The Proper t of the Church of t, most commonly built out of 9 full blocks.
The Church of t is the physical presence of the belief in t as a semi-organized religion. t is the oldest continuously practiced religion in the Civ servers and is most popular amongst oldfriends. The practice and belief in t is primarily found in the lands of the Prussians but has briefly spread to other groups such as Grundeswald and Gensokyo as part of the culture of the Holy Krautchan Empire in Civcraft 2.0.
It is difficult to pinpoint the exact date in which t became a recognized belief system. Rather, the religion grew organically in the early/middle of Civcraft 1.0. The practice of proclaiming t began sometime in the Summer 2012 with the arrival of the Prussians from the Krautchan imageboard. Civcraft 1.0 included a chat function when a message was broadcast which returned the phrase "No one hears you" if no other player was in a 1000 block radius. Prussians would log in or enter a new area and would type a "t" into chat to notify others of their presence and receive a "t" back from anyone who heard them. It functioned as a ping, but quickly grew into a cult icon as whole chatlogs began to fill with nothing but t's. The reasoning behind why the character "t" was chosen is obscure but there are multiple theories for its specific use including:
t is the default Minecraft keybind for opening chat and was thus the most convenient letter to use as a chat ping.
t is an abbreviation of the German word "tag" (an informal greeting equivalent to "hello"). German being the native language of many of the Prussians.
t is an abbreviation of the Finnish word terveisin ("regards") and was/is popularly used on imageboards such as Krautchan to 'sign' a post as t. Signature. It is often used parody groups of people implying that the text of the post was approved or stated by the undersigned.[1]
The Church of t grew out of this practice and quickly became a cultural element unique to the Prussians. The religion's practice would spread to other nations closely associated with Prussia from time to time.
As the Church of t emerged organically from amongst the distinct meme-culture of Prussia as well as the Civcraft game mechanics, the belief system and teachings of t have no real-world equivalent and exist uniquely within the Civcraft universe. The bielf system of t has had a vague evolution with over a decade of Civ servers, There is no singular player or entity from which the religion is derived and, while t is most associated with Prussia, the practices of t have been used by other Civcraft nations therefore implying that t is not limited to a particular population and instead has pluripotent potential. In fact, any person who proclaims "t" or joins in a t chain may be said to be a believer in t. On some level, any person who uses the letter t in text/speech is witness to the necessity of t in our daily lives. Anyone who lives in excommunication with t will, without fail, be condemned to eternal misunderstanding from inability to communicate effectively.
Shortly before the end of Civcraft 2.0, the Prussians began discussion on codifying a more coherent belief system in accordance with the Prussian virtue of Ordnung (order) and the anticipation of the completion of the Holy Krautchan Empire cathedral to be used for elaborate coronation ceremonies of the HKE's Emperor. These discussions would fail to result in action as the end of 2.0 was announced in Winter 2016 and the Prussians unanimously decided to take a more casual approach to the Civ genre.
Discussions regarding a more concrete doctrine and resurgence of the Church of t resumed in Winter 2022 when the Council of the Civclassics-CivMC Interregnum was convoked. Oldfriends from some historic Civ nations (especially former allies of Prussia and those focused on architectural prowess) were invited to share important memories from the Civ genre as well as hopes/plans for the CivMC server. Invitees included members of: Carson, Gabbon, Gensokyo, Gondolin and Yoahtl, among others. The resulting discussions of various Civcraft memories have been used to write a more formal history and belief system.
A smaller form of the t made out of 3 stair blocks and a slab.
Constructions
The first t based construction was a t statue consisting of nine gold blocks located in the garden just north of the cathedral in the Prussian 1.0 capital of Danzig. The monument bears the inscription:
"And Prussian said, let there bet t: and there was t. And Prussian saw the t, and it was good"
The Golden t of Danzig is the first known physical construction of t.
It is unknown who constructed the statue or when it was made. A replica of the t exists in the Breslau museum.
Especially in Civcraft 2.0 and beyond, constructing churches and other holy buildings was/is a key part of the Prussian aesthetic as they sought to imitate a vague 1800s central European construction theme. The character t happens to resemble a Christian cross and was thus adopted in its place, being adorned above the altar and in other places along with other Prussian paraphernalia.
The massive t of Breslau Cathedral.
Multiple t shrines/statues have been found in various locations throughout CivMC. These were constructed in the initial days/weeks of the server's launch by faithful followers. Players are encouraged to leave messages at these shrines and to preserve them. Doing so is believed to bring good fortune to the individual and those around them. However, desecrating or destroying these shrines will certainly invoke karmic/spiritual retribution.
Beliefs and Doctrine
The sounds of the stream splash out the sermon of t,
Don’t say that the deepest meaning comes from one’s mouth,
Day and night, a myriad poems arise one after another,
And, in fact, not a single word has ever been uttered.
