There was a mysterious new guest in the fief, but for most people, it was just a topic of conversation. In fact, its influence on the civilians was not as great as a new house in a certain area. Especially now, many people were paying attention to the new building on the east side of Knight Street.
The first church in Cecil's fief was finally going to be built.
It took Pastor Wright more than two months to pass the lord's assessment and get the permission to preach on Cecil's land. He was also assigned a piece of land and the materials and personnel needed to build the church. The pastor was obviously very happy. He immediately burst out with great enthusiasm and efficiency, and the small church rose from the ground at an amazing speed. Of course, this had something to do with his skillful skills from moving bricks in the fief for two months.
The newly built church looked simple from the outside. Although it had the necessary spire, small tower, prayer hall, and other facilities of a Church of Holy Light, everything was mainly practical. It did not have the luxurious style of the churches in the central region, but it was still a beautiful new house. The church itself, coupled with the small square in front of it, and the neat brick houses in Knight Street in the background, finally began to take shape. The first neighborhood in the fief could be described as a "modern town" had finally begun to take shape.
Before the church officially opened its door, the lord had specially arranged a small "activation ceremony" for it.
This was a rather rare event in the eyes of the people. It was rare in the past for the bigwigs of the fief to personally come forward and organize an event for the activation of a building.
In other places, the activation of a new facility would not have any specific, solemn ceremony. Usually, there were only some vulgar folk customs. Before the artisan's shop opened, he would break a clay pot filled with ale at the door. On one hand, it was a celebration, and on the other hand, it was actually to use the aroma of ale to inform people that there was a new shop opening here. After the completion of a new church of each church, the clergy and pastor in the church would organize some religious activities. The pastor would preach at the door, give out wheat cakes, and so on. There would be some celebration activities when a horse farm or theater opened by the nobility was completed, but those were balls and cocktail parties for the upper class, and had nothing to do with the civilians.
The "ribbon-cutting" ceremony arranged by Gwen was novel and inexplicable in people's eyes.
However, the civilians of this era would not think too deeply about these things that had nothing to do with their lives. Anyway, the arrangement of the lord was right, and for them, anything new in their territory was something to be happy about — especially when it was a church that could bring convenience to their lives.
A large crowd had gathered in the small square in front of the church. They looked curiously at the still closed church door and the seigneur standing in front of it. Gwen, Heti, and Rebecca were standing there. Next to them was the priest, Mr. Wright, and some soldiers were responsible for maintaining order at the scene.
In order to adapt to the aesthetic and habits of the people of this world, as well as to create a more important "symbolic meaning", Gwen redesigned the so-called "ribbon-cutting" process. He ordered people to tie a symbolic colored knot on the church door, and set a blocking rope on the stairs leading to the door to show that the building was still sealed off. When the sun rose to the highest point, he appeared here and opened the church as the seigneur.
Under countless curious and respectful gazes, Heti took a step forward. Under the enchantment of magic, her soft but loud voice reached everyone's ears. "Today is a day worth celebrating. Mr. Wright, the preacher of the God of Holy Light, has brought the virtue of the Holy Light to everyone. Our seigneur, Duke Gwen Cecil, believes that the way of the Holy Light is beneficial to the territory, so he has approved the construction of this church and personally congratulated you on the fulfillment of the virtue of the Holy Light. Now read the seigneur's decree:
"Upon the application of the preacher of the Holy Light, Gwen Cecil, Seigneur Cecil, has ruled that it is legal and beneficial to spread the way of the Holy Light on this land. He hereby permits the preaching of the preacher, Wright, and permits the establishment of a church."
Then, amidst the confusion of the subjects, who then clapped to join in the fun, Gawain cut the rope that blocked the entrance, and Heidi and Rebecca untied the colorful knots on the church gate.
Wright looked at the whole process of the ceremony with curiosity. He seemed to feel that there was a deeper meaning in the ceremony. However, he was not a "real clergyman" who was good at calculation. As a preacher who was almost kicked out of the central church, he had been preaching the doctrine according to his own understanding and way. So he soon stopped thinking about it. As long as he could preach smoothly, it was a good thing. The seigneur even came to congratulate him, which was even better. As for the matter of "the God of Holy Light needs Gwen Cecil's approval to build a church on this land" … it did not matter. The church was built anyway.
