The Journal: Church Lore and Dogma

[Malachi Drake]

The twenty-first of October,
Four hundred and seven years since the resurrection of Lucius,
Three hundred and forty-nine years since the founding of our Holy Church,
In the ninth year of the reign of His Majesty, King Manus Dei;

Inside each of us resides a Spark of our Heavenly Father’s Radiant Light and through our conscience we are all in constant intercourse with Him. Let us not forget that this Spark resides in our fellow man and that we are all the children of Soldeus, brothers and sisters to each other. Thus during the course of his life a man has moral obligations that can be divided into three groups; concerning himself, concerning his neighbours, and, highest of all, concerning Soldeus.

Obligation to thyself:

The first and most important obligation that a man has, concerning himself, is in safekeeping his Inner Spark and preparing himself for eternal salvation and beatitude. To attain this, a man must live in a holy and righteous manner that is in accordance with Soldeus's Will. But how can one recognize his Will? First of all, in one's conscience resides His voice. If it were not for the dark and twisted machinations of Umbra, which darkened the Sparks of the first men and women, man would be able unerringly and firmly direct the path of his life according to the dictates of his conscience, in which the will of Soldeus is expressed. We know, however, that in a sinful man, not only are the mind, heart and will damaged, but the conscience is also darkened and its judgment and voice have lost their firm clearness and strength. It is not without reason that some people are called unconscionable.

Therefore, conscience alone became insufficient for man to live and act according to Soldeus's will and the need arose for an external guide, for a god-revealed Law. Such a Law was given by Soldeus to His children in two aspects: first, through the teachings of Lucius, of Sin and Virtue; and, secondly, as He spoke to us through prophets. Most notable of these was St. Jude who established the Church of Soldeus to spread and teach the Law of Soldeus.

The Holy Church teaches us that we cannot consider the things given to us by Soldeus, such as our abilities, skills and talents, to be ours and instead we must consider them as gifts of Our Radiant Lord. We must use these gifts, like materials in the construction of a building, for the building of our spirit. To accomplish this, we must use all these gifts, not for ourselves first and alone, but for others, for the laws of Heaven's Truth are contradictory to the laws of earthly benefit. He who gathers for himself acquires earthly wealth; but he who, in the earthly life, gives away and does good acquires for eternity. Lucius proclaimed that earthly wealth, gathered selfishly, was an unjust wealth, and ordered that it not be used for oneself but for others, in order that the reward be received in the eternal home.

Lucius said, “Be as your Father in Heaven is” and therefore, there can be no end to the work of a man on himself. Perfection is not given to a man at once, but gradually and continually.

Obligation to thy neighbour:

According to the clear, precise directions of the teachings of Lucius, our main obligation to Soldeus is to love Him. To this decree he bound a second, to love thy neighbour, for it is like unto the first. Love for neighbour is like love for Soldeus. The Holy Church, being founded on the words of the Radiant Lord, has set forth the following order in the obligations of man: lowest of all are the obligations to oneself. Therefore, love for oneself must be sacrificed in the name of love for Soldeus and neighbour. Love for one's neighbour takes precedence over love for oneself, but it is subject to the highest love; love for Soldeus Whom we must love most of all.

It cannot be disputed that in serving one's neighbours, a man serves the Heavenly Father. More than that, love for neighbour is the proof of love for Him., Nevertheless, it is even more certain that our love for Soldeus can never hinder our love for neighbours. By loving Soldeus, we lift ourselves up to a higher spiritual atmosphere, one of love and a new "inspiration of life." The heart of the faithful is filled with such divine love and radiates it everywhere and upon everyone. Thus, love for Soldeus does not obstruct love for neighbours, but on the contrary, strengthens and deepens it.

Such love for Soldeus is not only the summit of a man’s moral ascent, but it is also the basis of his spiritual existence. Without love there cannot be any spiritual life, struggle or virtue. The highest service of love is the pastor's service, and it can be fulfilled only by one who truly loves Soldeus.

Obligation to thy Heavenly Father:

If our first and basic obligation to Soldeus is to love Him, then it follows naturally that we must know Him. It is absolutely necessary that each man has knowledge of the content of His faith and of its basic Truths; the dogma, the lore and the teachings of the Holy Church. To know Soldeus is our direct duty and the way to fulfill it, in addition to the study of the teachings of Soldeus, is in the contemplation of our Heavenly Father.

Contemplation of Soldeus is the description of the spiritual mood in which man intentionally introduces into and maintains in his conscience the voice of the Radiant Lord, holds in mind the nature of His highest properties, and ponders the matter of his salvation.

[Malachi Drake]

The twenty-sixth of October,
Four hundred and seven years since the resurrection of Lucius,
Three hundred and forty-nine years since the founding of our Holy Church,
In the ninth year of the reign of His Majesty, King Manus Dei;

True faith is the first response of the human heart to the content of religious truths, an agreement with and acceptance of them. As it strengthens and becomes deeper, this faith eventually brings one's heart to peace with Soldeus. Faith is inseparably bound to love for our Heavenly Father and in our relationship to Him this love is first of all made manifest in prayer. Prayer is the first and most essential element in our spiritual life. It is the breath of our Inner Spark, and without it, the Spark fades and becomes one with the Darkness, just as the body dies without air or a candle is extinguished if left under a glass dome. All the vital functions of the body depend upon its breathing; in exactly the same way, one's spiritual life depends on prayer, and a person who does not pray to God is spiritually dead.

