Bishop of the Humanar Church

It is well known among the Folk that Humans seem to prefer organization and order in their lives, and this is nowhere more evident that in the First Kingdom and the Grand Duchies. Even their religious orders are organized around a strict hierarchy. But while the single Human at the top of the hierarchy may be the most "important", it is a position farther down the chain that is recognized as the most influential on the daily lives of the Human Folk in their charge. For it is the Bishops of the Humanar sects that are tasked with overseeing the spiritual welfare of a region's adherents, and who are sufficiently formally trained to be prepared to do so.

Position in the Hierarchy

Bishops fall in the middle of the religious hierarchy in each of the three major sects of the Humans. This is not surprising as two of these: the Enlightened Church and the Reformed Church are direct offshoots of the juch older True Church. They are essentially the middle managers of their organizations, responsible for regions that typically consist of a major population center and all surrounding villages. They ensure that priests are assigned to individual small communities of faithful and make sure those priests are delivering the correct messages to their charges.

In the case of the True and Enlightened Churches, Bishops report up to clerics responsible for must larger regions. These Archbishops (True Church) and High Bishops (Enlightened Church) in turn report up to the single person considered the head of the religion. In the case of the Reformed Church, bishops report directly to the singluar First Bishop.

Their own reports are all the priests and acolytes assigned to local community groups. They are assigned to a specific church or temple building and will act as the priest assigned to that church's community as well.

Rank Title

Bishop (all sects)

Honorofic

Most Revered (all sects)

Direct Address Form

Your Grace (all sects)

Direct Superior

Archbishop (True Church)
High Bishop (Enlightened)
First Bishop (Reformed)

Commands

Priests & Acolytes (all sects)

Requirements and Training

All three sects select their bishops from among the ordained priests of the order. Officially, the qualities they seek are:

devoutness to the Humanar Deities

loyalty to their superiors within their Church

the ability to teach and inspire their fellow priests and acolytes

a decent knowledge of the history of the Humar and their relationship with the gods

sufficient intelligence to permit them to quickly learn the nuanced details of that history which most individuals are not familiar with.

In practice, the True Church seems to focus on the first two of these requirements above all the rest. The Enlightened Church considers the first four to be the major requirements; the others are bonuses if present. Interestlingly, the Reformed Church has a different approach. While devoutness and loyalty are important, the Reformed put most significance on the candidate's apparent grasp of what the Humanar Gods really expect of their people today rather than an understanding of how the will of the gods was interpreted in the past.

Once a priest is considered worthy of elevation to the position of bishop, they are called to their respective sect's central seat (Elderkeep for the True Church, Feypoint for the Enlightened Church, and Eastguard for the Reform Church) where they undergo a period of training supervised by a number of existing bishops. When deemed ready, they are assigned to a region - either to replace a retired or deceased bishop or, in the case of some of the lands farther from the kingdoms - to serve growing Human populations as new settlements are founded.