Synod of Kathura convenes; work so far announced.

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Synod of Kathura convenes; work so far announced.

Postby Oakwood » Mon Jun 26, 2017 7:34 pm

June 1st, 4232- The High Patriarch of the Apostolic Church, Daniel IV, has announced the new changes which were made thus far by the quickly convened Synod of Kathura. The High Patriarch read from a list, and proceeded to have them put on a golden easel. Many of the Bishops of the church have reportedly come to grips with the changes, though some are still holding out. The feelings of clerics in Algeria and the other churches have not been conveyed or inquired about.

Among the purported changes which will now be voted upon, as announced by the High Patriarch:

. The Apostolic Church of the Isles shall lose its rank as "first among equals" and shall now be deemed as equal to any other church within the communion. In addition, it has been stripped of its jurisdiction over Selucia.

. The Hobrazian Orthodox Church shall be stripped of its control over Pontesi, for the sake of convenience.

. The Barmenian Apostolic Church shall have its ecclesiastical dominion enlarged; it now controls all of Majarta, up to and including Pontesi, Cobura, Zardugal and Selucia.

. The Coburan Apostolic Tewahedo Church shall be merged with Barmenian Apostolic Church, due to the change in jurisdiction. The local church has been allowed to keep its liturgy, yet the official liturgy of the Barmenian Church itself remains Kathuran.

. The biblical canon shall be duly abolished. The main reference for the church shall now be the bible itself, with each church being able to select its own traditions.

. Women shall be allowed to become priests of their local churches, and even allowed to become Bishops if the local Church did not disallow them. However, this rule change shall merely allow local churches to grant them those positions; it specifically shall not mandate that women be appointed.

. The civil code, adopted from the Barmenian reformation, shall be formally codified. It granted equal status to women regarding cases of divorce and division of property, among other things. However, this code shall not be made binding on all churches.


Some have speculated that the conservative Algerian church may break away following the announcement of these modest changes. However, no schism has yet occurred among the Eastern ranks.
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Re: Synod of Kathura convenes; work so far announced.

Postby Polites » Tue Jun 27, 2017 9:57 am

Eastern Bishops Arrive
Delegations of Autocephalous Churches at Synod of Kathura

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The Patriarch of Sharba and the Patriarch of Astoria with their delegations

September 4232 - Responding to the call of the Patriarch of Kathura and High Patriarch of the Apostolic Church Daniel IV, bishops representing the five autocephalous Churches comprising the Apostolic Church of the East have arrived in Kathura. The agenda of the Synod convened by Maran Mar Daniel IV has attracted its fair share of criticism and controversy, and Patriarch of Sharba Marqos III and Patriarch of Qart Qildar Hannibal XXXVI, leading the delegations of the Tewahedo Church and the Church of the Isles respectively, have been among the most critical of the proposed jurisdictional changes, which would most significantly impact their Churches . Particularly, His Holiness Abune Marqos III has called the Kathuran Patriarch's initiative a "Barmenian power-play", condemning what he considers "men playing politics with the Church of God". The Tewahedo Church had actually been part of the Barmenian Apostolic Church until 3527, when it was granted autocephaly by Barmenian Patriarch Wrntukai II, but since then the Coburan Church has maintained its independence while also being involved in global Apostolic issues, including by the unofficial sponsorship of the Apostolic Army in Majatra. Given that the Barmenian Patriarch aims to remove his Church's autocephaly, it is unlikely Marqos will approve of these ecclesiastical changes.

The Coburan Patriarch is joined by the Patriarch of Qart Qildar in his criticism of Daniel IV's agenda. The Apostolic Church of the Isles was created in 3981 as a result of the Synod of Qart Qildar, widely seen at the time as a Cildanian power-play at the time when the Cildanian regime had invaded and occupied Badara. Given the circumstances under which Qart Qildar gained its primacy and jurisdiction over the Majatran Isles, the Cildanian Patriarch can be expected to be less critical of the political implications behind the Barmenian Church's move, and will instead focus more on theological and moral issues.

