The True Church of the Humanar

In the First Kingdom, there is only one recognized and acceptable sect: the True Church of the Humanar. Citizens of the realm are required to adhere to the tenets of this sect; failure to do so can bring about various consequences depending on the severity of the breach. Open adherence to any other sect is heresy punishable by banishment or death. The True Church dictates certain religious observances, and demands certain "sacrifices" from its members which, over the years have been interwoven into the administrative tax structure of the kingdom.

Structure

The ultimate authority on all religious matters within the True Church rests with the current First Servant of the Humanar. The First Servant is elected by the Archbishops of the Church and serves until death. The First Servant is also the Advisor/Confessor to the High Sovereign of the First Kingdom of Humankind.

Archbishops are appointed from among the ranks of Bishops by the First Servant. Archbishops are assigned to each of the Dukedoms of the Kingdom, and act as Advisors/Confessors to the ruling Archdukes. Although the First Kingdom has been reduced to five dukedoms since the Great Strife, the First Servant nevertheless appoints an Archbishop to serve in the Grand Duchies of Elvenpass and Eastguard. These two Archbishops do not have the Advisory authority of the others as the Grand Duchies do not recognize the True Church as a State Religion. Two more Archbishops are appointed to the historical Duchies of Transferrica and Faeria in the northeast as well, but these rarely leave the capital of Elderkeep.

Founding Date

New Year Holiday, 955HR

Type

Religious, Organised Religion

Permeated Organizations

• The First Kingdom of Humankind

Location

Elderkeep, the First City of the First Kingdom

Controlled Territories

• Icemoor Prison
• The Shrine of Saint Craydin the Healer

Religious Orders

Keepers of the Village
Acolytes of Truth
Bringers of Truth

Bishops are appointed from among the ranks of Prelates that serve as local priests to the people. While it is nominally the First Servant who elevates a Bishop, this is almost always done with the advice and consent of the ducal Archbishop in which the appointment is made. Bishops in the First Kingdom serve as Advisors/Confessors to a Marklord, Count, or Lord High Mayor. Bishops may be appointed to serve in the Grand Duchies as well, and the Four Free Cities around Icefell Bay and the Farsea also have Bishops appointed to them.

Prelates are ordained priests responsible for parishes, which may be roughly aligned with baronies and towns within the First Kingdom and beyond. In the Frontier Lands, there are few that serve beyond the Free Cities, most notably in Laketon, Four Rivers, and Karnstown.

In particularly busy parishes, Prelates may be assisted by Servants of the Church. Typically newly ordained priests, these assist Prelates in local duties serving the needs of the people.

Public Agenda

The purpose of the True Church is straightforward: it promotes devotion by Humans and Halflings to the Humar deities, and also promotes the adherence to the Tenets first set down by Saint Ancelin.

Assets

The major cities of the First Kingdom each boast large, ornate cathedrals filled with sacramental items made of gold, silver, mithril, and other precious metals and gems. It is said that the treasuries of the True Church far outstrip those of the First Kingdom.

History

When Ancelin returned from his journeys, he used the knowledge he had gained from the Dwarves and Elves he visited to organize his people, and under his guidance, they rapidly flourished. Their first permanent village, which Ancelin called Highhill, rapidly grew into a town and then a city, attracting other Humanfolk and Halflingfolk with their prosperity and relative ease of life. As the years passed, Ancelin's family remained at the center of Human organization, as he had ensured that his children were taught everything he had learned. When he passed, it was his eldest child, Adria that became the de-facto leader of the settlement. Adria was succeeded in this position by her son Andelin.

Upon Andelin's death, leadership of the now bustling city of Highhill and the agricultural lands around it fell to his eldest child Tralia. She found, however, that while Ancelin's dream of Humans coming together seemed to be coming true, the huge influx of Folk from the surrounding regions meant that there were many who had not experienced Ancelin's teachings. Order broke down, and the ways of Ancelin were in danger of being forgotten as humans gave into their natural jealousies and greed. Tralia's brother Grandelin decided that the teachings of their great grandfather should be more formally distributed, and to do so, he formed the Church of the Humanar/ Grandelin was a cleric devoted to the gods, so this seemed to be a natural choice. He declared himself the First Servant of the Humanar, and ordained his two younger sisters, Druthalia and Bethania as bishops to assist him. A year after forming the faith centered around Ancelin's Tenets, he had managed to restore some semblance of order to Highhill.

But in order to cement these recoveries, Grandelin did two things. First, he decreed that the gods wished Highhill to be renamed as Elderkeep from that point on - to remind the people of their duties to remember the teachings that Ancelin had brought them. Second, he declared that Elderkeep would be the center of the First Kingdom of Humankind, and the First High Sovereign of this new realm would be his sister Tralia. Thus, Queen Tralia I became the first Human monarch to wear a crown, the First Kingdom was formed, and the Church of the Humanar was declared the official religion of the realm.

Over the years, many scholars - some of them the bishops and prelates of the Church - attempted to reinterpret Ancelin's teachings in ways that were not apparoved by the Church. These heresies were quickly stamped out, though -- until the time of the Great Strife. During the hundred or so years of the god-war, the Church in the duchies of Elvenpass and Eastguard were cut off from Elderkeep, and over the many years of their isolation, their leaders adjusted their teachings somewhat. By the time the Great Strife ended, the differences were significant, but the followers of these new teachings were many. The Church declared them heresies, but rather than recant, the leaders of the Church what were now the independent Grand Duchies, declared that they were forming a new religion: the Enlightened Church of the Humanar. In response, the First Servant in Elderkeep declared that only the First Kingdom's Church was the True Church; it has been referred to as the True Church of the Humanar ever since.

Credits

Banner images by Vinson Tan ( 楊 祖 武 ) from Pixabay

Page background cathedral Image by 5163451 on Pixabay
Page background manor house image by Josef Pichler on Pixabay
Page background hut image by PamelaAndrey15 on Pixabay
Page background forest image by Waldkunst on Pixabay
Character portraits by RPGDinosaurBob on Hero Forge®