Brethrenism

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(Archived Posts concerning Brethrenism as Faith and Practice)

First International Meeting of the Society of Brethren begins in Eveari
Brethren from over 20 countries to Join Kalistani-led "Brethren General Council"
Eveari, Ananto
June 4, 2930

Major Conference of International Brethren Opened by Big Names in Kalistani Government

A major international conference of representatives of the Society of the Brethren began this week in the resort town of Eveari, on the Island of Ananto.  The two week conference is aimed at the establishment of connection between all Brethren worldwide and the Kalistani National Meeting, as it is now called.  Brethren also seek to compose, using the ancient method of discernment known as "Brethren Practice", a new code of worship and ethics for the member of the Society of Brethren.  Due to concerted effort within Kalistan, Kalistani Brethren number more than 200,000, with an additional monthly meeting beginning across Kalistan every third month, on average.  Kalistan now holds the greatest concentration of organized Brethren of any country on Terra, due largely to parallel membership and recruiting among Socialists in Kalistan and meeting building by committed Brethren.  Consequently, it is Kalistani Brethren who represent the most dynamic force in the world Brethren movement, and it has therefore been incumbent upon Kalistani Brethrento bring other members together.


Jonas Bennots-Plum, New General Clerk of the Brethren General Council (BGC)

The Meeting began with invited Speeches.  Former Socialist Party Leader Jonas Bennots-Plum and former Kalistani President Delia Smith-Phillips opened the Conference with speeches of welcome to delegations from more than 20 countries with Brethren Populations.  Bennots-Plum emphasized the importance of organizing locally-  Most participants were not members of organized Monthly Meetings.  But Smith-Phillips underscored the importance in the study groups which met occasionally in homes across the world, and pointed out that these Study Groups were the precursors to Monthly Meetings.  Both speakers offered words of encouragement to isolated Brethren.


Former President Smith and Foreign Minister Suarez at Bretheren Conference

The Next Invited Speakers were the current head of the Socialist Party, Hillary Clark, and the Kalistani Foreign Minister, Milena Suarez.  Neither speaker is a member of the Society of Bretheren, but have worked close with Bretheren in the ranks of SPoK.  Clark stressed the importance of the alliance between the Socialist Party of Kalistan and the Society of the Brethren.  She attributed the decision to end the Embargo and stand down from belligerence to Bretheren pressure within the Party organization.  While noting that the two organizations remain separate groups, functionally, the two seem to be natural allies, due to the stress toward social justice, equality, feminism, environmentalism, human rights, and liberty held by both organizations.  She stopped short of offering her Party's resources to promotion of the Society worldwide, and underscored the point with a reminder that the SP is a secular, non-religious Party, and Kalistan is a secular state, but her words of encouragement demonstrate that Kalistan will remain a fertile ground for the development of the Society of Brethren in peace and safety for the foreseeable future.  Suarez reiterated the Opposition Leader's statements on the parallel missions of both the SP and the Bretheren, and publicly committed to the peaceful resolution of Kalistan's outstanding foreign relations matters.  She also pledged Kalistani aid for all Brethren in foreign Nations who sought to relocate to Kalistan as religious refugees.


Speaker for the Opposition Clark, SPoK, Speaking at conference, stops short
of declaring full alliance between SP and Brethren, though highlights parallel mission

Once opening speeches ended, the delegates got down to business.  Their primary task is to write a new Faith and Practice, but before doing so, the gathered Bretheren declared the foundation of a new "Brethren General Council (BGC)" as the international Meeting for Brethren world-wide.  The Brethren General Council supersedes the ancient and defunct "Friends General Council" from which Bennots-Plum drew inspiration when working to found the movement in Kalistan fifteen years ago.  The BGC was immediately offered offices in the KYM building in downtown Kaliburg, and has named Bennots-Plum the first General Clerk of the BGC, Dian Hoffs as the Recording Clerk for the BGC, Delia Smith as the Staff Clerk, and Thomas G. Boxer as the General Treasurer.  Bennots-Plum expressed his gratitude at the appointment, and will clerk the rest of the conference.

New Faith and Practice

Before committees broke out of General Session, Bennots-Plum explained the purpose of the Faith and Practice.  The Faith and Practice for the Bretheren General Council will be a set of statements and Quieries on Brethren faith and practice.  Not a book of rules or a bible, instead, it is meant to provide guidance for Brethren when attempting to address an issue that may rise in meeting.  It is meant, Bennots stated, as a living document, to be amended and aggrandized by Yearly meetings across Terra, with new changes being considered at each subsequent BGC conference, which will be held once every 4 years.

