From: Michael Andre-Driussi <mantis@sirius.com>
Subject: Re: (urth) Evidence of Christianity in Urth's past?
Date: Wed, 6 Oct 1999 13:52:00 

Rostrum,

>On Wed, 6 Oct 1999, Michael Andre-Driussi wrote:
>
>> So yes: a form of Christianity played a part in Urth's past, in the
>> teaching and church of the Conciliator (at the very least); and was so long
>> ago that it has been all but forgotten.
>
>I know we've been through this some before, but I was curious in what
>sense you think Christianity played a part in "the teaching and church of
>the Conciliator."

(Where's Jim Jordan =now=?!) <g>

While I'm not about to produce an essay on the spot, I might be able to
answer the question if it were a tad more specific.

Or, better: If you have something to say, go ahead and say it!

We are on the same page, I hope: Canog's THE BOOK OF THE NEW SUN.

A few details chosen at apparent random: Holy Katharine, St. Amand,
Nilamon, Ctesiphon's Cross.  It seems to me that there are only three ways
for these to appear in the text: either the roots of the Commonwealth's
culture go so deep as to remember Christianity (in the same way that the
Apollo Mission photo is retained in the picture gallery); or, the Church of
the Conciliator has recapitulated Christianity (mainly a Greek Orthodox
form) in a sort of parallel evolution (so the Commonwealth's Katharine
isn't Earth's Katharine, she just looks like a twin); or it is all just a
translating error on the part of Gene Wolfe.

FWIW, I doubt that this approaches the answer you want to read, and as we
have gone over this ground before, I have the sense of repeating myself
repeating, still: I have a sense that Severian's Narrative is a
pagano-Christian text, in that it approaches Christianity by way of pagan
elements and traditions.  It recapitulates Christianity along the way (just
as an obscure Jewish sect was transformed by some Greeks and then some
Romans).  This is somewhat similar to Dante's Comedy, but also somewhat
opposite: Dante gathered the suppressed pagan elements into a well
established Christianity; Severian approaches the nebulous Christian
through the established Pagan.

=mantis=



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