When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 1025 Stop issuing indulgences, even Heaven is experiencing inflation!
Silvanik had a dream.

He dreamt that he had returned to the small inn in the Sanctuary a few years earlier, where he sat opposite Senius.

He tried his best to persuade Senius to stay, telling him about the future of the Holy Alliance, but Senius resolutely left the Holy Mechanism Court with his students.

Senius told him that at Newbridge University, a graduate was equivalent to a knight who could not be inherited, but what about in the Holy Alliance?
So Silvanik had no choice but to stay behind, and with the help of his former student Martial, his students gradually entered the Holy Alliance government.

With the end of the Thousand River Valley War, batches of students graduated, and he became the president of the Holy Shrine University.

When the Sixth Grand Council arrived, Silvanik took Guslit, who was now a judge, to the Green Vine Hotel.

At the Green Vine Inn, he ran into an old acquaintance, Senius.

Senius was impoverished due to the persecution by the Francans, and even had to use his annual salary to support the students.

Because if none of his students graduate, his reputation will be completely ruined.

Unlike St. John's University, at Newbridge University, tutors and students are strictly bound together and choose each other.

Senius's reputation was ruined; he stopped taking on students, and after a few years, the Newbridge University's faculty committee might even dismiss him.

Silvanik naturally wouldn't mind lending a hand to an old friend.

“Silvanic…”

Ok?
Silvanik suddenly looked up, and the person sitting across the stone table was...it was him!

“Silvanik, it’s not that I have any grudges, but you’re neither a Theocrat nor do you have any unique academic achievements, so it’s really difficult for me…”

Ultimately, if you have no value, who will help you?

"Ah—" Silvanik suddenly woke up from his sleep, sitting on the creaking wooden bed, covered in sweat.

"Mentor, are you awake?" Guslit, who was sleeping on the floor, groggily raised his head.

Silvanik ignored him and continued to breathe softly.

Guslit took out his pocket watch and glanced at it in the moonlight: "It's only four o'clock. Are you getting up?"

Small pocket watches from the Thousand River Valley have become quite popular in Red Leaf Hill in recent years, and Guslit bought one to avoid missing the time.

In less than a week, he got used to this way of counting time, which divides a day into twelve hours of day and night.

Silvanik waved his hand: "You can continue sleeping, I'm going downstairs for breakfast."

"Okay." Guslit fell asleep immediately.

Feeling his way, Silvanik stepped over the students who were sleeping soundly on the floor.

Once you step out the door, down the corridor and down the stairs, you'll find yourself in the first-floor living room, which has now been converted into a restaurant and pub.

"A cup of black tea... oh no, coffee, please," Silvanik said dejectedly to the waiter who lazily approached, as he sat down at a round table.

The hotel needs to get up very early in the morning to provide hot water for everyone in the hotel, so they have to get up early to boil water.

But at this moment, there were three or five elderly people sitting in the living room, who all seemed to have woken up early.

Of all the monks present, Silvanik was the youngest.

"Would you like a copy of Pravda? The latest one." The waiter handed the tea tray to Silvanik.

"Take one, please." Silvanik took a few coins out of his pocket and handed them to the waiter.

While Silvanik waited for the newspaper, the other monks had already received the latest issue of Pravda.

As they watched, their eyes widened, and they began to either praise or curse.

Silvanik frowned and took a sip of coffee.

Just then, the newspaper arrived, and Silvanik glanced down to see that the front page of Pravda featured—

"My Little Thesis: Bombard Indulgences!" by Horn Garrard.

"Pfft." Coffee flowed out of Silvanik's nostrils.

No, you, Horn, are also a pope. What do you mean by criticizing indulgences?

He put down his coffee and began reading intently.

The article begins with a brief history.

In the scriptures of Messiahism, it is always said that those who have done good deeds and believe in Messiahism are directed to Mount Elysium, while those who have not done good deeds and do not believe in Messiahism are directed to Hellfire.

In the original Eldar language, Hellfire was called "Lake of Sulfur," just as the Imperials now refer to Mount Elysium as Heaven.

However, this seemingly perfect system has given rise to a huge problem that remains unsolved to this day.

Where does a person with good deeds but no faith go after death? Where does a person with both faith and good deeds but also evil deeds, or a person with faith but no good deeds, go after death?

This has always been a mystery within the Messianic tradition. It wasn't until the end of the 5th century in the Imperial Calendar that Pope Johnny II provided his own answer.

Between Mount Elysium and the Sulphur Lake, there exists a place called Scorched Earth or Purgatory.

