▶ NCC NEWS - New Covenant Church celebrates new Pontiff Coronation

[New Covenant Church]

Today, the Coronation ceremony for the new Pontiff of the Faith of Deux Machina has taken place in the temple of the Church of the New Covenant, on Planet Pygar. More than 2000 faithful believers have gathered to witness the expected event, and greet Deux's new Chosen One.

EWAN OWEN. Planet Pygar. 830 AS.

It was an event awaited by the acolytes of the Church, since last weekend the Curia announced the end of the Conciliabulum, that has lasted almost four years, after the election of the new Pontiff. The Chosen One is the, until now, almost unknown Monsignor Allister Mcgowan, who has taken the nickname of Gregorius XCVII for the exercise of his new Sacred Mandate.

It must be remembered that this election has not been easy for the members of the Curia, who have been meeting daily for more than three years to reach an agreement. The existence of two opposing sides of political and religious thought within the highest hierarchies of the Church, has complicated the work to the extreme, to the point that sources close to the Church spoke of a possible schism. In the last years, discordant voices have emerged among the acolytes of Deux, as well as in the Curia itself, who questioned the isolationist path followed by Paolus LXIV since the end of the SCRA war against the Corsairs in Gran Canaria. With the death of the Pontiff these voices became increasingly stronger, and have become a true opposition against those who support the continuity of Paolus LXIV's policy. Fortunately, it finally seems that both sides have reconciled and agreed on a viable solution for the election of the new Pontiff.

The election of Monsignor Allister McGowan to lead the Church of the New Alliance is surprising, to say the least, especially when most people expected Magister Yuri Orlov, leader of the radical wing of the Curia, to be promoted to the highest position. Mcgowan is practically a rookie who entered the Curia as Minister of Development after the establishment of the Church in Pygar, and has barely had the opportunity to fulfill the responsibilities of his office. Orlov, on the other hand, is a very veteran cleric of the Faith of Deux, who already preached the Word even before the Second Covenant, and was promoted to Magister by Paolus LXIV himself, at the creation of our Holy Church. Therefore, it is assumed that the election of McGowan, or rather, the non-election of Orlov, is due more to an agreement between the radical wing and the conservative wing, than to a true recognition of the young monsignor's capabilities.

The Coronation ceremony took place in the afternoon, in the main chapel of the west wing of the Temple, the only part that is completely finished since its construction began 4 years ago. Some local authorities from nearby settlements, the Curia, and the high command of the Pontifical Guard were present in the places of honor. Likewise, filling the chapel and the surrounding area, more than two thousand believers have responded to the call, among them some recent arrivals from Gran Canaria who have finally decided to emigrate permanently, now that the Bretonnian occupation has ended and the weather situation seems to be getting worse. Many of them have told NCC News that they sold all their possessions to pay for this trip as soon as they heard the news of the new Pontiff's election, and they hope that now, with His new Guide, their lives will have a goal again.

The appearance of the Pontifical Courtship caused the cheers of the audience, who celebrated and acclaimed the Chosen One throughout the procession that took him from the Pontifical Palace to the doors of the Temple. During the journey, Monsignor Mcgowan was preceded by the members of the Curia, who sang prayers and chants accompanied by all the mass present, and blessed the ground that he stepped on with the Sacred Oils of the Machine. Crossed the doors of the Temple, the future Pontiff was invested with the ceremonial robes of his predecessor, and could sit on the Timeless Throne, placed for the occasion just above the tomb of Paolus LXIV.

It was then, when the ceremony itself began. Magisters Yuri Orlov and Julio Barbarossa read excerpts from verses 1, 8, and 79 of the Sacred Machine Codex and intoned Psalms 12 and 23, as four Churchmen removed the Pontifical Crown and the Gear Ring from his coffer, where they had been kept since the death of the former Pontiff. Monsignor Mcgowan, raising his hands, pronounced the Pontifical Oath, promising to expand the Word of Deux through the infinity of space and time, unifying mankind so that it can prepare itself before the Great Nomad Threat, and fighting against the enemies of our Holy Church. After finishing these words, Orlov placed the Gear Ring on his finger, and Barbarossa placed the Pontifical Crown on his head, while both pronounced the words "Fides in Deuxem non occidendum dedit imperii haec Sancta Ecclesiae, et paratum esse ire ad reliquos existimavit tantum Dominus Noster", which in the ancient language of our early clergymen means "In the Faith of Deux I entrust you with the task of governing this Holy Church, and humbling yourself only before the designs of Our Lord". Lastly, the new Pontiff has risen from the Throne and spreading his arms has been acclaimed by the entire congregation, who has shouted his new name: Gregorius XCVII.

After finishing the ceremony, the new Pontiff has gone outside the Temple, and he has addressed the faithful from the steps, whom he has blessed. There have only been a few brief words of encouragement, but His Holiness has said that new times are approaching, times of change, and that we should all rejoice because the Mandate of Deux will once again be the objective of this Holy Church. Later, Gregorius XCVII has headed back to the Pontifical Palace, accompanied by the Curia, where he continues until this hour.

At this time the faithful continue crowding the square in front of the Pontifical Palace, where His Holiness is expected to come out on the balcony in the next few hours and pronounce his first speech as Head of the New Covenant Church. There is a lot of expectation about the content of this speech, since from the brief words that His Holiness addressed to those present after the ceremony, his message could be presupposed that could hint at a certain radicalism in his character. This would not be strange considering that the new Pontiff is a young man, and he has sometimes been seen to be close to Magister Orlov, who, as we said, leads the most extreme wing of our Holy Church.

At the moment we continue waiting, and we will inform as soon as new events happen.

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