On Inquisition

This week's exploration is of the role of the inquisitor, its basis in the Testament, and its ultimate purpose.

Perhaps the most blessed and most admirable scholarly pursuit, however, is one that takes as its center not the study of any one thing, but rather commits itself to the refutation and repudiation of heresies and slanders. We know that such Kindred that walk in these nights have intellects vast and creative. Their Damnation may have been given them before the coming of the Dark Father and his teachings, or perhaps they are yet newly Damned by sinful and impious sires, and so they use such gifts to harass and mock the fellowship of the Sanctified. 

Such scholars of the Sanctified as have talent for it must therefore bend their minds to the unraveling of arguments and the refutation of all points in these irreverent tracts and speeches. 

  - Rule of Golgotha 11, paragraphs 5-6

The words inquisitor and inquisition derive from the Latin quaerere meaning "to seek." An inquisitor then is one who seeks for something and an inquisition is the search for it. An inquisitor is someone who makes inquiry, who inquires, after something.

Within the context of the Lancea Sanctum, the inquisitor is one who searches for heresies and slanders that they might be exposed, laid bare, and confronted. An inquisitor in the Lancea Sanctum is concerned with matters that threaten the spiritual purity of the body of the Church, striving to identify and bring to the light any darkness that lurks within.

In order that an inquisitor might be able to identify errancy when it is found, it is important that they be well grounded in theology, comfortable with parsing rhetoric, and intimately familiar with the Testament and doctrines of the Church. Passing familiarity with any of these will fail to suffice, for those who go seeking darkness often find it in this world. If an inquisitor is not prepared to properly and clearly identify it, they are libel to wind up consumed by it. Any inquisition must begin and end within one's own heart, mind, and soul. If an inquisitor is not willing or able to look within and identify the weaknesses they themselves possess, sooner or later another will and turn that weakness to their own advantage.

In exposing errancy and challenging it within both the inquisitor and within the Church, an inquisitor brings about a more perfect Church, ready and able to fulfill God's will for kindred here on earth. While purity is much desired, it is also important to remember that an inquisition does not serve the ultimate purpose of purity. Ultimate purity is impossible given the nature of both the world in which we live, as well as our own Damnation. Ultimate purity would be the destruction of this world of sin, something that is not ours to fulfill. Instead, the ultimate purpose must be to enable the Church and its members to serve well and truly God's purpose for them. An inquisition must ultimately simply root out the worst of the errors within and serves as a reminder of the proper path. It is for this reason that the duty will last for as long as the world we inhabit, but that is right and just.

Sum Sanctus,

Simon Patterson Gloveli

Inquisitor Generalis de Lacus Magni

L'Osservatore Longinian - volume 1, issue 1

L'Osservatore Longinian - volume 1, issue 1

On Kindred Rule

As kindred society finds itself in the grips of a fever with the underlying purpose being the creation of national bodies governing Clan and Covenant, my thoughts have gone to the following passages from The Rule of Golgotha 10:

We are not so innocent as mortal man, who professes that none shall be crowned except he who has striven lawfully. Man is hypocritical in his quest for a noble ruler; he will scheme and murder and bribe to gain what little earthly power he can, and then expects his comrades to hail him as a just and forthright man. The political mind is squirming and complex, twisting reason beyond recognition and pandering in all corners for the slightest advantage, both corporeal and spiritual. We need look only to the great cities of Rome to see and know that the governance of creatures of rational mind is a complex and bewildering undertaking. 

The pagan cities of Greece and of Persia and of the Far East have in their folly concocted mad stories of divine founding to justify the reign of one man over another. We know that there is only one divine city, the city of God which lies beyond death and is the eternal paradise. As sojourners in death we know that we shall not be given the death of the mortal, who may even with his last breath recognize the truth of God's presence on earth and embrace true faith. The city of God is not for us, and all mortal cities and courts are nothing more than dirt and despair. Thus, how much greater folly is it for us to say this unholy creature is more fit to rule than that unholy creature by virtue of his blood, or his sire, or his allegiances?

