Selucian Universal Church

Not to be confused with the Selucian Patriarchal Church

The Selucian Universal Church is one of the many religions in Terra.

History
The Selucian Universal Church was founded in the year 33, with the descent of the Spirit and the appointment of the first Episkopes, or Church leaders, in Yishelem, at the time now known as Quinquagesimus. The Church spread to Selucia quickly under the leadership of the head of the Church, the Holy Kepha, the first Papa of the Church and chief of the Apostles.

After his crucifixion on Vortican Hill, Auroria, Selucia in the year 66, the Church continued to grow but for thousands of years experienced the first of the Great Dark Ages to afflict the Church.

On May 21, 2408 Papa John I passed away and the subsequent Conclave elected Paul I on May 28, 2408. He would later pass away in an unknown date.

Both Popes faced great hardships as they were still at odds with the established religion and several emperors and in the end began a second great dark age. After many years Papa Pius I was elected on April 28, 2568 ending the Second Great Dark Age.

Of the history of this period, little is known, and the Third Great Dark Age swiftly followed, during which history's silence on the Selucian Universal Church is but rarely broken, punctuated with obcure figures such as Papa Gregorius I, and but for his almost unknown reign, it can effectively be said to have formed an unbroken period of darkness with the Fourth Dark Age.

This period ended on December 6 3223, with the election of Papa Paulus II, who led the Church into an era of unprecedented evangelisation. On January 11 3242 he died, and in one of the quickest Conclaves in the history of the Church, his successor Paulus III was elected the next day. Continuing and extending the policies of his predecessor, Paulus II proved both a capable administrator and an effective pastor, but was by this time an elderly man, and he passed away on January 11, 3245. On January 19 that year, the Conclave elected his successor, Paulus IV. A somewhat younger and more vigorous Papa, he would reign until his death on 28 December 3254.

It would take until February 19 3255 for the Conclave to choose his successor. Each of these Pauline papas had been reluctant to create many new Clavial electors, aware of the chaos and ignominy that too many powerful clerics in the Church had created in the past. While each had been capable and orthodox, the cadre of effective hierarchs built up under the reign of Paulus II had been whittled down in the preceding 15 years by old age, infirimity, and continuing persecution. Eventually, they settled on the man who would become Papa Alexander I. A young man, he was generally considered by his older colleagues in the Conclave to be dull and a "safe pair of hands", who would reign for perhaps ten years or so and give the Church - and the Curia - a chance to recover its breath.

Alexander proved to be anything but the safe pair of hands predicted. Shortly following his coronation, he swiftly grasped the reigns of power, enacting top-to-bottom reform of the Papal Court, closing many redundant offices. He proved to be full of reforming zeal, and the scourge of corrupt and lax clerics throughout the Church.

Late in his reign, he oversaw a vigorous assault on the Deltarian-based Terran Church, a long-term rival, destroying their "Vatikan" base of operations and establishing Selucian Universal control over their churches and the restoring orthodoxy to Deltaria.

In 3295, he died, doubtless exhausted by his lengthy and busy reign. Controversy rocked the Church almost immediately. After the longest reign of any Papa since the Dark Age, who would now lead the Church? Unlike his predecessors, Alexander had vastly increased the size of the College of Clavials as he had expanded the borders of the Church. The Conclave wrangled for a long time over whom to elect, in the end settling on the Selucian head of the Universal Church in Luthori, Baldovino Clavial Gioia, who took the name Leo.

Beliefs
The beliefs of the Selucian Universal Church believes in a tri-une God, of one being with three persons, called the Patriarch, the Scion and the Spirit. Central to its beliefs is the crucifixion of the Scion, who according to Universal belief entered into the world in Yishelem, as the preacher and miracle-worker Yeshu Chrest, in the year 33, and his subsequent resurrection from the dead. The Church's beliefs are codified in the Universal Creed, promulgated by Papa Leo I in 3296:

Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the Universal faith. Which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled; without doubt he shall perish everlastingly. And the Universal faith is this:

That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; Neither confounding the Persons; nor dividing the Essence. For there is one Person of the Patriarch; another of the Scion; and another of the Spirit. But the Godhead of the Patriarch, of the Scion, and of the Spirit, is all one; the Glory equal, the Majesty coeternal. Such as the Patriarch is; such is the Scion; and such is the Spirit. The Patriarch uncreated; the Scion uncreated; and the Spirit uncreated. The Patriarch unlimited; the Scion unlimited; and the Spirit unlimited. The Patriarch eternal; the Scion eternal; and the Spirit eternal. And yet they are not three eternals; but one eternal. As also there are not three uncreated; nor three infinites, but one uncreated; and one infinite. So likewise the Patriarch is All-Ruling; the Scion All-Ruling; and the Spirit All-Ruling. And yet they are not three All-Rulers; but one All-Ruling. So the Patriarch is God; the Scion is God; and the Spirit is God. And yet they are not three Gods; but one God. So likewise the Patriarch is Lord; the Scion Lord; and the Spirit Lord. And yet not three Lords; but one Lord. For like as we are compelled by the Chrestian verity; to acknowledge every Person by himself to be God and Lord; So are we forbidden by the Universal religion; to say, There are three Gods, or three Lords. The Patriarch is made of none; neither created, nor begotten. The Scion is of the Patriarch alone; not made, nor created; but begotten. The Spirit is of the Patriarch and of the Scion; neither made, nor created, nor begotten; but proceeding. So there is one Patriarch, not three Patriarchs; one Scion, not three Scions; one Spirit, not three Spirits. And in this Trinity none is before, or after another; none is greater, or less than another. But the whole three Persons are coeternal, and coequal. So that in all things, as aforesaid; the Unity in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity, is to be worshipped. He therefore that will be saved, let him thus think of the Trinity.

