Filianism

Filianism (from the Latin filia, meaning "daughter") is a monotheistic religion based on a group of anonymous writings known as the Filianic Scriptures. Adherents are known as Filyani.
Scriptures
Filyani of all denominations regard the Filianic Scriptures as the core common source of their faith. The extent to which these should be taken as the literal "Word of God", versus an inspired poetic interpretation of enduring spiritual truths, is a subject of discussion among believers.
The Scriptures themselves are of anonymous authorship and appeared in circulation around Oxford, England in the 1970s. It has been claimed that the present text is a translation from a Greek work called Kosmopoiia, of which no copy has ever been produced. Alternatively, the Scriptures are sometimes attributed to channeling, but this claim has been challenged even by prominent Filyani.
The Scriptures are divided into between sixteen and eighteen (depending on edition) independent books, totaling between 767 and 778 verses. There are three common editions today: (A) the version originally published by the organization Lux Madriana (this edition is sometimes called The Madrian Scriptures), (B) the edition assembled by the Chapel of Our Mother God (currently the most prominent organization promoting the religion) as The Gospel of Our Mother God, and (C) the edition released by independent scholar Sarah-Andrea Morrigan as the New Celestial Union Version.
Beliefs
Filianism believes in one supreme God revered in feminine aspect and most commonly called Dea, who is either a Trinity (as in Christianity) or singular but expressed in triple form (with adherents of this position being known as Déanists). Dea (unlike the "Goddess" in many contemporary religious movements) is not a projection of women's collective consciousness or a symbol of nature (as in Mother Earth), but is much closer to the conception of God in classical theism. The Filianic Dea is celestial and solar, not chthonic and lunar as she might be expressed in Wicca or other Neo-pagan, New Age, or alternative spiritual systems. Drawing heavily on the thought of traditionalist authors such as Ananda Coomaraswamy, Filyani believe that, by revering God in feminine form, they are restoring the original religion of humanity, the worship of the one God as the mother of all things. This original religion is believed to have been partially preserved in patriarchal times through such traditions as Shakta Hinduism, the veneration of Guanyin, and devotion to the Virgin Mary.
A good summary of the Filianic common faith is the Drispeal: One God alone, none other god than She; / One Law alone, none other law than Her Law; / God became maid so maid may come to God.
The term "maid" in Filianism refers to the axial being, that is to creatures created in the image of Dea with the power of choice. The axial being has the power to move closer to, or further from, Dea. This is represented symbolically by motion on the vertical axis of the fora or solar cross. The term "maid" applies to all axial beings, and is broadly gender-neutral, however it also implies that the original state of axial beings is feminine.
The Filianic Creed is generally accepted in most Filianic denominations and is widely used for catechetical purposes. Its central doctrines are those of the Trinity and of atonement through the sacrificial act of the Daughter (the second person of the Filianic Trinity). Each of the doctrines found in this creed can be traced to statements in the Filianic Scriptures. The Kyrian Order uses a slightly modified form.
There is also a short catechism.
Trinity
Filyani believe that the one God comprises three distinct, eternally co-existing persons: the Mother, who created all things; the Daughter, begotten of the Mother to mediate Her Being to the Creation; and the Dark Mother, representing what Hinduism terms nirguna brahman—the Absolute (or God) without attributes and beyond human description. These are also sometimes referred to as Matria, Filia, and Assoluta (or Dea Mysteria), respectively. Though distinct, the three persons cannot be divided from one another in being or in operation, as together they represent both the immanence and the transcendence—both the knowability and the unknowability—of God.
Though this doctrine presents obvious parallels to the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, Filyani often consider the Hindu idea of the Trimurti to be a closer analogy.
Some adherents, known as Déanists, regard the Daughter less as a distinct entity and more as an inherent attribute or mode of the Mother. Unlike the distinction between Trinitarian and Unitarian Christians, however, Filyani proper and Déanists do not tend to regard this difference as a serious divergence of doctrine, but rather as a simple difference in perspective or viewpoint.
