The Church of the Angelic Host is an evangelical Seventh-day Adventist church that unknowingly serves as a pigment cult and an extension of the Missionary Works of the Holy Ghost.
The head of the Church of the Angelic Host is the Reverend Cale O'Reilly, who inspired a small but dedicated following. Then, O'Reilly was diagnosed with devastating pancreatic cancer; as the cancer spread, he refused treatment and relied on faith. Miraculously, it worked. O'Reilly later told his followers that Christ appeared before him, healed him, and took the scales from his eyes much in the manner of the Apostle Paul. He then called on O'Reilly and his church to spread His word, showing him angels and visions.
The miracles spread to the congregation, who also saw angels as O'Reilly did. His followers became extremely loyal, never wanting to miss a service, and outsiders, driven by the stories of angels and visions, sought to join the Church of the Angelic Host.
Of course, the miracles weren't really miracles, or you wouldn't be reading this. The visions all stem from one being: Bruno Tavoularis, a Flatliner and follower of Uriah Bishop. Tavoularis has taken control of O'Reilly's body using the Skinrider Horrors and used Contaminate to make it seem as though O'Reilly has been cured. In truth, the cancer has continued to ravage O'Reilly's body, and Tavoularis grows more concerned as it becomes harder to hide the truth about the reverend's condition from his followers. He is desperately trying to find a solution that will not undo the hard work he has done.
Even more disturbingly, Tavoularis has laced the Eucharist wine with pigment. The angels are ghosts, and the compulsion to attend church is really an addiction to the drug.
Notes
- Although the church is labeled as Seventh-day Adventist in the book, many of their practices (such as faith healing and other branches having no formal Eucharist) seem to have more in common with the Church of Christ, Scientist than the Seventh-day Adventists.
References
- Orpheus: Shadow Games, p. 75