While this passage occurs within a particular historical context in the Testament of Longinus, the deeper question echoes across the millennia. In the fever of this new Crucible, we seem driven to seize upon some answer, whether that answer be right or wrong. I do not here wish to be sidetracked into the question of why this idea now burns within each of us, or of the fashion in which whatever answer is decided upon may mystically bind us.

Why, when, and how ought kindred rule over each other?

Kindred society is not now, nor has it ever been, a society of laws. We have found and accepted a few core Traditions that stretch back more than two millennia but, save for a few brief aberrations, there have been no empires, no far-reaching bureaucracy, no unified system of justice, and no common culture. Attempts to create each of these things have invariably led to bloodshed and violence, with kindred turning upon each other in bids either for their place at the top of the pile of corpses, or for freedom from the rule of another.

Kindred are not ruled, so much as policed within the bounds of the essential Traditions that we recognize as inviolable for our own survival. Much of the policing is and always has had to be done not by an elite few, but by each and every member of society. Certainly, titles exist, almost always local in nature, where the one who wears the title can regularly interact with those over whom they have some authority. That authority is granted and utilized by dint of ability, but also of acceptance. No one kindred is great enough to fend off all of the others within any but the smallest of groups. While variance exists, the relative parity of our powers requires a modicum of restraint. When one goes too far, they are inevitably brought low.

Some cry now that these modern nights are different. Kindred can rapidly communicate across the entire span of the globe en masse for the first time during a Crucible. Transportation likewise exists with sufficient speed to bring kindred together in the span of a few nights, no matter how great the distance between them originally. Surely, they argue, given these things, the possibility exists of real and far-reaching rule.

They forget that while transportation and communication may be possible, kindred at large remain relatively stationary beings. While some few might wander regularly a few hundred miles and attend the occasional gathering of a handful of Courts, this increased proximity is limited. Those who are present and involved with a local populace each and every night remain a true community. Distant voices may have weight, but presence rules our society. How many Princes rule for long who are only heard and seen upon special occasion? Why should we expect that it would be any different in this Crucible than in the past?

It is true that Clans and Covenants have deeper cultures and more common ties that do allow for stronger bonds across distances. It is for that reason that each typically possesses some form of regional structure. Yet, while these regional bodies may carry weight, few can be said to truly rule. The creation of far-reaching national or supranational bodies of kindred, given the disparate nature of our domains, the differing forms of our interests, and the native kindred drive to rebuke the authority of others over them, seems one doomed to be at most some fancy words on paper and a few new flourishes to an electronic signature if not well crafted with the reality of kindred existence in mind.

Whether, in our collective fever, we are able to tame the lust for power within ourselves and forge answers that are limited in scope to the reality of our condition, or if we are destined to fly too high like Icarus and burn up in the rays of the sun, remains unclear. I will pray that we have the wisdom to choose wisely and spare our society the painful cleansing by fire that has occurred in the past.

Sum Sanctus,

Simon Patterson Gloveli

Inquisitor Generalis de Lacus Magni

An Introduction to the Longinian Creeds

Every kindred structure is riven with division. This is so because we are, by our natures, aggressive and confrontational. The Beast that beats within our breasts makes it so, raising its hackles whenever we encounter another of our kind. With such a nature, it is difficult to organize ourselves on a large scale.

The Lancea Sanctum is no different in this regards. The Sanctified are divided into as many (or more) Longinian Churches as there are praxes. Historically, each diocese of the Lancea Sanctum was its own self-enclosed body. It was established thus by this way because of an understanding of our natures, and of the vulnerability of corruption, paralysis, internal strife, or external assault in a unified structure.

This practice allowed the Lancea Sanctum to flourish in many places. In the ancient days, there was no need to wait for word to travel to and from a distant senior member of the Church. All matters were local and all decisions were local. This led to both a variety of practices and expressions of faith, as well as over time to the development of various creeds, broad sects within the Lancea Sanctum based on differing interpretations of the Testament and other early documents of the faith.

