The Imperial Faith

[simison]

After some internal debate (it has been awhile), I am creating this new thread to brainstorm, write, and bank ideas for essentially anything remotely religious for the Imperium. I didn't just want to say 'Ecclessiarchy' since there will be a number of Emperor cults that will thrive before Niklaas does some pruning. (I probably could move the Primarch theological concepts here too.)

 

This is the general timeline so far. Emperor starts Unification Wars. His shiny and overwhelming power invoke religious thought in him, despite his rejection. He does destroy a bunch of churches before he kick-starts the Great Crusade. However, that gold is just too shiny, so there is always a few people who secretly think he's a god (it's even mentioned in the first HH rulebook). The Lectitio Diviniatus, written by Lorgar, combined with the Emperor's retirement to Terra seem to supercharge this trend. 

 

Switching to BotL, the same trend is about half speed since no Divinitatus yet. But there's also an additional 30 years of Emperor absence, and Alexandros really can't be bothered to devote any extra time to fight the growing cults (unless they turn violent). Day of Revelation happens, and Alexandros comes face-to-face with a Khorne Bloodthirster and Chaos in its full power and is quite affected by it. 

 

While he is trying to stop Icarion's rebellion, he spends time on researching Chaos, the Warp, and just what can be done with it. Where the Emperor decided Athiesm was the way to go, Alexandros' conclusion was that religion was the more effective weapon. To that end, as the First Solar War is approaching, he writes the the Divinitatus. During this time, Selene becomes the first Imperial Saint though the context is still up in the air. As Alexandros finishes writing the book up, Selene approaches him to his surprise. Together, they go to Othnil of Mictana. Alexandros delivers the book, charges him with spreading the new cult, while Selene stays awhile to help him. 

 

First Solar War happens, and Alexandros nearly dies thanks to Ixitptatlan hexing him with some Chaos magic. This begins phase two of Alexandros' research, this time in much more practical counter abilities, leading him to create a proto-Sanctic discipline. All the while the Imperial Cult is exploding because life is getting sucky and short, and increasingly filled with daemonic energy. 

 

Alexandros eventually assembles the Order of the Mind, takes the most willing/able disciples and forms the Sadvu. These are the first masters of the Sanctic discipline. 

 

The Second Solar War happens, Alexandros reveals his authorship of the Divinitatus, claims to be divine as the Emperor, writes a second testament (which I'll eventually name), secretly persuades Niklaas to watch over the Imperial Cult to ensure its purity/utility, and passes away in martyrdom. 

 

And those are all of my current notes. Something I'd like to do is write some actual passages for the Divinitatus, which canon seems to have avoided.

[simison]

Sermon on the Demigod and Saint

 

Today, brothers and sisters, I want to address a question that I receive occassionaly. There are those who wonder about the nature of the relationship between the Shield-Lord and the Lady of Light. As always, remember the dear Lady in your prayers. Even now, she stands with the Angels of Death as they root out the last of the Arch-Traitor's false kingdom.

 

Many of you know the story of how the Emperor, blessed be he, revealed himself to her, charging her with spreading the Faith. Our own Sister Esteva was brought into the Faith by her own words and has seen one of her miracles. Nor has she forsaken her warrior spirit as Brother Pylgri witnessed on the fields of Olind. 

 

The Shield-Lord, Guardian of the Emperor, requires even less introduction. It was his sacrifice that stopped evil in Humanity's darkest hour. It was he who revealed the true, divine nature of the Emperor, blessed be he, and his sons. 

 

And it was through the Lady Selene and the Prophet Othnil that the Divinitatus was gifted to us mortals. Yet, was that the sole interaction between the Shield-Lord and the Lady of Light? No! Some of you know how the Lady of the Life risked life and limb to stand with the Shield-Lord and the Emperor's blessed sons as they made their final stand against the hordes of evil on Holy Terra. What few know, including myself before I prepared this session, was that the Lady and the Shield-Lord met many times before this final hour. At least thirteen meetings have been recorded, from both the Shield-Lord's personal writings and the Lady Selene's memoirs. The actual number could be much higher, for individuals close to both have mentioned other encounters they did not see fit to note. This also does not include the dozens and dozens of unverified sightings and rumors that others have suggested.

