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fifthtrinity2004-06-08 12:46 pm
elf) wrote in fifthtrinity2004-06-08 12:46 pm
Official IRS Questions: History
Form 1023, Schedule A, question 1: Provide a brief history of the development of the organization, including the reasons for its formation.
What it needs to cover (IMHO):
• Religion itself long dormant, as Eris' spirit left mankind; as she has recently returned her attention to us, her church is necessary to guide mankind's spiritual development.
• Erisian Vision to the Polyfather & his sidekick
• History of the Annual Discordian Ritual, which has grown into something of a movement, inspiring other Discordians to hold their own religious services
• General disrespect & discrimination that Erisians face require a central church to advocate on their behalf and explain the tenets of our faith to outsiders.
• Eris told me to make a church.
What I've got so far:
Our faith is an ancient one fnord, dating back to pre-Hellenistic Greece. We follow the will of the Goddess known to the Greeks as Eris, and to the Romans as Discordia. She was known by various titles: as Strife, or Chaos, or Confusion, and several other names. As life cannot exist without struggle, we know her to be among the mightiest of deities.
Eris was acknowledged to be a mighty Goddess, with powers beyond those of Zeus himself; the “King” of the Gods needed her assistance in turning back time to allow for the marriage of Peleus and Thetis. (note: confirm these names. Graves’ Greek gods history.)
(Homerica: (ll. 802-804) Avoid fifth days: they are unkindly and terrible. On a fifth day, they say, the Erinyes assisted at the birth of Horcus (Oath) whom Eris (Strife) bare to trouble the forsworn.
Eris gave birth to Horcus that those who broke their oaths would be punished; she brings to the world a sense of justice, a guarantee of punishment of fraud.
THE CYPRIA (fragments) Fragment 1:
Zeus plans with Themis to bring about the Trojan war. Strife arrives while the gods are feasting at the marriage of Peleus and starts a dispute between Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite as to which of them is fairest.
Insert Doctrine of the Original Snub.
The Erisian faith went dormant after the Trojan War, as Eris withdrew Her attention from our race so that we might develop ourselves. Recently, She has re-focused on us, and Her followers have grown more active, although they were never entirely missing from historical affairs.
[insert Emperor Norton details]
In [year], the Principia Discordia was recorded by Malaclypse the Younger, a Saint living in southern California. He and the other members of the Paratheoanametamystikhood of Eris Esoteric sought to spread the news of the return of Eris Discordia to those who seemed most needful of its message: students, bureaucrats, hippies, neo-Pagans, and others of much ilk.
In the 70’s, Discordianism became a minority religion, mostly followed by counterculture members who’d grown dissatisfied with mainstream faiths. Hidden references to it can be found in many documents of the era: (EXAMPLES, including bits of Leary's stuff, bits of Yippie history, and bits of neopaganism that went public)
When the internet grew past simple email, these isolated followers of Eris found each other, and Discordian ftp sites and later, www sites, proliferated. Several religious discussion groups existed on usenet, before the rise of the world wide web; these include but are not limited to alt.religion.discordia, alt.religion.eris, alt.religion.discordianism. The original Spam Jake Day was coordinated as a national effort on alt.religion.discordia on the date (_________).
However, as many of these Discordians were in college at the time, after they graduated, their sites were deleted; many Erisians lost touch with each other and many great Jakes were left unfinished. It is in part because of the fractured and erratic nature of the ’net that this church is being founded: to create a permanent, central connection point for Discordian outreach and worship, to advocate on behalf of fellow Discordians who often face discrimination for their religious beliefs, and to train neophyte Discordians who wish to minister to each other and their communities.
In recent years, we have held a Liturgy to the Lady Eris through the organization Fellowship of the Spiral Path, and an annual outreach ritual during the multifaith religious convention PantheaCon. The ritual is attended by several dozen people, sometimes as many as a couple hundred, and afterward many of them claim it is one of the most moving and exciting religious services they’ve ever attended.
We have also held small informal worship services, and intend to hold them every other Friday; these will be the main method of introducing new members to the practices of the Church.