To be honest, Wright even felt that Cecil Domain was more to his taste. In other noble domains, he also needed to seek permission from the local seigneur to preach. Although almost every seigneur would agree, there was no place where it was as formal and serious as Cecil Domain. Rather than allowing the church to develop in their own domain, it was better to say that they took an indifferent attitude. The so-called "seigneur's permission" was just a formality. It was a mutual compromise and respect between the church and the noble forces. But in Cecil Domain, this "permission" was much more formal.
Wright liked this kind of place where the rules were clear because he had seen too many people suffering because of the chaos of rules. Many people would complain that the seigneur made too many rules and made their lives difficult, but few people realized that it was not the rules that made their lives difficult, but the rules that were randomly made, constantly made, and even the seigneur himself did not intend to follow the rules that made their lives difficult.
In this place, such a situation obviously did not exist.
"Everyone who is interested in the way of the Holy Light can come in and have a seat. The preaching hall is very spacious! Those who do not believe in the Holy Light but have some minor illness or injury can also come in. We will provide healing holy water every day! " Wright stood happily on the steps of the church door, his loud voice could be heard throughout the square. "But if you have a serious illness or injury, you have to tell us in advance. The holy water is processed from river water, and its effect is limited. Serious illness still requires healing spells …"
Gwen stood aside and watched the endless stream of people who believed in the Holy Light or were ready to receive holy water walk into the church. Listening to Wright's loud greeting, he could not help but laugh. This was the first time he heard a priest admit that the raw material of the holy water was river water, and reminded that the healing effect of the holy water was not good …
Heidi, on the other hand, stood beside Gawain. She had already seen the deeper meaning of today's ceremony.
After seeing that occasionally there would be people who would thank the lord while walking into the church of the God of Holy Light, she whispered, "Ancestor, are you going to put the theocracy under your control?"
"I actually have no intention of controlling the theocracy, but I don't like to be controlled by the theocracy even more," Gwen said lightly. "The church is a good thing. Theurgy, holy water, holy objects, and war priests are all good things. But if these things have their own system and will, then it is not good."
"Many nobles will be wary of the excessive development of the church, but no one has ever thought of 'restraining' it in this way," Heti said thoughtfully. "Using clear laws to stipulate that all religious activities must be approved by the lord. Using ritualized actions to tell everyone who to listen to when the lord and the gods are together. And in this process, you have also shown the lord's support for the church … Ancestor, your actions are always unexpected."
Gwen shook his head. "It's not that no one has ever thought of using law and force to restrain the church. Heti, I'm not the only smart person. It's just that they don't have the conditions to do so. We are very lucky. The Southern Territory is a land that has been abandoned and regressed for many years. Many things can be built from scratch. Leit is also a 'true believer' who is really obsessed with the way of the Holy Light instead of scheming. So I can lay the foundation. But in the central and northern regions where the church's power is deeply rooted, I can't do so at all. Just as you can see the deep meaning of my actions, those shrewd bishops can also see it. "
Heti was stunned. She had to admit that Gwen understood the matter very well. But she was a little curious. "What would you do if you were in such a place?"
"It's very simple. My fists are bigger than theirs." Gwen smiled. "Sometimes the problem that can't be solved with brains is the simplest. Just use your fists."
Rebecca listened to the discussion between Heidi and Gawain. She didn't understand a single word in the first half, but she understood the last sentence of Gawain's, and she couldn't agree more. "The ancestor is right! Any problem that can be defeated is not a problem! "
Gwen helplessly glanced at Iron Head Doll. "Can't you be more obedient? I've stressed that you should use your brain before your fists! "
Heti was just about to teach her a lesson when Amber came out of nowhere. "She used her brain and found that she didn't have enough brains …"
Before Iron Head Doll could be beaten, Gwen pressed her head with his own hands. "You're itching for a beating if you don't find someone to flirt with every day. What are you doing here? I thought you didn't like places like the Church of the Holy Light? "
"I'm here to watch the show. You let go. Hey, you let go." Amber struggled hard under Gwen's hand. Finally, she simply used Shadow Shift to escape from his clutches. "I'll tell you, actually this priest gives me a good feeling. She's not as annoying as those priests of the Holy Light that I've seen before …"
Gwen knew the half-elf very well. He waited for her to finish before asking, "You should have other things to do besides watching the show, right?"
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