ES Michaelmas 2017 [OPEN]

[The Young Pope]

The Secretariat of State

To all nations in Mundus,

On behalf of his holiness Pope Peter II, I Cardinal Adalberto Giancola, Secretary of State, whish to invite delegates from any and every nation to attend the annual and one of the celebrated Christian festivals in the Church, namely Michaelmas...Let me tell you what it's all about:

It's a feast day celebrating the Archangels. It follows the fall Ember Days during which Christians traditionally thank God for his creation and the bounty of the earth and fasted penitentially. Michaelmas is a Holy Day of Obligation and honors St. Michael, St. Gabriel, and St. Raphael. St. Michael fought against Lucifer and the fallen angels and defended the friends of God. St. Gabriel announced the coming of Jesus to the Virgin Mary and also the coming of John the Baptist to Zachariah. St. Raphael is found in the book of Tobit. There are many activities that are held on this special day, such as various sports, games and horse races. One of the few flowers left around at this time of year is the Michaelmas daisy. Hence the rhyme: "The Michaelmas daisies, among dead weeds, Bloom for St Michael's valorous deeds ..."

Traditional meal for the day includes goose (a "stubble-goose", i.e. one prepared around harvest time). The custom of baking a special bread or cake, called Sruthan Mhìcheil , St Michael's bannock, or Michaelmas Bannock on the eve of the Feast of Saint Michael the Archangel probably originated in the celtic nations. The bread is made from equal parts of barley, oats, and rye without using any metal implements. In remembrance of absent friends or those who had died, special Struans, blessed at an early morning Mass, are given to the poor in their names. Nuts are traditionally cracked on Michaelmas Eve.
Michaelmas is also the last day that blackberries can be picked. It is said that when St. Michael expelled Lucifer, the devil, from heaven, he fell from the skies and landed in a prickly blackberry bush. Satan cursed the fruit, scorched them with his fiery breath, and stamped and spat on them, so that they would be unfit for eating. As it is considered ill-advised to eat them after 29 September, a Michaelmas pie is made from the last of the season.

Now as for practical information, all guests will either arrive by ferry or boat, a few by train or car. In any case depending on which transporation device one takes, y'all will be taken to St. Peter's Basilica where everyone will have the chance to greet and meet the holy father before mass commences in which he'll naturally lead. Afterwards the highly regarded Vatican dinner will be held in the Apostolic Palace, in which the menu was chosen by the Pope himself to suit all needs necessary, this dinner will also surve the purpose of getting to know each other better as well as meet up old friends...More info will be revealed later as soon as Michaelmas will be held.

In any case please respond to this invite so we know how many delegates each nation will send for bureaucratic reasons and what not. All of us in ES can't wait for your arrival and celebrate Michaelmas with us!

Take Care and God Bless,

The Holy See.

*OOC: MASS IS OPTIONAL, MAY ONLY ATTEND DINNER

[Phonx]

Rzeczpospolita Solónya
Republic of Solonia

Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych
Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Dear Cardinal Giancola,

I wish to accept this invitation on behalf of President Misiaszek. The President is a devout Catholic so, as you can probably understand, he is very excited to represent his country at this event and to meet with the Pope. The Catholic Church plays an integral part in Solonian life so the President attending Michaelmas and having dinner with the pope will of course be a very proud moment for people back home in Solonia too. Travelling with the President will be his wife, Zygfryda, and their eldest daughter, Olga. The President looks forward to seeing you.

Take care and God bless,
Więcesław Bilski
Minister of Foreign Affairs

[The Young Pope]

The Apostolic Palace, the Vatican, ES: Michaelmas 2017 - His holiness Pope Peter II aka "The Young" Pope was in the dining hall to be served his breakfast by one of the nuns who was his personal chef, and oh boy how excited he became upon witnessing the plate, oh wait also a second one. "Oh my sister, you didn't need to make much hehe...", in which she simply responsed by saying that he would need a lot of food for this years Michaelmas and gave him a kiss on his forehead as if he was her own little son, much to TYP's annoyance but she was old and senile after all he understood. "Well then time to tuck in I suppose..."

Some time later...