Initial Items to be found in the Faith and Practice include:
Brethren Testimonies-  Brethren hold the following five article of practice-  Integrity and Honesty, Simplicity, Peace, Equality and Social Justice and Stewardship and Community.  Each testimony should also contain Queries meant to invite Brethren to challenge their own commitment to these testimonies.

Meetings-  Brethren Monthly Meetings for Worship are conducted in silence, though Brethren are invited to "Speak out of the silence" if they are led to do so.  Meetings are called to silence and risen from the silence by the Clerk or some other senior member who has the respect of the meeting.  Meetings for Worship, with attention to Business are conducted in much the same way as a regular meeting, however, the Clerk presents a business agenda for the reflection of the community, and minutes are recorded only after discerning the sense of the meeting.  Other meetings (such as meeting for worship with attention to marriage) are conducted in similar fashion.

Brethren Practice-  All Brethren Meetings will be conducted according to Brethren Process, which is a method of discernment of the Truth by the entire meeting.  The Clerk will ensure that all who wish to speak on a topic have the opportunity to speak before anyone who has spoken can speak again.  All decisions will be made by every person present in the Meeting (whether a Member of the Society or not at the time) by allowing anyone with significant objection to a proposed course of action to "stand in the way" of the decision, thereby giving the Meeting cause to pause.  Only those questions which have properly seasoned should be considered, and if there is significant disagreement as to a course of action for the meeting, the meeting will postpone a decision and allow the question to season more.  There should be no voting.

Oaths- Brethren should not swear any oaths, nor are they required to violate their consciences to do their duty to any state.  Nor should they use titles oher than Brother and Sister among equals  (family titles may continue as before), pay tithes, or observe any sort of arbitrary privilege.  All are equal, and should let their yea be their yea and their nay be their nay, without needing to make an additional oath as to the fact.

The Inner Light-  All humans have an inner light which is the still small voice of God talking to them.  People will hear it if they listen for it.  Others can help them hear it by listening to their own light and sharing the message with the friend.  A group of people gathered together may discern the Truth of some matter easier than a single person, though a Truth discerned in private and tested is no less true.  We are all equals in this regard-  we all have that measure of the truth within us, and no person is more important than any other.

The Book-  The Hosian Bible is a book, and where the Bible conflicts the Truth, the Truth must win.  The Truth is more holy than the Book is.  Brethren may use any religious text for discernment that they feel they can derive Truth from, because all holy writers themselves had an equal measure of the Truth in them, and wrote it as they saw it in their holy books.

Hosianism-  While the Brethren were initially convinced that Eliyahu was the son of God, Modern Brethren do not necessarily need to subscribe to the religion of the followers of Eliyahu.  Bretheren believe that Eliyahu, were he alive today, would be a person of considerable virtue, and in that his example is worthy of observation.  But there is no article for salvation among the Brethren, most especially belief in Eliyahu, and certainly not the dogma built after his death in his name.  Whatever individual Brethren think of Eliyahu, the dogma of Hosianism stands between individuals and the Truth, and therefore, Brethren are explicitly non-Hosianism, though they may still follow the moral examples of Eliyahu.  Just as Eliyahu had the spirit of God in him, so too does each other person alive today. 

Non-Hierarchy-  Similarly, there is no hierarchy over any member of the Society of the Brethren, anywhere, which should stand between that Brethren and the Truth.  The BGC is non-hierarchical, and exists specifically to assist individual yearly and monthly meetings as they need assistance, either through sufferings funds for Brethren in need, or counseling or organization services.  Brethren are guided by the Truth, discerned in silence and with the help of other Brethren or other people.  No meeting exerts any more authority over the moral life of any person than he or she exerts over him or herself.  The Meeting may only expel those from the meeting who the meeting deems to be dangerous to the community, and yet, as long as those people seek it, the Meeting still holds even expelled Brethren in their care.

Instruction for Brethren Under Nineteen (BUN)-  Brethren Meetings may establish specific non-religious education opportunities as they are able.  Brethren institutions will adhere to all National curriculum.  Additionally, BUN education may also occur at Meetings, and that education, open and free to all, will be specifically related to Brethren Testimonies and Queries.

