Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 198 The Church Makes a Decision

This is a hall with exquisite icons and murals inlaid on the surrounding towering stone walls.

In the center of the hall was a long wooden conference table, around which sat bishops in black robes. They had serious expressions, with thick Bibles placed in front of each of them.

The sun shines through the stained glass windows, and colorful spots of light dance in the hall.

A total of 13 bishops, including Bishop Anthony, were waiting anxiously.

Many of them were still talking to each other in low voices.

Things are different now, and Isaac's crazy behavior cannot be covered up.

The lower-class citizens and peasants might not understand what was happening for a while, but the bishops present all understood what happened in the "Senate".

If Isaac was the supreme ruler of Cyprus, then the pillar of his rule was the most solid army.

It is the obedience of the "Senate" to him and the support of the Cypriot Church.

Now that all the nobles in the "Senate" have been slaughtered by Isaac, how can these bishops not be terrified and worry about the danger of losing their teeth?

Why not ask these bishops to try to find a safer way out for themselves?

Rule is an art. Most of the time, any country of a certain size will become more and more complicated as the rule continues.

Since Cyprus has only been ruled by Isaac for three years, it is still in a rather rough adjustment period.

The traditional Eastern Empire taxation system was abolished by Isaac, and the garrisons distributed throughout the island became his minions, and the so-called taxation turned into outright robbery.

But that doesn't mean that order was completely lost under Isaac's rule.

The "Senate" symbolizes the submission of local forces to him, and the Church of Cyprus still maintains normal operations, providing "Basileus" with services similar to those of a civil servant.

The church system has had a profound impact on later political parties and bureaucratic hierarchies.

Perhaps on a secular level, due to various historical disputes and administrative chaos in different regions and countries, the ownership of land can easily become a mess.

But in the church system, it is relatively clear.

Taking the Church of Cyprus as an example, the Archbishop of Cyprus, or the Patriarch of Cyprus, is the head of the Cyprus Orthodox Church.

Under the Church of Cyprus, in the 12th century, there were 14 dioceses or local churches, and the leaders of these local churches were bishops.

These 14 parishes cover the entire island, with an average of about people in each parish.

Under the diocese, there are parishes, which are centered on the church and radiate the influence of the church to the surrounding areas. The so-called priests are qualified to preside over a church.

Each parish has a population of roughly a thousand people.

In this way, three levels are formed: the central church, local churches, and church-affiliated agencies.

At the same time, the church system is not a simple bureaucratic system, but has a certain democratic color.

The group of priests surrounds the bishop, forming a college of priests, sharing different duties with each other and serving as the bishop's collaborators, assistants and tools.

The Cypriot bishops then formed the "Holy Synod", which became the highest ecclesiastical authority in Cyprus, whose mission is to review and resolve all issues related to the Cypriot Church.

And in theory is eligible to elect the new Archbishop of Cyprus.

Such an excellent bureaucratic system, combined with a certain degree of collective decision-making ability, has enabled the Cypriot Church to maintain a long-lasting and far-reaching secular influence.

So much so that even in the 20th century, the Cypriot Church still took up the banner of anti-colonialism, anti-imperialism and the struggle for national liberation.

In later history, Archbishop Makarios III of Cyprus led Cyprus to break free from British colonial rule.

He served as the first President of Cyprus from 1960 to 1977, and was even honored as the "Father of the Nation".

Although the church has an excellent "democratic" mechanism for selecting its intellectuals, intellectuals are selected as individuals rather than as representatives of the mass community.

——Prison Notebooks by Antonio Gramsci

However, although the bishops present here are qualified to elect the new archbishop from among their own number.

But when faced with Isaac's troops, they had no choice but to accept a stranger as the head of the Church of Cyprus.

When the door of the conference hall was pushed open by the deacons, a middle-aged man in his forties walked in, surrounded by a group of followers.

Different from all the bishops present, and even different from the vast majority of bishops in the world.

Under the sacrificial garments, this middle-aged man wore a Tyrian purple robe that represented the imperial power of the Eastern Empire, and in his hand he held a royal scepter with a golden cross on top.

These costumes with a strong royal flavor of the Eastern Empire were not the product of Isaac's usurpation, but a privilege obtained by the Cypriot Church from Zeno, the emperor of the Eastern Empire in the 5th century.

