Celtic Christianity

[Andred of Albans]

My home brew campaign began life as the FGU supplement "Arden", it has grown considerably since it's humble beginnings in 1983. One of the things that was decided on early in its development was the concept that men were brought to the campaign world from our own Earth c. 720 CE and that human society developed since that time (about 600 years). That means people brought their religions with them. Of course, to keep things interesting and to remind the players they aren't in Kansas anymore I resurrected religious forms from antiquity. In addition to the Catholic Church (as it existed in 720 CE), I pulling in Celtic or Pelagian Christianity as well as Arian Christianity (not to mention Judaism and Islam).

So here is another page from my DM's notebook.


Religion in Arden
Celtic Church (Pelagianism)

In northern Europe, Pelagian or Celtic Christianity dominated the British Isles. Unlike the Roman Church, the Pelagian Church was dominated by its Abbots (as opposed to its bishops). Pelagians focus on divine love and constancy and as such, did not see Judaism as a rival. St. Pelagius, a 4th century British monk, is the great doctor of the Pelagian or Celtic Church.

Pelagius rejected most of Augustinian theology

The tenets of Pelagianism are:
1. Death came from man's physical nature, not sin.
2. Infants need not be baptized to be cleansed from original sin.
3. Penance and atonement, not Justifying grace, covers past sins and helps avoid future sins.
4. The determination of men, not the grace of Christ, imparts strength and will to act out divine commandments.
5. Good works are expressions of human goodwill and can come without divine grace.
6. We confess we are sinners from humility, not because it is necessarily true.
7. The saints ask for forgiveness for the sins others.
8. The saints also confess to be sinners because they are humble.
9. Children dying without baptism are not excluded from either the Kingdom of heaven and eternal life.

St. Pelagius wrote two major treatises, "On Nature" and "Defense of the Freedom of the Will." In these, he defends his position on sin and sinlessness, and accuses Augustine of being under the influence of Manicheanism by elevating evil to the same status as holiness and teaching pagan fatalism as if it were a Christian doctrine.

Augustine had been converted to Christianity from the religion of Manicheanism, which stressed that the spirit was God-created, while the flesh was corrupt and evil, since it had not been created directly by God. St. Pelagius argued that Augustine's doctrine that humans went to hell for doing what they could not avoid (sin) was tantamount to the Manichean belief in fatalism and predestination, and took away all of mankind's free will.

St. Pelagius and his followers saw remnants of this fatalistic belief in Augustine's teachings on the Fall of Adam, which was not a settled doctrine at the time the Augustinian/Pelagian dispute began. The Celtic Church’s view that mankind can avoid sinning, and that we can freely choose to obey God's commandments, stand at the core of Celtic Christian teaching.
An illustration of the Celtic Church’s views on man's "moral ability" not to sin can be found in St. Pelagius’ Letter to Demetrias. He was in the Holy Land when he received a letter from the renowned Anician family. One of the aristocratic ladies who had been among his followers was writing to a number of eminent theologians for moral advice for her 14-year-old daughter, Demetrias. St. Pelagius used the letter to argue his case for morality, stressing his views of natural sanctity and man's moral capacity to choose to live a holy life.

Pelagianism is the dominant form of Christianity among the Celts of Arden and in the Dales of Thorien. It is Anathema in Novimand.

N.B. Arden is an English-esque kingdom in the northern reaches of the main continent, Thorien is a collection of petty kingdoms and clans under the tenuous rule of a Pendragon or High King. There is a semi-independent Celtic realm of Powys modeled closely on the Welsh within the bounds of Arden. Other realms include Novimand, the largest of the western kingdoms modeled on medieval France which is Catholic, also Palithane and Caliban (also Catholic kingdoms to the west and east of Novimand respectively). To the east lies Waziristan and Al' Malik, the westernmost Islamic kingdoms. To the northeast of Novimand lies the steppes of Assura. To the north of Arden lies the Scandia, a collection of Norse kingdoms whose residents frequently raid the south. The Elven realm of Tir Garon and the Dwarf realms of Zarak Isen, Zaren Myrktor and Zarak Toren all border Arden.

[Sakusammakko]

I am going to like this set of posts as one of my campaigns is set in an fantasy Iberia

[Andred of Albans]

I am going to like this set of posts as one of my campaigns is set in an fantasy Iberia

I encourage you to share your DM notes on this campaign. I would be very interested in your take on the Moors, the Catholic Church and the other religious communities of Iberia.