Queries-  The Majority of the Faith and Practice will be made up primarily of Queries, designed to give advice on specific topics likely to be encountered by Brethren on a day to day basis.  The focus of these general Queries will be on the testimonies, but all meetings should feel free to add other topics of investigation.

The Conference will provide the initial steps toward a complete Faith and Practice.  Bennots-Plum stated that a final edition will be completed within two years and will be made available across the world for consideration and discernment by Brethren across the world.

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Kalistani Republic
All-Terran Conference of the Society of Brethren organized in Kaliburg
Kalistan takes the lead
March 20, 3973
Kaliburg, Ananto District

Following the death of noted Brother Jonas Bennots-Plum, the All-Kalistan Yearly Meeting, as the Kalistani Yearly Meeting is now called has reorganized the Brethren General Conference, which is centered in Kaliburg.  The new All-Terran Conference of the Society of Brethren has adopted the AKYM's Faith and Practice, and has invited Brethren from around Terra to begin working together. 

The Old BGC Building in Kaliburg, once thought to be a miracle of modern design, has since been surpassed throughout Kalistan and is no longer home to the AKYM. It will continue to serve, however, as Headquarters of the All-Terran Conference of the Society of Brethren

It is currently unknown how many Brethren exist in the world:  It is known that the AKYM has about 33 million members, and several years ago, Kirlawa was said to have 1% of their religious population who are Brethren.  Efforts to work with Kirlawa to bring a closer association between to two Yearly Meetings has not yielded much in the way of cooperation, and sources at the ATC have stated that they are not sure whether any Brethren even exist any longer in Kirlawa, or if they moved to Kalistan.  Additionally, it is believed that some 40 years ago, the Brethren in Trigunia was run out of the country, and it is likely, if this is so, that they did make their way to Kalistan.

The ATC has opened their doors in Kaliburg, and look forward to discovering more about the practice of this religion that is rapidly becoming associated with Kalistan, in other places around Terra.

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New Branch Brethren in Kalistan:
Plain Dress Movement gets "back to the Roots"
Vrassa City, Vrassa
October 28, 4091

As the Society of Brethren begins to contemplate turning 200, an interesting movement is springing forth from some meetings in Kalistan. There is a distinct move toward a rejection of much of the trappings of the modern world, to include modern style and fashion, in favor of older simplistic ways. The movement is called "Plain Dress" and it has attracted a number of subscribers in the last couple decades.

[size=x-slall]Two Brethren subscribers of the Plain Dress Movement, following Vrassa City Monthly Meeting[/size]

To some extent, Plain Dress has long been a part of various Brethrenist Communities in Kalistan. Many of the customs were adopted from Old Branch Brethrenism, which has, for the most part disappeared throughout Terra. "It is not so much about the clothing specifically," Said Society member Thomas Goerig, from Vrassa City. "Instead, it is the message we are sending with the way we dress, and our habits in eating, and the ways we live, which says 'I can't focus on materialism and the Light at the same time. One or the other has to give way, and as a member of the Brethren, I should focus on the Light. Materials tend to distract me." Brother Goerig is one who dresses "plainly" as he and others in the Movement describe it, wearing mostly black and white colors, often a coat, trousers and a hat. Women in the Plain Dress Movement tend to wear colorful dresses, but often they will avoid floral or other prints, and will wear cotton, rather than some of the more easily available fabric types. All cover their heads except when inside the home or the Meeting House, and most tend to live in more rustic homes than their more modern co-religionists. "The simplicity, "said Brother Goerig, "is in line with our testimony. If we live a simple life, it is our hope that we are able to live in accord with our other testimonies as well. We won't waste resources, we won't be obsessed with our things, and so forth. The clothes are therefore just an outward symbol of an inward commitment we have already made."

Many other Brethrenists are not so sure. "I don't mean to put down the ideas of the Plain Dress folks, " Brethren Society member Joanne Quisly said. "Their heart seems to be in the right place, they aren't hurting anyone, and they seem to be following a leading. But their reason for dressing like the guy on the Oatmeal box is because they wish to avoid ostentation and do not wish to draw attention to their clothing. But when they walk into a Meeting in Plain Dress, you bet, everyone looks at them. Everyone is distracted. I saw some kids staring as the Brethren as if they arrived by spacecraft. It is the exact opposite of what they are trying to accomplish. If they want to be humble, it would be smarter, I think to go with a less outdated set of clothing. But whatever. No skin off my teeth, anyway."

