The Imperial Faith
The Imperial Faith was the official state religion of the Old Pale Empire. For the most part the Empire practiced religious tolerance and did not require its citizens to adhere to the Imperial Faith, but at the upper levels of society it was unusual for anyone to admit that they might have a loyalty to any other religious persuasion.
Structure
The Emperor / Empress of the Old Pale Empire Road was also styled as the "Leader in Service" of the Imperial Faith and devoted at least some of their time to the management of the Instruments of the Faith.
Culture
The Imperial Faith might be criticised for having remarkably little spiritual content. It was a faith in structures of society and the order brought about by loyalty and service to the Empire; a religion with no gods. The Emperor or Empress, although they were seen as symbolising the supreme virtues of Empire, were not technically worshipped, but you could argue that they were certainly idolised and fetishised within any number of the formal ceremonies that were so characteristic of this religion.
One important aspect of the Imperial Faith was the preferment of a whole slew of titles of many kinds and degrees. Most of these religious titles did not come with the same kind of specific secular duties the Empire demanded of its other leaders, but rather they reflected an honour granting the right to be addressed in a specific mode. They might confer benefits in public places such as a right to seats at the front of sporting or theatrical events, or a favourable treatment in some matters of taxation, for example. There were far too many of these titles to even list, but they were all technically in the Emperor's gift and their effect within the wider society was to create a strictly stratified class structure in which the rank of every citizen was jealously guarded and publically (if obscurely) defined, through their titles within the Imperial Faith.
Public Agenda
The Imperial Faith was a way for citizens of the Empire to make a public show of their loyalty to the Empire and for the Emperor or Empress to profess their service to the people in binding ceremonies of duty and military virtue.
History
The Imperial Faith was a self conscious piece of social engineering, introduced to the citizens of the Old Pale Empire, in a number of managed stages which began in 4370 BPC and were effectively completed in all essential details by 4290 BPC.
It was a time when the Empire had been successful, first in northern Punjuki and then in the great theatre of war that was Tinturbean but was struggling to find coherance and a sense of purpose in the aftermath of those victories. What was needed was something to unify the wider lands which had not always shared the common culture of eastern Myruthea where the Empire's heartlands lay.
The Imperial Faith was a project closely associated with its founder Emperor Dravidik I, who saw the pomp and ceremony that could be offered, along with other more subtle rewards in the court as a way of building loyalty and support and a way to unify the otherwise disparate cultures of the Empire that had little in common. Although there was understandable scepticism from a populace who were traditionally either aetheist or followers of the Way of the Harmonic Path, the new faith gained traction over time and came to be regarded as a great success in the long run by most historians. Perhaps this was because the content was streamlined and required very little in the way of belief, over and above what was obvious and visible in plain sight.
Disbandment
The Imperial Faith successfully helped to hold the Empire together for more than four thousand years but it inevitably failed with the spectacular failure of the Empire itself in 7 APC.
Worship
Routine services were conducted within the Imperial Faith on the first Sunday of each month and consisted of the singing of patriotic songs, the reading of the "Words from the Leader in Service", a monthly homily theoretically written by the Emperor / Empress, but in practice very often delegated, and periods of silent meditation for the fallen and the dead. They would always conclude with ritualistic proclamations of loyalty from the congregation.
There were also numerous special ceremonies, which might consist of military parades or festivals of glory. These included celebrations and commemorations for specific battles and whole military campaigns and often took a different tone in different locations, in keeping with local sensibilities.
DISBANDED/DISSOLVED
Loyalty and Service, Honour and Glory
4370 BPC - 7 APC
Type
Religious, Organised Religion
Ruling Organization
Leader Title
Founders
Executive Body
Below the level of the "Leader in Service" who was always synonymous with the Emperor or Empress, the Imperial Faith was governed by a conclave of four Arch Faith Councillors, one each for western and eastern Myruthea and one each for Punjuki and Tinturbean, responsible for the management of the affairs of the church on a continental scale. Below the Arch Faith Councillors were City Faith Councillors and then numerous Hierophants who would lead ceremonial services at a local level.
Parent Organization
Old Pale Empire - Emperor Dravidik I by DMFW with Stable Diffusion
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