On Flamenism

[Endovelicus 610]

ON FLAMENISM,

OWYNISM

&

LUCIENISM

 

By, Father Raymond Adhemar de Bar, FSSCT

 

‘Transfiguration of Peter’

 

“God’s Law is simple: keep my Flame and scatter the Deceiver’s darkness.”

- Lections of Ex. Owyn

 

Prophet Owyn, son of Godwin, pray for me.

May God’s Will be done.

 

 

---

 

Know, dear reader, that my hands are calloused hands and my mind is not a Virosi’s mind, I am but a mere brother of the Reformative Monastery in Ulmsbottom. My work is not a scholar’s work but one of a poor brother who toils to aid his fellow Man. Therefore expect neither lyrical prose nor masterful poetry.

 

I am moved by holy providence to write upon a topic that is often misinterpreted even by my brother priests and the public at large. It is not uncommon to hear, see and read polemics targeted against those who might call themselves Flamenist, particularly my Owynist and Lucienist brethren. Lily-livered appeasers and cowardly clerics will often decry our strictness and discipline, “Oh what of the pagan! What of the gentile!” they cry, worried that some imagined gentile might be offended by God’s truth. Hear here and now, oh brethren of mine: the pagan cares not if you preach tolerance and falsehoods, but Iblees will gladly devour your soul! 

 

Heed my word, then brothers of mine, read and enlighten your hallowed minds, for the Flamen path is not one of brutality and war, but rather one of diligence, discipline and mortification. I will endeavour to educate my brethren in the ways of Owynism and Lucienism, their history, teachings and disciplines, so that we might not see any more lies being spoken of us by our very own.

 

 

---

 

Then, my dear reader, you may ask yourself: ‘you have spoken of Owynism and Lucienism and Flamenism, what then do you mean?’ 

 

In truth, there is little difference. Flamenism, at its core is the worshipful reverence and following of the Exalted Owyn’s example. The great prophet’s journey on this word can be summarized thusly: be pure, vanquish darkness, worship God. What does it mean then, to be pure? Quite simply, it is to follow God’s Law as given to Exalted Horen. What does it mean then, to vanquish darkness? Quite simply, it is to persecute sin, be it internal or external. What does it mean then, to worship God? Quite simply, it is to pray, fast and give right reverence to He-Who-Is according to the prescripts of Owyn’s Church. Flamenism is active, never passive. Flamenism prioritizes action over words. That, dear reader, are the trappings of Flamenism, and all who practice it may be rightly called Flamenists.

 

Then, both Owynism and Lucienism can be rightly called Flamenist sects. The very basis of their ideals are rooted in the main three aspects of Flamenism. What then be their differences? I will at first detail their communalities:

 

Right Belief

Both sects hold God to be One and accept His Prophets.

 

Lay Preaching

Both sects hold to the primacy of the Believer.

 

Sanctity of Marriage

Both sects hold to the saintliness of the married state and it’s gendered roles.

 

Martial Reverence

Both sects hold to the high ideals of Just War.

 

Human Purity

Both sects hold to the belief that Mankind are God’s chosen people, decrying miscegenation.

 

Regular Worship

Both sects hold to the convening of regular ablutions and religious liturgies.

 

These are the aspects held in common by both Owynists and Lucienists. In certain cases particular beliefs take on a larger emphasis; for example, in the Westerlands, Owynist clergy, known as the ‘Lectors’ were overwhelmingly laymen, while Savoyard Owynists in the Blackwald held to a more collegial clericalist position. So while all the aforementioned beliefs are the pillars of both Owynism and Lucienism certain aspects may take on greater or lesser emphasis depending on the needs and customs of the believers.

 

Now, Owynism and Lucienism are not synonymous. There are very distinct differences between the two sects, likely owed to the fact of their differing history. Owynists were mostly of Kaedreni extraction, being loyal to the Chivays, while Lucienists, being members of a Holy Order, favoured the pre-eminence of the Pontiff over any lay-ruler. That is why the main difference betwixt these two sects of Owyn are rooted in ecclesial polity and not dogma.

 

Caesaropapism

The Owynist belief that God’s anointed ruler is supreme over the High Pontiff.

 

Pontifical Infallibility & Authority

The Lucienist principle that the High Pontiff is God’s chief priest and therefore above secular power.

 

These are the two main points of contention. With the rise of the Chivays to imperial purple, and the end of the cursed Darfeyist Pontificate Caesaropapism rose to prominence. Spearheaded by Basil of Sabris and Simon of Khazav, their ‘Reformed Communion’ instanted Caesaropapism into official doctrine, making the reigning Chivays ‘Vicergents’ of the Church. Caesaropapism, however, proved to be a great failure. The Church stagnated and the Chivays proved themselves incapable of governing both secular and religious affairs. After the end of the Chivay regime and the rise of Canonism in 1471, the Lucienist polity had its chance at pre-eminence within the ecclesial regime. However, the Lucienists in Aesterwald quickly came into conflict with the High Pontiff due to his Raevir heritage, rejecting, in part, both his Infallibility and Authority. This was the first nail. The second came with the Second Diet of Metz in 1534, wherein the Church, under Johannian duress, renounced Pontifical Infallibility.

