The Social Liberal Union

ALEOTTI, COURELLI — Filippo III, Archon of the Church of the Four Corners, ordered on Wednesday the dismissal of 13 Orthodox Dalinist clergymen of the Halmahera Rite, one of the numerous semi-autonomous historically and theologically distinct communities which comprise the Church of the Four Corners. The decision followed an administrative penal process conducted by the Church's Tribunal on Doctrine and Practice, which found the clergymen guilty of “major heresy” and "unlawful syncretic practice" according to a communique published on 10 April by the Serene Archate, the Church's central government structure based in the holy city of Aleotti, Courelli.

The 13 dismissed clergymen were found to have, over the course of many years, made “heretical teachings, statements, and communications” and “persistently disobeyed the lawful instructions of their Eparchal superiors." Although the Church of the Four Corners permits varying doctrine and practice within its numerous autonomous Rites, the Fundamental Law of the Church of the Four Corners outlines several central doctrinal statements which are "definitional to the correct doctrine and practice of the Dalinist faith" and to which all Rites are bound. Among these is the belief that God maintains a "completely transcendental nature, ... exists independent of the created universe ... [and] cannot be compared to any natural entity or phenomenon," as affirmed by the Second Council of Alenta. According to the Serene Archate's communique, the 13 dismissed clergymen had over the course of several years, and often in coordination with one another, promoted the idea that creation itself is a manifestation of God, and thus that God is present in all of creation; this heresy of pantheism is defined as a "major heresy" by the Fundamental Law of the Church.

The conviction was made following an “administrative penal process,” which is a much-abbreviated penal mechanism used in cases in which the evidence is so clear that a full trial is unnecessary. Because Archon Filippo III personally approved the guilty verdict and the penalty of dismissal, it is formally impossible for the decision to be appealed; the clergymen were notified of the decision on 8 April. The Serene Archate's communique explained, “The dismissed individuals were given ample opportunity to defend themselves in the proceedings, and were also given multiple opportunities to submit themselves to the authority of their Eparchal superiors. It was determined that there was no reasonable justification for their actions.” DWR contacted the Eparchy of Halmahera's public relations office, which declined to comment on the case except to state that the Eparchy "recognizes the definitive nature of this decision made in accordance with the Fundamental Law of the Church, rendering it beyond dispute."

The penalty of dismissal from the clerical state prevents the dismissed clergymen from referring to themselves or functioning as a priest, in public or private; dismissed clergymen are stripped of all the rights and privileges of a cleric including the right to receive financial support from the Church. Alongside his dismissal order, the Archon ordered the dismissed clergymen to undertake a life of prayer and penance for breaking their sacramental vows to God as outlined in the Sacrament for the Ordination of Clergy.