Religions:Holy Order of Dav
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General Information
The Holy Order of Dav, previously known as the Holy Church or simply the Holy Order, is the most prevalent religion within known Urth. The original preachings of this religion, whose true origins are lost to the abyss of time, were of pacifism and unity. They taught the following of the Lord of the Springs, and sought to redeem others by faith in His word. After the installation of King Dav as Patriarch of the Holy Order, and the beginning of the Inquisition, it has become known as the Holy Order of Dav. The policies of this religious group have also changed, being one of militant view of heretics, sinners, and mages. The tolerance once preached has become a thin veil for the new doctrine of control and fear.
Davite Dogma
First transcribed from oral tradition at the time of the Charter in 109 by Saint Remiel, this collection of acts and concepts, gathered from the civilized lands of Lithmore and Vandago, was adopted outright by the first Patriarch of the Holy Order, King Dav the Everlasting. Very little has changed in almost two hundred years, save for the newfound respect that women command due to the Decree of Sodality (273 SC); this moderation of the original dogma, supported eagerly by the hierarchy of the Church, save in parts Vavardian, became official doctrine at the convocation of the [[High Synod]] one year later (274 SC).
[N.B.: The Davite Dogma is universally transmitted in the King's Tongue of Lithmorran, and translations into other languages are expressly forbidden by all Churches save those in Tubor. In the rolling Hills and the Charalin Plains, official dogma is more or less unknown, though missionaries sent there are instructed to instill their people with a healthy oral tradition based around the accepted ideas of the Order.]
Ecclesiastical scholars from the time of Remiel on divided the scripture into fifteen pillars, finding that the visual representation allowed for the penitent to better worship and assume a life sanctioned by the Holy Order. Thus, the Order's dogma is divided into five tiers; and a pious Orderite masters the base before traversing upward, climbing the 'Ladder'.
The Ladder
First Tier:
- Genuine faith in the Lord of the Springs and the ability of his servants;
- The establishment of daily prayer;
- Concern for the faith of others, and of all the Lord's children;
- Self-purification and atonement through regular confession;
- Denial of the forbidden and corrupted heresies of magic.
- The Law of the Spring;
- The Law of Giving;
- The Law of Caring;
- The Law of the Land.
Third Tier:
- The importance of honest and devout work throughout one's life;
- Sharing love and worship with one's family;
- Supporting, fighting, toiling, and dying for one's country.
Fourth Tier
- Constant submission to the omnipresence and omnipotence of the Lord;
- And to his Majesty the Patriarch as vessel of the Lord's word.
Fifth Tier:
- Directing one's love toward the Lord and his proper servants.
Sins and Atonement
Contrary to the rather immutable dogma of the Holy Order, the Official List of Sinful Practices is generally updated yearly at the convocation of each High Synod. Soon after sinning, the pious are enjoined to visit a priest and beg for atonement; the anointed priest declares a punishment for the penitent, who is then welcomed back into the flock after completing his task. Confessions between priests and supplicants are forever sealed and private-- only able to be breached by the Patriarch himself. Even the Five Cardinals are forbidden from wringing information from lower-ranking priests, and the supplicant is always permitted to choose his own personal confessor.
Known sinners who refuse to repent on their own will often receive a visit from Church Inquisitors, and avoiding their reach is punished far more strictly than by those priests conducting confession.
[N.B.: It is permissible for you to RP your character as receiving confession from an NPC, so long as the sins are minor and you confess to a PC Orderite occasionally. Use your best judgment on what you feel is "minor."]
The following is an incomplete list of sinful acts as of the year 297:
Magery
Heresy
(incl. idolatry, sacrilege, and atheism)
Murder
Oathbreaking
Adultery
Fornication without proper blessing
Impurity
(drunkeness, lying, jealousy, greed)
Adulation
(or inciting others to perform perverse acts)
Acedia
(or religious sloth and ignorance)
Blasphemy
(such as using the sign of the Chalice improperly)
Thievery
Eschewing Charity and Tithes
Sloth
(or being idle, without fully dedicating oneself to the Lord)
Denying One's Station
(and acting above or beneath it)
Quarreling
Cleansing
'Cleansing' is a term that is intentionally ambiguous, as it relates to the removal of the taint of sin at any of its levels. The most basic versions, such as minor sins, are considered to be properly cleansed by prayer and confession. Greater experiences with the taint are handled by the Order directly- anything from the larger sins such as fornication to the utmost sin of being a mage yourself falls within the continuum of requiring a specific and possibly drastic cleansing.
Commonly known remedies - roughly in order of extremity - are blessings, prayer, isolation, fasting, flogging, exorcism, and of course burning. Ordained priests handle the minor cleansings that are involved in confession, such as assigning penances or simply blessing the sinner. Inquisitors or higher officials may personally handle cases where someone has been marked by a mage, using whatever methods necessary to remove the visible marks of taint.
Good, church-going citizens are as desirous to have taint cleansed from them as the Order is desirous to do it however, sometimes the drastic measures that may be necessary somewhat inhibit that desire. It's not uncommon for people to both acknowledge the need for swift, decisive cleansing lest the taint spread and grow, yet mortally fear its effects upon themselves. The most zealous sometimes even claim that the taint of sin, if unchecked, will grow and spiral into magery itself through the wicked heart of the sinner - a potent inducement for cleansing indeed.
Excommunication
An excommunication is the most dire of acts which may be levelled by the Order against a wayward person. An excommunication is only brought to bear after all other attempts to bring the person back to the fold have failed. It is given at the order of the Synod, and only valid after certain (private) religious ceremonies have been performed, with the celebrant of the ceremony a Bishop or higher in episcopal rank. Typically, before proceeding with such a grave step, the initiator will consult with the synod or even high synod, or at the least those priests and inquisitors working with or under them.
After the ceremony, the banns of excommunication are published, and the victim is declared anathema to the Order - no true son or daughter of the faith will have any truck with them, nor are they welcome within the walls of any consecrated sanctuary. Crimes against their person are no longer crimes in the eyes of the Lord of the Springs, and they have no given right to property, often inviting the state to sieze all assets of the individual down to the clothing they wear.
Additionally, an excommunicate is not entitled to last rites, nor to confession or any of the holy stations. Should they die before making their peace with the Order, the excommunicate is denied right of burial in consecrated ground.
In very dire cases indeed, a sentence of Excommunication may be passed against a city or territory rather than person, though this is extremely rare. In this situation, the decree is usually termed an Interdict.
