Church of Lathander (Lah-THAN-der)

Followers of Lathander were directed to provide aid unto others and foster innovation to better the lives of folks in the Realms. They cultivated lands that were otherwise barren, culled monstrous creatures to make way for new settlements, fought off the forces of evil, and imparted civilized ideals to discordant locales. Lathanderians offered much assistance to adventurers, pilgrims, or others that traveled across the Realms. They made efforts to recover long-lost relics, magic items, or creative works such as literature or art in order to further their own innovative endeavors. Priests offered a wide variety of services to their parishioners, including marriages, birthings, funerary services, and even public announcements of new public works projects.
Lathanderian temples often sponsored non-combative athletic events, such as wrestling, archery, riding, running, swimming, and the like. They also honored creative competition in the arts, including the arts such as literature. More often, local clergy hosted grand revels for forward-thinking scholars and intellectuals, in order to stimulate their creativity and inspire new ideas that would further advance culture and civilization across Faerûn.
Priests of Lathander often concerned themselves with new business ventures, offering loans to business people seeking more startup capital than their neighborhood moneylender could offer. Some of them took this entrepreneurial spirit even further, becoming investors, merchants, and financial brokers for their own personal enrichment. They were often viewed as overly enthusiastic hucksters. Yet other priests chose to propagate more humanistic unions, serving as matchmakers to prospective lovers that had yet to find their partners.
Lathanderian temples were among the most opulent places of worship, especially among those found throughout the North. They were nearly always built with the temple's main chamber facing east, in the direction of the rising sun. When this was impossible, an elaborate series of mirrors were used to catch the dawn's light. Additionally, temples were often decorated with stained-glass windows, featuring beauteous depictions of Lathander and his faithful. In exchange for these services, the temples' clergy accepted tithings of food, gold, magic items, or even newly-formed ideas or inventions from Lathander's faithful. The presumed value of these offerings were greatly increased for services offered to those that did not walk in Lathander's light. In the city of Waterdeep circa 1372 DR, this amounted to the lesser of either 50 gp or 10% of profits from any church-sponsored endeavor.

Holy symbols carried by Lathanderian priests consisted of a simple disc carved out of rose quartz or a similarly-colored material, enchanted to emanate a faint glow.

Organization:

The Lathanderian faith held no singular authority over the faith or hierarchy that bound individual churches to one another. Each priest held sole jurisdiction over their own temple, shrine, or congregation, regardless of their rank or title within the church. Heads of Lathander's temples occasionally met at conferences whenever issues affecting the church at large had to be addressed.

Type

Religious, Holy Order

Divines

• Lathander

Notable Members

• Lathander
• Macreadus

Rituals:

Befitting Lathander's title of Morninglord, rituals, ceremonies, and daily prayers led by his clergy were held at dawn each day. Formal unions such as official contracts or marriages held during that time were considered especially blessed. An additional prayer to Lathander was held by some temples at highsun each day, and were considered a solemn but joyous rite of the faith. A ceremony known as the Going Down was performed at funerals, which were always held at dusk. Lathander's faithful often invoked Lathander's blessing before setting out on long travels or embarking upon new ventures.