Holodomatic School

The Holodomatic School (Literary Kaikian ὁλοδωματικα, "of the Whole Household") is the dominant religious movement in the County Palatine of Kezan. It developed primarily out of the Kaikian Antican Tradition but was influenced by other regional Antican traditions, such as Providentialism and Aryashti Sattva. The presence of Elwynnese in Kezan also introduced ideas from their own religion. The Holodomatic School emerged among the refugees of the Kaikian Diaspora following their resettlement in Kezan. It has since spread beyond and taken root in other communities in parts of Shireroth and Natopia.

Core Beliefs

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 interaction 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 universe is an ordered universe. The Holodomatic School believes that the cosmic order can be studied and, through extensive effort, aspects of it can become understood. There is disagreement, however, as to whether the Cosmos will be fully understood or even if it can be comprehended by the human mind and human knowledge in all of its complexity. Scientific progress is given a religious significance, a means to allow humanity to align itself with the the material component of the cosmic order.

The Ultimate (το Υπατον)

The finite world is made up of countless dualities: matter and energy, material and spiritual, light and dark, living and dead, firm and yielding, existence and nonexistence, predator and prey, good and evil, and so on. Some appear to be complements of one another, while others appear to be in opposition to one another. Some seem arbitrary, while others seem absolute. Even so, beyond these dualities 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 an embrace of that diversity into a harmonious unity. The Ultimate is all at once and yet also none ever, because it is infinite and unbounded. The dualities and the complexity of the Cosmos are a consequence of finite existence, in which time and space have boundaries and sequence. The Ultimate is the origin, from which the Cosmos was born at the beginning, with which it changes and develops, and to which it will return at the end. The Ultimate is the foundation upon which all existence is built upon. It is the spirit of the Cosmos (το του κοσμου κηρ), without which it would not.

At the dawn of the time, when the finite world was reconstituted anew, Holy Wisdom (Αδνη Σοφια), emanated outward from the Ultimate, entering space and time and interacting with the finite world. 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.

Incarnations (Ενσαρκωσεις)

As a result of developing out of the greater Kaikian Tradition, Holy Wisdom is associated with various major figures within the Kaikian mythology: the primordial creator being, Ariadne (Αριαδνη, Most Holy), who divided the primordial mist into air and water and filled the universe with life; Pallantis (Παλλαντις), already a central figure within Kaikian Tradition and considered a culture hero, the national tutelary spirit of Anticans and of Kaikians in particular, and the second-in-command after her father Dias (Διας), the Judge of the Cosmos; Nemo (Νεμω), the inescapable dispenser of dues and correcter of undeserved good fortune. From outside of the Kaikian Tradition, Holy Wisdom has also become associated with Elwynn (Эљөн), the national goddess of the Elwynnese Union, and with the Adi Paraśakti (आदि परशक्ति), the great divine mother in Aryashti Sattva.

In addition to these greater forms, Holy Wisdom is also associated with other figures found in both mythology and cult practice, 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 of Holy Wisdom form the basis of popular worship and meditative practices, symbols used to align oneself with Holy Wisdom.

Ultimate Fate (Αναχωρησις)

At the end of time, Holy Wisdom will withdraw (αναχωρησις, "withdraw, recede") from the finite world back to The Ultimate. The finite world, having been made unordered, will then be reborn when Holy Wisdom emanates from the Ultimate again.

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 mostly settled in the county. The refugees who would go on to found the Holodomatic School interacted with these different peoples and their different understandings of the world and the nature of the divine. From some, they learned and adopted and highlighted their parallels. From others, the Holodomatics adopted contradictory positions.

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.

Other Current Schools in the Kaikian Tradition

During the refugee crisis and resettlement in Kezan, several post-Plethonic schools were founded. The Holodomatic School rose to become the most prominent. Another, 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. These two debated regularly during their formative periods and materials from these debates were compiled into the early Holodomatic texts.

Another is the Eteodic School (Ετεωδικα, "of the True Way"), which teaches a Gnostic philosophy. This school is viewed with suspicion by the others, especially since its core text, the Apocalypse of Sebaste, is a dark retelling of the origin story of Holy Iacchis, a regional deity from the Old Kaikian Tauchiran region who was later adopted Kaikias-wide. Instead of a heroic Iacchis overthrowing the demon spirit Aethra, their universal creator Arche-Aethra (Αρχη Αιθρα) is overthrown by the villainous Iacchis, who now rules the world and prevents humanity from ascending to divinity.