The Church of Poemander / POEMANDER

In The Beginning…

The faith that grew into the Church of Poemander began with a man named Alexei Ustinov, born in the year 2399 on Mars. The Ustinov family were instrumental to the successful terraforming of Mars in the 2160s – and Alexei, along with his brothers Vadim and Konstantin, intended to take over the reigns of their father’s company, Ecson Futuristics. Although Alexei was the oldest and the only brother with the requisite experience, it was Vadim who became President at Ecson Futuristics, and Konstantin who ultimately became CEO. The reasons for Alexei being overlooked are uncertain, and sources vary. Van Morsentile’s biography of Alexei Ustinov, “Through Silent Steps” suggests that Alexei’s uncommon dedication to religion was considered a distraction by the increasingly-secular family. Historians might point to the 2433 Martian Financial Crisis as reason the family may have sided with Vadim and Konstantin’s more outgoing personalities, as Salo Demmings noted in his account, “Contact: Mars.”

For whatever reason, Alexei was effectively cut out of the family fortune and left to his own projects. Just five years later, in 2438, humanity’s first contact with the Banu had a profound effect on the eldest Ustinov. Alexei withdrew from society for a time, appearing on no public records for a period of two years. A private investigator hired by the Ustinov family finally discovered Alexei on the planet Cassel, in the recently-terraformed Goss System. Somehow, Alexei had accomplished this travel while leaving no travel records, in spite of the UNE’s temporary ban on system during the years of first contact. Alexei had been traveling with an eclectic band of travelers calling themselves ‘Osirians’ – however, disagreements over theology led to him setting out on his own, finally leaving a credit record capable of being traced. Exactly what he was doing among these travelers remains unclear, but late in the year 2440, he rebranded his callsign Poemander, legally changed his name to the same, and his life as ‘Archmagister Poemander’ began.

What Mankind Needed

The figure of Poemander, an entity whose name translates to “Man-Shepherd,” was first mentioned in the Corpus Hermeticum, written by Hermes Trismegistus in the 2nd or 3rd century AD. The blossoming Poemanderan cult rallied around a syncretism of Hermetic, Gnostic and mainstream Catholic thought and, using the tools of “Thrice-Great Hermes,” the cult emphasized a worldview of solipsism and self-transformation. In essence, the core idea behind Poemanderan thought was that all of the universe exists within and for the perceptions of man; that is to say, any sapient life besides that of humans is not truly sapient in the way mankind is, and that all existing things are malleable to the force of human will. While such beliefs may seem strange or regressive to the modern galaxy we live in, there were far stranger religious revivals in the period after first contact – particularly on vast rural planets like Cassel.

The earliest practices of the Poemanderans were carried out in the forested wilderness of Cassel, and strongly resembled the ritual ‘magic’ of Earth’s Hermetic tradition. They believed in spiritual entities called the Emanations, reflections of divine nature that appeared to humanity solely to fulfill needs that humanity lacked. The rituals they performed were intended to draw out the positive Emanations and dispel the negative Emanations. The early Poemanderans even assembled detailed charts and hierarchies of the Emanations, believing the recently-discovered Banu to be an entire race of lower Emanations. It is evident, based on Alexei’s writings of the time, that he developed his cult in direct opposition to the ‘Osirians’ he used to study with. There are, however, few credible records of the Osirian Order or their practices – leading some biographers to conclude that they were a figment of Alexei’s imaginings, or perhaps an aspect of the Church’s doctrine lost to time. The truth may never be known.

The Reformation

As Poemander, Alexei stood at the head of his cult until he fell ill in 2488. Although Alexei’s illness was preventable with proper medical attention, Alexei chose to name his successor and pass on, claiming that the Emanations were calling him. Vitra Markosi, the youngest of the congregation to attain the rank of Adept, was selected as his successor – moreover, Vitra was named his legal beneficiary, despite no family or financial connection to the Ustinov fortune. Thusly, all of Alexei’s wealth passed on to an 18-year-old woman who had never been beyond Cassel, making her a millionaire overnight. This also solidified what became a tradition among the Poemanderans; the name and possessions of Poemander were to be amassed and passed on solely to the member of the cult showing the greatest potential.

And unquestionably, Vitra lived up to her potential. She showed a remarkable gift for leadership and a careful eye for opportunity. With the assistance of financial advisors she converted to the cult, Vitra wisely invested capital back into terraforming ventures, and on her travels she learned to expand the scope of the cult to be more appealing to outsiders. While Vitra protected and sustained the central doctrine of the Emanations and their role in enlightenment, she decisively condemned the notion that Banu were nothing more than lower Emanations. While she could not and would not staunch the cult’s tendency towards xenophobia, she found profitable alliances with some Banu traders by convincing the cultists that Banu were not inherently false creatures.

The discovery and settlement of Terra was the most important development of Vitra’s time as Archmagister, and the establishment of the Poemanderans’ first chapel – fittingly called the First Chapel at Prime – marked the cult’s first step into mainstream legitimacy as a religious movement. The formation of the UPE just three years after was a sign, according to the Poemanderans. It was a sign that Alexei’s vision for humanity was at hand. The promise of the Prime Citizen and a unified humanity spoke so strongly to Alexei’s dream that Vitra had the confidence to pursue formal recognition from the new government. And so, on the very day the United Planets Treaty was signed and the UPE formed, Vitra filed also for the Church of Poemander to be recognized. Interestingly, a Magister by the name of Artemane claimed to have received a vision from the Emanations on the* very same day*. These Emanations told Artemane of great things to come for the human race, and told him that the planet Terra was to be considered ‘Agartha,’ the divine center around which the united whole of humanity shall orbit.

That day of great promise was ever after known as Inheritance Day, for it was the day humanity began to accept the universe it was entitled to. It was the day that the Church of Poemander became what it is today. And in spite of new alien threats in the form of Xi’an, Tavarin and Vanduul, the Church has only built strength on the promise of human expansion. All through the rise and fall of the Messers, the Church remained staunchly loyal to the United Empire of Earth. Today, it is still difficult to find an Adept or Magister who would condemn the cruelty of the Messers, however the Church persists as a positive force in both community development and deep-space exploratory ventures.