The Omnian Church

This article refers to Omnia as adapted to NationStates. For information on its origins in the Discworld universe see Omnia

The nation of Omnia is a theocracy ruled by the ever-present Omnian Church which runs the nation on the principles and Commandments of Omnianism. The populace is entirely composed of those who worship the Great God Om and all his works. The traditionally isolationist Church has made few attempts to integrate with Europe and Omnia remains a nation apart. In fact the only signs of the new acceptance of the existence of a wider Europe has been a drastic increase in both oil exports and missionaries setting out to convert the infidels.

Geography

The bulk of Omnia is comprised of deep desert - the famed Desert of the Prophets - with most of the nation's population and industry are located on the densely populated coastline. The climate along the coast is Mediterranean and it contains the bulk of the nation's arable land. Major geographic features include the Arash and Hibe mountain ranges, the Abbys Basin and the Lost City of Ee.

This desert has always dominated the minds of Omnian thinkers and each of the seven Prophets of Om have emerged from it. The Omnians believe that after death their souls must journey across the desert before being judged by Om. Today the majority of desert dwellers are either soldiers, primitive tribes or, a surprisingly large number of, hermits.

Government

Omnia has no government in the traditional sense of the term. Instead all functions of government are performed by the Omnian Church. As a result much of the Church is occupied with the administration of the nation and much of the nation is occupied with matters of the Church. While the head of the Church is nominally the Cenobiarch, the real power lies a level below - the Council of Iams or even the level below that with the Thirty Archbishops (the Hierarchy). Go any further down the chain and there are hundreds of bishops and deacons, thousands of sub-deacons, priests and monks and a countless number of unordained novices, quisitioners and hermits. Outside the direct Church structure every one of Omnia's population is required to be a member of the Church's flock.

Much of the government is run from the massive Citadel complex in the centre of the city of Kom. This is where most of the administrative portfolios are based while priests, bishops and archbishops head the various forms of local government outside the capital (parish, diocese and archdiocese respectively). The core of the nation's code of laws are derived from the various Commandments - instructions from the Prophets - all 283 of them which govern every aspect of Omnian life.

Economy

Today's Omnian economy is founded on the twin industries of religious trinkets and oil. While traditionally dominated by the printing industry (the Book of Om has, unsurprisingly, been top of the bestseller lists since records began) the recent, limited, opening of the borders has provided a lucrative market for the desert's vast oil reserves. Oil production remains far below maximum however due to the religious significance of many desert sites and political manoeuvring among the Hierarchy. Other principle sources of income for the Church include both tithes and donations from the population.

The Omnian economic scene could best be described as operating under a, most unlikely, mixture of state capitalism and free market policies. While free trade is encouraged at the lower levels - after all, if someone becomes rich its clearly with the blessing of Om - the Church continues its invasive reach into economic matters. Most natural resources are controlled by Church owned companies and entrepreneurs who refuse to cooperate will soon find themselves answering to the Quisition. This atmosphere and the Church's deep distrust of foreigners ensures that foreign investment remains low.

People

One result of the Church's constant expansion is that there is no real "Omnian" racial group and the nation is made up of a patchwork of tribes and races. For thousands of years refugees and settlers had migrated to the region, with the stronger tribes displacing the weaker ones and forcing them deeper into the desert. The rise of the Church has provided a relatively unifying power and both brutal suppressions and opportunities within the clergy have virtually eliminated open tribal conflict. With all power in Omnia derived from the Great God and His worship, its no surprise that the ethnic breakdown is well represented within the Church ranks.

Ethnic Groupings

• Arash 39%
• Klatchian 23%
• Tsortian 16%
• Ephebian 15%
• Muntab 5%
• Djelibeb 2%

The other major characteristic of Omnia is the youth of its population. A full 60% of Omnians are under the age of 30, a result of decreasing death rates and the Church's continued opposition to contraception. At the other extreme older members of the clergy regularly live into their early 90s.

Religion

For a state completely devoted to and named after the one god, its not surprising to find that religion in Omnia is taken very, very seriously. Omnianism is a deeply repressive religion that elevates the worship and glorification of the Great God Om above all else. All power and legitimacy of the Church today is derived from its role as the interpreter of Om's word and shepherd of the faithful. Those who do not heed the Church's teachings are liable to find themselves branded heretics and handed over to the Quisition.

History

The borders of Omnia today are a fairly recent phenomena. Ever since the Church's foundation by the Prophet Ossory, the number of dioceses has increased steadily as the various desert tribes and small coastal states have been "converted" to Omnianism and encouraged to join the Church. From a single small village 1,600 years ago, the Church today occupies over a million and a half square kilometres of land and contains well over a hundred million souls.

From prehistoric days up to the dominance of the Church, various tribes and short-lived civilizations have occupied this corner of Europe. Despite the harsh climate a patchwork of cultures and religions emerged and thrived. Along the coast the more advanced tribes formed city-states and developed a rich history of literature and philosophy. However it was further inland that the future of the region would be decided.

