Being a Discourse on the Three Principal Sects of the Faith of Kahdishor Shald, Written in the two hundred and five and twentieth harvest of the fifth millennia, current epoch.
By Master Edmund Whitmore, Doctor of Divinity, formerly of Bartholomew the Martyr’s College
Preface to the Faithful Reader
In these tumultuous times, when the very foundations of our sacred faith are contested by factious spirits and seditious ministers, it behooves all learned men to set forth a true and impartial account of the religious divisions that do so grievously afflict our realm. Having observed with mine own eyes the bitter contentions between the three principal sects—the Panverics, the Reformists, and the Simplefellows—I am moved to commit to writing this faithful relation, that posterity might understand the nature of these schisms.
Let it be known that all three factions do profess belief in the same divine mysteries of Kahdishor Shald the Flayed, yet do differ most vehemently in matters of authority, ceremony, and the proper ordering of worship under His Sacred Shroud.
Chapter I: Of the Ancient Faith and the Panveric Tradition
The Panveric faith, being the most ancient form of our religion known in these lands, doth trace its authority to the Sacred Patriarch, who resideth beyond the seas in the holy city of Rumon. This sect doth maintain that the Church Universal was established by divine mandate when the Flayed God’s Sacred Skin became the Shroud that protects our realm, and that the Patriarch, as successor to the first witnesses of Kahdishor’s martyrdom, doth possess supreme authority in all matters spiritual.
Their Principal Tenets:
Of Sacred Authority: The Panverics do hold that no earthly prince may claim headship over the Church, this office belonging solely to the Patriarch by apostolic succession from those who witnessed the Flaying.
Of the Sacred Mysteries: They do maintain seven sacraments, including the sacred consumption of the Pellem Sacram—that most holy wafer which they believe to be mystically transformed into fragments of the Flayed God’s very Skin.
Of the Thousand Martyrs: Great reverence is shown to the Blessed Martyrs who followed Kahdishor’s example, with elaborate ceremonies, sacred relics, and intercessions. They do maintain that these holy personages may intercede for the faithful before the throne of the Flayed God.
Of Liturgy: Their worship is conducted in the ancient Panveric tongue, with prescribed prayers handed down from the first age, vestments of great richness bearing the sacred symbols, and ceremonies of exceeding solemnity that mirror the heavenly court.
Their Present Condition:
Since the great schism wrought by King Edward the Reformer, the Panverics are accounted recusants, practicing their faith in secret chambers and hidden chapels. Many noble houses do yet cleave to this ancient way, though they dare not openly profess it for fear of the pyre. Their numbers are thought to comprise near half the realm, though they dissemble their true beliefs and conform outwardly to the established church.
Chapter II: Of the Reformed Church and Royal Supremacy
The Reformed Church, being the established religion of our realm under Her Majesty Queen Elspeth the Virgin, doth spring from the great controversy of King Edward’s time, when that prince did break communion with the Patriarch over matters of matrimony and temporal authority, yet sought to preserve the essential mysteries of our faith.
Their Principal Tenets:
Of Royal Supremacy: The Reformists do hold that the Crown is the supreme governor of the Church within this realm under the Shroud’s protection, and that no foreign prelate may exercise authority over Karnish souls.
Of Scripture and Tradition: While maintaining reverence for the Thousand Blessed Martyrs, they do reject the claim that the Patriarch’s interpretation is infallible, holding rather that the ancient texts recording Kahdishor’s Flaying and the martyrdoms, interpreted by learned divines, should guide the faithful.
Of the Sacraments: They do retain the sacred consumption of the Pellem Sacram and other ancient ceremonies, though purged of what they term “superstitious elements” added by corrupt priests. The Sacred Skin is received, though they dispute the Panveric understanding of its mystical transformation.
Of Liturgy: Services are conducted in the vulgar tongue, using the authorized Prayer Book that all might understand the sacred mysteries of the Flaying and participate in worship.
Their Present Authority:
Being the established church, the Reformists do control all cathedral churches, universities, and ecclesiastical courts. Their bishops sit in Parliament and their divines do preach from every authorized pulpit. The royal arms bear the symbol of the Shroud, and all subjects are required to attend their services upon pain of fine.