 

This is to say that both divergent views have failed. Time and time again secular rulers have shown themselves incapable of tackling both divine and profane government. Pontiffs who declare themselves to be the Voice of God on Terra often prove themselves to be madmen, like Daniel III of cursed memory. Today, by God’s providence, both Flamenist branches do not concern themselves with petty questions of government. They exalt their fellow Man in God’s light, through the Prophets, keeping to the flaming covenant of Owyn. This unity is nothing short of the Lord’s divine plan. History has shown us to be petty creatures, capable of squabbling even when more unites us than divides us. Therefore let us cry out: DEUS misericordia est!

 

This, dearest reader, has been the short compendium on Flamenism and the brother sects of Owynism and Lucienism. Their pillars tell us more about the nature of Flamenism. Often we are decried as radicals and zealots. Know that we are nothing if not poor sinners, attempting to craft ourselves in the image of our Prophet. Sometimes we are called to just war, yes, sometimes we are called to purge those who offend God, just as Owyn had, but the core of Flamenist doctrine is not to persecute the wicked, but to persecute our own sin, first and foremost. 

 

This is the first law of Flamenism: hate sin!

 

---

 

Exhortation:

 

Now I speak to my Flamenist brethren. I look out at the world, through the small window in my cell in Ulmsbottom. The tranquility of the Reformative Monastery is a true shield against the tribulations of the outside world. Prisoners find peace here within these walls, making their penance with God, and I, a free man, find solace in my fellow man within here, aiding the dredges of society to find salvation. 

 

Yet, word reaches me every often, when the whaling ships pass by this quiet isle, trading not only in materials but also in gossip. I hear of degenerates, harlots, troublesome priests. Most troublesome news, such as a noble-woman practicing coitus publically and worrisome pontifical elections. This is what spurred me to action, this is why I pen this short essay now. What is needed most is a revival of the Flamenist ideals. What does a man gain by preaching tolerance to libertines? What does a man gain by preaching freedom in sin? Truly, humanity, God’s chosen people, need not a carrot, but a stick. Therefore I beseech you brethren, be you cleric or lay, follow in the steps of the Prophet, follow in the steps of his disciples also: Saints Thomas, Peter, Lucien, Adrian, Michael.

 

My second request, brothers and sisters, is a simple request: unity. Now, more than ever, is no time to bicker and argue, much less amongst the clerics. The Church is the rudder of humanity, how is Man to benefit spiritually when many wish to captain the barque of salvation? Likewise, as Flamenist, it is our duty to bring an united front against the ravages of Iblees. The Archdaemon will wish to sow dissent amongst our ranks, just as he did with Exalted Horen when he sent Saul to our forefather’s camp. Beware, brothers! Beware of the Sauls amongst us! Drive them out and stand a united front against the sins of the age.

 

Fire keep you all.

 

Father Raymond Adhemar, FSSCT

[JoanOfArc 4586]

Cardinal Gawain was relieved to have another blessed man apart of his archdiocese. "How blessed am I to have a de Bar to work with me!" he said, not realizing the irony of the comment he made.

[thesmellypocket 1839]

A man pens a brief note:

 

"Grace and peace to you from the Singular and Merciful God,

 

I thought I would offer a few passing thoughts on your recent thesis.

 

You will catch more flies, Father, with a single spoonful of honey, than with all the barrels of vinegar you might muster. 

 

The first law must not be hatred of sin, but love of God. We don't start with sin and hate, that is to have it wrongly proportioned, for we know that sin is wrong because it is a violation of the Good. I am not a pacifist. But if I were, the anti-war pamphlets would not be full of gruesome pictures of battles, but of sunshine and flowers and rainbows - things that men never got to love, because the war cut their lives short. God created us as rational creatures that we might enjoy Him forever. That is the fundamental truth of our religion.

 

Owyn himself demonstrated an approach rather different to the one you claim he had. You name your stick over carrot philosophy after him. But if Owyn used the stick, he also liberally - and first - employed the carrot. Observe his Epistles. When inter-acting with the gentile races and peoples, he does not begin with what they have gotten wrong, but begins by praising them. He does not merely rebuke, but he also consoles with God's mercy. 

 

If I might be permitted to quote from the Canonist Commentary on Sacred Scripture: "Owyn does not wreck or tear out everything the Godwinites do. They, like all creatures, depend on God entirely for their existence. He works from what is good and right and true in their preconceived notions and then corrects what is wrong. Therefore in evangelisation, we ought to start from some common, agreeable ground, and then expand outwards - starting with commonality and ending with admonishment, rather than the other way around." (This same written by the founder of the FSSCT.)

 

I think that we will get much further in all things if we induce men by sweetness, than if we assault them by beatings. After all, as a wise man once said, if we must err on the side of severity or mercy, let us err on the side of mercy. For we know that if we have erred on the side of mercy in a doubtful instance, we shall come much cleaner before that Judge who admits of no excuse, rather than, out of an unjustified severity, we shall have wronged man. For, not having been mercy, we can expect that no mercy shall be given us.

