Church of the Great Mother
The predominant faith in the Renscroprec Valley and amongst the Arres people wherever they can be found. Their role is to protect the world from the monstrous forces of chaos. Women, having the ability to create life, are believed to be better suited to fulfill this role.
It is an institutional way to get people to open their heavenly gates and swear allegiance to the gods. In this way they create more vita for the world and increase the number of effective servants available to the gods.
Structure
Led by the Grand Mother, spiritual leader and symbolic mother to all within the church.
| Female | Male |
|---|---|
| Mother | High Priest |
| Matron | Priest |
| Maiden | Under Priest |
| Senior Sister | Senior Brother |
| Sister | Brother |
| Initiate | Initiate |
Assets
They have six cathedrals across Renscroprec, Studpreox, Elado, and Oxdinspic. Within their territory are thirteen monasteries hidden away in remote locations with hundreds of churches and scores of abbeys, at least one in every city and large town. Within the kingdoms of Adinerado and Fortunado they also hold several estates and collect rent. They have four military orders of footmen, archers, and cavalry led by warrior Priests and Matrons. Hidden in their vaults also reside more than one relic of the gods they serve. And displayed prominently in the halls of their cathedrals are the seven pieces of Gypsum given to mankind by the gods on the day of their descent from the heavens.
Mythology & Lore
In the battle against the dark, Erasteus guided the forces of the light. Cateus made a great sacrifice to stop the child of the dark, Tragonus. Amalius inherited the power of the storm to banish the darkness, scattering it to the winds. And in the end Kab Rael, father of the gods, descended to the underworld. The remaining gods went up to the heavens, leaving the youngest behind to watch over mankind. The sun, Hiunia, rules this realm while the moon, Fimustia, guards against the night. Erasteus guides man on the path to rejoin the gods in the heavens. When the light was imperiled anew, the great hunter Crutien rose to the occasion and restored light to the world.
Divine Origins
Noon on the summer solstice, the clouds parted, and the winds swarmed. A rainbow reached down from the heavens to join the sky and land. From that glimmering bridge descended undisputed proof of the divine. A god walked the earth for the first time in ages. And he came searching for Gillespie, or for his people, to repay a debt of services rendered to the celestial host. They taught his family and disciples the true ways of the gods and his sister set out to spread that word. She founded the church to serve the gods and protect man from the chaos and from themselves.
Gillespie was a simple man of not so humble origins. A shepherd tending his flock, but he was Aeonian. His godly inheritance was to see the unseen and do what only the summoned could before him. He traveled far and wide learning the skills of beings great and small. Then taught those skills to others who, in turn, called him prophet.
Once he united the warring clans, he built a monument to his own greatness. A tower that reached up to the heavens themselves. From there he traversed the planes in search for the gods, never to return. His tower came tumbling down the very night he embarked on his journey.
Cosmological Views
Earth is mother to us all, from the greatest god to the lowliest insect, we are all her children. The gods have long since left this world for the heavens, they are the planets that illuminate the night sky and watch over us. The stars are other celestial beings in their service. Fiends, bellas, and devils are a plague on this world and a sign of the taint of the darkness. Souls that have fallen to the taint are left to wander existence outside of the mothers embrace.
The constellations as observed by the church are the fool, innocent, orphan, warrior, caregiver, seeker, lover, destroyer, creator, ruler, magician, and sage.
Tenets of Faith
Live life righteously in the service of your fellow man. For we are all children of the Great Mother.
When you die your spirit rejoins the great mother. She is the wellspring of all souls and the one to which we all return.
The mother is both light and dark. She is the fertile land, the trappings of civilization, and the power we exert over it all. She is the eros, the wonders of nature, and the hidden and occult.
The enemy is real and seeking to steal us away from the mother with his Taint. Through faithful service to her we will be saved.
When final judgement comes for us all, the savior will stand between us and chaos as once before.
