In the Kingdom's holy land/the ancient city of Reims, solemn hymns and hymns vaguely resounded through the streets and alleys, as if they had not been affected at all by the rebels approaching outside the city. In addition to the armored soldiers and armed monks leading the troops patrolling the streets.
As one of the recognized religious holy places in the Western Continent, it is the fourth largest pilgrimage site after Jerusalem in the East, Rome in Italy, and Santiago in the Iberian Peninsula; in the San Antonio Cross Palace, Archbishop Giovanni of the Northwest has just finished his work for several hours morning prayers.
The sunlight shines through the colorful mosaic skylights with paintings of religious stories, like a colorful halo, converging on Giovanni in front of the high altar, which looks quite sacred. His face was full of ravines, his body was thin and his gray beard and hair were disheveled, but his eyes were bright and wise.
Although he only wore a thin linen robe, which had already been soaked by the morning dew and sweat, it was not shaken or affected at all, and he chanted the last prayer word by word. Despite months of sacraments, Giocchino was still unable to receive any revelations or signs.
However, the living habits he has developed step by step for many years and the experience of reading church classics and historical documents have made his heart as firm as a rock and his faith as stable as a majestic mountain. In fact, Jokino's background is different from that of several other archbishops of the kingdom.
Among them, as the candidate for the archbishop of the capital region, according to the default political rules of the kingdom, he must come from the royal family or a member closely related to the royal family, such as the "terrible minister" who has assisted three generations of the royal family as a teacher and has been in power for decades. Li Xingke is a typical example.
When his authority was at its peak, he could even directly remove clergy at all levels below the other four archbishops at the exclusive Kingdom Religious Council; or he could question a certain kingdom archbishop at the Royal Council and ask the king to remove him. And restart the Holy Selection Ceremony.
The long-standing influence of the Roman Universal Church in the kingdom was gradually eliminated and disintegrated under his leadership; finally, after an intervention war against the succession rights of the princes of Northern Italy, the Battle of Turin, the Universal Church was forced to The Holy See of the Church reached a compromise.
In the transfer of church personnel below the Archbishop of the Kingdom, the Holy See has only the final symbolic authority left; that is, as a witness and supervisor of the Holy Election Ceremony of the Kingdom Church. In theory, you can raise objections and questions, but most of the time, you are just a spectator.
Usually it is to endorse and prove with the Roman Apostle that the universal church and the rule of the kingdom are always one and the same and inseparable. Of course, as compensation, after each holy election ceremony is completed, donations and gifts will be made to the Holy See in Rome in the name of the Kingdom Church.
There have been occasional exceptions in history, but such questions and objections from representatives of the Holy See have basically had little substantive impact on the Church of the Kingdom; instead, they have become the next foreign war of the Kingdom, or the feud between the royal family and the princes. The trigger for the outbreak of a domestic religious war in Chen.
In the subsequent ruling cardinals, some may have encouraged the royal family to show favor to the Holy See, and reopened some church restrictions, and even recognized some honorary priesthoods appointed by Rome; however, the influence of the Holy See in the universal church in the Kingdom has not been established. But it is far worse than before.
The result of the secular localization of the church has also brought about another trend, which is the penetration and influence of the princes and nobles of the kingdom on the church; or it can be said that the "terrible minister" used war to seize the name of the Holy See from Rome. The consecration and diocesan mandate came to unite and bribe the nobility.
Then, all kinds of greed for pleasure and corruption quickly spread among the middle and upper classes of the church. Although before this, corruption, corruption and nepotism were commonplace within the Roman universal church. But the nobles of the kingdom made it public and superficial.
As a result, various jokes about the number of mistresses and illegitimate children of the upper echelons of the church, the fornication of priests and nuns, and the drunkenness and lies of clergy began to become popular in the streets and alleys along with various popular folk books and rumors; they even became a recognized chronic disease in the kingdom. cancer.
After the Terrifying Minister, the candidates for the kingdom's five archbishops and their affiliated dioceses, major monasteries and branches have long been controlled by candidates recommended and supported by great nobles or royal branches; this is also This gave rise to the Declarationists in the church who hated this deeply.
And Giovanni is such a person, a priest with a pietist background who advocates returning to the simple and clean tradition of the past; at the same time, he is also a member of another religious legal group in the church, the Holy News Society; but he himself is just a priest from Descendants of prosperous fishermen in the Netherlands.
He was sent to the church when he was young, and then started to practice as a waiter step by step. After becoming a trainee priest, he studied in the seminary for many years and followed many mentors from different factions; he also witnessed with his own eyes the invasion from within the church. Fighting and fighting, even wanton and wanton evil behavior.
As a result, he became a member of the Vocational Church and took the initiative to join the local diocese; from an unknown country priest, he became a county bishop; and then his divine status was limited to this. Because he wanted to be a metropolitan of the province, not an auxiliary bishop in name only.
It is not enough to have a respected reputation and prestige. It is also necessary to obtain the support of the minister of the kingdom as a backer and one of the local nobles; and give the other party a corresponding report. Therefore, it is the best choice to transfer to a certain monastery to serve as the deputy dean and survive the death of the old dean.
