Caphiric Church

The Caphiric Catholic Church, formerly and commonly known as the Imperial Church, is a particular church in full communion with the Pope and the worldwide Catholic Church. It is by far the largest particular church, with over one billion congregants, and the only one to worship in the Latin rite. It is the established church and was the de facto state religion of the Imperium of Caphiria for over three centuries. The primate of the church is the Patriarch of Venceia and All Sarpedon.

Caphiria played a major role in the second wave of Christian proselytization during the Middle Ages. Imperator Marius Oratonius was baptized into the Catholic Church in 1079, and all Caphiria would be nominally Christianized by the end of the 12th century. Caphiria's significant territorial expansion during the Late Middle Ages was officially sanctioned by the Pope, who granted to the Imperators the title "Protector of Christendom." While the Popes were increasingly assertive of their temporal and spiritual authority in Levantia during this time, the Caphiric Church was left alone, as the Papacy depended on the tithes and prestige afforded by the Sarpedonian bishoprics. The relationship between the Popes and the Imperators began to break down as a result of the emerging Protestant Revolt in the early 16th century. Caphiria was insulated from the struggle, but theological tensions with the Urceopolitan church had long simmered beneath the surface, and the Imperators took advantage of ecclesiastical division and the Pope's focus on crushing protestantism to increase imperial authority. The Caphiric church's position was further weakened by the growth of classicism in Caphiria, which called for a Christianity that conformed to ancient Caphirian virtues and would restore the religious positions enjoyed by the Imperator during the Principate. The triumph of the Counter-reformation and the resulting growth of Urcean influence in Levantia and over the Church further strained relations. Beginning in the early 1550s, Caphiria began to protestant refugees. The first official step towards schism was in 1560, when clergy were required to make an oath of loyalty to the Imperator, and the process was completed in 1615, when Pius XII took the title pontifex maximus by acclimation of the Caphirian bishops. For many years after the Schism, pro-Levantine Catholic factions continued to challenge the leadership of the new Caphiric Church. These factions, and the people that supported the Levantine Church still, were known as Traditionalists and were heavily persecuted and executed under heresy laws. This period is known as the Months of Bloody Sundays as it was common practice for the Imperator to simply execute any people who were not coming to church in protest. Traditionalists were executed under legislation that punished anyone judged guilty of heresy against the Caphiric Church. Ultimately, the Caphiric Church went through a series of reformations (The Reformations of 1627) and the church was renamed to the Imperial Catholic Church. While it remains essentially Catholic, these reformations contributed to distinct, partially protestantized, theological and liturgical expressions in the Caphiric Church.

Beginning in the late 2020s, detente between Urcea and Caphiria led to renewed ecumenical dialogue between the Caphirian and Levantine churches. in 2037, the Eight Points Agreement was signed by the Imperator and Pope, facilitating the restoration of full communion and the preservation of the Caphiric church's autonomy and spiritual patrimony.

Virtually all of Caphiric Catholics live within the Imperium of Caphiria, or former Caphirian territories. Full participation in the sacramental life of each church is available to all communicant members. Due to the historical link to Caphiria, some of the member churches are known as "Caphiric Catholic", such as the Caphiric Church of Zaclaria.

Doctrine

Trinity

Nature of Christ==

Church

consists of all believers==

Justification

good works, private masses

Sacraments

The Caphiric church teaches that the sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Jesus Christ in the New Covenant for the succor of his Church on earth. The numbering of the sacraments was a source of controversy in the early post-Reformation church. Ritualists argued that there were seven sacraments (though within this group there were divisions on whether all sacraments were equal), while pietists, more closely aligned with the theology of the Levantine Reformation, argued that only the Eucharist and Baptism were sacraments. The ritualist party, was eventually victorious with the support of the imperial government, and eventually reached a compromise on the division of the sacraments into ecclesiastical sacraments: Confirmation, Extreme Unction, Ordination, and Matrimony, which they saw as instituted by the Church, and evangelical sacraments: Baptism, the Eucharist, and Penance, which they saw as instituted clearly by Jesus Christ in Sacred Scripture. The Caphiric Church has always taught that only presbyters ordained in the line of the Apostles can administer valid sacraments, and that sacraments are valid ex opere operato, regardless of the spiritual state of the presbyter administering them.

The Caphiric understanding of the ecclesiastical sacraments as "instituted by the Church" was a source of controversy during the negotiations leading up to the Eight Points Agreement. Some within both the Catholic and Imperial churches contended that this meant that such sacraments were without inherent efficacy and was in opposition to the Catholic doctrine that all sacraments were established by Christ. The understanding reached affirmed that the ecclesiastical sacraments were established by Christ, and had inherent efficacy, but that the Caphiric church could teach that this establishment by Christ was through the Church and not personal. The Caphiric Church also continues to emphasize the special character of the evangelical sacraments as imparting direct, personal grace, that is necessary for salvation.

Worship and Practice

Liturgy

sacrifical aspect of the mass

Texts

Worship books

=Culture

Calendar and Major feasts

The liturgical calendar of the church bears a close resemblance to the Levantine General Calendar, from which it diverged following the Schism of 1615. After the reunion with Urceopolis, the existing calendar has been provisionally maintained, with modifications to be made should the cause of any post-split saint on the Caphirian calendar be found lacking. Structurally, the only major difference between the Levantine and Caphirian calendars is the use of the term feria. In the Caphirian calendar, as a result of the reforms carried out following the schism, a feria (plural: feriae) refers to Sundays and feast days (as the term was used in the pagan era). In the Levantine calendar, a feria is a weekday without a feast.

A number of feasts enjoy significantly more prominence in the Caphiric world than they do in the rest of Christendom: Martinmas, Saint George's Day, and Michaelmas are all public holidays, and are the most important public holidays outside of Christmas, Easter, and All Saints. All three commemorate military saints, a reflection of the high degree of militarization in Caphirian society. Michaelmas is the primary armed forces day in Caphiria, and is marked each year by a military parade in Venceia. Martinmas is a remembrance day for all Caphirian war dead, while Saint George's Day is a commemoration of Caphiria's various historical military triumphs.

Architecture

rood screens