Joran Werranism

Joran Werransim is a branch tree of the Werran Faith, which is a dominant religion in Juhvechteya. While it is similar to its mother religion, it has some key differences in belief and structure. It is followed in Stribrna Joraje, western Tanderland, parts of Toradzland, parts of Roszony, and other regions.

## Structure

Joran Werranism has an entirely different structure to the rest of Werranism, where, isntead of all preachers holding their own parish from a Bishop, who reports to the Supreme Bishop, the Joran Branch sees that each Parish Preist, or *Farar*, is equal to one another, and that, instead of electing a bishop, they hold a council, the so-called *Council of Churches*, or the *Rada Cirkevni*, where they meet to discuss religious disputes, matters of the faith, and more. From this council they often elect a representative, who will represent them all at the Council of Bishops, when one is called. Due to this practice, and the differences in doctrine, there has never been a Joran *Bishop Supreme*, for the bishops prefer to elect one of their own as opposed to a simple, lowly, borderline heritical, Farar.

Most Farar's have domain over a *Church Domain*, or a *Doman Cirkevni*, or more simply *Farni*, or Parish. Each Farni usually a single church in it, and there is usually a single Farar for each church. A Farni may include naught but a few houses, or up to several villages, depending on the population of the surrounding areas. Each Farni has a single representative during the Rada Cirkevni, so that no Farni may be overlooked. Oftentimes, a Farni may have multiple small chapels, yet they will usually have only a single church. Sometimes a Farni will be divided in two when a new church is built, but sometimes multiple Farnis will be amalgamated together, often upon the death of a farar of a smaller farni. However, if the Farar is still alive at this point, the farars of the former Farnis will come into a smaller council and decide which will be the main farar for the parish, while the others will retire to simply preaching in their own church, or will become a travelling priest.

## Beliefs

The major beliefs of the religion are similar to the rest of the Werran family, that being that the god of the faith, Arkhas (Known as Werry to the Jorans) exists in a world fought for by many gods and other beings of divine status, and that Werry must win this war and destroy all the other gods. Jorans, like other Werrans, believe that the way that they can help their god win this war is by killing or converting men of other, rival faiths, thereby sapping their own gods of the strength of their belief, and allowing Werry to defeat them.

### The Lieutenants

While nearly all other versions of Werranism disallow the worship of other gods and beings of divine power and status, Joran Werranism supposes that some of these divine beings can form alliances with Werry, and that they can work toward the same goal, all under the Church of the Heavens. These lesser beings are called the Lieutenants of Werry, and they hold power over certain aspects of war and battle, as well as over more mundane subjects such as agriculture and trade.

The major Lieutenants are as follows, though there are many, many others:

Mateje: Lieutenant of steel, skill at arms, battle, storms, and the forge

Wenzel: Lieutenant of Roads, trade, logistics, and travel

Bestije: Lieutenant of Animals, the Wilds, Tactics, Forests, wisdom and fire

Fereste: Lieutenant of Food, Agriculture, Farms, supply, and strategy

Rybumuz: Lieutenant of water, rivers, lakes, seas, ships, fish, sea monsters, and maritime trade and transport

## History

Arriving in the land of the Jorans around 400 years ago, the first churches were established by the first Farars, and they began slowly converting the local population. Rather than the violent conversions common to other branches of Werranism, the Farars instead peacefully converted the Jorans by integrating aspects of their local culture into the faith, including many of their former deities. These old gods would become the Lieutenants, and they would become a crucial aspect in the peaceful conversion of the Jorans. There remain a few in Joraje who still worship the Lieutenants as their own deities, though they are only found in isolated rural areas, and their numbers decrease yearly.

These Farars, who set out into Joraje without the orders of a Bishop, decided that they should not form the newly converted lands into a new Bishopric, nor incorporate it into an existing one, and they would form the *Rada Cirkevni* to act in the stead of a bishop. Each parish either sends its Farar, or a close representative thereof, to the Rada, where they will debate issues and doctrine, and talk about contemporary issues, and the faith's stance on them.

Over time, the power of the faith has increased and diminished. During some periods certain Farars would become highly influential at court, sometimes governing vast tracts of land, while at other points they would be reduced to the role of mere preachers. The peak of their power was during the reign of Duke Derell "The Unable" during the Second Dynasty, when the faith grew in such power that they managed to wrest control of several castles and towns from their inhabitants, and would take part in the civil strife that occurred during the anarchy of his reign, fighting sometimes on the side of this lord or that, or sometimes for themselves.