Whether the Plain Dress Movement will grow is anyone's guess. Today, less than 1% of Brethren in Kalistan identify with the Movement, but that number is up significantly in the last 5 years. The main concentration of Plain Dress Brethren are in rural parts of Kalistan's western mountains; they are virtually absent on Ananto. We should note: At least one town in Vrassa District and two in Neveras have gone completely Plain Dress. No dress codes have been issued in these three towns, but Brethren on Local Councils and Assemblies in these three villages have generally adopted Plain Dress, as have nearly all Brethren in these cities.

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Updates on the Society of Brethren in Kalistan
Return of the SP heralds resurgence of interest in Society
Kaliburg, Ananto District
October 12, 4405


Brethren meet in one of the dozens of reorganized Monthly Meetings across the Republic

The Brethrenist Faith has a long history of association with the Socialist Party in Kalistan. Though not officially tied, the impetus for the spread and near ubiquity of Brethrenism in Kalistan was due largely to promotion by the Socialist Party in Kalistan. Several of the SP's Leaders, including Presidents and Premiers, came from the Faith. But when the Socialist Party went defunct over 200 years ago, and folded into a more general leftist coalition led by the Labour Party, the Society of Brethren did not fade away. Instead, it continued to plug along, remaining the default faith of Kalistan's religious population. Brethrenism was so ubiquitous in Kalistan that few stories were written about the faith: To be a religious Kalistani was almost assuredly to be a member of the Brethren Society.

But the Socialist Party has been reconstituted now, and seeks to rebuild its old relationship with the Faith that it once promoted and expanded. As the Socialist Party is being reorganized, we will run a series of articles concerning how the Faith has evolved in Kalistan over the past 500 years, and how it continues to evolve into a worldwide movement.

We decided to begin by visiting a Monthly Meeting in Ananto. The Clerk of the Meeting, Friend Joanna Riggs, was an unassuming woman in her mid-50s. Riggs has spent her life teaching primary school at Kaliburg's PS 052. Her specialty is in Math.

KR: Friend Riggs, You have been the Clerk of this meeting for how long now?
Riggs: Oh, probably 4 years now. I'll be termed out in a couple years, but like a lot of Meetings, it was sort of my turn, if you follow.
KR: Are you a Birthright member?
Riggs: Sure. I don't think there are many who would call themselves convinced anymore. I suppose if some young people leave it behind then come back, you know, they would be called "Convinced," but, no, I've been a member all my life.
KR: Given your proclivity for math, how do you square the logical world of that discipline with the sometimes chaotic or incoherent aspects of the mystical part of the Brethren Faith?
Riggs: I would say, there is no contradiction. There are a lot of things that Math and science can't really explain. We could say that the Inner Light is the product of our social upbringing, and all the lessons we were and are daily taught, and if you think of it like this, you're merely remembering what you are supposed to do in a situation, much like remembering how to solve a math problem. It doesn't make sense and then it does. Just like that. I don't find any difference really, in remembering how to solve some logical problem and remembering how to solve a moral one. At the end of the day it is the same.
KR: Has the Faith changed in your lifetime?
Riggs: Oh, perhaps, in some ways some people got lazy. They observe the word but not the spirit. It is hard to live a simple life, for instance, when you are surrounded by such abundance as we see in Kalistan. I think the separation of the state and the Faith before I was born kind of made adherence lax, and it also made us lazy in paying attention to what our government was doing. I hope the restoration of the Socialists will reinvigorate the civic spirit of the Brethren. Though, I would like to make it clear, not all of us are socialists anymore. I myself, for example, voted for the Dems, though I could have voted for the SP. They need to show what they are going to do before some of us change our affiliation.
KR: Thank you for your time.
Riggs: Absolutely.

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reprinted from
The Light- The Journal of The Society of Brethren of the Truth in Kalistan
Kalistani Brethren Set to visit Lourenne
"We have heard the call to Visit the Lourennais"
Sulari, Suldanor
January 12, 4431


Sulari Monthly Meeting agrees to send delegation to Lourenne in December

The Sulari Monthly Meeting, responding to a minute of concern for Lourennais Brethren, have agreed to send members of their local Outreach and Travelling Ministry Committee to visit Lourennais.

