6 January 4482Inside the "Legionary Faith", Kizenia's Newest ReligionAbove: Construction on the Cathedral of the National Legion (Catedrala Legiunii Națională) began in 4475. It is currently estimated that the massive project will be completed by 4496 if the National Legion is able to maintain current levels of funding.Many citizens of the Confederacy of New Endralon, Kizenia, and Kuzaki (CNEKK) first heard about the "Legionary Faith" movement in October 4473, when three "Legionary Faith Schools" opened their doors to kindergarten through twelfth grade students in Cetatea Albă, the nation's capital city. Others had encountered proponents of the strange new religious movement a few months earlier, when the "Faithful Legionaries" began to conduct bizarre "bear dance" rituals in city centers throughout the Republic, distributing literature that some say was key to the Kizenian National Legion (Kizenian:
Legiunea Națională Chizână - LNC)'s strong showing in the October 4475 elections, the first elections in which the LNC participated.
The "Legionary Faith" movement recruited followers rapidly, gaining an estimated 7.1 million adherents (approximately 7% of the country's population) by late 4475, within two years of when the movement was founded. In September 4476, the Confederacy's United Chamber of Deputies voted to affirm the status of "Legionary Faith" as a "recognized religion" in CNEKK (see
here), a controversial move since some have denounced the movement as a cult.
The number of adherents to "Legionary Faith" has remained relatively stable since 4475, with just under 7 million CNEKK citizens currently declaring themselves "Faithful Legionaries". The movement continues to establish new places of worship and education; as of November 4481, there were 85 Legionary Faith Schools and 170 Legionary Faith Sanctuaries in the Confederacy.
The "Legionary Faith" adopts many of the symbols and trappings of Hosianism. Many of the newly-established Legionary Faith Sanctuaries are old church building which the LNC has purchased in rural areas of the country. However, many Church officials note that the "Legionary Faith" deviates radically from Hosianism. For instance, prayers are principally addressed to three entities: (1) Balmoxis the Elder (
Balmoxis cel Bătrân), an ancient Kizenian figure who is remembered for being the first to attempt to unite the ancient Malești and Muntești tribes in the 3rd century CE, who are the ancestors of modern Kizenians, (2)
Zeița Jade, or The Goddess Jade, an infamous ruler of Kizenia who instituted a de facto theocracy during the late 28th and early to mid 29th centuries, and (3) Ion Mihai Chizânesu, the current leader of the Kizenian National Legion and CNEKK's Prime Minister. "Faithful Legionary" priests claim that there is no theological contradiction between this practice and Hosianism, and that the "Legionary Faith" is compatible with what they call "Positive Hosianism", a term that the "Faithful Legionary" priesthood uses in contrast to "Negative Hosianism", which is usually invoked when the new religious movement faces hostility and criticism from the traditional Hosian churches.
Members of the Kizenian National Legion have remained guarded about the new religious movement's deeper beliefs. Sacred texts, rumored to be authored by the "Supreme Legionary Leader" Ion Mihai Chizânescu (who has recently been sworn in as CNEKK's Prime Minister), are guarded with utmost secrecy and circulated only among the highest echelons of the "Legionary Faith" movement's hierarchy. While the Kizenian National Legion itself maintains a simple four-level hierarchy with Legionaries, Legionary Subcommanders, Legionary Commanders, and the Supreme Legionary Leader, the "Legionary Faith" movement is said to have a much more complex hierarchy with more nuanced gradation, rumored to number 33 degrees.
Legionary Faith Sanctuaries hold worship services on Sunday mornings which are open to the general public, but only "Knowledge of the First Degree" is delivered by Faithful Legionary priests at these services. Services are also held on Monday nights; however, attendance at these services is limited to higher ranking "Faithful Legionaries" and "Knowledge of the Seventeenth Degree" is said to be invoked at these gatherings.
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