Church of the Light

"Every heart is priceless, every soul, divine. The whole hast meaning only through these truths."
-Morwel 5:13, Book of Radiance

In many ways, Covenant itself is the land of the gods, created and ruled by deities of many pantheons. In defiance of this, the land of Acitern stands apart from the gods. Instead, they follow the Church of the Light, devoted to the philosophies of the celestials of the heavens as laid out in the holy Book of Radiance.

Deus Vult, and All That
So it's probably not hard to see some cosmetic similarities to a certain popular religion. Thing is, making statements about living religions is the farthest thing from my mind (hence the reason there's no not-India).
The Church of the Light is here primarily to add a religious element to the literally-godless Acitern. They have this feax Christian aesthetic both because that goes with Acitern's general European vibe, and because it's a cool aesthetic. I repeat: no statement intended.

Structure

Traditionally, the church was ruled by a hierophant elected by a council of local bishops. The hierophant is still an important figure, but they are currently ruled by their celestial herald, the angel Taelafel. As a celestial, her word is considered sacred law, and questioning it is tantamount to heresy.
Local deacons are chosen much more informally. In some places, especially Reynardia, these people might be elected from the population. In others, they might be appointed by bishops. In turn, bishops are elected from among the deacons of a particular region.
After the schism, the Pranishan church operates much the same way, although it has its own hierophant and its own celestial herald, the guardinal Peristeri. Unlike his counterpart in the main church, he prefers a more hand-off approach to guiding his mortal counterparts.

History

The story goes that the Church of the Light began with a simple herdsman. He never gave his name. Instead he said that he didn't want a cult centered around himself, but a fellowship based on the message he had to spread. His plan worked, as none know who he was beyond his most basic origins.
On a day that seemed like any other, a glorious being descended from the sky before him, wreathed in a celestial glow. This creature was a angel-- a celestial messenger. He gave the herdsman a golden book and told him it had instructions to make the mortal plane closer to the paradise of the heavens.
He took this book, the Book of Radiance, and used its power to perform great feats of benevolent magic across the continent. As he did this, he preached on the words found within, left by the celestials on the nature of goodness and virtue, gaining some followers in the process.
Over time, copies of the Book of Radiance were written and what was a small sect grew into a vast religion. The land where the original angel appeared became holy ground and the sight of the Cathedral of the First Light, which housed the real Book of Radiance. Eventually, the city of Santania grew around this cathedral, and became the center of the Church of the Light.
Life continued this way for some time until-- without warning-- the Book of Radiance disappeared from its place in the cathedral. None knew exactly what had happened and panic set in across the continent, as people began to wonder if their religious leaders were somehow unworthy.
Then, in the church's darkest hour, the Cathedral of the First Light became the site of another angelic visitation. Just like in the days of the herdsman, this angel descended from the sky, but unlike that moment she stayed. The angel Taelafel continues to rule as their celestial herald.
During this time, a mage summoned the guardinal Peristeri into the mortal plane and tasked him with hunting and slaying a heathen. When he discovered this person was mostly innocent, be began to suspect corruption within the church. Eventually, he went to Pranish and encouraged them to break away from the church, even serving as their celestial herald.
Both celestial heralds denounced the other as fallen deceivers, and Taelafel called on a crusade against Pranish in response. While no monarch has officially supported this, plenty of Llanurians and Aurandians have joined. In contrast, the king of Reynardia has officially refused and few Reynardians have joined the crusade.

Ethics

The Book of Radiance was written by numerous different celestials, among them the orderly archons, humble guardinals, and free-spirited azata. It is devoted to the cause of goodness as a whole, and includes many different takes on how to achieve this end. This can often lead to some amount of contradiction in the text and in church doctrine.
Many themes that tend to carry over from one book to the next are selfless service, vigilance against the wicked and the unjust, and purity of body and soul. Church tradition indicates that humans are the most pure of all mortal kind and that the entire mortal plane is theirs by right.
The Church of Pranish takes a very different interpretation of the doctrines of the Church of the Light. They believe that all humanoids are equally worthy in the eyes of the heavens. Typically, Pranishan priests preach the virtues of tolerance, generosity and modesty.

Worship

The church usually has a very strong presence in most communities across Acitern. Typically, the entire town will gather once a week for a sermon. Most often, this is in a dedicated church, but smaller hamlets might use something more informal, like a makeshift chapel, instead.
The specific rituals such as weddings and funerals tend to vary from kingdom to kingdom. For example, weddings in Reynardia tend to be very casual affairs, and Pranishan funerals are a lot livelier than those of other lands. These differences can sometimes be jarring to those of other Aciternan kingdoms.
One ritual that is universal among all people of Acitern is a ritual called First Light. The first dawn after a new child is born, they are held up to the dawn's light. This symbolically purifies them of whatever darkness is to come in their lives. Not performing this ritual is said to cause ill fortune.

Priesthood

While the priests of the gods have power granted to them by their patron diety, the same is not necessarily true of the priests of the Church of the Light. The Covenant that stands as the world's namesake prevents followers of a philosophy such as the church from wielding divine magic. Only a select few are granted the power to heal the needy and smite the heathens by the celestials.
That said, most of the priests of Acitern are simple men and women that serve as spiritual guides to their communities. Many do have knowledge of alchemy and medicine to better aid their flock, but this is not true of all of them. Indeed, just as many are warriors or mages, instead.
The only thing these people have in common is that they are very active members of the community, and are especially devout followers of the Book of Radiance. This allows them to stand out enough to either be voted into that role by their peers, or recognized as worthy by appointing bishops.

Type

Religious, Organised Religion

Leader

Taelafel

Location

Acitern

Notable Members

• Peristeri
• Taelafel