War of the Holies

by Artemio Saguinsin

  “ He will not follow you ! You are Satan’s follower and you will go down into the pit of darkness ! “ Kadziel added.

  “ You cannot do your mission at all Bajal ! You’re dead ! “ Moraiza exclaimed.

  “ You are condemned to hell Bajal ! Get lost !”

  “ No, Go Lucien slain them ! “

  From the door behind Lucien, Raphael came in for help. He dived and pushed Lucien that caused the latter to drop the sword on the floor.

  Bajal saw what happened and instantly before the sword touched the floor his devil’s powers prompted the sword to be lifted in the air and shot speedily into Kadziel chest.

  Kadziel was startled as he fell on the floor. Moraiza was shocked and approached him.

  “ Kadziel ! Kadziel ! No. Don’t die !” she shouted.

  “ Go now, Moraiza. “ Kadziel whispered.

  Raphael struggled to stop Lucien who unconsciously dropped on the floor. Raphael stood quickly and drew out his sword to confront the dark shadow of Bajal.

  “ You devil ! Leave this place ! “ Raphael shouted.

  Raphael was like striking the air for nothing as he continuously wielded his sword. Kadziel was already lifeless as Moraiza continued to jiggle to see signs of life.

  Bajal was thinking his next move as he looked at Moraiza and would attempt to touch her.

  But all of a sudden out of the dead body of Kadziel emanated a bright light of his spirit that retracted the approaching dark shadow.

  An Angel -Spirit of Kadziel appeared and spread his wings as he turned into a warrior in his magnificent armor.

  “ Now, it is you, Kadziel the warrior angel ! “ Bajal said.

  Bajal in his might spread his wings with a dark armor. Then they started to struggle and the power of the light warrior beheaded Bajal .

  As soon as Bajal’s head had rolled down, the Master dark spirit of the prison cell pulled him down into the dark prison cell,

  “ There you are, waiting for your final judgment” the Master dark spirit said.

  Raphael drew out the sword from Kadziel’s body slowly as Moraiza looked on. Lucien was slowly restoring his consciousness.

  “ I am so sorry . I didn’t know what I was doing “ Lucien cried.

  “ No, Lucien it wasn’t you. But the dark shadow of Bajal “ Moraiza cried.

  “ We know it wasn’t you, Brother Lucien. You were under his magic spell” Raphael said.

  “ It was father’s spirit who finished his dark shadow. “ he added.

  “ You were right son when you said that only a spirit can conquer a spirit “ Moraiza cried.

  Kadziel was given an honorary burial as king of France. He was buried in the valley of the kings in Paris, France.

  Likewise, Pope Francis was given a pious burial in Avignon, France in the house of Papacy.

  After a couple of weeks, Lucien went back to Avignon to pursue his mission as Cardinal. Flavius was recalled from Alsace by Raphael to be installed in the palace as his spiritual adviser and later, he was sent to Rome for the conclave to become Cardinal.

  The conclave that sought for a successor to Pope Francis unanimously elected Cardinal Lucien as the new Pope and upon his election he was named Pope John, the Pious.

  Raphael as King of France continued his reign with his wife as queen. His old mother, Queen Moraiza stayed with them in the palace while tending her grandchildren.

  On the other hand, the spirit angel of Kadziel went back to heaven as the new mission was on his way with other angelic beings

  12

  The Carolingian Empire in Europe fought many wars and struggled to preserve their heritage in the entire Europe by the traditional succession to the thrones. However, the persisting interest of descendants and illegitimates became an issue in the succession until foreign invasion put their sovereignty into threats of dethronement.

  Succeeding monarchs in the French sovereignty had changed the laws and became more influential and closer with the church in Rome.

  And because the reigning monarchs were closely allied to the Papacy the sovereign government became more religiously aware. They had to put more adherence to the Catholic religion and stricter rules were enforced on the citizenry.

  Many prominent men and women in the history of Europe emerged to fight for their country. France had a patriot named, Joan d’ Arc who became a hero by leading France in wars against her enemies. Consequently, her detractors succeeded in putting her down when she was suspected of being heretic. When deliberately found guilty of being heretic, Joan was burned to death. A Heretic was one who had become antagonistic of the Catholic religion during that time.

  Succeeding monarchs became tyrant and cruel rule in the kingdom. Anyone who would be suspected of being heretic and against their religion would be put into trial by the church men and if found guilty they would be set into fire

  Subsequently, the Empire had suffered losses from invading Norse, Turks and later the Ottoman Empire was established in Europe that eventually toppled the kingdom

  The Saga of Crusaders and Knights entered Europe’s history as it extended its invasion throughout the Middle Eastern land.

  The kingdom of England emerged as powerful monarchial government in Europe flaunting its prowess by battling other kingdoms. France still being powerful scuffled England in the so-called Hundred Years’ War. The longest war in the history of the world war. Until the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, emperor of France who led many triumphant wars for France against Prussia, England, Austria and Russia. His end in the Battle of Waterloo against the Duke of Wellington marked the end of his war against England.

