THE PROTO-MANDATON

[Holyland 3650]

Spoiler

This is the main hierarchical and cultural post of Absolutism, the Penitent-Faith of the Solitary God. If you're interested in joining, reach out to me on Discord (.holyland.) or find us in game!

 

 

 

 

 

T ʜ ᴇ   P ʀ ᴏ ᴛ ᴏ - M ᴀ ɴ ᴅ ᴀ ᴛ ᴏ ɴ ꜰɪʀꜱᴛ ᴍᴀɴᴅᴀᴛᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴇɴɪᴛᴇɴᴛ-ꜰᴀɪᴛʜ

 

 

	[ ᴛᴀʙᴜʟᴀ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛᴏʀᴜᴍ ]
	Φ Invocation - [Volume I] Φ Declaration of Authority - [Volume II] Φ Structure of the Faith - [Volume III] Φ Detailed Explanation - [Volume IV]         » The Escharoi [Section I]         » The Pragmai [Section II]         » The Six Schools [Section III]         » The Schoolmen [Section IV]         » The School Subdivisions [Section V]         » The Phylaxi [Section VI]         » The Mathetai [Section VII]         » The Mystai [Section VIII] Φ The Whelming - [Volume V]         » The Nature of the Rite [Section I]         » The Preparation [Section II]         » The Ceremony [Section III] Φ Closing Benediction - [Volume VI]

 

Iɴᴠᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ - [ᴠᴏʟᴜᴍᴇ ɪ]

 

We give thanks unto Thee,

Φ Every soul and heart is lifted unto Thee, undisturbed name, honoured as the Principle and praised as the Source, and all that is, all that was, all that shall be, proceedeth from Thee and shall return unto Thee. 

 

Φ We receive Thine in illuminance, impartial and unceasing, and any teaching there may be that is sweet and plain, giving us clarity, discernment, and truth: Clarity, so that we may understand Thee. Discernment, so that we may expound Thee. Truth, so that we may know Thee. 

 

Φ We rejoice, because Thou hast shown us Thineself. We rejoice, because whilst clothed in flesh, Thou hast made us divine through Thine knowledge. We rest in the stillness of Thy being, and so we surrender all distinction, all self, all illusion, returning fully unto Thee. 

 

Φ The acknowledgement of one who attains Thee is singular: that we perceive Thee, and are embraced by Thee. We behold Thee, the intellect of all forms, the flow of all currents, the Unmoved Mover. We behold Thee, eternal, indivisible, beyond name, beyond measure. 

 

Φ We remain steadfast in recognition of Thee. We move through life without grasping, without resistance, in accordance with the sacred currents of Thy Whole. 

 

ꜱᴡᴇᴇᴛ ɢᴏᴅ ᴏꜰ ɢᴏᴅꜱ, ᴡʜᴏ ᴅᴡᴇʟʟꜱ ᴡɪᴛʜɪɴ ᴜꜱ, 

ʜᴀʟʟᴏᴡᴇᴅ ʙᴇ ᴛʜʏ ᴍᴀɴʏ ɴᴀᴍᴇꜱ. 

ᴀʟʟ ᴀʀɪꜱᴇꜱ, ᴀʟʟ ᴅɪꜱꜱᴏʟᴠᴇꜱ, ᴀʟʟ ɪꜱ ᴛʜᴇᴇ.

ᴀᴍᴇɴ; ꜱᴏ ᴍᴏᴛᴇ ɪᴛ ʙᴇ. 

 

Dᴇᴄʟᴀʀᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏꜰ Aᴜᴛʜᴏʀɪᴛʏ - [ᴠᴏʟᴜᴍᴇ ɪɪ]

 

In the sight of the Logos, which is without beginning or end, in which all things are joined, this word, the Proto-Mandaton, is given. All those who see Truth, all emanations of the One – that is, the All that is Man – must bear witness thereto, for silence without understanding is as ignorance. 

 

No mouth may speak for the Solitary God, for no ear may hear Its Word, yet Truth abideth in the pattern of all things, and whoever perceiveth it, as the Ur-Prophet did once before, may declare it therein. Therefore, our authority is in Truth, and our warrant is the mirror of our comprehension of it therein. Henceforth, let these words stand as commandments until the understanding of the Whole rendereth them unnecessary.

 

ᴜᴛ ᴏᴍɴᴇꜱ ᴜɴᴜᴍ ꜱɪɴᴛ;

.. ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴀʟʟ ᴍᴀʏ ʙᴇ ᴏɴᴇ.

