Church of Humanity Unchained

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The Church of Humanity Unchained is a fictional religious faith that appears in David Weber's Honor Harrington series of novels.

[edit] History

According to the novels, the Church of Humanity Unchained was founded on Earth, specifically in Idaho, by Reverend Austin Grayson -known to future generations of Church members as Saint Austin- somewhen in the 25th century (4th Century Post Diaspora in the Honorverse). During this period, Earth's ecological problems were beginning to be solved, but some groups decried the pervasive "dehumanization" caused by technology. Coupling charisma, determination and real ability for attracting converts, Grayson managed to combine his back-to-the-Bible beliefs with the technophobic frenzy of the time.

Promising to lead his believers to a world which would be a New Zion free from technology, Grayson and the Church received enough funding to assemble a colony expedition which departed from Earth in the year 314 PD (2415 AD). After 670 years of travel, the colonists arrived to the planet they would name Grayson in 988 PD (3090 AD). The planet's deadly environment threatened to doom the tech-free colony, but it would not be until the death of Austin Grayson -three Terran years after arriving to the planet- when two of the colony leaders, Mayhew and Yanakov, led a doctrinary revolution that changed the Church's beliefs in technology: Technology was not evil per se, but its abuse and misuse were evil. Some were satisfied with the change. Others weren't.

The Grayson Civil War between the "Moderates" and the "Faithful" during the 14th Century Post Diaspora resulted in the breaking of the Church; its most reactionary elements left Grayson to settle the planet Masada, while the moderates remained on Grayson. From that moment since, there were two Churches of Humanity Unchained, each claiming to be the True Faith.

Since the beginning of Masada's occupation by Manticore, the Masadan version of the Church has again fractionalized into many small sects, some of which have resorted to outright terrorism and mercenary activities.

The Grayson branch of the Church remains active and influential within Grayson society, and many of the reforms that swept the planet -and described in the novels- would not have taken place had the Church not supported it. Still, there were more conservative elements which opposed Benjamin Mayhew IX's reforms.

[edit] Beliefs

Technology

The original Church believed that technology was the root of all evil and a dangerous force which aimed to dehumanize human beings. The Church advocated a return to "the way man was supposed to live". This view changed after the death of Reverend Grayson, as mentioned above. The Grayson branch of the church regards technology as an instrument which is no more evil than the person who uses it, while the Masadan branch still maintains the original beliefs on technology, but have come to accept it as a "necessary evil" in the name of the Faith.

Theology

The Church of Humanity Unchained is a Christian denomination; it recognizes the Holy Trinity and uses terms generally associated with the Christian faith ("Reverend", "Deacon", "Sacristy", etc). The Church's expression for the Sign of the cross is "In the Name of the Tester (God), the Intercessor (Jesus) and the Comforter (Holy Spirit)". The Christian status of the Masadan branch of the Church is dubious, as the Masadan hierarchy has de-canonized the New Testament; they hold that, had Jesus saved humanity, technology would not exist.

At the core of the Church of Humanity Unchained's faith is the concept of the "Test of Life": life itself and the challenges found in every aspect of life constitute a Test placed upon a person by God himself -Who is known by Church communicants as "the Tester". Every person must, at one point or another of life, rise up to his or her particular Test and face it. Success in the Test is not demanded, it is only required that anyone truly does their best to pass it.

The status of woman

The original Church was harsh on women: Austin Grayson subscribed to the notion that "man is the head of the woman", and thus women were limited to be mothers and wives. After the Grayson Civil War, each branch of the Church refined its conceptions on women. The Grayson branch adopted a somewhat gentler view; the Masadans exacerbated their misogyny to extreme views, blaming women for the fall of man.

Following the example set by Barbara Bancroft during the Civil War, the Grayson branch came to see women as givers of life who had to be preserved from any danger and risk, even if that meant that women would not be allowed to pursue professional goals or any other goal outside of family duties. This was done, ostensibly, to "protect" women, and even after the reforms that have swept over Grayson, protection of women is engrained into every aspect of Grayson's culture.

On Masada, however, as they were collectively blamed for "the Fall of Man", women remained to be considered as chattel, having no rights whatsoever and belonging to their fathers first and later to their husbands. Women were forced to wear veils, among other mysogynist impositions dictated by the Masadan branch of the church. The status of women during the Manticoran occupation is not known, although there have been mentions of widespread murders of husbands and church officials.

Perhaps as a result of the Church's early view of women, it is common to refer to the Church of Humanity Unchained as "Father Church".

[edit] Organization

The Grayson branch of the Church has two official heads, one temporal and one spiritual. The Protector of Grayson serves as the temporal head of the Church as part of his duties as Grayson's head of State - in fact, the Grayson state is considered to be the temporal arm of the Church, although the Church has strived to not interfere with the running of political affairs following the Civil War.

The spiritual head of the Church is the Reverend, a title given to the First Elder of the Church. The Reverend can, in consultation with the leadership of the Church, issue decrees regarding Church policy and internal affairs. By tradition, every week the Reverend celebrates a service in the cathedral of a Steading, cycling through Grayson's eighty-two Steadings in a preset cycle.

The Reverend presides over a Council of Elders, seconded by a Second Elder of the Church, who assumes the duties of Reverend and First Elder in the event of the Reverend's death. Whether this is standard policy of the Church or another process to elect a Reverend exists, it is not known. This method of succession was seen in the novels when Second Elder Jeremiah Sullivan took the highest office in the Church after Reverend Julius Hanks was murdered by conservative elements.

In turn, the Council of Elders is the leading organ of the Sacristy, as the ruling body of the Church is known. The Sacristy serves as the Church's bureaucracy and theological authority. Beneath the Sacristy, there is a low church organization which matches that of the Steadings, with a Brother serving as the local head of the Church in a particular Steading as well as the Steadholder's personal chaplain.

Three levels of priesthood have been depicted so far:

• the Elders, whose Council, presided by the Reverend, leads the Church
• the Deacons, with an intermediate degree of authority within the Church's structure
• and the Brothers, who serve as local priests

The organization of the Masadan branch has not been described, although there is also a Council of Elders led by a First Elder. Unlike Grayson, the Masadan Council of Elders is the ruling body of the Masadan theocratic government.