 

So, now we know that their relationship was deeper than simple message-giver and message-receiver. 

[simison]

A little more work done on the sermon, but I ran into a snag. How much is mentioned in the Divinitatus and Alexandros' own holy book. So, have a post about that.

 

Lectitio Divinitatus has not really been expounded about in canon other than 'this is what helped the Imperial cult get started'. I checked the internet, and only found a few lines attributed to the book itself. I'd like to correct that. And well, I'm going to be blatantly be influenced by Christianity since the Imperial Creed/Ecclessiarchy is clearly a Roman Catholic Church-expy (though ironically Catholicism seems to have survived in some form in canon). 

 

As such, what I want the Divinitatus to be is a kind of Apologia of the Emperor's divinity, mixed in with some metaphysical teachings. It's very history-oriented. I'm thinking it has three parts, the initial explanation that the Emperor is a divine being, the reason for him rejecting the truth 'in public', and his purpose as a divine being. I'm unsure of how much of it should include wisdom poetry and how much of it is straightforward writing. 

 

The second book I'm tentantively titling the Novum Pactum. This is the book Alexandros writes and releases when the Loyalists fail to kill Icarion and the Insurrection before they are thrown back to Terra, very late Insurrection. While the Divinitatus focuses on the Emperor and the past, the Pactum focuses on the present and the future. Alexandros now emphasizes the divine nature of the Primarchs, the fall of the Traitor Primarchs, very vague explanations of Chaos, and the promise. If Humanity remains virtuous in both deed and thought, this will strengthen the divine defenders enough to defeat Chaos. If not, Chaos will consume everything. Before Alexandros finishes the book, he has the vision of his incoming death, and decides to add a prophecy section. 

 

This book is released shortly after or during the Second Solar War, when Pionus is wounded by Daemon Morro, and the Loyalists are unable to hold the defense lines they did in the First Solar War. Now, given Alexandros' limited divination, the actual 'promise' is a gamble. He doesn't know for a fact if Chaos can be defeated this way, but having an actual goal will give Humanity something to rally around, some hope that the future can become better. It's literally his last, best shot against Chaos since he increasingly knows he will not survive the Siege of Terra. 

[simison]

[Continuing sermon]

 

So, now we know that their relationship was deeper than simple message-giver and message-receiver, but how deep was it? In their own writings, the Warmaster and the Lady of Light described each other with in terms of great respect and with affection. The Shield-Lord often said the Lady of Light was a revelation all unto herself and that her work was critical to the Faith. In turn, the Lady Selene extolled the Shield-Lord as Humanity's greatest defender, barring the God-Emperor himself. Even as the Siege of Terra grew its darkest, she never wavered in her belief that the Shield-Lord would prevail, while the Warmaster often met with her during his final days to reinvigorate his spirit. 

 

A few bawdy souls have gone as far as to suggest that the two were lovers. I won't even waste an explanation on the impossibilities of that scenario. At most, I would suggest they possessed a deep friendship that was built upon their shared roles as Chosen of the Emperor. Instead, let us learn from them in their own words. Despite the great power he wielded and his own divinity, the Shield-Lord was not omnipotent or omniscient. He was in need to an ally, a helper, a confidant. The Lady of Light may be able to grant miracles to the faithful, but she could burden the sacrifice necessary to save Humanity from the forces of darkness. 

 

Although one was divine and one was not, each brought something essential yet unique to themselves in service to the other. For us, there are several lessons to be learned. As the Faith continues to grow and reach out to the souls still trapped by the Great Lie, often we will be pressed and persecuted. Do not assume that one must bear this burden alone. Just as the Warmaster and the Lady of Light strengthened each other, open yourselves to one another. Yes, there will comes times when we will endure trials alone, but never push away those who can bring you wisdom and comfort in your time of testing. 