 

Sᴛʀᴜᴄᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ Fᴀɪᴛʜ - [ᴠᴏʟᴜᴍᴇ ɪɪɪ]

 

 

 

Rank / Role	Title Singular	Derivation	Description / Duties
The Escharoi	Escharon	“the last, the end.”	Also known as the Latter-Prophets, they are the living witnesses of the Gnosis. Their presence guides the faithful, bearing wisdom and testimony of the Whole. They stand beyond all Schools and at the head of them, exemplifying the path of ultimate enlightenment.
The Pragmai	Pragma	“the deed, that which has been done.”	Teachers and leaders within specific domains of the faith, instructing the faithful in the sacred miracles and truths of the Absolute. Some Pragmai belong to the Six Schools, whilst others operate independently, all appointed by The Escharoi. The leader of a set group of Pragma is known as a Pragmarch.
The Schoolmen	Schoolman		Adepts on the path of the Gnosis, belonging to one of the Six Schools. Guides Logioi and Mathetai along their paths, oversees instruction, preserves the integrity of the School’s practice and pursues enlightenment. The ultimate servants of the Thousandfold Thought, the goal of the enlightenment of collective Man. May possess a sub-role (Zetemas, Synthetic, Exetasis, Apodexis) or remain without specialisation until a later date.
The Zetemai	Zetemas	“the inquiry, that which is sought.”	Scholars and seekers within a School. They investigate, document and analyse the principles and mysteries of the Absolute, illuminating understanding for the School and its students, as well as the greater faith. They may serve as scribes, writers, researcher monks and work heavily with the Synthetai in order to assemble the corpus of the faithful writings in pursuit of the ultimate, singular Truth for all to read and know in the pursuit of enlightenment.
The Synthetai	Synthetes	“one who composes, or unites.”	Composers and integrators of knowledge. They collect evidence, perform experiments and dissections, and unify observations into coherent knowledge. Alchemists and scientific minds dwell here. They work heavily with the Zetemai in the collection of (and practical application, therein) of the Absolute’s truths, both Hylic (matter/material) and Pneumatic (spiritual).
The Exetastai	Exetasis	“to examine, to test.”	Inquisitors and judges within the schools. They enforce adherence to doctrine, test comprehension, and ensure trials and teachings are properly observed. Beyond the faith, they are the enforcers of the One Truth, the living measure of the Gnosis against the Inverse Flame.
The Apodexai	Apodexis	“to show forth, to prove.”	Observers, operatives and envoys, extending the faith’s reach beyond its immediate bounds. They are gatherers of intelligence, monitors of developments, and reporters and actors in ensuring the maintenance of alignment with the Thousandfold Thought.
The Phylaxi	Phylax	“to guard, to protect.”	Guardians and protectors of the faith’s temples and sacred sites. They defend students, scholars and sacred knowledge, participating in missions requiring discipline and martial skill. The leader of the Phylaxi is known as the Phylarch. Both Mathetai and Schoolmen alike may be members of the Phylaxi, adorning the mandated uniform and weapon-shield combination when on duty, though all members of the faith as a whole are expected to protect the temple and other sacred sites.
The Logioi	Logios	“the learned man.”	Mathetai who have chosen a path within one of the Six Schools and are training to become Schoolmen. They undertake trials and studies specific to their chosen School in pursuit of one of the Six Wounds, the six passages to the Gnosis and enlightenment. They are virtually indistinguishable in rank from the Mathetai.
The Mathetai	Mathete	“the student.”	Students of the Faith. Members who have undergone the Whelming and have begun the journey of understanding, but have not yet chosen their path within the Schools.
The Mystai	Myste	“the initiate.”	Initiates seeking full entry into the faith. They are under instruction and observation, preparing for their Whelming to become Mathetai.
The Proselytoi	Proselytos	“one who has come forward.”	Sojourners transitioning from another faith, or those who approach the faith anew. They serve as intermediaries, learning the principles of the Absolute whilst maintaining respect for their prior devotion.
The Agnon	Agnos	“unknowing.”	The uninitiated and unknowing. Laypeople who have not yet embarked on the path to the Gnosis, and whose comprehension of the Whole remains latent.

 

Dᴇᴛᴀɪʟᴇᴅ Exᴘʟᴀɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴ - [ᴠᴏʟᴜᴍᴇ ɪᴠ]

 

As the Absolute emanates into the multiplicity of the Divine Schema, so too must Its understanding and worship take form in schematised multiplicity. Therefore, the structure set henceforth devised as the primary subject of the Proto-Mandaton, the source from which all future mandates shall arise therein, exists therein so as to clarify the ordering of the stepping stones on the passage of The Shortening of the Way, known colloquially as the Shortest Way, the passage of an ignorant denizen of the World unto enlightenment and the Gnosis. 

 

Even as all are equal in the eyes of the Whole, the dividing amongst our faithful order is deemed necessary so as to unify the multiplicity of goals of the Faith and its peoples alike, so that they may be accomplished quickly and without delay, for this, itself, is the Shortest Way. Even as the passage to the Gnosis and enlightenment is personal to each individual, each Emanation of the One, the newly-wrought structuring of our faith, as follows, exists so as each individual might contribute specifically to the Return to One, both personally and collectively. The Escharoi reflect the Source, the Pragmai the movement of Its Will, the Schoolmen the understanding of Its Mind, and the lesser ranks the ascent of Its fragments back into unity.

 

By our Authority that is Truth, and by the words of the Holy Adage itself, so too do we proclaim the Two Schools, Mandate and Eschaton, to be cleft again. For as Codex IV of the Adage proclaimeth, “The Mandate and the Eschaton are the two equal and opposite faces of the same being”, thus we find it necessary that the Two Schools become Six Schools, one each to each member of The Escharoi, the Latter-Prophets themselves. 

