Greetings from the Xyphokonic Order and Ordinance. Today, we round out an extensive Period of inquiry with a final round of questions that may be pertinent or interesting to answer. For this selection, I’d like to focus on various membership statuses or religious affiliations, and perhaps include any other loose-end questions or wrap-up questions we didn’t get to beforehand. Without further delay, let’s begin.

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Question: How does someone convert to Xyphoism? Are there specific steps to take?

Answer: By accepting the Xyphoist Philosophy as a divine and sacred Truth for starters. Much like any other faith or philosophy, one must first agree with and put their faith and confidence in the Philosophy to begin converting to it. The key point to note is that all conversions must be voluntary and never forced; of course, if someone were interested enough to follow the Philosophy, they would undoubtedly understand the reasons why this must be a willful conversion—as we’ve gone over this tenet ad nauseam by this point. Regardless, accepting the Philosophy as divine and Sacred Truth is the starting point.

In terms of joining the Ordinance, a more formal process will eventually take place as we work to establish a more physical presence and build Houses of Worship. This upcoming process will include formal declarations of renouncement of any former religious associations with other philosophies or sects, a formal documentation of philosophical and religious affiliation with the Order, proper documentation to joining the Ordinance as a member, and given a designed home House of Worship to hold the original copies of said documentation and registration.

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Question: How religious does a follower of Xyphoist Philosophy have to be to be a member of the Ordinance?

Answer: Truthfully speaking, there isn’t a requirement that one has to be all active in the House operations at all for the most part, but lack of participation may affect standing in the community as a whole, and may also impact access to some of the benefits of being an official member of the Ordinance. It’s important to note that someone doesn’t have to formally register with the Ordinance to pray, practice, or hold faith in the Philosophy at all. Joining the Ordinance is principally for those devote enough that they wish to actively have a part in the Cosmic Struggle. Every group prayer in the House, every member joining in on community efforts and charity work, and every voluntary donation is part of making the ideal and the mission work. We ask of members for their devotion and time to the greater cause of Maintaining the Equilibrium and mitigating worldly suffering than anything else—including prioritizing physical help over asking for donations. It’s the devotion of humanity that makes the difference, not just money.

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Question: Is there a membership fee when joining the Ordinance?

Answer: No. As helpful as that would be to keeping operations up, the answer is no. The temptation to request some kind of upfront payment to allow our own brethren into our Houses to pray is incredibly selfish, and while we recognize that money is unfortunately power in our world, we don’t seek power more than we hope this world sees the Philosophy without having to proselytize it. Once our financial systems are in place, we would greatly appreciate any donations be made directly to the Ordinance for operational means, but we’d actually prefer that donations be directed to the Sacred Hill Project—as that will be the primary vehicle for all our humanitarian efforts. Prayer is free and can be done anywhere at any time, you don’t need a building to pray for the sake of the rest of mortal existence, nor should you expect to pay to pray; the very idea makes us in the Ordinance sick.

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Question: What is a follower of Xyphoism called?

Answer: A Xyphoite, generally speaking, but it actually depends based on various levels of devotion. In the Philosophy, we have a few key identifying terms for how involved a follower is. The technical term of Xyphoite actually refers to followers who have signed the Contract of Zeiga and have become the full designation of Zeigadii Xyphoite. However, official registration with the Order, while not an official Contract of Zeiga, would more or less qualify someone as being considered a Xyphoite but would exclude them from the Zeigadii designation. For followers who are not members of the Ordinance but who generally believe in the Philosophy without being incredibly religious, the term Xyphode is usually applied—and that simply means that someone agrees with the Philosophy but isn’t particularly active in the institutional or organized aspects of the Ordinance. Lack of Ordinance registration may exclude them from some of the benefits that come with being a member, but they most certainly are still allowed in any House of Worship during hours of operation.

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Question: What is the process to becoming a Zeigadii Xyphoite?

Answer: My peer kyX intends to cover this topic and that lengthy path in a future Commentary, so I will once again heel to their plans and not spoil their hard work by giving a more rudimentary explanation of the process instead. It’s first important to understand that the Contract of Zeiga is a Devotional Love Contract that primarily places a Xyphoite on the path of Sacred Spiritualism—casting away the Self and ascending to angel-hood upon Death. This process will fully erase the Self, remove that Self from any further reincarnation, and the remaining spirituality shall join and be one with the Lords’ Will as an Angel and servant to the Lord of the Self’s last previous descending Xyphozon.

The general process to becoming a Zeigadii Xyphoite is to first show that one is devoted enough to the Order to warrant such a Contract—which requires extensive study of the Philosophy and a demonstration of that knowledge from memory and philosophical understanding. Those seeking this status must demonstrate before a council of likewise peers of Zeigadii status that they understand the Philosophy by heart and shall be subject to an ardent round of inquiry on Xyphoist understanding and reasoning. Penning a significant portion of theological essays for submission to the Ordinance for review showing that same demonstration is also an acceptable avenue, and those essays may likely be added into the Halls of Principle that exist in future Zhourghei Temples if they are of particularly high merit and prowess. Finally, in Xyphoist customs, offering a comprehensive speech or lecture on a philosophical aspect of the Philosophy and doctrine in a Hall of Principle before an audience of peers under the loose review of high officials can also be accepted as a means of demonstrating philosophical understanding and confidence in the Philosophy itself.

