Lancea Sanctum: Titles and Offices

Vampire the Requiem - Covenant - Lancea Sanctum

The Lancea Sanctum takes its hierarchy very seriously. This is no loose confederation of roles and positions, no haphazard definition of duties. The great chain of being inside the covenant is hard and fast, chiseled in stone and engraved in iron. When a vampire is elected to a new position and thus Anointed, she is expected to maximize her potential within that role. In theory, nothing comes before the covenant: not personal politics, not the desires of the coterie, and certainly not individual opinion. The covenant — and one’s position in it — is paramount to all other things. In reality, however, this doesn’t always hold true. Kindred may pretend at devotion, but secretly hope that a position in the covenant will grant them temporal power. Some Kindred play at this for decades, but other, more pious Sanctified often catch the scent of their insincerity. In the holy order of the Dark Prophet, such insincerity is met with righteous and bloody retribution.
Despite the rigid hierarchy, the covenant doesn’t close any doors on a vampire with regard to her upward mobility. This isn’t a monarchy — vampires are not Embraced into a role, they must work their fingers to the rotten Bone to achieve even the smallest rank. Diligence, commitment, and penitence are inroads to an official position with the covenant (and a healthy sense of predatory competition doesn’t hurt a Kindred’s chances, either).
Of course, such commitment can take a vampire only so far. A sense of propriety remains within the covenant, one predominantly based upon age. It does little for the health of the covenant when an ancilla easily surpasses an elder in position, even if she deserved the promotion. The same goes for a neonate exceeding the position of an ancilla. Such a motion may outstrip an older vampire of her perceived dignity and due, and from such frustration the seeds of dissention are born. The last thing the covenant needs is an enraged elder crossing the field of battle and joining the ranks of The Invictus, or worse, the occult Ordo Dracul. This isn’t to say a younger vampire will never surpass those older than him, but it’s certainly the exception to the rule.
The Lancea Sanctum, much like the Catholic Church, divides its members into two subgroups: the laity and the clergy. The vast majority of the covenant’s members are lay members who believe in the fundamental precepts of Sanctified theology, but who do not immerse themselves in the deeper mysteries of the religion, do not deny their base urges with self-imposed vows, and, most importantly, do not hold the true reins of power within The Lancea Sanctum. Occasionally, some lay members are able to exert considerable control over local clergy. Generally, however, this occurs simply because the lay member has so much personal power that her opinions simply cannot be ignored. True power within the covenant belongs to the clergy, whose members have taken special religious orders to show their devotion to the covenant, as well as intensive training in Theban Sorcery or other elements of Sanctified mysticism. Naturally, the religious vows undertaken by newly ordained Priests also contain vows of loyalty to their superiors within The Lancea Sanctum.
We denote individual titles with a series of dots. These dots represent the minimum number of Covenant Status (Lancea Sanctum) Merit dots a Kindred must have to hold the title in question. In doing this, we seek not to suggest that a character who has this many dots in Covenant Status automatically gains the title, but rather that the position is of such esteem that none without that esteem could hope to hold it reliably in the estimation of the covenant’s local members. Storytellers, you have a bit of leeway with this — Status remains a tricky thing because of its social implications that just can’t be represented by game systems well. It’s quite possible to have a character with four dots of Covenant Status (Lancea Sanctum) but no title at all. It’s also possible that a Lancea Sanctum character in a domain where she’s the only Sanctified proclaims herself Bishop — and who’s going to refute her? As always, the Storyteller is the final arbiter, and may need to look at Status with an eye for how he wants it to affect his stories. See p. 102 of Vampire: The Requiem for more information on how to use Status in stories.