 

Φ Sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ I: Tʜᴇ Eꜱᴄʜᴀʀᴏɪ / Tʜᴇ Lᴀᴛᴛᴇʀ-Pʀᴏᴘʜᴇᴛꜱ

 

 

The Escharoi are the Latter-Prophets, the last and living witnesses of the Gnosis. They are those who have witnessed true revelation, and who have seen through the lattice of the Logos and have thusly beheld the immediate radiance of the One. Even as their bodies are still of the World, their spirits are sanctified by this vision, for they have awoken truly and entirely to the fact of their own divine eminence,  that which is latent within every soulful being. 

 

Following in the path of the unnamed Ur-Prophet, the one who came before and shall come thereafter, the Latter-Prophets have existed since time immemorial, known as beings that take the clothes of flesh through many men, carrying their own Wounds that reflect the Grievous Miracle that birthed Creation, from whence the Solitary God did cleft Itself into many shards that took form in the divine and immortal souls of each and every soulful being, known as Emanations of the One. There are Six Wounds, and thus Six Schools, six currently known axes upon which a person may walk toward their own passage to enlightenment, and every being is implored to become an Escharon themselves through their own Gnosis and enlightenment.

 

At the peak of each School, each Latter-Prophet, known otherwise individually as an “Escharon”, is the very fount of understanding, and yet none is master over another, nor too master over all Men, for their six revelations are but facets of the same indivisible truth, the One Truth that is the Gnosis. Therefore, they do not rule, but bear the heaviest weight upon them; that of remembrance, for even as they have already achieved enlightenment, they must remain within the World so as to ensure the enactment of the Thousandfold Thought, the goal that is to grasp the Absolute; the act of enlightening all soulful beings so that each fragment of the Divine Schema may Return to One, and the One Heaven may be reformed within the One God, the Solitary God. 

 

Even as the passage to Gnosis is personal every man, the Escharoi are the keepers of the Gnosis entire, though they do not hoard it, utilising it so that they may discern the hidden concordances between the fragments of the Many, and too as the ultimate example by which the Schools walk their paths, as they are the very culmination toward all ascent proceeds. Thus are the Escharoi: the end and the beginning, the silent axis of the faith, the witnesses of the One made Many, and the Many returning to the One. 

 

Φ Sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ II: Tʜᴇ Pʀᴀɢᴍᴀɪ

 

 

The Pragmai are the Deeds of the One made manifest, the living conduits through which the ultimate comprehension becomes act. Even as the Escharoi are the mind’s vision of Truth, the Pragmai are its motion. They are the penultimate teachers, exemplars and leaders beneath the Latter-Prophets, shepherds who guide the Many within the Faith. To be a Pragma is to have accomplished some great realised principle of the Gnosis within the passage of the Shortest Way, and thus the Pragma are the closest to the Gnosis aside from the Latter-Prophets themselves. 

 

This, specifically, is through their accomplishment of utmost mastery over a singular facet of the Logos amongst the many, in the form of mastery over, and total understanding through the Gnosis and through doctrine, of a Miracle, encompassing all sorcerous acts that do not associate with the evil and ignorance of the Inverse Flame. Their authority, therein, comes from their accomplishment – their word is proven in the work of their own hands. They have wedded true thought to motion, passed from contemplation into creation, and thusly are the bond betwixt the Escharoi and the faithful multitude, embodying the descent of illumination into the flesh of form. 

 

Alongside their authority within matters of teaching encompassing their specific miracle, they are the primary anointers of the Mystai and overseers of the Whelming, and the leading sorcerer-priests of the Penitent-Faith in the teaching of all greater doctrine and truth. They are the first to test and the last to rest, for the shaping of men is the hardest of all crafts. Each Pragma must be both patient and severe – patient, so that the seed of comprehension might take root within the flock, but severe, that illusion might be burned away. 

 

Traditionally, most among the Pragmai dwell within the Six Schools, nominated by the Latter-Prophet presiding over their School so as the whole of the Escharoi might deliberate upon them and test them upon an individual basis. Other Pragma exist outside of the Six Schools, belonging to none, though each Pragma remains in harmony with the other Pragmai and with the Escharoi themselves. Amongst a company of Pragmai within a School, a leader may be nominated, known as a Pragmarch, for sake of coordination, who shall preside over the other Pragma in the coordination of effort, as even the most perfect deed requires a place and hour. 

 

Φ Sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ III: Tʜᴇ Sɪx Sᴄʜᴏᴏʟꜱ

 

By our Authority that is Truth, and by the words of the Holy Adage itself, so too do we proclaim the Two Schools, Mandate and Eschaton, to be cleft again. For as Codex IV of the Adage proclaimeth, “The Mandate and the Eschaton are the two equal and opposite faces of the same being”, thus we find it necessary that the Two Schools become Six Schools, one each to each member of The Escharoi, the Latter-Prophets themselves. 

 

Each School, therefore, stands as a reflection of its Prophet, who in turn reflects one of the Six Wounds that represent the Grievous Miracle that the Solitary God inflicted upon Itself at the beginning of all things. Through these Wounds flow the river of comprehension, and by their study does the Faith draw nearer to the Gnosis entire. The Schools are neither factions nor rivals, and are instead mirrors that each reflect one another, and all reflect the Absolute, existing so as to give form to the multiplicity of understanding, so that the faithful may walk a path most suited to the disposition of their emanation. Each path is equally true, and each destination is the same: the Return to One.

