Difference between revisions of "Taraskovyan Orthodox Church"

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The history of Orthodoxy in Tarasovka is one of many dark and also bright moments, a process forever tied to the fate of the entire Taraskovyan nation. Today, claiming three quarters of Taraskovyans as faithful, the Taraskovyan Orthodox Church is not only the largest single religious denomination in the Grand Duchy, but is also one of the leading Churches in the Eastern Orthodox communion.

History of the Vigvar Patriarchate

Early times

Eastern Orthodoxy and Christianity as a whole were originally foreign to the Taraskovyan realm. The ancient inhabitants of the country, the Taraskath, worshipped, and continue to do so even today, a pantheon of Seven Deities. But with the development of new sailing techniques, Taraskath nobles and their private armies could cover a greater distance and soon appeared in foreign realms where they plundered and looted and brought home slaves, mainly from Germanic and Slavic tribes.

The foreign campaigns became so profitable to Taraskath lords, that many spent more time abroad than at home. As a consequence, the population of slaves soared. And as Taraskath mercenaries did not distinguish between non-Taraskath pagans and Christians, eventually missionaries and priests made their appearance amongst the slaves, converting the pagans to their religion. Fortunately for them, the Taraskath did not see them as a danger.

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An old Taraskovyan Orthodox banner
depicting Virgin Mary and Jesus.

Christianity and the Strife

Before the Strife, the Slavs were just one of the many ethnic groups that composed the slave population, yet they were by far the most active in resisting the Taraskath lords. Half a century before the Strife began, the uprisings of Slavs became so regular in the Taraskath High Unity, that many Taraskath began to ask themselves questions. Differences between the various sides eventually led to a terrible civil war, which ended with the abolition of slavery.

Mstislav Shakhovskoy, a Russian Christian, became the first Taraskovyan Grand Duke that was not a Taraskath, even if he kept the ancient tradition of giving the Oath of Faith to the Seven Deities. That tradition blurred the belonging of the Grand Duke to a specific religion for some time. It was the turning point for Christianity in Tarasovka, a point at which it began to blossom and gain strength.

Tarasovka and the Great Schism

In the years following the Strife, Tarasovka attracted a significant number of Slavic immigrants, mainly Russians, which continued to reinforce the positions of Christianity in the country, even if the worship of the Seven Deities continued to be the official religion, with the Church of the Seven Deities enjoying extensive privileges and holding immense political power.

Tarasovka first came under the authority of the Patriarch of Constantinople and was attached to the ancient Metropolis of Kiev. Following the Great Schism, the majority of Taraskovyans chose to retain the Byzantine rite and remain loyal to the Holy Throne of Constantinople. A minority refused to break all ties with Rome and formed the Byzantine Taraskovyan Catholic Church.

Treaty of Uiliath

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An icon representing
the Saint Grand Duke Alexander I.

The growing power of the Orthodox Church could not help but worry the Church of the Seven Deities. The tense situation escalated into a conflict when, in 458 AS, the Grand Duke Alexander I refused to give the Oath of Faith to the Seven Deities. This sparked the anger of the Order of Zynthris, the military organisation under the command of the Church of the Seven, and provoked a civil war.

The Grand Duke defeated the armies of the Order on the river of Uil in Cardinia, close to where the Sacred Citadel of Zynthris, seat of the Church, stood. Alexander then proceeded to assault the Sacred Citadel itself, which forced the Church of the Seven to surrender and sign the Treaty of Uiliath which stripped the Church of the Seven of its many territories and confined its political power to the Sacred Citadel and the surrounding area. The Orthodox faith was proclaimed as official religion.

Grand Duke Alexander died in mysterious circumstances several years later as he led a hunting party and his son, Grand Duke Vsevolod, renounced his Orthodox faith and accepted to make the Oath of Faith to the Seven Deities. Yet, Vsevolod did not annul the Treaty of Uiliath and the numerous advantages it gave to the Orthodox Church, the same Church that sanctified Alexander the Ist some time after.

Autocephaly

The Taraskovyan Church continued to prosper and blossom just as outside of Tarasovka things went badly for the Orthodox faithful as one by one the bastions of Orthodoxy fell in front of Catholics or Muslims. Taraskovyan faithful came under the authority of the Metropolis of Moscow and, when the Russian Church transformed into a Patriarchate, remained under the Russian Church for quite some time.

