The Dark World of Enlightenment in Blood: The Church of Caine

The Church of Caine has operated in Berlin for decades, but always underground – in secret – persecuted by the Camarilla. Under the rule of Berlin's Princes, membership in the Church has been grounds for immediate execution. The Camarilla has steadfastly held to the view that the Church is a Sabbat front organization, and since the Sabbat must be eradicated, so must the Church.

But if you're an Anarch living in Berlin, the Church doesn't look like the Sabbat much at all. The Sabbat is a kind of terror organization, spreading death and destruction in its wake. Few have any first hand knowledge of it, but its reputation is terrifying. Those kinds of images are very difficult to square with how the Church of Caine comes across to those who come in contact with it.

If you're a clueless Neonate just arrived in Berlin and you don't know what to do, you can go to the Church: they will help you. This is what the Church promises, and for many has also delivered. A place to stay, guidance about hunting, information on how to evade the latest petty tyrannies of the Camarilla. Some Anarchs view the Church almost as a vampire social organization, collecting the lonely and the desperate off the streets.

However, you can't stay with the Church for long without following its rules. The Church believes that Caine, the Dark Father, received his blessing from God so he could tend to his garden and watch over humanity much the same way humanity watches over the rest of the animals. Vampires are dark angels hiding in the shadows with the task of tending to humanity, and that means that a vampire has certain responsibilities.

Many Anarchs spend a month or two with the Church and then drop out because the Church demands too much of them in daily observance. Others remain, and for them the Church becomes their life. As you ascend in the hierarchy of the Church, you'll gain access to its deeper secrets. Or so the story goes. The Church itself maintains that the redemption promised by the Dark Father is for all the Kindred, regardless of age, Clan or personal history.