Orthodox No More

[Tagmatium Rules]

TBCNews Broadcast

 

We have just received news from the Imperial Palace that the Holy Emperor Commodus III is just about to give a press conference. We have no idea what it?s about, as his majesty has only just returned from his trip to Theis, where he met with the leaders of the City State.

 

We now go live to the Imperial Palace Complex?

 

?Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I?m sorry I called this press conference at such short notice, but I feel that matters have come to ahead and that I must finally speak out on them.

 

?The matter is the Church of True Orthodoxy, which has been spreading throughout the north of Tagmatium in recent months. I feel that I must now, finally, speak my mind on it and give a reason for my, and the Imperial Government?s, silence for so long.

 

?Our silence was due to the fact that we thought the Church of True Orthodoxy would either become more moderate in its ideals, or at least begin to quieten down after the furore that caused its birth blew over, and people in Tagmatium became once again more settled, and Patriarch Cosmas? pronouncements against them would become less over time as well, leading to peace once again reigning in the Orthodox Church of Tagmatium.

 

?However, the Church of True Orthodoxy is a danger to Tagmatium, and all that we stand for. The filth that is has been spouting about other religions and other Christian denominations are an attack on the ideals on which the Greater Holy Empire was re-founded for in 1995. It is an attack on the ideals for which many died during the Civil War, and those who died during the Old Republic. It is an attack on the memory of Theodosius Carus and his father, Constantius Carus, who attempted to lead Tagmatium out of the dark of the Old Republic and provide an alternative to the fascistic regime of Konig, even giving their lives to that cause.

 

?Theodosius Carus, myself, and many members of the current Imperial Government, did not spend twenty-six years in exile, constantly in danger of Republican assassination squads, just for a left-over of the Republic to preach hate and overthrow what we stood for all those years and for what so many lost their lives. Their verbal attacks on many different religions show that they are not a true part of the Orthodox Church of Tagmatium, and are anathema to what the multi-cultural, and multi-religion, Greater Holy Empire of Tagmatium stands for. Tagmatium has never been a nation of just one religion, and enforcing one religion by might of arms would only fracture our land, as history teaches us. Their beliefs and opinions also go against what Christ teaches us.

 

?They do have might of arms. The so-called True Church has been gathering a paramilitary force for some months now, under the name of ?Hetaeroi of the Spatharii of the Ecclesaia?, the HSE, which those who study history know was the name of an military order of monks which attempted to re-forge Tagmatium under the banner of an extreme branch of the Orthodox Church in the 1300s. It has, however, been entirely infiltrated by members of both the police and the Internal Intelligence Inspectorate and possess little threat. The Imperial Government?s investigation was set back by several months by a brilliant piece of investigative reporting by the Tagmatine Broadcasting Corporation.

 

?The recent statements by the True Church show exactly what they mean to do. Their mission is to overthrow all that is right and proper in Tagmatium, to remove the light of God and Socialism from the Greater Holy Empire, to throw us back into the bad old days of the Republic. Most of you here are old enough to remember what that would mean. But this time, it would not be a secular dictatorship, one which struck against those who it saw as weakening the power of it by speaking out against its myriad injustices or attempting to give the workers more freedom, but a malevolent theocracy, hell-bent on removing the right of religious freedom, something which Tagmatium has stood for so long, as well as bringing the nation back to unregulated capitalism, another feature of the Old Republic and one which George Wheelwright has shown to be one of his aims. The True Church hates religious freedom, and would dissolve the ancient agreement between the Orthodox Church and the Manicheans of Theis, and start to attack true followers of the teaching of Christ and other religions. We cannot stand for that, not in this day and age.

