The Church
"And the heralds of God in Heaven came upon the world and sought those who would serve in this world. They found three to lead the subjects of God Above, one in the East, one in the North, and one in the West. They brought unto the three the message from on high, and bound them to the service of the Lord."
The Church was the largest and most dominant religion on the continent of Elbid for over a thousand years. It was founded to worship God in Heaven, an entity more vast and mysterious than any Living God of this mortal world. While scandals and schisms have weakened it considerably over the last four hundred years, it remains a powerful entity, especially in the southern and eastern parts of the continent.
Structure
The Church is led by the Triumvirate, a group of three high priests selected to walk in the footsteps of the Prophets. Each member of the Triumvirate rules over a third of the church, according to the divisions laid down in the first century as the number of believers grew vast. These divisions are the Church in the East, the Church in the North, and the Church in the West. In each of these, the heir to their Prophet has absolute authority over the faith. This has led to some differences in theology and practice over the centuries. One example of this is in the use of Magic. In the Northern and Western churches, Magic was entirely forbidden as a corrupting force that could lead people into evil ways. In the Eastern Church, a different approach developed. There, Magic is considered a tool given to humanity by God in Heaven, and is the sole domain of the church and its priesthood. While many other changes exist between the three churches, this is the most notable and divisive issue among the members of the Triumvirate.
History
In the days when the corrupt God-Emperors of the Pallaman Empire crushed the people of Elbid beneath their feet, three Prophets were given messages by the heralds of God Above, showing them the glory of a True God and binding them to his service. They each carried their message to the city of Pallama, preaching the good news of God in Heaven, and converting many to their new faith. In Pallama, the three Prophets first met and formed the Church of God in Heaven, or Deus Caeli Ecclesiae.
When the God-Emperors heard of the Prophets and their Church, they sent their servants to arrest them. But the Prophets evaded capture, and hid themselves among the people of Pallama. For six decades the Church was hunted, and many were martyred for their faith in God Above. By the grace of God in Heaven and his heralds, the Prophets were kept safe, and their message spread among the oppressed and beleaguered citizenry. And in the sixty-eighth year of the Imperium Dei, they were able to wield the might of God in Heaven to shatter the power of the God-Emperors, cleaving them from their worshippers and rendering them mortal.
With their oppressors brought low, the people of Pallama hailed God in Heaven as their savior, and flocked to his Church to worship him and gain his favor. But the Prophets knew the work of the Church had only just begun. There were other Living Gods in Elbid and beyond, and each was an abomination in the eyes of God Above. For the next thousand years, they and their successors would spread the word of their God to every corner of Elbid, overthrowing all who stood in the path of God and the Church. When the distant island of Albion accepted the Church in 1000 ID, the leaders of the Church turned their attention to the many Living Gods of Lemuria to the south. But in their way stood the eldest and most powerful of these abominations, the Pharaoh Undying of Kemet. He was clever and powerful, and he used ancient and powerful spells to halt the progress of the Church beyond Elbid, denying the people of Lemuria the blessings of God in Heaven and the Church.
Corruption and Schism
About three hundred years ago, there was great unrest in the Northern and Western churches about the practice of Magic among the priests. While this art was forbidden to all, many members of the clergy studied and used magical spells. This double standard among several other corruptions, caused many of the communities of the north and west to rebel against the church and seek their own path to salvation. This led to the Church Wars, a series of conflicts that lasted for centuries and tore families and nations apart. Several new churches broke off from the main faith during this time, such as the Church of Albion. Today, the Western and Northern churches are mere shadows of themselves, and are largely supported by the Eastern Church which was spared such division.
The Church of God in Heaven
Deus Caeli Ecclesiae
What Was Done In God's Name
While the Church was able to sever the connection between the God-Emperors and their worshippers by bloodless means, this has not always been possible during their expansion across Elbid. In more than one case, the Church could only weaken a Living God by attacking their worshippers directly. This led to several genocides during the early history of the Church, as they destroyed whole communities who refused to abandon their old god in favor of God in Heaven. In this way they deprived their enemy of the power of communal worship, and made them vulnerable to physical attack. Then the warriors of the Church would turn on the Living God, and slaughter the weakened deity in the name of God Above.
Interesting article. Is there some kind of taboo about the south as there's no prophet/church of that area?
Explore Etrea | March of 31 Tales
Ah, to the Pallamans, the south means Lemuria - and that's the domain of the Living Gods. While they were able to overcome the Living Gods of Elbid, going south would mean dealing with the oldest and most powerful of those magicians, and they never managed a successful crusade there.
Ahh, that makes sense. :)
Explore Etrea | March of 31 Tales