Church of the Silver Flame
General
The Church of the Silver Flame is an organised religion adhered to by the Free People of the Broken Coast. It follows Toutorix's Chosen as its pantheon, and worships Karak, the Builder, Ruthar, the Mentor, and Chanar, the Firebrand as its primary deities. Their symbol is a golden brazier buring a bright silver flame.Tenets of Faith
- Build on what came before, and leave it better than you found it.
- Personal freedom is a sacred and undeniable right
- Those who further science carry the divine spark of progress with them.
Worship of Karak
Karak, the Builder is the god in the panteon of the Chosen most widely worshiped by the folowers of the Silver Flame. He represents wealth, prosperity, and progress. Merchants and craftsfolk pray to Karak for success in their business endavours, and to give them the means to build a more prosporous future.Worship of Chanar
Chanar, the Firebrand is worshiped by the followers of the Church as a beacon of light and freedom. She represents the freedom to act, and the drive forge your individual path. Her worshippers have a great disdain for authority and centralized power.Worship of Ruthar
Ruthar, the Mentor is whorshiped by the followers of the Church as a source of innovation and enlightenment. He represents the drive to harness the bounties of the Broken Coast and produce wonderous magics. These wonders are the source of the cities' riches and Ruthar's folowers seek to better their understanding of these wonders for the benefit of all.Worship of Rán
Rán, the Mother of Storms is not officially worshiped by the followers of the Church, but is still prayed to on a daily basis. Most pray to Rán for mercy, as she represents the dangers of the Broken Coast. However, she also represents the sea, and its bounties. Sailors, fishermen, and all who rely on the sea to provide for them pray to her. Artefabrians revere Rán as the divine source of the magic that makes their inventions possible.Organisation
The Church of the Silver Flame is organised in eight seperate religious denominations called churches, one for each god in the pantheon of the Chosen, Each church has it's own priesthood and is led by a High Bishop. The High Bishops come together to form the Diocese, under the leadership of the High Bishop of Karak. The Diocese holds the highest religious authorithy in the Free Cities, although each individual church has a wide range of devolved powers and responsibilities.Churches
Each church is an organisation of temple complexes that all worship the same god, and have the same societal responsibilities. While these societal responsibilites are different for each church with relatively little overlap, the churches of different gods support each other in their duties. The Church as a whole encourages unity of ideology and purpose between the different churches, even though each church has differing tennets and ideological preferences. Each church supports and teaches the central ideology of the Church of the Silver Flame, and encourages their followers to worship at the other churches so that they can meet all of their spiritual needs. The churches each have their own symbol, but all incorperate the icon of the Silver Flame in their designs. Each church has temples built all over the Free Cities. Those built in the more affluent districts are large and oppulent. Churches built in poorer districts are less so, although they are often large, and well maintained compared to the more compact, crowded buildings around them. The largest temples are built in the Court of the Silver Flame, where the Church leadership is situated. Each church has its own societal responsibilities. Some are more important than others, and the churches that coincide with the aspects of society that the Free Cities find most important have the most influence and wealth in the larger Church. The folowing churches are the most powerful:Church of Karak
The church of Karak, the Builder is the most powerful church in the organisation. They see to the spiritual needs of the merchant class, the most powerful social class in the Free Cities, as well as the needs of the craftsfolk. The church of Karak has a great deal of influence in the daily running of the Congress of Guildmasters. The church can influence what decisions are made in the Congress, and subsequently recieves many donations by the rich and powerful to ensure the church's support for policies. Most churches of Karak are built in the more affluent parts of town, and preffers large temples of grandure and splendor.Church of Chanar
The church of Chanar, the Firebrand provides a great deal of spiritual guidance to the people of the Free Cities, both the affluent and the pennyless alike. The ideology of the Church of the Silver Flame prioritizes personal freedom over subservience, and teaches the people to be the masters of their own fates. The most important goal of the church of Chanar is to foster this sense of personal responsibility, while also creating a sense of national unity between the Free People. A country filled with the self-obsessed, and power-hungry cannot collectively achieve greatness. The churches of Chanar are more numerous and smaller than their contemporaries. They are built throughout the Cities, especially in the poorer disticts.Church of Ruthar
