Archbishop of the Holy Church

**Archbishop of the Holy Church** is the title given to the leader of the Church of the Holy Light and is seen as the end all authority for decisions made by the body of faith. The most notable archbishop has been Alonsus Faol, noted for his creation of the Order of the Silver Hand under Uther the Lightbringer. Since his death, the official successor to him was deemed as Benedictus; but as time has gone on the church has suffered several schisms, such as the removal of the Kingdom of Gilneas from the fold of the church and the appointment of Seryl I as Archbishop of Gilneas, the appointment of Kaston Electus as Archbishop pro Tempore, and the appointment of Archbishop Landgren as Archbishop of the Scarlet Crusade and Lordaeron.

## The Four Archbishops

Following the death of Alonsus Faol, a series of events led to several other archbishops being appointed outside of the designated successor that was Benedictus. Benedictus, seen as the first Archbishop declared, has been widely recognized as the legitimate successor to Faol; as he was appointed by the then unified church shortly after Faol's passing. Ruling from his See in Stormwind City's Cathedral of Light for over a decade, Benedictus' reign came to an abrupt end after his death during the fight against Deathwing. Though many claim he ventured to the north to bring the word of the Light against those who would oppose the Alliance and Azeroth, dark stories tell that he had betrayed the world to serve the Aspect of Death. It is unknown which of these stories are true, though the church preaches he was unfortunately slain in the North fighting against Deathwing. Regardless, Benedictus was indeed slain in Northrend.

The second Archbishop to be declared was present in the man known as Seryl I; deemed Archbishop of Gilneas by King Genn Greymane following the erection of the Greymane Wall. This appointment was largely unknown outside of Gilneas due to the isolation period but was done in order to preserve the faith of the people who were now locked away from the outside world. Seryl was known as a pious man and was not known to harbor any ill will towards Benedictus, reports even say he supported his succession to Faol, rather he was a man who took up the position with his people's isolation. Following the downfall of the wall, Seryl has not been recognized as a heretic or evil man by the church but rather a servant of the Light who kept the faith of those in his See strong through dark times. Seryl did not survive the downfall of Gilneas, and upon the kingdom's return to the Grand Alliance the people of Gilneas reunited with the church under Benedictus.

The third Archbishop was known as Archbishop Landgren, a former Abbot of the Scarlet Crusade. He was named Archbishop by the then ruling body of the Crusade under the Scarlet Onslaught and was later slain by unknown adventurers in Northrend. His schism from the church, as with most of the Crusade who have not sought repentance for deeds done against the Alliance in Northrend, has been branded as heresy.

The fourth archbishop was known as Kaston Electus, who declared himself as the legitimate Archbishop during the late reign of Archbishop Benedictus, forming a schismatic sect known as the Church of Northshire. The sect has been declared heretical and has since crumbled, and the fate of Archbishop pro Tempore Electus is unknown.

## Council of Bishops

Following the death of Archbishop Benedictus, a council of Bishops arose to preserve against the power vacuum that had arisen with Bendictus' death. Similar to the council that elected Jarl following Faol's death, the Council continued to run the church through means of voting and eventually elected a new Archbishop; Mellar Servus who took up the name of Columban V. The group declares that Columban is the rightful successor to Benedictus; but once more controversy has caused a schism in the church with those who oppose the Council's right to make such an important decision.

There has been no opposing Archbishop made from this schism and it appears they merely oppose the appointment rather than seek to appoint their own.

## Archbishops through Time

* Landren - Deceased.
* Jerome VI - Deceased.
* Jerome IX - (Nick-named the "Warrior Bishop") Lost at sea.
* Columban IV - Deceased.
* Sebastian III - Deceased.
* Alonsus - Served c. ? - ?
* Benedictus - Served ? - 622
	+ Landgren - Appointed 621 (Scarlet Schism)
	+ Kaston- Declared 623 (Northshire Schism)
	+ Seryl I - Declared following the erection of the Greymane Wall (Gilnean Schism)

* Columban V - (Declared Saint) Elected 623 - 624, executed (Council of Bishops)
	+ Pelaios - Served c. 623 - 623, retired. (Forsaken Schism)
* Caspius - Elected 624. Abdicated. (Council of Bishops)
* Alonsus II - Elected 624. Incumbent. (Council of Bishops)