Chapter III: Of the Simplefellow Sect and Purified Worship
The Simplefellows, being the most recent faction to emerge, do profess themselves the only true inheritors of the primitive faith as practiced immediately after Kahdishor’s Flaying, freed from all corruptions whether Panveric or Reformed.
Their Principal Tenets:
Of Simplified Worship: They do reject all set liturgies, ceremonial vestments, and elaborate rituals as corruptions of the pure devotion shown by the first witnesses of the Flaying. Their meetings are marked by spontaneous prayer and plain speaking of the heart.
Of Clerical Authority: No distinction is made between priest and layman, all believers being accounted equal before the Flayed God’s sight. They do reject episcopal authority entirely, holding that the Shroud’s protection extends to all faithful souls without intermediary.
Of the Sacred Observances: Only the simplest forms of worship are retained. They do utterly reject the veneration of the Thousand Martyrs as idolatrous distraction from the sole worship due to Kahdishor Shald.
Of Moral Purity: They do hold to the strictest moral code, forbidding all manner of sports, theatrical performances, and worldly pleasures as snares that weaken the soul’s preparation for judgment beneath the Shroud.
Their Growing Influence:
Though yet a minority, the Simplefellows do gain adherents among the merchant classes and skilled artisans who favor their plain speaking and moral rigor. Their preachers are zealous in denouncing the corruptions of both Panveric and Reformed churches.
Chapter IV: Of the Points of Contention and Mutual Accusations
The Question of Authority:
- Panverics maintain that the Patriarch alone, as heir to the first witnesses, may interpret the mysteries of the Flaying
- Reformists assert the Crown’s supremacy in temporal matters affecting the Church under the Shroud’s protection
- Simplefellows reject all human authority save the recorded words of Kahdishor and His martyrs
The Matter of Ceremony:
- Panverics hold elaborate ritual necessary to properly honor the magnitude of the Flaying
- Reformists retain ceremony but in purified form, stripped of foreign corruptions
- Simplefellows condemn all set forms as papistical corruption of simple devotion
The Veneration of Martyrs:
- Panverics invoke the Blessed Martyrs as intercessors before the Flayed God’s throne
- Reformists honor them as examples of faithful suffering but deny their intercession
- Simplefellows reject all such practices as idolatrous worship of creatures rather than Creator
The Nature of the Pellem Sacram:
- Panverics believe in the mystical presence of the Flayed God’s actual Skin
- Reformists hold it as a sacred memorial of the Flaying instituted by divine command
- Simplefellows see it as mere symbolism, the true worship being in the heart
Chapter V: Of the Political Implications and Dangers to the Realm
These religious divisions do threaten not merely the peace of the Church, but the very stability of the commonwealth protected by the Sacred Shroud. The Panverics, owing allegiance to a foreign prelate, are suspected of seditious designs against Her Majesty’s person. Many plots to restore the ancient faith by violence have been discovered, often with aid from Calbrinese agents who would see Mhairi the Rose upon our throne.
The Simplefellows, though loyal subjects in political matters, do by their zealous preaching inflame the common people against their betters, teaching dangerous doctrines of equality before the Flayed God that threaten the natural order ordained by divine providence.
Between these extremes, the Reformed Church seeks the middle way, maintaining both the ancient mysteries of our faith and the Crown’s rightful authority under the Shroud’s protection. Yet this position satisfies neither faction, leaving the establishment perpetually assailed from both flanks whilst foreign enemies exploit our divisions.
Conclusion
Until such time as Divine Providence shall heal these schisms through the mercy of the Flayed God, it behooves all loyal subjects to pray for the peace of the realm and the unity of the faithful beneath the Sacred Shroud. Let none take up arms in these controversies, for religion enforced by sword cuts not the heart but only the body, leaving the soul unconverted.
May Kahdishor Shald, in His infinite mercy, bring all His people to unity of faith and fellowship, that the Sacred Shroud might protect our realm from the machinations of its enemies, both temporal and spiritual, and that the example of His Flaying might inspire us to holy living rather than factious disputation.
Finis
Given under my hand this feast day of Dunstan the Martyr, in the nineteenth year of Her Majesty’s most gracious reign, under the protection of the Sacred Shroud.
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