Swanscome Jerusalemite Church
When large-scale colonization of Terra Nova began in the late 5th Terranovan century, the colonists included a number of members of the Roman Catholic Church, seeking to administer to the spiritual needs of the population. By the late 7th Century a number of permanent religious institutions had been established. including, in TN 692, the Convent of St. Justine on the Northern Plain that would one day become the city-state of Swanscombe. The sisters chose to remain on Terra Nova when the Church purchased the world of New Jerusalem in AD 5415, and thus when Earth withdrew from i t s colonies i n 5790 (TN 1454) they had little choice but to remain behind. Widely respected by the people of the Northern Plains and considered neutral in the disputes that raged after Earth's abandonment of its colonies, the Swanscombe Convent and the town that surrounded it became a focus for refugees. I n a bid to avert chaos in the power vacuum, the order's Mother Superior took control of the city, imposing the matriarchal system that remains today and instigating reforms that allowed the Church to join the Jerusalemite alliance of faiths. Indeed, as the cycles have passed the Mother Superior's power, though centered on the city-state, has spread across the UMF.
Swanscombe Jerusalemism forms the UMF's second largest religion, with almost five percent of the UMF population devoted adherents. This mix of political and spiritual power gives the Mother Superior considerable influence across the UMF and her status as head of a city-state gives her unimpeded access to the Caucus. In the pragmatic UMF, such influence is viewed with some amusement, though not by all. Indeed, though considerably larger, the Mercantile Revisionist Church envies the secular power of Swanscombe Jerusalemism.
Even after almost 500 cycles, the Swanscombe Church retains a firm grip on the city-state's reins of power. Even though only thirty percent of the city's population are Jerusalemite, many of the city's female population have supported the Matriarchy. This has waxed and waned over the years but despite the occasional male revolt, swiftly put down by the allfemale and Jerusalemite-dominated police force, there has never been a serious threat to Matriarchal or Jerusalemite rule. Until, that is, the rise of Fundamentalist Revisionism.
Structure
The Mother Superior of the Swanscombe Convent serves as head of the city's government as well as serving as the head of the local sect of Jerusalemism. She chairs the Ecclesiastical Council, formed of the Convent's three senior nuns, who both govern the convent and form the executive of the city-state's all-female government. This body drafts legislation and represents the city-state to the UMF government, but unlike the UMF Caucus its powers are not absolute. All decisions are subject to ratification by the nine-seat secular city council, though this has traditionally been a formality. Since Hutchison's assassination, the secular council has repeatedly blocked the Ecclesiastical Council's decrees, effectively paralyzing the city-state's government.
The structure of the Jerusalemite Church is notably different from the city-state government for its incorporation of male bishops and priests, albeit only outside Swanscombe itself. Each of the six senior bishops - who may be male or female - are responsible for a region known as a diocese, principally within the UMF but also including parts of the WFP and the Badlands. Each bishop is responsible for all the churches and priests within that region and has the power to confer holy orders. It should be noted, however, that though ruled by the Mother Superior , the Swanscombe Jerusalemite Church is not strictly matriarchal. As its influence expanded throughout the UMF, male priests and even bishops have joined the church and taken holy orders, though both the head of the Church and the Bishop of Swanscombe are always female.
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