Communion of the Circle

The Communion of the Circle - also known simply as the Communion - is the religion followed by the vast majority of the peoples of Arginium. The religion is promoted and preserved by the prelates of the Church of the Circle, and is the official state faith of the Grand Commonwealth.
==Beliefs==
The Communion is centered around and gets its name from its worship of the Circle Celestial, the pantheon of gods - none have ever been named, as it is considered a blasphemy of the highest order to attempt to personalise the Divine - who are the center of the religion and its worship. Its main belief is that there is no path to salvation but through trust and belief in the Gods, and that it is up to every person to be a force for good in society. The teachings of the Communion revolve around community, compassion, and self discipline, emphasizing the individual as a potential agency of good and stressing how each person can contribute to society. Every choice helps to forge the individual path (and ultimate fate) of one's immortal soul, and the Communion encourages the vital importance of kindness and community in making life better for all.
The Communion first took root among mortals after the Gods spoke to their first prophet - the Exemplar Dionel - at Cedorian, a hill in Prousia Riding of Ginniodell Province. What started out as the site of the first place of worship dedicated to the Circle is now the Shrine of Reverence - where Dionel was brutally murdered by an Ousni fanatic fifty-four years later.
All mortals are faced daily with choices. These choices create a singular path which influences the fate of their soul. While past deeds cannot themselves be undone, future ones can alter the path of a person’s destiny. No one but the individual can make the choices that determine their fate, and these choices can not only determine their fate, but affect the well-being of their community and those around them.
The central tenets of the Communion are inculcated in the Venerable Codex, compiled from the teachings of the Exemplars, prophets who were inspired by the Gods to spread these teachings and the religion itself.
====Five Tenets====
The Communion is built upon five core tenets - 
* All of Creation is in a constant search for balance and peace. Anathema will seek to tempt us away from these goals.
* Our choices affect our path, and our ultimate fate.
* The Gods are beyond our understanding, but our prayers and pursuit of belief bring us closer to Them.
* Our daily works can make all the difference to the betterment of society.
* Redemption is the choice of every person.
====Holy Texts====
The Communion has three holy texts which it uses to preserve and spread its teachings. Each one serves a specific purpose within the Church’s works.
The first, and most important, is the Venerable Codex, the central holy text of the Communion. It contains the full teachings passed down by the Exemplars. Each chapter - there are twenty-one in total - contains the sermons and teachings of a single Exemplar, and focuses on a central theme. Each of the prophets focused their teachings on some key aspect of life, work, or personal conduct, and passed these lessons down for posterity.
The Keeper Testament is a text penned by Exemplar Dionel himself shortly before he was murdered. In it, Dionel tells the story - as he was inspired to do - of what is known as the “Ordering of the Infinite”, the events which saw the creation of all things and the structuring of the Primordial Infinite by the Gods in the time before time.
The Scrolls of Tranquility are a set of six scrolls written by the Exemplar Kalanil - an elven prophet of the Communion - who penned them as inspirational, meditative works designed to explore the importance of emotional and spiritual clarity in the pursuit of greater enlightenment. The Scrolls became the inspiration for the creation of the three monastic societies affiliated with the Church - the Order of the Tranquil Hand, the Order of the Immaculate Veil, and the Order of the Exalted Task.
====The Circle Celestial====
The Communion worships a divine pantheon known as the Circle Celestial. In the time before time, They descended from Aesenium, the realm of light, to bring order and structure to the chaotic formlessness of the Primordial Infinite, shaping its limitless worlds and stars and wonders. They is the source all which both forged and now sustains Creation. According to the Venerable Codex, the Gods have always been, with no discernible beginning or end. They see and know all, guide the course of all things, and are the power which sustains the laws governing all aspects of the orderly Creation known to all mortal beings.
The Communion teaches that the Gods tolerate the existence of the forces of Anathema as a tragic necessity in the natural cycle of mortal life, as both a teaching tool and as a test of the resolve of people to choose for themselves. Many faithful believe that the previous epochs of history were similarly tested and failed, which is why Anathema persists. It is said that, in a time when They determine appropriate, the Circle will purge the forces of darkness from Creation and all peoples will know eternal peace and tranquility.
====The Anathema====
The Circle was (and still is) opposed in its works by the dark forces of “Anathema”. A dark font of evil and depravity, from depths of Eaphunara, the realm of darkness, come the demons and fiends forged of those dark fires to bring fear and disorder to Creation. In the beginning times, divine servitors swept demonic opposition aside as Creation came into being, but the taint of Anathema tragically remains, its dark influences sowing the seeds of unrest and ill feelings among the mortal races. To modern time, Anathema represents evil, darkness, temptation, and avarice, among other negative traits. Some hidden cults worship the Anathema as the true divine power, but these are branded heretical and hunted aggressively by Church examiners and Royal authority alike.
==Structure==
The Church of the Circle, charged by the Gods with preserving the teachings passed on by the Exemplars and promoting its tenets throughout the land, has a simple hierarchy that represents different tiers of authority and service. There are three ranks of clergy within its structure - the Curate, the Prelates, and the Deacons. At the pinnacle of this hierarchy is the Curate, who serves as leader and foremost representative of the Church. There is only one cleric of this rank at any given time. Under their authority are the Prelates, who are the senior clerics. They can be found leading the basilicas and great chapels of major cities and other important areas. The most senior prelates constitute the membership of the Prelate Assembly, the council which advises and assists the Curate in governance of the Church, and which elects a new Curate upon the passing of the current one. Lastly are the Deacons, who serve as junior clerics. They lead chapels in the many towns and villages and attend the spiritual needs of of local congregants, as well as supporting charitable and outreach efforts in a community. All who seek to become clerics spend several years as acolytes, studying at the Church's seminary, the Scuola Divinica.
Category:Religions