Holy Governance: A Treatise on the Celestine Church

This treatise, written by Cardinal Dalius Throckmortor in 59AS, still serves as the golden standard for understanding the structure and organization of the Celestine Church.

Since its foundation at the end of the War of Ashes, the church has maintained and ordered hierarchy, as is the will of Celestine through both her avatars, Rexos of Kings and Paragon of Order. As the Celestine Empire is a theocracy, this is also quite important as the structure of the church is also the foundation for the institution of law and governance there. It is not unlike a monarchy or the hierarchy of the religions of old individually, but together they grant the church supreme legal and moral authority over its lands. And, as is apparent by the success and great breadth of the nation, it is an incredibly successful model.

At the top of the chain sits the Emperor, a somewhat mysterious individual seen very rarely. Much of their time is spent meditating and receiving the word of Celestine, and then even more time interpreting it. While the Emperor may not be involved in the day-to-day governance of the empire from the holy seat of power in the Imperial City, their job is the most important. It would be impossible to interpret the Heavenly Chorus’ song without the great wisdom bestowed upon the Emperor by Celestine herself. Reporting directly to the Emperor are also the Prophets. These are individuals who have proved to have a great connection to Celestine and the Heavenly Chorus and are able to see glimpses of her plan. Once a Prophet is elevated by the Emperor the remainder of their life is spent meditating and philosophizing in the Imperial Palace. Even though all Prophets' prophecies are recorded, only the Emperor can choose when to canonize them. Finally we come to the High Priest, the righteous right hand of the Emperor. A new High Priest can be chosen at any time by the Emperor and is almost always chosen from the Conclave of Cardinals. The High Priest oversees the day-to-day and executes the will of Celestine, through the words of the Emperor.

The next body of power in the church is the Conclave of Cardinals. Cardinals generally act as regional governors, although similar to the relationship between the Emperor and High Priest, rarely deal with the normal operations of individual churches or chapels. They are responsible for overseeing all Bishops, Priests, Vicars in their region, but generally do so from the Imperial CIty. Cardinals also tend to a small group of Templar and Inquisitors assigned to them. The head of the Templars, Inquisitors, and Army of the Light are all considered to have the rank of Cardinal while serving in that position and each reports directly to the Conclave and High Priest. There is some dispute over which responsibilities are directly tied to the Conclave, the High Priest, or individual Cardinals, and whenever there are disputes, the Emperor steps in. Currently there are Cardinals for the Imperial City, Balashova, Uban, Edeau, Velicia, Delendra’thira, and Argenthrane. There are also Cardinals for Dol Gorak and Renvere, although they tend to serve more as diplomats and have mainly missionaries who report directly to them.

Now we arrive at the more local roles, though who see to the actual sermons, teachings, and engagement with communities as well as governance. The highest level is the Bishop, who usually serves directly under the Cardinals. They often are assigned to larger urban areas, usually at a cathedral. Almost all Bishops serve as governors of cities and can have a small number of priests reporting to them directly, ones who have churches within the city limits. Priests are possibly the most common official in the church. A priest is always assigned to a single church, and tends to act as magistrates of the towns they serve, taking direction from the Cardinal whom they are in the region of. Vicars serve a similar role, but do not have governance authority. This is often the case for churches or chapels outside the Empire, or in very small villages that have a chapel to Celestine.

Finally there are several special roles within the church. Unlike the others, they are not generally assigned a region, although can be placed under the jurisdiction of a cardinal. The Templar, the Empire’s version of a Renvere knight, are skilled holy warriors who fulfill a variety of tasks. Becoming a Templar takes years of service and is often the case that powerful members of Celestine society will have their younger children take this route. Templars can be assigned to work directly under the command of a Cardinal, and also on rare occasions an Inquisitor, Priest, or Bishop. They are governed by a High Templar, who bears the rank of Cardinal. Templar not assigned to a region are often serving as consults and supplements to the Army of the Light, which is where many of the Templar who are not of financial or political power found themselves on the path to becoming Templar. It is not uncommon for Templar to also take on duties similar to a missionary or chaplain during peacetime. Inquisitors, similar to Templars, are a somewhat independent organization within the church, governed by a High Templar. Inquisitors are often spell casters or academics who have an expertise in Celestine Law or a knack for sniffing out corruption. They are somewhat of a secretive organization due to their role in uncovering corruption, at any level in the Empire. Both Templar and Inquisitors hold the rank of Priest by default, some as high as Bishop, and often preside over matters related to their objectives in place of local bishops or priests.

There are also the Chaplains, who serve as a sheriff of sorts, generally in rural areas. Many of these areas outside the cities tend to be more dangerous, in the Empire and the chaplains exist as sort of a local policing force. They are generally assigned by local priests or vicars, but there are a handful that report directly to the Emperor and tend to work with the Inquisitors. That leaves us with a few more sanctioned individuals, one being missionaries, who tend to be traveling priests or monks who have been given permission by the church and carry with them some levels of diplomatic immunity. Monks, Nuns, and Abbess’, serve at monasteries and abbeys, which tend to areas of historical, theologic, and philosophical research and education.

That concludes this treatise on the structure of the Celestine Church. Its great success can be attributed directly to the divine edicts of both Paragon of Order and Rexos of Kings on how the faithful of Celestine should be ordered and governed. While mortals' susceptibility to corruption still remains a potential threat to the Empire, the wisdom of those two archangels served as a critical tool in preventing that from festering into a greater problem.

Type

Manuscript, Religious