Those who have good deeds but no faith live in scorched earth after death, and can be resurrected on Judgment Day, but they cannot enter Mount Elysium.

Those who have no good deeds but have faith will atone for their sins in scorched earth after death, and then ascend Mount Bliss.

As for those who have no good deeds or have committed evil and have no faith, they must first atone for their sins in the scorched earth, and then be thrown directly into the sulfur lake (the fiery hell), where their souls are completely annihilated and they will not be resurrected even on Judgment Day.

This set of arguments paints a very perfect picture of the scriptures.

The only problem is that neither of the two Gospels mentions the existence of scorched earth or purgatory in the description of Mount Elysium.

So the priests who supported the Purgatory faction began their usual trick: attempting to forge ancient scriptures to prove this point.

However, the priests who opposed the Purgatory faction were also skilled at forging ancient books and immediately exposed the other faction's actions.

This issue nearly caused the church to split into two factions once again.

In an effort to bridge this divide, Johnny VIII's successor, Pope Langley VII, defined purgatory as a form of religious iniquity.

The world created by the Father is perfect and cannot be wrong. Even if there were no scorched earth, there would be something else. It's just that we describe it as scorched earth.

In other words, the existence of scorched earth is possible, but its existence is somewhat unlikely.

At this point, it seems that everything is praising and affirming the scorched earth and purgatory, but the second half of the text takes a sudden turn.

This system ran in good condition for five hundred years, but it was broken in the early 10th century of the Imperial Calendar.

In response to the bloody war, or the invasion of the Eastern Holy War by the Flesh and Blood Court, Pope Sony VI issued a decree to sell indulgences.

Believers without good deeds are allowed to obtain immunity from scorched earth by purchasing sacred relics and indulgences.

The satirical poems such as "The Holy Wind, relying on money, sent me to the Western Paradise" and "The money box jingled, and my soul went straight to heaven" all originated from this.

The theoretical basis for this is that the sacred tree connects every believer, so good deeds can be shared.

The monks have performed so many good deeds that they have long been worthy of going to heaven; it's overflowing.

You have so much, it's reasonable to share it with everyone, right?
Since His Holiness the Pope needs to protect the faith in the secular world, it makes perfect sense to have some people who go to heaven first and then those who go to heaven later.
As a nobleman who has committed numerous evils throughout my life, I do not wish to be punished after death. Therefore, it is reasonable for me to buy some indulgences, right?

If nobles can buy indulgences, does that mean that as long as I extract more money from commoners than I commit crimes against them, I can do whatever I want?

In that case, good deeds flow to evil people, who can do whatever they want and escape punishment.

It was originally intended to encourage people to do good, but it ended up encouraging people to do evil.

It is common knowledge that making money through illegal means is much faster than making money through legitimate means.

If a bad person's rate of accumulating wealth through wrongdoing exceeds the rate at which their crimes increase, wouldn't they become a great philanthropist?
Doing bad things first and then whitewashing them—what's the difference between that and being a gangster?
Is the Papal Palace a gang stronghold? What is the purpose of the scorched earth policy?
From another perspective, indulgences are currency issued with good deeds as the anchor, and now it's clear that there's been an over-issuance.

Calculations show that the existing relics and indulgences are enough to exempt all believers from punishment and allow them to go to heaven.

It is absolutely impossible for good deeds to overflow.

Therefore, the face value of an indulgence is definitely not commensurate with the actual good deeds it can be redeemed.

However, since the reward can only be realized after death, it is impossible to distinguish between them.

Those who buy indulgences will probably still be punished after death; they've been completely fooled.

In summary:
Indulgences overturn the original intention of the scorched earth policy. The Pope's unauthorized distribution of good works is blasphemy against the Father and should be met with an apology before the Gospels.

Therefore, good deeds cannot be sold or distributed!

"This, this, this..."

Silvanik's coffee had gone cold, but the newspaper was still trembling.

What does it mean for Horn, as Pope, to criticize indulgences? Don't you use them yourself?

No, wait, I don't think I've ever actually used it.

But isn't the church afraid of splitting apart after digging out this old, deep-seated problem?

No, it seems to have split apart.

Just as the sun was rising, before Silvanik could even stand up, he heard a commotion of arguing coming from outside the window.

As for the content, Silvanik vaguely heard that it seemed to be related to indulgences.

As the argument grew increasingly heated, he realized—

The debates had already begun long before the Grand Council was officially convened.

(End of this chapter)