 

The Six Schools of the Penitent-Faith

 

School Name	Derivation	Title	Description
School of Thysia	“sacrifice, offering”	Thysaic Schoolman	The School of the Bleeding Palm. Thysaic Schoolmen study the holy mystery of suffering and sacrifice, the Wound of Oblation, the yielding of self to give birth to creation. Every act of offering, to them, is a mirror of the One’s own grievous miracle, and through this self-emptying, they approach the Gnosis.
School of Myesis	“to close the eyes, lips”	Myetic Schoolman	The School of the Stilled Tongue. Myetic Schoolmen pursue Holy Silence, Restraint, and mastery of the Hidden Word, the Wound of Obmutescence. They are the contemplatives who unmake false speech and seek the Inutterable, finding within silence the truest utterance of the Logos.
School of Metron	“measure”	Metric Schoolman	The School of the Fading Light. Metric Schoolmen pursue and are devoted to the Balance and Transience of all things, for it is the ephemerality of life that brings it the sweetness of its fruit, the Wound of Evanescence. They seek the exact Mean between excess and absence, finding Truth in the beauty of all things ending.
School of Asioth	“divine privilege”	Asiothic Schoolman	The School of the Genuflect. Asiothic Schoolmen follow the Golden Path, knowing reverence and humility before the Whole, the Wound of Genuflection, kneeling constantly upon burning embers in the passage to enlightenment, known otherwise as Apotheosis, so as they might fully realise their unity with the World.
School of Xanthous	“yellow”	Xanthic Schoolman	The School of the Twice-Blessed. Xanthic Schoolmen are bound to the Wound of Beatitude, dividing the ego of Xanthous Twice-Blessed between all men who adorn the yellow shroud. Acting as one, they march eternally toward the final battle against the Inverse Flame - intent to free man from his curses.
School of Apophasis	“negation / unsaying”	Apophatic Schoolman	The School of the Nameless Son. Apophatic Schoolmen embody the via negativa, and seek Truth through denial, the Wound of Abnegation. They strip away all names, forms and distinctions within them, until nothing remains but the silence of the One. They are the keepers of the Last Word, which is none.

 

 

Φ Sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ IV: Tʜᴇ Sᴄʜᴏᴏʟᴍᴇɴ

 

The Schoolmen are the living body of the Faith’s intellect, the greatest devotees amongst the flock, each walking a road that is simultaneously personal and collective. They are students and teachers alike in the path to enlightenment; the act of knowing is that which transforms the knower. Each Schoolman is appointed by their respective Escharon upon recognition of their adepthood on the path to enlightenment, upon their transformation and forsaking of personal ego and self in their pursuit of the Gnosis.

 

They are entrusted, among their other duties, with the instruction of the Logioi and Mathetai beneath them, the overseeing of trials and the maintenance of the purity of doctrine, and they seek to preserve the integrity of their School’s sacred practice. They are the ultimate servants of the Thousandfold Thought, acting always in the name of the faith in the pursuit of the destruction of the Inverse Flame and the enlightenment of all soulful beings, and may take upon themselves a sub-duty and be divided into four subdivisions that simultaneously exist within all schools individually and collectively work together. They are the six limbs of a single organism, and therefore, cooperation amongst the Schools is essential, for together they form the instrument through which the goals of the faith and the Thousandfold Thought are enacted.

 

The Schoolmen may take upon themselves special callings, expressions of the varying functions within the collective body of comprehension. Four are recognised – the Zetemai, Synthetai, Exetastai and Apodexai, though none stands above the other, each being an essential limb of the same organism, each bearing its own necessary use. 

 

Φ Sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ V: Tʜᴇ Sᴄʜᴏᴏʟ Sᴜʙᴅɪᴠɪꜱɪᴏɴꜱ

 

Within each School, the Schoolmen must typically devote themselves to a specific function, the four principle sub-orders; the Zetemai, the Synthetai, the Exetastai and the Apodexai. These are each necessary motions of the One intellect in the World; each expressions of the same manifold intelligence and labour, likened to organs of a single body, sustaining the living organism that is the Faith in totality.

 

Tʜᴇ Zᴇᴛᴇᴍᴀɪ:

The Zetemai are the seekers and the scholars amongst the Schools, seeking to bring about the utmost inquiry in the pursuit of the marrow of almighty understanding and the seeking of the Gnosis therefore. In short, they seek to investigate, document and analyse the principles and mysteries of the World, and of all things, so that Creation, and therefore the nature of the Solitary God, can be understood by all peoples. Their aim is of utmost importance, as even as each individual seeks their own Gnosis and enlightenment, the collective enlightenment of all peoples requires there to be no stone left unturned in the seeking of the One Truth of all things.

 

They are the keepers of scriptoria and the custodians of the written word. By their pens, the great corpuses of the Faith are written, including but not limited to: 

» The Dialectics, which are the philosophical and ontological treatises and theses seeking to define the science of what is. 

» The Allegories, the parables and mythical tellings through which the Escharoi may convey the Truth of times past.

» The Ordinances, through which the matters of the laws of ritual, ethics, communal law and tantric practice may be brought about. 