Broadly speaking, there are three major creeds within the Lancea Sanctum, a half dozen minor creeds, and myriad more diocese that operate without an espoused creed at all. In the modern nights in particular, as ease of travel has increased and the mixing of previously distinct cultures and races have risen cities around the world, many dioceses have Sanctified who adhere to differing creeds. This all makes for a very curious local Church where some worship using rituals that are clearly drawn from Catholicism, while others handle snakes and leap over bonfires in ecstatic displays of faith.

The most traditional and prominent within the Lancea Sanctum is the Monachal Creed, which yet makes up half of Sanctified around the world. The percentage may be lower in the United States, though no full census has ever been taken. The Monachal Creed draws its name from the Monachus, the first childe of Longinus, and draws heavily from the writings of the Monachus contained in The Sanguineous Catechism. Its rituals, as the oldest and most traditional of the Creeds, are drawn in structure from Catholicism.

The second of the major Creeds is the Westminster Creed. It is perhaps surprisingly modern, having only been penned and formalized in the 18th century as a delayed response to the Protestant Reformation that swept Europe two centuries prior. The Westminster Creed, while wishing to adhere to much of the traditional texts of the Lancea Sanctum, sought to shake free of many of the most ancient practices. It eschews the traditional rituals of the faith, crafted new and simpler ceremonies, as well as altered the names of various traditional offices within the Lancea Sanctum. It did so and blossomed in areas of the mortal world where Catholicism had never been or was no longer welcome.

The third of the major Creeds began here in the United States. The Tollison Creed was drafted in the 1920s by a former Pentecostal minister. In a similar fashion to Pentecostalism, where there is a belief that the Holy Spirit might move through any person at any time and direction from God is personal, so members of the Tollison Creed open themselves up to direct and personal experience with God, angels, or similar spirits. Theirs is a passionate and ecstatic faith, marked by extreme displays and personal revelations.

Some of the larger minor creeds include: the Iblic Creed, the Dammitic Creed, and Exotheists. The Iblic Creed, which was drafted in 1420 to reconcile the Islamic theology with the traditions of the Lancea Sanctum. The Dammitic Creed was founded in the 18th century to similarly reconcile Jewish traditions with the Lancea Sanctum. The Exotheists are the most modern of the minor creeds, following the publication of the Exotheist Manifesto in 1924, which eschews religious structures entirely while allowing that the Testament of Longinus might yet be an important philosophical treatise on kindred nature and how we might structure our requiems.

All of these creeds, and more, live under one very large roof within the Lancea Sanctum. The diversity occurred, at least in part, because of our earliest teachings and structure. We largely manage to reconcile ourselves in these modern nights, working together because despite our differences in our understanding of it, we do believe that there is an essential ordering to the world, and a place in it for us in accordance with God's plan.

Much more has and is required for a deep understanding of the Lancea Sanctum, and each of its many creeds, and the individual variations within them. However, I hope that this has at least presented some grounding for the diversity that exists and thrives under the auspices of this one covenant.

Sum Sanctus,

Simon Patterson Gloveli
Inquisitor Generalis de Lacus Magni

On Covenants

It is from the Lancea Sanctum that the kindred meaning of the word covenant arises. Kindred are, of course, prone to endless variations in the structuring of their requiems, in their practices, in their faiths, and in their cultures. In the truly ancient world, blood ruled. The line from which one came was everything. Further, kindred were few and far between due to the generally lower population of kine, leaving what would come to be known as praxis small, general distinct populations, each with their own traditions.

The Lancea Sanctum changed that. The earliest members shared the words of Longinus to other kindred without regard for lineage, without regards for ethnicity as mortal, without regards for the temporary and shifting borders of kingdoms on the map, without regards to whether one had been born male, female, or something more complicated. The Lancea Sanctum offered a Covenant with God. They offered to any who would hear a logical ordering to all things, a purpose and place that transcended anything save commitment. Kindred who were male, female, slave, noble, of any clan or bloodline, all were welcome and all were equal.

