| “ | I was betrayed by my disciple and forsaken by my friend. | „ |
| ~ Bishop Jovis |
Bishop Jovis Abraham, often just addressed as Bishop Jovis, is a character in the video-game Shadow Hearts: Covenant. Jovis was the mentor of one of the game's central villains, Grigori Rasputin. He helps Yuri Hyuga and his friends unlock the power of Amon the god of wrath. Though Jovis's aid is relatively brief in the game it represents a major turning point in the plot.
History[]
Jovis was originally a Bishop of the Greek Orthodox Church and had contacts in the Catholic Church as well. When Jovis decided to formally leave the Church to do missionary work in the Middle-East he took-in a Cardinal who had been held prisoner by the Catholic Church for a generation. The Cardinal was held prisoner for his heretical notions that Divine Right was an illusion and all people were created equel. Jovis shared the prisoner's belief and not being a member of the Catholic Church but still and prestigious figure to it, Jovis vouched for the man. It is unkkonwn if Jovis arranged the prisoner's release or simply was waiting for him once his time was served, but whatever the details Jovis and the prisoner soon became friends as they shared similar beliefs. Jovis was going to Turkey to stand up to the cruelty of the Turks and fight for the freedoms of religious refugees, a cause the Cardinal was more than willing to help him fight for and the two friends traveled to Turkey to try to fight for freedom and equality.
Sapientes Gladio[]
As expected Jovis and the Cardinal were not well liked among the elite but the poor and ostracized masses viewed him as a great leader. Jovis was threatened, beaten and even tortured but refused to abandon his cause or turn on the people he had taken-in. Those Jovis offered sanctuary to. soon formed a cult dedicated to his notions, the Cardinal and Jovis both used the gathering to spread a message of peace and equality regardless of religious and racial boundries. The new sect was called Sapientes Gladio (Sages of the Sword). Though Jovis was a religious Greek Orthodox and the Cardinal was a religious Catholic, neither seemed to have emphasized God in any particular way, instead Sapientes Gladio was simply taught to do good public works and that they would find enlightenment in treating each-other with dignity and civility. Just when it looked like Sapientes Gladio would bring stability to it's corner of the world it happened; With the appearance of one man, Sapientes Gladio's legacy would be forever tainted. The man who would destroy Jovis' and the Cardinal's dream was a power hungry monk named Grigori Rasputin.
Yuri, Karin, Blanca, Gepetto, Cornelia, Joachim, Lucia and Anastasia all had bad encounters with Sapientes Gladio early in the game as it had functioned as a terrorist network up until then. Anastasia herself had nearly been forced via hypnotic domination to kill her younger brother by the group's leader, Rasputin, and was on the run from her own countrymen. Yuri's old friend Roger Bacon had just found the location of Jovis and thought it best to see him to find out the origins of Sapientes Gladio while things cooled down in Russia. Roger escorted Yuri and his friends to the Goreme valley in Turkey, where Jovis and his followers had gone into exile. Once the people were sure Yuri and his friends were not agents of the Turks or Rasputin they allowed them to pass. Roger was just as eager to see Jovis as Yuri was, for he had ties to one of the former members of the group. Once they met Jovis, they found he was old and almost completely blind, though he seemed still insightful. Yuri and the others asked Jovis what he knew about Rasputin. Roger had already told them of how Sapientes Gladio was founded and so Jovis proceeded to give them the full story of how Rasputin had gained control of it and gotten his political and supernatural powers.
The Truth[]
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Jovis takes in a young Rasputin
Jovis and the Cardinal brought in a young acolyte from Siberia named Grigori Rasputin. Rasputin trained hard and Jovis and his friend saw potential in him as a great sage so over time they taught him how to harness great spiritual powers and the value of a strong will. But Rasputin decided to apply his power to commune with the King of Demons, Asmodeus. Rasputin made a soul pact with the demon lord and was granted great powers. Once Jovis and the Cardinal recognized Rasputin's madness they tried to stop him but were undone by the demonic powers Asmodeus had imbued within him. It is implied that Jovis lost his sight in the battle. Both Jovis and the Cardinal were cast out of Sapientes Gladio and Rasputin declared himself the new leader. Under Rasputin's leadership
Rasputin turns on his teachers
Sapientes Gladio was irrevocably changed, members were taught that only their enlightened hands were worthy of shaping the world and the group committed many acts of terrorism from stealth assassinations of public figures to public executions done in the style of medieval inquisitions. Rasputin covertly dictated the actions of the radical cult while getting himself appointed as royal vizir to the Russian throne by using his powers to treat prince Alexis and then exploiting the Tzar's trust in him. Over time Rasputin gave in more and more to his lust for power and slowly possessed by Asmodeus, whose goal was nothing short of world domination.