Cardinal Adalberto Giancola, Secretary of State, Cardinal Barthélemy Houdin, Secretary for the Economy and Cardinal Jarosław Cieslewicz, Secretary for Ecclesiastical Security were just chatting intriguely right outside TYP's office as each and one of them just had a discussion with him regarding the current policies of ES, recent events and significant topics. "Gentlemen, Adalberto said, "First of all ES is now on a better path diplomatically and economically speaking, the fact that our foreign relations have been updated and renewed as well as the fact that the Capitalist Revolution is ongoing, the future that the Lord has decided for us looks prosperous...when it comes to the security side of things, there still needs improvement on that front.". Houdin and Ciselewicz agreed, especially the latter. "My friend, if only our Pope could just listen to me, it's not enough by setting our terrorist alert to the highest, deploying heavily armed Sanfidisti and military as well as hitting hard those Sionists bastards right where they're at...it's also about the leadership, the main orchestrator who's supposed to keep the orchestra well-functioning. It makes me worried when he appointed (Cardinal) Étienne (Chaufourier, General-Superior of the Blessed Office of the Sacred Inquisition), there's something about him which is fishy that I can't seem to put the finger on...I may be the overall head of the Security section, but Étienne has the tendency to override authority; I've spoken to Mario (Espina, Captain-General of the Blessed Office of the Inquisition for the Treasury) and he also agrees that something isn't right and...".

The Cardinals gathered suddenly became silent as Charfourier passed them by, greeting them with a hello followed by a smile; likewise with the trio putting on fake smiles...clearly the tension between them were there. The General-Superior entered the office and saw TYP, smoking. "My friend, I know I need to quit this junk considering I plan to rule long, God willing naturally, but this is one of the few sinful things that can put me at ease besides meditation, prayer and taking my sports car out in the open during midnight...In any case, welcome and great to see you I hope you love your new post!". Charfourier began by informing him about the current acitivities of the Blessed Inquisition and the current situation in those regards. "Your holiness, the Sionists are clever little devils indeed but rest assured that all organisations within the security are working to their fullest to ensure that all citizens can feel safe and focus on their duties...In any case I must bid my farewell now, good luck to the Michaelmas today...". With that said Charfourier showed an evil smile while leaving the office, know that he'd achieved his dream position anything was possible now...to further his true goals.

Some time later...again...

It was soon time for the large mass which means that the entire St. Peter's Basilica would be filled with locals and visitors alike, from the poorest to the richest citizens, especially now that TYP started the Capitalist Revolution. As the cardinals, the government "ministers" and other clergy were descending to the Basillica itself, TYP had to of course dress up for, not just for the mass but also for the evening itself. "A'ight, let's do this!" ...Meanwhile, Secretary of State Giancola was waiting at a side-entrance to the complex, waiting to receive the foreign dignitaries who would first attend the mass; the others who would join the dinner later would simply enter the Palace itself. "*Sigh* I wonder who'll celebrate with us this year..." he muttered for himself, at least there was a Under-Secretary of State, a real professional who did most of the work, Giancola was more of a posterboy (according to himself, which wasn't true exactly, hehehe)

[Zee]

المملكة الراشدية العظيمه
The Rashidun Kingdom

ولي عهد الراشدي حماه الله عز و جل
Prince Ismail Rodulf Arasiflver, Crown Prince of Rashidun

Your Gracious Cardinal Giancola,

It is my absolute pleasure to inform you that my father, King Hans of Rashidun, And I accept your invitation with the warmest welcomes and look forward to meet you in this most holy holiday in the Holy See, Though our religious beliefs differ, It doesn't make us rivals nor enemies, Infact We shall advocate unity between our beliefs of a one god, Though our ideals of performance are scarcely different, We do have much in common, Again I am absolutely excited to attend this festival.

