Kirvan Saints

are extraordinary individuals recognized posthumously by the Kirvan Church for their service to the goddess Kirva.
== Overview ==
Sainthood is rare in the cosmic scheme (the Council of Kirvan Patriarchs recognizes a few saints per year, many of them long-dead or semi-fictitious), and often disputed – what the local Kirvan church considers a saint might not be recognized by the Council of Patriarchs for decades or centuries, if ever.
Sainthood is of course posthumous: it requires the affirmation of two Kirvan angels that the individual in question was known to Kirva for their actions in life.
== Sainthood and Nobility ==
Within the Shantine Empire, only the descendants of saints are nobles, and typically their privileges are linked to the hagiography of their ancestors (e.g. land grants based on the place of their ancestor’s martyrdom). Ancestral hagiography is also important for political promotion: military positions are often preferentially granted to the heirs of great warrior-saints. Nobles are thus obsessed with their bloodline and preserving as many links to saints as possible to preserve themselves against accusations of dilution or exaggerated heredityDire insults used by Shantine aristocrats against each other include “saint’s in-law” and other variations on non-blood relationships.. The Shantine Imperial family, the House of Kataph, includes dozens of saints in its ancestry and more than a few prophets.
== Prophets of Kirva ==
In extraordinary cases it is possible to be named a Prophet of Kirva – this is a title which may be held in life, and it implies not merely a heroic action on behalf of Kirva but a direct communion. Prophets are exceedingly rare (once in centuries), never unanimously accepted and usually the catalyst for bloody civil disturbance.
== Notes ==
Category:Titles