 Efseveisian Church | |
|---|---|
| Εκκλησία Ευσεβίων | |
 Church of St. Theodosius in Theodosinople. | |
| Abbreviation | Cappadocian Sect |
| Classification | Efseveian |
| Scripture | Holy Bible |
| Theology | Efseveian Theology |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Structure | communion |
| Patriarch | Theodosius XI |
| Region | Cappadocia, the New World, Middle East |
| Language | Greek |
| Liturgy | Cappadocian |
| Headquarters | Theodosinople |
| Founder | St. Theodosius |
| Origin | April 6, 1142 Caesarea |
| Schism | Eastern Orthodox Church |
| Number of followers | 2.5 million followers (baptized) |
| Ministers | 3,000 |
| Missionary | 1,100 |
| Church (building) | 3,400 |
| Hospitals | 9,100 |
| Nursing homes | 2,100 |
| Aid organization | Efsevian Aid Program |
| Primary schools | 800 |
| Secondary schools | 793 |
| Other name(s) | Cappadocian Sect |
| Official website | efseveian.org |
The Efseveisian Sect (Greek: ευσεβείς [efseveisian]: literally, "devout ones"), widely known as the Cappadocian Sect, is a small Christian religious sect based primarily in Cappadocia in addition to various enclaves of Efseveisian believers in the Middle East and in the Columbias. They are widely known for their persecution by various governments throughout history, particularly the controversial Cappadocian Crusade of the 1180s.
Beliefs[]
The Efseveisians believe in complete devoutness to Christ and God. By this, they mean "being proper beings." The committing of sins is looked down heavily by Efseveisians. If an Efseveisian is caught committing a sin, they are condemned, publicly shunned, and forced to renounce their following of the sect. It has been calculated that in total, up to 12 million Efseveisians have been renounced since its founding in 1142, out of the probable 120 million that have practiced it through the millennium. The reason that the Efseveisian sect is so harsh when it comes to sins lies in its history.
History[]
St. Theodosius.
The Cappadocian sect was founded on April 6, 1142, by Theodosius Lecapenas (known as St. Theodosius by Efseveisians), a day celebrated by Efseveisians as the Day of Devoutness. Theodosius founded this new sect after news began circulating in his hometown of Korama of a local noble named Evaristus Lucaenus who, being disdainful of his legal wife, Athanasia Botaniate, had an affair with a noblewoman that he absolutely loved named Damiane Lecapena. He had left his legal property to his wife, claiming to go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, however, he, in reality, was moving into the property of his beloved one. After eight years of panic, confusion, sorrow, and searching, the Evaristus and Damiane were found while in copulation and detained. Evaristus had produced five sons during his de facto marriage. Both were put to death.
Frustrated by the complete disregard for the faith, Theodosius founded the Cappadocian sect. He spread the news and received a couple of followers. However, the local garrison drove them out. His followers founded a city known as Theodosinople 6.43 mi (10.35 km) southeast of the city.
This sect disappears from historical records until 1167 when it was uncovered that Byzantine Emperor Andronikos I was a believer of this faith. How exactly he was aware of this sect had been lost to history, but this fact certainly led to his deposition a few months later.
Persecution[]
As stated, the Efseveisians have endured constant persecution and genocide due to longstanding tensions with the central authority in Constantinople. While most emperors were distasteful of the Efseveisians and persecuted them on some level, there are a few notable instances in history that saw the near extinction of the faith.
