Basic Beliefs of the Sanctified

From LanceaSanctum

This "sermon" is typically given to non-Sanctified who seek more information on the Lancea Sanctum. It was written by Father General Aroex Xaviar Bastian Valario de la Cruz in 2006.

Book I: The Malediction of Longinus

This book chronicles the life of Longinus. Born to a prostitute named Livia, Longinus lived an extremely sinful life that left him predestined to strike Jesus Christ with the Spear of Destiny. During his life, Longinus violated each one of the seven deadly sins, each in egregious ways, which ultimately caused him to be present at Golgotha when Jesus was crucified, and to attack Jesus (his final sins, Sloth and Gluttony, respectively). After wandering for many years, he returned to the Holy Sepulcher, where the Archangel Vashishtael confronted him. and explained the nature of his Damnation.

Quotes:

I am God's Holy Monster, the drinker of mankind. For so long, I could not see the role I would play because I looked for it with human, mortal eyes. So I put forth the truth in these pages, for you who seek as I have sought. I am not some godless beast who stalks beneath the dark grandeur of sanctity. I am the grandeur. I am Sanctified.

Seeing that Christ was dead, the soldiers did not break his legs. One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and blood and water flowed out. A drop of Christ's blood fell upon the Soldier's lips, and he wiped it away with his hand. Yet the next day, he slept past the sunrise, and roused from his slumber only at nightfall. And after tasting Christ's blood, he thirsted for more. I know. I know because I am that soldier.

Book II: The Torments of Longinus

This book describes how Longinus came to terms with his damnation. It tells of how Longinus came to accept the fact that he could feed from the blood of mortals. It also tells of Longinus's journey to Europe, and the abbey of sinful monks that he happened upon and slaughtered (all save one, who would later become The Monachus). The choice that The Monachus made to be embraced is a pivotal part of the book, and is later echoed in the Third Canon of the Sanguineous Catechism. From there, the book goes on to describe the embrace of the Dark Apostles and the spread of the Lancea Sanctum's faith across Europe, as well as the founding of the Black Abbey.

Quotes:

The Blood of Christ gave sight to my blind eyes. Though Octavian left my tongue and pulled my teeth, I still bade him to abandon his idols. I have been buried and returned, I have been stricken down yet returned to my feet. If these are not miracles, what are they? Yet if they are miracles, why does the Lord grant them to me, a vessel of sin?

It was then that I came upon that dark monastery and did secretly look on the monks inside. They who were meant to be servants of the Lord, who had sworn themselves to service for years numbering only as long as a man would live, had grown doubtful and idle and within them found sin. So were they shown that the fearsome hunger of Death might creep out of the night and bite through claims of piety. So were they all bled and slain and devoured by the lion of the Lord. All save one.

Book III: The Rule of Golgotha

This book contains the laws and precepts to govern vampiric society and morality. It is the shortest of the five books of the Testament, but it is perhaps the most important to the faith. Much of the book is expanded upon in the Sanguineous Catechism. This is the book most familiar to vampires who are not of the Lancea Sanctum.

Quotes:

The Commandments of Longinus

One: That though you are Damned, your Damnation has purpose. It is the will of God that you are what you are, and the will of God is that the Damned exist to show the evils of turning from Him. The evil become Damned; God has taken those worthy of His love to His own side.

Two: That what you once were is not what you now are. As a mortal is a sheep, so are the Damned wolves among them. That role is defined by nature — wolves feed on their prey, but they are not cruel to them. The role of predator is natural, even if the predator himself is not.

Three: 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.

Four: That with the power of Damnation comes limitation. The Damned hide among those who still enjoy God's love, making themselves known only to exemplify fear. The Damned shall make none of their own, for such is a judgment of soul that is the purview only of God. The Damned shall suffer yet more should they slay a fellow to take his soul from him.

Five: That our bodies are not our own. Our purpose is to serve, and when we stray from that purpose, we are to be chastened. The light of the sun excoriates; the flames of a fire purify fleshly evil. The taste of all sustenance other than Vitae is as ash upon the tongue.

Book IV: The Sanguinaria

This book addresses the lives of the Dark Apostles as they spread the Sanctified faith across the world. Five of the Dark Apostles were murdered, and would later become the Black Saints of the Lancea Sanctum. This book also contains philosophical treaties on damnation and vampirism in addition to proverbs and sayings attributed to The Monachus and Longinus.

Quotes:

The mandate and the mission is in the Blood. I saw the proof of my power over the mortal sheep and the hungry wolves have been stirred into the cistern of my heart. That is the miraculous mixture that raises the Predator above the Prey. Blood burns like oil and thunders like a storm. It stains the earth eternal as we only appear to. I had to become its master or forever be its slave.

As Christ had his Golgotha, so do I have mine: Night and hunger and the voice of the adversary tempting me toward greater evils. These are the mount on which I swell, the walls of the house in which I sleep.

Book V: The Book of Eschaton

This book contains prophecies spoken by Longinus to guide the Lancea Sanctum through the ages. This book discusses the fate of vampires who survive until Judgment Day and execute the duties charged to them by God. The book also cautions that those who seek absolution on their own (such as Golconda) will be guilty of the sin of Pride, and thus unwelcome in God's Kingdom.

