Church of the Golden Dawn
The Church of the Golden Dawn is one of the largest organized faiths in the
Old World and the officially recognised state-religion of the Empire of Stanver. In the New World it is mainly present within the Stanver Colonial Authority and the more properly established settlements of the Dominion of Felion.
The Church preaches acceptance and generosity towards all others, even those who do not subscribe to the same faith. As a whole the Church is a quite beneficent organization and does a lot of work for the downtrodden and less fortunate of society, which has led to it being well liked by most people. Sadly not all parts of the Church share the same sentiments of acceptance and tolerance and certain voices have become louder in recent times. Smaller sub-religions have emerged, which condemn these use of both arcane and nature-based magic, along with the utilisation of multiple new technologies. Even though the larger Church tries to distance itself from these groups, they have gained traction, which even led to a few witch hunts in the Empire of Stanver.
The Church preaches acceptance and generosity towards all others, even those who do not subscribe to the same faith. As a whole the Church is a quite beneficent organization and does a lot of work for the downtrodden and less fortunate of society, which has led to it being well liked by most people. Sadly not all parts of the Church share the same sentiments of acceptance and tolerance and certain voices have become louder in recent times. Smaller sub-religions have emerged, which condemn these use of both arcane and nature-based magic, along with the utilisation of multiple new technologies. Even though the larger Church tries to distance itself from these groups, they have gained traction, which even led to a few witch hunts in the Empire of Stanver.
Structure
The Church is ruled by the
Archdeacon and a council of Cardinals beneath him. The Archdeacon has the power to issue decrees, which are perceived to be the absolute word of Lord of the Golden Dawn, proclaimed by his mortal proxy.
Culture
Being part of the Church means to be helpful and beneficent to those around you. Helping people and spreading the
Lord's good word should be the highest priority of every believer. The priests and clerics of the Church see themselves as proxies of their deity and accordingly try to ensure the safety and well-being of the people around them, as a good parent would.
Public Agenda
Making people's lives better and spreading their faith to as many as possible is the foremost goal of the Church.
Assets
The Church commands large funds and amounts of faithful people, along with significant amounts of influence in most places where it is present.
History
The exact origins of the Church are shrouded in many myths and mysteries. What is known is, that roughly two-hundred years back some of the first apostles of the Lord of the Golden Dawn started preaching his words in different places within the Empire of Stanver. Due to the nature of the faith, it spread very quickly and became widely accepted as the new state-religion of the Empire.
Mythology & Lore
The Lord of the Golden Dawn is the sole deity of the Church of the Golden Dawn. He is said to be the one keeping the universe in balance and supposedly ensures the natural order of things. He is seen as something of a father-figure to all people of the world and his prophets, those who have allegedly received direct word from him, tell of him too seeing the people of the world as his children. Accordingly his highest priority is the protection of his "children" from harm. Said harm is often seen as coming mainly from infighting between "siblings" and outside-forces, who wish harm to the "children" (entities like demons, devils and fey).
Divine Origins
First word of this religion came from multiple people in the
Empire of Stanver, who declared themselves to be the apostles of the Lord of the Golden Dawn and started spreading his teachings. According to them, they had been specifically chosen and all received direct audiences with their god. From their words and the texts, which they carried and declared to be the writings of their deity, the laws, rituals and practices of the Church were established. The apostles disappeared once their work was done, allegedly joining the Lord on the higher planes, leaving behind the texts and a set of people, who became the first leaders of the Church.