 

For those of you who are in deep relationships, there are several truisms to be found in their interactions. It is confirmed that each time they saw each other, they inquired of the other's well-being, in spite of their blessed insight into the human soul. It is easy as we become comfortable with one another to begin assuming things that may or may not be appropriate. We should always treat each other with due diligence and kindness. While I reiterate that this relationship was not romantic, those of you who are married can also benefit from this teaching. 

 

Finally, their relationship can provide a template for how men and women interact as a whole. The Shield-Lord's primary battlefield was the physical battlefield. For three entire days, he stood before the Eternity Gate, slaying Heretic and Daemon without rest. A feat that the Lady Selene could not hope to match, yet it would be the Lady Selene who would touch the souls of billions. For her primary field of battle was the emotional. All too often we see the reluctant unwilling to be swayed by pure logic. It is only through ministering to the heart have we seen our ranks expand, sometimes doubling or tripling in number. Thus so do women and men have unique gifts that, when combined, can change galaxies. 

 

Unfortunately, our time today will be brief due to the necessary energy rations. By this time next week, our first delivery of the Nova Pactum should have arrived. We will have enough copies for only half of us, and I urge you to be mindful of them to avoid what happened to our last copies last harvest. We are recommending that we only bring several to service from now on, while the rest are hidden safely in our homes. 

 

Until then, may the God-Emperor watch over and protect you, and may the Shield-Lord guide you with wisdom and love. Amen.

[simison]

The Lectitio Divinitatus

 

Chapter I

 

¹Rejoice, for I bring glorious news. God walks among us. ²He watchs over us with love, guides us with wisdom, and protects us with strength.  

[bluntblade]

It occurs to me that there's probably a lot that could be mined from the Seven of Westeros regarding the Primarchs.

[simison]

It is His purpose to see humanity rise from the mud to take our true place among the stars. ³He is known to us as the Emperor of Mankind and is our greatest protector against the malign forces who seek to enslave us to their evil.

 

Chapter II - Origin of the Emperor

 

¹Although we have known of the Emperor in his current incarnation for a few brief centuries, He is as ancient as Terra. In the earliest days of our kind, He came to us, born of a man and woman as a true man. From a young age, He was powerful, growing into his destined role. ²Yet, He did not reveal His might in shallow display. Annointed by wisdom herself, He knew young humanity was not ready for Him to appear in his complete power. ³Thus, he took upon the guise of weakness as he began his vigil. Among the nameless, He watched and influenced Man's growth. ⁴He saw as Man spread from the cradle of civilisation. He saw as Man took shaking steps into the wild places. In this primordial age, the Emperor slew the beast, inflict justice upon the traitor, and tamed the wilderness, all to allow Man to ascend.

[simison]

The Imperial Cult

Although we use the term 'Imperial Cult', this is nothing more than a verbal shortcut to refer to the various belief systems pre-dating the Imperial Creed. Even then, additional nuances can be found tied to the onset of the Lectitio Divinitatus, the Nova Pactem, and the Fires of Pacification/Niklaasian Reforms. 

[simison]

This record will focus on the spiritual activity occuring before the appearance of the Divinitatus. Other records prefer to use the Day of Revelation as the dividing point between the two periods. The Day of Revelation marked the first time the Arch-enemy wielded foul sorcery of the Other against the enemies of Man. The sudden destruction of Mankind's sense of security multiplied cult members and accelerated their spread. However, while I acknowledge these facts, my own studies reveal, in spite of the intensification, the various cult beliefs did not diversify. Nor did new cult systems appear. Instead, existing cults almost uniformly demonized the Traitor Primarchs and did little else.

 

With that definition established, the Imperial cults displayed considerable overalp. Over 90% of the cults placed the Emperor at the center of their belief systems. The remaining 10% believed the Emperor to be a physical avatar for a Supreme Being, the Creator's chief servant on the physical plane, a co-divinity with the Primarchs, or the ultimate yet non-divine philosopher-king. (In the last case, the Emperor was not truly worshipped per se but highly venerated.)