Kalistan

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Kalistani Pilgrims reoccupy abandoned Brethrenist Settlement in Vintalli
Imperial expansion sees many Brethrenists on the move, looking for Democracy
Chicciola, Cancon
October 14, 5576


Abandoned Meeting House of the Hermanoistos Gaduri near Chicciola

For a brief time a millennium ago, Kalistani Brethrenists actually became a legitimate force in Gaduri politics.  In 4481, members of the Kaliburg Yearly Meeting purchased a plot of land which was an abandoned fishing village on the Northern most point of what was then called North Vintalli, and entered Gaduri politics, aiming to develop a political form of Brethrenism for Gaduridos.  At the time the nation was a vibrant multi-party system, and the Brethrenists saw an opportunity: the Government in Kalistan was firmly in the hand of fascists, and the ancient Brethrenists looked to Gaduridos as an opportunity to practice democracy.  Under the leadership of the Clerk of the Gaduri Yearly Meeting, Tina Calderone, the Party gained some local success, but failed in their first electoral bid, due to significant structural barriers designed to prevent new Parties from building political positions and attracting public attention.  When the Brethrenists were essentially locked out of government, the energy for political brethrenism evaporated.  

Calderone noted in 4486 that many of the Brethrenists sought to return to Kalistan, where a new Socialist Party was in the process of reforming, and the political movement dissolved.  Over the next 200 years or so, Brethrenists fanned out across the Nation, and as of 5366, 4% of the population still identified as Brethrenist, but by seventy five years later, Brethrenism had all but vanished in Gaduridos, most likely either through return to Kalistan or being folded into the Luthorian Church.  By 5433, the remaining Brethrenists in Gaduridos were listed as "Other".

But now that the Empire has been restored, there is some interest among Kalistani Brethrenists in relocating and reuniting with their southern kin.  The descendants of that initial experiment have dispersed throughout the rest of the Duchy, but the buildings of the old Pueblo Hermanoisto remains in place, and Kalistan Bretheren have been quietly repurchasing the land to be turned into a Brethrenist retreat of sorts, as well as a place to reignite interest in Brethrenism in the Southern Kingdom.

"We feel that Gaduridos already aligns in many ways with the Faith and Practice of the Kaliburg Yearly Meeting," said Joseph Alonzo, of Sulari.  "From their commitment to peace and neutrality to their continuation of their democratic institutions, Gaduridos looks very attractive to Kalistani Brethrenists right now.  Brethrenism is fairly hegemonic in Kalistan as an expression of faith, and our Rulers have all but explicitly aligned the State with Brethrenist beliefs and practices, but we would obviously like the opportunity to restore our historical connection to Gaduridos, and would like the chance to live in an intentional community which is run along Brethrenist Faith and Practice.  The community itself can be an example to others, but as for evangelism, Brethernists in the Kaliburg Yearly Meeting, at any rate, do not practice that."

Alonzo himself said there is enough interest among Kalistani Brethrenist families to re-settle nearly four dozen families in the Duchy of Cancon, Gaduridos.  "It will be a fairly gargantuan effort to get the place rebuilt, but it will allow us plenty of time to contemplate as we work," said Alonzo.  "We see it as an opportunity to get back to nature and to practice what we spend all day talking about." 

Alonzo said the movement is enlisting skilled workers, agricultural families, carpenters, and tradesmen and women of all kinds, as well as those who can provide general labor.  "This is not a rich people's movement, by any stretch," said Alonzo.  "Everyone who moves to the revitalized Pueblo Hermanoisto will work.  They will be expected to bring their skills and their willingness to learn new ones.  And they will be expected to contribute their time and energy to the improvement of the whole city and to the Duchy of Cancon as well.  We want to meet and get to know our neighbors and let them know that we want to be a part of their larger community.  We want the town to be a thriving and involved part of not only Cancon and Gaduridos, but also an example of a city that works together, lives together in peace, and demonstrates that we can be good stewards of our planet, live and act with integrity, and be truly equals."


Map of Gaduridos which shows the location of the (mostly) abandoned Pueblo Brethrenist in the North of the Island of Vintalli

The Brethrenist Movement to Cancon is a small movement right now, but there seems to be a trend of Kalistanis slowly filtering south more since the passage Union Act in Gaduridos, due to the more open attitude that the Gaduri regime has toward democracy.  "Yes, democracy is part of it," said Alonzo.  "People long for the opportunity to participate in their government, and it's our hope that that ability is more available in Gaduridos than it is here in Kalistan.  Absolutism and Brethrenism is a strange mixture after all.  But I know that the Institution is just that:  Our Empress, for example, is a Convinced Brethrenist.  And our next Empress will be as well, and that tempers the imperious domineering impulse which would consume other rulers.  The title is an institution, and the Empress happens to possess the title, but that is not who she is as a person.  That is what she does as her purpose in life.  But that said, I also would prefer to vote for my leaders, and participate in the government of my city, and I can't honestly find that in Kalistan, even here in Sulari where we supposedly have a City Council, but they exist to do the Lord Mayor's agenda.  So Gaduridos holds that attraction for me as well."

Alonzo expects that Pueblo Hermanoisto will be fully reoccupied by nearly fifty Kalistani Brethrenist families by 5578.  "We are working on restoring the historical meeting house there in town, which was initially built a thousand years ago.  Believe it or not, it was well cared for for most of that time, and has only been vacant for about 100 years.  So, we do need to do some repairs and remodeling.  But when it is done, it will form the center of a vibrant city of by and for the Brethrenists, and will be a wonderful bridge and symbol of hope between Kalistan and Gaduridos."