Church of the Eightfold Way

The Church is the administrative and governing structure of the alliance of religious cults forged in the time of the War of Hubris, and the de facto supreme authority of the Sacred Republic. It is ruled by the Regents of the Church, and divided internally in various ways. Worship of the Eightfold Gods splits the organisation into the Greater and Lesser Cults. Furthermore, each temple has its own hierarchy, with an overarching administrative division - the Convocation - and specific areas of the Church's business may be handled by a quasi-independent Office operating to a greater or lesser degree outside the regular hierarchy.

Church Praxis

The Church is the sole spiritual authority of the Republic, recognising the existence of other gods, but proscribing their worship. They also have a significant temporal presence. The Eightfold Priesthood are both political and spiritual leaders. The High Regent is the head of state – although not of government – and while the Church does not officially rule the Republic, it influences every aspect of society.
The spiritual praxis of the Church is twofold: They oversee regular devotions and festival observances, and also ensure the maintenance of orthodoxy in the Church and state. The former is the role of the temples, the latter of the offices.
Lower-ranking priests perform daily services and a weekly observance, including the receipt of offerings, and the performance of rites and sacrifice. They also offer counsel to their flocks. There is no tradition of confession, instead the focus is on intercession; the congregation come in confidence to tell of their neighbours’ troubles and transgressions so that the priests can investigate and intercede for the good of the community and all its members. Local priests are also responsible for recruiting initiates, lay members and potential paladins. Higher ranking members of the Church are more often occupied with the organisation's administrative or political concerns, or with the work of the Offices.

Regular Devotions

The priesthood, and in particular the local pastors and curates, are responsible for leading their congregations in regular observances. While only the most devout will attend every dawn and dusk service, most citizens of the Republic will go to the local shrine or temple each Sevenday for the more formal and solemn noontime observance.
There is also a calendar of festivals throughout the year:

• Reckoning (New Year’s Day) – Reckoning is the start of the Republican calendar, commemorating the beginning of the War of Hubris and the downfall of the Mage Sovereigns. Falling on or around the Vernal Halfsky, it is an austere and sombre all-day festival of remembrance and thanksgiving.
• Redemption – Marking the beginning of summer, Redemption celebrates the end of the planting season and the coming of the hot months with open-air celebrations, dances, bonfires and a day of rest.
• Midsummer’s Day – Midsummer’s Day is marked with a day of rest and contemplation, including services at all shrines and temples at dawn, noon and dusk. After the dusk service, fires are lit on common ground for a night of wild revels.
• Harvest Eve – At the beginning of Autumn, the Republic has a day of contemplation and preparation. In the countryside, this is a time for preparing and shriving the tools of the harvest, while in the cities it is simply a time for feasting.
• Harvest Fair – The Harvest Fair marks the middle of Autumn, and the end of the main harvest, with bonfires and feasting.
• Harvest Tide – The end of Autumn and the beginning of Winter is a time of transition, sacred to Yagai and the other border gods. It is celebrated with rites of sealing and protection, intended to keep evil influences at bay.
• Midwinter’s Day – In the depths of winter, all lights are doused, save a single flame in the local temple. From this, torches are lit, which are used to reignite the other flames around the area.
• Judgement (Old Year’s Day) – At the end of the year, the Regents of the Church set aside time to hear any and all petitioners (although not necessarily in person.)

Rites of Passage

The Church is the spiritual heart of all life in the Republic, including the principle rites of passage.

• Shriving – Not long after birth, all infants are shriven to the gods of the Eightfold Way. This is separate from the civil rite of naming, which is traidtionally performed after the Shriving. while the parents will almost certainly have a name in mind, the traditional assumption is that at shriving only the gods know who the child is. The rite entrusts the custodianship of the infant to the parents’ gods, whose signs are marked on either side of a pendant given to the child. The form of the pendant varies according to the means of the parents – usually silver for the rich and wood for the poor, although artisan and artificer families may use materials with specific associations and symbolism.
• Committal – At the age of five, or thereabouts – longer-lived races may delay the rite a few years, and it is ultimately for the responsible pastor to decide when a given child is ready for committal – a child makes their own commitment to the gods of their shriving. They stand before the altars of their gods and make small offerings to each, and by tradition receive gifts suitable to the gods in question.
• Dedication – Dedication is the passage into adulthood, usually undertaken between the ages of thirteen and sixteen. It involves setting aside one’s shriving and committal, to adopt the focal worship of a single deity above the others. That god becomes the custodian of the person’s soul, and this choice is a declaration of self-image and intentions for the future. Typically, only members of the upper classes, or future priests, dedicate to the greater cults.
• Interment – The last common rite of passage is the last rite of passage, when the body of the deceased is given back to Aiaos and their soul given into the care of their patron deity. This rite is almost always overseen by a priest of Yagai, unless the deceased had a particularly strong association with their own cult, as in the case of priests, exemplars or deltors.

Marriage is a purely civil arrangement in the Republic. A partnership may be shriven with oaths before Ilmar or Morha, but there is no sacred matrimonial institution.

Counsel and Intercession

Priests are supposed to be available to offer spiritual and moral counsel to any of their congregants, although commitment to this principle varies between individuals. In addition, any priest may hear appeals for Intercession.

Instruction

Local Pastors are responsible for organising the spiritual education of the young, and in particular the preparation of children for their committal and dedication. Many also make arrangements for at least a basic lay education for their congregants, especially in rural areas, ensuring the proper teaching of orthodox history and civic responsibility.

Orthodoxy

There are several Offices of the Church solely dedicated to the maintenance of orthodox practice.

Arcane Magic

Arcane magic – the magic of wizards – is illegal, and the Church comes for those who practice it. The prohibition also extends to the practice of divine magic by cults outside the Church Octaval, with the exception of foreign residents.