And indeed there is much consternation among both Cildanian and Tewahedo bishops over the proposed Barmenian move to recognize the ordination of women as priests and even bishops. At the time of the Synod of Qart Qildar the ordination of women as deacons was implemented as a compromise measure between the reformist Barmenian clergy and their more conservative Cildanian counterparts, and it is likely that many in the Apostolic Churches would condemn this move away from the Qart Qildar compromise. For this challenge to the Barmenian Church's stance they have the backing of not only their own bishops, but clergy from within the other Churches as well. Arguing that the ordination of women goes against Holy Tradition, the conservative bishops argue that, given that it has been the consensus of the Church, continued unbroken over the centuries, that women cannot become priests, then this is the Spirit of God's leading. Arguing that the question of the ordination of women did not surface in the early Church, or indeed not until the Barmenian Reformation, the conservative bishops contend that the Barmenian Church is following recent trends outside the faith, and not acting in agreement with the Church Fathers and Holy Tradition.

But in spite of these challenges, the Kathuran Patriarch may still gain the needed majority and pass his proposed reforms. If he does, there is the risk of a schism emerging within the Apostolic Church of the East, the first since the old Barmenian Church broke from the Apostolic Church of Barmenia in 3878.
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Re: Synod of Kathura convenes; work so far announced.

Postby Oakwood » Wed Jul 05, 2017 7:56 pm

Synod concludes; final reforms agreed upon.

Kathura, 4236- The Patriarch of Kathura has made several concessions to the Church of Cildania in order to earn support for his reforms. These have included allowing the Church to maintain their jurisdiction over Selucia. The reforms are thus the following:

. The Coburan Church shall recognize the Bamernian Church as its Mother Church and shall be required to receive approval from the Patriarch of Kathura and their synod regarding any and all changes they wish to make.

. The Cildanian Church shall lose its status of "first among equals".

. The Church of Pontesi shall be created as the Catholicosate of Pontesi, within the jurisdiction of the Apostolic Church Barmenia.

. The Barmenian Apostolic Church shall have its ecclesiastical dominion enlarged; it now controls all of continental Majarta, up to and including Zardugal.

. The biblical canon shall be duly abolished. The main reference for the church shall now be the bible itself, with each church being able to select its own traditions.

. Women shall be allowed to become priests of their local churches, and even allowed to become Bishops if the local Church did not disallow them. However, this shall be entirely voluntary and no local Church shall be forced to implement this change.

. The civil code shall be implemented on a theoretical basis; however, practical implementation shall be the prerogative of the individual Patriarch's and their Synod's. This shall be the case in all matters of divorce and partition of effects, unless an individual plaintiff were to petition the High Patriarch for a ruling on the matter.
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Re: Synod of Kathura convenes; work so far announced.

Postby Oakwood » Fri Jul 07, 2017 7:37 pm

Kathura, 4237- The bishops of the Barmenian Apostolic Church announced a further set of agreements for the purpose of allowing the Synod to conclude. This included declaring sainthood for all participants in the Synod of Qart Qildar; a move that has reportedly eased the tension between the reformist and conservative factions within the Barmenian church. Another move that was agreed to take place was to formally adopt as canon the Creed agreed upon at the Synod of Qart Qildar.

The last two items on the list, issued by the private secretary of the High Patriarch Daniel IV, was to formally recognize the Apostolic Army of Majarta as a "relief organization" and to embrace it as a formal organ of the church. The final item involved allowing for the "peaceful and consensual" conversion of felinists to the sect of Embreon. The sect, derided as a cult by 'purist felinists' such as the Pantherists and the Cult of the Sacred Feline, see the Embreonists as false due to their worship of an infite formless being. Still, the government of Barmenia has often recognized the Embreonic sect as the legitimate form of Felinism.
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