Ch.199Burgon Ecclesiasticism (2)

BANG BANG BANG—!!

“Is it those bastards again…?”

The bishop recalls past memories upon hearing the rough knocking on the church door early in the morning.

Only those irreverent fools would treat the sacred church door in such a manner.

[This church territory isn’t listed in the documents you voluntarily submitted. What’s the meaning of this? You’d better choose your words carefully.]

[The harvest from these farmlands and orchards seems too abundant for a single church to consume. How do you explain this?]

[We have reliable reports that you’ve been forcing donations. Didn’t we tell you to eliminate all offerings from believers except voluntary ones!?]

‘Damn those bastards…’

Those fellows, wearing strangely modified monastic robes and claiming to follow God’s will while causing all sorts of trouble, constantly picked fights and squeezed my neck as if trying to kill me.

Those who claim to follow, uphold, and serve God’s will but insist on following scripture rather than the Holy Sovereign’s will—who relentlessly hound religious leaders for any deviation from the letter of scripture—are clearly in the wrong.

No, how could anyone possibly live by scripture alone? If one truly did so, humanity, born with original sin, would have to castrate themselves to stop bearing children.

There’s no need to go that far. There are numerous fundamentalist doctrines: that wine should only be consumed during prayer, that lords shouldn’t collect taxes exceeding one-tenth of the harvest, that all priests should own no property, that all lands in this world should be dedicated to God… If all these were followed, society would cease to function and collapse entirely.

I tried to persuade them from this perspective, but all I received in return was contempt from these fanatics.

Seeing how the king not only tolerates such people but actively supports them behind the scenes… tsk, what will become of this world?

BANG BANG BANG—!!

“Yes, I’m coming. Please stop knocking.”

And yet he himself has committed every sin from concubinage to usury to kinslaying.

The bishop swallows his curses toward the king and heads for the door.

“Who is… Ah, what is it now? Haven’t I done everything you asked for?”

Despite hoping against hope that those outside might be from a different group, the bishop feels his expectations instantly plunged into the mud.

It’s a sight he’s seen dozens of times already.

Wearing their oddly modified monastic robes in perfect uniformity and behaving intimidatingly, they never turn their heads. They keep their necks stiff, only rolling their eyes to survey their surroundings.

“It’s about the registry of believers. Don’t you know about this?”

“That… I know nothing of it. Our church has never refused to provide the registry, so why are you here?”

“You claim not to know, yet you seem quite aware of why we’ve come. Surely they must have informed you, so why didn’t you tell us anything?”

“Is that supposed to be a proper question?”

What on earth are they talking about?

As they said, I had heard about refusing to provide the believer registry, but knowing it would only cause trouble, I pretended not to hear and kept my distance from them.

But now they’re taking issue with my pretending not to hear, rather than thanking me for not joining the refusal?

“Are you saying I should have informed you as soon as I heard what they were planning?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“The provision of the believer registry was a courtesy, not a church obligation. Don’t confuse continued courtesy with duty.”

Normally they would have pestered me with endless questions, but even they seem to have no retort to this.

Due to custom, monarchs can now consult the believer registry without resistance, but in the past, it was only available to monarchs through the church’s goodwill.

They seem to know this fact very well, given that they outwardly pose as clergy.

“Hmm… Well, this is satisfactory. You pass.”

“…Pass?”

And now they’re saying something strange. Plus, there’s that unpleasant evaluating gaze as a bonus.

Pass? What are they plotting now?

“Bishop, although you’ve been exposed to corrupted beliefs for a long time and hold misguided religious views, your past statements and your refusal to cooperate with them suggest your fundamentals aren’t wrong. And seeing how all the church territories we passed have corrected the issues we previously pointed out shows your admirable ability to rectify mistakes.”

“What are you talking about? Why are you evaluating me?”

“You will be able to maintain your position as bishop of this church.”

Maintain? That should be a given—wait a moment.

Does that mean… other bishops won’t be able to maintain their positions?

“What are you plotting!? The bishop’s seat can only be exercised by the Holy Sovereign, who is the head of all bishops—”

“Hmm… It’s true that the Holy Sovereign is the head of all bishops. However, no matter which scripture you search, there is no mention of a bishop’s seat that alone holds the keys to heaven.”

“Th-that’s… blasphemy!”

“Spiritually, I serve God, and secularly, I serve His Majesty Claude. Blasphemy? What are you talking about?”

The bishop is left speechless.