It is in response to the Lancea Sanctum that other covenants, in the modern kindred understanding of the word, were formed. The Invictus came to be an understanding of the temporal structure and power of kindred society. The Circle of the Crone came to be a covenant, rather than isolated practitioners and worshipers, in response to the Lancea Sanctum's activities. In more recent centuries, first the Ordo Dracul and more recently the Carthian Movement rose, challenging the assumptions of the natures of each individual and our society respectively. Yet we know each and every one by the common word of covenant, a word that originated in the kindred world with the Lancea Sanctum.

Having said all of this, I will now say that the Lancea Sanctum is more than a covenant in the modern kindred understanding of the word. It is more than a clearly defined and delineated group of kindred, that has no overlap with any other such ordering of kindred. The Lancea Sanctum properly harkens back to the origin of the word. Its members hold a Covenant with God, which is more than a covenant with other kindred. In this distinction, I will use Sanctified to mean part of the Covenant with God and Lancea Sanctum to mean part of the temporal Church of Longinus.

What does it mean to be Sanctified?

There are many answers, but the most common can be found in the five lines that comprise the Monachal Creed, the most traditional understanding of this Covenant with God, and the one to which at least half of the Lancea Sanctum around the world yet adhere to.

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of Heaven and Earth. 

To be Sanctified is to believe in the God who forged and ordered the whole of Creation.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary to redeem Man from Sin through his death and resurrection.

To be Sanctified is to believe in the reality of the Christ, the virgin birth, and that through his sacrifice, mankind was offered redemption.

I believe that Longinus, by piercing the Savior’s side as he hung from the Cross, did reveal the divinity of Christ through fulfillment of the prophecies and that, while Longinus was rightly Damned for his blasphemy, his damnation was itself part of God’s Holy Plan.

To be Sanctified is to believe that the events described in the Testament of Longinus are true; that the spear bearer described in the Holy Bible pierced the side of Jesus Christ with the Spear of Destiny. This act was the culmination of God's Holy Plan for the mortal life of His Son and the deed was both an offering of redemption for mankind and damnation for Longinus.

I believe that for my sins I am damned to Hell and yet through damnation I may find my purpose in God’s Holy Plan.

The Beast beats in our breasts. Hunger threatens to overshadow our intellect. The Sun and the light of God are anathema to us. Each night we rise, we sin in our hearts, in our minds, and in the acts of predation that are necessary for us to survive. To be Sanctified is to know and accept this, that our damnation is eternal. Yet, through our Covenant with God, we have been shown a mercy; that we might continue to play a part in His Holy Plan and steer the living to the eternal salvation offered them by God.

Any who accept these five things can be Sanctified, whether they are a member of the temporal Church of Longinus, the Lancea Sanctum, or not. One need not be a member of the clergy to enter into a Covenant with God. Like Jesus's offering of salvation to all mankind, God offers a place in His Plan to all kindred who would enter into a Covenant with Him. How to do so can be found more fully within the Testament of Longinus, His Prophet sent to reveal this path to kindred society.

Sum Sanctus (I am Sanctified),

Simon Patterson Gloveli

Inquisitor Generalis de Lacus Magni

How Shall We Feed?

Feeding is one of the most basic functions of kindred. It is an essential thing from which none can escape, any more than a mortal man can survive without water. Some can endure a week or two at a time between feeding, yet ultimately each of us must feed.

It should not be surprising that the Testament of Longinus has much to say on the subject of feeding. Many things are forbidden. "You shall not feed on children" (Golgotha 3:6). "You shall not feed on the simple or the mad" (Golgotha 3:7). "It is anathema to feed among the pure and righteous" (Golgotha 6:6). While we are predators, we are not demons. Whatever acts of evil we might perform, one is to spare those who are blameless. The child, the mad, and the pure alike are to be protected from predation.

We feed to live, we do not live to feed. "You shall feed only enough to satisfy your hunger" (Golgotha 3:10). Indeed, those who can feed upon the blood of animals are called to do so in that fashion rather than upon man. "For those that can be nourished by beasts, let them be fed" (Golgotha 7:4).