  The World entered into many wars, and the fast changing civilization had become even more intense when men went into the saga of discovery, explorations, and colonization. Most often than not, colonization insinuated wars or invasion that sacrificed lives.

  In England, many churchmen emerged as they disseminated their religious advocacy in many parts of Europe. Different religious and fundamental doctrines were introduced to people. Separatism became viral in England and the rest of Europe. Protestantism emerged as John Wesley started the first church of England, however, the reigning monarch under Queen Anne became more fanatic in Catholicism that she imposed stricter rules to embrace the religion by the people.

  Queen Anne’s daughter, Queen Mary inherited the throne with an even more cruel and tyrant advocacy in Catholicism that her rule became to be known in history as Bloody Mary when she ordered the killings of religious detractors or antagonists that kept fighting her advocacy.

  In many nations, religion played an important role in man’s endeavor . Religious color surfaced in all man’s struggle in order to live with freedom and independence from other’s interference, persecution and dominance. The birth and conquest of a nation was associated with religious color and politics as well and which served as factors to isolate a minority group from the overwhelming majority.

  The birth of America that was called by the early European settlers as the New World passed through the bloody process before it was won. It was a long process whose root cause from the mother land, England was independence and religion in nature. England was formerly a Roman Britain which eventually released its dominance to the land because of the growing protest of the protestants in Europe. They did not want the Roman Catholic faith and belief for it was far beyond the way the Christian church in the church of England worshipped God. Feeling uncomfortable as the atmosphere of persecution pervaded the Englishmen they left the land to sail to the New World in the hope to find their place. They called themselves Puritans from the word “pure”. The Puritans were not the first inhabitants in the land of the native Indians but there existed the original inhabitants called the red Indians.

  Columbus called them Indians thinking that he had just discovered islands between China and India. The people in America had resemblance and physical appearance that of Indians in the India that he mistakably called them Indians. The name Indians eventually
spread to the people and explorers who went there.

  However, there were already many foreigners from other lands that went to Americas particularly from Europe. The Englishmen had to ask permission from the king of England before they had to go to America which was their colony during that time. It was the age of numerous explorations in many parts of the world. European explorers were most popular and rivaling in the conquest of other land around the globe.

  The story of the Puritans and Separatists was an agony and ecstacy for most religious people who wanted to find a place for their beliefs where it was most suited. The birth of the New World was started by the Puritans in search for liberty to live and worship God. In 1620, the pilgrims disembarked on the seashores of Plymouth, Massachusetts in Northern American. The historic migration of the pilgrims from the Old World( England) marked a saga of a new beginning in the so-called New World

  ( America).

  Today, that memorable arrival of the American forefathers in the American soil was engraved in the gigantic granite-stone tablet known as the Plymouth Rock, four hundred years ago . Many know the adventurous journey of the first Pilgrims from Old England embarked the ship named Mayflower. Subsequently, their long journey from England to America started the establishment of the first US colonies. A hundred years before the pilgrims left England, the Roman Catholic England was under the kingship of King Henry VIII, who had the title of the “Protector of the Believers” bestowed upon him by Pope. However, a feud between Pope Clement VII and King Henry began when the Pope refused to nullify the marriage of Henry and Catherine of Aragon, the first of the six wives of the king.

  At that time the Roman Catholic church was having a hard time with the growing population of protestant-reformists in large part of Europe while King Henry was muddling with his family problems. Henry did not allow the influence of the reformists inside England for fear of losing the honor and title given to him by the Roman Catholic church.

  But eventually, he changed his mind because of the church’s refusal to annul his marriage with Catherine of Aragon, thereby, negating the power and influence of the Catholic church in England. In 1534, King Henry pronounced his final decision of nixing the control of the Pope over the Catholics in England and declared himself as the supreme ruler of the Church of England. In the meantime, he ordered the closure of the monasteries and auctioned some the big properties of the catholic church. Eventually, England became a protestant country when King Henry died in 1547.After his death Edward VI who succeeded his throne did not submit to the religious authority of the Pope, and after Edward’s death in 1553, Mary, a catholic daughter of King Henry to Catherine of Aragon, became the Queen of England attempted to betray the nation under the authority of the Pope.

  She coercively ordered the deportation of many protestants and burned alive more than 300 of them by the court of Inquisition. Inquisition was a form of court trial which imposed penalty to heretics. Heretics were those belligerent people who were convicted as enemies of the ruling authority, that is why Mary was given the name of Bloody Mary of England.

  However, the reformists could not stop to employ the much-needed reforms . Mary died in 1558, after which her step sister, Elizabeth I succeeded her in power and gave the nation an assurance of an absolute freedom from the Pope’s influence and obliteration of the religious influence in the lives of the English people.

  Likewise, the separation of the Roman Catholic church from England was not that easy. The protestants had to remove absolutely any mark of influence in their lives, and if possible, even to the memory of every citizen about the church.

