BenevolentManacles

“Women play the role of granting us a new generation of faithful believers of our Holy Mother Church; and so this next generation is provided to us by the women - For that, it is my belief that we must be grateful; for GOD has created them as He has created men. Thank you, Your Imperial Majesty.”

“Can anyone in the congregation remind me who the patron Saint of Integrity, Innocence, Refugees, and the Vessian People is? And who is the patron Saint of Schism War, Soldiers, Loyalty, Valour against Odds, and Adrians? One last Saint: Mothers, Matrimony, and Exorcism. Who is that?”

“Your Imperial Majesty, I see in each of us a great ability for sin, and yet still an equally great, or greater ability for virtue. These women perfectly show the ability for great virtue in each of us. Why can't a woman be ordained if a woman can represent schism war, soldiers, and loyalty? Thus, I reject the notion that the woman is made for different things than the man.”

“It should be duly noted the word 'women' or 'woman' is barely mentionned at all in the entirety of the scrolls. Even less so when not used in conjunction with the word 'men'. Saint Julia remains the only woman in the entirety of the scrolls I can recall that is even named.I say this because, when scrolls choose to reveal to us those discreet moments where it speaks of women in particular. We must pay close attention. For the message was meant , I think, to be specific in its interpretation.

“First, woman is specifically called to the sixth sky in the book of Provenance for showing humbleness before GOD - when she discovers the sinfulness of her sons. And thus I think the first and foremost duty, again the one woman is specifically stated to bring her to the skies, is that of humbleness before GOD.”

“Second, St. Julia is the only woman to be described in marriage of all the Sons, the rest of whom take concubines. And it is said their marriage is kept holy. And thus, I believe we can interpret that Woman is a preserver of the Holiness, especially of the family. We see this again when it is St. Julia who speaks to the sons of Horen, and protects them in the tabernacle. Third, we see the woman is a Protector. For St. Julia does not send her sons to confront iblees. But she confronts him directly, and finds the deceiver in the camp of Horen. And so while I will not say what position a woman must hold in the Church. I say in my interpretation these are the things GOD has called women to. Humbleness before GOD, to keep Holy the family, Vigilance against Sin, and protection against Ibleese. Thank you for allowing me to speak.”

“It is my personal belief that women should have equal opportunity in the faith-- and as such, the Church ranks itself. With a woman having been empress-regnant, and the Rosemoor Bill--written by her daughter, and passed by her son, it is unfair to say that men and women have fixed, separate roles in the world anymore beyond mere social conduct. This being said- and I do not speak of any of the good men here, of course. The opposition toward women as equal members of the Church is one based on fear,  as if the more conservative members of the clergy are intimidated by the notion of even seeing a woman at all. While we do make an oath of celibacy, I find this a little extreme. In the Scrolls, there is no fixed law to dictate that women should be barred from priesthood at all.”

“Therefore it would be poor form to merely cling to the desire to bar them from it based on meagre assumptions and interpretations of the Holy text. We have elves and halflings in the Holy Church, but why not women? Why call it the Holy Mother Church at all, if women can be nothing but a humble nun? Imagine the potential of Lorina Carrion of Petrus, if she were allowed to go beyond the rank of Abess? What of Bishop, or Cardinal?”

“To those hesitant to the idea of the idea of women in the Church, I would like to challenge you to consider this one idea: What do you think will happen? I find that those opposed to the idea are often afraid of… Well- suppose as I said before, there is an element of intimidation. As if they're afraid women in the Church will be the end of it. But no- verily not, as anyone dedicating themselves- their entire lives to God, is faithful and true, regardless of gender. That is all I had to say- thank you.”

“Firstly, the highest rank a woman can achieve in the church is as a sitting member of the Curia. There have been, in very recent times under Saint High Pontiff Jamees II, women occupying the secretary seat to His Holiness. Below that, women may hold the title Monsignora, giving them privy access to the Curia and power greater than any bishop or rank and file priest. Below that, they may hold the rank of Abbess, and while not given the same power as a bishop ruling over an entire diocese, are equivalent to a lady spiritual, with dominion over an abbey, equivalent in rank to a bishop. Women are not excluded from the Church. Nor are they unfit by any means to participate in the affairs or matters of the Church. The most brilliant mind of our time is Monsignora Josephine Augusta, and there is a reason she holds that title.”

“But the issue today is not a matter of character, we are not discussing if women are fit to be ordained. We are not discussing if women are competent. We are discussing if there is valid theological basis for allowing women to be ordained. So, character arguments now placed aside, I wish to discuss the theological reasoning for why women cannot be ordained. There is no innovation in faith. This is perhaps one of the most important precepts of the Church, laid out by Exalted Owyn in the Scroll of Spirit.”