However, at a certain point the Taraskovyan Church could no longer remain a simple Eparchy under Moscow and, after intensive negotiations, the Taraskovyan Orthodox Church was granted autocephaly in 781 AS and became the Vigvar Patriarchate. The Taraskovyan Orthodox Church continued to be a State Church until the coming to power of Mikhail I who, in his aim to build a secular state, proclaimed the separation of Church and State.

Canonical Structure

Branches of Power

Patriarch

The Patriarch is the supreme authority of the Taraskovyan Orthodox Church and is responsible for the day to day business of the Church. He is elected for life by the Council of Archierei and is aided in his task by the Holy Synod of the Vigvar Patriarchate. Aside from his official position, the Patriarch is a very influential figure in Taraskovyan politics, both domestic and foreign.

Various heads of the Church have, throughout the centuries, worked to establish the Patriarchate at the center of Taraskovyan life, and Nikon II, the current Patriarch, is no exception to the rule. The influence and power Nikon II has on Tarasovka is hard to underestimate, as many even those of other faiths often look to him for counsel and advice. Wisely, the Patriarchate has never challenged the authority of the Grand Duke and has accepted the secular nature of the Taraskovyan State.

Holy Synod

Unlike in most other Orthodox congregations, the Holy Synod of the Taraskovyan Orthodox Church is not the council of Bishop (see: Council of Archierei), but is an equivalent of a Chancellery to the Patriarch, to which the latter delegates a number of his daily tasks. The Holy Synod consists of nine members, four of which are permanently tied to a specific Eparchy:

• Metropolite of Uthar (Patriarchal Exarch to South Cardinia and Uthar), at this time His Beatitude Metropolite Dimitry
• Metropolite of Severovolost(Patriarchal Exarch to Svarog), at this time His Beatitude Metropolite Tikhon
• Metropolite of Amal, at this time His Eminence Metropolite Alexy
• Metropolite of Arkhangelsk and Namel-Cardin, at this time His Eminence Metropolite Innokentiy

The other five members are appointed by the Patriarch for a period of two years after which they are replaced. The exception is when the Patriarch decides to promote one of the five temporary members of the Synod to the post of Head of the Office for External Relations, in which case that member of the Holy Synod shall remain until dismissed by the Patriarch. This happens when the head of the Taraskovyan Church deems none of the four permanent members suitable for the post.

As of now, the Head of the Office for External Relations is His Eminence Metropolite Kirill of Tin-Vilena and Tal-Nathil.

Council of Archierei

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The Council of Archierei in presence of the Patriarch of Vigvar and all Taraskovya.

The Council of Archierei is the administrative body that reunites all of the Archierei of the Taraskovyan Orthodox Church and decides on most of the matters of the Church, an equivalent of a Synod of Bishops in most other Orthodox congregations. For some of the most important matters, such as electing the Patriarch or deciding on canonization, the Council of Archierei is expanded to all members of the Church.

In the Taraskovyan Orthodox Church, the rank of Archiereus is subdivided into Episcop(Bishop), Archiespiscop(Archbishop) and Metropolite. Metropolites are entrusted with the leadership over an Eparchy, whilst the Archiepiscops and Episcops often serve as vicars. It should be noted, however, that in the organisation of most Orthodox Churches, a Vicarius(vicar) is an Archiereus who is not entrusted with an Eparchy and who aids a governing Archiereus in his tasks.

In the past, there were very few Metropolites, yet as the Taraskovyan population soared over generations, the existing administrative structure could no longer cope effectively with the amount of faithful. The Church had to either sharply increase the number of Eparchies, making them smaller and more easily governed, or preserve the ancestral partition. The Church kept the existing partition and chose to promote all governing Archierei to the ranks of Metropolites and assign vicars to aid them in governing. The number of Archiepiscops(if any) and Episcops(commonly present) under the authority of a Metropolite may vary depending on the importance of a specific Eparchy.

This system does not give one Metropolite more powers over an other Metropolite in the Church, neither does it give him any additional powers in the Council of Archierei.