The church of Ruthar, the Mentor has only become influential in the last 50 years, as the Free Cities started to focus on scientific development and magical engineering as a large part of it's economical and military footprint. The church of Ruthar encourages and supports scientific discovery by facilitating the exchange of knowledge. Tothether with the church of Karak, they judge and enforce patent laws, and decide which inventions must be widely spread for the betterment of the Free People. In addition, the church of Ruthar is responsible for organising the general education program that all children in the Free cities are required to take part in during their early childhood. Priests from each church take part in the schooling of the young to provide them with a general set of skills and knowledge, and instill in them a balanced ideology that does not favour one of the eight churches. This fixation on general education has resulted in the populace of the Free Cities being amoung the most literate and well educated in all of Dunia. Due to their double function as public schools, the churches of Ruthar are built thoughout the Cities, mostly in residential areas. These churches are generally built in common areas, such as town squares or other central locations in a neighbourhood. The exception are the residences of the extremely wealthy, since they prefer to privately educate their children. The following churches are less influential than those previously mentioned:Church of Loec
The church of Loec, the Sovereign focusses on providing spiritual guidance to the ruling class. These ruling classes of the Free Cities consist of powerful merchants, which results in cooperation between the churches of Karak and Loec for the shared responsibility of supporting them. However, the church of Karak is more weathy and infuential, making the balance of power between these two chuches unequal. The church of Loec's primary function is to bestow divine authority on the government of the Free Cities, as well as providing judges for the judiciary system. As such, most churches of Loec are situated in the wealthier parts of the Cities near government facilities.Church of Aias
The church of Aias, the Soldier is the least powerful church in the Free cities, as most people find it dificult to give themselves up to a cause outside of their own interests. The Freecompanies and City Guard worship at the churches of Aias for strength and courage, but the general populace devotes little of their time to this particular church. The church of Aias has the duty of training the militant orders of the Church of the Silver Flame. The churches of Aias are built primarily near the entrances and exits of the Cities, and other places of import that require protection.Church of Melite
The church of Melite, the Whisperer provides spiritual guidance to the Free People by teaching them to seek compromises with each other and find diplomatic sollutions for their differences. The church is most widely worshiped by the Guild Officials and the Colledge of Guildmasters, due to their constant need to build bridges with each other, and play the political game to ensure that their interests are met. The church of the Goddess of Secrets is instrumental in facilitating trust between the different factions in the Free Cities. Those who swear to speak the truth swear in her name. At the same time, those who wish their secrets to remain unknown can demand others to swear secrecy, where the church of Melite is often the mediator between these parties. Due to these traditions, the church knows many secrets, but only rarely reveals these sectrets to a select few important people when the circumstances call for them.Church of Oenone
The church of Oenone, the Hearthtender focusses on fostering relationships between individuals, groups, and communities. The church provides a great deal of social support, such as running orphanages, taking care of the elderly, and feeding the poor. These works are primarily funded by donors to the church, as companies utilise these donations to increase their standing in the communities of their customers. In additon, the church of Oenone facilitates marriage rituals, and organises comunity festivals. Because of this, the churches are often built near residential communities, but are focussed more in the poorer parts of the Cities, where their works are most needed.Church of Penelope
The church of Penelope, the Fateweaver provides the people of the Free Cities with spiritual guidance in moments of great turmoil. The church's members are often experts on interpersonal contact and providing counsil to people in need of help. The hopeless and damaged ask the church to help them in their hour of greatest need. The church is often asked to counsil both individuals and institutions on matters of great importance, as their wisdom and compassion are widely respected. In additon, the church takes care of the mentally ill, the traumatised, and all others who need extensive psychiatric care. Those who are a danger to themselves and others, or are otherwise mentally incapable of caring for themselves are put into the church's hands, who care for them with kindness.The Court of the Silver Flame