Sanguineous Catechism

In addition to the Testament of Longinus, there is also the *Sanguineous Catechism*. The *Sanguineous Catechism* was written by the Monachus, the first embraced of Longinus, several centuries after the Testament. Longinus was no longer directly guiding the Sanctified at the time it was written. As the Testament is the Word of God as passed to Longinus through Vahishtael, the Testament is considered divinely inspired, whereas the Catechism is not. Regardless, the Catechism is an important part of Sanctified belief. All of the Sanctified creeds accept the first nine canons of the Catechism to a greater or lesser extent. Only the Monochan Creed still accepts all 13. Summaries of each canon are as follows:

The First Canon: Regarding the purpose of our Damnation.

In order to understand this purpose, a Sanctified Kindred must first accept the fundamental nature of the world, which exists solely as a prison to punish the descendants of Adam and Eve for the Fall. The First Mortals were expelled from Paradise for their sin; the world in which they and their descendants came to live must rightly be considered their "jail" — a place of pain and torment from which death is the only release. Vampires are raised above their fellow men to guard over them and help maintain the prison that is the world. The act of the Embrace cuts the neonate off from God's Grace entirely, for such divine intercession can only interfere with the vampire's duties: feeding on the mortals and helping to make their world into the purgatory it was always meant to be.

The Second Canon: Regarding the inalienable wisdom of the Masquerade.

God placed weaknesses upon the vampires that make our discretion essential. If vampires ruled openly, then the mortals would hate and fear their vampiric overlords. Instead, God wishes the mortals to hate and fear the very world around them, a world of darkness in which faith in God is the only shield against misery. Above all else, mortals hate and fear what they do not understand. They must never truly understand the Damned. They must know only that hunters lurk in the darkness, waiting to devour.

The Third Canon: Regarding the shameful necessity of the Embrace.

Having established the embrace as a necessary evil, the Third Canon places four limitations on the act.

First, no Sanctified should ever sire outside the religious strictures of the domain in which he resides.

Second, prior to the embrace, the childe must have all the relevant aspects of vampiric existence explained to her by a Sanctified Kindred. She is then given a choice: either she accepts the embrace or she will be killed.

Third, both the Sanctified who has sired and his childe must participate in such a rite before the childe will be considered a true member of the covenant.

The fourth limitation is an admonishment to not Embrace the pure.

The Fourth Canon: Regarding the abomination of the Amaranth.

Diablerie is a sin because by consuming the soul of another vampire, the diablerist prevents the victim from either being judged by God or seeking absolution from the Returned Jesus Christ during the Second Coming. When one commits diablerie, he degrades his own soul, thereby inhibiting his ability to function in a moral manner. He increases the potency of his blood, but in exchange he hastens his descent into Torpor, a period of time possibly lasting for centuries during which he cannot fulfill his divine role.

The Fifth Canon: Regarding the revelation of the Testament of Longinus.

The Lancea Sanctum must pursue evangelism, asserting the proper role of the vampire to all who will listen, and, where necessary, bringing Final Death to the heretics and apostates who will not. Fortunately, this is rarely necessary.

The Sixth Canon: Regarding the efficaciousness of the sacred rites.

The purpose of the holy sacraments is not to fulfill some talismanic repetition of ceremony to demonstrate the Sanctified's belief. Instead, the Apostolica and Ecclesia are purely symbolic opportunities for the Sanctified to join together, whether en masse, in coteries or individually to demonstrate their piety and devotion to their holy purpose.

The Seventh Canon: Regarding the miraculous arts of our Theban brethren.

This chapter discusses the theological implications of the Theban miracles and their unique connection to the grace of God.

The Eighth Canon: Regarding our congress with the Canaille.

Aside from the need for the Masquerade, all Sanctified should be circumspect in their dealings with the kine, for it is not the wolf's way to lie down with the sheep. The kine are not friends, companions or lovers. Neither are they toys or puppets to be abused for the sake of entertainment or sport. They are food, and the survival of the Kindred race depends on the vitality of the herd. Concern for a Ghoul is tolerated, as such a creature represents an investment of the regnant's time and blood, but a vampire who endangers himself for the benefit of a mortal borders on aberrant and should go henceforth to his confessor. On the other hand, for the Damned to flourish, the kine must do likewise, and the wise Sanctified will seek to make his domain one in which his herd can prosper and grow, even if they will take no pleasure from doing so.

The Ninth Canon: Regarding the recognition of wisdom within our ranks.

Within in any Sanctified parish, the Sanctified are bound by faith to follow the wisest of their number, "he who most perfectly manifests his Damnation." This means that within a parish, authority over the covenant is vested within the most powerful Sanctified present who can command the loyalty of his fellows.

The Tenth Canon: Regarding the transubstantiation of vitae.

While observed by the Monachal Creed, this canon is no longer seen as relevant by the other Creeds. It suggests that, when drinking blood, Kindred transubstantiate blood into vital energy that fuels the Kindred.

The Eleventh Canon: Regarding the proper operation of a monastery.

This canon, while important when the covenant was first founded, is largely irrelevant in the modern nights. Barring the select few vampire monasteries in Europe, and a few small communes hidden from prying eyes, the Kindred of the Lancea Sanctum no longer establish monasteries.

The Twelfth Canon: Regarding the nature of martyrdom, and the veneration of the Black Saints.

This canon is observed mostly by the Monachal Creed, though some others observe portions of it. Besides explaining how to properly venerate the Black Saints, this chapter also discusses the nature of martyrdom, and the rewards of such.

The Thirteenth Canon: Regarding undeath.

This canon concerns the nature of damnation and how it relates to death (and how the Kindred's unnatural "half-life" relates to the natural state of death). This canon can be very metaphysical. There are those Sanctified that believe this canon may be Apocryphal.