Heresy in Infernalism

Heresy (Phoenician: 異知, : Yìzhī), in Infernalism, is the corruption of Erudition. This is contrasted sharply with ignorance, which is merely the absence of erudition. Though both similar in their lack of the gnostic knowledge encapsulated by erudition, but whereas ignorance can be easily rectified through conversion and bestowance of correct knowledge, heresy is deceptive in that its adherents advocate and pretend it to be the true path towards erudition. Where ignorance is a largely external occurrence, heresy may take root within Infernalist communities and clergy. It is additionally contagious, capable of spreading its corrosive influence across the body of gnostic knowledge preserved by the Pyrosphere since antiquity, a corruption which jeopardizes the countless centuries of progress put into the faith. As such, it is to be opposed at every turn, censured and eradicated before it may ever take hold in the Pyrospheric consciousness.

Heresy has existed since the start of the religion, first emerging after the apotheosis of Yanshizu when the heresiarch Dihuang attempted to declare himself to be the successor and reincarnation of the prophetess. The utter rejection of these Patriarchalist claims by the Six Infernal Apostles and contemporary eradication of all similar claimants constituted the first formally recognized heresy and consequent eradication in Infernalist history. Heretical movements have been the primary source of dissension and unrest in Infernalist societies throughout history, owing to the tight conflation between politics and religious practice in the faith. There is no unifying characteristic for the various heretical movements which have emerged throughout history beyond their opposition to orthodoxy. They have found support from practically any level of society, whether it be the lowliest of peasantry to the greatest halls of the clergy, either in the Pyrosphere or influenced by those beyond. Antimontanism and dyscephaly found support from both anarchists and rulers alike; Desecrationism birthed itself from the emergent secularism of the orient; Ultramaterialism even propagated across the highest offices of the faith.

In Infernalist orthopraxy, only the Scion may unequivocally pronounce heresies, informed by the belief in her nature as the reincarnation of Yanshizu and thus inheritor of her transcendent erudition. Outright denunciations have been rare in recent times owing to the faith's rigid codification throughout its millennia of existence. Additionally, the irreversibility of such denunciations on account of the principle of prophetic primacy has made such declarations a "last resort" of the faith. Traditionally, denunciations are formalized through edicts issued directly from the Scionic office, for example in the denunciation of Ultramaterialism in the 1810 Edict of Catholic Cognizance. The Prophetic Order for True Thought is the principal organ of the Infernalist ecclesiarchy over matters of persecuting heresy and enforcing orthodoxy as defined by the Scion, possessing extensive powers to pursue heretics and eradicate heretical thoughts across the Pyrosphere and controversially, beyond.

As an extension of the holy duty of spreading correct erudition, all Infernalists must reject heresy and conform to Scionic norm, this repudiation of heresy fought at every front just as erudition is to be advocated at every avenue. Beyond outright rejection of Infernalist orthodoxy, heresy may also arise from the misinterpretation of Infernalism by those not fully knowledgeable in the faith, thus charging Erudites with the duty of correction - resolving misunderstanding and punishing heterodoxy where it appears. Infernalist law, through its enforcement of religious doctrine, can be interpreted as a tool through which heresy is corrected, suppressed, or eradicated on an individual level.