“The Church must do its best to adhere to the traditions of the faith, rather than invent new ones. The dogma of the Church must be derived from valid sources. Simply because it is not in the scrolls that something is forbidden, does not make it inherently licit either. For example, same sex marriage. Nowhere in the scrolls is same sex marriage forbidden. Yet, because the first marriage recognized and the only marriage recognized were between a man and woman, so too is that the model of our faith and law.”

“More extreme, murder. Murder is not explicitly forbidden, yet we understand from the act of Owyn that Kinslaying is a sin. Thus we have found murder to be immoral and wrong. When we look at the scrolls, the Exalted, who set the model of ordainment, were all men. When we looks at Owyn's ministry, it was a priesthood, not a priestesshood. Ordainment is the ability to administer the sacraments, a most sacred and careful act which must fall in line with what we know to be true, and not altered, that we might fail GOD in our innovation.”

“The Reverend Father raised the matter of whether masculine gender is an innate quality of the priesthood, which is certainly a matter of concern. Traditionally, no we have not had female priests-- that we are aware of, in any case. However, I would raise the point that the Church has, in times past, forbidden nonhumans from taking the priesthood, on the basis of a similar argument; specifically that all of the Exalted were humans, rather than men. Certainly, the first individuals ordained by Ex. Owyn were all humans-- they are specifically described as the virtuous Harrenites, recently freed from their thralldom by the lords of mixed blood.”

“If we are to take the argument that all recipients of ordination must mimick the identities of Ex. Owyn's original few priests, our priesthood would be only men of pureblooded Harrenite descent.”

“I will try to be brief for this next point: Without elaborating too much, I would point out that Empress Anne was considered a legitimate Holy Orenian Emperor by the High Pontiff that crowned her and those that followed. The Holy Orenian Emperor is the temporal complement to the High Pontiff. Each of them is an inheritor of the prophetic office, one temporal and one spiritual. The fact that a woman may hold that office indicates to me that the prophetic authority, either of the state or of the church, is not incompatible with the female gender. Thank you for your consideration of my words.”

"Whilst I shall not judge on the matter of the possibility of ordination of women as I feel I am not worthy enough to discuss such a topic I will say that the Holy Mother Church should proclaim equality between man and woman. Women are the backbone of the Church in that they are the backbone in their respective parishes and homes. It is well known that churches cannot continue to be strong units in the Church unless their families and children, the nucleus of any given parish, are raised and cared for in a Canonist manner. The home is the little church where all Canonist education starts and ends and women play an essential and indispensable role in such."

“I would argue such a conversion is not legitimate, because a choice has no moral value if it is not a choice. Just as a woman married at swordpoint is not truly married, a Canonist converted on threat of death is not a Canonist. But that is only my small opinion on the subject, and I leave the floor to better, more qualified grandees of the Church.”

“I agree entirely with the previous statements, and I personally believe that conversion of one who does not have the instilled desire to pursue Canonism or the life of God would be a difficult task, a task that members of the church face regularly. Though, ensuing death upon one that lacks an open mind is not a service for the church, but instead God. God shall condemn those who do not believe in him, though I believe we should not take the life of a man who refutes Canonism entirely. I will reinstate my point further - God should be the one to condemn those who lack the integrity to see the light of Canonism, and all its morals.”

“Now, my friends, there is a saying.. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink. I see a word in which every soul is a Canonist soul. A soul for GOD. We cannot achieve this world through force. A true Canonist doesn't accept GOD into their heart because of fear, but because of love! Although we must meet force with force, peace must also be met with peace. GOD's peace. Only through GOD's peace can we realize a world, a Canonist world, of love and prosperity!”

“Before the priests, the first exalts wrath. Before the kings, the second exalts pride. And before the merchants, the last exalts avarice. So the world is the possession of cruel men. Auspice, the Vision of Portent. Any priest who exalts hatred and war is a servant of the Deciever.  That is, except he who wages a just war against the unholy things of this world. All mortals deserve a chance to find GOD, to repent. If we do not march forth with love as our guiding light, then we shall surely find ourselves under the yolk of Vargengotz.”

“Greetings Oreners. For those of you unawares, I am LORD BRAE of Du Loc. I am a bastard Harrenite; a heathen, or heretic -- I always forget which --, an alcoholic, and a purveyor of elven women. But here I sit at the crux of paradox, wherein I -- this man that I am -- have readily invited the mighty Lectors of Owyn to establish a great and noble keep within mine Lordship. You may'st ask… WHY? And I will tell you WHY… These Lectors have shown me nothing but kindness, noble pursuit, justice, and honor. I have shed blood with them in the Rat Wars. Why, just yesterday at the massage parlor in Yong Ping, I was reminiscing about our times deep in the dim crevasses of the Under… where I feared death and doom, my heresy STAYED MY FEET. Alas! I was comforted by the mighty arms of the Lectorate. And with their blessings, I believe their methodology ought be adopted by any and all who follow the Creator.”

