Five Times Incensepunk Leaked into Real Life
Art mimics life, life mimics art.
Incensepunk may be science fiction, but sometimes it’s closer than you may think. Here are five real-world events that feel like something straight out of Our Lady of the Artilects.
1. Communion on the Moon
Only a dozen people have set foot on the moon, and none of them for particularly long, but that didn’t stop Buzz Aldrin from making religious history while he was there (even if he lost out on that first small step to Neil Armstrong).
Aldrin, a Presbyterian Elder, got permission from his church to bring bread and wine along so that he could partake in the sacrament of communion on the lunar surface.
The ritual occurred during a downtime in the lunar module before the astronauts took their historic moon walk.
Aldrin began by requesting a few moments of silence for individual contemplation, then prepared the elements.
He later wrote about the experience:
“I poured the wine into the chalice our church had given me. In the one-sixth gravity of the moon the wine curled slowly and gracefully up the side of the cup. It was interesting to think that the very first liquid ever poured on the moon, and the first food eaten there, were communion elements.”
While there have been other sacraments and religious rituals performed in space, that appears to be the only time it has ever occurred on the surface of a heavenly body.
2. Relics of St. Seraphim Orbit the Earth
Seraphim of Sarov is glorified as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox church, and is so widely appreciated that Pope St. John Paul II also referred to him as “saint”. He is particularly celebrated in his home country of Russia, where his relics were rediscovered after being hidden for 70 years from Soviet persecution.
Now that the Soviet Union and its anti-religious mandates have ended, Christianity is on the rise in Russia. Many cosmonauts are members of the Russian Orthodox Church, and one such cosmonaut, commander Sergei Ryzhikov, decided to take his faith, literally, to the next level.
A small relic from the body of St. Seraphim was attached to the cosmonaut’s chest during his launch to the International Space Station. It stayed on board the space station for about six months before being returned to a cathedral for continued veneration.
The relic’s orbit has been considered a “spiritual procession” around the entire planet by church officials.
St. Seraphim’s are among several relics brought to space by cosmonauts. Others include St. George, St. Fyodor Stratilat, St. Fyodor Tiron, St. Sergei Radonezhsky, Saints Filipp and Pyotr, and the True Cross.
3. St. Thomas Aquinas’ Road Trip
Taking relics on processions isn’t all that rare, but what makes this look like foreshadowing to a Santarixarum is particular to the relic and the procession.
For the 750th anniversary of the death of St. Thomas Aquinas—Doctor of the Roman Catholic Church—his skull was carried on a palanquin through Priverno, Italy, near the monastery where he died.
That official part of the procession could have taken place just about any time in history: stone walls, robed men lifting a wood litter, a skull in a decorated box.
What makes this one unique is how the skull got to and from Priverno from Fossanova Abbey: in the passenger seat of a Jeep.
Another bit of intrigue is the ongoing dispute over which skull is the true skull of St. Thomas Aquinas. The one near Priverno was discovered in a wall of the monastery in 1585 with notarized documents attesting to its sincerity. The other is located in Toulouse, France—then headquarters of the Dominican Order—where Aquinas’ alleged relics (skull included) were transferred in 1368.
DNA and forensic testing are underway to figure out which of the two is most likely to actually have belonged to the renowned theologian. And if that isn’t incensepunk, I don’t know what it.
4. Warhammer 40k Purity Seals Coming Soon to a Battle Line Near You
Warhammer 40,000 is a satirical tabletop wargame set in the far future. Its over-the-top violence has gone on to be the inspiration for the “grimdark” subgenre of science fiction and fantasy. The one truth of the Warhammer 40,000 universe is that there are no good guys.
And yes, that includes the Space Marines, genetically engineered super soldiers of the Imperium of Man. While their imagery often borrows from the Christian church’s Gothic architecture, use of reliquaries, and two-headed eagle, make no mistake: even the so-called “nuns with guns” are not on the side of Christ. For one, the Emperor they fight for is all but dead, a rotting corpse wired up to a gilded “throne” that is really just glorified life support. For another, to keep him that way, his attendants sacrifice a thousand innocent people per day so that his psychic energy can enable the imperial fleet to navigate the stars.
Ironic it is, then, that the Russian Orthodox church is now blessing talismans inspired by the very game that uses so much Christian imagery. In Warhammer 40,000, purity seals are prayers, written in parchment and stamped in wax to assure the absence of demonic taint upon its bearer. The Dune-inspired far-future setting uses such retrograde materials ironically. They may be partly based on similar religious articles such as Shinto ofuda (paper shrine blessings) or Jewish tefillin (prayer boxes containing scrolls and leather straps that wrap around the arm). Makes you wonder if they use military phylacteries in the Dark Legacies universe…
But in real life, the miniatures game has attained such popularity, especially among the military, that outfitters such as Ratnik Tactical have begun stocking similar items, though these bear the Christian cross and Psalm 91 instead of the imperial skull and a litany to the Emperor.
5. The Blessed Virgin Goes to Mars
When NASA’s Perseverance rover landed on Mars in 2021, it was carrying more than scientific equipment. Like with the Voyager probes’ famous gold discs, Perseverance also carried records of humanity for posterity.
In this case, however, rather than having scientists collect the most important information about humanity and Earth, NASA opted to invite submissions from around the world for names to include on a plaque on the back of the rover.
Air Force sergeant Francisco Fernández submitted Nuestra Señora de Flores (Our Lady of the Flowers), patron saint of his home town, Álora, which was included among nearly 11 million entries.
The names were etched by an electron beam onto tiny silicon chips in detail of less than a micron.
As of November, 2024, Percy (the rover’s nickname) is still active on the Red Planet. The campaign to include names on the rover was intended to raise awareness and excitement for the mission. Perhaps one day humans will recover Perseverance and find a name of the Mother of God waiting for them.
Wonderful article! I put an "Easter egg" reference to Aldrin's Communion service in my third novel!