Caphiric Church: Difference between revisions

The '''Caphiric Catholic Church''', formerly and commonly known as the '''Imperial Church of Caphiria''', 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 Caphiric 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 significant 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 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 due to the emerging [[Great Confessional War|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. 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 ministerial 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 toward schism was in 1560, when the clergy was required to make an oath of loyalty to the Imperator. The process was completed with the [[Great Schism of 1615]], when [[Pius XII of Caphiria|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 the Imperial Catholic Church. The Church embraced the [[Caphiric Pyramid]] and [[Venceism]] among other dogmas during this period. While it remains Catholic, these reformations contributed to distinct, partially protestantized, theological and liturgical expressions in the Caphiric Church.

Beginning in the late 2000s, the detente between Urcea and Caphiria led to a renewed ecumenical dialogue between the Caphirian and Levantine churches. in 2017, 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. The Agreement also formally erected the Caphiric Church as a {{wp|particular church}} within Catholicism with its own canon law set and unique liturgical rite.

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 lacking. Structurally, the only significant difference between the Levantine and Caphirian calendars is ''feria''. In the Caphirian calendar, due to 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.