First Apostolic Church
 | This article or section is in the process of an expansion or major restructuring. You are welcome to assist in its construction by editing it as well. If this article or section has not been edited in several days, please remove this template. This article was last edited by [[User:imported>BCMatsuyama|imported>BCMatsuyama]] ([[User talk:imported>BCMatsuyama|talk]] | [[Special:Contributions/imported>BCMatsuyama|contribs]]) 23 months ago. (Update) |
| First Apostolic Church | |
|---|---|
| Earstekerke fan Apostale | |
| Theology | |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Supreme Governor | Empress Aletta I |
| Primate | Cain Lowham |
| Associations | Marian Communion |
| Region | Tiperyn |
| Headquarters | Palace of Cardinals, Ambrosia, Tiperyn |
| Founder | Mary of Magdala (according to Apostolic tradition) |
| Origin |
1st century Old City, North Kesh |
| Separations | Goidelic Protestantism (1599) |
| Members | 115 million |
| Clergy |
|
The First Apostolic Church is a Messianic church and the established church of the Holy Tiperyn Realm. The monarch of Tiperyn - currently Empress Altetta I - acts as the church's Supreme Governor while the Archcardinal of the Cabinet of Cardinals is its most senior cleric. The First Apostolic Church was formed in the 12th century CE by the Highal royal family of the Tipslan Kingdom, evolving from Messianic traditions of matriarchal Geudic tribes that were introduced to Messianism in the 4th century CE. However, the church itself claims to be directly descendant from the early Messianic movement founded by Mary of Magdala in the 1st century.
The Tiperyn First Apostolic Church belongs to the Marian Communion, which also includes the Marian Church of Agrana y Griegro. The Marian Church is the second largest church within the communion. Throughout the history of West Artemian Messianism, the geopolitical relationship between Tiperyn and Agrana y Griegro has been heavily influenced by the churches and varying interpretations of the scripture. As Tiperyn's and Agrana y Griegro's royal families believe themselves to be descendant from Mary of Magdala, who the Marian Communion reveres as the first apostle, the perception of the two families has varied from kin to rivals. For example, Agrana y Griegro has been one of Tiperyn's closest allies since the coronation of Empress Fedde as the monarch of Tiperyn who believed the Agranan monarch to be her distant faithful relative. However, during the colonial period, the two states were fierce rivals, partially because of disputes over the inheritance of each other nations' monarch from Saint Mary of Magdala.
Doctrine
Maternalization and the Apostolic Binity
In the Apostolic faith, God is personified as the Mother. God the Mother is the first person in the Apostolic binity, superior to the co-equal God the Son (Jesus), while the Holy Spirit is the power that emanates from these two beings.
The maternalization of God is a cornerstone of Apostolic practice and one which runs counter to most Messianic sects outside of the Marian Communion. Although not considered female nor male, She is considered to be the mother of Anterra and all people — from which they were birthed. She is also separately being the holy mother of Jesus the Son in concert with his physical mother the Virgin Mary. God is given motherly or matronly attributes throughout the Apostolic Bible. For example, the Apostolic version of Isaiah 42:14 reads, "For a long time I have held my peace, I have kept still and restrained myself; now I will cry out as if I was in labor, I will gasp and pant." The motherly persona of God was likely influenced by the matriarchal culture of certain Geudic tribes which existed before the introduction of Messianism to west Artemia. Therein, mothers take a more active role in the community and the household comparatively speaking. In these cultures, mothers were not characterized as passive vessels in the child bearing process, but rather the true source of life. Thus, mothers were considered to be the more active participants, which is likely what influenced the integration of motherhood-based motifs into early Geudic Messianism.
Saint Mary of Magdala
The reverence of Saint Mary of Magdala and her importance to the history of the First Apostolic Church is somewhat unique to Western Artemian Messianism. Although the status of Mary of Magdala was somewhat common among early northern Geudic Messianic tribes prior to the invasion of Goidelia, the doctrine is now most notable within the First Apostolic Church. The church derives its namesake from Mary of Magdala, dubbing her the First Apostle Saint Mary of Magdala. The Gospel of Nathanael is the fifth book of the Apostolic New Testament and chronicles the life of Mary of Magdala after the resurrection of Jesus, including her pivotal role in the foundation of the Messianic church and its migration northward past the Eurybian Sea. The gospel replaces the Acts of Apostles, which also writes about early Messianism and its spread north, but lacks mention of Mary of Magdala's journey from the southern edge of the Eurbyian Sea west and northward. The Apostolic church believes that the gospel was written by Nathanael - an early disciple and follower of Mary Magdelene. The validity of the book has been called into question by most theological scholars outside of Tiperyn, however, with many believing it to have been fabricated some time after the introduction of Messianism to West Artemia around the 4th century but before the invasion of Goidelia by Geudic tribes in the 11th century.
In the Gospel of Nathanael, Mary of Magdala played an important role in the establishment of the early Messianic Church. She is professed to have lead the first disciples of Jesus out of the Old City to spread the message of Christ. The tribe, having crossed at the mouth of the Iapetus between modern day Agrana y Griegro and Jungastia, settled in western Artemia. According to the First Apostolic Church, the Geudic tribes that migrated to Goidelia were descendants of Mary of Magdala's tribe. Thus, the First Apostolic Church considers itself to be the direct successor of the Ministry of Jesus. Further, the Highal royal family - the ruling family of Tiperyn - believes itself to be descendant matrilineally from Mary of Magdala herself. Although several anthropologists have cited the matriarchal power structures of the Geudic tribes that modern Tiperyn peoples descended from - even prior to their conversion to Messianic sometime prior to the 4th century - as reason for its largely matrilineal system of nobility, the belief of Mary of Magdala as the prime ancestor of the house is its official justification for the holy realm's system of enatic succession. Additionally, it is from its claimed relation to Mary of Magdala that the ruling family of Tiperyn derives its heavenly mandate over the lands of Goidelia, as the church believes that Tiperyn was the ultimate settlement of the descendants of the apostles.
Saint Mary of Magdala is revered during a day of worship on 22 July. This day is a national holiday in Tiperyn and is seen as one of the holiest days of the year after Easter, Good Friday, and Christmas.
Virgin Mary of Nazareth
-Role as the mother of Jesus elevated in this denomination.
