Old Imperial Church

The Old Imperial Church stands as a venerable testament to the once-mighty Old Empire that once held dominion over much of Anu. This polytheistic religion, was deeply rooted in the worship of the deities that are now understood to be part of the Imperial Pantheon.
== Organisation ==
Centralization and organization lied at the core of the Old Imperial Church's identity. The church was a political Institution, just as much as it was a spiritual institution. Core the the church's function was the concept of Divine Peace. The emperor of the Old Empire and the deities of the Imperial Pantheon were codependent. The deities needed the faith and believe of the citizenry and the emperor sought protection from the more destructive and disruptive deities. Such a pragmatic understanding however was reserved only for the highest officials and the emperor and most of the clergy and the citizenry worshiped for much simpler and more personal reasons.
None the less, the need to uphold Divine Peace meant the church was as important to the prosperity of the Old Empire as the army or the civil bureaucracy was. This led the church to be a highly centralized organisation under final authority of the emperor. The day to day running of the church was left to a council of Grand Priests, headed by a Imperial Prophet, traditionally one of the emperor's daughters.
== History ==
=== Early History ===
The Old Imperial Church has no known definitive start and is believed to be the sum amalgamation of the many small human and elfen kingdoms that initially founded the Old Empire. Scholars and theologians generally agree that as the empire matured, it subsumed the church and shaped it to be a highly centralized and organized institution.
=== Post Stormfall ===
When the Stormrift appeared, not only did it cut the Imperial Colonies off from the rest of the Old Empire, it also seemed to sever the connection to many of the deities of the Imperial Pantheon. The years immediately following the Stormfall put the remaining clergy of the Old Imperial Church on Ferra under such pressure and distress that their meager number was reduced further by suicide and madness. Many individuals and sometimes whole communities and even towns split off and founded their own local cults and sects. Finally, 12 years after the Stormrift descended, with no end to the chaos in sight, Alanus Damian, Governor of the Imperial Colonies called for a grand council to be held in Pomariames, where the Old Imperial Church was structurally reformed into the New Imperial Church.
Category:Religion