Gergorian Church

The Gergorian Church or Gergorinism is is a monotheistic religion focused mainly on the continent of Goralia. It follows the teachings of Gergorin of Perelojka. The followers of this faith, known as Gergorians believe that Gergorin is the incarnation of God who came to earth to teach them the way to eternal salvation.

The religion started out as one of the thousands of belief systems that occupied pre-imperial Goralia but quickly became the most prominent after the first emperor of the Tyrvopolite Empire was crowned in 19 FL by the first Patron Josip I. It has since suffered a schism in 203 FL however it remains one of the largest religions in the world and is generally accepted amongst all the rulers of Goralia (excluding the Resél).

[Statistics TBD, Population, % of world]

Establishment of Gergorianism
According to Gergorian theology, the prophet Gergorin was found in the mountains near Perelojka as a young child. He was adopted by a family of fair and good people who remain unnamed in the scriptures. From a young age Gergorin was considered to be greatly enlightened learning to write at a very young age. By the age of 10 he was considered somewhat of a local oracle as he spoke of God and how if the people do not change their ways they will be smitten and will not be able to go to Nojobin. Initially there was opposition but as the years went on Gergorin performed many miracles which validated him in the eyes of the Perelojkans. By the age Gergorin was 20 he was a key advisor to the Dukoj Andrei Prisem of Perelojka, and by 22 he married the Dukoj's daughter and heir Elena. The Dukoj swore a vow of celibacy and devoted himself to Gergorin leaving Elena, Gergorin's wife as the sole heir to the Dukovy. It was agreed that the first born son of Elena and Gergorin would become the next Dukoj, he was born in 70 FP and was named Petyer. Petyer is considered one of the most key characters of Gergorinism as it is he who created Kolijga, the Gergorian holy scriptures based on his father's instructions.

Gergorin is said to have ascended into the sky after completing the last part of the Kolijga in 53 FP. Dukoj Andrei and Elena, having sacrificed their lives to Gergorin starved themselves to death in the following months, they are considered to be some of the most holy men and women in the religion and are recognised as the patrons of all monarchs and feudal lords as well as mothers and wives respectively. Not much is known about Petyer's time as Dukoj except that he married a local noble-woman who bore him 5 known children including the first non-official Patron of Gergorinism and the next Dukoj of Perelojka.

A great friend of Gergorin known as Vladmir of Severk was given the task by Gergorin himself to select a successor to lead the faith after he is gone. Vladmir therefore chose Petyer's eldest son - Josip for the task. Josip is recognised as the first non-official Patron of Gergorinism as well as the founder of the Josipian line of Patrons which ruled between 19 FL and 203 FL only to be brought back (in the traditional church) in 221 FL.

Gergorian Schism
Main Article: Gergorian Schism

The year 203 brought around the death of Patron Josip X. Instead of appointing his eldest son as the scriptures according to Vladmir state, the Emperor Dimivij III in the Tyrvopolite Empire intervened claiming that a more senior successor exists. He claimed that Gergorin's son Petyer had not 5 but 6 children and his eldest son was not Josip I but a man called Gremil. He claimed Germil was born with a facial deformity and was cast away only to be adopted by another family. His line was according to the emperor, continued to this day and was present in a theologian he called Ardemal. He therefore crowned Ardemal as the first Patron in Tyrvopol as oppose to those of Perelojka. Ardemal I is known not only as the founder of the Tyrvopolite Patracy but also as the founder of the Gremilite line of Patrons. The immediate response of the Perelojkan Patracy was to crown the next Patron, Vladmir VIII anyway. This resulted in the Emperor's decision to capture and execute Vladmir which he succeeded after 1 year later in 204 FL.

The execution of Patron Vladmir resulted in immediate armed rebellion in Perelojka in which was met with bloody and brutal pacification. Vladmir's brother, Andrei, the rightful Patron realised he is likely to be killed as well so he took his operations underground where he taught his young son Josip the ways of Gergorin. In 219 FL Andrei died without being crowned Patron. However, times were getting better for traditionalist Gergorians as 2 years later in 221 FL The Cysterian siege of Tyrvopol came to an end effectively destroying the Tyrvopolite Empire. Perelojka was now free and Josip XI was immediately crowned Patron. This however did not end the Tyrvopolite Patracy

Since the Schism the beliefs of Perelojkan Gergorians have not changed and are considered to be the closest dogma to the teaching of Gergorin himself.

