BackgroundApr 30, 20214 min read

Military Orders Sectorial Army

Gutier Lusquiños

The Military Orders, religious-military groups, were a phenomenon of the Middle Ages that has surprisingly resurfaced in the present time with a force comparable to that of its heyday. Bringing additional military strength to the PanOceanian Military Complex and subject to PanOceanian High Command, they have some freedom of military action, which gives the Church greater influence than any other religious organization in PanOceania. But whether working for their country or for the church, members of the Military Orders will complete their duties with great zeal, undeterred before any enemy.

Origins

The reappearance of the Military Orders was due to a conjunction of various factors. The most important of these was the social resurgence of religious organizations in PanOceanian society thanks to their involvement in the Resurrection system and the invaluable support of ALEPH. Of all of the religious organizations, the Church, already unified to face this challenge, was the one that best knew how to exploit the privileged position gained by the support of the AI.

Thanks to this confidence in the Church the Vatican Bank managed to become one of the most powerful in the Human Sphere. The figure of the Pope and the Church had a specific weight in society, and even in international politics, superior to that of other religious representatives. Seeing that all of this was good for the Christian community, Pope John XXV and the Curia decided to dedicate part of their efforts and funds to increasing their share of influence.

For PanOceania, a continuously expanding power, the war machine is a very important part of the gears of power. For that reason, in order for the Church to have a greater presence in decision making, it needed to introduce a wedge within the PanOceanian army. The Curia then began a campaign in favor of the provision of ecclesiastical funds for the Department of Defense, arguing that the Word of God should escort those who risk their lives for their nation.

The Vatican proposal consisted of giving funds for the creation of an army corps which, although subject to the PanOceanian military hierarchy, was formed by active members of the Church. This corps would have, in principle, an auxiliary function until it had proven its worth in the field. Shortly after, a Papal Bull that began: “Pia Matris Ecclesia cura, de fidelium salute requests…” officially made the request for permission for the refounding of a Military Order, eleven centuries after the creation of the first.

Once the proposal was accepted, and in order to comply with the two tendencies present in the Curia, they would found two Orders: the Temple and the Hospital. The rehabilitation of the former Order of the Temple was supported by the most technocratic faction of the Church. Their intention was to center the forces of the Order on the research of military technology, an area that is well known to generate many benefits.

For its part, the Order of the Hospital would receive the support of the most populist faction of the Curia of Cardinals. It was intended that this new incarnation of the Order should be primarily used for military medicine and rescue tasks. With this clearly propagandistic vocation the prestige of the Church would be augmented, while at the same time easing its direct entry into the field of warfare with a patina of humanism.

Little by little, with the passage of time and thanks to the triumphs gained by these two Military Orders, others would be created. Each one of them would dedicate itself to different military-religious aspects and would have different geographic distributions covering as many possible zones throughout PanOceania and its areas of influence.