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Vaticine Feast Days


The 15th and the 30th of every month are feast days in the Church of the Prophets. The following is a list for the Vaticine Church; the Objectionist Church has kept most of them, but altered a few to better fit their sensibilities.

Primus 15: Feast of Truth. This first festival of the year celebrates the Creator's Truth, its revelation in Creation, and humanity's ongoing search to learn and understand it all.
Primus 30: Feast of the Miracle of Protection. Depending on the preacher, the themes of the day are either the life and teachings of the First Prophet, or else the ways in which the soul who trusts in Theus is protected from sin.
And though he was attacked with every fell power the Senators possessed, the First Prophet stood untouched among them.
Secundus 15: Feast of Stone. Virtues touching on endurance - patience, diligence, abstinence, chastity - are celebrated on this day.
Secundus 30: Feast of Hope. Despair is the deadliest of sins, because it denies the power of Theus. The Feast of Hope challenges the faithful to live always looking forward, with trust in Theus.
Teritus 15: Feast of Balance. This is the Spring Equinox and the first of two Feasts of Balance. The focus in Teritus is in finding (spiritual) things that are lacking in one's life and trying to add them. In Castille, the Festival of Flames is also celebrated on this day.
Teritus 30: Feast of Wisdom. Wisdom has many sources; it is a deep understanding of Truth, whether intellectual or instinctual. The contemplations of the greybeard philosopher and the innocent truth-seeing of the young (among other paths to wisdom) are equally admired.
Quartus 15: Feast of Flowers. This is a celebration of new life, renewal, and the beauty of creation.
Quartus 30: Feast of the Miracle of Wheat. Depending on the preacher, the theme of the day may be either the life and teachings of the Second Prophet, or else how humanity, following Theus's teachings as revealed through the Prophets, can grow great things from small seeds.
In the days of Malak the Second Prophet, thousands gathered in the early spring to hear his words of divine wisdom. The Witnesses grew concerned. "O Teacher," they said to him, "many thousands have gathered here, to travel with us to your homeland. But the wheat in only newly in the ground, and there will be no food for them all for many months." And he said, "If Theus will provide seeds for the birds and fodder for the cattle, will he not also provide for His children?" And the next morning when they rose, lo! The wheat had already sprouted, and grown, and was ready for the harvesting.
Quintus 15: Feast of Rain. It is a time to reflect on the sorrows and suffering in life and how one can grow from them.
Quintus 30: Feast of Charity. Coming after the Feast of Rain, it builds on the contemplation of one's own suffering and extends it to responding to the suffering of others.
Sextus 15: Feast of the Sun. Sextus 15 is the Summer Solstice, and the feast celebrates the life-giving power of Solas, set in the sky by Theus to warm Terra, ripen crops, and gladden hearts. Its light is a symbol of Theus's all-encompassing love and care for Terra and all who dwell upon it.
Sextus 30: Feast of Paths and Doorways. This is a day of contemplation, where worshippers are invited to reflect upon their path through life, and upon what doorways to other paths they may have before them - and whether or not entering those doorways would be wise or foolish.
Julius 15: Feast of Knowledge. On this day, the faithful are at once reminded of the importance of the quest for knowledge, as well as the importance for not mistaking that quest for the journey to Truth.
Julius 30: Feast of Faith. Even in the gnostic Vaticine Church, there is room for faith and mystery. Theus's love for his Creation, his decision to allow free will (and hence sorcery) but also to send the Prophets, and even the validity of the Church's approach to understanding Theus through knowledge are all matters of faith.
Corantine 15: Feast of Justice. This feast began to honor Theus's divine justice and as a meditation on how humanity could best emulate it. Recently, in Castille especially, it is now sometimes known as "Inquisitor's Feast," and the question of how to administer divine justice is treated as solved.
Corantine 30: Feast of the Miracle of Fire. Depending on the preacher, the theme of this day will either be the life and teachings of the Third Prophet, or how the pains and trials of life can act as a purifying fire on the soul and how the faithful should relate to that.
The heat from the pillar of flame forced the Hierophant against the cavern wall, but the Third Prophet calmly approached. "See and believe," he said, and placed his hand into the roaring flames. They at once turned white-blue, and the Prophet withdrew his hand, unharmed. "In this place, I will burn sorcery from men's souls."
Septimus 15: Feast of Balance. This is the Autumnal Equinox. In this half of the year, the faithful are encouraged to examine themselves for spiritual baggage that they may be carrying and then divesting themselves of it.
Septimus 30: Teachers' Feast. Without teachers, the path to Truth would be much rockier and much longer. All who instruct, from parents who teach first words to the brightest scholastic minds, are honored on this feast.
Octavus 15: Feast of Courage/Martyr's Feast. The path to Truth is often hard, and courage is needed to complete the journey: courage to have one's preconceptions overturned, courage to admit the Truth, and courage to witness the Truth to others. Those who have died from such courage are especially honored.
Octavus 30: Feast of Love. As the days lengthen and the nights turn cold, the community turns to each other to find warmth in a universal love and kindness. Some preachers take this feast as an excuse to rail against the sin of Lust, but most focus on the positive aspects of correct agape-love.
Nonus 15: Thanksgiving. All give thanks to Theus for the bounty of the harvest and pray for protection in the coming winter.
Nonus 30: Feast of the Dead. This is a solemn day of remembrance for those who have gone on to Elysium, or else to the Abyss.
Decimus 15: Feast of the Light of Reason. The day before the Winter Solstice and the longest night of the year, the church celebrates the power of reason to banish such darkness from people's lives.
Decimus 30: Feast of Forgiveness. The day before Prophets' Mass begins, the faithful are invited to make peace with Theus, with themselves and with each other, so as to enter into the final feasting season and into the new year with clean and refreshed souls.

An Alternative System

A less complex system of feast days could also be used, like the following, hypothetically created during the early days of the Church before the coming of the Second Prophet:

15th of the month, Primus - Septimus: Each of the original nine Witnesses of the First Prophet has a special saint's day.

Octavus 15: Feast of St. Tobias. (It's observed in Ussura as well, but very differently.)

Nonus 15: Feast of the First Prophet.

Decimus 15:Feast of the Fourth Prophet. This is placed at the darkest part of the year. (For Ussura, replace with a festival honoring Matushka on this day before the deepest, coldest part of winter.)

Then the 30th of every month is a Feast of Forgiveness, encouraging harmony in the community and family.



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