The Cappadocian Crusade[]
During the Ten Years War, it had always been desired by emperors who usurped the Byzantine throne to exterminate the Efseveisians. As the empire was in a decade of pure anarchy, this never came to fruition until the second reign of Andronikos III, who finally stabilized the empire after the end of the Ten Years Anarchy. In 1186, he launched the Cappadocian Crusade, declaring all Efseveisians to be heretics. Known for its brutality, the conflict saw the complete depopulation of Cappadocia. This was not a result of the fact that Cappadocia mainly followed this heretic belief - far from it actually. The Efseveisians at most made up only ten percent of Cappadocia's population. However, the army claimed that it could not detect the differences between Efseveisians and Orthodox Christians. This claim has been deemed as highly dubious by contemporary historians who have noted that the exotic daily practices of an Efsevian easily made them distinguishable from all other Christians. Nonetheless, a genocide ensued. In only two years of fighting, 90 percent of Cappadocia's population was exterminated. Today, the Cappadocian Crusade has horrified the minds of many, but in the days of Andronikos, his actions received widespread acclaim from all over the empire and the Christian world.
13th - 16th Centuries[]
Early 13th Century English depiction depiction of the 1242 Efseivian expedition.
In 1242, without any warning, 20,000 Byzantine troops began marauding in Cappadocia. Emperess Marie I held great disdain for heretics and the Efseivians in particular as even though they had been nearly been driven into extinction decades prior, they had exploded in popularity. Up to 30-40 percent of Cappadocians were members of the Cappadocian faith and about 90 percent would be slaughtered in the massacres. Another expedition against them took place in 1258 in Trebizond, where most of the remaining ten percent of Efseavians had fled, and another in late 1268, in Antioch, where Efseveisian Churches were burned down and their relics destroyed.
Michael VII's reign saw another Crusade against the Efseveisians. Still recovering from the persecutions of the predecessor of his predecessor, the Efseveisian faith was annihilated in the fighting, with some historians actually believing that no member of the fair remained after the fighting. If so, that would make it the only successful genocide in history.
During the Black Death, in the midst of the chaos and disorder, the Efseveisians were blamed for the pandemic. Orthodox preachers such as Leo of Nicosia stated that God had deliberately sent the plague as punishment to mankind for allowing such heresy to exist. Emperor Alexios V ordered a pogrom against the Efseveisians. Some Orthodox Bishops and priests devised a plan to protect them, however, the priests and bishops were deemed heretics and slaughtered. On March 5, 1352, a party of around 80,000 men thundered into Theodosinople and absolutely decimated the city. The pogrom was widely heralded as a success within the Byzantine Empire.
Demetrios I is widely known within Byzantium for spearheading the Κίνηση, the movement of Greek settlers into the fringes of the empire. This was seen as a benefit for the empire as it increased loyalty within the various territories of the empire and lessened the strain of overpopulation. While some questioned the former as the sheer size of the empire and its climactic diversity would undoubtedly mean that cultural distinctions would arise among these migrants, the Κίνηση was sponsored by the Byzantine Government from around 1400 - 1900.
When Greek settlers migrated to foreign lands, they came in contact with the often hostile native population. This resulted in conflict and in many cases, entire swathes of people were either forcibly moved off their land or slaughtered. The Efseveisians were no exception to this. During the late 14th and early 15th centuries, many Efseveisians migrated south in Arabia, believing that they would be safe there. However, as Greek settlers continued to pour into Arabia, a sense of deja vu began to be felt amongst the followers of the faith. Over the next few centuries, hundreds of thousands of people would be either forcibly moved or killed.
In the late 1490s, the Barian Caliphate was formed and began conquering the majority of the Middle East. The Efseveisians initially welcomed the change in leadership, believing that the Muslims would be more tolerant of their faith. They were proven wrong in what was called the Slaughter of the Near East. Under the decree of Caliph Muslih, the newly formed Calphate slaughtered its non-muslim population, including Efseveisians.
17th - 19th Centuries and the Efseveisian Diaspora[]
The 17th Century is often dubbed as "the Century of Death" by Efseveisians. Pogroms were widespread and entire Efseveisian communities were eliminated. The policies of the increasingly religiously intolerant Byzantine Government lead to great suffering among the members of this faith. Under the reign of Constantine XIV, the violence in Cappadocia and other Efseveisian populated areas was renewed, leading to conflict.
Apollonia I.
Assault on Theodisinople, by Angelos Kurkua.
