The Second Reformation of the Church of Sol Deus

[Azzerhoden Razeri]

To all who bear witness to this and subsequent proceedings. I, Lord Azzerhoden Razeri, Viscount of Wessex, by the grace of Sol Deus and of His Grace, Manus Dei, Duke of Wessex and Supreme Governor of the Church of Sol Deus, hereby offer greeting.

Whereas His Grace’s subjects and lands have, for too long, suffered under the malaise of conflicting dogma and church laws that have caused confusion and strife these many years, it has been determined that what is now needed is a new enthusiasm and serenity of mind in the unreserved acceptance of the Sol Deus faith. Therefore, this Second Reformation of the Church of Sol Deus is now commenced.

Welcome to the rebuilding/restructuring/restoration of our Church, hereby titled “The Second Reformation of the Church of Sol Deus”, or if you prefer the shortened version, “The Second Reformation”. The goal of this endeavor is to return to the original ideas behind the Church while also making it ‘Game Independent’. While blending any part of our structure into a game can add depth, it also complicates guild life after we move on. Ideally this reformation will allow for future ‘colorization’ for individual games going forward, but not so much that it’s not easy to return to our roots when needed.

Why the Second Reformation? Because the first one, “The Lucien Heresy”, though not officially named as such at the time, should reference that period of time when the former Bishop of Wessex, Malachi Drake (also known as The Usurper) began exploring a different path for the Church of Wessex : One that still incorporated Sol Deus, but also brought into existence Lucious, Nave, and Umbra as part of Wessex’s venture into the game Mortal Online. Without getting into a discussion about Malachi’s previous actions (and yes, I used his name and not his unflattering title intentionally), the simple truth is that he poured a lot of work and passion into his role as the Bishop of Wessex and in the process produced some really, really great RP which lead to the creation of additional great RP by those he inspired. He also had the tacit, OOC approval of pursuing this path by Manus - to explore something outside of the ‘approved’ state religion with the sole purpose of building new RP content.

As such, all of that great work should be considered separately from his other dishonorable actions within the guild that followed the above work. So, it will be honored and kept under a new area of the church forums, archived as “The Lucien Heresy”. It should also be noted that some of that work authored by Malachi will carry forward upon the completion of The Second Reformation.

There is additional work that followed the departure of Malachi, where Wessex again ventured into the world of Mortal Online (and briefly, Elder Scrolls Online), where the Church was led by the Former Parson, Varrick Chaoswielder. It should be clear to everyone upon reviewing the archives that Varrick fully lived up to his last name when it came to his workings in the church, but I would be remiss if I didn’t add that there was also some great RP from Varrick and the players who were under his tutelage in Mortal Online. All of this should be honored as well, even as we move forward.

The present result of all this history is a church that’s currently in total disarray, with several active members of Wessex lost in the wilderness of confusion as to what is official doctrine. Therefore, I have undertaken (with His Grace’s approval) to clean this up and provide a basic framework for Church members to build upon. It won’t be to the level that His Grace provided for our planned Chronicles of Elyria venture, but I hope it will suffice.

For those who are greatly affronted by this, I can only hope that (A) you are RPing, and (B) that you know I fully support your RP. The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican is still actively debated in the real world, so you are more than welcome to opine here on these changes. Also – this will take some time to complete. I’ve never been much involved in the Church of Sol Deus, which makes me a good (or possibly the worst) choice to take this on. My plan is to deliver a framework that has been approved with the details of the church fleshed out by those who have a passion for it. Regardless of how you feel about these changes, what direction you would like to see the church go, or if you desire to be part of the Church of Sol Deus, feel free to post your questions in this area of the church forum. From these discussions the officially approved doctrine will be added/updated to the Church Lore and Dogma section.


Good gaming and May the Light of Sol Deus shine upon you.

[Azzerhoden Razeri]

As part of The Second Reformation, the Friar and Sacerdotal examinations MUST be retaken. I understand this may be painful, but it is important that you understand the new doctrine for you to be officially recognized. I have updated the exams to reflect the new content, and I have provided references in the test to help you.

MAKE SURE YOU USE A 3RD PARTY WORD PROCESSOR WHEN TAKING THE TEST. You don't want to lose your work.

[Casilda Tametomo]

Interesting. I hope in the OOC spirit of Practical Roleplay that this re-write of yours will contain specific practical implementations that complement and do not conflict with the game mechanics of whatever game the people in 'Duchy of Wessex' are playing; I also hope that enough of them will be interested in your latest iterantion of their guild;s lore.

[Azzerhoden Razeri]

Hi Casilda,

That is the plan, though the hope is that those with a passion for the church will flesh out the content. The new lore is intentionally kept pretty sparse. With the collapse of Chronicles of Elyria though we have all scattered again to various games. Most of us are waiting for the relaunch of the Atlas DarksideRP server (An Atlas server with a focus on RP and custom mods).

I do see that a new version of MO is in the works, but I doubt we will be making an appearance. Then again, several of us started playing Wurm again when they launched new servers. Such is the sad state of the gaming world.

Were you able to access the new lore?

[Randver Jormunrekson]

Damn shame, really. Have you seen any other potential games? I doubt MO2 will fare much better than the first one.

[Azzerhoden Razeri]

I've played some in New World, and it seems likely to become one of those games you play for a couple months. Reminds me a lot like Gloria Victus. Fun until you do pretty much everything and your left with just a toxic environment of would be PvP *heroes*.

[Juko Arcuri]

Just completed my Friar examination earlier tonight, I'm hoping to become a part of a hopeful new chapter in the Church of Sol Deus.

[Quinton Emeka]

Good luck, and welcome aboard.