Church of Gudheim

The judicial and administrative branch of Gudheim, and the one to interpret the will of the gods. The church handles:
Legal disputes (where appropriate, outside of the nobility)
Marriages and divorces (when allowed).
Religious Guidance of the masses through gatherings, rituals, ceremonies, and sermons.
Advising the nobility and royalty
Advising the Valnad and assisting and rewarding them with resources and recruits
Continuance of the god bloodline
Declaring Gudheimic Crusades
Peasants and Thralls are all allowed at church gatherings and rituals, although they are seated by class. The church are the only ones allowed to grant freedom to thralls (heathen slaves). This is done through a ritual to accept the heathen slave into Gudheim, which makes them free. The church is cautious about making a mockery of their religion, and realize that thralls have a heavy incentive to pretend to convert. They go to great lengths to confirm that not only does the thrall believe they are a true believer, but the gods do as well.

Structure

Grand Gothar High Priest Arch Priest Priest Monk Brother Aspirant Novice

Worship

For one of the requirements to convert to Gudheimic, one must bleed for the gods as the gods bled for mankind. This is meant to leave a scar that will mark the true believers.

Priesthood

Those who become a monk must have mastered baseline levels of martial arts, scholarly knowledge, legal knowledge, Gudheimic knowledge, and proven their devoutness and righteousness. The trials and standards rise further with the title of Priest and beyond, such as ability to advise, negotiate, and arbitrate disputes.