- Kael NotAGrape, Heiromonk of t
The major beliefs and doctrine of t are encapsulated by the principles of ultimate and conventional truth as well as the need to establish balance and order between the truths to establish understanding as to the workings of the Civ universe. The conventional truth can be thought of as the reality as we see it plainly before us. However, the ultimate truth understands the 'vagueness' of reality due to the entanglement of causalities and that our concept of reality and all its component parts (including language) are mere conventions which cannot grasp the ultimate truth. t is a philosophical and mystical exploration of the nature of reality, drawing on concepts from metaphysics and epistemology. The letter t serves as a symbol for both the limitations and the necessity of conventional truth, while also pointing beyond itself to the ultimate, ineffable truth.
The myriad causes of a ‘thing’ are infinite and unintangilable.
In this chain of casualties, which cause makes a ‘thing’ said ‘thing’?
By our convention, calling a thing ‘a thing’ makes it said thing but this is not the ultimate truth.
Who can point their finger to the initial cause or to the singular indpependent reason a thing is a thing?
To say one can is nothing other than arrogance.
- Meanderings on The Truth of t, Fragement of Paragraph 1
Every 'thing' in existence is the result of an infinite chain of causes and conditions, each one transient and interdependent. This chain of causes stretches back endlessly, with no discernible beginning or "initial cause," challenging the notion of a singular, ultimate origin. The existance of a permutation of a thing relies on this inifinite causal network such that any alteration to the causes and conditions fundamentally changes that existance. There is nothing which is independent and lacks a cause. This ultimate truth is something that transcends conventional forms of understanding, such as language and symbols.
This stream of dependencies and conventions represents an entropic reality in which all ‘things’ are merely transient conglomerations of casualties in a manner akin to eddies in a stream or interactions along a metaphysical field of form.
They come together only to dissolve the next moment.
Just as t stands firm as a letter, so too do our concepts and ideas stand as pillars in the edifice of human thought.
But these pillars, like all things, are transient—they are subject to change, reinterpretation, and eventual dissolution.
- Meanderings on The Truth of t, Fragement of Paragraph 3
In the ultimate sense, there are no letters, writings, words, voices or sounds.
t reminds us, that which is the ultimate truth cannot be stated for the statement of such relies on the conventional truth.
t symbolizes the framework of understanding that we rely on, even as it hints at the limitations of this framework.
- Meanderings on The Truth of t, Fragement of Paragraph 2
t can be seen as physically representing the conventional truth while hinting through its symbolism at the ultimate truth.
The role of t in language is not merely functional but also symbolic.
It reminds us that our understanding of the world is built on conventions—agreements among individuals and societies about what symbols mean.
These conventions allow us to communicate, to share ideas, to build civilizations and to establish order.
Yet, at the same time, they are only surface-level representations of a deeper, more complex reality that lies beneath.
t is the conventional truth which is necessary to remind us of the ultimate truth.
t represents universal order and beauty with its simple and serene form.
t stands at the intersection of conventional truth and ultimate truth; the ineffable, the beyond, that which cannot be fully articulated.
- Meanderings on The Truth of t, Fragement of Paragraph 5
t is celebrated as a representation of order, beauty, and truth. It is described as a "mantra" that illuminates the path to understanding the ultimate nature of the universe, transcending delusion and ignorance.
Practices
General Practices
An intentionally repetitive and absurd t chain taking place between two Prussians in the city of Breslau during Civcraft 2.0. October 2013.The practice of "t'ing or proclaiming t is the most notable practice of t's followers. "t"ing involves simply writing a "t" in in-game chat, on a messageboard post or a discord message. Followers of t may greet others with a simple "t" which is simultaneously a greeting, wish for well-being, prayer and thanksgiving wrapped up into a singular character. It is customary and, indeed, polite to reply with "t" if someone else proclaims t and thus begins a t chain. Some t chains can be extremely long with examples from the /r/Civcraft subreddit being 30+ comments deep of only "t".
Churches, monuments, shrines and other holy places are found in many places throughout the Civ servers. Players are encouraged to leave a sign with a personal message or a simple "t" at these locations whenever they come across them.
Rituals
The ritualistic practice of the Church of t is best exemplified during the coronation ceremonies of the kings of Prussia and Emperors of the HKE. A prayer uttered by the officiant of t during the coronation of the Emperor of the HKE is as follows:
“O Lord t, King of Symbols and Lord of Letters, hear now the supplication of us though unworthy and look forth from Thy holy dwelling place and anoint with gladness Thy faithful servant whom Thou hast been pleased to establish as Emperor over Thy holy people.”
The t chain ending the coronation ceremony of Greenkitten as Emperor of the HKE. October 2015.
Upon being adorned with the crown of the HKE, the Emperor would rise and proclaim his first "t" as leader, to which all present at the coronation would respond with a "t" of their own.
Other rituals are obscure and may involve the imbibing of "p" (abbreviation of poison) which is a classic Prussian cultural practice which has evolved parallel to worship of t since early Civcraft 1.0.
Trivia
The password/token used to enter the Prussian mumble channel known as the "Cultural Enrichment Public Zone" was originally "t". However, when this token became too widely distributed, it was changed to "tokenist" which remained for the duration of Civcraft 2.0.