 

?Therefore, as Holy Emperor of the Greater Holy Empire, I must pronounce that the Church of True Orthodoxy is now a banned organisation. The leaders will be arrested and charged with treason, whilst those members of the HSE will also be charged with treason, as well as firearms offences. Ordinary members and clergy will be given clemency if they go back to communion with the Orthodox Church of Tagmatium, or if they decide that another Christian denomination is more worthy of their attentions, and renounce the vile teaching of George Wheelwright. Wheelwright?s beliefs are nothing more than a throwback to the Old Republic, and it was a mistake by Theodosius Carus, although I do not wish to speak ill of the dead, especially one who gave his life to Tagmatium, to keep him on as Metropolitan of Petrium.

 

?Ok, thank you all for coming.?

Commodus James during his speech

 

OOC: My next post, to confuse matters, will be set as this one's going on, but I've not actually had time to type it up yet...

 

And a shiny medal for whoever guesses the film that bloke's from (answers in the OOC thread if you care...)

Edited September 27, 2006 by Tagmatium Rules (see edit history)

[Tagmatium Rules]

OOC: Chronologically, the happenings in this post are going on just before the speech in my first post in this thread. Sorry about the confusion!

 

It was just before dawn, and in the grey light of the early morning, George Wheelwright rose from his bed in the large mansion in the foothills above Heiropolis that acted as the patriarchal palace of the Church of True Orthodoxy. The large city wouldn?t be properly active until well after dawn, and all that could be heard in the valley was the dawn chorus beginning to sing.

 

Wheelwright?s usual morning routine was to pray for a half hour or so before having a small breakfast of cereal and black tea, and then getting ready to spread the true word of God amongst the heretics, heathens, apostates and general unbelievers that now populated the Greater Holy Empire, thanks to the Socialists in the Imperial Government leading the oldest Christian nation in Europa astray from the true path, as set down by God Almighty.

 

This morning, the self-titled Patriarch of the Church of True Orthodoxy did indeed follow his usual morning routine. He left his private bedroom and walked through a walled courtyard, walking down a covered path towards the small chapel which stood at the heart of the grassed courtyard. Something he couldn?t quite put his finger one was niggling at him as he walked down the path. However, he still entered into his half-hour of prayer as normal, closing the heavy oak doors behind him.

 

He stood up half an hour later, and threw open the doors. In front of him stood a soldier in the uniform and insignia of the Imperial Guard, standing with his hands clasped behind his back.

 

?Mr. Wheelwright, I presume?? asked the soldier.

 

Wheelwright stood gob smacked for a few seconds before he recovered. ?That?s Patriarch Wheelwright to you. And who are you??

 

?I am Captain Crastinus of the Imperial Guard,? replied the Guardsman coolly. ?I would address you as patriarch if you really were, Mr Wheelwright. However, you were expelled from your post as Metropolitan of Petrium, and have set yourself up as an anti-Patriarch, attempting to subvert the authority of his holiness, Patriarch Cosmas.?

 

The anti-Patriarch lost his temper. ?Have you just been sent here to mock me? Or are you here for a reason?? he turned away from the Guardsman, and shouted for his bodyguards.

 

?I?m afraid, Mr Wheelwright, we have already? subdued your guards. They won?t disturb us,? the captain gave the priest a chilling smile. ?And I have come here to arrest you on a charge of heresy.?

 

?Heresy? but that needs the Holy Emperor?s permission to charge someone with that.? Wheelwright slid to his knees. He had always thought that Commodus had been a supporter of his movement, as the Holy Emperor had always kept quiet on the True Church. Wheelwright had even said that all they needed to do to bring Tagmatium back on the path set down by God was to get rid of the Imperial Government, as it was leading the Holy Emperor astray, down the route of the Godless Socialists, which would make the Greater Holy Empire into an atheist nation, or, worse, another religion. He?d been wrong all along? Commodus had been leading the Imperial Government, not the other way around. Wheelwright felt his dreams slipping away.

 

The Imperial Guardsman leaned towards the broken priest. ?Yes, it does need the Holy Emperor?s permission, and by all accounts, old Commodus ain?t too happy with your merry band of heretics.?