As Byzantium was embroiled in the ongoing Eighty Years War, at first these expeditions against them received little financial and military support and were mostly led by inexperienced parties foraying into Efseveisian settlements. This changed in the year 1677 when Constantine XV had his regency ended. The new empress, Apollonia I, known for her expansion of Byzantine power and influence, was a devout Orthodox Christian. Apollonia has widely been regarded as a controversial figure in history, particularly over her treatment of religious dissidents. She treated her people warmly but punished heretics severely. Millions of Catholics, Muslims, and other religious dissidents perished under her rule, and the already hated Efseveisians were nearly driven to extinction under her reign. Out of desperation, many converted to Eastern Orthodoxy, under pressure from Byzantine Inquisitors, or fled to the New World, other parts of Eurasia and Africa, or Janzland. This has been deemed the Efseveisian Diaspora by historians. An estimated eight million people left mainland Byzantium from 1680 - 1720, including, but not limited to Efseveisians. By Apollonia's death in 1726, there were between 3,000 and 6,000 Efseveisians left, a number that may have been once as high as 3,000,000.
Even with numbers as small as that, the faith continued to be persecuted harshly, particularly by Apollonia's beloved son, Angelos I, and his great-grandson Georgios I. By 1800, their numbers in Byzantium had dwindled down to at most 900.
Several revolts occurred in the late 17th Century and early 18th century.
Resurgence[]
Emperor Constantine XVII with General Apostolos Pallakis, a well renowned Efseivian General.
The 19th Century saw the reign of Constantine XVII, the longest-reigning Byzantine Emperor. Under his reign, the strict Byzantine religious code was relaxed and heresy was decriminalized. This coincided with a rise of Efseveisian followers, rising from just 500 in 1830 to 300,000 in 1900. As the Κίνηση ended and as religious intolerance began to be shunned, their population began to finally sprout once more. Separated families were reunited and by 2013, their population had skyrocketed to around two million. The Patriarchs of the faith (basically the pope of the Cappadocian Sect), once martyrs for the faith, now were elected to the position without fear of death.
As of 2020, their population is at around 2.5 million and they primarily dwell in Byzantium, Patagonia, Cascadia, Russia, and Mexica.
List of Patriarchs[]
| Name | Image | Duration | Notability |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Theodosius |  |
April 6, 1142 - ??? | Founder of the Faith and its holiest city. |
| St. Constantinus | c. 1167 - 1186 | Second known Patriarch. Died in the Cappadocian Crusade. | |
| St. Mauricius | 1186 - March 4, 1206 | Killed by the forces of Nikephoros IV while he was campaigning. | |
| St. Callinicus | April 4, 1206 - October 9, 1242 | Died in the first pogrom of Marie I | |
| St. Olympiodorus | November 8, 1247 - November 16, 1258 | Died in the second pogrom of Marie I | |
| St. Callinicus II | December 25, 1258 - October 12, 1268 | Died in the third pogrom of Marie I | |
| St. Virus | December 25, 126 - May 6, 1275 | Died in Micahel VII's pogrom | |
| St. Constantine | c. 1305 - May 6, 1352 | First patriarch after a gap in historical records. Killed in a pogrom spurred by the Black Death. | |
| St. Theodosius II | c. 1368 - c. 1370 | Died in a raid against Theodisinople in 1370 | |
| St Andreas | c. 1406 | Mentioned by Ikram el-Hosein's Book of the World in 1406. | |
| Andreas II | c. 1506 | Infamously betrayed his faith under pressure from Byzantine authorities. | |
| St. Alexios I | c. 1542 - April 22, 1596 | Longest reining Patrirch | |
| St. Alexios II | c. 1600 - 1622 | Died from a pogrom | |
| St Alexios III | c 1642 - 1664 | Executed publically in Constantinople. | |
| St. Alexios IV | c. 1666 - 1687 | Publically executed in Rome, shortly after the city fell to the Byzantines | |
| St. Matthew I | c. 1698 - 1723 | Led the First Efseveisian Revolt and was martyred as a result |
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