Chapter 134 Visiting the Holy Land, the Pope’s Test

After another three months, Aponya and his party finally walked slowly and leisurely to the headquarters of the Holy See of Discipline, St. Gemus.

The current pope of the Discipline Church, Pauper VII, personally led the believers out of the city and walked two kilometers away. He took the initiative to welcome and pay homage to Aponia. If the pope was not too old and his body could not support it, , it is estimated that it can go further.

The name "Poor" was changed by him after he was elected as pope at the age of 65. "Poor" showed people the general direction of the main decisions and measures he wanted to implement after taking office. That is to say, if you want to improve the lives of the poor or reduce the number of poor people, there are naturally six popes named "poor" before the seventh generation.

This can be regarded as a rule, commandment, and custom of the Holy See. Everyone who is elected as a new pope will change their name to a similar one and abandon the name they used before, so as to remind, warn, and Restrain yourself.

Most of the names of discipline pontiffs are: love, justice, light, honor, shepherd, poor... and so on, followed by several lives.

The original meaning of the word Pope is "Dad" or "Father", without the meaning of "Emperor". The full title of the Pope of the Order is: "Bishop of Saint Gemius, Representative of the Order, Servant of the Servants of Aponia, Supreme Priest , Archbishop and Archbishop of the City of St. Gemius..." Because it is too long, even the Holy See of Discipline rarely uses this complete title.

Of course, Poor Man VII heard about the various deeds of Aponia after he came to the world, and also saw the "truth", knowledge and related new canons, new dogmas, and new doctrines passed back by the believers...Through these things, he learned about I still believe in Aponya’s identity, and I think this Aponya is probably real.

Although the new canons and doctrines have not yet been implemented, they have already aroused widespread and enthusiastic discussions among people. After carefully reading and thinking deeply, Pauper VII felt that the "truth" coming from the mouth of "Aponia" should have nothing to do with it. The questions were all good, and some of the knowledge made him suddenly enlightened and enlightened. Occasionally he would be so excited that he couldn't sleep, like a child who got a new toy.

So when he learned that Aponya would be able to visit Saint Germius today, he was quite excited and happy.

Of course, he thought it was a little early to be happy. He had to go and see it in person and visit the shrine before he could confirm the authenticity of Aponia's identity and consider whether to implement new canons and doctrines.

Early in the morning, the Pope deliberately selected a set of quite gorgeous red clothes from his not-so-rich wardrobe. This is also a set of clothes he often wears when attending major occasions.

Poor Man VII is thinner and looks a little weak. His hair has long fallen off, his head is bare, and his beard has turned gray. He has a kind and kind face, like an ordinary retired man. The aristocratic grandfather.

And he is indeed kind and amiable, and he loves his people like his own son. He is one of the few people who treats slaves as human beings. He even proposed the abolition of the slave and aristocratic system in the city of St. Gemius. However, due to various difficulties and timely For various reasons, this proposal has not yet been implemented.

Even for him, it would be difficult for him to implement such measures in a city, even if the city is very special.

If Pope the Poor VII was not a good person in nature, and was not a person with a clear conscience, then he would probably not dare to come to see Aponya, who could see into people's hearts.

It can be said that almost every Pope of the Discipline sect is a good person.

Of course, there are exceptions to everything, so it’s “almost.”

The bishop of the Discipline may be a bad guy, the archbishop may be a bad guy, even the cardinal may be a bad guy, but the pope is generally not.

The cardinals or cardinals have their own forces all over the world, and they have great power. They also believe in different sects of the discipline sect. They are enemies or friends of each other. It can also be understood that they are just like each other. A "king" and a "grand duke" in a sense.

The person who can be jointly elected as the Pope of Discipline by many cardinals must not only have strong leadership skills, but also have an impeccable life record, so that no one can find a trace of stain, and the latter is even worse than the former. more important.

Cardinals can be bad people at heart, but the pope must be a good person, an example for mankind, and a benchmark for human morality.

Because bad people act unscrupulously, and good people are kinder, more merciful, and more reasonable...

If the Discipline Pope was an unscrupulous person, no one would be able to sleep peacefully.

If there is no such good person, then the selection will continue until the cardinals find a good person, a "saint".

Pauper VII went through more than 20 rounds of selection and underwent numerous assessments and investigations. When people finally confirmed that this bishop was really a noble and holy person, he became the pope.

The power of the Pope of Discipline is not great, and his actual jurisdiction is only the Holy Land and everything within the territory of Saint Gemius.

But the Pope also has great power, because he is nominally the servant of the servant of Aponia, and is the well-deserved "first man" in the world. Except for Emperor Alan XIX, no one is more powerful than him. "Lower level", you have to bow to him and give him face when you see him.

