The Tollison Creed
A distinctly American phenomenon, the Tollison Creed was drafted in the 1920s by Virgil “Junior” Tollison, a former Pentecostal minister from the American South Embraced into the Requiem. While Tollison adapted readily enough to vampirism and the faith of The Lancea Sanctum, he rejected both the lassitude of the Westminster Creed and the oppressive ritualism of The Monachal Creed, in part out of theology and in part because of personal bigotries against Catholicism dating back to his mortal life. Instead, Tollison began preaching his own brand of Sanctified faith, one influenced by his Pentecostal heritage.
While Protestantism claims that the Bible is the sole source of religious insight, Pentecostalism claims that individuals may gain personal insight outside the Bible by being “filled with the Holy Spirit.” Some denominations go even further, claiming that one filled with the Holy Spirit can perform miracles such as faith Healing, speaking in tongues, and snake handling or other dangerous feats. Tollison reasoned that if God sent the Holy Spirit to aid the Apostles of Christ in spreading the Gospel, then he must have sent a similar spirit to guide the Damned in their mission, perhaps even the angel Vahishtael.
Initially, the rest of The Lancea Sanctum didn’t even notice Tollison’s small cult, which became known as the “White Sunday Movement” because of the white robes the members wore during services. By the time the Kindred as a whole did become aware of the young movement, parishes of the American Lancea Sanctum were shocked to realize just how quickly it had grown. By 1970, the White Sunday Movement had spread across the American South and Midwest, and The Lancea Sanctum presence in several major cities in the Southwest was primarily made up of “White Robes.” This phenomenal growth was chiefly a result of the denomination’s inclusiveness. In Tollison’s view, the Monachals placed too much emphasis on tradition and academic understanding of the sacred texts, while the Westminsters were simply apostate and venal, and both creeds were hopelessly compromised by their historical connections with imperious dogma. Consequently, he specifically targeted for conversion those vampires who were less educated, less wealthy, and less inclined to respect traditional vampiric authority figures. Tonight, certain domains acknowledge (grudgingly or wholeheartedly) the Tollison Creed as an acceptable denomination of The Lancea Sanctum, though conservative Bishops and Archbishops often still harass White Robes who enter their domains.
As for the Tollison Creed itself, the denomination eschews ritualism even more than the Westminster Creed. In fact, only two ritae are unique to the denomination. The first is Rite of the Serpent, which typically involves restraining a mortal, injecting her with snake venom, and feeding on her as she goes into shock in order to trigger religious visions. The second ritual is known as the Fire Dance, and involves the believers, ecstatic in religious frenzy, leaping through a bonfire to demonstrate their belief that God protects them and will not let them be harmed until their appointed time. (Needless to say, individual believers often find that their faith was not as strong as they had hoped.) Instead of ritae, the Creed focuses on how members should act in their nightly Requiem, primarily relying on The Testament of Longinus as viewed through the lens of Tollison’s conservative interpretation.
Believers are expected to conduct themselves and dress simply, as overt pageantry is a distraction from one’s holy purpose. Longinus’ injunction to feed only on the pure is interpreted to regulate feeding fairly restrictively, and in keeping with the Creed’s arch views regarding sexuality. For example, believers must never feed on a member of the opposite sex, from someone who is intoxicated or on recreational drugs at the time, from a child, or from a married mortal seduced by the vampire. As a practical matter, these restrictions make individual hunting more difficult for believers, which causes them to rely more heavily on group feeding activities. Some critics point out that the increased reliance on fellow believers for Vitae also tends to give the Movement many of the aspects of a cult, though believers vigorously reject this slur on their faith. The denomination also rejects the hierarchy used by the mainstream Lancea Sanctum, as well as the clergylaity dichotomy. Instead, all members of a White Robe congregation are referred to as Brother or Sister, regardless of rank, and those few who achieve the position of Archbishop usually refer to themselves by the more secular title of Prince, instead. Finally, while the Tollison Creed says nothing derogatory about women, homosexuals or minorities, many members of those groups complain of feeling uncomfortable around White Robes, who are primarily straight, white men, usually of conservative, lower-class backgrounds.