But at this time, the last political wave of radical reform in the last dynasty broke out. Out of an angry counterattack against the former Cardinal "The Changemaker" Arend, in order to expand his financial resources and the scope of selling official positions and titles, he began to secretly sell church sacred items and priesthoods in disguise;
Giovanni, who had a good daily conduct and reputation, was also promoted by the swearers and was regarded as one of the models set by the church; he was specially named and recommended by the royal family to become the Metropolitan of the Diocese of the Central Province/Archbishop of Bourges; And with the help of the Declarants, he began to organize the parish.
Finally, a few years before the royal family announced its abdication, he was transferred by the royal family to the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of the Northwest because of his major actions in central government and serious conflicts with local nobles and some church members. Became the assistant to the Archbishop/Secretary-General of the Federation of Bishops.
However, a series of political events in the capital also completely disrupted and undermined the upper echelons of the Kingdom's church; as the archbishop of the capital who was qualified to attend the Royal Council fled abroad, several other archbishops were either hanged on the streets or in riots. Missing or imprisoned.
At the Federation of Bishops' Conferences of the Northwest Region, Giovanni, who has impeccable divine qualities and qualifications, became the acting archbishop of the northwest diocese of the Kingdom after a special election ceremony. Immediately afterwards, the charter government in power in the capital couldn't wait to recognize him as the Archbishop of the Northwest.
When the Blood Moon Incident broke out, the short-lived joint governance of the five dukes turned into a melee due to intensified internal and external conflicts. The republican government formed by the various forces that worked together to repel him also invited him to take over the capital. area, and use this to rectify the church.
Giovanni also had a moment of hesitation and heartbeat. It seemed that this was only one step away from the career he expected in his heart. However, the church declaration movement that followed shattered his only expectations. Although, only a few clergy participated in the oath.
But it also caused a great schism in the Kingdom Church from the central to the local areas; and this was even more unacceptable to Giovanni. He had sworn allegiance to the royal family, but he had never heard of any illusory people, let alone using secular power to pressure the church and destroy the unity of the church.
What happened next made him even more estranged from the capital government. Because they actually confiscated and searched the real estate and property belonging to the church in the name of rectifying the church; and then sold it to the reformists/new aristocrats, wealthy businessmen and the like at low prices, just to enrich their finances.
Even the sworn sect from which Giovanni came, advocates purifying the system from top to bottom and returning to piety through self-purification within the church. Instead of letting a group of secular legislators whose bodies smell like copper or whose feet are stained with mud judge and decide the merits and sins of the church.
Therefore, under his continuous call and influence, the Northwest Archdiocese has become de facto independent in the kingdom's territory; even the priests sent by the previous capital governments cannot truly perform their duties. When the Burgundian family marched towards the capital, they also tried to win over him.
However, Giovanni's response was to avoid seeing him. At the same time, he mobilized the materials and wealth of various monasteries to carry out local self-protection weapons; he continued to maintain the neutrality and detachment of the northwest diocese. Until the rebels supported by the heretics who re-emerged in the south of the kingdom moved north.
It is even less possible for him to make peace or compromise with it. As sworn sects in the universal church, the religious tolerance claimed by the rebels is one thing, but it is another thing to allow those heretical factions banned by the universal church to be openly active; not to mention that they dare to sanctified by righteousness.
Without any recognition and testimony from the Holy See of Rome, you dare to proclaim someone a walking saint in this world; what a crazy blasphemy! This is a super heresy that is inferior to all the Arians, Cathars, and Neapolitans in the South combined.
In comparison, these rebels appointed themselves as a child's play, and the absent archbishops of the southwest and southeast regions were insignificant. Therefore, Giovanni secretly instructed the church members to provide a considerable degree of help to Prince Conté who was stationed in Dijon.
After the result of the Battle of Dijon came, they decisively abandoned the provincial city of Chalons, which was not conducive to defense, and called on many followers, along with a large amount of inventory, to move to the Holy Land/Reims, which has more believers. When Giovanni slowly reflected and recalled, he walked out of this place of worship.
I saw many priests who had been waiting here for a long time. They gathered around him and put on him a reddish-brown holy garment with gorgeous patterns and embroidery, a high brown crown decorated with gold and silver, and a ring and necklace with precious stones. When he left the auditorium, he had a different appearance holding a cross and a scepter.
Although Giovanni insisted on living a simple life in his daily life and despised the extravagant and comparison style of the church; what made him helpless was that under the influence of long-term inertia, the vast majority of the kingdom's subjects still liked to respect a priest who was gorgeously dressed and high-sounding. personnel, not simple ascetics.
It was rare for him to put on such a grand outfit, and it was also to preside over a public trial, to target the public executions and propaganda of spies sent by the southern heretics/rebels. At the same time, it is also to combat and shock the possibility that there may be potential accomplices, collaborators, and sympathizers in the city of Reims.
Thinking of this, he confirmed again: "Has he not confessed yet and signed the affidavit of repentance?"
(End of chapter)
