When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 1028 The Sixth Grand Council Officially Begins!
Horn had anticipated the attack based on his identity: "It's the Pope."

The official immediately put on a troubled expression: "Then you should show the signature of the cardinal who nominated you as Pope."

Horn shook his head: "Within the Holy Alliance, there is no church, or even the term cardinal."

The church was exceptionally quiet in the early morning, and Horn's words rippled outwards, stirring up waves of sound.

Even the Chief Justice Cuevarin, who was sitting in a corner of the church with his eyes closed, twitched his drooping eyebrows slightly.

Horngal shouldn't have answered like that. Doesn't he have a cardinal in his country?

"Oh?"

An archbishop dressed in red immediately stood up: "Without being elected by cardinals, this is not a legitimate papacy."

Before he could finish speaking, Thomas immediately stood up and said, "His Excellency Grandiva also did not participate in the cardinal election, so why is he still standing there?"

"Hehe, I'm sorry, but our Pope Grandiva was elected by the cardinals gathered in Onnivia under circumstances of an illegal election in Prigano."

And you? I've heard that your so-called Pope was elected by a few secret society members posing as priests, haven't you?

"Bullshit! Our Pope Horn is appointed by the Holy Father, the Holy Lord, and the Holy Tree, and his legitimacy is far superior to that of your cardinal elections!"

Just as Thomas and the bishop were arguing heatedly, Horn quietly turned around and asked Mittne, "Who is that?"

Mittne was the director of the Evangelical Flanders, and his daily duties included handling diplomatic affairs with France and some intelligence matters.

Mittner pondered for a moment, then whispered, "That's Archbishop Rovaruk Desmond of the White Sands, a devout follower of the Chamaejahideen school of asceticism, who is said to fast for life and never eat meat."

It turns out it was caused by a long-term vegetarian diet.

Horn narrowed his eyes as he looked at the gaunt, sallow-faced man with the thick beard.

When the bearded bishop of the White Sands spoke, he knew that this must be the vanguard or breakthrough sent by Grandiva.

At this point on the court, Thomas was gradually losing ground in the conversation.

Thomas was, after all, a latecomer to the field, and his only strength in theology was loyalty.

Although his explanation of the miracle of Horn's resurrection and its revelatory interpretation received unanimous applause from the Saint Georgians.

However, other relatively orthodox clergy did not buy into this at all, and even felt a slight aversion to it.

Horn gave a signal to Bro on the other side, and Bro immediately understood and stood up.

“Your Excellency Rovaruk is sorely mistaken.” Let Blo leave his seat and walk slowly to the center of the rotunda to face Rovaruk directly.

"What? Did this Lord Horn not come to power without being elected by the cardinals? If not, then show us the cardinals' signature."

Spit sprayed from his mouth onto Jean-Bro's face, and his hand almost reached into Jean-Bro's nostrils.

"First of all, the Holy Alliance is a theocratic country, and the cardinals, that is, the ministers of the country, are the county governors."

For the country to function smoothly, the Pope of the Holy Alliance must have the power to appoint and dismiss these ministers.

In this way, the cardinals' election of the pope becomes meaningless.

In order to keep their positions, the cardinals would inevitably choose to agree with the Pope's chosen candidate.

That entire system of cardinal elections is useless and unjust, which is why we did not sign it.

Brock was sprayed with spittle, and his expression turned somewhat unpleasant, but he still patiently spoke.

Having experienced two rises and two falls, his composure was much better than when he first met Horn.

Upon hearing this, the priests began to whisper among themselves, for it was indeed true.

In comparison, this seems quite upright and honest.

After all, the cardinals of France are basically dependent on the royal family and nobles, so whether they can be elected fairly...

It's hard to say.

“That still doesn’t prove the legitimacy of your Holy Alliance Pope!” Realizing this, Rovaruk ignored him and continued to press the issue aggressively.

In a debate, you must ignore your own weaknesses and seize upon your opponent's weaknesses to attack them relentlessly.

"Like the scorched earth of purgatory, the early Messiah religion did not have the concept of a papal church."

