Patriarchial Proclamations

**GeneralHankerchief** · 07-16-2008, 12:56

(OOC: Check the Stories thread first.)

Proclamation of 1110

Greetings and regards to the Baselius, the Caesar, the Senators, and all people of Byzantium. It appears that, for all of our trials and tribulations, all is well in the Empire, a fact for which I give thanks to the Lord each and every day. As should you all. However, we must look beyond out own borders. All is not well in other parts of the world, however; famine, war, and unrest runs rampant in other, less civilized areas, as they have always done so. However, the place that seems to have thrown off all pretense of order and goodness is the Egyptian capital of Cairo, a place formerly full of light and hope.

I recently sent the Magnaura’s very own Vissarionas ek Lesvou to that very city to do Holy work at his request for penance. He had been there and doing relatively well for himself since 1095. In his time there he has reported to me on several occasions about the goings-on in the city, which, until recently, were the signs of a prosperous land, at least one populated primarily by heathens. He was comfortable there, doing his work while still being able to get himself a job.

However, this state of living would not last forever for poor Vissarionas. It was only recently, in 1108, where the state of affairs changed on Cairo. Vissarionas tells me that, on a whim, the Caliph of Egypt decided to purge the city and its surrounding areas of all Christian influence in the bluntest way possible: extermination. He told me that the Caliph meant to kill, with some exceptions, each and every single Christian living and doing good work in Cairo: Orthodox, Catholic, Gnostic, and Coptic alike.

The Caliph’s wickedness does not stop at mere genocide, though. In addition, he also wishes to take the torch to some of Christendom’s and Orthodoxy’s holiest places: the ancient monasteries outside of the city. The places of solitude for such revered figures as Paul the Hermit and other pioneers of the Word. To put this in perspective, this would be akin to our Basileus ordering the destruction of the Dome of the Rock, should he have Jerusalem in his possession.

This is just a hunch, but I do not believe the Mohammedans would take the destruction of the Dome lightly. A jihad would follow this action as surely as spring follows winter, and with it, war and death would be brought.

It is time to act in response to the Caliph’s total disregard for both human life and sacred sites. He has clearly demonstrated that he is no longer fit to rule, and certainly not in his capital city, where this atrocity will surely be executed with murderous efficiency if we stand by idly. In the spirit of saving those that have done nothing wrong, I hereby call a Crusade on Cairo. It is only through this, a grand display of faith and power, that we can right all that has been made wrong in that city.

To those who would shoot this down in the Magnaura, I now address: This is not something to be debated and discussed, and not a simple idea to be discarded lightly. From the leader of your faith, this is an order that is to be followed without question. Much lies in danger across the sea and the task falls on us to save it. Now is the time to act.

As Patriarch, I have no power in the legislature, but I ask that measures be proposed both authorizing and funding the Crusade, as well as making sure it is seen through to the end. To those who would propose countermeasures aiming to block it, or give alternate targets, or those who would vote it down, know this: you are doing so at the risk of suffering my extreme displeasure. Tempt me and displease me not when so much lies at stake. To those who would take up the sword and the Cross in a noble endeavor, know that salvation lies at the end of your path, wherever it may be.

In the spirit of both political and religious unity, I also request that at least one member from every House, particularly those of lower ranks (i.e. Comes and Strators especially), take part. Those Houses that would leave all of their nobles behind also do so at my displeasure.

It is time that we all step forward and take part in a cause that is greater than ourselves. Cairo is a city at risk in more ways than one; we will save and purify it.

May God grant you all prosperity in the coming months and years, and may those going on the Crusade have a safe and blessed journey.

~Nicholas III

OOC: Welcome to the third in-game event, boys! TinCow will be posting the mechanics you need to know shortly.

**GeneralHankerchief** · 08-03-2008, 02:55

Proclamation of 1116

Greetings and regards to the Baselius, the Caesar, the Senators, and all people of Byzantium. I pray for the continued successes of the Crusade, as I do now for the men who have stayed home to defend their lands. It is this latter group that will have much work to do in the coming years.

Our enemies on the banks of the Nile, naturally believing that an effort to save a city from genocide amounts to a very assault on their supposed “great religion” itself, have called for their equivalent of a Crusade on our lands: a Jihad.