May God bestows his mercy and luck upon hou,
Prince Ismail Rodulf Äräsilfver
Crown Prince of Rashidun

[Phonx]

President Gościsław Misiaszek and his wife, Zygfryda, climbed out of the car and walked up to greet Cardinal Giancola, their eldest daughter, Olga, followed behind them. Their plane had only landed around 1 hour ago so they had rushed from the airport to the basilica. "It is truly an honour to attend Michaelmas and to get to see Pope Peter speak" said President Misiaszek. The President looked up to see the beauty of the basilica, he had always dreamed of seeing it this close and now he would be whilst also getting to hear the Pope speak. The President and his family then went inside, they were amazed by the interior. "Never have I seen such a beautiful place to show our devotion to the lord" the President said to his wife. The First Lady kissed the cross necklace she had been given on her confirmation many years ago. They then went to their seats and waited to hear the word of God that the Pope would spread to the faithful that had gathered.

[Achkaerin]

There were days Peter wished he could pick and choose his trips abroad, sadly though they had a habit of choosing him and this one was a case in point, he was Emperor of Achkaerin but thanks to the actions of his grandfather that now came with a hereditary title bestowed by Vanora and this being a Christian related title sort of meant he had to occasionally show up at these things. Still it wasn't all bad it gave him the chance to spend time with one of his cousins Ashleigh Whitaker, the sole Christian in the Azurewind family. Peter didn't like that he didn't get as much time with his family as he would like despite being a very family orientated man. Rounding out the group were the Archbishop of Ashwood Martin Deed and Martin's daughter Kathryn, both of whom appeared glad to get out of Achkaerin for a bit and in Kathryn's case to not have politics on her mind for a while.

When they arrived they got out of their car and Peter chuckled to himself
"The architect must have visited Valtheim when designing this place." he said
"Possibly." Martin said, Ashleigh was busy looking up at the decorative features so much so that she didn't hear another car arrive and then she tripped but despite the half scream she didn't hit the ground as a man caught her.

"Are you alright Miss?" the man asked
"Er...Yes I think so." Ashleigh replied "Thank you."
"My pleasure madam." the man said then he noticed Peter "Ah the Cyborg Emperor and defender of Christendom himself."
"Please don't." Peter muttered
"Your Majesty." the man said
"Your Grace." Peter said coming over and shaking the man's hand with his artificial one
"Used to the arm?" the man asked
"I barely notice it anymore." Peter said
"Have you and your lovely fiancee set a date yet?" the man asked
"Not yet no." Peter said
"I'll see you inside." the man said, with a smile and a nod he headed inside the basilica

"Who was that?" Ashleigh asked
"That dear cousin was David Aragon the Duke of Vanora." Peter said
"And I nearly flattened him." Ashleigh said
"May I suggest we head inside?" Martin asked
"Good idea." Peter said "After all there's someone you're eager to catch up with isn't there?"
"Quite Your Majesty." Martin said

The four headed for the entrance.

[The Young Pope]

"Oh your majesties, excellencies and most certainly reverence, welcome all to the Michaelmas; his holiness the Pope is currently preparing himself, so please follow these men as they'll escort you to your seats; Great to see you again Peter...Ashleigh...Come here my old friend and his daughter haha". Adalberto shook hands with the Emperor and his cousin, while giving hugs to Martin and Kathryn. "T'was definitely a while since, hope everything's fine in Achkaerin, I know that time will eventually test one's faith in a country where the faithful are few...Kathryn my dear, would you be so kind to lend me your father for a few minutes?". With permission granted, as soon as Pete, Ash and Kath went inside, Adalberto's tone became serious and quickly discussed with Martin in a silent tone regarding the Pope's recent...controversial...statements in regards to socialism as well as his failed attempt at apologising.

"For crying out loud Martin! I thought you trained him well being his beloved mentor, instead we have a holy father who can't keep his personal opinions from interfering with his pastoral duties, confusing the sheep and the wolves alike. Peter couldn't even listen to me God Dammit, everyone of us in the consistory told him it was a bad idea, sure to backfire as soon as possible, not everyone shares the views of the Ex Cathedra principle either. I appreciate that you scolded him publicly, but I would suggest trying to hold a private one as well, after mass perhaps before dinner...The church doesn't want this to happen again*sigh*. Giancola waited for Martin's response, surely he would agree with the current situation and what had to be done...

