Chapter 159: Council of Kufstein

With the Teutonic Order's defeat in Oberstdorf, Berengar's fame had increased exponentially. The fact that he resisted such a massive army and dealt a devastating blow to the Crusaders who invaded Germany at the behest of the Pope to put down the so-called Berengar Heresy had emboldened Berengar's followers.

The town of Suhl and the destruction wrought upon it by the Papacy's forces became a symbol of resistance against Papal Authority. As a result, noblemen and clergy alike flocked to Kufstein to discuss the details of the German Reformation and how to proceed. While Berengar entertained these delegates inside his Great Hall, he merely sat upon his seat of power with his skull chalice in his hands, drinking from wine as he listened to the Noblemen and Clergy squabble over the direction in which this Reformist movement should take.

At the moment, there was a significant figure of the Catholic Church present, and that was the old and wise Cardinal who had tried to mend the divide in the Catholic Church at the meeting of the Council of Constance the year before. After seeing what Simeon and his French counterpart had done to the Catholic Church, the old Cardinal decided to throw his lot in with Berengar. At the moment, he was closely observing Berengar's actions. He was quite shocked to see that Berengar was allowing the discussion to take its course naturally, rather than enforcing his views onto everyone else. 

While the Prince-Bishop of Chur and the Count of Vorarlberg were debating over the degree to which the Church should Separate themselves, Berengar watched calmly as if all his plans were going smoothly. Eventually, the Prince-Bishop of Chur made a bold declaration for the entire Council to hear.

"I will gladly give up my authority over Chur in favor of a like-minded nobleman! The Church should focus on the spiritual affairs of God, and not the mortal affairs of men!"

With this said, a smirk spread across Berengar's lips as he witnessed the scene coming to fruition. A powerful Prince-Bishop would take the lead and dissolve the Church's authority over the Region of Chur, one of his neighbors, in favor of a German-speaking reformist nobleman. It was certainly a bold declaration. Nevertheless, this would be the key to conquering the Swiss Confederacy and incorporating it into his Empire in the future, and as such, Berengar was very pleased.

However, that was a plot for another time; now, he needed to solidify the foundation for his reformation.  Ultimately the topic of the separation of Church and State was practically universally agreed upon by the people in the room, and the reason for the debate was more of a border squabble between Chur and Vorarlberg than it was religious. Thus when the men continued to argue over such irrelevant things Berengar grunted in displeasure which instantly silenced the two parties. After which the subject of the Council moved onto the next point of contention.

The next item on the menu was the question of Clerical celibacy which sparked an enormous debate. After all, there were plenty of sex scandals in the Church, even during the medieval period. However, Berengar knew exactly what maintaining celibacy could lead to and was against such a point. While the people were arguing over which option their reformist movement should take, Berengar spoke up for the first time during the meeting. The moment he did so, everyone stood in silence, listening to his words, which were not his own, but those from the gospel.

"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. Every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. 1 Timothy 4:1-5."

When the room heard these words, they knew exactly what Berengar meant; the gospel states that actions such as celibacy and refusing to eat meat as well as some of the other Catholic practices were against the teachings of the Apostles and Christ Himself. In particular, the old cardinal, who had been waiting for Berengar's input, was shocked when he heard Berengar quote the Bible so perfectly, even memorizing the exact verse. Finally, the old man spoke up as well.

"I agree with Berengar, if we are to take the words of Christ and the Apostles as the basis for the reformation, then prohibiting the marriage of the clergy, and forcing them to take vows of celibacy is against the teachings of Christ and should not be enforced."

Hearing both Berengar, who was at the head of the Reformation, and a high-ranking member of the current Church both agree on the matter, those who doubted the validity of such as concept before now found themselves nodding their heads in approval. For on the topic of spirituality, who could argue with the words of the Gospel?

Berengar nodded at the Cardinal, whom he had been aware was watching him closely this entire time. Truthfully Berengar did not know if the man was an infiltrator of the Papacy or if he was as irritated with the Church's behavior as Berengar was. However, with his endorsement on this matter, he began to suspect the man was genuinely pious and cared more for the teachings of Christ than the power of the Papacy. A trait that was exceptionally rare in a man of his position during this era. 