High Court of the Church

This institution dedicates itself to examining the crimes of priests as well as resolving any disputes that are not in the competence of the Holy Synod or of the Council of Archierei. Nowadays, this Court is greatly limited by the law-courts of the Taraskovyan state and is often reduced to carrying out administrative punishments of members of the Church that have violated Church or national laws.

Constituencies

Eparchies in Tarasovka

An Eparchy is the equivalent of a Diocese in the organisation of an Eastern Orthodox Church, led by an Archiereus (a Metropolite in the Taraskovyan Orthodox Church). The Vigvar Patriarchate counts the following Eparchies inside of Tarasovka:

• Vigvar
• Amal
• Bogatyr
• Uith (comprising the Fiefdoms of Uith and Kshas-Uith)
• Arkhangelsk and Namel-Cardin (comprising the Fiefdoms of Tal-Nathir and Northern Cardinia)
• Keth
• Cardin
• Kem
• Elista
• Vladizapad (comprising the Fiefdoms of Zapadozemie and Novozemie)
• Kharit
• Srednegrad
• Shek’Tarad
• Seth (comprising the Fiefdoms of Zerth, Setar and Uil)
• Tin-Vilena and Tal-Nathil
• Var-Vilena
• Zlatograd

Exarchate of South Cardinia and Uthar

During the times when the Vortex Corporation was an independent state, many Taraskovyan Orthodox settled in the nation, which led the Vigvar Patriarchate to create the Exarchate of South Cardinia and Uthar. The Exarchate enjoyed a greater deal of autonomy than the eparchies in Tarasovka, however, when the Vortex Corporation was absorbed by the Taraskovyan Federation, the Exarchate found itself in the territory of the same nation in which the Patriarchate was. This has led the Council of Archierei to begin consultations on whether or not to upkeep the Exarchate’s status.
As of now, the Exarchate consists of the following Eparchies:

• Crayven
• Uthar
• Vishna

Exarchate of Svarog

The Exarchate of Svarog reunites the Taraskovyan Fiefdoms on the Planet Mars and was created to best serve the Taraskovyan faithful on the Planet, be it within or outside of territories belonging to the Grand Duchy of Tarasovka.

Taraskovyan Orthodox Church outside of the Grand Duchy

The Vigvar Patriarchate watches over Taraskovyan Orthodox faithful throughout the world and has parishes in many countries, as well as in all of the Taraskovyan dependencies and protectorates.

Relations of the Church

Even if Orthodoxy does not have the status of State religion in Tarasovka, the influence of the Vigvar Patriarchate is tremendous on many aspects of the Taraskovyan society and Patriarch Nikon II is a highly respected personality for all Taraskovyans, even those who do not belong to the Taraskovyan Orthodox Church. One of the examples of the influence and power of the Patriarchate was the welcoming of Pantocratorian Greek Orthodox to the Grand Duchy centuries ago, following the interdiction of the Greek rite in the Empire and communion with Rome. The Taraskovyan Church extended its protection to the Orthodox brothers and helped the Greek Orthodox community exist autonomously throughout generations.

The Patriarchate has a very pragmatic and fructuous relationship with the Order of the Seven Deities (and, thus, with the Church of the Seven Deities), recognizing the importance of the ancestral faith proper to the original inhabitants of Tarasovka. This has led to some other Christian Churches outside of Tarasovka to condemn the Vigvar Patriarchate for collaborating with pagans and idol worshippers.

The Taraskovyan Orthodox Church tolerates the presence of Roman Catholics on its canonical territory, although it does tend to oppose any proselytizing undertaken by the latter vis-à-vis of the Taraskovyan population. It should be noted, however, that the ones who arise the most suspicion are not the Eastern rite Taraskovyan Catholics, but the Latin rite ones. The Patriarchate is also quite tolerant towards the presence of various Protestant churches and movements on its canonical territories, although it tends not to occupy itself much with the infinite supply of protestant factions that are simply impossible to follow.

The Vigvar Patriarchate shares a cordial and friendly relationship with the small Armenian Apostolic Church that is present in Tarasovka, as well as with the small Serbian and Bulgarian Orthodox Churches that are also present on the Taraskovyan soil. Although, as years go by, the already small communities of these Churches become even thinner as people simply tend to follow the Taraskovyan Orthodox Church for reasons of practicality.