Church of the Holy Light

The **Church of the Holy Light** (also called the **Church of Light** or simply the **Church**) is the religious institution at the head of the predominant human religion, the worship of the Holy Light.

Founded centuries ago in Lordaeron, the Church spread its faith through the Seven Kingdoms, and constructed temples, shrines, and churches throughout the far-flung human lands as places of worship, with a hierarchy of religious leaders to oversee its devoted followers.

In recent times, Archbishop Alonsus Faol gave the support of the Church to all followers of the light and called for unity, whose followers included most of the people from all the human kingdoms combined, while its philosophy and sacred teachings also managed to spread throughout the societies of the high elves, dwarves, and gnomes.

its members are dedicated to creating a world of honor and justice, striving to aid others and be good in all actions. By embodying the tenets of their religion, the Church's skilled clergy can wield holy magic called the Light. Among them, the priests who heal and restore in times of peace, protecting in times of war, and the new paladins of the Knights of the Silver Hand, the martial branch who enforce its laws, protecting the weak and vanquishing the evil of the world.

### Origin

Sacrifice and courage were among the founding principles of the Church of the Holy Light. The Church traced its origins back more than two thousand years ago, all the way to the chaos of the Troll Wars. A human general, Lordain, selflessly gave his life to hold off an overwhelming force of Amani trolls that threatened to destroy a united human army. One of the people he saved was his sister, a renowned warrior named Mereldar. When the war ended, Mereldar dedicated her life to caring for humanity's wounded veterans. It was she who first spoke to other humans about visions of the Light. In her dreams, Mereldar saw five strange forms not human, thrumming with holy power. They filled her mind with the wisdom of holiness, protection, justice, retribution, and compassion.

When she put their wordless teachings into practice, power seemed to flow through her. The patients under her care would see their wounds disappear and their illnesses vanish.

Other human priests also began having faint dreams and visions of angelic beings, geometric forms that thrummed with living light. Mereldar met with them, and together, they codified the radiant wisdom of this higher power into the written word. They did not know it, they had actually managed to commune with the naaru in the Great Dark Beyond, and through this connection, the Holy Light was introduced to the early humans for the first time. Popular among common folk, the movement flourished and sparked widespread faith in the Holy Light, becoming the predominant human religion.

Centuries later, Lordaeron's leaders codified the different Light-based traditions and belief systems. From these efforts, the Church of the Holy Light came to be. Lordaeron served as the home of this church and became a popular destination for travelers seeking healing, wisdom, and inner peace. The Church constructed temples and shrines throughout the far-flung human lands, and it created a hierarchy of religious leaders to oversee its followers. The most important places of worship were located in the verdant Eastweald. From here they declared themselves independent from the rule of any one kingdom and sought to aid all in spreading the wisdom of the light.

Among the oldest and most revered of these holy sites were Light's Hope Chapel, Stratholme, Andorhal, and Tyr's Hand. Stratholme later becoming the city under control of the Silver Hand, the first order of Paladins.

Over the decades, devout clerics from the emergent Church of the Holy Light had ventured south from Lordaeron to spread their faith. Upon reaching Stromwind, these pious individuals founded the Holy Order of Northshire Clerics. The kingdom looked to these clerics as a source of wisdom and comfort in hard times, while the devout clerics used the powers of the Light to soothe the hearts and minds of Stormwind's citizens, and even helped the army of their kingdom fight through its life. They were known to have also healed gnolls during the Gnoll War and jungle trolls during the Gurubashi War.