Jovis's friend had already been betrayed by the Catholic Church when he was imprisoned and so the second betrayal sent him over the edge. The Cardinal decided to fight fire with fire and made a pact with the most powerful and least evil demon he could find, Amon the God of Wrath. With the power of Amon the Cardinal became a powerful warlock, however unlike Rasputin he had the will-power to resist his benefactor's possession. But even with enough power Amon afforded him the Cardinal still saw himself as too weak to beat Rasputin and so he left to put together an arsenal to combat the mad monk. The Cardinal came upon three ancient tomes, books written by his mentor, Roger Bacon, books that cataloged Bacon's revelation into the nature of God. With the knowledge the books afforded him and the power of Amon, the Cardinal became the single strongest warlock on the face of the Earth. The Cardinal returned to Jovis and told him he had a plan to not only defeat Rasputin but permanently sever Asmodeus' grip on the world, he planned to summon God from beyond the stars to remake the world as a whole. But Jovis became fearful of of toying with such powers even to use against Rasputin. The Cardinal abandon Jovis, making up his mind to do it all on his own if need be and Jovis was left alone, waiting for the apocalypse followed by a man-made rapture.
Yuri was familiar with the later half of Jovis's story as was Roger, for they had both dealt with a similar scenario just over a year prior. Yuri asked the name of Jovis's friend and Jovis confirmed his suspicions by giving him the name;
Cardinal Albert Simon
"Cardinal Albert Simon". Albert had tried to destroy the world and Yuri had met Roger while trying to stop him. Yuri ended up killing Albert, absorbing Amon into his soul and expelling God upon His arrival. Yuri was also cursed by Rasputin's right-hand man Nicolai Conrad, afterward and having Amon's power sealed within him. Jovis could feel Amon's sealed within Yuri for with it he felt the warmth of his old friend who was still bound to Amon even in death and thus to Yuri as well.
Freeing Amon[]
Jovis said that the power of Amon would be enough to defeat Rasputin and they would need to release it from the curse's seal. Jovis knew of a rite to allow Yuri to enter his own soul and restore Amon's power but cautioned Yuri that it would be dangerous and failure meant death. Yuri was still willing to undertake the ritual but Jovis said he need not go alone and he would be willing to join him, but Karin offered to take the journey with Yuri instead. Jovis preformed the ceremony and sent Yuri and Alice into' Yuri's soul to find Amon. The world of Amon connected to Yuri's soul was a castle of mirrors and magic. Jovis projected into Yuri's soul to offer him and Karin healing and warning, warning that they would need to fight Amon when they found him, for the God of Wrath demanded proof of their strength. Once they found Amon sure enough he demanded battle before he would grant power back to Yuri to fight the curse. Deeper in Yuri found Albert's ghost, existing in a corner of Yuri's heart that reflected his birth place in Japan. Albert gave Yuri his blessing to use Amon's power and wished him well in fighting his old enemy. Yuri realized that Albert's previous talk of removing the corrupt and and cruel puppet masters of society was not abstract ranting as he had previously thought but was reference to Rasputin specifically. Even as enemies Albert and Yuri each sympathized with the other and viewed the other as a worthy opponent and so there was no ill-will between them.
When Yuri and Karin awoke Yuri had the power of Amon again, which had effectively suspended the curse on Yuri. Jovis had fallen weakened from the ordeal and his attendants asked the others to give him some rest. Shortly after Yuri and Karin had finished discussing Yuri's past with Albert they were called back into Jovis's chamber, for he had awoken and wished to see them. Yuri told him Albert was well and that he had gotten the power of Amon back thanks to him. Jovis wished Yuri well in the fight against Rasputin and their former organization but felt his time drawing near. Yuri objected at first but Jovis said that he would live on in the teaching he left behind in the refugees. Yuri, unable to face Jovis's death, ran out of the chamber to fight Rasputin. Jovis passed away almost as soon as Yuri left the room but Yuri would use the power Jovis and helped unlock to destroy the mad monk once and for all.
| Shadow Hearts Heroes |
| Koudelka Koudelka Iasant | Edward Plunkett | James O' Flaherty | Roger Bacon |