The Ecclesia Varengia, also known as the Varengist Church or as Varengist Christianity, is a Christian denomination that emerged in the Yotnar Star Cluster. According to the Church’s tradition, it was founded by Jesus Christ in Earth and propagated through the work of the Apostles, and thus it claims succession directly from the Early Church. It follows the teachings of Jesus Christ transmitted through scripture and tradition, worshipping him as the Son of Man, one united fully human and fully divine being who came down from Heaven for the salvation of his creation, which includes Humans, Starfolks, Void Drakens, and species derived from them. Varengist Christianity was greatly influenced by the cultures of Yverde and the wider star cluster during its history, and it eventually came to be the state religion of the Marchian Karnjarikka as well as several other realms, supplanting the various old and archaic faiths held previously.

-History-
The history of the Church within the Yotnar Star Cluster can be traced to the arrival of the Roman Legions into the Yverde and the foundation of the Traianan Republic around 616. The Christians in the Republic thrived and successfully spread their faith as the Traianan authorities were too distracted with matters of war and unrest. However, after seven decades of living peacefully, the Traianans began to enforce the state-sanctioned Vesuvian Faith, and a purge of all other beliefs was initiated by the Bellona Lupercal herself, seeking to curb the influence of foreign usurpers within Traiana. The survivors of Lupercal’s religious purge fled down south, taking refuge in the bustling city of Den Adderwoud. They settled mainly around the city’s various slum districts, stifled by the city’s chaotic dynamics and tensions with the city’s other religions. They would, however, find assistance with the Reformed Church of Den Adderwoud, a Calvinist denomination.

Their activity in Den Adderwoud and elsewhere soon drew the attention of the influential Ordonya Family—relatives of Bellona Lupercal who held significant power in the Traianan Senate. Sympathetic to the Christian refugees and their struggle, Adalfar Ordonjik, the family heir, extended aid to them during his studies in Den Adderwoud. Together with the Reformed Church, Adalfar bought a piece of land in Varengia, in the territory of the Marchian Karnjarikka, from Grand Karnja Gunhild Blutritter herself in 870. Many refugees in the crowded city moved to settle this new land, eventually building their first dedicated cathedral which was named in Adalfar’s honour, despite the fact that he still followed the gods of the Vesuvian Pantheon.

Adalfar died in the Traianan Civil War in 1009. His son, Hedelwulf Ordonjik, was thus named the next heir apparent. Hedelwulf later decided to convert to Varengist Christianity and was baptized into after, soon becoming the Patriarktor of the Ecclesia Varengia. By this point, the Varengist Church was already a distinct Christian denomination, integrating many aspects of Yverde’s culture through its history. This new era saw a wave of expansion, converting many residents of Varengia and surrounding regions. The Varengist Church eventually grew to be the majority belief in the Sandrika region, displacing the Pantheon of the Thirteen.

In 1178, the Marchian Karnjarikka saw the beginning of a new crisis after Grand Karnja Gunhild abdicated from her throne. As part of the Marchian ruling class, Patriarktor Hedelwulf called for immediate reforms to the increasingly fractured government of Marchia, but his concerns were mostly snubbed. He later proclaimed himself the Great Heretog of Varengia. Finding an opportunity, he marched his armies against the neighbouring fiefdoms and commissioned the construction of several warships from Den Adderwoud with help from the Varengist Church’s connections there. During his wave of aggressive expansion, many faithful priests and laymen of the Varengist Church around Yverde came to Varengia to bolster Hedelwulf’s military. Great Heretog Hedelwulf and Grand Karnja Gunnrad later entered a “secret alliance”, despite the former insulting and criticizing the latter multiple times in the past for letting the power-hungry Great Heretog Asmund Asgernosen gain control over several critical aspects of the Marchian Karnjarikka’s government. The two formed the Restorationist faction, seeking to curb the many ursupers and challengers for Marchia’s throne.

The Second Marchian War of Succession erupted into a widespread violent struggle in 1362. The armies of Grand Karnja Gunnrad and Great Heretog Hedelwulf engaged in battle against the ursupers led by Great Heretog Asmund, who fielded the largest and most powerful army among the various factions of the War. The situation became dire when Great Heretog Asmund defeated and killed Grand Karnja Gunnrad in a duel inside the Grand Karnja’s fortress in the Capital. However, perhaps anticipating his defeat, the Grand Karnja had already transferred command of the Marchian Army to Marscal Ylva Brynhildr, who took on the title of Hochmarscal. She renewed the alliance with Great Heretog Hedelwulf and she even agreed to convert to the Varengist Church if they emerged victorious against her father, Great Heretog Asmund. According to Ylva, the Son of Man appeared before her in a vision on the eve of the Battle of the Velvet Plain, located in Sandrika. Determined to fight to the bitter end, she led around 140,000 Restorationist soldiers and 20,000 mercenaries from the Rosenberg Guild against her father’s army of 350,000, somehow snatching victory from the jaws of defeat and utterly crushing Asmund’s army. The Restorationist triumph at the Battle of the Velvet Plain is now widely considered a miracle by Varengist Christians.

Hochmarscal Ylva was baptized four months after the Battle of Velvet Plain, which marked the beginning of a string of victories for the Restorationist faction against the various usurpers within the Yotnar star system, including the Siege of Bathlon, which was under the Red Lady’s control. The Red Lady surrendered to Hochmarscal Ylva and Great Heretog Hedelwulf, who spared her and allowed her to continue ruling over Bathlon in exchange for her renouncing her claims on the throne and her conversion to Christianity. Hochmarscal Ylva and her army continued to crush any resistance to Marchian rule and challengers to the throne until 1438. That same year, she announced the Marchian Karnjarikka would adopt the Ecclesia Varengia as its official state religion.

Soon after, the Ecclesia Varengia replaced the Pantheon of the Thirteen as the dominant religion among the citizens of Marchia. It also spread its influence to other neighbouring realms through missionary work and military crusades. The Church helped fund Ylva’s Ten-Year Plan in 1446 to restructure and reform the Marchian Karnjarikka after the war, and now forms a cornerstone in Marchian law, culture, education, and science.