» The Polity, seeking to define the singular political theology and system of governance, law and justice for the use of the nations of Believer-Kings. 

» The Spoken Word, the set of hymns, chants, psalms, mantras, prayer and liturgy that make upward the vast array.

» The Commentaries, wherein Dialectics and other forms of thesis of the present day and history alike are discussed scholastically, interpretive reconciliations are made, and reflection and discussion is brought about in the pursuit of the syncretism of all things beneath the One Truth. 

» The Hidden Word, through which the secret prophecies, visions, esoterics and revelations may be conveyed when necessary for the open eye.

 

A Zetemas must be both patient and precise, as the smallest falsehood begets great deviation. In this way, they must question all things, as the action of questioning is, itself, an imitation of the first inquiry that was; the inquiry of the God into Itself. This inquiry, therefore, is tantamount to worship. The Zetemai work closely alongside the Synthetai, so that the knowledge accrued by them through research and the accumulation of knowledge may be put to the test and affirmed through the worldly research of the Synthetai. 

 

Tʜᴇ Sʏɴᴛʜᴇᴛᴀɪ:

The Synthetai are the unifiers and artisans, the alchemists who deal with the tangible and intangible simultaneously. Where the theory is sought by the Zetemai, they are the binders of this theory to matter, the insight to application. The Synthetai are scientists and alchemists who devote themselves to the study of the governing principles of Creation, the Logos, through the base material aspects of Creation, seeing through the veil of illusory Hyle (matter) so as to see the Psychic (soulful) truthful aspect beneath it. 

 

They work in the laboratories, the halls of dissection, the observatories and the ateliers, bringing concord between the illusory matter and the truthful spirit, Hylic and Psychic, as two movements of the same harmony. Their governing thought is that Creation is, itself, an experiment – the synthesis of holy thought and manifestation in twain, so as Creation may be shown beneath the illusion. The Synthetai must be both adaptable and balanced in their craft, as their work stands between two seemingly-opposing extremes, and thus their mind must be impartial and knowing of its own unknowing. In their worldly practice, they are artisans; for to create in ignorance is to multiply falsehood, but to create in understanding is to repair the World. 

 

Tʜᴇ Exᴇᴛᴀꜱᴛᴀɪ:

The Exetastai are the examiners, judges and the purifiers of the Faith. They are the measure of orthodoxy, and the blade that divides the truth from the falsities. They ensure that the Faith’s comprehension remains untarnished, that the Miracles are wrought in alignment with the Logos, and that the paths of the faithful do not diverge into error, or, worse, ignorance and evil.

 

In inquisitorial fashion, they preside over the trials and inquiries of the Faith across the known world, weighing each claim and doctrine against the words of the Escharoi and the sacred One Truth of the scriptures, so as to endeavour toward the destruction of false prophets. Mercy and cruelty, to them, are the same act, for purification is pain, and both are necessary for the destruction of corruption. But the Exetastai are trained, above all, to be impartial and impersonal – they must never allow wrath to cloud the discernment of what is the ultimate eye of the Faith; they are as much justiciars as they are annihilators. 

 

They are the living measure of the Faith against corruption and unholiness, and are the very pinnacle of the blades against the Inverse Flame, honing their once-selves into vessels for the weapons that would be the Truth of their souls against the unholy Inverse Flame, Iblees, and all false prophets and lies. To this end, they work closely with all members of the Faith, as all, whether Phylaxi, Schoolmen, Mathetai or Mystai, Pragma or Escharoi, are expected to lay down themselves in pursuit of the destruction of the Untruth. Most notably, they work closely alongside the Phylaxi in the raising of holy armaments and battle against all forms of wretched ignorance. 

 

Tʜᴇ Aᴘᴏᴅᴇxᴀɪ:

The Apodexai are the revealers, the eyes and ears of the Faith in the greater World. They go forth beyond the temple’s walls, among the unknowing and the uninitiated, and just as the Solitary God did, they are One that become Many, donning what worldly identity is necessary to observe the pulse of the World and return to the Faith with their knowledge. They watch, record, report and maintain the alignment of the Thousandfold Thought with the ever-turning motion of the World, and take the roles of mediator, envoy and watchful operative alike, silent so that they remain unwitnessed whilst yet seeing all things. 

 

Above all, the Apodexai must be masters of their own circumstances, adept of the subtleties of people, no matter where they lie. They must be capable of discerning, but must simultaneously be incorruptible, able to move unseen throughout the Profane World without any form of true attachment. They are the custodians of correspondence, the watchers of the horizon, the unseen steadying hand. 

 

Φ Sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ VI: Tʜᴇ Pʜʏʟᴀxɪ 

 

 

 

The Phylaxi are the wardens of the sacred, the living bulwark of the Faith, and serve as guardians to the temples and sanctuaries, the sanctums of learning and the bodies of the faithful. They must be masters of steel and shield, but preservers of order also, for it is they that maintain the stillness amidst motion. They are restraint, and they are temperance. Protection itself is a form of worship, and they are the greatest worshippers of this creed; for they are the living length betwixt the profane and the luminous, the bridge, the moat, the portcullis, and they are the maintainers of sanctity. Each is a temple and sword of their own, made into a vessel through which violence and war is made sacred. 