While Protestantism claims that the Bible is the sole source of religious insight, Pentecostalism claims that individuals may gain personal insight outside the Bible by being “filled with the Holy Spirit.” Some denominations go even further, claiming that one filled with the Holy Spirit can perform miracles such as faith Healing, speaking in tongues, and snake handling or other dangerous feats. Tollison reasoned that if God sent the Holy Spirit to aid the Apostles of Christ in spreading the Gospel, then he must have sent a similar spirit to guide the Damned in their mission, perhaps even the angel Vahishtael.
Initially, the rest of The Lancea Sanctum didn’t even notice Tollison’s small cult, which became known as the “White Sunday Movement” because of the white robes the members wore during services. By the time the Kindred as a whole did become aware of the young movement, parishes of the American Lancea Sanctum were shocked to realize just how quickly it had grown. By 1970, the White Sunday Movement had spread across the American South and Midwest, and The Lancea Sanctum presence in several major cities in the Southwest was primarily made up of “White Robes.” This phenomenal growth was chiefly a result of the denomination’s inclusiveness. In Tollison’s view, the Monachals placed too much emphasis on tradition and academic understanding of the sacred texts, while the Westminsters were simply apostate and venal, and both creeds were hopelessly compromised by their historical connections with imperious dogma. Consequently, he specifically targeted for conversion those vampires who were less educated, less wealthy, and less inclined to respect traditional vampiric authority figures. Tonight, certain domains acknowledge (grudgingly or wholeheartedly) the Tollison Creed as an acceptable denomination of The Lancea Sanctum, though conservative Bishops and Archbishops often still harass White Robes who enter their domains.
As for the Tollison Creed itself, the denomination eschews ritualism even more than the Westminster Creed. In fact, only two ritae are unique to the denomination. The first is Rite of the Serpent, which typically involves restraining a mortal, injecting her with snake venom, and feeding on her as she goes into shock in order to trigger religious visions. The second ritual is known as the Fire Dance, and involves the believers, ecstatic in religious frenzy, leaping through a bonfire to demonstrate their belief that God protects them and will not let them be harmed until their appointed time. (Needless to say, individual believers often find that their faith was not as strong as they had hoped.) Instead of ritae, the Creed focuses on how members should act in their nightly Requiem, primarily relying on The Testament of Longinus as viewed through the lens of Tollison’s conservative interpretation.
Believers are expected to conduct themselves and dress simply, as overt pageantry is a distraction from one’s holy purpose. Longinus’ injunction to feed only on the pure is interpreted to regulate feeding fairly restrictively, and in keeping with the Creed’s arch views regarding sexuality. For example, believers must never feed on a member of the opposite sex, from someone who is intoxicated or on recreational drugs at the time, from a child, or from a married mortal seduced by the vampire. As a practical matter, these restrictions make individual hunting more difficult for believers, which causes them to rely more heavily on group feeding activities. Some critics point out that the increased reliance on fellow believers for Vitae also tends to give the Movement many of the aspects of a cult, though believers vigorously reject this slur on their faith. The denomination also rejects the hierarchy used by the mainstream Lancea Sanctum, as well as the clergylaity dichotomy. Instead, all members of a White Robe congregation are referred to as Brother or Sister, regardless of rank, and those few who achieve the position of Archbishop usually refer to themselves by the more secular title of Prince, instead. Finally, while the Tollison Creed says nothing derogatory about women, homosexuals or minorities, many members of those groups complain of feeling uncomfortable around White Robes, who are primarily straight, white men, usually of conservative, lower-class backgrounds.
Type
Religious, Sect
Ruling Organization
Parent Organization
Related Traditions
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