Initiaism

Mythology & Lore

Initiaism, or the Cult of Initiation, is the name for the religion based around reverence of the Creator and associated deities. The pantheon of deities worshipped in this religion consists of the Initiator (or Creator), Hogimal, Turavus, Ses'ser, Herobrine, Yona, Avalan, Celes, and Astel.

Tenets of Faith

Initiaism outlines 17 virtues and 17 sins that each adherent must strive for and avoid, respectively. They are as follows:

Kindness/Cruelty
Courage/Cowardice
Generosity/Greed
Justice/Favoritism
Imagination/Dullness
Peace/Discord
Inclusitivity/Exclusion
Diligence/Laziness
Humility/Ego
Moderation/Gluttony
Innovation/Monotony
Modesty/Arrogance
Integrity/Dishonesty
Loyalty/Treason
Perseverance/Desertion
Gentleness/Violence
Love/Hate. Love is seen as the highest virtue and Hate the gravest sin. Seeing as though the religion has no official holy book, the canonical status of these 17 virtues and sins has remained a point of conjecture. For example, whether or not Humility/Ego and Modesty/Arrogance make accommodations for subtle differences, or are simply redundant in the list. Most of the sins and virtues come from various writings by saints and clergy over the years. St. Elwynn contributed the most entries to the list; she particularly railed against violence, treason, discord, favoritism, and dishonesty in her works.

Worship

Followers of Initiaism worship the gods at dedicated temples or shrines, which range from simple arrangements to elaborate cathedrals. There is no prescription by holy text or word from ecclesiastical authorities on what a temple or shrine should look like. The closest to such a thing would be the words from the sitting priest at Treehold in Peter the Dragonhearted's day: "Place the stones with sincerity and lay the bricks with integrity. Speak from the heart, and the gods will listen."
Initiaism observes four main holy days in its ecclesiastical calendar, which coincide with the solstices and equinoxes. These festivals each correspond to a deity in the second generation of the gods. Hogimal's festival day is the summer solstice, Turavatide is the winter solstice, Sessaval takes place on the autumnal equinox, and Herobrine's festival day is on the spring equinox. The various saints of Initiaism often have their feast days as well.

Priesthood

Initiaism does not have a prescribed church or ecclesiastical structure, but still has organisation. Since the late Iron Age, there has existed a semi-official clergy of priests, deacons, parsons, monks and nuns, scholars of holy texts, and other religious authorities. Most Initiaist temples take input from the Treehold sector of the church, whose seated priest famously makes decisions on theological issues. For example, it was the Treehold sector who declared the Jallar heresy as just that -- a heresy -- and struck down attempts to restrict priesthood based on species or gender.
Particularly faithful followers of Initiaism may choose to take the veil and live as a monk or nun. These individuals tend to shy away from the public face and are notoriously secretive about their lives at the compound. They fear that allowing in others to document and interview them would upset the sanctity of their churches and communal living spaces.
Certain persons who are agreed to have lived particularly virtuous and exemplary lives may be elevated to sainthood by the religious authorities. Canonisation and sainthood are recognised in much the same way as the canon of theological writings are decided; usually by the sitting clergy at the Treehold church. Sainthood is almost always declared posthumously, and tends to favour those who were martyred rather than those who lived full lives. Currently, only two saints in Initiaist canon were declared so during their lifetime, those being Thiseas of Hegurum (patron of single parents, widows/widowers, and parents who outlived their children) and Alirach dyro-Bayata (patron of astronomers, trans-dimensional travellers, and those going on long journeys.)

Sects

In some sects, Herobrine and Astel are excluded from the pantheon and not worshipped alongside the other gods. Such beliefs gained traction in the Gold and Iron Ages, but became unpopular again starting in the Netherite Age. The most well-known of these sects is the Jallar Heresy. Under it, the nature god is usually portrayed as a wayward spirit instead. The heresy was spread during the Iron Age by Hunith Jallar, its namesake, and caught on in part to Fall mythos and the events of the Fallen Kingdom and Nether Wars. No-one knows for sure how Jallar came to develop the heresy, but her influence led to it becoming a serious threat to worshippers of the Initiator and their pantheon. It led to the persecution of faithful Herobrine worshippers in the Iron Age, including Aelpheon of Hedria who was later canonised as a saint. Mainstream Initiaism has declared it a heresy and threatens to excommunicate members who hold to it.

Founding Date

Unknown (mythologically: Early Diamond Age)

Type

Religious, Other

Alternative Names

Cult of Initiation

Demonym

Initiaist

Deities