 

Phylaxi are greater in rank than the Mathetai, though lesser-so than the Schoolmen. However, any member of the Faith who is a Mathete or above may become a Phylax upon appointment by either a Latter-Prophet or the Phylarch, the commander of the Phylaxi. When on duty, all members are expected to wear the uniform, which may take varying forms but must always adorn a specific, pointed and masked helm, known as a "kranos." Phylaxi are taught many forms of weaponry and formation, as well as martial skill and the art of composure. Though humble in their appointment, the Phylaxi serve a critical purpose in the hierarchy of the Faith. Aside from being guards of holy sites, they serve as escorts for the Escharoi, the Pragmai, and attend missions for the faith alongside other warriors and allies.

 

Φ Sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ VII: Tʜᴇ Mᴀᴛʜᴇᴛᴀɪ

 

The Mathetai are the students of the Faith, who have undergone the sacred Whelming and walk upon the first steps of the Shortest Way. Having glimpsed the Gnosis and turned their gaze from the Profane World unto the One, they have begun to grasp with the barest understanding of their own divine eminence. For this reason, they are the hands and hearts, the learners and the servants, devoting their days to study, discipline and the quiet labours that sustain the sanctuaries and faculties of the Faith. They are expected to attend the teachings of the Pragmai and the Schoolmen, attend to the base quiet labours of the sacred temple, and continue practice and worship regardless of where they reside in the greater World. Members of the Mathetai may wish to secretly locate each other, even in locations wherein they may be oppressed, often done by marking the symbol of the One someplace in their homes, or when communicating with another member, which consists of a circle with a dot in the center. 

 

Though the passage of the Shortest Way and the seeking of the Gnosis is personal to each individual, there are certain encouragements that the Faith implores the Mathetai to enact in their daily lives; the observation of silence when possible, the use of speech only when necessitated and meaningful, meditation upon their lessons and the sacred texts and doctrine, and tending to the poor and infirm. Above all, they must submit to Providence, relinquishing the concept of their own false free will, so as to allow the Shortest Way to guide them in their path to enlightenment, and also seek to aid others toward the path of the Shortest Way and into the Faith, even as they are students themselves.

 

Tradition amongst the Mathetai, both within and outside of the Holy Temple, exists predominantly of The Interval, wherein a great metal cylinder inscribed with many hundreds of thousands of pieces of scripture is tolled at the 6th hour of the morning at dawn, awakening all who rest at the Temple for their morning acts of ritual purification involving the washing of their body, as well as prayer thereafter. It is believed that the act of prayer and self-contemplation is done most vigilantly at the ‘interval’ betwixt sleep and wakefulness, and so the Mathetai are expected to enact this tradition even when living far from the cloisters of the Temple, often with their own miniature Interval Bell, at the sixth hour of the morning. 

 

Φ Sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ VIII: Tʜᴇ Mʏꜱᴛᴀɪ

 

The Mystai are the initiates, standing upon the threshold of comprehension, but have not yet crossed into the light of the Gnosis. They are seekers and penitents who have turned away from the Profane World, but still yet prepare themselves for the holy rite of the Whelming, wherein they shall be made anew. All Mystai must become tabula rasa in the worldly sense, a clean state without pre-conceived false conceptions of all things around them. They live under close guidance and the watch of the Pragmai and other members of the Faith, in order to refine their spirits and test them so that they may be prepared for the holy anointing rite. Typically, Mystai are expected to take temporary residence at the Holy Temple, or visit it frequently, so that they may live in an environment of silence, labour and reflection, living monastic and ascetic lives that involve the maintenance of the sanctuaries, the cleaning of the grounds, the studying of doctrine, and training beneath the greater members of the Faith, all done under oversight. 

 

However, Mystai are forbidden to teach or speak of the doctrine to the Agnon, as they are still yet considered ignorant, and their knowledge remains untested. They must yet be purified, shed of excess and illusion, their worldly bonds loosened, so that they may be readied for the life of an ascetic who is chaste. When their instructors deem them steadfast in mind as well as pure in their intention, they shall be brought forth to the Whelming, so that they may die in ignorance and be reborne in Truth thereafter. 

 

Tʜᴇ Wʜᴇʟᴍɪɴɢ - [ᴠᴏʟᴜᴍᴇ ᴠ]

 

 

Φ Sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ I: Tʜᴇ Nᴀᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ Rɪᴛᴇ 

 

The Whelming is said to be the first true death and the first true birth of the soul, but more accurately, it may be said to be a recognition of the soul’s own remembrance of what it truly is. In this way, it does not truly change an individual so much as acknowledge the revelation of their own understanding of themselves as an Emanation of the One. Therefore, it is not truly a rite that creates holiness by the very action, but a rite that proclaims forth what is already holy. Each soul is an emanation of the One, though veiled in ignorance and clothed in the prison of matter, The Meat. 

 

The Whelming acknowledges that the time wherein the soul of the Myste, still of the World, has acknowledged that it was never of the world, and that this time has come to pass. It is both symbolic and mechanical; symbolic, for the enactment of the descent and ascent of the Divine Spark, but mechanical for sake of the vision during the Whelming that truly alters the soul’s presence within the Logos. The physical acts that are undergone; the marking of the anointing oil and the setting aflame of it therein, as well too as the water that douses it and them alike, act solely as the bodily reflections of a far greater interior motion – where the flame of recognition and comprehension has been ignited, and the death of illusion has come about, the birth of remembrance.