“We Lectors have existed for numerous centuries, and in Three Missions. We are the Third. The First exclusively served the State, the Second served their bloodlust and we the Third… We like to think we serve GOD. The curse of the Angry-Knight is one which is hard to dispel. The power one feels when they feel the life squeezed from a disrespectful heretic or villain … It is better than pure bliss. 

But it is not the way, verily, it is not the way. It creates only migration patterns. Rumors spread, and innocents flee. They fear the fire of OWYN and his descendents; even now the men of Savoy crucify non-believers as a matter of sport. We have encountered many a refugee in Du Loc who fear Canonism now because of it. To keep it simple, take it from Flamenists. We've tried the brutal methods; it only makes those wielding the sword feel blessed.”

“A few years ago now, I had myself the displeasure of, before I took the cloth, partaking in one of many raids on the Druids alongside the Esheveurd Brigade with the exact intent of making happen that which is at this moment in time discussed, perhaps such be naught but coincidene, cruel irony, or perhaps it is something greater - a reminder of my sins and the consequences that followed. I have found that the deliberate reasoning behind such actions, that of forced conversion, cannot stern from God. As Cardinal Albarossa made clear himself, one can bring water unto a horse, but not force it to drink. If the man does not live differently from what he did before, both at home and abroad, his repentance needs to be repented of and his conversion is a fiction. Furthermore, I have found the acts of forced conversion to be no more than the undertakings of arrogant disciplinarians who credit themselves servants of our Lord, whilst they are in fact ignorant to His commandments as revealed to us through the Holy Scrolls."

" I beg all of you to bear with me as I try to recall what happened at Savoy that fateful day on which Cardinal Basil and Father Otto found themselves in a situation which they no doubt never imagined they see, the day that they were attacked by their own Flock, and as I try to recall such events, I might be rather slow, in part because I bear responsibility. The Savoyards had called on Father Otto themselves you see, regardless of whether or not he was officially stationed within Providence - and it is no surprise, granted that they had not a single priest left themselves. We had captured a group of Druids during one of their lessons on medical herbs you see, alchemism no doubt. Some of whom children, some of whom even Canonists themselves - unjustly judged apostates and as such marked for death.”

"We promised them no harm would come to them, and I myself stood by that promise, and believed my brothers in arms would too. But when they arrived at the square, they started driving them together and binding them to the wood. I myself partook in this, dismayed though I was at the time, I believed the Lord's love would prevail. At that point did one of them decide to write to Father Otto, whom was at the time situated in Haense. He heeded the call, and to their surprise, was disgusted by what he found - demanding they unbind those whom they had bound immediately, claiming that going against our promise and threatening them was a slight against GOD Himself, for we had made the promise in His name.”

"He was in such joined by Cardinal Basil, whom recognized amongst the crowd one suspected Azdrazi, the same creature I would argue was the one whom eventually took the both of their lives. Those present at the time did not care for the words of the priests, as they were out for blood. Wroth had clearly beset them, and when their calls went unheeded Otto started unbinding them himself until one was left. Heavy debate ensued, and they at one point threatened to burn the priest alongside the suspected heathen, a halfling whom was one of the few truly inclined to conversion.”

“Why you might ask? Well it was because he was during his capture shown kindness, and this had given him hope - or so I do believe. This, however, with the breaking of their promise, quickly faded. As the debate ensued one rogue member of the Brigade took up arms against the unarmed priest and struck him down, thereafter assaulting the Cardinal who was also present, all because they disagreed with the burning of possible converts, and first and foremost, their cruel and ignorant ways of persecution. It was due to this exact reason that Cardinal Basil and Father Otto later found themselves where they were eventually murderd, if not martyred, as the Cardinal had carried him there to tend to his wounds.”
 

“I believe there is a lesson to be learned from this, and that is that the act of forced conversion goes contrary to the will of God, our God is love, and all acts of pride and wroth go against His commandments in their entirety. Such pride and wroth, this belief that their cause was just led them to strike at priests themselves, disregarding their knowledge on the same God they had devoted their lives to. We need not accept said views, and we need not condone them for they tarnish the reputation of our Lord and endanger truthful conversion.”

“Feeling that I have as such taken enough of your precious time, that would be all. God bless, and please forgive me for the length of this… Monologue.”

“I think after such a recounting, we can all surely agree that brutal attempts for conversion are poor form. That being said… After a debate with a banished bishop from the very place the previous priest had just spoken of, I came to my own understanding of one's walk with God. As a priest, it is our duty to help folk-- Canonist or otherwise, along this path. One's relationship with God is theirs alone. Individual, unique, and not something an individual can force.”

“It is our duty, above all else, to be a pillar of patience- especially when it comes to conversion. I encourage those here who encounter a stranger to simply listen, to suggest, and to aid, but never to harm. Fear only breaks that imperative pillar of trust in GOD. Without that trust, a man will never walk that path toward Him. We cannot frighten people, as that will distance them from God's love, and His light.”