In Poul Anderson's The People Of The Wind, although we have been told that Philippe Rochefort is a Jerusalem Catholic, we might be surprised at how sincerely he prays:
" - O all you saints, St. Joan who burned for her people, help me!"
-Poul Anderson, The People Of The Wind IN Anderson, Rise Of The Terran Empire (Riverdale, NY, 2011), pp. 437-662 AT Chapter XV, p. 610.
"Father, show me Your will."
-op. cit, p. 611.
Some of us think that Catholicism combines elements of polytheism and monotheism although Catholics disagree.
Philippe joins an honorable list of Catholics in the Technic History:
Nicholas van Rijn;
Eric Wace;
Admiral Cajal;
Father Axor.
Do any religions familiar to us survive in the later period of the Commonalty?
10 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I think Kossara Vymezal, whom we see in A KNIGHT OF GHOSTS AND SHADOWS, was probably an eastern rite Catholic. She certainly believes and prays much as a Catholic would!
And I emphatically disagree with the weary old wheeze that polytheism can be found in Catholicism!
There was no mention, if I recall correctly, of any religion in "Starfog." But I don't think that was surprising. I don't believe the plot of the story made it necessary for any faith to be mentioned.
Sean
Sean,
I think the Dennitzans sound Orthodox.
Paul.
Sean,
There are also what I think of as the austere, "Bible and blaster" Christians of Aeneas who do not sound Catholic.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Re Kossara Vymezal and the Dennitzans: I thought of that too, that they descend from Eastern Orthodox not in communion with the Pope. But the Dennitzans "feel" more like Catholics to me. Eastern rite Catholics descended from Croats in union with the Holy See?
Yes, I should have recalled the piety of many Aeneans, some of whom might or might not have been Catholics. Lutherans or Methodists, maybe?
Sean
Kaor, Sean!
I believe that the principal language spoken on Dennitza is referred to as Serbic or Serbian, not Croatian or Serbo-Croatian, and the people are described as Orthochristian, not as Jerusalem Catholic or Something Rite Catholic, so, although you are not absolutely proven wrong, my bet is that they are Eastern Orthodox, or at least of a sect which traces its descent to Eastern Orthodoxy. Unless you want to hope that by 3000 A.D. or so, the Catholics and Orthodox have come to an agreement about the filioque and other points of contention; stranger things have happened.
Best Regards,
Nicholas
Nicholas,
I agree.
Paul.
Kaor, Nicholas!
I have to admit your argument is at least a bit more plausible than mine! And I certainly hope the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox will someday reunite.
Sean
Kaor, Paul!
I remembered another character in the Technic stories who was definitely a Catholic: Manuel Felipe Gomez y Palomares, from the colony planet Nuevo Mexico. Ensign Gomez plays a major role in "The Master Key."
Sean
I think the Denizans were Orthodox; Serbs generally are... even if they're atheists! (Someone from Ulster would find the phenomenon familiar). The only real difference between Croats and Serbs is that the former are Catholic and use the Latin alphabet, and the latter are Orthodox and use Cyrillic.
Dear Mr. Stirling,
It was the fact that no mention was made in A KNIGHT OF GHOSTS AND SHADOWS of the Dennitzans using the Cyrillic alphabet which helped to make me think they were eastern rite Catholics. And their political arrangements seemed a bit more "Western" than "Eastern."
Sean
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