Why is this so? It is because our predation, in feeding and in all other things, must serve a purpose greater than our own selves. We do not do these things for ourselves, but to enable us to pursue a purpose beyond our own individual requiems. All that we do must be for the salvation of man. "Where we walk, evil is destroyed" (Golgotha 1:4). Let us all take heed of this call for humility and service. Let us order our requiems, from feeding to that with which we fill our nights, that it might be in service to something greater than ourselves.

Sum Sanctus,

Simon Patterson Gloveli

Inquisitor Generalis de Lacus Magni

Kindred Society

Those who show the sin of hubris and do not keep an unoffending facade when in the company of mortals shall surely bring doom upon themselves. For man is clever and when he finds an enemy he will find a way to destroy it. It is not the wolf's way to lie down with the sheep. Better it is that man should fear the night, the unknown and the predators therein. Punishment shall be great for he who brings the wrath of man down upon himself and his brethren. Be not prideful, lest your betters – be they Kindred or God – feel the need to correct you. - Rule of Golgotha 5:3

The Testament of Longinus contains some of the earliest recordings of what have come to be the major Traditions of kindred society. The above is clearly an admonishment that kindred should maintain what we now know as the masquerade. For all that the Testament is ultimately focused upon that which is beyond the temporal, it also provides insight into how kindred are to act, both with mortals and with each other.

In the two millennia since the Testament came into being, kindred society still operates by the same constraints. The wisdom within the words above are as relevant today as they were all that time ago, and will hold weight long centuries from now as well. This is so because while kindred and mortal alike may come and go, while locations and details may change, there is nonetheless a great underlying order to this world and its operations. While the realization of essential truths may be new to those who are themselves new, the truths predate us all. They are part of an essential ordering to the universe.

The Damned shall suffer yet more should they slay a fellow to take his soul from him. Your own soul shall become yet blacker in the eyes of God, for he shall not look kindly on one who would take a soul from the judgment of heaven. The call of Kindred Vitae is an insidious and enticing one. To take into one's own body the strengths of another, whether body, mind or soul, is a temptation to all but the most pious. To take a soul must therefore be nearly irresistible. To make oneself more potent, more brilliant, more charismatic, with no effort from yourself seems heavenly in its effortlessness. Know, however, that such things can be seen by eye of God and other Kindred, who will surely turn their hatred upon your sloth and pride. - Rule of Golgotha 5:7

Is this admonishment, this warning, not as true tonight as it was two millennia ago? Do we not immediately recognize its wisdom now, just as kindred did then? The modern Traditions, which every kindred of worth upholds, find their origin in organization and understanding in the words of Longinus. Other words may be used, often less flowery in order to appeal to a broader array of kindred, and yet we recognize that beneath it all, there is a common message.

Kindred society has existed since antiquity. We have had our struggles, our turmoil, our clashes, and our times of peace, far longer than any yet awake can recall. Modern turmoil is but part of a lengthy tradition, existing in a perpetual chain. It is nothing new, though we do engage with it in some vigor during a Crucible. To believe that there is anything new in this is to not understand ourselves or the world in which we live.

Throughout these long millennia, we have never required mystical bonds being placed upon all of kindred society to regulate us. Indeed, every broad attempt at bondage has provoked greater backlash and bloodshed in the long term. Stability bought through slavery rather than through factual understanding of our nature and the essential truths of the world and its ordering, is false. Let us then work as best we might to each understand that which is eternal, including even the struggle between ourselves. In doing so we can achieve a far more stable society than any that can or would be imposed upon us.

Sum Sanctus,

Simon Patterson Gloveli

Augustus Inquisitor de Lacus Magni

That which is eternal

Man is like unto the angels with his faculties and compassion. As we were
once men, we have these qualities at hand in every undertaking. We can
show the rich their poverty, we can show the powerful their weakness, we
can show the healthy their decay, and we can show the pious their hypocrisy.
To all men we can show the misery and depredation of the physical
world, so that their souls may yearn more intensely for the kingdom that
may be theirs, through the grace of God. (Rule 3:4)

You will hear me often speak of purpose, of duty. I do so because it is these things that can give order to an otherwise entirely ephemeral existence. While we are shown the promise of immortality, the truth is that even we do not endure. Through short decades or long centuries, all things in this mortal world falter, fail, and ultimately end. From the greatest mountain to the fruit fly, all things in this world pass. We are no exception.

