Reformed Church of the Black Flame
| Theology: | Flemic | |||
| Polity | Episcopal | |||
| Origin | 11.II1690 AN | |||
| Countries | Nova Caradia | |||
| Divisions | 3 dioceses | |||
| Members | 541,000 | |||
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This article or section is a work in progress. The information below may be incomplete, outdated, or subject to change. |
The Reformed Church of the Black Flame is a reorganised and reformed sect of the Church of the Black Flame, which lost much of its influence following the destruction of its seat of power and the deaths of much of its clergy during the Caradian Civil War. The church retains much of the old Black Flame faith’s organisation and hierarchy, but differs on certain doctrinal assertions, on which it tends more toward moderation than the old faith.
Beliefs
The theological beliefs of the reformed church are divergent from the main beliefs of the old faith in small ways. The reformed church continues in the belief in the three main cosmological realms, these being the Sublime Order, Micras, and the Frigid Chaos, and that Godrick I of Caradia was and will be a living god, counterpart to his father and enemy Farthur Selck. However, in the reformed church, the philosophy of the Eight-Edged Way and the doctrine of sainthood came under fire. In particular, leaders of the reformed church challenged the Way’s insistence on nationalism and service to one’s country, emphasising that this could not be tenable with the current situation of the world at large, as adherents should, to prepare themselves and their communities for battle with the forces of chaos, devote themselves to their faith and to order above their country. This was explained in the context of a possible conflict between multiple nations that count Flemics amongst their citizenry; in this instance, Flemics should align themselves with the church itself and its opinions on the matter, rather than automatically devoting themselves to their own country and possibly killing other Flemics in the name of order.
With respect to this dismissal of one of the old faith’s central philosophies, the idea of sainthood was also questioned, mainly due to the fact that the Eight-Edged Way itself was created and codified by a saint, Sfânt Frasin, and, in the doctrine of the old faith, the word of a saint was the spoken word of Godrick himself, and was therefore infallible. In addition to this contradiction, Lacrima Esfețul, one of the founding members of the reformed church and the only surviving bishop of the old faith, provided evidence in the form of records kept of sayings of past saints perceived to be important at the time of saying, many of which were patently false, with the foremost example used by Lacrima being the utterance of the phrase “My King, Saint Godrick VIII, shall never die, and shall lead Caradia on to the Order,” by Sfânt Mircea on his deathbed, a phrase which was proven false three months later when King-Saint Godrick VIII’s life was taken by a seizure. These inaccuracies were used as a basis to deny the divinity of saints. The doctrine leaves room for “messengers” of Godrick, but stops short of calling these people divine.
Use of Sarnechi
As part of the reforms, Sarnechi, the primary language of the old Duchy, and of the new republic, was declared to be a holy language in the church, and a number of terms were officially changed to Sarnechi counterparts. Reference to these terms in the context of the church is only intended to be made in the Sarnechi language.
| Istvanistani Term | Sarnechi Term |
|---|---|
| Reformed Church of the Black Flame | Biserica Reformată a Flăcării Negre (Abbreviated: BRFN) |
| The Ancestor (Godrick I) |
Strămoșul |
| The Enemy (Farthur Selck) |
Dusmanul |
| The Sublime Order | Ordinea |
| The Frigid Chaos | Haosul |
