Friþcandelcyrice (Frith-candle-sea-reese)

Friþcandelcyrice, also called the Sun Church and the First Church of Man among other names, is an extinct henotheist religion and was the dominant religion of the Melistern Empire and Arteri mankind in the First Era of the Man (2567 AHA > 3167 AHA). The religions primary creed was, as the name implies, the worship of the sun.

Sun God & Sky Devil

To understand Friþcandelcyrice first the importance of the sun must be stretched. The ancient Melisternians saw the sun, or Sała in the Melisternian tongue, as a direct reflection of Maraman, the creator god in the old Arteri faith. Maraman was the ruler of everything in the times before the existence of evil. This was until Morafriþ, the mythological chief of the human Déofolscín (literally ‘Devil’s Kin’) clan deceived him by using the trust emplaced in man. It is believed that in these times Maraman directly was present in the world in place of the Sun, watching over every day looking down from a pure white sky.

After the betrayal of Maraman’s trust in man he shielded himself from the disgrace that was the human race, placing a golden shield before his glory, a shield we now call the sun.

Morafriþ went on to create a shield of himself, a shield we now call the sky. No longer would crops grow by Maraman’s direct intervention, but only by the remnants that could get past his golden shield and his opponents blue shield.

It is from here that the important distinction is made. As in Melisternian eyes, the sun is holy, yet the sky from beyond it shines is unholy, making the world below it submit to flickering shadows of varying light and darkness, day and night, good and evil.

I is also because of this, that believers in the Melistern Empire had a great distrust of both shadows and the night, keeping as much light at night around as possible.

Theology

The theology of the Sun Church can generally be described as a monotheistic faith with polytheistic aspects. First and foremost, the faith only recognised one god worthy of praise, the sun, yet it was believed that it is not the only deity out there, even though the sun was by far the most powerful of them all, being held as "all-knowing, all-able and unknown to the chains of time". These, lesser gods, also known as the "Tewyrhta", or "Divine Agents" were seen as having many traits known to humans, such as emotion, mortality and desires. This puts the Agents as relatable to humans, yet also makes them susceptible to the sins of man, with jealousy and greed being the most common ones. Agents were therefore classified by the church as either "Godwyrhta", "Good Agents" or "Miswyrhta", "Bad Agents". The former were seen as those that held to the teachings of the Church are could be relied on for guidance and blessings, the latter were those that did not and were to be avoided. Important is to know that these Agents could, just like humans, fall in and out of favour with the church over the years, as many Agents have been both "Good Agents" or "Bad Agents" depending on the year.

The Church and the Sacraments

Church doctrine states that Friþcandelcyrice was established together with the creation of man to protect them from the influence of the "Agents", who at that point already were starting to loosen themselves from the Sun's influence. Not willing to cut them loose and throw the world in disarray, the Sun instead granted man the tools to ward themselves against their chaos. This was done by granting the early church the "Sixtiue Teirfeláf", or "Sixteen Heirlooms". These were sacramental rituals that would form the basis of religious life. Eight of these were yearly feasts while the other eight were situational rites, such as marriage, death and coming of age.

The "Sixteen Heirlooms" of the Church

The Great Feasts

The Steorran Sixtiue (Star of Sixteen), later known as the Steorran Melistriue (Star of Melistern). Referring to the sixteen holy sacraments of the faith, it is the most well known symbol of Melisternian statehood, continuing in use even long after the empire fell and it lost its original religious meaning.

Type

Religious, Organised Religion

Alternative Names

The Sun Church, First Church of Man.

Successor Organization

• The Gatekeepers

Deities

• Sała Maraman

Divines

• Sała Maraman