Afterlife
According to Gergorian theology, after death there exist two states of existance. First is the land of Nojobin where all the worthy and good people go. There they may rest for eternity and live without pain or suffering. Those who are particularly heroic or virtuous they are selected by god to return to earth in the form of ghostly apparitions to aid monarchs. For this reason rulers who follower the Gergorian faith take paranormal activity very seriously as they see it as a sign from their ancestors warning them against something. The historian Grizmil of Sivan describes such an event regarding the last Emperor of tyrvopol - Dimivij III in the year 221FL."'The Emperor had at that moment called the council for an emergency meeting, for reports of a massive navy have been spotted north of the Ispolinian channel. The most threatening part of this message was that the ships waved the golden sun of the Cysterian Empire. The advisers of the emperor advised him to barricade Tyrvopol for the Cysterians could not possibly siege it from sea. The Emperor however, was convinced that the best course of action would be to send the Tyrvopolite fleet to destroy that of Cysteria. After a heated argument it is said the king slammed his fist on the table and exclaimed '...for the grace and virtue of our lord Gergorin, I am emperor and at dawn we sail for the Cysterian fleet!' After he finished his sentence it is said the fires in the room went out and the table began to shake. Many advisers saw this as a sign from Dimivij's ancestors that he is making a mistake, yet he did not change his mind, instead he stormed out of the room. 4 months later his head was on a pike in the centre of Tyrvopol's largest square after his fleet was demolished by the Cysterians in the battle of Ziverin Pass.'"The second state of existence is that of an unnamed island which is said to be covered in eternal winter. its land is stalked by horrific beasts and the bodies of those who have in their lives been particularly evil, cruel or wicked. These people may never rest for it is said the island is too cold for their bodies to ever attempt to even pass into the afterlife. It is further said this island exists on earth and may be found, but none should enter it otherwise they may never leave again. Those who are sent to the island after death must wander for eternity in a state of drunkenness and commit pointless tasks like moving rocks from one side of the island to the other or be punished.

Body Consciousness
The Gergorians believe that consciousness and the flesh are directly linked. They believe that once a human dies their consciousness slowly begins to move to their place of eternal rest - should it be Nojobin or the isle of eternal winter. because the consciousness and the flesh are linked, the flesh withers away too. For this reason it is believed that people retain consciousness of where they are until most of their body had withered away. For this reason the Gergorians perform an ancient ceremony known as Pozhivod where they lay their dead in open graves with the top sticking out, usually overseeing a beautiful view so until half of their body has passed, they may watch the views of Goralia for the last time before they leave to a better (or worse) world. This process, while unpleasant is extremely important and those who take care of the withering dead are payed well, usually by the family of the deceased. Once half of the body has left, the body is buried, usually in a family crypt or plot for the less rich. It is said that on the isle of eternal winter it is so cold that the body cannot wither so the dead remain completely conscious for eternity.

Kolijga
The Kolijga is the name given to the holy scriptures of Gergorianism. The scriptures are split into three main parts. The first talks about the creation of the world by the holy Gergorin himself and the life of Gergorin including the miracles he performed. The second details the rules all of his followers should follow to reach Nojobin.

The Tyrvopolite Church of Gergorin
The Tyrvopolite Church of Gergorin was created through the Gergorian Schism of 203. The schism resulted in the creation of a second Ptracy which survived the Cysterian rule over Tyrvopol as a secret cult and returned to prominence after the fall of Cysteria in the west in 735 FL. The Church quickly became the main religion of many splintered states in the place of the now broken Kingdom of Tyrvopol.

