The Morovian Telegraph

It's hard to know where to begin.

This paper had hoped to do an in-depth appraisal of the various religio-political events in the Kingdom of Hanover, has read many posts by the principals involved, but despairs of getting to the bottom of it all.

And, believe me, "the bottom" is the direction in which the entire sad affair is headed.

In a nutshell...

Sometime around the middle of July of this year, the The Church of Christ in Hanover and all Micronations , under the signature of Archbishop Demitrios , Ecumenical Patriarch of Bergen (posting identity CMcQueeny), posted two Decrees of the Synod : one dealing with church polity, one dealing with theology.

No one wants to gainsay the relevance or significance of the doctrinal and polity issues involved (which seemed to split along traditional Catholic / Protestant tendencies analogous to similar controversies in the Anglican Communion).

Still, like a snowflake triggering an avalanche, this action appears to have released massive amounts of pent up frustrations and hostilities that have more to do with egos and personalities than with questions regarding the number of angels that can dance on the head of a pin or the balance of power between Patriarch and Synod.

Following this posting, a significant number of bishops resigned from the Church and, shortly thereafter, His Eminence Ioannes I, Grand Master of the Most Holy Order of Saint Michael, Bishop of Padren and Treesia (posting identity John Harvey) posted the Order's own decree that no member (whether ordained or lay) of the Church of Hanover and all Micronations could be a member of the Order.

As if all this wasn't enough of a headache for the ecclesial tourist, about this time (or, a week or so later) The Calormen Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Synod/Die Calormen Bekennende Evangelische Lutheraner Synode began, listing the Head of the Church as Prinz Daniel Dreesbach-Gegarian of Calormen and the Presiding Bishop as The Viscount Sir Wyatt-James McIntyre, Arch Bishop of Baden (posting identity wjtmcintyre).

Then, in just the few days between then and now, yet another extraordinary thing happens and the relationship of the Lutheran Synod and the government of Calorman becomes an issue.

In brief, if Prinz Daniel Dreesbach-Gegarian is Head of Church for the Lutheran Synod in Calormen, is the Synod a state church?

Apparently His Royal Highness, Justin, Prince of Emden suspects it certainly looks that way and His Majesty Alexander I of Hanover has posted in Calormen spelling out the precise nature of the relationship between the State and the Synod (the short version being that there is no official relationship though Prinz Dreesbach-Gegarian is free to participate as a private citizen in the Synod or in any other church in whatever capacity may be mutually agreed).

As it is hard to know where to begin, it is hard to know where it all ends.

At least in one significant respect, it ends with the resignation of Sir Wyatt-James McIntyre (effective today unless he can be persuaded to reconsider) from the Kingdom of Hanover.

And Morovia's citizenry can only hope - as they watch developments (if that's the word) in Hanover's religious scene - that it will NOT end by coming home to roost in Morovia. This seemingly unlikely possibility cannot be entirely dismissed considering the significant overlap of citizenships between the two constitutional monarchies - an overlap that is particularly noteworthy in that it includes many of the principals in this controversy, some of whom alerted this paper to the situation in Hanover through their sudden, chilly uber-politeness towards each other on Morovia's boards.

The micronational community watches and waits to see if the Body of Christ, torn asunder in the continuing religious controversies of Hanover, can mend for the good of their nations and for the witness to the Christian gospel each religious body involved claims to promote.

Bill Bekkenhuis
Reporter, The Morovian Telegraph
7/25/2004