Holodomatic School

The Holodomatic School (Literary Kaikian ὁλοδωματικα, "of the Whole Household") is the dominant religious movement in the County Palatine of Kezan. The name also refers to the institution that developed these philosophical principles and applies them to a religious context.

The school developed out of the Kaikian Diaspora that settled in Kezan shortly after its founding, and thus is predominantly grown out of the Kaikian Antican religious and philosophical tradition. Other Antican traditions, such as Providentialism and Aryashti Sattva, as well as the Church of Elwynn helped to influence and distinguish the nascent school among its peers in the diaspora.

The school's philosophical principles have expanded beyond the Antican population and Antican religions to take root in other communities found in Shireroth and Natopia, such as the Cedrist Temple to Sakat in Shirekeep.

Cosmology

Immanent Spirits (τα Κηρα)

A principle inherited from the greater Kaikian Antican Tradition is that of κηρ, a heart, mind, or spirit. All individuals have a spirit, including people, places, and certain objects imbued with power. A subset of the spirits are the Αδνοι, the Holy Ones, who have a controlling influence over the world at large. The Kaikian Tradition maintained an evolving pantheon of Holy Ones for general, overarching worship. Kaikian mythology concerns itself with the origins of the world, the history of the Holy Ones, and their interactions with humanity.

The Holodomatic School does not deny the existence or relevancy of the Holy Ones, but rather teaches that they are just a part of the finite universe.

The Ordered Universe (ὁ Κοσμος)

The finite world is an ordered universe, meaning that it operates according to patterns and cycles which can be studied and, through extensive effort, aspects of it can become understood. As such, scientific pursuits are given a religious significance, as a means of using virtuous activity to achieve a greater understanding of the cosmic order.

Whether the Cosmos in its entirety can become fully understood or whether it can be comprehended by the human mind in its totality remains an unresolved question.

The Ultimate (το Υπατον)

The finite world is composed of countless dualities: matter and energy, material and spiritual, light and dark, living and dead, real and imagined, firm and yielding, existence and nonexistence, predator and prey, known and unknown, past and future, good and evil, etc. Some of these dualities appear to complement one another, other dualities appear to oppose one another. Some seem arbitrary, others seem absolute.

Duality and the apparent complexity of the finite world are a consequence of finite existence, in which time and space and essence have boundaries and sequence. Beyond this lies the Ultimate (το Υπατον). The Ultimate is the fundamental oneness of the Cosmos, unifying the dualities of the finite world into an infinite unity. The Ultimate is not a denial of diversity, but rather embraces all diversities into a harmonious unity.

The Ultimate is the origin, from which the Cosmos was born at the beginning and to which it will return at the end.

Emanation (απορροια)

At the dawn of time, when the finite world was reconstituted anew, Holy Wisdom (Αδνη Σοφια) emanated outward from the Ultimate and entered finite space and time. Holy Wisdom is the agent of the Cosmos, the source of the cosmic order, and the instrument by which the Ultimate directs the Cosmos's existence from birth to demise. It is the spirit of the Cosmos (το του κοσμου κηρ), without which it would not.

At the end of time, Holy Wisdom will withdraw (αναχωρησις, "withdrawal, recession") from the finite world back to The Ultimate. The finite world, having lost the ordering presence of Holy Wisdom, will become unordered and a void (χαος). The finite world will then be reborn when Holy Wisdom emanates from the Ultimate again.

Incarnations (Ενσαρκωσεις)

As a result of developing out of the greater Kaikian Tradition, the Holodomatic School associates Holy Wisdom with various major figures within the Kaikian mythology:

• Ariadne (Αριαδνη, "Most Holy"), who divided the primordial mist into air and water and filled the universe with life
• Pallantis (Παλλαντις), a storm goddess, culture hero, and tutelary spirit of Kaikias, second-in-command in heaven after her father Dias (Διας), the Judge of the Cosmos
• Nemo (Νεμω), the inescapable dispenser of dues and correcter of undeserved good fortune

Holy Wisdom has also become associated with various major and minor figures from other religious traditions:

• Providence, Divine Fate as found in Antican Providentialism
• Elwynn (Эљөн), the national goddess of the Elwynnese Union
• Adi Paraśakti (आदि परशक्ति), the great divine mother in Aryashti Sattva
• Sakat#Cult of Sakat of Cedrism
• various minor spirits and deified mortals

All of these figures have been interpreted as being incarnations of Holy Wisdom, descending into the mundane world, appearing and intervening at various times to provide spiritual guidance, protection, mercy, creative inspiration, etc. These incarnations thus form the basis for popular worship and meditative practices, symbols used to align oneself with Holy Wisdom.