  The protestants wanted to refine their way of living particularly their religious beliefs and manner of worshipping God, that is why they were called Puritans ( from the word “pure”). To the Puritans, they needed not any Pope nor bishop to influence their belief in God, and eventually pronounced that the church congregation and its affairs separate from the affairs of the state. They were later called, “Separatists”.

  During the time of Elizabeth I, puritan-critics emerged to criticize the system of non-formal adherence to the norms of the decree being complied by the nation. The Queen did not like the manner of non-formal attire of the clergies and ordered the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1564 to enforce a law and issue a decree concerning proper attire or implementing a dress code. The Puritans felt and foresaw the restoration of the same dress code of the Catholic priests, they opposed and disobeyed the decree of the Queen. There were subsequent turbulent events in the church history in England during the emergence of hierarchical priesthood which Elizabeth asked an assurance from the bishops and priests by compulsory ordering them to take an oath of allegiance and loyalty, in which she was the supreme ruler of the church.

  When Elizabeth died, she was succeeded to the throne in 1603 by James I, who severely persecuted the Separatists, so that by force they would learn to obey his authority. In 1608, a group of separatists left clandestine departure, the town of Scooby to migrate to Holland to find freedom. Consequently, after some time they felt the atmosphere of discomfort by the apparent low morale of the people from different religious groups which according to them were consented by the Dutch authority. Later on they decided to finally abandoned Europe and found their way to North American where they settled for good. The separatists were apparently prepared for a lengthy voyage just to find settlement and freedom for their belief and in the passage of time their long journey they were called the Pilgrims.

  The pilgrims sought permission from the King of England that they would settle with many separatists who joined them in Virginia, a colony of Britain on September, 1620 on board the ship Mayflower. A group of almost a hundred adult pilgrims and youths persevered the inclement weather in the midst of the stormy journey for about two months in the Atlantic Ocean before finally reaching their destination in Cape Cod in West Virginia. It was a hundred miles away from their country of origin. At that point, in Mayflower they wrote a pact known as the “Pact of Mayflower” which stated their general intention of creating a community and making this decree their law to be obeyed by all. They settled near Plymouth on December 21, 1620.

  After a few months, many of the puritans died due to unbearable climate change and severe cold that brought them illnesses and those who were physically weak succumbed to death. After the passage of the winter season, they were so delighted by the spring season when they found time to build shelter for their comfort as they learned to grow crops from the native American Indians.

  When autumn came in 1621, they saw the fruit of their toil by the progress and prosperity of their community as they found it necessary to set a day for thanksgiving to the Lord God for the blessings they had received despite the hardship they suffered through the years. In this occasion, the feast of thanksgiving, since then, became an annual celebration until the present time in the United States and other parts of the world having the same belief. Many foreigners arrived in the colony in Plymouth. What matters most was the rapid growth of population within fifteen (15) years time which exceeded to more than 2,000 people.

  Meanwhile, other puritans in England believed that the promise land for them, Separatists, was just located across the other side of the Atlantic ocean. In 1630, one of their groups went to the Northern part of Plymouth, and established the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1640, more than 20,000 English settlers lived in New England.

  When Massachusetts Bay Colony controlled Plymouth in 1691. The pilgrims -separatists converged in Boston to be the center of their religious worship in the colony. The separatists joined the puritans who were the authority for religious beliefs in New England.

  The puritans in the New World established and built first their worship center made of wood where they would assemble to worship God every Sunday morning. The worshippers would painstakingly bear the condition inside the worship house when the weather was fine, but their worship service may or may not be able to bear the extreme cold during winter while their faith wa
s tested in the same situation for most devoted puritans.

  At the time there was no heating system yet that would keep them warm inside their wooden house, that is why they couldn’t bear the frost biting cold which oftentimes downed the weak and unstable-bodied worshippers. The preachers wore gloves during the church service as they texted the religious messages with the accompaniment of their hands giving emphasis on the importance of the messages.

  The Puritans patterned their religious teachings from the fashion of the French-Protestants particularly from the teaching-advocacy of John Calvin.. They believed that God had destined their fate and whatever happened to them was God’s will for them. Accordingly, It was also God who judge mankind, saved the deserving people and punished those who became disobedient to his commandments.

  Their religious doctrine stated that a dead man did not know if he would be able to escape the fiery lake of fire or would see the glory of heavens. The Puritan-teachers taught also repentance among the sinners, that they would go to hell if they would disobey God’s laws, and the more they would emphasize man’s penitence in order to be saved, to be more obedient to the doctrines of the church.

  The early puritan faith teachers would often times emphasized or highlighted the importance of repentance and salvation. One teacher by the name of Jonathan Edwards preached in the congregation the critical issue entitled, ”The Sinners in the Hands of the Wrath of God”. He portrayed the terrible sufferings of those; who would not be saved in the last days as horrible an unimaginable and dreadful as the listeners were scared and worried for their souls in the life after death.