Reverential Address - The Cycle Of Growth

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Reverential Address
The Cycle of Growth
High Exarch Aelfric Harhold

April 19th, 308 AC

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'Sɛkʃn I - Acknowledgements
'Sɛkʃn II - Cycles of Union
'Sɛkʃn III - Spring and the Cycle of Growth
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“The Divine Spirit has shown us the way, and the way we shall follow. For through my hands, its will shall become manifest, but mine hands are only two of many.
- Emperor Theomar the Holy, Excerpt from the Second Creed of Unionism -

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| 'Sɛkʃn I |

Before I begin to scribe my teachings onto parchment, I wish to make a few acknowledgements and nay, they are not on the current war of words on our notice boards.

Friday April 17th was the Hallowed Reiher-Tag of Jacotin the Hardworking. Therefore, before I delve into the teachings of the day, I shall offer a prayer in line with Heron Jacotin to celebrate his life and ask him to tell the Holy Spirit of our devout faith for Him and His teachings.

O’ Jacotin,
As we call to the steps on high,
We ask of you to apprise the Spirit on our behalf,
We wish to ask you to tell Him,
He who sits on the Imperial Throne,
That we in line with your teachings,
Will toil in the name of the Spirit,
Work day in and day out to further the Great Way as you did,
To push past the challenges we face,
To prosper in the peace times,
To triumph in the hard times,
And remind ourselves that to reach what lies beyond,
To reach our destined future,
We must peg away,
We must be successful in this large undertaking,
We must be hard working.
Oratario Paean!​

With such a prayer, it comes into question. What does hard working, in terms of the Spirit’s teachings that is, truly mean? To understand this, we must look to the Second Creed, of which the excerpt atop this section is from.

“The Divine Spirit has shown us the way, and the way we shall follow. For through my hands, its will shall become manifest, but mine hands are only two of many. For thousands of hands are required to carry the burden and prominence of our future and fate. I speak of those who are the common men and women, the farmers, the artisans, the priests, the clerks and soldiers. No matter how small the being, all carry the weight of Unionism on their shoulders and back, and if one falls, so shall the others feel it. For The Great Way to remain on the correct path, all must endeavor to pray, worship and act as examples of the Code of Union. Man woman and Child must pray three times a day, come morn of dawn and come dusk of night. Priests shall administer prayer times, five times a day, for those who are unable to meet dawn or dusk mass. All must contribute to the Great Way, from the highest noble to the lowest street beggar. All must also contribute to each other’s Great Way however, the noble must give alms to the poor and the poor must take up the sword and spear and bow when the noble is in need of men and women for their banner. War by the Empire is always sanctioned in the name of Union, and so is the divine word of the court which speaks for the Emperor which speaks for the Imperial Spirit. To kill another man not in the name of Union is heresy, and to deny the birth of a Human will condemn a soul for non-Human torment”​

The Second Creed of Union speaks of the duties that the faithful must commit to in order to be a devoted member of the Unionist religion. His Imperial Holiness Theomar I speaks of the need for the mass participation in the Great Way from all of His faithful, for while the power of the Emperor is immense as he is the vessel of the Spirit and his word is His, it is not through the mere two hands of the Emperor that the Great Way can be fulfilled. Nay, it is through the hands and hard work of all the faithful that we may reach the destined end of our path. Where an eternity of peace and purity lies beyond.

The hard work of the faithful can be seen through many things such as attending mass and praying to the Spirit. It can also be found in the daily actions of the faithful. Whether your actions throughout your day are of a virtuous sort, lest you fail the Spirit and your sins pile up. For in the words of Theomar the Holy in the Fourth Creed, “For a single crime, or a second crime will not condemn you. But should your crimes become too many, and repentance is far to be found, so too shall your entrance to the afterlife be denied, and cursed you shall be to the life of one not Human."

It is through our hard work as the faithful that we may fulfill our destined future in Paradise. It is through our toil and eternal faith for the Spirit and Emperor that we find ourselves in a land without sickness, without death, where there is no sin and each and every being in this world is a member of the one true faith. As if the serene and pure Everwatch and Aloria itself merged.

Therefore, I urge each and every one of you to abide by the life of Jacotin. With every single morsel of your being, to work with dignity and untiring commitment and devotion for the Spirit and His words.