Prayer is the conversation of man with the Radiant Lord. One who remembers, knows and loves God will unfailingly turn to Him in prayer. If you have a good desire to pray, thank Soldeus from Whom everything good comes, and do not lose the chance to pray from the Inner Spark. If you do not have this desire, and the time for prayer arrives, then it is necessary to force yourself, encouraging your lethargic and lazy spirit by reminding it that prayer, like every good deed, is all the more precious in His eyes when it is given with difficulty. The Lord does not disdain any prayer if one prays sincerely, as best he knows how, even though he has not developed the habit of praying fully and with unweakening fervour.

A man who lives a faithful life will always find something about which to pray to Him, because for such a person, Soldeus is a loving Father, a Mighty Protector and an unending Spring of help and strength. This man hurries to Him in need and in woe, as a child to its parent; likewise in plenty and joy, this man remembers to thank the Source of all good things. Lucius has declared that True worshippers worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth. A person who prays to our Heavenly Father must remember that prayer cannot go unheard if it is sincere and breathes of living faith. The Lord Himself said, "Everything is possible to one who believes."

[Malachi Drake]

The first of November,
Four hundred and seven years since the resurrection of Lucius,
Three hundred and forty-nine years since the founding of our Holy Church,
In the ninth year of the reign of His Majesty, King Manus Dei;

I have discussed the subject of man's free will and examined the nature of sin, the path of virtue and a man’s obligations to our Heavenly Father. Now, I must speak of the process of the conversion of an erring sinner to the path of righteousness.

Man's betrayal of the Radiant Lord is usually manifested when a man, who receives everything that Soldeus has given him, ceases to have fervent faith in Him, ceases to think about Him and to love Him, and finally forgets about His immutable Law. Thus it is that the senseless sinner wastes his spiritual and physical strength in the pursuit of sensual enjoyments and in "burning through his life," and departs, in heart and soul, further and further from His Heavenly Father.

In this alienation from God, there is a complete serving of sin and passions. Finally, there is a full spiritual bankruptcy, a spiritual hunger and darkness-- the person has reached the depth of falling. Here, however, according to the words of St. Magnus, where sin has multiplied, an abundance of Grace appears to instruct man. The sinner accepts the Graceful appeal or rejects it and perishes. He accepts it, and comes to himself, and firmly decides to part with sin and go with repentance to the Heavenly Father. He goes along the path of repentance, and the Father comes out to meet him and accepts him, all-forgiven and with as much love as ever.

Thus, man's salvation is worked out simultaneously through the action of Soldeus's saving Grace, and through the personal efforts of man himself. Man is free to choose good or evil, salvation or ruin and Soldeus does not impede his freedom, although He constantly summons him to salvation.


It is said in the history of Lucius that:

The Church was organised to spread the teachings of Soldeus, to teach
the knowledge of the Inner Spark and of the struggle between Sin and
Virtue; to inculcate in men the importance of prayer and repentance;
and to set the salvation of man as its highest duty, for each man is born
from the Spark of our Holy and Radiant Lord and the corruption or loss of
even one Spark is a grief and an affront to Him.

It is in the salvation of man that the Church plays its greatest role in service of our Heavenly Father. To the faithful children of our father we offer guidance and protection; teaching them the Word of Soldeus and leading them in prayer and contemplation. To those who have fallen from grace we offer redemption and will walk alongside them down the path of repentance and into the loving embrace of out Radiant Lord. Those who have turned from our Heavenly Father, those who have rejected his teachings and those who refuse to repent, must be swiftly separated and judged.

Thus the path to salvation is paved with the skull of the heretic and the blood of the righteous.

[Malachi Drake]

To be continued...

[Varrick ChaosWielder]

The works here all have my personal stamp as Parson of Nave as valid and truthful.

[Casilda Tametomo]

The works here all have my personal stamp as Parson of Nave as valid and truthful.

You will want to change this, expunging much of it, immediately, in keeping with the pronouncement of the Head of the Church of Soldeus that is in Wessex, to wit:

"Lucius" is not canon. That's a heresy.

[Camarro Valkran]

Manus Dei : "Lucius" is not canon. That's a heresy.

Varrick Chaoswielder : While the Cult is mostly "harmless" and thus the Church chooses to let it be in the sake of avoiding an all-out war with the people at the time, it would be heresy to grant him official status within the lore.

Those of us called to study the arcane arts are often viewed with suspicion, and for this reason we feel the need to take greater than normal precautions to ensure our orthodoxy. To this end, I would appreciate clarification of the statements above. They seem to imply that the heresy is not so much the beliefs of the Cult of Lucius, but the incorporation of those beliefs into Canon Law. Since this could only come about by the actions of an ordained member of the Church of Soldeus, it would seem to be a heresy of which a lay member of the Duchy of Wessex could not be guilty.

Is this the case, or have I misunderstood?

[Azidano Valkran]

Please stop posting in this Holy Thread.

This thread contains the Holy Scripture of Soldeus, collected and collated by dedicated and pious people who endured torture at the hands of their enemies.

Posting in this thread, in my opinion, is ruining the sanctity and purity of their Message.

By all means, we should encourage freethinking and discussion, but perhaps it would be appropriate to do so in other threads.

I apologise if I have come across needlessly strict, but every single word jotted down here is sacred and would like to emphasise that this is not a criticism on free-thought.

May Soldeus Bless the martyrs who brought us this Scripture.