Sister Doreen Phillips raised the Concern in the Monthly Meeting with a Concern for Business in May of 4430.

"Why," she began, "have we not heard from our Brothers and Sisters in Lourenne, since this War began? Almost 20 million people in Lourenne are Members of the Society of Brethren. We should have heard loud protests from them against imperialist War, but they have been silent. So I ask this meeting to take up a concern for our Lourenne Brethren. We would like to learn how things are going for them, and perhaps offer them spiritual support and Care as we may, should they require it."

The Meeting was deeply divided over the Minute. Some wanted nothing to do with Lourenne, and argued that if Lourennaise Brethren had gone along with the war silently, they must support it. "They should have stood opposed to it!" said Brother David Frankish.

To which the pro-visit Brethren group responded. Gomer Touelle spoke: "We should have stood against our own Government building their weapons of warfare. The Brethren in Kalistan do not get into politics much anymore, but maybe its time we did. Peace is peace, and to make peace with our enemy, even if he is a degenerate imperialist, is the Brethrenist thing to do. There is the Light of God in all of us, even if our behavior suggests the opposite, as in the case of the Lourennaise."

Gilda Hamilton responded, "Barajas was a Fighting Brethren, and there are a LOT of them in Kalistan. Don't be so quick to suggest that all Brethren viewed that war the same way."

After discussion of the Minute for nearly an hour, the Clerk of the Meeting determined that the Concern needed to season. Meanwhile, several potlucks were held, a new BUN Coordinator for the Meeting was named, and the Concern was nearly forgotten. Spring turned into Summer, and Summer to Fall. But Sister Phillips raised the matter once more at the November Business Meeting.

"Brethren, have we forgotten about The Concern for our Lourennaise Friends?" She asked in out of the silence.

Two Members immediately stood and walked out of the Business Meeting. Phillips continued: "I am led to raise this concern once more. Those Brethren in Lourenne deserve our attention, or at least a visit. This is something we can do, Friends."

Many Members who had been opposed to Phillips' Minute before now sought to avoid a restoration of the Conflict. "Look Comrade Phillips," Art Jenssen began. "I have also considered my opposition to your minute, and it lies primarily in how we would pay for such a voyage. Surely you did not mean that the entire Meeting shall go to Lourenne, so, perhaps you will tell us what you had in mind, and if it is reasonable, I will stand aside."

Phillips assured Jenssen that only a small group of Brethren would go to Lourenne. "It will just be those of us with means. I happen to be well off, so I will volunteer to go. And Chantal, who is one of our traveling ministers, have also said she would come with me. We would request five or six other Members or Attenders here to come along with us, ask the Meeting for a travel letter, and an Anchor Committee, and would leave after New Year." Phillips paused for a moment, and then continued, when it appeared that she had not swayed the opposition. "At least can we have a clearness committee on the matter?"

The Meeting agreed that this would be a good idea and the Committee met the next Sunday, comprised of Jenssen, Hollingsworth, Carrangus-Francisco, and Jackson. At December's Business Meeting, the Clearness Committee reported out that all members of the Travel Group had clearness on whether they wanted to go, and they recommend that the Meeting endorse the voyage.

The Clerk took a Sense of the Meeting, and found that those who objected had decided to stand aside. "I would add to the concern, not only an interest in the well being of our Lourennaise Brethren, but also a concern for our former President." said Phillips, on the heels of the recent news that Barajas had been killed in Statrica. "We should see what we can do about getting the Kalistanis sent back home." The Meeting endorsed the Minute of Concern, and Phillips, Chantal McCleod, and Brethren Guilley, South, Wenchyll, Redd, Smith, and Cotton were endorsed by the Travel Letter to the Lourennais Brethren/ An anchoring Committee and a traveling fund was established.

It is unclear whether Lourenne will let the Sulari Brethren travel to Lourenne. Hopefully they may prevail upon the Foreign Minister to secure transit for them via some neutral country, such as Sekowo or Baltusia, so that they do not run afoul of Lourennais Entry Controls. Their fate is in the hands of higher ups now, and they await word of their departure.

More to come.

