Triuvist Church

The Triuvist church (From Old Church Geudic: Triuwa, meaning Truth) is a major messianic gnostic church with millions of members in the regions of Veikaia, Mursland and Mero-Curgovina and one of the oldest continuously functioning religious institutions in Anterra according to Triuvist tradition. It functions as a communion of autocephalous churches governed by "Houbits ", named after the Old Church Geudic word "Houbit" meaning chief, elected by local elder councils. Due to its status as an autocephalous church, the Triuvist church isn't governed by a singular authority. The Triuvist equivalent of priests are called "Wartos", coming from the Old Church Geudic word Warto which means guardian or custodian.

The church is directly related to the Austrasian Thomasian Church, with which it shares a common esoteric tradition and history. Many theological scholars believe both churches originate from a singular Gnostic source, but have since then diverged into two separate and distinct churches that differ in many theological topics such as the rejection of the existence of the Demiurge, and the creation of a more centralized hierarchy different from the decentralized system common in the Triuvist church.

In Veikaia and Mero-Curgovina
The first Triuvist missionaries arrived into the territories that now compose Mero-Curgovina in the mid 9th century AD. They had arrived by ship from northern kesh, where Triuvist tradition originates in the early gnostic cults of the first and second century. The history of triuvism prior to its arrival in Artemia is not fully known, but it's believed that the original Triuvists had reached Mero-Curgovina after hastily escaping persecution in their home country in northern Kesh. Since the 9th century Triuvists spent decades attempting to proselytize across the kingdoms south of Veikaia, moving northwards into the territory of modern Curgovina where they reached some believers that converted to the new faith. However, the largest number of new believers came from the Veigeudic tribes and petty kingdoms northwards. These groups were open to the word of the early Triuvist missionaries, and they began converting to the newly arrived faith. This led to tensions between pagan and gnostic Veigoths, and some conflict erupted. Later on, the forces of the Veikan Kingdom of Vipuski invaded the Veigeudic territories, absorbing in the process the now established Triuvist faith into their culture. Triuvism and Veikan paganism share many parallels, which expedited the process of conversion. By the 13th century Triuvism became the leading religion in the region and the newly converted Veislado I ascended to the Vipuski throne, declaring the Kingdom of All Veikas and the mass conversion of the nation to Triuvism, an event known as the Baptism of Veikaia.

Beliefs
Triuvist gnostic teachings and beliefs can vary significantly by region but common among all churches is the dualistic belief in two worlds the physical and metaphysical, the existence of a single good and perfect metaphysical God known as the Monad and a false and an imperfect evil lesser spirit known as the Demiurge who rules over the physical world, the existence of Giliotan or "Perfects" people who have reached gnosis and have become enlightened prior to their deaths. The concept of Perfects has been compared by many to the Catholic concept of saints, as many perfects are venerated by Triuvist believers in the same way as saints are in some Messianic faiths. The Church has a major emphasis on attaining knowledge and reaching perfection through gnosis, which liberates the divine spark from the its physical prison and allows ascension to the metaphysical world. This emphasis on knowledge has led to rampant esotericism among believers through most of the church's history.

Triuvists believe that the Old and New Testament represent two different godly figures, the Demiurge and the Monad. The Demiurge is seen as a false, evil or imperfect God depending on the believer. This god-like figure is generally seen as being the creator of the physical world in which the divine spark of life has been trapped, either through deliberate malice or a lack of knowledge of the greater Monad. The Demiurge rules over the physical world as an absolute God, although it lacks complete control over humanity due to their possession of the divine spark of life, which connects them directly to the Monad and allows them to reach perfection and near godly powers after death through Gnosis, or knowledge. Jesus Christ is seen as not only the Son of the True God but an aspect of the godly essence that emanates from Them, in this way Jesus is not only Christ the Son of God but also a part of God that emanates into the physical world to liberate mankind from the physical prison of the Demiurge through the sharing of Godly knowledge in the form of the New Testament and other writings by enlightened Perfects through history. Other Christ-like figures also appear in Gnostic teachings in the form of Aeons, such as Sophia the Aeon of knowledge or wisdom or Pistis the Aeon of faith. Together with the source they emanate from (The Monad), the Aeons form the Pleroma or fullness, to which humanity's Divine Spark must return through the gathering of esoteric knowledge.

Triuvist belief implies the existence of reincarnation, with the human soul remaining trapped within the physical realm and changing bodies with each death of the physical body. This cycle of reincarnation can only be broken through gnosis, when the soul (divine spark) is freed from the physical realm and reaches the Pleroma, where it reunites with the Monad and Their essence.

Rituals and Tradition
Triuvists religious tradition is notable for its large number of rituals. The largely decentralized nature of the faith as led to regional variations of it appearing across areas of the world with a large number of believers. Mursian and Veikan tradition for example varies significantly in several key points, but both churches still remain in communion. Several rituals practiced primarily by priests also involve the usage of a highly sacred mixture of herbs such as lavender, thyme and mint and a specially-bred strand of hemp that is considered holy to Triuvists. This mixture is burnt like incense in a special closed room with no windows and a single entrance called the "burning room", where the smoke produced causes heavy hallucinogenic effects. Historically the usage of this mixture of herbs and hemp for recreational purposes has been shunned, and the growing of this special breed of hemp has been restricted exclusively to the clergy class, who grow it traditionally in special gardens within church grounds. The visions caused by this hallucinogenic ritual are believed to be direct visions of the metaphysical world.