The election of the pope by the assembly of believers can be seen in both the Gospels and the biographies of numerous early saints. Note that even the pope is not mentioned in the Gospels, but rather evolved from the archbishop of the Holy See.

As Buluo stepped on the intricate circular marble patterns on the ground, he calmly and sharply addressed the numerous monks.

"As is well known, early believers directly elected the pope."

As the number of believers increased, the system of electing cardinals became necessary.

Originally, cardinals were elected by local dioceses to represent the local believers and clergy.

But then, surprisingly, the Pope appointed the cardinals.

The Pope appoints cardinals, and the cardinals elect the Pope. Where do the opinions of the faithful and other clergy go?

In terms of legitimacy, direct elections are far more legitimate than cardinal elections—they're practically a ton more!

"This has nothing to do with the meeting, what's your purpose in saying all this?!" Rovaruk sensed something was wrong and quickly interrupted before Jean-Brock could finish speaking.

Without even answering Rovaruk's question, Bro held up a list of names and catalogs: "Coincidentally, our Holy Alliance has a council and a system of districts, and is fully capable of organizing the believers and clergy within our territory to elect the Pope."

At this moment, representatives from all twenty-four counties of the Holy Alliance are present, and they can certainly show everyone their county's signature.

His Excellency Bishop Rovarruc, this statement and signature fully prove that our Pope represents all clergy and believers of the Holy Union.

As for Pope Grandiva's signature, could it only represent those dozen or so cardinals? And could those cardinals only represent the Pope?

"...What eloquent words!" Rovaruk hadn't expected the Holy Alliance to go to such lengths, forcing so many believers to sign this agreement.

Looking at the abbots and bishops in their seats, many of them nodded slightly in agreement.

In comparison, Horn's explanation is more convincing.

After all, lower-ranking monks, priests, and border bishops have been isolated in the central authority of the Holy See for a long time.

The political demands they couldn't voice might have been able to be expressed within the Holy Alliance.

Looking at Rovaruk, whose face was ashen, Cuevalin suddenly chuckled: "Interesting."

As a seasoned veteran of politics and theology, Cuevalin knew these things better than anyone else.

Similar to purgatory and scorched earth, the Church and the Papacy are creations of later clergy.

The early churches were formed by extraordinary monks who organized people and knights to fight against diseases and foreign enemies.

As time went on, since monastic monks could not leave the monastery too far, special clergy came to the forefront.

It was through the transformation of the Church by generations of Archbishops of the Holy See and the Reformation Movement that the Church came to be the tightly hierarchical organization it is today.

However, Horn's argument is actually digging into the roots of the church, denying its status as the "sole informer of revelation."

Quivalin could also guess that this was bound to pave the way for the upcoming discussion on the "monopoly of exegetical authority."

At this point, Blow conceded a step: "On the issue of legitimacy, I think the two popes are roughly the same. Do the Catholics in Fran agree with this?"

Rovaruk glared, wanting to retaliate again, but was pulled back by a young page who whispered something in his ear and dragged him back.

“Agreed.” Grandiva smiled, but his voice sounded like he was gritting his teeth.

Horn, the cipher maker, everyone wants to use this carriage, but they're fighting over the reins.

Why does Galar, with its ditch-like terrain, so readily kill the horses that pull its carts?
As Rovaruk sat down, another priest from the Fran side stood up: "Now that the preliminary identity verification has been completed, I have one more question that needs to be confirmed by everyone present."

That was Grandiva's aide, Montena, who glanced around: "Because the scriptures have been lost to time, there are various errors and different interpretations."

I have a suggestion: to reduce arguments, let's focus today's debate on the Gospels.

Furthermore, not a single word can be deleted, added, or changed. Do the members of the Holy Alliance agree?

Under Grandiva's amused and expectant gaze, the main debaters gathered together and discussed for a while.

Immediately, Jean-Baptiste stepped forward to speak on behalf of the Holy Alliance, saying, "We agree."

Grandiva's tense nerves relaxed.

Finally, finally I've been fooled!

(End of this chapter)