Chapter 241 - 206: The Growth of the Church
Xilan had convened the Great Council at the outset to seek consensus.
Within the debates of "Predestination" and "Election," he had no intent to judge which side was heretical and which was orthodox.
Xilan saw that behind the disputes lay the issue of free will.
He could not answer such questions as, in his view, no one in this world could.
Under such circumstances, not knowing was the best answer.
Besides this, Xilan had no other options.
Under Xilan’s leadership, the two factions in the New Rule Garden set aside their conflicts, and Xilan organized the consensus of the entire meeting, letting the believers of the New Rule Garden sign their names on it—those who were illiterate had others sign for them, and those without names used a thumbprint on papyrus.
The texts on that papyrus, being the consensus of the entire New Rule Garden, were called the Creed by the believers, signifying a scripture that was commonly approved or trusted.
Xilan quickly arranged to have the content of the Creed engraved on a new stone tablet. As its status was not as high as the three Logos history books, it was somewhat shorter and stood on the left side of the great hall, not in the center.
After the meeting, the formerly chaotic thoughts were unified again, and prominent believers like Daniel began organizing numerous evangelistic tours extending beyond Ajia Royal City into the various city-states of the kingdom, spreading the routes once trodden by Prophet Noen.
Xilan continually managed the major and minor affairs of the New Rule Garden, which included perfecting the basic rules and leading the believers in prayer—a long and tedious process, but Xilan persevered with steadfast faith.