There is disagreement as to whether the incarnations of Holy Wisdom constitute distinct beings who share the same divine essence, parts of the single divine being, or nonreal symbolic manifestations created by primitive cultures to approximate Holy Wisdom. It is, however, rejected that the incarnations are Holy Ones who have imitated the glory of Holy Wisdom to deceive humanity.

Practices

The Holodomatic School has as its goal the individual achievement of harmony with the Cosmos. Through the exercising of the school's practices, the individual may succeed in transcending their limited existence -- confined to defined time and space -- and experience unity (ἑνωσις) with the infinite Ultimate. Because the Ultimate is itself incomprehensible in its true form, the focus of teachings and practices are towards Holy Wisdom, the manifestation of the Ultimate within time and space. By achieving unity with Holy Wisdom, one will achieve unity with the Ultimate. Failure to obtain harmony with the Cosmos, however, will result in suffering during life and the death of the spirit thereafter.

The school instructs its membership to participate in the following practices: active and passive meditations, work on behalf of others' needs, self-control, cultivation of the mind, personal guidance with a teacher.

Background

A majority of the population of Kezan is Kaikian Antican in origin, bringing their religious traditions with them. In Aquilaria and Phedodah, Providentialism became the dominant tradition -- with some bringing it to Kaikias and carrying on their ideas to Kezan during the diaspora. Aryashti Anticans, already established within Shireroth, helped to facilitate their settlement (some even settling themselves. Additionally, Elwynnese political and economic advisers, as well as the Sentinels who were tasked in providing a military presence early on and many of whom later settled in the county. The refugee population interacted with these different people and reacted to their different understandings of the world and the nature of the divine and, as different schools developed, reacted with one another. In some cases, they learned, adopted, and highlighted the parallels. In others, contradictory positions were assumed, pushing that school's philosophy in a different direction.

The mainline Kaikian Religious Tradition up until the Diaspora was established centuries ago by the Sage Plethon of Zankorias (Πληθω Ζανkωριαδος), whose followers established the Plethonic School to perpetuate his teachings. The Line of Octavius, the rulers of pre-unification Kaikias and the northern line of Dinarchs following unification, remained steadfast patrons of the Plethonic School, granting that school legitimacy and monetary support. By the time of the Antican Revolution, despite the school itself being closed and never refounded, it had crowded out all competing philosophies and its liturgies became synonymous with the Kaikian Religious Tradition itself. It could then be said that all of the schools in Kezan are Post-Plethonic in nature.

Other Contemporary Schools in the Kaikian Tradition

The New Plethonic School (Καινοπληθωνικα), also known as the Red Scarfs for the school's identifying badge of membership, presents itself as rediscovering a pure form of Pletho's teaching. Much of the Holodomatic School's early tests are edited from debates between themselves and this school.

The Eteodic School (Ετεωδικα, "of the True Way") teaches a Gnostic philosophy. This school is viewed with suspicion by the others, especially since its core text, the Apocalypse of Sebaste, is an inverted retelling of the origin story of Holy Iacchis, a deity originating in the Tauchira region of Old Kaikias and later integrated into the common Kaikias tradition. Instead of a heroic Iacchis overthrowing the demon spirit Aethra, Eteodic School's universal creator Arche-Aethra (Αρχη Αιθρα) is overthrown by the villainous Iacchis, who now rules over the world and prevents humanity from ascending to divinity. The secret teachings of the school provide a means of escaping the world and reuniting with the creator.

The Diophobic School (Διοφοβικα "of the Dias-fearing") teaches an apocalyptic philosophy, in which the father god, Dias, will soon return to the world in judgement and destroy it. They attempt to renounce the shame of the world and thus avoid obliteration along with it. They do this through self-denial and, to varying degrees, self-mortification. Their sects are found primarily among the nomads and meager settlements of the Apollonian Green and those states bordering it. Rumor abounds regarding their specific practices and beliefs, most of which is learned from those banished from their sect to the wilderness after having been found to have broken their celibacy. Their sects are also known for adopting or stealing children from the surrounding population.