Ludwiggian Reformed Church
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| Theology: | Nazarene | |||
| Polity | Presbyterian | |||
| Origin | 7.IV1690 AN | |||
| Countries | Sankt Ludwigshafen, United Cities | |||
| Divisions | 23 congregations | |||
| Baptised members | 82,182 | |||
The Ludwiggian Reformed Church is a Nazarene denomination, that was the only major religious organisation in Sankt Ludwigshafen and later the United Cities. The church was established in 1690, after it was discovered that the saint of the old pagan Siseranist religion, Ludwig of Walstadt was baptised into the Nazarene faith in secret, and only adhered to Siseranism because he sought an alliance with the Jingdaoese Empire. The 10th day of the 4th month of the year 1690 is considered to be the day the church was founded, or reformed out of the old Siseranist church. This is the day that the caravel Redemption returned from the South Sea Islands.
History
In 1690, it was discovered in the diaries of Ludwig of Walstadt, that he was a secret believer in the Nazarene faith, and even baptised. Ludwig was revered as a saint in the Siseranist faith of Sankt Ludwigshafen and this discovery shook the republic on its theological foundations. After learning of this, two caravels with fishermen and Siseranist clergy were sent to the South Sea Islands, where the Protestantse Kerk in de Zuidzee-eilanden preaches the Nazarene faith. One of these caravels was named the Redemption, the other the Tradition. The caravels travelled west, along the northern shore of Cibola, where they re-supplied in Nova Victoria. After several weeks on sea, they were able to sight Saint Cristopher's tower in Joseph Town on Trinity Island in the South Sea Islands.
Near the Joseph Town Cathedral they met with clergy and layman alike, to learn more about the Nazarene faith. The new faith was repugnant to the Siseranist clergy, who declared it a folly and set of to Jingdao in one of the caravels, the one which was named Tradition, unable to navigate the high seas of Micras without the help of the fishermen, they sailed towards the southern ice caps, where they were devoured by flesh eating penguins. The fishermen on the other hand found great comfort in the new faith, especially the parable in Mark 1:16-20 where Yeshua calls the fishermen and makes them fisher of men. Forty days and forty nights, the fishermen stayed in Joseph Town and they learned what they could from the Protestant Church of the South Sea Islands, and they were also baptised.
When these forty days and forty nights were over they set sail to the east in the Redemption. On the early hours of night on the second day of their travel towards home, a storm arose and the waves on the Southern Sea were so high that the fishermen feared for their lives. Sigmund, the youngest of the fishermen was the only one amongst them who was not frightened, he admonished his fellow crew members to pray to the Lord to give them strength, and keep their faith. The storm proved not to be their end, and when the morning sun rose out of the blue ocean, the caravel was still intact, as was the faith of the crew, and they praised the Lord. With the wind in their sails, they reached Sankt Ludwigshafen in a week, without having to call a port to find supplies. On the quay, many were waiting for them to return. The fishermen told everyone about the storm, and how they had survived it because they remained strong in their faith, and many in Sankt Ludwigshafen started to believe in the Lord and they were baptised by the fishermen.
In IX.1703 the Ludwiggian Reformed Church was given funding by the Stadtparlement to produce translations of the entire Holy Scripture into the Saxon language as spoken in Sankt Ludwigshafen. This translation was known as the Stadtparlementübersetzung of 1703. Following the emergence of the Republic of the United Cities in the Lanzerwald and a shift to Cibolan-Diets being the dominant language in the new republic, the need arose for a new translation. The Steden-Generaal gave funding to the Ludwiggian-Reformed Church to prepare the Stedenvertaling of 1710 in Cibolan-Diets.
Following the creation of the Confoederatio Aemilia as a partial successor state to Sankt Ludwigshafen, the Ludwiggian Reformed Church lost most of its influence and had to deal with a society that was sceptical towards Nazarene claims and would not accept conservative views that were often associated with the faith. Especially contentious was the request from many prominent intellectuals in Aemilian society, that the Ludwiggian Reformed Church should alter the text of the Holy Bible to remove parts that were considered homophobic or misogynist. As the Cibolan-Diets Prinsessenvertaling without these passages was published in 1735, and the Cibolan-Saxon Stadtparlementübersetzung in 1736, they quickly became popular and from 1740 onwards they were considered the only acceptable translations for use in the church.
Doctrine
The doctrine of the Ludwiggian Reformed Church is first and foremost based on the Helicorean Creed, the church also teaches the five solae:
- Sola scriptura: the theology of the Ludwiggian Reformed Church is derived from the Holy Bible, and not from traditions.
- Sola fide: Salvation is not received because of good deeds, but only received through faith.
- Sola gratia: No person deserves to be saved, as all have sinned, salvation is only received through divine grace.
- Solo Yeshuo: There is no mediator between the believer and God apart from Yeshua, the Son of God Himself, there is no need for a priest or saint to pray on behalf of the believer.
- Soli Deo gloria: All worship is to be directed towards God and God alone.
Confessional documents
International ministry
The Ludwiggian Reformed Church considers itself not only a church for the people in Sankt Ludwigshafen, but wants to ignite a revival of the Nazarene faith all over Micras. It has send missionaries to various nations on all continents and supports oppressed believers. The church is also active on the Alduro-Wechua social networking site Tweeter, where it attracts a a diverse following.
