Christianity in Eíre

Christianity in GURPS Eíre

GURPS Eíre takes place in an Ireland where St. Patrick never spread the Christian faith. The indigenous religions of Celtic Ireland survived and thrived. Druidry became a dominant religious tradition, with Bards separating from the religious path to become cultural archivists and arbiters.

The Christianity of our timeline shares its origin with the dominant European religion of GURPS Eíre. This religion is not known as Christianity, but is instead referred to by a number of names. The official name of the religious institution that dominates the continent is the Holy Imperial Church of Christ. The Holy Father or Pope is the supreme ruler of both the church and the empire, which are commonly referred to as the Holy Empire. The classic designation among the people of Eíre and Prydaín is "followers of the One God," but they are more commonly known as "god-talkers" for their common practice of open prayer. Druids often refer to them as "papists" in reference to their fealty to the papal throne. Many of those who have fled the continent refer to them as "zealots."

This militant church is of course in no way meant to resemble, refer to, or comment upon the Christian churches, people, or tenets of our timeline. In this theoretical timeline, I sought to represent what the world might become should certain factors come into being. One of these factors - the one of central concern to GURPS Eíre - is the missionary work which, in our timeline, came to define medieval Ireland. There are other factors which differentiate this timeline from our own: for example, on the neighboring island of Prydain (Britain), King Arthur was a historical king who repelled the invading armies of the Holy Empire. On the continent, while the militant church does drive out indigenous peoples and faiths, it also builds a massive educational system for all citizens, and instigates a program of health and hygiene which help the Continent avoid the plagues that beset our history. (As a result of these and other factors, the industrial revolution will come about 200 years earlier than in our timeline.)