Sanctism (惺教, Seikyou)? is a fictious religion in Metaphor: ReFantazio.
Overview[]
Sanctism is a monotheistic religion devoted to the worship of a single and "only" God, the Almighty. It has taken majority in the United Kingdom of Euchronia and is the state religion, to the point that the Sanctist hierarchy is deeply intertwined with the country's politics; during the story, the Crown Theocracy is at the center of the country's political affairs. The teachings for Sanctism are nebulous and never properly explained in-game, save for uttering the prayer "closurei" will bring salvation and reach god.
The leader of the religion is the sanctifex, and under him is a senate consisting of four powerful men who hold important positions. The sanctifex governs over all of the members under them, including the senate, and can order the execution of other members for grave misconduct. In the case of the sanctifex dying, the other four senate members have sufficient autonomy to make decisions on their own and can appoint candidates for the Royal Tournament.
Sanctism is both powerful and oppressive in nature. Its senate consists of powerful men like the state army general and its current sanctifex, Forden, is a former advisor of the king, effectively granting it authority exceeding the authority of the royal family. It is also discriminatory towards other religions, such as looking down on the mustari tribe for their knowledge of the World Before and supposed human sacrifices (that the mustari themselves were tricked to do), and declaring the rare elda tribe as being "tainted" and having inherited heretical magic. They also prevent people from even knowing about the World Before and banned the king's Fantasy Novel, which depicts an idealized version of life in the World Before. Several members would even go an extra mile to perform heinous actions, such as Sanctoress Johanna sacrificing children to a Homo Jaluzo under the delusion that it is her child and Sanctifex Forden's pogroms against eldan sanctuaries and his orchestrated power-grab on the throne.
Despite their general corruption, most people are legitimately kept in the dark about the conspiracies orchestrated by the Sanctist elites and believe that they cannot do anything wrong. This is best shown when Sanctoress Joanna confesses to feeding children to her human pet, some people do not believe it at first. Furthermore, the potential threat of Louis establishing a tyranny by winning the Tournament for the Throne forces most people to hide behind Forden for protection, as he is considered the greatest adversary against Louis' potential regime. When the party confronts Forden in the Altabury Heights opera house for his involvement with assassinating the prince, the audience stood on his side. Only with Saintess Rella's final confession do the general populace know the sheer extent of the corruption of its higher-ups.
Courtesy of Forden's assassination in the hands of Louis and Saintess Rella's exposure of Forden's treachery and her subsequent suicide, the Sanctist Church lost a huge portion of its political power during the later stages of the Tournament for the Throne. Near the end of the royal tournament, even the senate itself decided to focus on their own survival for the time being instead of further meddling with political affairs. By the end of the game, Strohl and Brigitta respectively replaced the state army general and Igniter Consortium head's position, effectively allowing Will's party to wrest power from the church.
Sanctism, however, is not innately a bad thing, as the original goal of the religion is to prevent civilization from wiping itself out for a second time. Furthermore, members are mostly left to their own devices rather than following a certain religious discipline, meaning that any corruption or racism within the religion stems from its individual members rather than being ingrained inside the system.
It's unclear if "the Almighty" Sanctism worships exists.
List of members[]
- Aestivum Forden — Former sanctifex, assassinated by Louis Guiabern
- Council Members — Consists of the princes of the Principalities of Montario and Oceana, the state army general, and Igniter Consortium head.
- Ovis Gideaux — Forden's bodyguard
- Albus Batlin — Town crier for the Sanctist Church and announcer for the Tournament of the Throne.
- Sanctoress Joanna Calendula — The sanctoress of Martira, kept a Homo Jaluzo as a pet and fed children to it
- Rella Melancoryphus Cygnus — Former saintess, committed suicide out of guilt for cursing the prince under Forden's blackmailing
Gallery[]