A second and final acknowledgement before my teachings on the Cycles of our Empire begin, I wish to mention the upcoming holiday of Walpurgisnacht which begins tomorrow and ends on the 30th of April. With this holiday, each day of this upcoming holiday will be devoted to one of the ten Creeds and therefore each sermon of each day will be devoted to that one Creed. Please join together in beautiful unity as we celebrate the words of the Spirit this Walpurgisnacht. Oratario Paean.

| 'Sɛkʃn II |

As dictated by the Unionist Liturgical Calendar, our Empire transitions through various Cycles throughout the year. The year begins in the closing half of the Cycle of Reflection which is during Winter. This Cycle is a wonderful time where the faithful pray and reflect on the past year. I always find myself during this time praying to the Spirit for a year filled with domestic peace and foreign conquests and furthering relations across Aloria so that we may further the Great Way. I also pray for good health upon His Imperial Holiness, my family, friends, and all the faithful. This is a time to spend together as a united Empire. To host feasts and celebrate a year under the glorious banner of our Empire.

The next Cycle is the one we are currently in, the Cycle of Growth. I shall endeavor not to elaborate much on this Cycle as to keep much of the explanation to section III. It is however one of a renewed year where the going ons of each year begin again.

The Cycle of Dominion is during the Summer season. This is when the Empire begins wars in order to further the borders of the Imperium to other nations in order to further the Great Way. For while the Great Way may seemingly focus merely around Unionism itself, to reach Paradise also means to place the entirety of Aloria under the dominion of His Imperial Holiness. For the Imperial Seat to hold the crown of the world and all nations thereunder to be subservient to him and the Spirit.

Autumn is the Cycle of the Harvest. This is where the entirety of the year is concluded so to speak. All undertakings which began in the various Cycles begin to come to a close. The children conceived in the Cycle of Growth are born. The seeds planted in the Cycle of Growth are harvested. The wars which were sparked during the Cycle of Dominion conclude and the lands fought over are taken under the banner of the glorious Empire. This could be seen as the true end of the year however there is still another Cycle to begin.

The beginning of the Cycle of Reflection which will end in the coming year is the last Cycle. As stated, the people of the Empire pray, feast, and reflect on the past year and all things which occurred both in their personal life as well as all actions and events that occurred involving the Empire, both domestically and in foreign affairs.

| 'Sɛkʃn III |

The Cycle we are currently in is the Cycle of Growth, where as stated, children are conceived and the seeds that will soon grow and be harvested during the Cycle of the Harvest are planted. This should be treated as a renewed year. New happenings will come your and our way. The faithful should treat the Cycle of Growth as a new beginning. Where old hardships and saddening times can be shed from oneself and the reflections from your prayers and thoughts during the Cycle of Reflection can truly be embraced.

An aspect of the Cycle of Growth that I find very special is the weather. Much like the Cycle of Reflection, the weather coincides with the meaning of the Cycle. During the Cycle of Growth, warmer weather begins to come to us and the plants bring new life to the landscape. Trees begin to regain their leaves, flowers bloom, the grass grows greener. It is as if the land itself has shed off the troubles and events of the past year during the Cycle of Reflection and during the Cycle of Growth, it prepares for the next.

The Cycle of Growth is a beautiful time so I wish you all to take advantage of these new beginnings. As the land and the Empire move on into the next year, renewed and changed, do so yourself. Perhaps last year you neglected prayer. Perhaps last year you did not fulfill your duties as a faithful Unionist. Perhaps last year you sinned all too much. Take this as the chance to pray more. To pay attention to your actions and truly abide by the teachings of Jacotin the Hardworking. Take the time this year to confess to a Reverend and then focus your year on committing virtuous acts to atone and outweigh the sins of the past year.

Grasp the moment now. Grasp this Cycle of Growth to atone for the mistakes of the last year. Take this moment now to better yourself. To transcend. To renew your faith. Make it stronger.

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With this, I leave you all with a prayer.

O’ Imperial Spirit,
As you sit upon the Imperial Throne,
Hear my call to you,
Hear my promises to you now,
I promise to better myself this new year,
To transcend and to abide by your teachings,
I make this vow to serve you faithfully,
To set my faith and goals for this year,
And abide by those promises and goals throughout,
I make this vow to you Imperial Spirit,
I shall serve,
Oratario Paean.

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