Church of the Light

The god of light watches over the humanoid world, keeping those who do good safe while punishing the wicked. The foundation of morality and culture in human society, the church of Light plays a vital role in this medieval world.

### Patron Saints

Patron Saints are deified followers who have accomplished great deeds:

#### Auran the Healer

Followers of Auran are primarily concerned with aiding of humanity especially through healing and holy magic. They despise most other forms of magic with the belief that the latter draws their power from something sinister. As such, their followers usually consist of healers and members of inquisitions. Auran values family, believes in strong communities, and healing the sick and injured. After his death he merged with the sun.

#### Antonius the Wise

Followers of Antonius don’t concern themselves much with worldly matters as wealth and power, instead focusing on more scholarly goals like astrology, theurgy and alchemy to understand the divine world better. He became one with the moon after his death.

#### Jacob the Charitable

Jacob’s followers focus their efforts on improving the lives of those who are less fortunate, living minimalist lives themselves and dedicating themselves to prayer and charity work. He sunk into the earth, becoming one with it in the process.

#### Miguel the Strong

Miguel is all about strength, whether it be mental or physical, improving yourself to serve the god of light better is all that matters in his eyes. Fell apart into dust, joining the winds.

#### John the Revelator

John believes that indulging in hedonism is another way to communicate with the god of light, celebrating the gifts he gave us. We all live in sin, but having fun isn’t sin, an occasional drink or party isn’t bad. He washed away with the waves into the ocean.

#### Maria the Just

An inquisitor through and through, focused mostly on eradicating heresy and heathenry. While Auran has more tolerance towards magicks like druidic for it’s healing capacity, Maria hates them all equally, believing them all to come from a place of corruption. Followers of hers don’t shy away from unorthodox methods to gain information or rid the world of sin. She disappeared in a flash of lightning.

### Hierarchy of the church

#### Upper Caste

The church is ruled by an ecclesiastical council, made out of a group of 9 cardinals from each corner of the world. These cardinals are not representative of a patron saint, each having one of their own beliefs, they are elected when one passes away during a synod where bishops and abbots from all over the world gather.

The bishops are a rank below the cardinals, they rule over bishoprics which are similar to theocratic duchies. Archbishops rule over bigger swats of lands, like multiple duchies or some even large enough to qualify as a kingdom. Abbots can be considered the mayor’s of theocracy, with each one ruling their own monastery.

Paladins and High priests are the middle class, both being chosen by bishops after proving their worth. High priests have a higher authority and tend to work closely with the bishops, having also a grasp of holy magic.

#### Middle Caste

Paladins are warrior priests, former fighters who turned to the light and have lived in monasteries for a couple of years. They know basic healing but their magic is mostly focused on smiting and such, using it mostly to purge undead.

#### Lower Caste

Parish priests, nuns, monks and the like are the lowest ranks, simple clergy but still respected due to their important position in society, watching over churches or helping out in monasteries.

### Schisms within the church

#### The First Schism

Hundreds of years ago, when Auran was only just raised as a saint there were some disagreements amongst the cardinals of the ecclesiastical council on the exact status of Auran. One cardinal by the name of Procopius even went so far to leave the church entirely, going off to a foreign country to form his own religion, as he believed Auran to be the Lord in human form. Rumors speculate that this is where the Sundial of Norenia came from.

#### The Second Schism

In recent years two factions have formed amongst the clergy, the orthodox and reformists.

The Orthodox faction firmly believes that positions as bishop and abbot can only be given to those of noble birth and that anything else would be unholy. They view the church as something seperate and above the kingdoms. For a long time they held a strong dominant position within the church but recently the winds seem to be blowing slowly in favor of the reformists.

The Reformists believe that anyone of sufficient piety should be able to hold clergical offices. They focus less on the politics and more on creating holy orders for protection and cooperating with the kingdoms in which their churches are located through charity work.

### Rituals of the church:

#### Prayers

Prayers are performed at dawn and dusk. The sun is viewed as an important part of the church, as it vanquishes any undead within it's rays. These prayers are done to thank the Lord for the dawn of a new day and to ask for protection during the night.

Contents of the prayers vary greatly with each individual.

#### Consecration

An experienced priest can just use a bottle of chrism, which is scented olive oil used for rituals, and sprinkle the ground around them to temporarily consecrate the ground. Permanent consecration is an entire ritual that's done dependant on the location.

* Within churches , incense must burn and all objects are removed from the main altar or lectern, afterwards a candle is lit on the left side of the altar/lectern, for the Lord. Then a candle on the right side for the people.

* A tiny bit of chrism is springled upon the altar/lectern and spread around, after which a prayer of choice is said.

* After the oil has dried up the objects can be returned and the church is consecrated.

The same process is done for monasteries, inside it's church, although with a third candle to bless the abbot behind the altar, consecrating all the ground within the outer walls. For graveyards a candle must burn at each grave, and chrism be sprinkled around as a prayer is being said.