Functions of the Hierarchy

Outsiders often believe that The Lancea Sanctum recognizes four ranks: Priest, Bishop, Archbishop, and Cardinal. This is inaccurate. Every member of the covenant who has taken vows is considered a Priest, which is merely a Sanctified authorized to conduct sacraments. A Bishop is a Priest who has been recognized by his covenant as the most respected and powerful Priest within a particular domain. An Archbishop is a Bishop who exercises penultimate influence over all the Kindred of a domain, regardless of covenant, in a manner comparable to a Prince.
While all of these titles are traditionally associated with the Catholic Church and, by extension, the Monachal view of The Lancea Sanctum, the other creeds use them as well, both out of a sense of tradition and a desire to show solidarity across creed lines in the face of opposition from other covenants. There are exceptions, however — members of the Ibn- Shaitan sect, for example, typically refer to Priests as imams, while Bishops and Archbishops are generally called ayatollahs or caliphs depending on the history of the region. Likewise, members of the Dammitic Creed often refer to a Priest as rebbe. While individual rebbes may hold special Status based on age and wisdom, there are no special terms for a higherranking member. A few Protestant parishes eschew titles entirely, referring to all members as Brother or Sister regardless of Status. Such parishes also reject the clergy-laity dichotomy, though those who actively preach the Gospel of Longinus are accorded more Status than those who merely worship.
While the hierarchy of The Lancea Sanctum is much more rigid than the other covenants, it is far more fluid than its mortal counterpart. Mortal clerics attend seminary, become ordained, and are then directed to serve in a particular location by the church hierarchy, whether as a local parish Priest, as a missionary, or in some other capacity. Mortal priests then rise through the ranks, largely on the basis of skill, political acumen and connections, to become bishops and perhaps even a higher rank. In all cases, however, the church hierarchy governs advancement. A Sanctified cleric, on the other hand, begins his religious Requiem largely self-taught, usually serving in some lay capacity, before being ordained by a wholly local Bishop or Archbishop. The most powerful Priest in a city may claim the position of Bishop for himself, though the covenant as a whole will likely not recognize him as a Bishop until he is Anointed in a ceremony presided over by a Bishop or at least a fellow Priest. Similarly, a Bishop who claims praxis over all the Kindred of the domain may declare himself an Archbishop, but Sanctified of the parish-domain will not recognize his Status unless he is Anointed by another Bishop or Priest whose own Status is able to confer such esteem (or more commonly, by an agent of a previously recognized Archbishop or Prince). In any case, recognition of an Archbishop’s Status is typically a formality; the local members of The Lancea Sanctum will not needlessly antagonize a powerful Kindred of their own covenant who has just claimed a domain in The Lancea Sanctum’s name out of petty or arbitrary reasons. The key there is “needlessly” — few Sanctified care for aggrandized would-be tyrants, even among their own kind.

Vestments of The Lancea Sanctum

The Lancea Sanctum is a heavily ritualized covenant. Its reliance on ceremony and formality are unparalleled in the Danse Macabre. Some of that formality has weakened in modern nights, but still remains strong in many cities. Traditional Sanctified leaders make use of certain sacramental clothing, or vestments. These vestments vary by domain, though there is an “accepted set” of ritual clothing, the color varying by Anointed position. The liturgical colors of the covenant are red, blue, violet, and black. Inquisitors wear black, Priests wear blue and black, Bishops wear black and violet, Archbishops wear red and black, and Cardinals wear only red.
Most vestments are worn only during Apostolica. The primary vestments (though individual Sanctified favor many others) are used throughout the covenant. First is the kethonet, a simple white linen tunic worn by all officiates in the covenant. Next comes the chasuble, a square piece of cloth with a hole cut for the head, usually bearing a single color shadowed with brocade. Over that goes the birretum, a rough dark cloak (usually red or black) with a deep hood. A sestace — a band of silk over a yard long — is wrapped around one of the forearms during the ritual, used to wipe blood from mouth and cup. Finally, many (though not all) ritual leaders wear a ritus personae, a mask (often made of stone, porcelain, or even glass) some of which look like the plague masks of the Middle Ages.
In addition to such vestments, a Priest may be identified by a signet ring with which he is sometimes presented, particularly in affluent parishes, during his Anointing. Traditionally, Anointed Priests receive a ring set with an onyx, Bishops receive one with an emerald, and Archbishops receive one with a sapphire. Cardinals wear rings set with large rubies.

Minor Offices

The above roles are considered to be the “major offices” of The Lancea Sanctum, and are ubiquitous throughout the covenant (at least where populations of Sanctified can sustain the hierarchy). The covenant also has a limited number of lesser offices. These minor positions are not found in every city, and their numbers have dwindled over the last century. Additionally, some are colloquial, or bear different names in different domains and parishes. Still, some traditional Sanctified leaders still call for such roles to be filled tonight, because every committed member helps the covenant glorify the ways of the Dark Prophet.

Lay Positions

Three significant lay offices observed by The Lancea Sanctum deserve attention. We distinguish the lay positions here by not capitalizing them, though this may vary from domain to domain.