[DaveIronside]

"Why.....why even bother" Prince Heydar complained as he and his wife Chyrssa made their way to the basilica. They had come over the night before staying naturally in a luxurious hotel, despite the nice food, fine wines and various others things of the nicer variety Heydar was not pleased with this assignment and had spent the last hour or so complaining to his wife. She sat in the passenger seat of their sports car that Heydar had insisted on having while here, after all he had to ensure they looked the part, if the press back home saw them arriving in anything run of the mill it would damage the nations reputation.

Chyrssa on the other hand was rather looking forward to meeting a few foreigners, she had never left Seleucid before and while she found this Christian faith frankly ridiculous she was wise enough to understand that living without journeying the world was a missed opportunity. "We're here because your father ordered us" she put a reassuring hand on her husbands thigh as they saw the Basilica come into view. "It'll maybe be interesting." she added.

"I would rather gouge my own eyeballs out" Heydar replied, he wasn't one for official duties, he preferred to be out hawking in the desert or driving dune buggies, failing that cruising the bars of Ipsus or Marvar, something that annoyed his wife rather a lot. The car was now pulling up at the venue and he got out opening the door for his wife, he took hold of her hand and briskly walked them inside half dragging her behind as they looked for the welcoming committe. 

[Achkaerin]

"I mentored him to be a Preacher not a politician." Martin said looking at Adalberto "His political views are his own, forged and honed in part by the dinner table debates him and Kathryn used to have. He appears to have forgotten the true nature of his role and his responsibility, I will appeal to the Christian I trained and I will let my daughter challenge the politician, between us we shall see if we can't return our friend to the path he should walk."

[The Young Pope]

"A'ight then, I trust that you'll succeed in that endeavour..."I'll talk to you more later my friend, take care...now off you go and follow this St. Peter Guardian...*a few seconds later* Achkaerinese and Christianity, how typical...". Giancola had served previous popes and most of the time it usually worked well, however this young Pope was quite something; bringing back conservative practices that were deemed not necessary by the 2nd Vatican Council, the reintroduction of glitter and glamour as well as neew practices never seen before...he and others had a lot to do nowadays, whether it was for the better or worse was to be seen, hopefully TYP would be able to finish the war against the Sionists once and for all. It was then Giancola noticed the arrival of a few new guests, he straightened his glasses and took a closer look, it seemed that these guests came from the Seleucids, Prince Heydar and his wife Chyrssa was it?

"Your highnesses, Prince Heydar and Princess Chyrssa I assume? Welcome to the Ecclesiastical State, specifically the Vatican in the Capital of Mundus, Celestis, a lovely nickname if I may say so myself. I heard that this was your first time flying out of the nest as I put it? Well the holy father is more than overjoyed that you've decided to make ES the first international visitation, a pure time machine this country is if you catched my drift hehe, please follow this guardian as he'll escort you to your seats..."

[Arda Tuluva]

Almaresáre Yárecantarë has been to Christian Masses in the past, as Arda Tuluva's ambassador to the Ecclesiastical State it was her duty to attend important ceremonies of her host country. Even if she found it daunting. She often times wondered if this is how foreign representatives to Arda Tuluva felt every time they had to present their credentials to the Throne; the endless ceremony, the rituals. Or be present to any of the dozens of festivals and holidays.

It was something the two nations held in common, this love for tradition. The ceremony. The ostentatiousness of it all. Love of great beauty and architecture. Christians, though from her understanding, were suppose to be a modest and demure people these cathedrals were anything but, the lavishness of their priests. Such a strange concept of a vow of poverty, to live so extravagantly and dress in such ways. She was no theologian, but she was quite versed in Catholic Catechism and Dogma.

Christianity was never a popular faith in Arda Tuluva: most likely it was because the government had actively sought to halt its advance in the Empire, as early Christianity's view on women, sexuality, and this loyalty to a foreign papist in Celestis were deemed "contrary to the harmony and unity of the Empire" by the Throne. Either way, in modern Arda Tuluva there was religious freedom, though Almaresáre highly doubted anyone who didn't adhere to an Arda Tuluvan faith ever got far in the government. Ambassador Yárecantarë did truly find the architecture and artwork of St. Peter's Basilica beautiful. Say what you will about them, these Christians sure knew how to build temples of marvel.

