Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 337: The Monastery of Saint Barsanofius

Although the emergence of the monastic system occurred earlier than the Great Schism of the Eastern and Western Churches.

However, due to its vast geographical scope, there are differences in culture and church systems in different places.

In fact, the two sides are not exactly the same thing.

The Eastern Orthodox monastic tradition is largely influenced by the Rule of Basil, which emphasizes prayer, labor, community life, and abstinence.

The Catholic monastic tradition was established in Western Europe by the Benedictine Rule, which emphasizes order, obedience, learning, and labor.

Since the latter established that the Bishop of Rome is the highest priest of the universal church, monasteries are usually under the jurisdiction of the bishop or the Pope, especially the religious order system.

The former is usually an independent religious entity that is not affiliated with a certain church and needs to occupy more land to maintain its own continuation, or it may be the desire of some "devout" monks.

This also means that the monastic orders in the Catholic system are more easily influenced by the Bishop of Rome and become an executive body with certain responsibilities.

In some places, Orthodox monasteries began to gradually evolve into a style similar to that of Mahayana Buddhist temples in China.

The mountains are continuous and the forests are dense. The winters here are cold and foggy, and the snow-covered mountains make the monastery seem even more isolated.

It was built on the mountainside and was not only a religious place, but also because of the chaotic situation in Anatolia, it was built extremely steeply, with solid stone walls, overlooking the farmland in the nearby valley.

Even Gellis noticed that there were towers on top of the walls.

To be honest, many castles of Western European lords are not as steep as this monastery.

The arrival of Garys and others also made the gatekeepers a little alert.

But then Gellis took out a letter, claiming that he was a monk from the Cyprus Church and came here to exchange experiences.

As he spoke, he skillfully made the sign of the cross to indicate his identity as an Orthodox priest.

The way Orthodox Christians make the sign of the cross differs from that of Catholics, mainly in the position and direction of their fingers.

Believers of the Byzantine Orthodox Church usually put three fingers together to symbolize the Trinity, while the other two fingers are bent and placed close to the palm to symbolize the divinity and humanity of Christ.

The order of the cross is forehead first, then abdomen, then right shoulder to left shoulder.

Each step has its meaning, heaven, the Father, the Son, resurrection and sacrifice...

Catholics are accustomed to using an open right hand with five fingers representing the five wounds of Christ, or using the thumb and index finger together to symbolize Christ's humanity and divinity.

The final left and right order also became from left shoulder to right shoulder.

As a veteran who has been a charlatan for more than ten years, Garys would naturally not reveal any flaws on such issues.

The monastery's gatekeeper took the letter with some doubts. He was somewhat skeptical about the identities of Gailis and others, as well as the authenticity of the letter, but he still sent it in and gave it to the abbot for inspection.

Not long after, the heavy door hinges creaked, the door slowly opened, and a scent mixed with frankincense blew in the face.

Several monks in black robes stood inside the door.

One of the older men stepped forward.

He had a gray beard and a stern face. He crossed his hands over his chest and said in a deep voice, "May the peace of the Lord be with you."

"You have come from far away, and you must have come a long way. Please come in, the place of the Lord's mercy welcomes everyone who seeks the holy relic."

But as he spoke, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. After all, the people like Garys in front of him were, in a sense, giving him money.

Just like the monks in the temples have academic exchanges, the same is true for the monks in the monasteries. Generally speaking, the content is nothing more than theological exchanges, copying scriptures, collecting holy relics, etc.

In the previous letter, Garys wrote that he came to look for the relics of the saints of the ancient church.

Everyone is actually familiar with this job. After all, when you go on a long journey, how can you not bring back some local specialties or souvenirs?

Nowadays, the most fashionable and eye-catching things are actually the body parts of ancient saints.

You know, Brother Tian’s foreskin can be counted in dozens…

This is just like looking for the relics of a great monk, it's a business.

This is the situation, we can't say it bluntly.

We are all in the religious business, and everyone who understands will understand the intention hidden in the letter by Gellis.

He simply wanted this old monastery to endorse and prove certain things so that Gailis could go back and report back.

As for the authenticity of the previous letter...it was just forged by Garys, fresh out of the oven.

Of course, considering that Gellis is the head of Cyprus, this cannot be considered a "fake".

When Gellis was introduced into the monastery, the abbot also talked about some theological issues in a roundabout way and in a fake manner.

These include the most basic questions, such as formulas.

For example, how to explain the divinity and humanity of Christ, or how to view how the bread and wine become the flesh and blood of Christ in the sacrament of the Eucharist.

In the theology of Gelis, or the newly emerged Jerusalemism, these theological questions naturally have new answers.

But now Gailis was not promoting his own theology, so he talked in accordance with the tradition of the Orthodox Church.

Regarding divinity and humanity, the answer was quoted from the Council of Chalcedon, the fourth ecumenical council of Christianity, which was attended by 500 bishops of the Eastern Church and several representatives of the Pope.

At this conference, the "two natures of Christ" were defined and Monophysitism was declared a heresy.

As for the Eucharist, Gaillis briefly spoke of "transubstantiation," the actual transformation of the bread and wine in the Eucharist into the flesh and blood of Christ under the action of the Holy Spirit.

In the context of the mainstream church in this era, this is not a metaphor; it is the truth.

Of course, the newly emerged Jerusalem sect is quite subtle on this issue. After all, Gellis is still alive, and he claims to be the physical and spiritual reincarnation of Jesus.

Therefore, the Eucharist is also a sharing of the flesh and blood of Gérice.

Dean Nicodemus, during these casual conversations, confirmed that Garys and others were indeed involved in the religious circle, so he became more enthusiastic.

After entering the monastery, Gailis also carefully observed the monks and the decoration of the monastery.

It has to be said that although ordinary monks are still very simple, high-level monks like Abbot Nicodemos are almost wearing gold embroidery on their bodies, and the texture is clearly silk.

As for the holy images in the monastery, they naturally look exceptionally gorgeous.

For a moment, Garys couldn't even tell whether the holy icons were pure gold or gold-plated.

All I can say is that religion, in many cases, is indeed a business.

(End of this chapter)