Andor religion
The Andor religion is the most widely practised religion in Europe since it took over as the Rhemian state religion. It has a tumultuous history, with many different denominations being practiced at any time. The religion originated from the Sundac religion, but unlike that does not require one to be born a child of Sundac or wholly adopt their customs in order to enter a covenant with God. Rather, the Andor religion aims to convert as many people as possible. The Andor religion believes that while in the past God did keep himself hidden from the world behind the moon, he eventually revealed himself to be embodied in the sun and thereby accessible to all peoples of the earth. This event is commonly referred to as "The Revelation" and is heralded as the start of year 1 by the calendars most used in Europe. Therefore, the sun is considered the most important symbol of the religion and many of its practitioners (even the poor) wear a medallion, clasp or other ornament in the shape of sun.
The most important text in the Andor religion is The Revelation Text.
With the exception of *Spain and some areas of *Greece, which have experienced long periods of rule under Mahrim following cultures, the church of Andor is the most prominent religion in Europe. There are several major divides however, the earliest of these being the European churches and those further east. Then that divide between western and eastern Europe came. This mirrored the split between the old western and eastern empires. Around 1500 there was again a divide in the western European church with many essentially leaving the church, although not the religion, and the island of *Britain contains its own denominations.
In every denomination the concept of personal salvation by God, if the person has atoned for their earthly sins, is a central concept of the Andor religion. This focus on personal, eternal salvation and the afterlife marks the Andor religion as different from the Sundac religion from which it originated which is more concerned with earthly life and does not officially require recognition of God in order to obtain a worthy afterlife. The Andor religion, by contrast, specifically states that in order to obtain the eternal salvation one must, in life, recognise Andor, He Who Revealed Himself in the Sun, as the one and only true God. As a result the Andor religion has always openly sought to convert others, similarly to the Mahrim religion.
What exactly the embodiment of God within the sun involves is a source of many disputes between the various denominations of the Andor religion. Other major sources of schisms have been the authority of the leading church figures and whether they are properly descended from the prophet of Andor and his disciples, the involvement of the church with earthly matters, the use of or abstinence from violence, and the means by which one might communicate with God.
Sects
Within Europe there are several major denominations, but there are two most prominent divides that drive political debate and strife. One is the divide between those who follow the tradition of the old empire of west Europe and those who are the descendants of the eastern European empire. The denominations that originated in the eastern European empire are known collectively as the Illibatic church.
The other major divide is exemplified in that those who follow the church led by the primacy in the tradition of the old western empire and those that don't. These last are grouped together under the term Declarants, although in reality there are multiple non-compatible denominations included in that term. The old western church became known as the Communal church, since the various Declarant denominations started out as minorities and faced much oppression from the previously mainstream Communal church.
Founding Date
1 CE (year of the Revelation)
Type
Religious, Organised Religion
Predecessor Organization
Demonym
Andorians
Subsidiary Organizations
Deities
Divines
Comments