Chapter 543 The Divide of the Heavenly Father's Church
Papal Catalonia, Episcopal Chapel.
"Kerlen VI of the Byrons Kingdom announced last week that he would break away from the Church of Heavenly Father and convert to Protestantism."
An elderly cardinal with a haggard face looked at his colleagues at the table and said slowly and heavily: "This is the ninth king who has announced his renunciation of the Father's religion in the past month...
…”
Bishop Jacob, who had an eagle face, slapped the table and shouted coldly: "The majesty of the Heavenly Father cannot be violated! These apostates must be made to repent in the fire!"
Some people questioned: "Make them repent?! How to do that? The church's army has been severely weakened since the Battle of Holy Acropolis, and it has not recovered to this day. Without the army, how can we arrest those apostates?"
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Someone else sighed: "Not only the army, but also the believers in the Papal State are panicking... Crown Prince Padgett of the secular royal family of the Papal State even stated in public a few days ago that he would let the Protestant elders preside over him.
wedding."
The old cardinal who spoke at the beginning glanced at the talking bishops, and then moved his eyes to the old man beside him: "Yarbrough, what do you think?"
When his name was called, the cardinal just frowned and said nothing.
"Yarbrough, I can understand how you feel. Three years ago, Pope Alexander made a serious mistake. Not only did he define you as a heretic, he also personally ordered your most proud disciple, Tristan, to be burned to death.
... It was a disaster, a nightmare."
Yarbrough's face turned watery and he said calmly: "Bishop Arnold, I can understand all this. Heavenly Father will give the most cruel test to his devout believers. We should accept it with joy and not resent it."
Bishop Arnold shook his head and sighed inaudibly: "No matter how unbearable the past has been, we are all servants of the Heavenly Father after all, and we have the responsibility and obligation to ensure the unshakable position of the Church in people's hearts.
Now, Heavenly Father needs His servants to fight evil, and we need Your wisdom to preserve the Church."
Regarding Arnold's words, Yarbrough did not express his position, but simply asked: "Do you know why Protestantism can attract countless believers in just a few years?"
Someone said: "The ignorance and ignorance of the world!"
Someone else said: "Threats and persecution from the Protestant army!"
Jacob, who looked unkind, stared into Yarbrough's eyes and said with a sneer: "You don't want to say it's because of tithes and indulgences, do you?"
Yarbrough smiled and said, "It's because of the Kingdom of Heaven."
Upon hearing Yarbrough's words, the bishops present exclaimed in surprise.
"Heaven?!"
"The kingdom of heaven that people call the place of judgment and the stairway to heaven?"
"No matter who you are, I heard that as long as you touch a pillar, your soul can enter the kingdom of heaven and visit freely."
"I heard there are angels there who are responsible for judging the souls of the dead!"
…
In the midst of everyone's discussion, Bishop Jacob, who couldn't stand it anymore, burst out in anger: "What kingdom of heaven?! What judgment?! Those are just a cover-up used by the Protestants to deceive peasant women and fools!"
Yarbrough looked at the furious Jacob and said quietly: "If only the common people were deceived, then forget it, but those well-informed kings and scholars also asked to convert to Protestantism after visiting the Kingdom of Heaven.
,Are they also stupid people?"
"Those people are a group of heretics with shaky beliefs!" Jacob waved his arms and shouted with a red face: "They can't see through the devil's tricks because they are ungodly! They are not loyal!"
Arnold waved his hand to interrupt Jacob's yelling and asked Yarbrough: "What do you think about the Kingdom of Heaven proposed by the Protestants?"
Yarbrough replied: "Without personal experience, you have no right to speak. I want to go to Muxi City and witness with my own eyes the so-called Kingdom of Heaven that the Protestants talk about."
"We can't let him go!" Jacob pointed at Yarborough and shouted angrily: "His relationship with Muxi City..."
"Shut up!"
Bishop Arnold's roar stunned Jacob to the point of being stunned.
Because of his anger just now, the elderly Arnold coughed loudly. His face showed fatigue and pain. He patted his heart hard and said: "Yarbrough, if the Protestant Kingdom of Heaven is a scam, how old are you?"
Are you sure you can expose them?"
"I have traveled across the continent, studied alchemy, and been exposed to the science of truth at the Royal Academy." Yarborough nodded and said, "It can be said that no one in the entire church knows those tricks better than me.
"
Arnold nodded vigorously: "Okay, I will arrange a carriage to take you to Muxi City as soon as possible..."
"There is a better way to deal with those Protestant heretics!" Jacob, who could not suppress his anger, looked at Yarbrough with destructive eyes: "Let those demons have a taste of the flames of hell!"
Arnold had a bad feeling: "What are you talking about?!"
Jacob spread his hands and said: "I have organized the financial institutions under the church and purchased a large number of weapons from the Southern Empire..."
Arnold opened his eyes wide and shouted forcefully: "Who gave you the power to use the church's assets?! What's more, as a believer in Heavenly Father, you actually dare to collude with those pagans in the south?!"
Jacob raised his head and said impassionedly: "It is the duty of our servants to eradicate evil and bring peace to the Lord's rule. As for what means and what kind of props are used, these are not important!"
Arnold struggled to stand up from the chair: "You audacious fanatic! This is betrayal..."
Before the old man finished speaking, he was suddenly shocked to find that several more cardinals stood up from their seats and walked to Jacob's side.
"You! What are you doing?!"
Facing Arnold's accusation, a cardinal standing next to Jacob said solemnly: "The church has reached a critical moment of life and death. Any longer sticking to doctrines and scriptures is tantamount to seeking death. Now we can only use everything.
Combating Protestantism with all possible means is the only way for the Church of Heavenly Father to continue."
Another bishop said: "As long as our purpose is pure and our wishes are good, even if the means are radical, the Lord will forgive us!"
Glancing at Arnold who was shaking with anger, and then at the other stunned church members, Jacob shouted loudly: "From today on, those church members who fantasize about using weakness and compromise in exchange for dying, you can stay here
Here, we are watching the demons of Protestantism eroding the glory of the Lord bit by bit; those brave believers who have sacrifices and self-sacrifice, please stand with us, raise the weapons in our hands, and fight together to defend God!"
After saying this, Jacob led a group of bishops and stepped out of the door of the ceremony hall without looking back.
At this point, the Church of Heavenly Father was completely split into two factions - conservatives and radicals.