JORENIC RITE OF CONSECRATION

[Xarkly 12959]

 

 

A SACRAMENT OF THE

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

Consecration is the act of marking a place as hallowed.

 

 

Since mankind first paid worship to the Holy Light Everlasting, they have erected temples and shrines for prayer and commemoration. These places were considered sanctuaries - they were places of peace and meditation alike, where the outward world could go forgotten so as to allow introspection. Naturally, these sites were to be protected - not only did Canonists of yore build their places of worship behind stout walls to safeguard their relics, but these sanctums also needed to ward off the Shadow.

 

 

To this end, the Sacrament of Consecration became commonplace to bless a place of worship, so that the Shadow and its servants might never intrude upon it. The sacrament itself derives from the Book of Scattering in the Scroll of Gospel, which recounts that Exalted Horen four stakes into each corner of what became the City of Paradisus, between the Towers of Aengul and Daemon, and so it was that his descendants carried forth this ritual for two-thousand years.

 

 

Of all sacraments, Jorenic Consecration is marked by the most differences from the common Danielian Rite, which involves the hammering of a stake into each corner of the site to be consecrated. The Jorenic Rite instead utilizes blades, reflecting their militant spirit, and they invoke the stewardship of either a Saint, or the spirit of a deceased dear to them, in order to protect the site.

 

 

 

 

The congregation gathers before the site to be Consecrated.

 

 

Once they are assembled, a Jorenic priest will require the aid of three other people, with each of them - and the priest - carrying a bared weapon. The sacrament will begin as the priest invokes the Light’s attention and blessing with an opening prayer:

 

 

Light Everlasting, bear witness as your faithful stand gathered,

Before that which they would see named [church/placename];

Honour us with your audience, and bless us with your grace,

For on this day, we would see this place blessed,

Amin.

 

The sacrament commenced, the priest colloquially explains to the congregation as to why they have gathered - namely, what the site they stand before is, and why they seek to have it Consecrated. Thereafter, the priest invokes the scriptural legacy of the sacrament:

 

 

As it was in the days of yore where man battled the Shadow made flesh,

Exalted Horen took his tribe to where the shadows,

Of the Towers of Aengul and Daemon met.

There, he marked the corners of the city that would become blessed Paradisus.

 

The priest then calls upon the first of their aides, who shall hold their bared weapon skyward.

 

 

So it is that this place shall be guarded against the Shadow,

And become a sanctuary of the Light everlasting.

Whose strength, child/brethren, shall you invoke?

 

The aide in question either names a patron Saint of their choosing, or, more commonly, the spirit of a deceased who is dear to them, who shall ‘wield’ that weapon in defence of the site. Once their name is invoked, the aide plunges the weapon into the earth. The priest then repeats the process for each of the three aides, until the fourth and final blade lies in their hands.

 

 

Light Everlasting, bear witness, for I, [name],

As your most loyal vassal shall swear vigilance by this place,

That its sanctity and your worship might never be disturbed,

And your grace shall be ever revered.

Hear us, O’ Light, and let the Shadow be banished from this place,

In the name of [Saint/deceased].

 

With the four weapons thrust into the earth surrounding the site, the Consecration is complete, and the sanctuary is considered blessed. The priest concludes the sacrament with a closing prayer:

 

 

Though the Light shines on all places,

Let this site stand as a sanctuary for those who prayer and give thanks.

By the strength of our spirits, never shall we let it fall.

Forever shall the Shadow be rebuked.

Amin.