract an overall meaning and intent. I advocate that these epistles are general prescriptions or critiques that other races have adopted that have distorted their relationship with God. The Church recognizes that among the Four Brothers, Exalted Horen was the only one predisposed to truly unite in God’s wisdom. Exalted Owyn’s do not explicitly state that other races are incapable of salvation. Instead, they are invitations to those who are not in a state of grace to return to a virgin state of virtue and simplicity.

 

The epistles are thus a crying out, if you will, to remind all of creation that God cannot be substituted for anything, material or supernatural. The grace of the divine cannot be superseded either, as we see that in every greeting, the epistles reassert that “The Lord is the Lord GOD without peer.” We are reminded in our own time that in the modern elements of secular power, an opening up of multicultural forces, a renewed enthusiasm for magicks and material profit, we are often beckoned away from holiness and virtue. Our lives are supplanted by these temporary substitutes and thus lead us astray from the true path of faith. I compel those who read this to be spiritually vigilant against these forces.

 

Conclusion 

 

Exalted Owyn provides an enduring model for our own examination of conscience, both as individual believers and of the collective body politik. First, this story reminds us of our own particular calling to do battle in the name of the Lord in whatever vocation or occupation that we have undertaken. Second, Exalted Owyn compels us that whenever we have committed egregious deeds, our first instinct is to seek forgiveness. But it is more than that. Owyn not only sought atonement, but he performed his penance as a lifelong commitment to restore a state of grace. Lastly, the epistles of the Scroll of Spirit are a source of introspection. They are metaphorically present to give an important warning against the delusions and distractions that prevent us from truly embracing faith. We must in fact guard against the unwarranted influence of our modern dangers that seek to erode the fabric of faith. 

 

Published 1803, 356 E.S. 

 

Edited January 16, 2021 by Piov