Any input? Things I've left out that should be included, specific examples to fill in the blanks? I haven't figured out how to say "Eris told me to make a church" in high legalese.
What it needs to cover (IMHO):
• Religion itself long dormant, as Eris' spirit left mankind; as she has recently returned her attention to us, her church is necessary to guide mankind's spiritual development.
• Erisian Vision to the Polyfather & his sidekick
• History of the Annual Discordian Ritual, which has grown into something of a movement, inspiring other Discordians to hold their own religious services
• General disrespect & discrimination that Erisians face require a central church to advocate on their behalf and explain the tenets of our faith to outsiders.
• Eris told me to make a church.
What I've got so far:
Our faith is an ancient one fnord, dating back to pre-Hellenistic Greece. We follow the will of the Goddess known to the Greeks as Eris, and to the Romans as Discordia. She was known by various titles: as Strife, or Chaos, or Confusion, and several other names. As life cannot exist without struggle, we know her to be among the mightiest of deities.
Eris was acknowledged to be a mighty Goddess, with powers beyond those of Zeus himself; the “King” of the Gods needed her assistance in turning back time to allow for the marriage of Peleus and Thetis. (note: confirm these names. Graves’ Greek gods history.)
(Homerica: (ll. 802-804) Avoid fifth days: they are unkindly and terrible. On a fifth day, they say, the Erinyes assisted at the birth of Horcus (Oath) whom Eris (Strife) bare to trouble the forsworn.
Eris gave birth to Horcus that those who broke their oaths would be punished; she brings to the world a sense of justice, a guarantee of punishment of fraud.
THE CYPRIA (fragments) Fragment 1:
Zeus plans with Themis to bring about the Trojan war. Strife arrives while the gods are feasting at the marriage of Peleus and starts a dispute between Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite as to which of them is fairest.
Insert Doctrine of the Original Snub.
The Erisian faith went dormant after the Trojan War, as Eris withdrew Her attention from our race so that we might develop ourselves. Recently, She has re-focused on us, and Her followers have grown more active, although they were never entirely missing from historical affairs.
[insert Emperor Norton details]
In [year], the Principia Discordia was recorded by Malaclypse the Younger, a Saint living in southern California. He and the other members of the Paratheoanametamystikhood of Eris Esoteric sought to spread the news of the return of Eris Discordia to those who seemed most needful of its message: students, bureaucrats, hippies, neo-Pagans, and others of much ilk.
In the 70’s, Discordianism became a minority religion, mostly followed by counterculture members who’d grown dissatisfied with mainstream faiths. Hidden references to it can be found in many documents of the era: (EXAMPLES, including bits of Leary's stuff, bits of Yippie history, and bits of neopaganism that went public)
When the internet grew past simple email, these isolated followers of Eris found each other, and Discordian ftp sites and later, www sites, proliferated. Several religious discussion groups existed on usenet, before the rise of the world wide web; these include but are not limited to alt.religion.discordia, alt.religion.eris, alt.religion.discordianism. The original Spam Jake Day was coordinated as a national effort on alt.religion.discordia on the date (_________).
However, as many of these Discordians were in college at the time, after they graduated, their sites were deleted; many Erisians lost touch with each other and many great Jakes were left unfinished. It is in part because of the fractured and erratic nature of the ’net that this church is being founded: to create a permanent, central connection point for Discordian outreach and worship, to advocate on behalf of fellow Discordians who often face discrimination for their religious beliefs, and to train neophyte Discordians who wish to minister to each other and their communities.
In recent years, we have held a Liturgy to the Lady Eris through the organization Fellowship of the Spiral Path, and an annual outreach ritual during the multifaith religious convention PantheaCon. The ritual is attended by several dozen people, sometimes as many as a couple hundred, and afterward many of them claim it is one of the most moving and exciting religious services they’ve ever attended.
We have also held small informal worship services, and intend to hold them every other Friday; these will be the main method of introducing new members to the practices of the Church.
Any input? Things I've left out that should be included, specific examples to fill in the blanks? I haven't figured out how to say "Eris told me to make a church" in high legalese.