 

He stood up straight and gestured into the shadows. Two more guardsmen materialised out of them, and stood to the left and right of the demoralised ?patriarch?. Wheelwright, however, had seen a chance and leapt forwards, aiming to pull the officer?s sidearm out of its holster and shoot the man down. Captain Crastinus saw this movement, and knocked the anti-patriarch sprawling with a blow of his gauntleted fist.

 

?Oh, no, Mr Wheelwright,? snarled Crastinus. ?We?re not going to give you a chance to martyr yourself. At least, not today. Take him away, boys!?

 

The other two guardsmen picked up Wheelwright and dragged him bodily backwards, towards a waiting armoured van, which had been the source of the noise which had been irritating him forty minutes earlier. The captain followed them, jumping into the armoured van and slamming the rear doors shut.

Edited September 29, 2006 by Tagmatium Rules (see edit history)

[Tagmatium Rules]

Tagmatica Guardian

Tagmatium?s Premier Newspaper

Wheelwright released on Bail

 

Patriarch George Wheelwright has been released on bail by Seleucia Thematic Constabulary after being charged with heresy, inciting religious hatred, treason and being member of a banned organisation. He was taken to Seleucia Central Police Station after being arrested by an Imperial Guard unit in the early hours of Wednesday 27th of September. Seleucia Central Police Station was used due to fears that supporters of the Church of True Orthodoxy would attack whatever police station held him if he was kept in Heiropolis, which has become the ?capital? of the sect, in order to break him out. Seleucia both has a tiny True Church flock, a large Manichean minority and has the base of the Cataphract Corps on its outskirts, all of which reduced the chances of any trouble on the streets of the city. The Manichean population of Tagmatium has been the target of many attacks, attacks which are thought to have been carried out by the True Church, so they are virulently opposed to any expansion of the sect, especially into the City State of Theis.

 

When released from custody, Mr. Wheelwright immediately held an impromptu press conference outside of the police station, in which he addressed the circumstances of his arrest. It was noticed that Mr. Wheelwright had a bruised left cheek, and when questioned on it, he answered ?it was caused by the brutality of my captors, the Imperial Guard?. Mr. Wheelwright also stated that he ?had not realised that Tagmatium was under martial law? as the Imperial Government ?declined to send police, showing that they lacked respects for the rights of the individual, as well as the ideals of religious freedom?. Whilst he was giving his press conference, Mr. Wheelwright was heckled by a group of protestors, apparently from a wide group of faiths, including most obviously an Orthodox Priest and several Muslims. Some of them called Patriarch Wheelwright ?a fascist left over?, and a ?hatemonger?, as well as saying that he was ?totally ignorant of the ideal of religious freedom?. He merely shrugged at the challengers, and declined to answer their calls. After several minutes, they were moved along by several policemen. Police presence at the press conference was very conspicuous, although this might have been due to the fact that it was going on outside a police station.

 

The Imperial Government has yet to make a statement on the matter, although it has made its feelings more than clear after Holy Emperor Commodus made his speech on Wednesday morning upon the matter of the True Church. It?s not clear how members of the True Church have taken this action by the Imperial Government, but many will have become hostile towards Tagmatium after what some have termed a draconian measure by the Imperial Government. However, a much larger group have actually congratulated them on their actions against the Church of True Orthodoxy, seeing them as an enemy of Tagmatium and the multitude of different religions that reside within its borders. Patriarch Cosmas of the Iconoclastic Orthodox Church of Tagmatium, regarded by most as the ?true? patriarch, has not yet mentioned the arrest of George Wheelwright, but will undoubtedly crow over his victory over a group he has vehemently opposed since the True Church?s inception.

 

OOC: Those nations concerned can now, if they wish, post their opinions on it, as the actions of the Imperial Government are now common knowledge.

Edited September 29, 2006 by Tagmatium Rules (see edit history)