Trouble with the Church
Theofilus was reviewing papers in his office in the administrative wing of the Palace, he'd spent the morning pouring over reports from the various teams from the Office of the State Censor. The Censor as it was known for short was tasked with reviewing all printed materials prior to their being published. In recent decades its mandate had expanded to include the review of broadcast media as well as the new medium of the internet; the latter was proving particularly difficult to control and every now and then the idea of a 'Great Firewall' was floated to block all inappropriate content, though this was always abandoned when the difficulty in doing so was pointed out. As Counsel for State Communications the Censor fell under Theofilus' jurisdiction and while his predecessor in the post had been happy to simply let the Censor get on with its business Theofilus preferred to keep his finger on the pulse. The traffic through the Censor offered a unique insight in to the prevailing moods in the nation as well as providing a wealth of useful gossip, not to mention the power that came with being able to carefully craft the national narrative.
A rapping came at the door, Theofilus glanced at the clock on the wall - eleven thirty in the morning "Enter!" he called. The door opened and in entered the Royal Chaplain Giorgy Crassus a noble looking figure who exuded the grace of office "Ah Father Crassus, to what do I owe the honour of your visit? Please don't tell me I am overdue the sacrament of reconciliation again?"
The Priest smiled "Your Majesty, your wit never ceases to lift me but no, I am here on other business regarding the Crown Prince."
"I see" replied Theofilus seriously "I hope it is nothing too serious?"
"Perhaps it is not too serious, however it has come to my attention that His Majesty the Crown Prince has seemingly absented himself from attendance at the daily Mass, I also have not had an audience with him for some months, given the special relationship between the institutions of Monarchy and the Ecclesia it is imperative for the spiritual and material wellbeing of the Kingdom that the Autokrator and his heir maintain regular contact with the Patriarchate." said Giorgy
"Ah. That is a real problem isn't it. However as far as I can see it would appear to be a problem for the Counsel on State Protocol. Presumably though there is a reason you have come to me?"
"Well yes, I did approach Prince Cassion, however I did not receive a particularly encouraging reply from him."
"And what was the reply if I may ask?"
"Essentially that his efforts at present are focused entirely on trying to get the Crown Prince to take a more serious approach towards cultivating appropriate Court Etiquette, he went off on a bit of a rant about rumours that His Majesty has been seen wandering the Palace alone at night to fraternise with commoners." said Giorgy "Now I know it does not fall within your area of responsibility, however you hold a certain degree of power in the Court and certainly have the Crown Prince's ear, I was wondering if perhaps you could emphasise the importance of his maintaining appropriate contacts with the Church."
"I can certainly try, however I fear I am not anymore likely to get through to him than anyone else, he is rather headstrong to the say the least, and seems to particularly enjoy upsetting the normal order of things." said Theofilus mournfully.
"You can certainly say that again. The Patriarch was most displeased when he heard that His Majesty had decided to cosy up to the Ecclesiastical States."
"His Grace is not too taken with the notion then?"
"That is something of an understatement. Livid is probably the best way to describe his reaction, it has been his favourite topic of rant for a week now."
Theofilus sighed "Far be it for me to question the decisions of the Autokrator, however I doubt I will ever understand his choice of Laurenz for his heir. It's a shame but what are we to do? He's be beatified now and the future is sealed."
"Not necessarily, at least not on account of the beatification." said Giorgy "it's a common misconception, shared even by some inside the Church that beatification means that one is irrevocably confirmed to be future Autokrator, however there is precedent in history for beatification to be annulled."
"Really?!" responded Theofilus with genuine shock
"Oh yes. On no less than two occasions the Patriarch has annulled a beatification of a Crown Prince prior to his ascending the throne. However it is generally frowned upon by the Church establishment, many Patriarchs do not feel it is their place to act in such overtly political matters."
"If I may ask, how do you know about this?"
"Oh, I did my Doctor Thesis on the interaction of secular and canon law when studying for my Doctor of Divinity at seminary... I was always a bit of a history lover and it was a topic which would allow me to delve in to Church history, there are a lot of interesting laws that very few are aware of, for example did you know that if the Patriarch is forced to resign due to 'Scandalising of the Office' that the Royal Chaplain automatically becomes the next Patriarch bypassing the Ecclesial Conclave?" said Giorgy clearly getting carried away on a topic of personal interest.
"Why would such a law exist?" asked Theofilus
"I believe the idea is that if the Patriarch has fallen into such a state of degeneracy as to scandalise the office, that given the extent of his influence in the Church it is felt that the risk of the corruption having spread is too great to allow for the normal process of Patriarch selection to take place. The Royal Chaplain who by virtue of his role of working closely with the beatified persons of the Autokrator and Crown Prince in ensuring the moral health of the state would be insulated from such corruption; therefore he should become the Patriarch in order to correct the issue and root out any remaining malignancy, or so the theory goes."
"You see this is why I love talking to you, I always learn something new." exclaimed Theofilus cheerily
"If you like them that much I am always happy to see more of you, but strangely I always seem to have to come searching for you... especially when you are due for confession." he smiled knowingly.
Theofilus laughed out loud "And you flatter me for
my wit? Anyway as far as the Crown Prince goes, I shall do what I can to pressure him to make more regular contact with you, though I can't promise anything. If that is all I have rather a busy day today."
"Of course, I won't keep you any longer." said Giorgy rising from his seat "Thank you for taking the time to meet with me."
Once the Priest had left Theofilus sat digesting the information he had just been provided. For a short conversation it had been packed with the sort of knowledge he would have paid good money for. He picked up his phone and dialled his secretary "Good Morning, could you please arrange a meeting for me with the Patriarch at his earliest availability? Thank you."