Not because he’s been moved by the Faith Inquisitor’s words, but because he instinctively realizes that no argument could possibly persuade them.

“His Holiness represents all bishops, but that doesn’t make him God incarnate. Nor does he alone hold the keys to heaven. The Church of Lotharing must not be completely subordinate to the central church where the Holy Sovereign resides; it must maintain a sufficiently independent position. And you, Bishop, as a person of Lotharing, must absolutely follow this policy.”

After saying this, the Faith Inquisitor left the church, and until then, the bishop could neither speak nor act.

He could only pray inwardly that the coming storm would claim as few lives as possible.

……….

“What are those…?”

“Isn’t this quite different from what we expected?”

The clergy gathered in Dijon sense that something is going terribly wrong.

They had judged that since they were all clergy appointed by the Holy Sovereign, and because they served the Holy Sovereign rather than the king, they could afford to take somewhat radical actions.

By common sense, even a mad king wouldn’t attack clergy who serve the Holy Sovereign, as such an act would immediately incur the Holy Sovereign’s wrath.

But… this is too strange.

The king’s response is too swift, considering how little time has passed since they started their actions. It’s as if he anticipated their move and prepared in advance.

“Hmm… good that you’re all gathered. It saves me the trouble of repeating myself or moving around to different places.”

“Wh-what…!”

“What kind of manner of speech is that!? Correct yourself at once!”

Jeanne, standing at the front of the numerous Faith Inquisitors, looks over the clergy with contempt as she speaks, causing the clergy to become greatly angered and denounce her words and attitude.

“I will now deliver His Majesty’s message, so please keep your mouths shut so you can hear properly.”

However, Jeanne simply ignores their protests.

From her perspective, having cut the throats of many corrupt clergy in her youth, these people are merely devils wearing human skin, and listening to a devil’s words is not something a human should do.

Of course, many clergy joined this group out of genuine devotion to the Holy Sovereign, but Jeanne, who holds different views about the Holy Sovereign, doesn’t look upon them favorably and continues to ignore their words. Though she doesn’t view them as badly as devils.

“All churches must sever ties with the secular world and serve only God. However, church territories, except in special cases, are located within the lands of secular lords, indicating that churches are not entirely separate entities from secular rulers.”

“Wh-what…”

The clergy are greatly shocked by Jeanne’s first statement.

Despite their various issues, they are fundamentally clergy and well-versed in theology, so they understand perfectly what Jeanne’s words imply.

“In other words, churches must show a certain degree of loyalty to their rulers, and those rulers, as lords of churches that have dual fealty to the Holy Sovereign, must demonstrate proper attitudes. This is a basic obligation for both churches and rulers.”

The crowd of clergy, who had been noisily speaking just moments ago, are now silent.

Only Jeanne’s sharp voice echoes across the square, and the clergy, sensing what’s coming next, squeeze their eyes shut.

“Therefore, it is improper for a ruler to merely observe the tyranny of churches, and it is entirely right to correct them toward the proper path. I, in fulfilling my duties and obligations, make this difficult decision: the right of appointment for all churches in Lotharing shall henceforth belong to me. Let the churches of Lotharing prostrate themselves and obey my will.”

The age-old dispute over clerical investiture, which has repeated dozens of times over more than a thousand years and always ended in victory for the church, has erupted again.

Had there been no problems, everyone would have predicted another victory for the church and defeat for the monarch.

But… as everyone knows, the timing couldn’t be worse.

The Canaan faith has failed to properly prevent the rise of heresy and has been defeated, and it’s been so focused on pleasing the monarchs that it says nothing about their transgressions. It’s desperately trying to hold back sand slipping through its fingers.

“…Damn it.”

“Our retreat… is blocked. Of course it would be.”

The king’s seizure of the Holy Sovereign’s right to appoint clergy is tantamount to declaring a complete break with the Holy Sovereign, making many of the gathered clergy realize they can no longer rely on the Holy Sovereign’s protection.

Those who had been acting confidently until just moments ago are now changing their attitude as if it never happened, seeking ways to survive.

“N-nonsense!”

“Heresy, heresy!”

“Impossible! This is against God’s will—”

SMACK—!!

“—GAHK…!”

“AAAAHH!!”

And those who still lack awareness learn this fact through physical means.

The Faith Inquisitors, who had been surrounding the protesting clergy, rush in to physically subdue those making problematic statements with fists and clubs. Seeing this, the clergy become incapable of further speech or action.

There were only trembling sheep, witnessing violence and paralyzed with fear.