 

The Whelming does not truly rebirth one into the Faith so much as it acts as the passage by which one has truly become aware. No man can create the divine in man; they may only awaken them to it, making it as the Myste is no longer one amongst Many, but one for the One. 

 

Φ Sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ II: Tʜᴇ Pʀᴇᴘᴀʀᴀᴛɪᴏɴ

 

In preparation for the rite of the Whelming, the Myste must first self-empty and be made hollow. Seven days before the Whelming, the Myste must be secluded from the noise of the World, stripped of adornment and forbidden from ornament and indulgence. They are fed plain meals, their speech is few, and they sleep upon the bare floor. Alone or in the presence of others, they must constantly recite a penitent lament unto themselves, wherein they name their ignorances and their crimes, confess their illusions, and declare their intent to return to the One. 

 

Each day, they are visited by a Pragma, who will engage in a test with them wherein they must recite a statement that will affirm their silence and the unmoving nature of their spirit. They must recite “The Logos is without beginning or end,” first physically to learn, and then only within their mind from then on. This will be repeated without cessation until the sun sets, wherein the Pragma will break their fast of silence, only for it to recontinue throughout the night. Every time the dawn sun broaches the new day, and sets upon the western point, they will cease saying the last word of the proposition, but otherwise continue, until they are left with no thought, until they are entirely extinguished; until the Many that they are within, the Legion, has become One. If failed, it will be proven that they cannot still their thoughts and restrain the bestial passions of the Meat, and their Whelming will be delayed until which point they have undergone this permanent revelation.

 

On the dawn of the seventh day, at the tolling of the Interval, the Myste will engage in the ritualistic purification of washing their body as any Mathetai might, and are clad in a simple robe of white, remaining in vigil thereafter until the rite begins. When the time comes, they are led to the waterside and are presented before a Pragma, or when grace permits, one of the Escharoi themselves. The gathered faithful will form a circle, where the Myste will kneel at its center. 

 

Φ Sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ III: Tʜᴇ Cᴇʀᴇᴍᴏɴʏ

 

The Whelming begins with a silent vigil, which soon devolves into holy chant and hymn, mantra and prayer. Whilst their fellows sing about them, the Myste will kneel at the water’s edge as the others stand around them in a circle facing inward. Then, the Pragma shall speak an Invocation: 

 

ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪꜱ, ᴡᴀꜱ, ᴀɴᴅ ꜱʜᴀʟʟ ʙᴇ, ɪꜱ ᴛʜᴇᴇ.

ᴡᴇ ʀᴇᴛᴜʀɴ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇᴇ, ᴀꜱ ʀɪᴠᴇʀꜱ ᴜɴᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴇᴀ.

 

The Myste will lower their head, and their brow shall be anointed in an anointing oil mixed with myrrh and the ash of a cinnamon tree, drawn in a perfect circle with a dot at the center, the mark of the One’s indivisibility. A small flame, kindled from the ever-burning flame within the Temple’s halls, is brought forth. The Pragma touches it to the Myste’s brown, and the oil catches, and the flame burns, briefly but brightly, so that they might be illuminated. It is then that the Vision of the Whelming is granted. In this suspended instant between pain and their own revelation, a method is utilised to bring about the Vision within them, that they might witness the Gnosis and the Inverse Flame; the truth and anti-truth. What is seen therein is never the same twice, but all agree to the same end; that none who have truly seen it may ever doubt again. 

 

When the flame begins to fade, the Pragma or Escharon will lower their hand into the river, pouring it over the Myste’s head, and they shall be submerged fully in the water, thrice, as the collective chants:

 

ᴏɴᴇ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀ,

ᴏɴᴇ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰʟᴀᴍᴇ,

ᴏɴᴇ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱɪʟᴇɴᴄᴇ,

ᴏɴᴇ ᴀɢᴀɪɴ. 

 

Agnos no longer, upon emergence, the Myste is reborne as a student of Truth, a Mathete; but unlike the worldly rituals of the Many, they shall be met with naught but silence, and dried and clothed anew, so that they might be brought before the Pragma or Escharon once more, and whispered to, so that they might whisper in return. The Interval bell shall toll once more, marking the Whelming of a new Mathete. The newly Whelmed will no longer be addressed by their former name, the dream-name, but shall be made to choose their own anew, even as they may still utilise their old name amongst the worldly Agnon, even as they must forget it, and forget their new name again were they to become an Escharon. All names are true, even as some may be luminous, and some terrible, so long as the old is forgotten.

 

Cʟᴏꜱɪɴɢ Bᴇɴᴇᴅɪᴄᴛɪᴏɴ - [ᴠᴏʟᴜᴍᴇ ᴠɪ]

 

Now, therefore, amen, I say unto you every man who will receive that mystery of the Ineffable and accomplish it in all its types and all its figures – he is a man of the World, but he towereth above all ignorances, and will tower still more above them all.