It is a clear proof of the privilege of the Church of Cyprus, as founded by the Apostle Barnabas, independent of all other patriarchs.

It can be said to be a glorious, honorable, sacred and ancient heritage.

However, today, those sacred things of the past are clothed in the body of a tyrant's dog.

Archbishop Sofronios of Cyprus came to his bishop's throne, handed the scepter to the deacon beside him, then immediately supported his hands on the table and looked down at all the bishops.

he shouted.

"Now! It's the most critical moment!"

"We, the Church of Cyprus, must carry forward our historical position and stand firmly and forcefully on the side of Holy Basilius!"

"We must act now! We must immediately excommunicate all rebels, rioters, and traitors! Excommunicate them!"

"We must punish those rioters severely and severely! Show no mercy! Strike with an iron fist!"

In the Middle Ages, excommunication meant very serious consequences for common people, affecting their personal religious life and social status.

For lay people, excommunication means losing connection with the church, enduring social ostracism, experiencing a crisis of faith, and bearing tremendous pressure to repent in order to restore the relationship.

Although there is no explicit secular oppression, this is also the church expressing its attitude and forcing those who did not participate in the rebellion to choose sides.

Archbishop Sofronios spoke passionately, but none of the bishops in the audience responded by expressing active support.

Today, the situation in Cyprus is uncertain. Will these bishops continue to bet on Isaac?
Almost everyone present began to think that Isaac was a madman and an irredeemable villain.

As Isaac's dog, Sophronius shared his fate and destiny, and had no choice but to die.

Listening to Sophronios's nonsense on the stage, a young deacon behind Anthony leaned close to Anthony's ear and whispered a few words.

Then Bishop Anthony knocked heavily on the table several times, attracting the attention of everyone present and interrupting Sophronios' speech.

"Sophronius, are you still stubborn?"

Antony dropped the bomb as soon as he opened his mouth. He called Sophronius by his name, and the tone he used did not show any respect at all.

"What do you think Isaac's false emperor is? A reflection of my Lord on earth? Or an idol?"

"I remember you once declared to us that God had come to us in human form, and that that human form was Isaac."

Anthony, who had a dangerous hairline, couldn't help but chuckle after saying this.

The other bishops around also had mocking expressions on their faces. One bishop even pulled out a Bible from the table and quickly flipped to Volume 14 based on his memory.

Sophronios looked a little puzzled. He couldn't understand why the bishops present had such an expression. After all, he was uneducated...

The bishops present were all native Cypriots and knew a lot about the history of the island.

The bishop who was flipping through the book found the passage he wanted and began to recite it aloud:
"Gentlemen, why do you do this? We are human beings with the same nature as you. We preach the gospel to you, so that you may turn from these futile things to the living God, who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all that is in them."

Listening to his colleague's voice, Anthony continued: "We worship God to stay away from vanity."

“For us Christians, we should only obey the true God, and not submit to any idol or Caesar in this world. For Christians, Caesar is just a powerful Caesar, not the holy Lord of Heaven.”

Anthony's speech drew applause from others present, and many bishops began to cheer.

Even though Sophronius was uneducated, he could tell the difference in knowledge between them and realized that if he debated with Antony, he would surely lose.

But fortunately, he was prepared.

"Olav!"

Along with a loud shout, there was a sound of heavy footsteps outside the conference hall, accompanied by the sound of a large amount of chain mail colliding.

Just as had happened in the Senate before, more than twenty elite Varangians wearing chain mail filed in through the gate behind Sophronius.

These bloodthirsty barbarians, holding shields and swords, controlled the entire situation in just a few breaths.

Seeing this scene, many bishops looked frightened.

Sophronios was satisfied watching these people's misbehavior.

Indeed, he had little knowledge, or even no education, and according to the normal church promotion process, it was unlikely that he would become a bishop in his lifetime.

But he can lick! He is Isaac's loyal dog!
Unlike the wild dogs here, none of them even have owners, and when they encounter such a situation where they have to use the handle of a knife to speak, they are helpless.

However, just when the bishops were panicking and preparing to beg for mercy.

Sophronius noticed Antony's expression.

Anthony had a half-smile on his face, as if he had nothing to fear.

But, how could this be possible?