It was in the small village of Gur-Arash, in the Arash Mountains on the edge of the desert, that the most significant event in the nation's history would take place. In 1 DR (Date of Revelation; approx 400 AD) a shepherd by the name of Ossory was sleeping when he heard the voice of Om. Possessed with a religious zeal, Ossory descended into the village and denounced the local false god, Ur-Gilash. The enraged priests of Ur-Gilash beat Ossory and cast him into the desert to die. There he wandered for several months before Om appeared as a pillar of flame and gave his Ossory the first Commandments. The new Prophet returned to Gur-Arash and confronted his foes. Amazed that he still lived the priests of Ur-Gilash drew their swords and made to strike Ossory. However there was a great light and a mighty bull descended from the skies and killed all those who sought to harm Om's chosen one. This is the origin of the Holy Horns gesture made by Omnians after mentioning the Great God.

After the burning of the temple of Ur-Gilash Ossory gathered the people and set out to build the Temple of Holy Horns. Around the temple the new city of Kom (lit: the City of Om) grew. This would prove to be the foundations of both the Citadel and Omnianism as well as becoming the powerbase from which the religion would spread throughout the region.

Since its foundation the history of the Church has been one of constant expansion as mass conversions, holy wars, evangelism and more holy wars have spread the word of Om across what is now Omnia. There have been a further seven Prophets - Ceno, Tobrun, Wallspur, Hashimi, Abraxas, Abbys and Brutha, each of whom has made an imprint and added their Commandments to the Church. Notable events include the repression of the false prophet Zog, the Chain Letters of Vorbis, the subjection of the coastal states - including the burning of Ephebe - and the various uprisings of the Turtle movement. Since the Prophet Brutha the expansion and "cut and thrust" of Church politics have waned somewhat and the past two hundred years have been relatively peaceful with only the Subjugation of the Melchiorites, the Resolving of the False Prophet Zog, and the Correction of the Ashelians making major impacts on Omnian life.

Relations with the rest of Europe have remained strained however and until recently the Council of Iams refused to acknowledge its neighbours as anything other than potential converts to be folded into the Church. Even now unauthorised travel outside Omnia is forbidden to its citizens and all visiting foreigners are kept under escort for their stay.

Factions

Over the years Church politics have become a byword for labyrinthine and murky dealings. Various factions struggle for power and influence both inside and outside the Church structure. While disputes between the clergy are no longer settled with the application of poison or cunningly placed scorpions, achieving position in the Church is not for the faint hearted. Here follows a brief summary of the major factions in Omnia today:

The Hierarchy

Current Head: The Cenobiarch
Motto: Duc, sequere, aut de via decede

The Hierarchy is the term used to describe the higher ranks of the Church. While generally just as riddled with petty rivalries as the rest of the Church, these senior clergy are united in their opposition to the younger men looking for promotion to their positions. This is where the real power in the Church lies - the Thirty Archbishops (a formal council of, as the name suggests, 30 archbishops) are responsible for the day to day running of the Church while the six man Council of Iams have the final say in Church affairs and direction. Theoretically the Cenobiarch is the Supreme Iam and the ultimate authority on Church affairs, however these days the position is usually filled by a harmless old priest unlikely to cause trouble.

The Quisition

Current Head: Deacon Findthee-The-Snake-Who-Poisions-The-Holy-Faith
Motto: Cuius testiculos habes, habeas cardia et cerebellum

Undoubtedly the most feared of organisation operating in Omnia today, the Quisition is responsible for safeguarding the Church and its flock from temptation and evil. Those who are heretical, corrupt or plain unlucky will no doubt find themselves in the Quisition dungeons. Here confessions will be extracted before the bodies are subjected to the cleansing fires. This subscribes to the Omnian belief that giving the body hell sends the soul to paradise. Outside senior Church figures, no evidence is needed for the Quisition to make an arrest; the mere fact that Om has placed suspicion in his servants' minds is proof enough of guilt. The head of the Quisition is limited to the rank of Deacon, a centuries old measure maintained by a suspicious hierarchy.

The Divine Legion

Current Head: General Fear-Not-Those-Who-Come-To-Collect-That-Which-Belongs-To-Om
Motto: Fabricati Diem, Pvnc

A breed apart from the regular conscript army, the Divine Legion is the elite of the Omnian armed forces and, more importantly, the only branch to have any sort of political connections. While the rest of the military has been purged on a regular basis, Legionnaires are handsomely rewarded for their loyalty. Entrusted with guarding the Church's most prized treasures, the Legion also maintains two full divisions of combat ready troops. These have typically formed the vanguards in any Church crusade.

De Chelonian Mobile

Current Head: Unknown
Motto: E pur si muove

Effectively the only resistance or subversive movement in Omnia, De Chelonian Mobile (lit: The Turtle Moves) is an underground organisation that rejects the Church and all its teachings. Instead their core belief is that the world is flat and is carried through space on the backs of four elephants who are in turn standing on the shell of a giant space turtle. Originally a minor notion floating around philosophic circles in Ephebe, it was cited as a reason for Church intervention in the free city. After the burning of Ephebe, the idea gained some popularity among some Omnians. There have been a half dozen uprisings within the past two centuries but the efforts of both the Quisition and Divine Legion have suppressed all visible dissent.