The Monachal Creed

Vampire the Requiem - Covenant - Lancea Sanctum

By far the most widely followed creed, the Monachal Creed claims more than half of all Sanctified worldwide as adherents. This creed, which for centuries was the only creed, follows The Sanguineous Catechism in its original and most traditional form, and Monachal ritae are extremely similar to Catholic services in tone and regalia. Religious leaders are generally referred to as Priests, though Bishops, Archbishops and Cardinals also share many of the same responsibilities. In many parishes, rites are still observed in Latin. Common ritae include vampiric analogs to Catholic baptism services, confirmations, and confessional rites. The creed even includes the Last Rites, though they are usually performed not on the Sanctified but on prospective childer prior to the Embrace as the creation Rite. Regular services include a communion ceremony quite similar to that of the Catholic Church, though, naturally, these employ Vitae. Indeed, in a very real sense, many Monachal followers are “more Catholic” than the Catholic Church, since several interpretations of the body of canon predate the reforms of Vatican II.

Tenets of Faith

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The Monachal Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of Heaven and Earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary to redeem Man from Sin through his death and resurrection.
I believe that Longinus, by piercing the Savior’s side as he hung from the Cross, did reveal the divinity of Christ through fulfillment of the prophecies and that, while Longinus was rightly Damned for his blasphemy, his damnation was itself part of God’s Holy Plan.
I believe that those so Damned are the agents of God’s will, chosen to receive the Embrace that we may test the faithful and reveal the divinity within each of them.
I believe that for my sins I am damned to Hell and yet through damnation I may find my purpose in God’s Holy Plan.

SEX, LOVE AND DOGMA

Ironically, The Lancea Sanctum is in many ways more progressive than the mortal religions it parallels. For example, Catholicism requires celibacy from its priests, bars women from any position of influence within the hierarchy, and opposes homosexuality. Generally, The Lancea Sanctum eschews such parochialism. In the covenant’s sacred writings, female vampires are shown to be fully equal to male vampires in both devotion and raw power, and some of the Disciples are believed to have been female. Likewise, issues of sexuality have no place in The Lancea Sanctum, which cares nothing for how one of the Damned goes about seducing his or her vessels. However, while The Lancea Sanctum as a whole is not concerned with mortal gender and orientation issues, individual denominations (and in some cases, individual domains) may have specific teachings that affect their consideration. For example, while the Monachal Creed makes no prohibitions against female or homosexual Priests, or against sexual relations between Priests and mortals (for example, in the course of seducing a vessel), it forbids Priests from engaging in romantic relationships with other vampires. Some of the other creeds have their own unique takes on sexuality, which will be addressed below. As a rule, though, the Sanctified consider themselves to be Damned, and the idea that someone might be “even more Damned” for being gay, or indeed for violating any sexual taboo, strikes most of them as overwrought.

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Type

Religious, Sect

Ruling Organization

The Lancea Sanctum

Parent Organization

The Lancea Sanctum