Even when these physical shells we wear endure long centuries, the mind within us does not. Torpor robs each and every one of us of the past, of our self, and our history. That which is written ages and turns to dust. That which is shared with others by words becomes twisted into myth and legend. Few are the ancients among us, not simply because of the threats posed by others of our kind, or by mysteries beyond, but because in time the false promise of eternity turns, like wine, bitter. When we live for this world alone, all things eventually succumb.

All that is truly eternal is beyond this world. In the truth of eternity, even centuries of existence in this mortal world are less than the span of a fruitfly to the age of the oldest mountain. Mankind is gifted a piece of that which is truly eternal, the soul within. This is the piece of the divine that lives within this world and will endure forever after. How precious is such a thing, especially in a world as base as our own?

When I speak of purpose, of duty, I speak of the protection of that mortal soul. I do so because it is all that is eternal in this world and so all that ultimately matters in the span of eternity. By the nature of our Embrace, we are damned, destined to perhaps centuries here on this earth, but only to damnation in the eternity that follows. Mortal man and woman alike however, are given the true promise of eternal salvation, of truly immortal life in the kingdom of God, something that we are but a mockery of.

The greatest duty then is the protection of the mortal soul that it might achieve that eternal salvation. We are, each of us, tasked with this by God. In his infinite mercy he has allowed even those of us who are eternally damned, the opportunity to play a part in the salvation of others. Though it will not save us, it gives purpose to our otherwise ultimately ephemeral existences. It allows us to find a measure of fulfillment that can endure the centuries which face us.

Though we are gifted with the false promise of immortality, we must not use this for ourselves. It is in service to others, those who yet have the opportunity of eternal salvation, that we can find ourselves and our true purpose. All else is chaff.

The greatest tool that we have for steering mortal man to their eternal salvation is a reminder of the ephemeral nature of this world. The mighty, who are drunk on the many pleasures possible within this world, are to be reminded that this is life is but short on the ultimate scale. Those who are pure are to be protected fiercely, while those who have gone astray are to be lead back by whatever method is necessary. As our own damnation is assured, no tool that leads one who can be saved back to the path of salvation is forbidden to us, save that which would damn another.

This is the nature of our purpose and the greatest and most sure duty that exists in this mortal world. Let us rejoice in having been shown the mercy of having a place in the greater plan. Let us faithfully fulfill our obligations to others, for this is the only true legacy we can leave in the hereafter.

Sum Sanctus,

Simon Patterson Gloveli

Augustus Inquisitor de Lacus Magni

An Ordained Hierarchy

It is known to you that an ordained hierarchy exists. As man is above beasts, so are the Damned above men. Our numbers are fewer so that our purpose is better effected. - Rule 4

The title of this week's homily comes from the opening line of The Rule of Golgotha 4. The Rule of Golgotha is the third book of the Testament of Longinus. It is here in the text that we transition from the story of the early life and requiem of Longinus to his teachings on how we ought to order our own requiem. Rule 4 concerns the ordering of all things in this world, from beast to man to kindred, as well as within kindred society, as well as the hierarchy of Sanctified.

We recognize also a hierarchy of the Damned. From the lowest of those who cannot see the truth of our Sanctification or the barest neonate, his sire's Vitae still fresh upon his lips, to the most perfect predator and the greatest student of the Dark Prophet, we too have a hierarchy that is part of God's plan. - Rule 4

Our nature, as predators, demands hierarchy. The beasts within us, while they must not rule us, may not be denied either. It is not without reason that when meeting another kindred for the first time, we sense their strength and must master our instinct to fight or flee. Kindred society is built upon an understanding of these facts of our nature, an attempt to impose reason, civilization upon that which would otherwise be simply instinct and chaos. In this there is great wisdom.

Yet how shall we select our leaders, how shall we know them, and what shall we demand of them?