Because of this, the actual relationship between the Arans Empire and St. Gemus is not very good, it is only okay on the surface.

In history, there is even a story that Pope Mercy I disliked the king of a small country and said that the king had bad conduct and was not worthy of being a king. As a result, the king was pushed off the throne by the people.

Of course, this is just a legend, and its authenticity needs to be verified, but it can also be seen from this

, the Pope of Discipline has a very high status in people's hearts. Even if he does not have the power to intervene in the government affairs of other countries, he can still influence everything in that country with just one sentence.

At this time of year, it has snowed in St. Germus, the cold wind is howling, and everything is depressed. However, the enthusiasm of the disciples of the commandments has not diminished at all.

From two kilometers away to the city gate of St. Gemius, they were filled with layers of believers.

St. Gemus did not have such a large population, and most of them came from other places after hearing the news.

In the wind and snow, Poor Man VII, wearing a red cotton hat, scarf, and red cotton jacket, stood at the front of the "team", looking into the distance, waiting for the arrival of Aponnia and his party.

His mental state does not look very good, maybe because he has walked too far and is tired, or maybe because he has to deal with too many things recently, has too little rest time, is stressed, and has little sleep.

During this period of time, due to Aponia's relationship, too many believers have come to the city of St. Gemius. When there are more people, there are all kinds of "birds", and things naturally follow.

Putting aside the various incidents of chaos and illegal crimes, the first issue is food and accommodation. In this winter, we can't let the believers who come after hearing the news freeze to death, right?

Fortunately, there was no need for the Pope to speak. Many countries had foreseen this phenomenon in advance, and wisely donated a lot of food and materials to St. Germus. Even the Alans Empire "cut off a large piece of meat." .

Moreover, believers usually bring their own food, otherwise they would not be able to walk such a long distance. The city of St. Gemius is not small, and believers can still live in each other if they squeeze into each other's homes, but they did not appear. Large-scale "collapse" chaos.

Ever since the news of "Apolonia came to the world" spread, and it became more true and more "miraculous", the relations between countries seemed to have become particularly friendly overnight. Different from the past, Even in winter, wars rarely break out. Not only that, people have become kinder and more polite when getting along with each other.

After all, everyone is afraid of the punishment of "gods". Everyone knows the fate of Brunier III, so everyone pretends to be a human being.

Of course, there must be some cases where people are not afraid or believe in evil.

At noon, the heavy snow stopped, and Poor Man VII drank a bowl of steaming mutton soup to warm himself up.

In the afternoon, the weather became much warmer. The sunshine in winter was warm and subtle, like wintersweet blooming in the cold, a touch of green in the ashes. Unfortunately, the cold wind still did not stop.

Until about 15 o'clock, a faint fragrance of flowers wafted from the distance, and the lively crowd suddenly became quiet. The believers seemed to have realized something, and looked up eagerly, feeling extremely excited inside.

Suddenly, the cold wind stopped, the ice and snow melted, everything revived, and flowers bloomed everywhere.

A group of "angels" riding white horses appeared in people's sight, leading a holy "carriage" without horses.

The tape recorder in the "carriage" played a "hymn" that people could hear. The appearance of the "god messengers" was too beautiful to be true. The road that the group walked was filled with cars that were extremely contrary to common sense. Flowers and even various butterflies flying on them.

The scene is not spectacular, but it is very shocking. People seem to have seen the things in the painting come into the world.

For a moment, there was no cheering like a roaring mountain or a tsunami. People were afraid that their "rudeness" would disturb the purity of Aponia and cause the displeasure of the gods.

The white-bearded Pope took off his hat, untied his scarf, took off his coat, pushed away the person supporting him, and then took a few shaky steps forward, as if he wanted to meet him.

Unfortunately, his physical condition was indeed not very good. He almost fell down after taking a few steps and had to stop.

At this moment, a dazzling light fell from the sky and shone on the Pope. His feet were covered with white holy Cecilia flowers.

Poor Man VII felt that his mental and physical state had become much younger and healthier in an instant, but his heart was surprisingly calm and not very excited.

In the distance, Bianca secretly put away the Black Abyss White Flower, feeling terrified. She hadn't used Honkai Power for too long, and she almost lost control of her strength and "strung" the old man to death. Fortunately, she reacted in time and pushed the old man to death. The power of the white flowers was "unloaded" to the ground, and the old man's feet were filled with flowers.

Karen secretly gave her a thumbs up, which meant that the little guy performed very well and exceeded one of the "scripts" prepared in advance.

This scene alone can make Pauper VII the most sacred and special pope in history. His image will leave the strongest mark in history books because he obtained "Aponia" affirmation and blessing.

