The religions of Eordh vary in organization and mystical power, so it behooves adventurers to understand the distinction between say, angering a village priest and angering the High Cleric of the Temple of Sol Invictus in Cordius.
The Canonist Church
The long history of the Canonist Church has created a profusion of titles that confuses even believers. The following diagram explains the genesis of each title.
The old, original tradition of Canonism was simply to study the Canon. Students of the Canon became Teachers, and eventually the powerful Jurists whose knowledge of the Law allowed them to decide any questions of morality or religious legality … at least in theory.
As Canonism expanded, and the Angels began exerting their influence, the religion began to take on the forms of the “pagan” religions around them. Priests and Priestesses conducted rites of the religion, while the most supernaturally and/or politically powerful among them, the “high” priests and priestesses, became the face of the faith. Unwilling to let consensus reign, Jurists instituted a single Patriarch to decide all matters of faith and morals; a select few Electors would choose each successive Patriarch when the previous patriarch went to meet the Most High.
In parallel, many religious men and women decided to dedicate their lives to the religion by living simple lives of work and contemplation. These nuns, monks, and friars inevitably attracted social and political power, and organized into abbeys run by the most senior monk or nun.
The presence of those with a closer relationship to the Most High than readers of the Canon – Clerics, Paladins, and Saints – required the hierarchy to simply let those worthies follow their divine missions and deal with the potential political fallout afterward. That some Clerics gained the temporal power of High Priests and Paladins became renowned Champions upset many of the more politically minded priests and high priests … but the Patriarch and his direct servants could usually smooth over any hurt feelings or confusion among the lay members. Saints always proved a little too much for existing power structures, but until recent centuries they were exceedingly rare. One can only blame the Fourth Age, which silenced generations of orthodox divines.
“Pagan” Religions
The hierarchies of the so-called “pagan religions”, i.e. those outside Canonism or its heresies, is on paper much simpler. The highest office is that of a High Priest or Priestess of a major temple, who exerts soft power over lesser priests and priestesses, who keep order among initiates and lay members. Clerics, as usual, throw a golden apple into the works, as their mission is to heal the sick and repel evil directly rather than rely on the fervent belief of others.
The religions of the South, dedicated mainly to Neutral and Chaotic gods, lack a source of absolute authority. The High Priests and High Priestesses of major temples in the West act as de facto authorities for their respective gods but what, for example, happens if the high priests of two ancient and popular temples disagree? What if clerics contradict the priesthood?
In the West, Druidism suffers similar problems, in addition to its own extinction. Different temples interpret the sacred rites differently. Bards may tell the ancient myths differently to appeal to different audiences. Ovates may receive different omens that seem to contradict each other. All this requires special political handling by those in charge and a certain amount of tolerance among believers.
Hegemonic Religions
“Hegemonic Religions” like the Imperial Religion and the Eastern Religions have a structure superficially similar to “Pagan Religions”, except that leadership in the religion devolves onto the high priests of a particular sect of the religion. In the Imperial Religion this is the Sol Invictus sect; in the East, Mitra reigns supreme.
Whether Sol Invictus or Mitra, these gods of Law tend to be far more organized than their Neutral and Chaotic counterparts. Priests of Sol Invictus have the best location in temple squares, and often close relationships with the local rulers. While each Sol Invictus temple is theoretically independent, in practice they cooperate as well or better than their Imperial counterparts. The head temple of Sol Invictus is, of course, the temple in Cordius, capitol of the Empire.
In the East, Mitra’s earthly hierarchy relies heavily on Clerics to deliver prayers directly to Mitra’s divine hierarchy, and receive an answer as quickly as possible. (Often this answer is “no” or “figure it out for yourselves.”) Above Clerics rank the Muftis and the Caliph, steeped in Mitra’s laws and lore rather than miracles and therefore able to divine their god’s desires based on volumes of precedent and parable.
The Church of Pure Truth
When the Church of Pure Truth came to power in the Fourth Age, it simplified the hierarchies of its parent religion, Canonism, to three: the Monastic Orders, the Ministry, and the Witch Hunter Army.
The Ministry formalized the roles that acolytes, priests, and high priests had taken in Canonism. Inquisitors, once a role that priests took on during a crisis, became permanent members of the hierarchy during the perpetual perceived crisis of the Purists. Only an Elder or a Patriarch could overturn their pronouncements, and few if any did. Meanwhile students of the Canon were reduced to “lectors” of the Book of Pure Truth – a radically “simplified” Canon – and those who wished to advance beyond Acolytes had to run a gauntlet of apprenticeships and partial authority.
In contrast, the Monastic side of the religion flourished to the point that the simple hierarchy required gradations in authority. Perhaps one can attribute this to the Purists’ founder, Brother Unco, being a monastic himself. Safely sidelined, the monastic communities secretly practiced the arts and sciences that the Purists had declared heretical.
The Witch Hunter Army occupies a strange place in the Purist hierarchy. Theoretically any true believer was duty-bound to offer a Witch Hunter all possible aid. In practice, Witch Hunters were often rebuffed by the parallels in the Ministry. (Monasteries, on the other hand, held few members worldly enough to render aid.) Thus Witch Hunter Captains became lackeys to Inquisitors on a regular basis, and while none less senior than an Elder could push around a Witch Hunter General, the Elders and Patriarch did so with alarming regularity. This may have led to the degradation of the Witch Hunters from dedicated and mystically powerful professionals to little more than a ragtag of corrupt thugs by the end of the Fourth Age.
The Church of Pure Truth is mostly gone, although travelers in and around Bolg, its last stronghold, may wish to keep their wits about them and their paranormal abilities, if any, well hidden.
Semi-Hierarchical Religions
While not fully hierarchical, some religions, movement, and magical practices may involve all the practitioners in a particular city, county, or locale. These include the following:
- Arcanist Circles
- Dwarf Religious Authorities (Khulduk)
- Magian Remnants
- Sorcery Cabals
- Witch Covens
The magical abilities of each of these organizations vary wildly. A Khuldukis is incapable of cursing someone, for example, but a sorcerer, witch, or magus can. But magic isn’t the only threat: a Khuldukis can advise his king to distrust or even shun outsiders, which a Dwarf King is obliged to do in order to keep his people happy. Likewise a single Arcanist may have only the power of a single Wizard, but an arcanist circle at the heart of a guild town can make life in that town very uncomfortable for a sworn enemy.
Non-Hierarchical Religions
Only a few religions have such loose social structures, and vanishingly small religious or magical power, that they pose little threat to a careful traveler. These include:
- Elvish Tribes, who regard their gods like embarrassing relatives
- Halfling Villages, who covet “propriety” but seldom stick their necks out for its sake
- Theurgists, who individually seek a measure of their former power from the “Holy Ones” but fear the consequences of organizing once again.
This is not to say that insulting said beliefs is at all a good idea. However, travelers in Elf country or in lands with the last remaining Theurgists need not worry about hordes of elves, halflings, or Theurgists attacking them for inadvertent slights; the obvious offenses are more than sufficient.