Church of the Holy Light The Church of the Holy Light , also known as Church of the Light or Church of Light , is a lawful good organization of approximately 800 , 000 members affiliated with the Alliance . Mission . The Church of the Holy Light can be found just about everywhere on Azeroth . They are based out of Stormwind City where the Church leaders gather in the Cathedral of Light . The Church sends its people all over the world , spreading the wisdom and comfort of the Holy Light . They also do what they can to help people with more practical matters , from building homes to settling family disputes to scaring off enemies . It is all very noble , of course , but that fits with the Holy Light ' s teachings of making the world a better place and making oneself better by helping other people . The Church has everyone ' s best interests at heart , and the priest , paladins , and lay members do their best to help everyone . It is a religion that is all about making people truly happy , not to mention a religion whose practitioners show clear evidence of divine blessing . Even those determined to doubt are forced to admit that the Light grants its followers impressive powers to combat the darkness . No one knows for sure the origin of the church . For that matter , no one knows when people first discovered the Holy Light — or were discovered by it — either . People started preaching the Light at some point , explaining how this great and benevolent force existed and sought out mortal spirits interested in helping others and protecting life in general . The Holy Light is a strange philosophy because it doesn ' t involve reverence for a person — the Light is not a god , and virtuous activity in the soul is the sacrifice the Light demands of its followers , not wine or gold or such things that a being needs . There is also study and contemplation involved , particularly on how to make oneself a better person in order to commune with the Light more perfectly . The Church likely had libraries before they had temples , and the one simply grew out of the other . Eventually all those churches unified and created the Church of the Holy Light . History . For a long time , the Church was the dominant human religion . The followers of the Holy Light were everywhere , supporting civilizations and building cities and founding temples and generally bringing light and hope and help to everyone . Then the First War began . And there were the members of the Church , right in the thick of things , using their Light - given gifts to hold back the Horde . It was impressive — awe - inspiring , really . Unfortunately , to some , most of the priest s focused on defending people rather than taking the fight to the Horde . And there just weren ' t enough priests to go around . The leader of the Holy Order of Northshire Clerics during the war was Archbishop Alonsus Faol , and his apprentice was a devout lad named Uther . After the First War , Uther knew that that the Church needed to do more when the orcs came again — its people needed to stand up and fight instead of just healing and defending . They needed to go after the darkness and actively prevent it from harming anyone , rather than waiting for it to come to them . He issued a call to all the bravest knight s to join his new order , the Knights of the Silver Hand , and thus the paladins were born . They saw their first battles in the Second War and were instrumental in the Alliance ' s victory . The church in Northshire was known as Church of Light at the time . Some claim that the Third War was the best thing that could have happened to the Church . The Church finally gave up its old habits and started to change . Some of the younger priests suggested that the Church take this opportunity to rebuild itself , setting aside many of its older traditions and starting new ones . They claimed that the Church had strayed from the path of the Three Virtues and needed to pare back down to essentials . According to these younger priests , their elders had lost touch with the Light and it was time to reclaim that holy communion . There are rumors of a break within the Church itself , dating to about that time . It is said that the members are fighting among themselves about whether to cling to the old traditions or forge new ones . It didn ' t help that most of the Church ' s texts were lost and so people have been writing new ones — some of them writing about the same things but without comparing notes or checking sources . It is said that the Church is finally organizing again and looking at all these texts for consistency and accuracy , but it ' s unknown if that ' s true . It is known that the Church is stronger than it ' s been in centuries . The ancient organization is rebuilding , redefining its doctrine , regaining ground , and speaking out against the Scourge and other evils . Organization . The Church has an archbishop which is in charge , and he has a council of bishop s to advise him . Usually the archbishop was a bishop himself before he was selected , and once he ' s been chosen he ' s in charge until he dies or chooses to step down . The bishops do more than advise the archbishop , of course . Each bishop has charge of a region , in some cases an entire continent . The regions are based less on politics and more on population than area , so in some cases a bishop might only be responsible for a large city , while others have an entire countryside . Stormwind City has its own bishop , as does Northrend . Priests work for the bishops , and they do most of the hands - on community work : preaching , tending to the wounded , teaching the children , and so on . They lay priests as well , who aren ' t ordained and cannot preach , but handle most of the daily chores around the temples and monasteries . The Church of the Holy Light can only get so much through donations . In order to feed the priests , the religious institution has to make money . It has farm s all over the countryside , most of them surrounding monasteries , and the priests there raise crops and cattle and whatever else the Church needs , and sell the surplus . In some regions the Church owns land and rents it to farmers , merchants , or businessmen . They don ' t keep much of the profit , though — and the Church is always giving food , clothing , and tools to the poor . It also teaches people about prayer , about health and farming , and generally how to be a good person . Before the First War , the Church had three major locations : Northshire Abbey in Azeroth ' s western countryside , the Temple of Light in Stratholme , and Cathedral of Light in Stormwind City . The Horde destroyed Northshire Abbey in the First