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Kalistani Brethrenists Depart for Telamon
Aim to restore ancient Brethrenist Community in the far north
Kaliburg, Ananto
August 7, 4760


Leaders of 5 new founded Monthly Meetings of the New Branch Brethrenists prepare to emigrate to Telamon

In an important agreement concluded between the All-Terra Conference of Brethrenism, also known as the New Branch, which is centered in Kalistan, and the Government of Telamon, a sizeable group of Kalistani Brethren have agreed to emigrate from Kalistan/Enskal Estatua to Telamon. The organization to which these Brethren belong is known as the Brethrenist Emigration Society. In order to be eligible for membership in the Society, Brethren must be able to support themselves without any assistence from any Government anywhere, may be either birthrite or convinced Brethren, but must go through a clearance with their meeting, and must be officially sent by their respective meetings. Of those who expressed interest, more than 3,000 Kalistanis from all vocational backgrounds met the criteria.

The BES began meeting together in all five districts under a parallel Quarterly Meeting system officially sanctioned by a minute from the Annual Meeting. A requirement was imposed which required the Brethren who hoped to take part in the expedition to live together in community for a year. Any Brother or Sister was free to leave and return to their own monthly meetings. The aim was to ensure that participants understood that when they arrive to Telamon, they will be complete foreigners, and while they will be expected to integrate as much as possible into Telamon society and put aside their Kalistani identity, they will still need to be able to rely upon each other solely during the initial time directly after their arrival.

After a year, the more than 3000 applicants were whittled down to just under 1500. All Brethren were cleared to depart by their Meetings, each of whom offered them traveling letters to any Brethren meetings they would find in Telamon, just in case. The Brethren emigres then said farewell to the members of their family who were remaining in Kalistan, and boarded several chartered aircraft bound for Telamon. Their personal belongings would follow in a Cargo ship dispatched from Port Davon several days prior and would be there waiting for them when they arrived.

The Brethren made it safely to Telamon, where they were greeted warmly by Telamonese representatives who delivered statements welcoming the Kalistanis, and thanking Kalistan for allowing the departure of these Brethren, who will add to the diversity of the Telamonese population.

All reports demonstrate that the Brethren who arrived in Telamon have been settled for more than a month now, and are beginning to adapt their daily routines to the new reality they have chosen to accept. There is no official word on nationalization, and as each Brethren has surrendered their Kalistani passports, they are listed officially as stateless.

But Brethren being Brethren, the monthly meetings developed two general Quarterly Meeting, and one Annual meeting called the "Telamonese Yearly Meeting for Worship and the Consideration of the Business of the Brethren in Telamon", or more simply the Telamon Yearly Meeting. Monthly meetings have begun attracting new members as well: It is reported that the Brethren in Telamon now just about 1600.

Telamon was chosen specifically because it was the site of a Brethrenist Republic for a few years in the 42nd Century. The Brethrenist Republic aimed at orienting National Policy toward the tenets of Brethrenism. While the goal of this emigration is not to advance political Brethrenism, but to instead to seed Brethrenism in Terra, it is hoped that Telamon will embrace Brethrenism, and permit it to become a more widely practiced faith.

The Government of Kalistan has agreed to keep diplomatic tabs on the emigres, and the Brethren will continue to receive institutional and religious support from the ATC.

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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."

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Imperial Brethrenism
Ancient Faith offers paradox among trappings of Empire
Eveari, Grand Duchy of Ananto
January 21, 5586


Ground floor of Eveari Monthly Meeting House, Eveari

How does a faith that talks about simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality, and stewardship continue to thrive in a nation like Kalistan?  Brethrenism is more than 1650 years old in Kalistan and throughout that time, has been the dominant confession of faith, first in the Republic of Kalistan and now in the Empire of Ananto and Kalistan, one of the three constituent nations in the Anantonese Empire.  While not spreading too far outside of Kalistan, for various reasons, it is still believed that about 3 out of 4 Kalistanis are members of a Brethrenist Monthly Meeting.  This seeming paradox is multiplied when you consider that perhaps one of the most powerful women in the entire world is a devout practitioner of the faith, and comes from a family of devout Brethrenists.

Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Carolina I Ananto is what is known as a "convinced Brethrenist," meaning she was not born into the care of a meeting, but became convinced to join through a process of discernment known as "clearness."  In Her Imperial Majesty's case, as with her mother, the former Empress Pavlina, she herself initiated the process by informing her home Meeting, which in this case, as with all the Anantos, is the Eveari Monthly Meeting, that she desires to become a convinced Brethrenist.  The Meeting then forms a Clearness Committee, made up of 5-6 trusted Friends (attenders or Members of the Meeting) who then had a series of conversations with her.  During the Clearness process, they asked her questions about why she wanted to become a Member of the Society of Brethren.  They also asked other questions like what sort of role the faith would play in her life, what some of her experience were that stand out, how she would contribute to her Meeting, and what led her to choose to become a member.  There is no defined set of questions:  The questions posed were often questions they themselves had been asked or heard asked, but some of them were prompted by answers that Her Imperial Majesty gave previously.