"Your Eminence," She said with a low bow in the Arda Tuluvan style to Cardinal Adalberto Giancola as she was greeted upon entering the Basilica. Arda Tuluvan ambassadors were instructed to maintain an anodyne rapport with officials of the Ecclesiastical Magisterium; maintain the status quo, do nothing to upset the nature of Ecclesiastical-Arda Tuluvan relations. Almaresáre Yárecantarë's conversations with Cardinal Giancola were anything but dull.

Because of Arda Tuluva's great investments in the Ecclesiastical State their Ambassadors had many meetings with the Papal Secretary of State. At times she would question the Cardinal on certain topics of catholic dogma and the two would debate, naturally in a a most friendly manner, about said topic. Ambassador Yárecantarë, it could be said, had one of the best rapports any Arda Tuluvan has had with the Ecclesiastical State in many a decade.

[The Young Pope]

"Ambassador Yárecantarë, such a pleasure and honor to receive you on this fine Michaelmas day" he replied in her language after she greeted him, kissing her hand in the progress as a sign of respect (learning Arda Tuluvan was quite popular in ES, as it was regarded as one of the most beautiful languages in Mundus alongside Latin, vital for those important business meetings as well^). Although Christian and Arda Tuluvan way of life and philosophy weren't always on point with each other, at least both nations had a few policies in common such as the vitality of preserving customs and traditions, the indesputable right of the sovereign who holds some connection to the divinity as well as (depending on the extent between these nations) competency and utmost loyalty rather than often fragile, weak and unreliable political system known as "democracy" that borders and even intertwines with the dangers of anarchism; not to mention the fact that these two nations cooperated in a number of ways despite the obvious conflicts AT had with Christians in general, one of the perfect examples would be the Pirate Wars. Giancola was himself one of the many Ecclesiastical citizens who greatly admired the Arda Tuluvans, considering that in recent decades many of their most successful companies have established their presence in ES due to its überliberal capitalist society which meant little to no taxes, regulations and business freedoms, all thanks to Pope John Paul II, Benedict XVI and now Peter II a.k.a "The Young Pope". "If you may, please follow this St. Peter Guardian as he'll escort you to your seat, as you'll be seated with our other dignitaries and afterwards we can continue last time our interesting talks over some fine food and drink...his holiness has also prepared something special for all of us, something which hasn't done in a large scale anyway...hope this day will be enjoyable for all of us...lest that's the will of the divine".

[DaveIronside]

"Your highnesses, Prince Heydar and Princess Chyrssa I assume? Welcome to the Ecclesiastical State, specifically the Vatican in the Capital of Mundus, Celestis, a lovely nickname if I may say so myself. I heard that this was your first time flying out of the nest as I put it? Well the holy father is more than overjoyed that you've decided to make ES the first international visitation, a pure time machine this country is if you catched my drift hehe, please follow this guardian as he'll escort you to your seats..."

Heydar did his best to not laugh, "Holy Father", he'd heard stories of the excesses of the Catholic Church and how this celebrate supposedly pious man could be called a Father was beyond, him. He just about managed to catch himself before the laughter escaped. He found their whole faith a little two faced, on the one hand help the poor, yet he saw a church swimming in wealth, he knew their own nation had large gaps between rich and poor but their faith didn't push the notion of faith, hope and charity in this manner.

His wife was more willing to take the event in, "Well my father had no reason to travel much, and when he did he didn't need to take the family" Chryssa explained with a smile. "So it is nice to get to start seeing the world, I have my wonderful husband to thank" she held his hand as they were escorted off to their seats, "So what exactly should we expect?" she asked as they sat down.

[Glitchy]

Now the whole tedious commy business with Artyomov done and dusted, President Truman decided it was appropriate to turn towards something with a little more PR involved. The majority of people in Sutherland were Catholics, Malcum and his family included, so it was only fitting that he and his wife Mary attend one of the most Catholic things in all of Mundus. That being Michaelmas in the middle of the Statum Ecclesiasticum.