The Church differs on many matters with the Perelojkan church. Most importantly the churches disagree on the purpose and hierarchy of religion and state. The Perelojkan church believes that monarchs act as tools of God, while the Tyrvopolian church believes monarchs are the incarnations of god and are there for infallible. This is further reinforced by the beliefs regarding materialism. The Perelojkan church rejects materialistic goods as a way of supporting the religion and instead promotes hard labour - this is reversed by the Tyrvopolite church which encourages monetary donations to the Patracy.

The Enlightened Church of the United Gods
Main Article: Enlightened Church of United Gods

The Enlightened Church of the United Gods or Unanitarianism is a small religion followed by roughly 5,000 people across the entirety of the world however most of them are located on Hritska Isle. The reason the church relocated there from Goralia was because of the instructions the founder of the religion, Josip Ryzingier recieved from the supposed god.

The religion was founded in 329 FL by Josip Ryzingier, a Svetossiyan with Zinterwaaler origins. He claimed to have seen a vision of a deity which had the form of a glowing horse and it explained that it is the creator of the universe, and he is not satisfied with the way people are living. He explained that Gergorin, Fochius and other human gods are other incarnations of himself. Finally he added that the island of Hritska contained what was left of his only temple and that Ryzingier should find it and start society there again.

Ryzingier converted several hundred people to his faith and by late 331 FL the people transported themselves and their goods to the island where only a small tribe lived before. Upon arriving the search for the temple began, and soon old ruins were uncovered with several ancient carvings inside. One of the carvings happened to be that of a horse head in portrait. Ryzingier immediately assumed that this was the place and adopted the carving as the symbol of his faith. In 372 FL it was declared a heresy by the Perelojkan Patracy and subsequently the Tryvopolite and Fochiite leadership.

The Church of the Vladmirian Scriptures
The Church of the Vladimirian Scriptures is a denomination of the Grigorian Church which is older than the Tyrvopolite Church. The denomination numbers approximately 20,000 followers which are spread out across Goralia. The Vladimirans focus on the scriptures written by Vladmir of Severk. While there are several of these that both Patracies in Perelojka and Tyrvopol recognise, the Vladmirian Church recognises a further 4 books of Vladmir which were supposedly written after the ascendance of Grigorin.

In the scriptures Vladmir describes the true nature of God:

"God is not one being. God is every star in the sky, each fish in the sea, each plant on the ground and each man on earth. Our prophet Grigorin while great, is only one incarnation of God. God is all. All idols and gods are - the god. To pray to a God, no matter how evil or pure, is to pray to the God."

The Vladimiran church has taken on a very idealistic and polytheistic approach. Many worship emperors and kings while others worship old pagan gods, all united by the scriptures.

The Church of Schtillenburg
The Chuch of Schtillenburg is a denomination of the Girgorian Church which numbers between 3,000 and 9,000 members almost all of whom reside in the township of Schtillenburg in Teichenburg. The Church is based around the belief that Grigorin did not ascend to Kolijga in 53 FP but that he sailed to Teichenburg where he aimed to spread the truth for he knew the lands of Goralia were only a small portion of the world.

Theories created by Grigorian theologians suggest that this religion was created as an effect of mass hysteria during the Hurdegan Invasions of Zinterwaal at the time. This is further supported by the materialistic and selfish nature of the religion and its belief giving the "Grand Patron" many benefits over common folk. Teichenburg officials have ruled the religion harmless however it has been in recent time the focus of many Fochiite campaigns to drive out any heresy from their continent.

Demographics
The Gergorian faith is widely practiced across Southern Goralia and the Western parts of Avanea that are under Ispolinian control. Some small communities in North-West Avanea also follow Gergorianism as a result of conversion by the Tyrvopolian empire, and many claim descent from old Tyrvopolian magistrates and nobles. However they are a very small minority and the religion has little presence in the region aside from its Western coast.

Additionally, the east Resél country of Ésstervel follows Perelojkan Gergorianism and are known for their zeal for the religion whilst being surrounded by infidel nations. During the Crusade for Perelojka, Ésstrevel took up arms against its neighbours to aid the Gergorian armies, something that has created a rift between them and other Resel nations that lasts to this day.

Gergorianism is followed by some small communities in the South of the Resel Confederation, over the Pastrovian mountain range. The small states in Tyrvopol practice the religion.