Pontifex Rokossovsky

Pontifex Rokossovsky, born Aleksandr Rokossovsky, was head of the Pontifical Church and ruler of the Pontifical States for four years from 3016 until his death in 3020. Rokossovsky was the first and to date only self proclaimed universalist to be elected Pontifex. His pontifical bull Evangelinz Universalis ended centuries of church isolation and began a rapid evangelization movement across the Doggerlands, resulting in a boom of parish construction and the opening of several new dioceses.

Rokossovsky's pontificate faces severe criticism for his use of church and state funds and his involvement with the Neu Corporate Republik. Rokossovsky allocated large portions of the treasury for his personal leisure, including a 200 million corporate mark superyacht, and the one billion corporate mark construction of the new pontifical palace. In 3020, Rokossovsky ordered the attack on Zaandam's harbor which led directly to the NCR-Ekklesiovsk Conflict, the deadliest and most destructive event in the history of the Pontifical States, and resulted in Republik federal rule of the Pontifical States until regaining independence at the end of the IDO-NCR war.

Career

Rokossovsky previously served as Auxilliary Bishop for the Diocese of Ekklesiovsk and later as Vicar-General for the diocese. Notably he never held any positions on the church or state cabinets, and was not a statesman prior to being elected pontifex.

Rokossovsky was most well known in the Church prior to his pontificate for being a leading outspoken universalist alongside his close political ally bishop Talbot Roberts.

Pontificate

Evangelinz Universalis

In his first year as pontifex, Rokossovsky promulgated his now famous bull Evangelinz Universalis (universal evangelization), which began the largest missionary efforts in the history of the Pontifical Church centered around the Doggerland Bank. The bull outlined many of the goals universalists in the Church had been aiming at for years, including outreach to begin new parishes, schools, and hospitals in nations historically isolated from the Church.

The bull represented a hard departure from the centuries of Church isolationism from much of the Doggerlands, and would face serious challenges both from traditionalists in Ekklesiovsk and in many nations where missionary work was to commence.

Political Freedoms

Rokossovsky granted the widest range of political freedoms compared to any other pontifex. Traditional repressions on print, speech, and public gatherings eased significantly during his pontificate, opening the nation to foreign media corporations and tourism in a way unparalleled by his predecessors. While many progressives and optimistic reformers sought to permanently encode these changes via canon law or pontifical constitutions, these enshrinements never occurred and subsequently the majority of Rokossovsky's measures have been rolled back by Pontifex Konstantin IX.

Rokossovsky gave more public interviews than any other pontifex, including a WBC interview released after his death in which he defended his actions aligning the Pontifical States closer to the Neu Corporate Republic (NCR) and his broader work on Evangelinz Universalis.

Death

Rokossovsky died of a cardiac event in the new pontifical palace on 2 November 3020 at age 64. Then Vicar-General of Ekklesiovsk Talbot Roberts assumed acting head of state during the interregnum, while then Dean of the College of Cardinals Yuri Lenkov ran the 17th Conclave.

Character

Rokossovsky is reported to have been an extreme narcissist and egotist, yet was usually soft spoken. He openly brandished firearms and JetSwords on his person in public, and was frequently seen smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol.

Most notably, Rokossovsky lived with eight white siberian tigers that he raised in the pontifical palace, including his favorite named Jesus, which he let roam free on the property and could occasionally be seen taking on walks.

Rokossovsky did much of his governing from his superyacht while cruising the North Sea.