Those who shall serve you as abbot shall be held to the highest standard, for they must show the faithful the proper conduct. Each abbot is merely a servant; he serves the community, the mission of the Dark Prophet, and the purpose of God. Let no Kindred be crowned as a king of the faithful; such things are better left to the patriarchs and emperors of the secular concern. each abbot, like each brother, serves God’s purpose in his own way, and shall be garnered respect as first among equals, as he has earned through the perfection of his predation. There is none more worthy above you, excepting God. - Rule 4

Rule 4 answers this question for the Lancea Sanctum. Those who lead must be held to the highest standard. They must be exemplary, embodying the values of the community and replete in purpose. They must be servants of a higher calling, rather than absolute rulers. Indeed, in comparison to their community they "shall be raised above them only in duty."

While Rule 4 does not give answers to the ordering of the rest of kindred society, there are lessons herein from which many can draw value.

Thus do we acknowledge the first among us, and trust in our brethren in diverse communities to choose leaders wise and worshipful. Let us also aspire to that more perfect predation, and let those who have been chosen to be first among equals be magnanimous in their strictures, be forgiving in their dealings with other Damned, and let them be wise in their law-giving. - Rule 4

Sum Sanctus,

Simon Patterson

Augustus Inquisitor de Lacus Magni

The Holy Spear

This week's reading comes from the Malediction of Longinus. This reading concerns the history of the Holy Spear which slew Christ, that which gives our covenant its name: Lancea Sanctum, the Sanctuary of the Lance.

1 The Spearhead was the weapon that God had destined to strike Christ in the side. It had been made long ago in the days before the Deluge by Tubal-Cain the Smith, the son of Zillah, the second wife of Lamech, the son of Enoch. 2 Tubal-Cain’s son had struck his grandfather Lamech’s face, and Lamech had slain him. Tubal-Cain sought revenge, and prayed to God that his son be avenged. 3 On the night that Tubal-Cain prayed, a stone fell from the sky, and it was hard, and it was black, and Tubal-Cain saw that God had answered his prayer, and from the metal in the stone he fashioned a Spearhead, that he might kill Lamech.

4 But Tubal-Cain failed, for Lamech was a mighty warrior, and Lamech laid his foot on Tubal-Cain’s neck and seized the Spear, and impaled Tubal-Cain through the heart, and Tubal-Cain died. 5 And Lamech took the Spear for his own, and it became a sign for all who would see that Lamech was a mighty warrior before the LORD, and he slew all of his enemies and was made king, 6 and went forth on a war of conquest, and was victorious against every man he faced, until the LORD saw fit to strike down humanity in the flood, and Lamech was drowned, and the Spear was lost.

7 But the Spear was not marred by time, and its head did not rust or decay, and it remained as sharp and as hard as the day it was forged, when a ship captain from Tyre found it lying on a beach in the sand, and traded it to the merchant Phaecus, who gave it to Pontius Pilate that he might not be imprisoned or killed, 8 who gave it to Longinus, that he might strike Christ in the side and incur the curse of God, and become a sign to the Damned of God’s perfect will for them. - Mal. 9:1-8

There is a great deal to consider in these lines. A straightforward reading is that the Holy Spear was destined by God for great things, each of which it fulfilled in turn. Yet there is much more to look at here.

Tubal-Cain sought personal vengeance when he prayed to God. Given to him was a powerful gift. He forged that gift into a weapon. Yet even armed with this weapon, he was struck down. One could read this as a warning that even the righteous can fall, yet I have always read it as a failure in Tubal-Cain's heart. Here he sought to use a gift from God for personal vengeance rather than in service to God. Lamech, on the other hand was a warrior "before the LORD" and was only afterwards rewarded with kingship. Service to others brings the rewards of this world, while personal service using that which God has graced us with brings all low.

The Holy Spear has not yet had its final story told. The Lancea Sanctum keeps it to this night and when the time is right it will come forth again. On that night, like Lamech, we shall stride forth and slay all of our enemies. We must always make certain that what we do is in service to God's plan though, lest we share the fate of Tubal-Cain.

Sum Sanctus,

Simon Patterson

Augustus Inquisitor de Lacus Magni