Furthermore it is necessary to everlasting salvation; that he also believe faithfully the Incarnation of our Lord Yeshu Chrest. For the right Faith is, that we believe and confess; that our Lord Yeshu Chrest, the Scion of God, is God and Man; God, of the Essence of the Patriarch; begotten before all ages; and Man, of the Essence of his Mother, born in the world. Perfect God; and perfect Man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting. Equal to the Patriarch, as touching his Godhead; and inferior to the Patriarch as touching his Manhood. Who although he is God and Man; yet he is not two, but one Chrest. One; not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh; but by assumption of the Manhood by God. One altogether; not by confusion of Essence; but by unity of Person. For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man; so God and Man is one Chrest. And this one Lord, Yeshu Chrest, the Only-begotten Son of God. Born of the Patriarch before all ages. God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God. Begotten, not made, of one substance with the Patriarch. By whom all things were made. Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven. And became incarnate by the Spirit of the Virginal Miriam: and was made man. He was also crucified for us, suffered under Pontilius Pelatos, and was buried. Who suffered for our salvation; descended into the depths of Perdition; rose again the third day from the dead. He ascended into Salvation, he sitteth on the right hand of the God the Patriarch All-Ruling, from whence he will come to judge the living and the dead. At whose coming all men will rise again with their bodies; And shall give account for their own works. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting; and they that have done evil, into everlasting fire. This is the Universal faith; which except a man believe truly and firmly, he cannot be saved.

And in the Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, Who proceeds from the Patriarch and the Scion. Who together with the Patriarch and the Scion is adored and glorified, and who spoke through the prophets. And one holy, Universal and apostolic Church. That we confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins and that we await the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.

That we most steadfastly admit and embrace apostolical and ecclesiastical traditions, and all other observances and constitutions of the Church.

That we also admit the Holy Writ according to that sense which our holy mother the Church hath held, and doth hold, to whom it belongeth to judge of the true sense and interpretations of the Writs. Neither will we ever take and interpret them otherwise than according to the unanimous consent of the Fathers. That we also profess that there are truly and properly Seven Sanctifications of the New Law, instituted by Yeshu Chrest our Lord, and necessary for the salvation of mankind, though not all for every one; to wit, Lustration, Affirmation, the Divine Banquet, Penitence, Last Anointing, Sacred Enrolment, and Marriage; and that they confer grace; and that of these, Lustration, Affirmation, and Sacred Enrolment cannot be reiterated without sacrilege.

That we also receive and admit the received and approved ceremonies of the Universal Church in the solemn administration of the aforesaid sanctifications.

That we profess, likewise, that in the Divine Banquet there is offered to God a true, proper, and propitiatory sacrifice for the living and the dead; and that in the most holy sanctification of the Divine Banquet there is truly, really, and substantially, the Body and Blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Yeshu Chrest; and that there is made a conversion of the whole substance of the bread into the Body, and of the whole substance of the wine into the Blood, which conversion the Universal Church calls Transubstantiation. That we also confess that under either kind alone Chrest is received whole and entire, and a true sanctification.

That we constantly hold that there is a Refining, and that the souls therein detained are helped by the suffrages of the faithful. Likewise, that the saints, reigning together with Chrest, are to be honoured and invoked, and that they offer prayers to God for us, and that their relics are to be venerated. That we most firmly assert that the images of Chrest, of the Mother of God, ever virginal, and also of other Holy Ones, ought to be had and retained, and that due honour and veneration is to be given them. That we also affirm that the power of indulgences was left by Chrest in the Church, and that the use of them is most wholesome to Chrestian people.

That we acknowledge the Holy Universal Apostolic Selucian Church as the mother and mistress of all churches; and we promise true obedience to the Bishop of Auroria, successor to the Holy Kepha, Prince of the Apostles, and Vicar of Yeshu Chrest.

That we likewise undoubtedly receive and profess all other things delivered, defined, and declared by the sacred Canons, and general Councils, particularly concerning the primacy of the Selucian Pontifex and his infallible teaching. That we condemn, reject, and anathematize all things contrary thereto, and all heresies which the Church hath condemned, rejected, and anathematized.