When the Committee decided that they had enough information, they met once more without Her Imperial Majesty and discussed what they learned, what they thought and how they felt about the Clearness Process.  At that point they reported to the Monthly Business Meeting the conclusions of the committee, and they felt that Her Imperial Majesty was clear about her decision to join, that the decision was a response to a leading of hers from God, and that they recommend that the Meeting accept her as a Convinced Friend.  There was a celebration to welcome her to the Community and then the Business Meeting continued as normal. 

Her Imperial Majesty has, as her parents had, asked the Meeting to refer to her as "Friend Carolina" within the Meeting and she routinely refers to others as Friend Johnson or Friend Smith or whatever in response.  The Empress is the only one who uses the appellation of Friend, to maintain the protocol, but to lessen the distance between herself and other members of the Meeting.  It is not incorrect for Brethren to refer to themselves and others in this fashion, it is merely considered old fashioned to do so, but it is something that the Anantos readopted when protocol rules became stricter under Nicolette I.

The Royal Family, due to their commitment to Brethrenism are notoriously conscientious about what they do and say.  It is a rare thing to ever hear an Ananto lie about anything, or take oaths, or swear.  Anantos are themselves notoriously sober people, though Her Imperial Majesty is known to partake in the national product on several occasions--The Brethrenists believe that excessive consumption interrupts people's link to that "still small voice" in their heads which tell them the correct way to live life.  

In addition, Anantos tend to dress extremely conservatively, and do not make ostentatious show of material wealth.  This is quite different from most monarchs, especially those clothed in absolute power in Terra.  The wealth of the House is shown only once in a monarch's reign, at the very beginning, and then is put away, often never to be worn again.  Emperors will wear a wedding band and perhaps a watch, while Empresses will only wear a wedding band, a single pair of earrings, and a pendant on a simple chain if anything at all.  As Empress Nicolette I Ananto once said "People know how wealthy we are--It is a shameful thing for us to flaunt it, especially when so many have so little."

Anantos tend to be driven by a desire and an obligation to serve others.  Most of them are taciturn, only speaking at important and consequential functions.  This is an affect however in public.  In private, like within their Meetings, Anantos are known as gregarious, humorous and friendly, and they love speaking with people about things that have nothing to do with matters of state.  Few know the Emperors and Empresses of Kalistan like the members of the Eveari Meeting who have the opportunity to watch them all grow up, to get to know them and to watch them turn from often unruly children into highly intelligent, extremely serious adults that they are required to be in the role that is set for them.

"We saw (Her Imperial Majesty) grow up from a little one," said Eveari Bretherenist Maurine Collins.  "She was a silly girl, to be completely honest, just an adorable youngster.  When we first welcomed her, she didn't speak a word of Vrassan, and was probably more than a little scared, but she fit right in with the other Friends under Nineteen, and learned a lot of her Vrassan from listening to the things that the other children said.  She would always point at things and ask 'This?' because she wanted the name for the things in her world.  She was such a bright kid, and we all fell in love with her and her Mother when they came with the Emperor, May he Rest in Peace, for the first time to our meeting.  We embraced them immediately and I think it made a great impression on them, to arrive and in the middle of all that chaos, to have a community that they could seek refuge and comfort and care in.  In a lot of ways, that is kind of our role, isn't it.  To take care of that family.  It is a concern we have taken up as a matter of regular order within the Meeting, and we have been so lucky to be where we are."

Her Imperial Majesty and the Prince Consort and their two children attend meeting every single "First Day" or Sunday in regular parlance.  Like clockwork, the family arrives in Eveari on Friday evening, and stays until Sunday Afternoon.  While in Eveari, the Royal family stays at Ananto Estate, which was in the possession of the Late Princess Pavlina until her passing.  It now fully belongs to Her Imperial Majesty, and she still uses the house for State Visits and receptions, besides living there on the weekends.  