Afterwards, the final requirement is to actually sign the physical and official document provided by the Ordinance itself—which is the traditional ordained portion of the process as dictated by the Philosophy. In tradition, this was an actual blood contract in which the ink used to sign the full name and stamped finger print was the blood of the one signing the contract. We have made a few select exceptions to old traditions to modernize practices, so signing the Contract of Zeiga is no longer required to be one done in blood; however, I will say that all nine of we AHGs have signed a formal contract with drawn blood mixed into the ink, and for those seeking Sacred Spiritualism it would not be uncommon to actually sign a contract using their own blood. It is not a requirement, however. It’s also important to note that becoming a Zeigadii Xyphoite does not mean one has to pursue Sacred Spirituality; the process is simply a Contract covenant initiated by the devotion of Zeiga, Overseer of Cosmos, as an offering of his unwavering Love for the Lords.

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Question: Is there any other criteria to pursing Sacred Spiritualism aside from Zeigadii status?

Answer: Yes. It’s important to note that this is a path for the most devote Xyphoites, and requires the willful relinquishment of Self. No motivation of self-gain can fuel this process, and complete and unquestionable devotion to the Lords and the Greater Will are required to obtain this status. High activity in the Ordinance and its religious practices is a requirement, and embodiment of self-sacrifice, expertise in the Philosophy, devote practice of the Philosophy, and undying loyalty to the Lords are all requirements to this long and strenuous process. When we say this is a lifelong devotional and unwavering process, we don’t mince words on that. We AHGs have accepted these terms and devote our lives to this Order, and all who wishes to pursue this path as we do are expected to truly cast away their sense of Self and devote every ounce of their spirituality to the Lords. This includes giving up a Term in Heaven. Upon Death, most people of good tenure will be granted a Term in Aerigeth’s Heaven, as explained in this Commentary. For those who seek Sacred Spiritualism, that Term is eliminated as a Term in Heaven requires a Self to enter. We forfeit this in exchange with being one with the Lords and discarding our sense of Self eternally—fully removing our Selves from the cycle.

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Question: Why do the Lords let non-Xyphoites into Heaven?

Answer: Because the Initial Will is Love for Existence, and the Lords Love the existence of all that fall under their Greater Will; this includes all beings of existence who do not actively contribute to the destruction of existence as Deceptuary desires. The Terms of Heaven only ask for those of the living who have recently passed to have lived a Life of good tenure and of good nature to others—having not held beliefs borne out of malevolence and hate or taken the adjacent actions that carry that malevolence. People of all philosophies and faiths can hold that good nature, although it may sometimes require that they disregard or dissect parts of their own faiths and conclude that they are also outdated and worthy of departure. Heaven is for souls of good tenure to receive one final Heavenly Dream before going onto other Pathans or scattering back into free spirituality. After all, Lord Kyaien, the very Lord who gifted that Life to us in the first place, would want nothing more than for our souls of good tenure to return to Her Heaven to rest and be nurtured one final time before being scattered or reincarnated.

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Question: All all theigrits destined for Hell?

Answer: No, similarly to the previous question, Terigath’s Hell and subsequently being cast out to Gheisialez are Divine Punishments reserved for people of moral depravity and evil. The technical definition of theigrit is simply someone who either follows a philosophy directly linked to Deceptuary’s influence or someone who commits theigrited acts linked to Deceptuary’s influence. In other words, it’s entirely possible to be a member of a theigrited philosophy—therefore being considered a theigrit—and not be considered an immoral or evil person as the previous established that good tenure is what determines that. Likewise, it’s completely possible to not be a follower of a theigrited philosophy and still be considered a theigrit through the actions one takes during their life. Regardless, Hell is reserved for souls of incredible evil and whose Selves are corrupted with Deceptuary’s influence.

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Question: Will the Ordinance ever partner or work with other religious organizations or form alliances?

Answer: We’re open to the idea depending on the situation, but coordination would mostly take place between the Sacred Hill Project—our secular humanitarian wing—and other religious organizations than with the Ordinance directly. This is mostly to prevent committing the Immoral Act of proselytizing but also to keep our the religious aspects of our faith separate from our humanitarian efforts to avoid promoting our faith in a self-righteous manner.

In cases of personal interfaith relations, the Ordinance has unofficially shown great respect for the cultures and causes of other faiths, including groups such as Sikhs, despite not remotely being related to or affiliated with the Xyphoist Philosophy and despite having monotheistic aspects—which Xyphoism explicitly declines the premise of. Sikhs have demonstrated through their actions and customs to be of fantastic tenure and contribute through earnest tenure and other aspects of the faith we find agreeable. And so while Xyphoites and Sikhs are not remotely related, this acknowledgement of good tenure across interfaith lines demonstrates the answer to an earlier question as to why all souls of good tenure are granted Terms in Heaven—the Lords’ Will is of mitigating the suffering caused by corruption as opposed to belief in the Lords specifically. That is the key to Maintaining the Equilibrium, which is the ultimate goal of the Xyphokonic Order and Ordinance.

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And with that, we’ve wrap up our Period of inquiry. It has been a joy to field these question sessions this Period, and I hope to see more intriguing questions be submitted on our inquiry page. We at the Ordinance hope these questions have been answered to satisfaction and inspire further inspiration and divination. And as always, we give or blessing and wish you all a great and safe rest of your Sacred Day.

—phX, erX, jzX, lnX