This true Universal faith, outside of which no one can be saved, which we now freely profess and to which we truly adhere, inviolate and with firm constancy until the last breath of life, we do so profess and swear to maintain with the help of God. And we shall strive, as far as possible, that this same faith shall be held, taught, and professed by all those over whom we have charge. We do so pledge, promise, and swear, so help me God and these Holy Writs.

Church Structure
The Universal Church is divided into three Rites, based on local liturgy and historical Church practice, and four Fatherships, which oversee particular parts of the world.

Selucian Rite Churches:

Fathership of Majarta

Province of Selucia Papa, Father of the Selucian Rite, Father of Majarta, Primate of Selucia, Metropolitan Arch-Episkope of Auroria: Leo I Episkope of Victoria: Umberto Clavial Russo Episkope of Kabbasa: Giovanni Clavial Colombo Episkope of Augusta: Lazzaro Clavial Campi Episkope of Goldaria: Matteo Clavial de Luca

Province of Jelbania Primate of Jelbania, Metropolitan Arch-Episkope of Baofluz: Thomas Clavial Wood Episkope of Pittsway Cove: Raphaël Berger Episkope of Surel: Joshua Wright Episkope of Wattrelies: Robert Miller Episkope of Coruscant: Noël Richelieu

Province of Beiteynu and Jutridan Primate of Beiteynu and Jutridan, Metropolitan Arch-Episkope of Yishelem: Abraham Clavial Gorion Episkope of Tel Bira: Malachi Arad Episkope of Kreniste: Uzziel Yadin Episkope of Gush Gadid: Mikha'el Naor Episkope of Tel Bidzhan: Moshe Ronen

Province of Solentia Primate of Solentia, Metropolitan Arch-Episkope of Halion: David Clavial Mason Episkope of Pinara: Mark West Episkope of Tauromenium: Douglas Cooper Episkope of Calydon: Allen Hall Episkope of Clezomene: Henry Groves

Province of Deltaria Primate of Deltaria, Metropolitan Arch-Episkope of Naban: Paolo Clavial Auditore Episkope of Kecskemét: Vladimir Ivanov Episkope of Tylian: Tikhon Alexandrov Episkope of Menkask: Nikolai Petrovsky Episkope of Sfantul Gheorge: Konstantin Solovyov

Fathership of Artania

Province of Luthori Father of Artania, Primate of Luthori, Metropolitan Arch-Episkope of Oalapo: John Clavial Vaughan. Episkope of Youk: Oliver Ward Episkope of Randamar: Arthur Hunt Episkope of Williamsborough: Louis Stewart Episkope of Fort William: Henry Adams

Province of Malivia Primate of Malivia, Metropolitan Arch-Episkope of His Majesty the Raja's Divine Fortress: Gabriele Clavial Trovato S.Y. Episkope of Serdika: Santoso Bataks Episkope of Kapel: Setiwan Minangkabau Episkope of Greabok: Guntur Manado Episkope of Fürdstatt: Chahaya Ambon

Fathership of Seleya

Province of Aldegar Father of Seleya, Primate of Aldegar, Metropolitan Arch-Episkope of Aldegaria: Nicodemo Clavial Mariano O.P. Episkope of Libertad: Farid Arbab Episkope of Chimba: Nouri Najafi Episkope of Williamsburg: Hassan Parande Episkope of Shaftesbury: Heydar Golshiri

Fathership of Dovani

Province of Indrala Father of Dovani, Primate of Indrala, Metropolitan Arch-Episkope of Xijing: Ignazio Clavial Leone S.Y. Episkope of Beizhou: Han Xû Episkope of Nanzhou: Shi Chen Episkope of Dengzhou: Ping He Episkope of Dongzhou: Ru Chéng

Pontesian Rite Churches:

Province of Pontesi Father of the Pontesian Rite, Primate of Pontesi, Metropolitan Archeparch of Lerna: Ansgar Clavial Þorirsson Eparch of Diar Elahmar: Ásgautr sonr Gísmundar Eparch of Dawnstar: Ingvarr sonr Þorkell Eparch of Nazirija: Eric Hamondson Eparch of Anastaiah: Ottar Isleifson

Province of Barmenia Primate of Barmenia, Metropolitan Archeparch of Sekhmet: Verner Clavial Ljungborg Eparch of Maneko Neki: Ivar Vång Eparch of Demeter: Karl Tjäder Eparch of Dinah: Otto Nylund Eparch of Meowth: Ragnor Lager

West Cildanian Rite Churches:

Province of Cildania Father of the West Cildanian Rite, Primate of Cildania, Metropolitan Archeparch of Cildania City: Aaron Clavial Barasch Eparch of Velieres: Ephraim Levi Eparch of Santa Alexandra: Iorweth Hughes Eparch of Qart Yam: Ariel Cohen Eparch of Qart Ramesh: Elijah Segal