Of course it would, because who allowed that only Sophronios could prepare in advance?
Anthony had also long thought about how to deal with this scene. He did not want to be martyred like Barnabas, the native apostle saint on the island of Cyprus.

[Out of jealousy, the Jews arrested Barnabas, who was preaching the word of God, and dragged him to the synagogue.]

[There they bound him and took him to the outskirts of the city.]

After stoning him to death, they took his body to a nearby wood and burned it.

【However, John Mark, a disciple who followed Barnabas in his ministry, secretly retrieved his body at night and buried it in a cave.】

——Chapter 11 of The Acts of Barnabas (a pseudo-scripture from other Christian sects. According to research, it was probably compiled by the Church of Cyprus itself)

- The Tomb of Barnabas on Cyprus

"Don't be stubborn, Sophronios."

Antony's words were incomprehensible to Sophronius. He was wearing gorgeous clothes and took the royal scepter from the servant beside him. In this council hall, there were twenty armored "Varangis".

Obsessed?

Who is stubborn and refuses to change?

He is Isaac's confidant. If he wants, these bishops in front of him can turn into corpses.

Sophronios became the only master in this small space.

This is authority!
"Sophronius, don't be stubborn."

Once again, another person gave this advice.

Only this time it wasn't any bishop, but the young man in deacon's attire standing behind Anthony.

He faced Sophronios, his plain clothing symbolizing his status as the lowest member of the church.

There is a natural difference between him and the purple-robed archbishop.

"You are in trouble, you idolater and light-hungry person! The Lord who sits on the throne has already spoken to me that He will give the fountain of water of life to those who are thirsty!"

“But the fearful, the abominable, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters, and all liars—they were thrown into the lake that burns with fire and brimstone.”

“This is the second death!”

In this small room, there is not only the Lord who holds authority, but also the Lord who wants to sprinkle the fountain of life upon the world.

The Kingdom of Heaven is the Kingdom of Life, which is incompatible with the Kingdom of tyrants in this world that oppress and kill people.

The tyrant is an idol that wants to eat people, and its priests and servants want to use their lives as sacrifices to intimidate others with swords.

Sophronius felt puzzled, but just as he would not debate with Antony, he would not waste too much time talking to this puzzled guy.

He made a ruthless gesture, meaning to execute Anthony and the young man.

Unlike Isaac, Sophronius did not intend to kill all the bishops. All he needed was to make an example of them and completely control the Cypriot Church so as to prepare for the subsequent suppression of the rebellion.

The blade was drawn, but Anthony and the young man remained indifferent.

“Priests today no longer suffer martyrdom. They have become accomplices of the Roman Caesar and betrayed the Kingdom of Heaven.”

“Only when the sword that oppresses the poor also strikes the priests can it be shown that the faith of the Church is not empty.”

“The seeds of the Gospel need to be watered with the blood of priests and the poor in order to bear fruit.”

"But, there is no need for the priest to shed blood right now."

"Today, only sinners will bleed here."

After the young man finished speaking, the world seemed to be silent for a moment, but it was as if nothing had happened.

Then there was a clang, and a sword fell to the ground from the young man's hand.

Wait, sword?

When did the young man have a sword in his hand?

In terms of style, it was a one-handed sword, a style commonly used by the Varangians. Why was it in his hand?

The sword seemed to be stained with blood.

A lot of thoughts flashed through Sophronios' mind in this moment, and when he came to his senses.

He felt something warm liquid splashed on his face, and an indescribable fishy smell rushed into his nose.

Immediately afterwards, almost all the living people in the council hall screamed loudly!
"what!!"

Sophronios turned his head and looked in the direction where the liquid was splashing.

Then he saw that the "Varangi" next to him was trying in vain to press his own carotid artery with his hand.

It wasn't just him. To be exact, there was the clanging sound of shields and swords falling to the ground.

All the "Varangis" in the conference hall either let out heavy and hoarse breaths, or knelt on the ground or lay on the ground, struggling to block the wounds on their necks.

But it was all in vain.

Sophronios looked up at the young man again, not knowing what had just happened.

He only knew that at some point, the young man had a sword in his hand, the sword was stained with blood, and all the "Varangis" had their necks cut open.

Sophronios staggered back a few steps, feeling panic, indescribable, inexplicable...incomprehensible!
All this was beyond his sanity.

Subconsciously, Sophronios asked that question.

"Who are you?"

