In the year of our Ruler,ALDER HIMMERSCHWERT, 1532, Herzog Aleksandra Salier has put out a noble decree. With the formation of the Duchy of Finsterschen, our faith as a whole has come under question. Should we follow the church in Adelsburg as we have always done, or follow the true will of the gods? We believe that the head of faith should be unequivocally fallible in the eyes of Alder, as they are not, and can never be, equivalent to His holiness and faultless disposition. The head of faith within the religion should exude His qualities but will never be parallel to Him. The liturgical head of the faith should not style themselves after the father himself, pretending to be some divinely appointed aspect of Alder that shares in his divinity. Instead they should live for the teaching of Alder, supplicating themselves to him and vowing to work unilaterally toward his divine ends. They should not parade themselves as a spiritual superior to the congregation, but as divinely-inspired laborers in true fellowship with Alder and all his children.
The taboo of the use of magic is likewise an affront to the worldly creations of Alder, being itself a part of the natural world and bound to the laws set forth by Him. As such, we recognize no legitimate reason as to it being forbidden from all use. In this same vein, we find it reprehensible to distinguish negatively between same sex unions and those of the opposing sex. Alda mandates the growth of the Attian people, through birth and tender child-rearing, but does not necessarily prohibit the methods in obtaining a child. We find it, therefore, reasonable and of proper conduct to allow the union of same sex couples on the condition that they plan to and carry out the adoption of a child and oversee its growth and education.
Any union between individuals under the domain of the gods, be it between members of the same sex or opposite, is a holy union and a covenant with the gods at the individual level. Therefore, it is spiritually deplorable for annulment to be extended to anyone of the faith for any reason deemed unworthy by the gods, as manifested by the personal decision by the Patriarch of the faith. Though the Patriarch may find some cases for divorce to be amenable to Alder and may permit such action to be taken in extenuating circumstances.
Furthermore, the institutions that uphold Alderism in the Hadrian Empire have obviously been eroded over the ages, leading to the defunct hierarchy that holds illegitimate power over the congregation of that land. The true followers of Alder, the people we call our own, distinguish themselves from the old culture and rebuke the Hadrian identity, opting instead to embrace a new identity as the people of Finterschen. We Finterschen, the legitimate successors to Alder’s earthly kingdom, derive our history from the original people of Alder and claim that heritage as our own. We stand as the chosen of Alder and devote ourselves to the true worship of his ideals and teachings, denouncing the old ways of Hadriana as heretical and in opposition to the true faith. This is spearheaded by the Herzog, cultural head of the Finterschen and the one entity on Earth directly appointed by Alder. The Herzog stands as the worldly stand-in for Alder and his divine will.
Being chosen among the races of men, the Finterschen see ourselves as the moral and spiritual arbiters between the gods and the races on Earth. We are pressed with the duty of spreading the faith abroad and to the lesser races, foremost being the races of men outside of the Finterschen and secondarily to the races apart from man. Humankind is known to be the true inheritors of Alder’s teachings and should be put first in all liturgical affairs, though members of the other races are permitted and encouraged to keep the faith just the same.
Herzog Aleksandra of the House of Salier Sunday 23, Greenfall, 1532
Hauhs Gudja Antoinette of the House of Fresenius Sunday 23, Greenfall, 1532