Worship
Mass is held weekly on Saturday approaching midnight. Clergy walk the streets spreading the word daily as sunset approaches. Thanks is given when waking, before every meal, and upon returning home.
Priesthood
Before beginning their training, an applicant must first interview with their local representative. This representative will call for an inquiry to determine what path is best suited for them, if any.
- Initiates start at a monastery to study and learn the history and teachings of the order. They spend much of their time copying religious texts creating their own personal copy to study, doing menial labor, and learning their path.
- After taking a new name, Sisters and Brothers go forth and serve at a church or abbey to tend the community. They further their knowledge with practical experience and set their beliefs into actions.
- Seniors have proven themselves capable and are given a church or abbey of their own to lead. They are responsible for the whole congregation as well as those who tend them. As part of their ascension ceremony to this rank they swear to a covenant in the Supplication of the divine aspects of the Great Mother.
- Maidens and Under priests are the heads of diocese and serve at a monastery to teach new Initiates, as well as serve the Matron and Priest. This keeps them humble and reminds them that theirs is to serve.
- Matrons and Priests lead a monastery as head of an arch diocese, comparable to a province. They also serve at the cathedrals of the Mothers, High Priests, and Grand Mother. Ascending to this rank brings with it the Exhortation, a renewed affirmation of the covenant.
- Mothers and High Priests lead a cathedral and sponsor a military order. They rule as a senior council with one selected from their own ranks as the leader of the faith and interpreter of the gods will. This leader is called the Grand Mother. Upon ascension to this rank, they perform the accompanying invocation to their covenant.
Granted Divine Powers
Through the power of faithful Prayer many works can be done. They pray to the divine for aid in their fight against the darkness, and if their faith is strong, they get an answer. Among the proof of the divine is the use of conjured Relics, the granting of miraculous healing, and the appearance of divine servants.
Their commonly used prayers include "right eye of the king," "helm of flooding rains," "veil of death," "breath of life," "silver coin," "ark of protection," "doves flight," "field of plenty," "thunder bow," "lightning arrows," "cyclone hammer," "holy warriors might," "hunters true strike," "left eye of the king," "incendiary net," "cleansing wave," "heart of the storm," "grave consumption," "mesmerizing beauty," "sprouting vines," "currents of despair," and calling forth angietto from the Alfsir halls. They also make alfsir vessels for the chosen dead to once again walk the land of the living.
The church allows for servants of cow, horse, lion, elk, boar, hound, and hawk form fiends, who can eventually take hominid form. Trees planted in their groves grow to Bellas once their halo is discovered. They maintain orchards on their grounds for this purpose.
Sects
There are four different military orders under the church's leadership, each with their own aims and agendas.
The Light:
The followers of the light believe their purpose within the church is to bring healing. Those with a great talent for healing generally join the light upon attaining the rank of Brother or Sister.
Oath Keepers:
Those who believe it is their duty to castigate the sinful end up in the oath keepers. They go out into the world and find wrong doers dangerous to the soul of the people and general wellbeing. This also includes any who would stitch patches not ordained by the gods.
Watchers:
The watchers focus on causes of righteousness and justice. They maintain a vigilant eye on the world of man and seek to stop any evil before it can even arise. Their network of eyes and ears is unmatched in the land.
The Steadfast:
They stand ready for battle and aim to defend all the faithful from the evils that the gods have empowered them to face.
| Church | The Light | Oath Keepers | Watchers | The Steadfast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matron/ Priest | Illuminator | Adherent | Interrogator | Crusader |
| Maiden/ Under Priest | Soladin | Oracle | Questioner | Paladin |
| Senior Sister/ Senior Brother | Hospitaller | Preacher | Witness | Ranger |
Founding Date
Year 126 of the 7th Age
Type
Religious, Organised Religion
Demonym
Children
Power Structure
Autonomous area
Economic System
Market economy
Subsidiary Organizations
Permeated Organizations
Divines
Location
Official Languages
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Related Items
Related Ethnicities
Related Myths
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