The leadership of each church are located in the Court of the Silver Flame in the city of Séala, the largest temple complex in the Free Cities. The Court contains the largest, most prosperous temples of each church, and primarily caters to the rich and powerful in Séala. The Court also facilitates many rituals of national importance, such as the blessing of the Congress, bestowing divine authority on the LordsXV, and starting national festivities. The higest decicions in the Church are made in the Court by the High Bishops of the Diocese.The Priesthood
The priesthood of the Church of the Silver Flame are broadly divided into three groups: The Bishops, who lead the individual temple complexes. The High Priests, who administer the churches, and lead important rituals. The Attendant Priests, who do most of the labour, adiministrative paperwork, and other such duties. The priesthood wears a set of robes, embroidered with the icons of their respecitve church, and that of the Church of the Silver Flame. Each segment of the priesthood wears robes of different colours and materials, denominating their authority and power.Bishopric
The Bishops of the Church are the highest religious authority in their respective temple complex. A Bishop makes the important decicions for their church, while leaving most of the paperwork to their High Priests. The Bishop of a church must perform the most significant religious ceremonies, such as festivals. In addition, they often personally perform these ceremonies in the private residences of the rich and powerful members of their church's congregation. Bishops wear long, complicated, white robes embroidered with silver thread. Their robes are expesive and delicate, not suited for physical labour, as the bishops are expected to leave these sorts of jobs to others.High Priesthood
The High Priests of the Church perform the widedst range of duties. Most have a managerial function, directing the Attendant Priests during their work. In addtion, High Priests play important roles during the church's religious ceremonies, as many of them are Divine practitioners capable of producing the miracles required for these ceremonies. There are many different orders of High Priests, each with their own duties. The High Priesthood and Bishopric symbolise how society is steered by the rich and powerful, and how these individuals are critical focusses for society's virtues. There are two ways one can become a High Priest:- Children from affluent or influential families often join the priesthood after their childhood education to increase their family's standing and influence. These priests tend to have managerial roles in the church.
- People who delevop the potential for Divine practition can join the priesthood as a High Priest. The Church takes in practitioners from any background or social class, since Divine practitioners are rare enought that there is always a need for them. These practitioners are then trained by the Church in how to use their powers. Those from affluent families who develop these talents are expected to reach the highest positions in the Church of the Silver Flame. Practitioners from working class backgrounds are often put in less influential, but still critically important roles within the Church.
Warrior Priesthood
Certain orders of the High Priests are trained in using their Divine pratice in combat. These warrior priests take on duties that include dangerous missions in the name of the Church, bodyguarding it's influential members, and guarding important temples, treasures, or rituals. These warriors are often choosen at a young age and trained by the Church of Aias to hone their body, mind, and spirit. Warrior Priests wear sets of polished plate armour, emblazoned with the many different icons of the Church of the Silver Flame. These armour sets are accesorised with blue fabrics and cloaks, and engraved with precious metals. Depending on their duties and personal wealth, the armour and attire might be more ceremonial and enriched or more practically minded.Attendant Priesthood
The Attendant priests make up the largests contingent of the Priesthood. They perform most of the manual labour in the churches, and perform most of the paperwork required to keep the organisation moving. Bishops, High Priests, and Warrior Priest are always accompanied by Attendant Priests to provide for their needs, and assist them in their work. The Attendant Priesthood symbolises how the good of society is built and supported by hardworking people giving all they have. These people support their supperiors, and in doing so give substance to society's virtues. The Attendant Priesthood recieve no salary from the Church. Instead they have their housing and meals provided for by the church they work in. This means that Attendant Priests have little matterial posessions, and live an ascetic lifestyle. The priests have the option of living in their church, or living with their relatives in the city with their church poviding a small recompense. The outfits of the Attendant Priesthood constist of a gray robe, shaved head and sturdy clothes. The simplicity of the outfit is supposed to reflect their willingness to give all they have in service of the gods and their communities. This asceticism lays in stark contrast to the often oppulent garb of the High Priesthood and Bishoprick, which is intended to inspire confidence and authority.
Type
Religious, Organised Religion
Demonym
Church
Deities
Divines
Related Ethnicities
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