Church of the Sailor
"Pursue the whale but don't end up in its craw(r)."Sailor's Shanty, the Shanty of the Sailor.The Church of the Sailor is one of the Eight sanctioned human religions in Palimpsest. Sailorites worship the constellation of the Sailor, and the church is led by Archdeacon Sinbad Ebari, a respected scholar and explorer in addition to being the church's representative on the Ecumenical Tabernacle, a religious council that oversees the publication of established religious doctrine. The Sailor is associated with the concept of exploration, and the Church of the Sailor places great value on knowledge and the pursuit of new experiences. The church celebrates Shipmas every Mapday Sailormoon, during which Sailorites embark on a pilgrimage across the city to the Church of the Sailor. They are expected to take a different route each year, with younger followers often opting for safer paths, while the more experienced ones take longer and more challenging detours across the city.
Worship
The church's worship practices involve the use of Sailor imagery, such as the sacred sycamore tree, a symbol of travel, and the holy sextant, which represents navigation. The Sailor's revered animal is the whale, which can only be found in the deepest waters of West Star and requires interplanar travel and exploration to encounter. The sacred food of the Sailor is ceviche, a seafood dish that can only be imported from West Star.
Priesthood
Becoming a member of the Sailorite clergy is a rigourous combination of scholarly pursuits and exploratory ventures. A lengthy period of study is followed by two written tests. Upon passing the tests, a mandatory exploratory sabbatical must be undertaken. These sabbatacles must be lengthy and dangerous, as would only be undertaken by an adventurer with a true "heart of bronze". Those who make it back to the city alive are granted a clerical licence.
The clergy of the Sailor are granted access to texts and knowledge that is forbidden for the uninitiated to view, including a Relic edition of the Log of Uncompleted Journeys that was written before the establishment of the Ecumenical Tabernacle and contains three apocryphal journeys that do not appear in any other editions of the Holy Text.
No Journey too Far
Type
Religious, Sect
Demonym
Sailorite
Leader
Ruling Organization
Leader Title
Parent Organization
Divines
Related Traditions
Related Species
Related Ethnicities