Chapter 71: Church of the Sanctuary
After the construction was completed, nearly eighty people sat in the main hall of the church, making it feel a bit crowded.
At the very front sat Nyx and his granddaughter lia, followed by the devout believers who had helped build the church during this ti, as well as the soldiers bought by Corleon.
Cicero, Agamnon, Ando, and George—who had been called back—sat on either side.
Corleon had changed into his red bishop’s robe and stood at the center, behind him the Lord’s Throne, and atop it stood a large cross nearly two n tall.
He held the Holy Scriptures in his hands.
This was the first prayer after the completion of the church.
However, except for Corleon and George, everyone else seed sowhat distracted.
They all knew that today the Lord’s Gospel would descend, and they all looked forward to it.
After finishing the prayer, Corleon closed the Holy Scriptures.
He glanced at the crowd, their eyes filled with anticipation.
He opened his mouth and said, “The Lord has given a revelation: to raise the tabernacle with bricks of ‘fire’ and ‘stone’, and this place shall beco the sanctuary on earth. The Lord’s first Throne has descended here, eternal and everlasting, a sacred sanctuary.”
“It shall not be shaken by wind or rain, nor destroyed by sword or blade.”
“Pilgrims will worship here and listen to the Lord’s teachings.”
“The devout will hear the Gospel of the Heavenly Kingdom, their ailnts will vanish, and they will taste sweetness like honey.”
“The sinners will face judgnt, the purifying fla will burn their souls, and their sins shall dissipate through punishnt.”
He recited this using the power of Divine Word.
As he chanted, the cross behind him began to glow faintly, and the light grew increasingly radiant.
By the ti Corleon finished the final sentence, the holy light illuminated the entire main hall of the church, and everyone was bathed in it.
Tears flowed from George’s eyes.
Agamnon quickly recorded with a feather pen in hand.
Ando felt strange changes within his body and was at a loss.
Cicero closed his eyes.
The poor, the sick, the crippled who had helped build the new church shed tears.
Their ailnts faded away, and they felt as if they were soaking in warm water, enveloped in comfort.
They seed to sll the blissful sweetness that overflowed from the Heavenly Kingdom.
The eyes of the warriors, once twisted in spirit, gradually beca calm.
Smiles appeared on their faces, their tense bodies slowly relaxed, and their minds felt as if sothing had been extracted, leaving them with unprecedented clarity.
Nyx stared intently at Corleon.
He could see that Corleon’s eyes had turned into dazzling gold, and through those eyes, he felt as if he saw a great being, making his heart tremble.
He knew very well that in his youth, when exploring ancient ruins, he had been afflicted with malevolent curses, and had perford nurous rituals that damaged his body.
This had placed a great burden on him physically.
But now, he felt his body becoming lighter—the curses were being purified, and the damage to his body was being healed.
Was this the Gospel of the Lord?
His gaze shifted to the cross behind Corleon, then took in Corleon himself.
He felt as if the holy light emanating from the cross resembled the outstretched hands of the ‘Lord’, sprinkling the Gospel onto the earth.
…
After the Gospel was spread, under the guidance of Corleon and the monks, the believers gradually left the church.
Now that the church was complete, those from Daniels Village were to return, and the refugees needed to go register in a village.
Otherwise, once the registration concluded, if they were still considered refugees, their heads might end up displayed outside the town gates.
As they were being sent off, Agamnon gave each of them a small wooden cross.
Corleon called out to George.
“Your chapel also needs a na,” said Corleon.
“Like the Flower Church?” George asked.
“Yes,” Corleon nodded.
“As the number of believers increases, small chapels will gradually multiply. Perhaps one day, in other towns, new churches will be built. At that ti, each church will need its own na.”
“But wouldn’t that conflict with the Sanctuary?”
“This is the Lord’s Sanctuary, the Holy Church on earth,” Corleon said.
“And the Flower Church is the na of this new church. Just like your chapel, it is a place to spread the Lord’s teachings.”
“We are the Lord’s servants, so as a collective, we should not be nad after any one church.”
“That would be discordant.”
“We should be known as the Lord’s servants under the Holy Church, thus the Lord has given a revelation: we shall use ‘Church of the Sanctuary’ as our shared na.”
As Corleon spoke, Agamnon returned and took out a piece of parchnt to record their conversation.
Nyx, sitting on the bench, looked on with a complicated expression.
He and lia had not been guided out by the monks, as signaled by Corleon.
“I shall take the na of the Church of the Sanctuary, listen to the Lord’s Words, and spread His teachings,” George declared without hesitation.
Corleon nodded, then took out a sealed book and handed it to George.
This book was nearly five tis thicker than the Holy Scriptures.
“This is the Divine Word Manuscript, written by under the Lord’s revelation. You are to recite it devoutly.”
George looked embarrassed—he was illiterate.
“I’ll ask the Daniels family to teach to read,” he said.
“You should learn to read on your own, Brother George,” Corleon said with a smile. “You are the Lord’s monk, and should personally experience the Lord’s teachings.”
“But I don’t know how to read…” George confessed.
Learning results never lie.
Corleon had taught him for a while before, and he had tried learning at the chapel, but so simply could not learn.
From speaking with Yara, he had co to understand that literacy required enlightennt.
“With the Lord’s Gospel, your enlightennt has already been completed. From now on, you will be able to see this world more clearly.”
This ti, the great Gospel cast through Divine Word was initiated by Corleon after ‘consuming’ so power of Faith—he needed a more powerful Divine Word.
Besides the Gospel itself, he had also granted enlightennt to those who had not received it.
“In that case, I shall sing of the Lord’s rcy,” George said joyfully, accepting the Divine Word Manuscript from Corleon.
After finishing with George, Corleon looked toward Nyx, whose eyes were filled with complex emotions.
“Mr. Nyx, how are you feeling?” Corleon asked.
“…I feel very well,” Nyx said after a brief pause.
He was a scholar who had managed the affairs of York Territory for over ten years.
Naturally, he understood Corleon’s intentions.
Corleon had told him that, as a servant of the Lord, he should be literate, and be able to interpret the Holy Scriptures himself.
When Nyx had first heard this, he was already deeply studied in the Scriptures, so he understood Corleon’s point.
But he had changed the topic at that ti.
Not because a priest’s status was far below that of a scholar.
But because he didn’t believe the role of a priest was worthy of him.
As a scholar, he held lofty ideals of seeking truth for the future of humanity.
Even though now he was rely an old man who wanted to raise his granddaughter well, he had not forgotten those past ideals.
He thought back to the first ti he had spoken with Corleon at the Flower Church, and the question he had asked then:
“Can truth exist in a lucid dream?”
At the ti, Corleon had not answered directly.
But now, rembering the dispersal of curses, the enlightennt granted by the Gospel, and what he had ‘seen’—
Nyx’s body relaxed.
“The Lord’s Gospel has healed my body. I can feel that the curses I suffered in my youth have all been dispelled,” he said.
“This is the rcy the Lord has poured upon , and I must be grateful.”
“Therefore, I humbly ask the priest to let beco a mber of the Church of the Sanctuary, to serve the Lord devoutly.”
At the very least, as a scholar, he ought to try and see whether this was a path that could call forth truth.
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