 President Truman was a pious man since his birth, the type of man who could be seen attending mass on the Sabbath Day, saying his prayers and taking his vitamins. His upper-class background raised him in such an environment, he was raised as an ideal Sutherian, family values, mateship and all of it. He was quite appealing to the average Sutherian, the ideal man to lead their country. This was meant to further improve approval ratings back home, but Malcum was genuinely delighted to be in this situation. Mary was almost a female counterpart in that sense, being raised in an upper-class family too, her successful real estate family believed to be related to Sutherian saint, Saint Maria McKillop. She was even more excited than Malcum to be in the Ecclesiastic States, this being the closest to her God she'll ever be in life.

"Oh, my dear such a beautiful place this is!" Mary remarked, bewildered by the Papal architecture from the backseat of their Presidential Cadillac. "Yes my dear," Malcum replied, "wait 'til we reach the basilica." In no time at all, only minutes after their complimentary remarks, were by a side entrance to the hallowed St. Peter's Basilica. The Cadillac parked itself outside the side entrance, it's left side facing the welcoming committee. The driver stepped out of the standard Sutherian left-side driver seat door to open the door for the President and the First Lady. Malcum stood out of the car first, holding out his hand to gently lift Maria out of the car like a gentleman. As they stood out of the Cadillac they linked arms like any devoted couple and made their way towards the welcoming committee.

[The Young Pope]

Giancola always found it quite nice when visitors such as Chyrssa were open-minded especially when it came to their church and ignored the misconceptions that were still flourishing, especially the part where the immense amount of poverty and wealth seemed to conflict with the message about humility and faith, which wasn't true at all he thought. "I can't reveal much I'm afraid, but rest assured that after this mass...which might be perceived, 'boring' for some, a fantastic dinner will be held where food, drink and laughter will be overflowed, followed by unusual surprises by the Holy Father himself. Oh my it wasn't my attention to follow you to your seats..." he said when he realized that he went with them inside St. Peter's, feeling a bit carried away by the chat. "I must bid you farewell for now as I need to welcome the other guests, but sit tight and enjoy the mass that'll start soon...if you can that is, otherwise look forward to the dinner and all fun after that. Ciao."

As Giancola went back to the side entrance, he was just there in time went the Presidential couple from Sutherland arrived, President and First Lady Truman. "Malcolm and Mary, welcome, welcome my dear beloved friends hahaha!". Giancola embraced them as if they were his own family members of some sort; Sutherland had always, since the dawn of their existence, stood close by with the Catholic Church, its populace in majority adhering to the faith itself (an emphasis on a conservative lifrestyle) and producing a few yet important saints too; there were also times of cooperation between ES and Sutherland in notable conflicts, the Great War in the early-mid 20th century being a notable example. "His holiness will then be pleased that you managed to come here after all, always a great addition to any feast. Please follow this St. Peter Guardian as he'll guide you to your seats...based on what says on my watch the mass will soon begin, talk to you more later...Ciao."

[Snackz]

Lieutenant Artyom Basuda stood outside the church, dressed in his best casual outfit: Green dress pants, an open green winter afghanka and a Blue and white striped undershirt. He had his hair done well and his sunglasses on, to keep the glare away. He was told to come on his free day, which he disliked a bit, but remembered it was good for their growing state. He smoked his cigarette and chucked it on the ground, stomping on it with his boots. It was nice weather and he was not too hot nor cold in his afghanka. He walked in and saw everyone there.

[The Young Pope]

"Lieutenant Basuda, welcome to ES and the Vatican specifically, it's great to see you here and thank you for stopping by. Please follow this St. Peter Guardian as he'll escort you to your seat where you'll be among the other guests, the mass will begin in a moment's notice so please sit tight and enjoy the sights of the basilica interior." Giancola said to him, greeting in the process. The relationship between ES and this commie nation was part of a reconciliation process between the supposed to be the two great rivals, the church and communism, whose sides have criticized each other constantly but is now on a more peaceful, respectful tone, which is what TYP what's seen done.

[Snackz]

Artyom was stunned by the sophisticated interior of the building. It was stunning, with its art. Artyom was a vivid fan of the creative arts, although he was a Spetsnaz Lieutenant and foreign representative. He sat down to attend the mass and looked around. He saw a few familiar faces, but most were unfamiliar. He looked at his analogue watch. He arrived on the time he planned.