However, he didn't really care about it.

The Pope took a few steps forward and greeted him. His brisk steps were in sharp contrast to those before the "blessing".

"Lord God Envoy."

The Poor Seven came to Rita's white horse at the front of the team. He put his right hand on his chest and saluted.

"I am the current Pope of Discipline, the Seventh Poverty, and one of the most devout servants of Apponia. Can I meet with the holy Apponia?" the Pope requested.

He speaks "Mandarin" very well, without any accent, and he is not like other elderly people who have unclear articulation and lack of confidence.

Rita dismounted and helped him up. This was not to respect the elderly, nor to value his status, but to respect a kind heart that was stuck in the mud but remained unchanged.

"Human beings are not allowed to have contact with gods. This is right.

A kind of protection for mankind. "Rita declined with a smile.

The Pope nodded slightly, indicating that he understood, but he still said: "I have some doubts and questions in my heart, and I want to get Aponya's teachings. After asking, my body can die, and my soul can There will never be redemption and there will be no regrets.”

The old man is more stubborn and courageous than expected.

Rita was stunned for a moment, as if she was surprised by this, and seemed to have received an "oracle". Then she smiled and said, "Yes, the great Aponia will put away his 'divine power' and meet you."

As soon as he finished speaking, Aponia, wearing a complicated and sacred white dress and a veil, floated out of the "carriage".

The Pope raised his head and was stunned. The image of Aponia was completely different from the belief in his mind.

But it doesn't matter, this may be just one of the "incarnations" of Apoonia. The new teachings say that Apoonia has no specific image, and people can only see the "incarnation" she wants people to have.

"Benevolent Aponia, why are your eyes so dim?" The old man opened his mouth, frightening the believers behind him half to death.

This is somewhat blasphemous.

If he hadn't stood in front of Aponya, some people would have wanted to scold him and ask him to abdicate regardless of his image.

"Because I have seen the struggle of good people, the rampage of bad people, and the end of mankind." Rita recounted with added jealousy, "The world in my eyes is different from yours, and I can see too many essences."

"The end of mankind?" Listening to the "hymn" played in the carriage, the Pope pondered these words carefully.

"Don't be afraid, I will bring salvation." Rita added, "This is the purpose of my coming this time."

Most of these words were not said by Apponia, but Rita's free expression.

"Great and fraternal Aponia, do you love the world or some specific people?" Poor Man VII asked again.

Rita thought for a while and said: "If you love the world, you also love someone."

"Do you really love a specific person?" The Pope's voice seemed a little excited.

"Yes. You don't need to test. I know what you are thinking." Rita paused and then added, "Aponia has no need to lie to humans."

The old man burst into tears with excitement, lowered his head and fell to his knees.

Relatively speaking, it is easier to love abstract people in the world, but it is more difficult to love a specific person, because as long as you are a person, no matter how good you are, you have shortcomings and there are things that make others feel disgusted and annoying.

I feel that a person is very, very good and has no shortcomings at all. Most of the time it is because I don't understand. It is not that easy to tolerate a person's shortcomings, and there are some shortcomings that cannot be tolerated.

A god who can love a specific person is undoubtedly the Aponia in the Pope's mind.

Even though he knew how "narrow" the Apponia in his mind was and how it was incomparable to the real Apponia, he still had to ask.

Because a being who said he would never fall in love with a specific person, even if it was true Aponya, was not what he once believed in.

This kind of "cold-blooded" god is not worthy of human trust.

Even though he knew how ridiculous and stupid his temptation seemed in front of Aponya, he still had to ask.

Because this is his duty as the Pope of Discipline, he is responsible to the believers.

If a god is too lofty and does not even want to fool him, then such a god is not worthy of human trust, because in the eyes of such a god, humans are too "inferior".

One of the most devout believers in Aponia, an old man who seemed humble in his speech, did choose to "blaspheme" because he knew that something was more important than his belief in the gods.

He was also scared, he was confused, and he didn't even know whether what he was doing was right or wrong, but he still decided to do it.

Because he not only loves the world, but also loves certain specific people, and he loves many people.

For example: his old butler Carlos, the magician Carlisle, Ibrahimovic, the gardener in charge of the square garden, Sean, a tailor in the slums, Neve, a sensible little girl who always sells flowers on the pedestrian street to supplement the family income, and her equally sensible brother Jeff…

The phrase "After asking, my body can die, my soul can never be redeemed, and I will not regret it." It is not said casually, nor is it stubborn.

But true faith.

This was also the fate he chose after offending the gods.

He wanted to use his own life to bear the anger of the gods and not let the anger spread to the believers.

Fortunately, Aponya was more kind than he imagined, and he was the Aponya he had always believed in.