Soteriology
One major tenet of Filianism is the belief that the Daughter was begotten by Dea as the savior of creation, to restore the intimate communion with Dea that maids and all creatures had once enjoyed. The Scriptures provide an account of the fall of the primordial maid from communion with Dea. Because Filyani believe each soul has existed from the beginning of creation, each individual maid is believed to have participated personally in the fall of creation.
According to the Filianic Scriptures, the Daughter was birthed or emanated directly from Dea. (The Holy Mythos 4-5) and voluntarily entered the netherworld (an act called her "Taking on of Fate") to bring the light of God into even the most alienated reaches of Creation. Upon looking into the eyes of death, the Daughter died and was hung upon a pillar until She was resurrected by the intercession of God the Mother. (The Holy Mythos 8-9)
It should be noted that Filyani regard this story as psycho-spiritual and mythological, rather than historical, in import, seeing it as in essence one and the same as the story of the Bodhisattva who, having attained enlightenment, puts off the boon of enlightenment until all beings shall have been saved. Indeed, the figure of Guanyin is used as a common analogy for the Daughter in Filyani instructional texts.
The Daughter is thus taken as a kind of bridge across kear—the existential gulf otherwise separating us from the Mother. Another common metaphor for this is that of the Sun and the Moon; just as human beings cannot look directly at the Sun, owing to its brightness, they are, in their present state, unable to apprehend directly the glory of God, the Mother. The Daughter reflects Her light perfectly in order to mediate it to the world in a form that can be looked upon directly. This idea has parallels in many religious traditions, ranging from the doctrine of tzimtzum in Kabbalah, to the Aztec idea of the Five Suns.
Death and afterlife
Filyani adhere to a doctrine of metempsychosis. It is believed that, through the sacrifice of the Daughter, one can return to full communion with God and thus leave the Wheel of Werde—the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Every believer's home is considered to be a temple of Sai Herthe, the janya (a term loosely corresponding to the Judeochristian angel) of the hearth.
Sacraments
Like many other religions, Filianism has a sacramental eucharistic meal, to be performed by ordained clergy in imitation of the meal instituted by the Daughter (The Holy Mythos 10). As clergy are few and most practitioners lack access to one, a lay ritual involving the burning of a piece of bread in offering is sometimes practiced instead.
Liturgical Calendar
Filianism relies on its own calendar of the year for the timing of its major festivals and observances. While this is often referred to as the "Wheel of the Year", it should not be confused with the Neopagan Wheel of the Year, with which it differs in the name and number of both seasons and months.
The Filianic Wheel of the Year marks major festivals at even six-week intervals to commemorate the birth of the Daughter, Her descent into the netherworld, Her death, resurrection, and exaltation in heaven. In addition to the eight "high feasts" aligned with the solstices, equinoxes, and cross-quarter days, there are also six "low festivals".
Symbols
The fora, lotus and the labrys are of especial importance in Filianic symbolism.
History
The origins of Filianism are obscure. The first publication of the Scriptures was made by an English religious organization called Lux Madriana around Oxford, England in the 1970s. Little is known about this group, and it seems to have ceased to exist sometime in the early 1980s. The Madrians, however, never claimed to have originated the Scriptures or the teachings that surround them.
Among "independent" Filyani are both the Kyrian Order, which distinguishes itself particularly by its open acceptance of both men and women, and the Provisional Organizing Association of the Solidates Chloes International-Academia Thealogica (SCIAT), a missionary order.
The Matronite Chantry is a "Neo-Matriarchal Déanic Harmonium" made up of "a symphony of five instruments": two Déanic religious orders (one feminine: 1. The Hestia Temple, and one masculine: 2. The Agora League), one Déanic family circle (3. The Matrifamilia Alliance), one Interfaith feminine philosophical society (4. The Elegant Lady Feminine Seminary), and one Déanic episcopal see (5. Saint Luci, Queen of Lights, Cathedral). All five instruments are in their early stages of tuning.

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