After concluding that topic, it came down to another important aspect of Christian reformation, which was salvation and how it was achieved. One of the priests present, an elderly man with a lengthy white beard, made his opinion on the matter known.

"Through a life of good works and faith in God is the path in which one enter's the gates of heaven!"

However, another priest was in firm disagreement over this regard and voiced his concern.

"The bible teaches us that it is through faith in Christ alone that one achieves eternal life!"

The two priests began to butt heads, which was a common occurrence in any religious discussion, and as such, Berengar voiced his opinion on the matter

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. - Ephesians 2:8-9"

after saying this, Berengar once more was able to garner the attention of everyone present. As such, he quickly followed his thought.

"It is through the bible, not the traditions of the Catholic church which our reformation should be based upon, and because the bible teaches us that only through faith in Christ shall we enter through the Gates of Heaven, then it must be so!"

Through Berengar's interruption, these two issues were eventually settled into an agreement; through faith, one gains salvation, not action, and the fact that religious truth stems from the bible, not the teachings of the Catholic Church. After giving such information, the final argument for the basis of their reformation came down to the Eucharist, and Berengar personally did not care in the slightest for this issue. As a closet Athiest, how the Reformists viewed the Eucharist or communion as some branches of Christianity referred to it in his previous life had absolutely no bearing on his political authority.

As such, the men present argued among themselves until finally it was agreed upon that the Eucharist represented both the body and blood of Christ, but also the bread and wine. With all of these major points of contention ironed out, the First Council of the German Reformist Church was concluded and though there would be more later in life. The split in the Catholic Church, which had been prevented for so long in this timeline, finally occurred; with the endorsement of the wise Cardinal who formerly sat upon the Council of Constance, German Reformism had come into existence, bringing a further degree of civil strife to Germany as Reformists and Catholics would soon begin to split the already fragile duchies apart.

The wise Cardinal was aware the entire time of what Berengar's plans were. After the meeting was over and the Reformation had been decided, he approached Berengar to talk with him about his plans for the future personally. Seeing the wise old man come to him directly, Berengar felt cautious at first and raised his hand, signaling the old man to maintain his distance.

"Cardinal, is there something I can help you with?" 

The Cardinal smiled amicably at Berengar, though behind his kind smile was a face filled with a degree of wariness similar in level to Berengar; as such, he began to speak to the man who he knew was bound to change the world.

"I must say I am impressed..."

Finding the cryptic message, amusing Berengar decided to take the bait.

"With?"

The man stood several feet away from Berengar, who was currently seated in his position of power. As such, there was ample space to prevent any threat; of course, Berengar's guards were on watch and would have no problem slaying the Cardinal if he made a move on Berengar's life. Luckily for everyone in the room, he had no such intentions.

"In my many years, I have met Kings, and Emperors, and plenty of them. Yet none of them have had the ability to influence the Church as you have. Within a single year, you have climbed from the position of a Lowly Baron's son to that of an influential Count whose arms and armor are sold to every corner of Germany, supplying the factions who vie for the Vacant throne. Yet during this time, you also manage to inspire a schism in the Church, the likes which I fear we have never seen before. Tell me truthfully, Berengar, are you an Angel sent here by God to liberate us from the shackles of the Church's corruption, or are you a Demon whose sole purpose is to benefit from the chaos and destruction that you leave in your wake?"

Berengar studied the man's words carefully; he knew very well that the old Cardinal was not literally asking if he was an Angel or a Demon, but which side his character reflected. Berengar played with lambert's skull for a few moments with his fingers before taking a sip out of its contents. Afterward, he exhaled deeply. After careful consideration, Berengar had decided to tell the old man the truth; after all, he could tell by the way in which he had voiced the question that he had already seen through Berengar's plans.

"Can't I be both?"

The Old cardinal's smile never disappeared, and instead, he turned around and walked away, saying his thoughts on the matter before walking out the door. After all, he had received a satisfying answer to his question.

"Well-played..."