War , tearing it apart and burning the rubble . The Temple of Light fell with the rest of Stratholme to the Scourge . Only the Cathedral of Light remains , and this has become the Church ' s headquarters . A grand structure with many wings and spires , the Cathedral house s the Archbishop , the bishop of Stormwind City , and various other priests . It also contains the Grand Chamber , a vast meeting room where the council of bishops meets with the archbishop to discuss issues and plot the Church ' s actions . The Northshire Abbey was later rebuilt , and is an outpost of the Cathedral of Light . Membership . Anyone can follow the path of the Holy Light , and anyone who follows the Holy Light is welcomed by the Church . Most of its members are human , but the Church does not discriminate . High elves and Ironforge dwarves have long been members . Though anyone can become a member of the Church , becoming an actual priest is a long and difficult process . First come various classes , taught by lay priests , all about the Church ' s history , principles and activities . If the applicant does well in class he graduates to the next level , taking personal instruction with a priest , learning prayers and other devotions . Most applicants become lay priests , working for the Church while studying . They can spend several years in instruction , until the priest feels they ' re ready . Then there ' s an audience with the bishop , and a stay in one of the Church ' s monasteries — several months to several years away from everyone except other faithful . During this time many of them experience true communion with the Light for the first time . If the applicant maintains his faith and still seems suitable , the monastery ' s head priest sponsors him for ordination . Once a priest is ordained , his life belongs to the Church . The council decides where he goes and what he will do , whether that ' s working a farm or preaching in a city . Most priests stay with the Church until they die , though as they get older they do more studious and clerical work and less physical labor . A few lose faith and break away , forsaking their vows . Those who do stay , and who distinguish themselves spiritually and politically , can rise through the ranks and eventually become a bishop . After the Second War , the Church of the Holy Light had very few members — in large part because so many died in Lordaeron — and most temples had a single priest or were actually shut down . People have begun applying again since the Third War , however , and now the temples are all fully staffed again . Leadership . The council has many bishops , though naturally not all of them can attend every meeting . Many handle their own regions well but are quiet during meetings , expressing opinions with nods or frowns and voting without a word . Others are more boisterous , more aggressive , and more political . Three of these have formed their own power bases within the council , and together with the archbishop , they are the true powers of the Church — some might say the three bishops are the power and the archbishop dances desperately among them , attempting to prevent a schism . The Three Virtues . The philosophy of the Holy Light boils down to the three teachings , called the Three Virtues . These virtues — respect , tenacity , and compassion — are each defined into a principle and a lesson . Respect . The first virtue taught is respect , which is recognition of the truth of a connection between one and everything around them . While the Holy Light teaches that awareness of the self is virtuous , one must also see the connection between others and the universe . Destroying the happiness of others is not serving the world ' s well being , and , therefore , not one ' s own . The practitioners of the Holy Light are not naive , however , and understand that trial , conflict , war , and suffering do happen ; but they strive to make the universe a better place in spite of this . Tenacity . The second virtue is tenacity . The adherence to this virtue is the part of training under the Holy Light that weeds out the unfaithful , as true dedication takes years . Fresh - faced acolytes often lose hope and clarity in discernment of the true meaning of the Holy Light when they realize that it takes a lifetime to serve the philosophy . The world is much more vast than one lone soul , and while the world can change a soul in a day , it takes much more time to change the world . Only through tenacity can a servant of the Holy Light hope to affect the universe positivity . If some young students feel as if this is an impossible task , others take heart in the realization that if one truly believes there is a connection between the self and the universe , one cannot help but affect the other , no matter the magnitude . Affecting the world can include anything from teaching and instilling hope in others to joining with other like - minded individuals to work together to create a bigger change . Compassion . After the first two concepts are mastered , the student can take on the final virtue : compassion . The connection between the self and the universe is strong , but it still is only one connection . If a follower of the Light serves another to increase his happiness , his bond with the universe grows stronger . The happiness he receives by helping someone also strengthens himself and the universe , and he is able to affect the universe even more . Compassion is perhaps the most beloved — and yet , the most dangerous — virtue . If someone is too compassionate , he can give help where none is needed — or wanted . To the unknowing mind , compassion clouds the intellect and distorts the first two virtues . This oversight can hinder one ' s growth and happiness . For example , one may help another with a seemingly impossible quest , when such a quest is not actually out of the abilities of the one making the attempt . Thus , compassion ( however well - meant ) has resulted in that person ' s inability to grow as the quest was essentially " done for them " , hindering their growth and , ultimately , their happiness . Some students of compassion can be imprudent and do more harm than good with their actions , increasing the suffering and unhappiness in the world . A well meaning follower of the Light may rush to the aid of an adventurer and wind up gaining too much interest of those attacking , and thus force those they try to help to rush to the follower ' s aid . This is why compassion is taught last ; only the wise and those fully understanding the first two virtues may know compassion ; only the truly learned may identify who is truly in need and who can grow on their own .