As the soldiers of the Caliphate are about to find out, war with religious implications is to be taken quite seriously, for its combatants are always more motivated. As such, this is why I fear the called jihad more than any political incursion into Byzantine territory. These soldiers are motivated by false promises of salvation and are being worked up into a frenzy by their imams to stop at nothing to see Byzantine buildings burnt to the ground; to see all that Orthodox razed and purged from the earth.

Yes, it was perfectly-timed. Our finest men will be either on or across the sea by the time the storm hits our homelands. We will be thinned on the ground and hard-pressed to stop the hordes sure to come our way. Orthodoxy is about to face a trying test.

Nevertheless, I have no doubt that we will prevail, for the Lord is on our side. It was the Lord that allowed Vissarionas ek Lesvou to be present in the very city, in the very palace, at the very moment the Caliph unveiled his sinister plan. It was the Lord that allowed Vissarionas to escape the Caliph’s clutches and delivered him to Constantinople to inform us all of what was transpiring. It was the Lord that has, so far, allowed safe passage to the Crusaders on their Holy mission. It is the Lord that will deliver us twin victories in the name of His Faith.

These times are trying, my sons. Danger lurks both at our doorstep and far away. However, if we have faith, then we shall pass these tests with flying colors. Have faith and all will be well. Remember the Lord, and the Lord shall remember the Byzantine Empire. We will get through this.

**GeneralHankerchief** · 08-16-2008, 04:30

Proclamation of 1125

Greetings and regards to the Basileus, the Senators, and all people of Byzantium.

We have all endured trying times these past years. Many a good man has been lost since the last Magnaura session, most notably Markianos Ampelas in his heroic defense of Caesaria and Kosmas Mavrozomis in his spiritually motivated rush to free the good people of Cairo and Alexandria. I feel a double pang of grief towards both of these heroes, for they both fell defending their Faith. We are all for the worse without them.

Nevertheless, Orthodoxy marches on, stronger than ever! The Crusade, for all of its... unorthodox... acts committed on the high seas, is progressing nicely toward its goal. I am sure, that in the heart of every single good Byzantine currently on the shores of Egypt, they are motivated not out of desire for glory or treasure, but that for personal redemption or spiritual forwardness. Each and every one of you is to know that my thoughts and prayers are with you as you complete your difficult task. The dark fiend, the Caliph's, wicked response of Jihad has been decisively met by Savvas ek Miltou and the Order of St. John, among others.

Yes, my friends, Orthodoxy has triumphed, and it will continue to triumph. All that is required is a little faith, and the noble heroes of the Empire have certainly provided that in the past years. Despite this, however, evil still lurks in the world. The Mohammedan threat still remains, and it is ever-dangerous. The Catholics are still making noise to the west, but for the most part my predictions regarding them have come to pass.

No, I am more concerned about a threat that lies much closer to home, for it is always that type of threat that poses the greatest danger. The original Romans know this quite well: their Republic was almost brought to its knees in 250 BC by a monster known as Servius Aemilius. It was the works of the original Caesar that caused the most strife and civil wars two centuries after, and by the third century AD, Rome was rotting from within; the barbarian hordes only speeding up the process of its downfall. Even in religion does this threat make itself known - I'm sure you all know the story of Judas?

This threat's name has been, for the most part, only whispered by Senators and commoners alike for the past years; known only as the Organization. My Representative in the Magnaura informs me that its motives are little known but its activities are not: taking part in the massacre at Iconium, blackmail, threatening and taking the lives of many good men, etc.

I do not need to know the motives of this Organization to know that they are dishonorable, for no group promoting a noble goal would resort to such measures to achieve its aims. They are a threat to all that is filled with light and love in the world, for they deal in darkness and iron. Potentially anyone from the lowest peasant to a regular man of the cloth to even the highest ranking members of the Byzantine hierarchy are at risk from this group, and that is unacceptable.

In the name of continued defense of the Orthodox faith as well as Byzantine society as we know it, I hereby condemn the Organization and all of its members and activities. I also strongly suggest that efforts be made to track down and interrogate its members and ultimately, shut it down, for doing so would only harm the followers of Satan.

We must be eternally vigilant, Senators, to make sure that threats do not do anything more than threaten.