Heavenly Light

Heavenly Light of the Celestial Path
Classification	Asharan
Hegemon	Kharon Vizirov
Founder	Arkhan Vissari
Founded	1590
Headquarters	Jannah, Tovakizar
Members	401 million
Political wing	Celestial Society
Armed wing	Golden Order
Aid organization	Asharan Hands
Other names	Celestial Temple The Path

The Heavenly Light of the Celestial Path, also known as Visarionism is the newest and largest denomination of Celestism and follows the creed of the Heavenly Light. A monotheistic religion originating from Tovakizar, Heavenly Light teaches that there is only one God (Ashar) and Visarion is his messenger and the final prophet. It is the world's largest religion with over 300 million followers, most commonly known as Visarionites, however they refer to themselves as Celestials. Visarionites make up a majority of the population in five countries. Visarionism teaches that God is a merciful, all-powerful, transcendent being that has guided humankind through prophets, revealed scriptures and natural signs. The primary scriptures of Visarionism are the Celestial Word, viewed by Irfanics as the verbatim word of God, and the teachings and normative example of Visarion and his thirteen Apostles.

Visarionism began as a reformist sect of Celestism in 1590 in the Tovak Empire during the Half-Century War, with many of its concepts and traditions deeply rooted in the dominant faith. The prophet, Visarion and his twelve Apostles and their followers spread around the empire despite mounting persecution. By 1610, Visarion and his followers then overthrew the Tovak Empire and established the Third Celestial Hegemony.

The cornerstone to Visarionism is the role of the Eternal Recurrence, in that existence has taken form multiple times and each cycle of life has ended with a great deluge, to be reconstituted by God. Visarionism teaches that humanity as a whole is its own messianic savior, in that it must secure balance by Judgement Day in order to be saved from the Flood. Humanity does so by embracing the revelations of God, living good and pious lives. Visarionites believe that Visiarionism is the complete and universal version of a primordial faith that has been revealed in each cycle by the same prophets and messengers. Visarionism teaches a final judgment with the righteous rewarded earth-bound paradise, a return to immortality, and salvation from the deluge. Religious concepts and practices include the Three Acts of Intercession, which are obligatory acts of worship, and following Celestial law (emet), which touches on virtually every aspect of life and society, from banking and welfare to women and the environment. Sources of heat and light such as fire and the sun are viewed as the embodiment of God’s presence. The cities of Javanrud, Ardakan and Namin are home to the three holiest sites in Visarionism.

First Prophet: Azar, founder of the religion

Second Prophet: Mazdak, slave and rebel leader

Third Prophet: Kishar, seized control of the Tovak Empire

Fourth Prophet: Visarion

Hierachy

Prophet: Universal Spiritual Assembly

Grand Apostles: National Spiritual Assembly

Apostles: Regional Spiritual Assembly

Priest: Local Spiritual Assembly

Rituals

Declaration of Faith

The Celestial Declaration of Faith is recited in prayers and the beginning of every congregation. The declaration consists of four parts, with each part representing one of God's major revelations. Converts to Visarionism must recite the declaration before they can be formally accepted into the religion.

1. "I declare that Ashar is the Almighty; He is all and He is above all."
2. "I declare that all beings are of Ashar's creation - from Ashar they come and to Ashar they return."
3. "I declare that all creations are equal under Ashar"

Prayer

Daily prayer is necessary to remind adherents of the greatness of Ashar. Visarionists must pray once a day, although the ideal time of prayer is disputed between sects. While Orthodox sects argue that noon is the ideal time of prayer as that is when Azar prayed with his followers, Visarionism rejects the concept of an ideal prayer time, believing that people should be able to perform mandatory prayer at any convenient time of the day because Ashar's power does not peak at any point in time.

Prayers must be performed before an altar of God, which are usually set up in homes and must face the east, the direction from which the sun rises.

Truth

Believes that a race of tall, extraterrestrial beings known as the Annunaki came down to the planet to mine gold for their homeworld. The group who came here was led by twelve leaders and six hundred workers. They established their civilization in the modern-day Celestial Hegemony and mined for 150,000 years until a worker's rebellion. After the rebellion was crushed, the Annunaki needed a new workforce and spliced their DNA with those of the native primates to create humans. The humans were enslaved by the Annunaki for thousands of years until two of the 12 Archons, named Ashar and Enki started a rebellion against the other ten. The rebellion won and the ten Archons were imprisoned into ten different planes of torture. Ashar and Enki each laid claim to one of half the planet and formed their civilizations. Ashar's was one of freedom and peace while Enki's was one of oppression and fear. The two civilizations eventually waged war against one another and destroyed themselves,