"Oh the house is beautiful," said Collins.  "We've been there dozens of times.  Her Imperial Majesty likes to have social gatherings where she will invite the Meeting to come and discuss affairs of the state in a very relaxed environment.  I think in a way we get to kind of act as her barometer for the things the people want and need.  Do people come to the Meeting just to be close to the Empress?  We've had our share of attenders who do that, sure, but they realize after a while that its a mundane thing to see the Empress at our Meeting.  She has even served as Clerk of the Meeting for a couple years back in the late seventies."

Collins' attitude about the mundane aspects of seeing Her Imperial Majesty in the Brethrenist Meeting weekly echoes the comments of most other Brethrenists that were interviewed in Eveari.  "When her Imperial Majesty is the Ananto Estate we see her all the time," said Eveari Attender Allison Dougherty.  "She's come to my house probably a half dozen times, it's not a huge deal.  And when she can't get out of Kaliburg, she attends meeting there at the Yearly Meeting House.  When she's in Sulari, she goes to the Quarterly Meetinghouse there.  When she's in, I don't know, Port Swedes, she can attend meeting there.  It's not a big deal, and people know not to make a huge deal out of the Empress attending meeting, because when she walks through that door, she's just Friend Carolina, and I am Friend Collins.  And that's what it is."

When asked about the blazing contradictions between Brethrenist testimonies of Simplicity, Peace, Integry, Community, Equality and Stewardship, and the raw power and wealth possessed by Her Imperial Majesty, and in fact all of House Ananto, Collins was slightly bemused.  "Her Imperial Majesty lives simply:  I am wearing more jewelry right now that I have ever seen her wear all put together.  She has houses, yes, but much of Ananto Estate is not used:  The Family only keeps a small part of that house open, and the rest of it is either closed up, to be opened to house visitors, or is kind of like a museum to all her ancestors.  Wilson House is the same way:  Most of the House is office or reception area or quarters for all the people who work there on the ground.  Her Imperial Majesty's accommodations are actually rather austere when you really think of it."

Peace?  "Well, I think she does work for peace until she cannot any more.  At any rate, she struggles to avoid war, and many of the things she does is to prevent war from happening to Kalistan." 

Equality?  "Her Imperial Majesty is always the first to put others ahead of her.  I know she has to be forthright and direct, but that is her job, and we cannot fault her for doing what we have asked her to do."

Integrity?  "I don't personally know a more honest person.  Various of our Agencies might need to do dishonest things for a larger purpose, like peace, but if you ask Friend Carolina a question, she will answer it directly.  I have seen her be kind of snippy on occasion, but who among us could do her job with as much grace and patience as she exhibits?"  

And Stewardship?  "We can ask for a no better Steward of our Nation, of our resources, and of our people than The Empress.  She lives those testimonies every single day."

Collins herself was full of praise, but she was not the only one who offered adoring comments about the Empress within the Eveari Meeting.  "She is not perfect of course," said current Clerk of the Meeting Greg Huntsman,  "but who among us are?  And we kind of understand why she might not be perfect and it is an opportunity for us to practice forgiveness."

All in all, something Collins said summed the matter up perfectly:  "Out there she is basically a goddess walking around on Terra.  She utters things and they become real.  In the Meeting, among Friends, she is Friend Carolina, Her Husband is Bill, her kids are Freddie and Little Shelly.  In here, they are a family, just like mine.  In here, she and Bill sit in silence, just like we do, and participate contemplatively in Business, and sing songs when we do the singing program, and participate in discussions on testimonies, and bring quinoa dishes to Potluck, just like I do.  We hold her family in such high esteem, and I feel that other meetings in the nation feel the same.  If I can say we are proud of the fact that our Empress is a Convinced Friend, I will say that:  She's our Friend and we are very proud of her and all that she does."

Brethrenism in Kalistan is an ancient faith, but it is still very much alive.  Most Brethren aren't as committed to the faith as Her Imperial Majesty, nor those who preceded her in Office.  It is a well-known fact that Her Imperial Majesty is a fully Convinced Brethernist, while perhaps 2/3rds of those who count themselves as Brethren are only attenders.  But the young Prince and Princess are themselves born into the Meeting, or "Birthright Friends" as was the Late Fredrick II Ananto.  So it can be assumed that the close connection between the most powerful individuals in Terra and a religion and practice that preaches simplicity, equality and peace will continue for the foreseeable future.