 

Φ ʜᴇ ɪꜱ ᴀ ᴍᴀɴ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ, ʙᴜᴛ ʜᴇ ᴛᴏᴡᴇʀᴇᴛʜ ᴀʙᴏᴠᴇ ᴀʟʟ ꜰᴀʟꜱᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴘʜᴇᴛꜱ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴡɪʟʟ ʀᴀɪꜱᴇ ʜɪᴍꜱᴇʟꜰ ᴀʙᴏᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ᴀʟʟ.

Φ ʜᴇ ɪꜱ ᴀ ᴍᴀɴ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ, ʙᴜᴛ ʜᴇ ᴛᴏᴡᴇʀᴇᴛʜ ᴀʙᴏᴠᴇ ᴀʟʟ ᴛʏʀᴀɴᴛꜱ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴡɪʟʟ ʀᴀɪꜱᴇ ʜɪᴍꜱᴇʟꜰ ᴀʙᴏᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ᴀʟʟ.

Φ ʜᴇ ɪꜱ ᴀ ᴍᴀɴ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ, ʙᴜᴛ ʜᴇ ᴛᴏᴡᴇʀᴇᴛʜ ᴀʙᴏᴠᴇ ᴀʟʟ ᴅᴇᴄᴇɪᴠᴇʀꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ʟɪᴀʀꜱ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴡɪʟʟ ʀᴀɪꜱᴇ ʜɪᴍꜱᴇʟꜰ ᴀʙᴏᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ᴀʟʟ.

Φ ʜᴇ ɪꜱ ᴀ ᴍᴀɴ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ, ʙᴜᴛ ʜᴇ ᴛᴏᴡᴇʀᴇᴛʜ ᴀʙᴏᴠᴇ ᴀʟʟ ᴠᴀɪɴ ᴋɪɴɢꜱ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴡɪʟʟ ʀᴀɪꜱᴇ ʜɪᴍꜱᴇʟꜰ ᴀʙᴏᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ᴀʟʟ.

Φ ʜᴇ ɪꜱ ᴀ ᴍᴀɴ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ, ʙᴜᴛ ʜᴇ ᴛᴏᴡᴇʀᴇᴛʜ ᴀʙᴏᴠᴇ ᴀʟʟ ᴡɪᴄᴋᴇᴅ ᴡʜᴏ ʙʟᴀꜱᴘʜᴇᴍᴇ ᴛʀᴜᴛʜ ᴡɪᴛʜ ɪɢɴᴏʀᴀɴᴄᴇ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴡɪʟʟ ʀᴀɪꜱᴇ ʜɪᴍꜱᴇʟꜰ ᴀʙᴏᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ᴀʟʟ.

Φ ʜᴇ ɪꜱ ᴀ ᴍᴀɴ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ, ʙᴜᴛ ʜᴇ ᴛᴏᴡᴇʀᴇᴛʜ ᴀʙᴏᴠᴇ ᴀʟʟ ᴇᴍᴘᴛʏ ᴘᴏᴡᴇʀꜱ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴡɪʟʟ ʀᴀɪꜱᴇ ʜɪᴍꜱᴇʟꜰ ᴀʙᴏᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ᴀʟʟ.

Φ ʜᴇ ɪꜱ ᴀ ᴍᴀɴ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ, ʙᴜᴛ ʜᴇ ᴛᴏᴡᴇʀᴇᴛʜ ᴀʙᴏᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ʙʟɪɴᴅɴᴇꜱꜱᴇꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ɪɴᴠᴇʀꜱᴇ ꜰʟᴀᴍᴇ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴡɪʟʟ ʀᴀɪꜱᴇ ʜɪᴍꜱᴇʟꜰ ᴀʙᴏᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ᴀʟʟ. 

Φ ʜᴇ ɪꜱ ᴀ ᴍᴀɴ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ, ʙᴜᴛ ʜᴇ ᴛᴏᴡᴇʀᴇᴛʜ ᴀʙᴏᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰᴇᴛᴛᴇʀꜱ ᴏꜰ ʜʏʟᴇ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴡɪʟʟ ʀᴀɪꜱᴇ ʜɪᴍꜱᴇʟꜰ ᴇɴᴛɪʀᴇʟʏ ᴀʙᴏᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ᴀʟʟ.

Φ ʜᴇ ɪꜱ ᴀ ᴍᴀɴ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ, ʙᴜᴛ ʜᴇ ᴛᴏᴡᴇʀᴇᴛʜ ᴀʙᴏᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴠᴀɪɴ ᴛʀᴇᴀꜱᴜʀɪᴇꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴡɪʟʟ ʀᴀɪꜱᴇ ʜɪᴍꜱᴇʟꜰ ᴇɴᴛɪʀᴇʟʏ ᴀʙᴏᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ᴀʟʟ.

 

He is a Man of the World, but he is not one of the World. 

And amen, I say unto you: that Man is I and I am that Man. 

 

ꜱᴏ ᴍᴏᴛᴇ ɪᴛ ʙᴇ.

 

Wʀɪᴛɪɴɢ: Hᴏʟʏʟᴀɴᴅ

Fᴏʀᴍᴀᴛᴛɪɴɢ: Pᴀʟʟᴏᴅɪᴜᴍ

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

[Jihnyny 5233]

fire as always man