"Me? I am the Holy One of Jerusalem. My name is Gairis."

As the bishops and deacons fled in panic, the council hall was filled with the screams of the dying and the cries of others.
Gellis approached Sofronios step by step.

"Despair and suffer unless you repent now. Otherwise, your soul is doomed to fall into the eighth circle, the abyss of the deceiver, and you will suffer forever."

"In the first circle, you will be driven forward by the devil's whip along with the seducer. The pain of the whip will accompany you, just as mercilessly as when you led others to fall."

"Then you will fall into the second circle and be submerged in a stinking cesspool. If you deceived others with flattering words in your life, now you will struggle in this filth with nowhere to escape."

"In the third circle, the sinners who corrupted the priesthood were hung upside down on the flames, with their heads turned upside down and looking behind them forever. It was your greed that abused the priesthood."

"In the tar pool of the fourth circle, you will be tormented with the bribers, and the demons will repeatedly sink you into the boiling sea of ​​oil."

"In the fifth circle of perjurers, sinners are torn apart by demons and killed each other in a never-ending war because you hurt others with lies and falsehoods during your lifetime."

"You will be in the sixth circle, wearing a heavy lead robe, shiny on the surface but heavy on the inside, just like your hypocrisy in your life; every step will make you miserable."

"The seventh circle is the bite of poisonous snakes and demons, which deform your body. You will suffer endlessly because you steal the property of the poor as sacrifices."

"Bad debaters will be enveloped and burned by flames in the eighth circle, because you used sophistry and words to mislead others during your lifetime."

"In the ninth circle, you will be cut and torn apart by the devil, and your soul will suffer in the tearing forever."

"The abyss of hell is endless. You will never be free from it. Every bit of suffering is the result of your sins."

Garys's voice was very soft, but it left a deep impression on everyone around him.

This is a declaration and a destined ending.

Sophronios swung the gilded scepter and tried to hit the approaching Gellis.

However, in this bloody hall, Sophronios's resistance seemed particularly ridiculous.

The blow seemed to be powerful, but it had no effect when it hit Garys.

All the bishops saw the scepter swing through Garys without causing any injury.

Gellis grabbed Sofronios' neck with his right hand and lifted him up.

Immediately afterwards, all the living people heard a crisp snap.

Sophronios' cervical vertebrae were broken.

Garys threw the body aside, picked up the gorgeous scepter, and came to the archbishop's throne.

"Well, now that Isaac's minions have been eliminated, we can talk about the future of Cyprus."

Bishop Anthony came silently behind Garys. Although he was wearing a black bishop's robe, he was as humble as a waiter when he was beside Garys.

Just like Gailis was standing behind him before, the identities and status between the two now seemed to have been reversed.

Bang! The power struck the ground, awakening those who were in fear.

"Everyone, sit back down."

This is a hall with exquisite icons and murals inlaid on the surrounding towering stone walls.

The long wooden conference table still stands in the center.

The air was filled with a strong smell of blood. Sophronios, who was initially being waited for by many bishops, had fallen to the side, his eyes still open as he stared at the empty dome.

The blood of sinners dyed this sacred and faithful temple red.

……

Cyprus is an island country, and Isaac is a dictator. His rule over the island was already shaky the moment his military legend was torn apart.

Not only the peasants and citizens rebelled against Isaac, but also the landlords and nobles.

In the original history, in 1191, Richard the Lionheart simply landed and occupied Lemesos, and the nobles there abandoned Isaac.

Isaac's rule over Cyprus is like a broken house, which can be collapsed with just a slight kick!

Ever since the Elders had conspired to kill Isaac, the island had been hostile to him.

Even if he massacred all the senators who plotted the assassination, he would not be able to gain the loyalty of any local forces in Cyprus.

The Cyprus Liberation Front was no longer the only organization resisting Isaac. The rebels continued to rise in droves, igniting the flames of resistance in all corners of the island.

In just half a month, the scattered mercenaries suffered dozens of attacks.

All kinds of backstabbing!

At this juncture, an insurgent army assembled by the Cyprus Church and organized by the Liberation Front marched towards Isaac's palace.

All this madness is about to end.

I'm considering changing the cover and having Lucy be the poster girl.

(Joan of Arc: So love will disappear?)
　Two in one…thank you all so much for watching.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)