 

I do not think that the best Priest is a mere fiery zealot, or a mere pleaser of crowds, or a mere learned scholar, or a mere parish clerk - I think he is all of these things. Because, remember, that, first and foremost, as the gatekeeper of the sacraments, you are, first of all, the floodgate of God's mercy. The time for severity comes at judgement: judgement of each and every man at his death. We do not want man to pass through the gates of severity, but through the gates of mercy: namely, the sacraments. Severity is only good and useful insofar as it helps people draw to this gate. So, I do not think we should really like or want to be severe. It should go against the Priest's nature. We should want to be kind, to praise and to show affection. Severity should be a heavy burden we sometimes are forced to yield, not a cane we deal out with all the gleeful liberality of a cruel schoolteacher. Too often among flamenists (I do not accuse you) I find this love of severity which goes against the heart of the Faith.

 

I will end this little letter with a quote from the Angelic Doctor, Saint Jude, to show you how that man in whose name you have co-signed this letter drew souls to God:

 

"We are meant to love God above all things. We should not love him out of fear but like the love of a Father to his eldest son. We need to make sure our love is pure and good. I am not saying not to love other people, but love God above all and you shall be rewarded in his kingdom and live in his love forever."

 

I remain your most humble servant in the Most High,

 

Brother Thomas Williams."

[Endovelicus 610]

10 minutes ago, thesmellypocket said:

Snip

Dear brother,

 

I believe you have missed the point of my missive, or mayhaps my rugged mind failed to translate thought into word. My missive was not about abolishing other schools of thought within the Canonist Church. No. Rather, it was both an informative piece on Flamenist thought, Flamenist history and a rallying cry for all Flamenists. It was not about purging the apostate nor beating the sinner, quite the contrary, my main point was merely that the very root of the Flamenist movement is hating sin. Yes, to hate sin is to purge the unrepentant as Exalted Owyn did (Gospel 5:19), but to hate sin is, first and foremost, to hate your own sin, for to hate sin is to love God, and to hate God is to love sin.

 

Mine is not a path of unjustified brutality, unquenchable wrath and sinful hatred. That is not Owyn’s way. Mine is a path of measured severity, disciplines mortification and hatred of what God deems sinful. Truly, brother, you say we should be sweet and gentle, yet I never denied the place of gentility and sweetness, but just as father must be gentle and sweet so too must he not spare the rod. And I am a true Father of all men, and I see that Man has fallen to depravity, therefore I do not bring the candies and pleasures of the earth, but penance and correction. 

 

I have lived within the halls of the Reformative Monastery of Saint Lucien here in Ulmsbottom since I was a babe. The dredges of society are handed to us, I have dined with thieves, conversed with murderers and lived amongst the worst parts of mankind. Do you think speaking to them of love and sweetness would do them any good? To men who have never known such things that will simply fall on deaf ears. Truly I tell you: I have doled out my fair share of punishment, never out of hate but out of true love. Many find salvation before they have the opportunity to leave, others are reformed, but all have stayed in the grace of God.

 

Fire keep you,

Father Raymond Adhemar de Bar, FSSCT.

[Reckless Banzai Screamer 11530]

Father Paco, Lector of Owynist Rite, makes plans to print copies of the Flamenist essay for the Abbey of the Flaming Covenant's library to teach the acolytes some history and the evolution of their Rite.

[thesmellypocket 1839]

20 hours ago, Endovelicus said:

Dear brother,

 

I believe you have missed the point of my missive, or mayhaps my rugged mind failed to translate thought into word. My missive was not about abolishing other schools of thought within the Canonist Church. No. Rather, it was both an informative piece on Flamenist thought, Flamenist history and a rallying cry for all Flamenists. It was not about purging the apostate nor beating the sinner, quite the contrary, my main point was merely that the very root of the Flamenist movement is hating sin. Yes, to hate sin is to purge the unrepentant as Exalted Owyn did (Gospel 5:19), but to hate sin is, first and foremost, to hate your own sin, for to hate sin is to love God, and to hate God is to love sin.

 

Mine is not a path of unjustified brutality, unquenchable wrath and sinful hatred. That is not Owyn’s way. Mine is a path of measured severity, disciplines mortification and hatred of what God deems sinful. Truly, brother, you say we should be sweet and gentle, yet I never denied the place of gentility and sweetness, but just as father must be gentle and sweet so too must he not spare the rod. And I am a true Father of all men, and I see that Man has fallen to depravity, therefore I do not bring the candies and pleasures of the earth, but penance and correction. 

 

I have lived within the halls of the Reformative Monastery of Saint Lucien here in Ulmsbottom since I was a babe. The dredges of society are handed to us, I have dined with thieves, conversed with murderers and lived amongst the worst parts of mankind. Do you think speaking to them of love and sweetness would do them any good? To men who have never known such things that will simply fall on deaf ears. Truly I tell you: I have doled out my fair share of punishment, never out of hate but out of true love. Many find salvation before they have the opportunity to leave, others are reformed, but all have stayed in the grace of God.

 

Fire keep you,

Father Raymond Adhemar de Bar, FSSCT.

"Dear Father,

 

Yes, I say that it might do them much good.

 

God bless, 

 

Brother Williams."