Chapter 314: The initiation ceremony must follow tradition

What is the traditional conversion ceremony like?

In Sam's impression.

He paid 40 silver coins and participated in the ceremony of the branch church of the Glorious God in Ceylon. The process was like this:

They had to arrive at the monastery near the church one day in advance, stay in the temporary room provided there for one night, and recite the teachings of the Glorious God before going to bed.

In the early morning, the nuns in the monastery would wake them up and take them to bathe and clean their bodies to show the purity and piety of the flesh.

Then they would change clothes uniformly.

They would change into a tight black robe and wear a black chasuble.

These clothes were temporarily provided by the Glorious God and had to be taken off and returned after the ceremony.

When the first ray of light fell, they prayed devoutly under the leadership of the abbot of the monastery.

At the end, they went to the restaurant of the monastery and ate a pre-prepared communion.

The content of the communion was very simple.

A small piece of bread and a small glass of wine.

Sam didn't quite understand what these steps represented, but he knew that they were also part of the ritual process and had to be carried out meticulously.

If someone made a mistake during the process, everyone would have to start over the next day.

After completing these processes, they needed to remain silent and line up in a neat single line, then set out from the monastery to the church where the actual ceremony was held.

After arriving at the church, the first thing to do was to accept the touch of a branch dipped in holy water on the forehead.

Then, the formal conversion ceremony process was also solemn and sacred.

The priest would first promote the teachings and gospel of the radiance to them.

Everyone praised the radiant god three times in unison.

Until the time came, the church bells rang.

Under the leadership of the priest, they repeated the prayers and offered their faith.

Sam heard that when repeating the prayers and offering faith, the mortals favored by the radiant god and those with a high affinity with him would directly receive the gifts of the gods.

The flesh was reborn and promoted to the extraordinary.

There is no need to grit your teeth and train day after day like a warrior. In just a few breaths, the blessing will make the mortal body strong, the mind clear, the mind firm, and the God-granted Radiant Divine Art.

Such God-chosen people will basically join the Radiant Divine Church after the conversion ceremony and become a new priest in the church.

Whether they take the administrative and business route and stay in the church and monastery to develop;

or take the combat route and receive unified training and practice from the candidate crusaders.

They can make their own choices.

Of course, people like Sam have no chance to make a choice at all.

Because he was not blessed.

Not only him.

The dozen people who participated in the ceremony with him at that time did not get the blessing.

People like him can only be regarded as "believers of the Radiant God".

There is more than one level difference from "members of the Radiant Church".

Those who want to become a member of the Radiant Church are the nuns and servants in the monastery who are no different from slaves.

Even the most ordinary priests must have been blessed by the Radiant God and mastered the Radiant Divine Art.

In this regard, the Church of Knowledge is very unique.

Although the members of the Church of Knowledge are believers of the corresponding gods like the Church of Radiant Light, and have received the blessings of the great gods.

But they will not preach to the outside world.

To be more precise, it should be: they do not develop "believers", but only "church members".

There is no conversion ceremony for believers like the Church of Radiant Light.

The initiation ceremony that Sam was qualified to participate in was equivalent to combining the two things of offering faith and joining the church.

It seemed that they were not worried at all that someone would not receive blessings after offering faith.

It was assumed that everyone would definitely receive the blessings of the God of Knowledge after believing in him.

…

Not only is the target unique, the entire initiation ceremony is very strange.

There is no silent recitation of doctrines, bathing and changing clothes.

Sam also specifically asked the believers of Knowledge in the preaching room.

"When offering faith, are there no other requirements?"

The other party answered very confidently: "Don't worry, there are no additional requirements, just come over!"

"But I personally suggest that you take a shower and change into clean clothes before coming."

"Also, it's best not to eat food with strong odors at night."

"For example, the stinky tofu sold on the roadside of the territory."

Sam said, indicating that he understood this.

"You have to ensure that you are respectful to the gods, right?"

The other party was stunned at first, then shook his head.

"Ah? Oh, no no no!"

"It's not that complicated, it's simply because 50 people will offer their faith at a time now."

"In order to follow tradition, the venue may be a little small."

"If you smell a lot, other people's experience may be very bad."

"I'm afraid that they will beat you to death to vent their anger after you join the church."

Sam was stunned at the time.

He still listened to the advice. On the day of Fire, he almost didn't touch anything for dinner, just ate a few pieces of fruit, and deliberately changed into his cleanest and most complete clothes, which were specially washed in advance.

The time of the ceremony to join the Church of Knowledge was also very strange.

It was not held at sunrise like the Church of the God of Light.

It was held at midnight when the night was thick.

Sam came early and sat on a bench in the Hall of the Path of Knowledge for a long time before the time for the ceremony came.

The seeker who led them to the ceremony site, wearing a black robe that could cover his face, first stuffed a note into each of them.

Sam could only make out the top part:

"Dear—Sam Doug."

"I want to... admire... professionals..."

"……destiny……"

"...Sunday, midnight..."

The rest of the content was unrecognizable to Sam.

He was literate in a limited number of words.

I wanted to ask what was written on it, but seeing that no one around him said anything, Sam was too embarrassed to ask.

Fortunately, the believer who sought knowledge explained to them:

"It doesn't matter if you have any doubts about the ritual process. Please rest assured that these are the traditions of the Church that seeks knowledge."

"Don't think too much, you will understand when the time comes."

Somehow, Sam always felt that the other person's voice was vaguely familiar.

He seemed to have heard it when he was a child?

The specific location of the initiation ceremony surprised Sam even more.

Not the sacred gospel hall or preaching room he had imagined.

Rather, it's more like an...underground wine cellar?

Sam clearly saw the barrels stacked horizontally by the wall, and even smelled the aroma of ale!

It seemed a bit like the kind he drank at Money's Tavern!

It’s still a small one!

The 51 of them squeezed in, and the space in the basement was packed to the brim.

The flat floor of the wine cellar was carved with the appearance of a rune circle, and the magic paint exuded a faint blue fluorescence. However, because there were too many people, Sam could not see the entire circle clearly.

"Welcome everyone, please be prepared and think carefully about whether you really want to join the Church of Knowledge."

A beautiful girl in black robe was sitting cross-legged in the basement. When she saw everyone arriving, she smiled and spoke.

…