Communal church
It is difficult to tell when the Communal church arose as an organisation since in their own view they have always been "the church" ever since the Revelation. There appears to be some truth to this but the organisation as it commonly understood in later years seems to have really gained shape somewhere during the third century AR. Until the rise of Declarism around 1500 they were the dominant denomination of the Andor religion in west Europe. Even afterwards they remained the largest and possibly the most complex denomination. The seat of the Communal church is located in Rhemia.
The Communal church teaches that it is the channel to communication with Andor . Their clergy members can communicate with Andor and intercede on the layperson's behalf. Therefore an important goal of the Communal church is to guide the followers of Andor and interpret the messages of Andor to them, as well as to pray for their followers to Andor. Another of the main goals of the Communal church is to determine what is proper to the faith - what is doctrine and what is heresy. The extreme importance given to this is due to the believed risks of practising or even associating with heresy. In the view of the Communal church, just because someone believes their actions are right doesn't mean they cannot be heretical and thereby put the soul at risk. Because the Communal church also considers itself the channel from Andor to the laypeople this could put their entire following at risk of damnation. They also seek to convert more people to the faith of Andor and especially the Communal church. This is considered an extremely worthwhile duty for two reasons. Firstly the faith of Andor holds that all those who do not revere Andor as he displayed himself during the Revelation and name him as their one and only deity are condemned to an afterlife of eternal darkness and cold. Furthermore to seek out those the Communcal church calls "heathens" with the intention of converting them is a fairly risky undertaking. This willingness to put your life on the line combined with the physical effort of the journey and the mental effort of the process of conversion is considered a act of great devotion. Such devotion is held to considerably increase one's chances of being accepted by Andor into a good afterlife.
The clergy of the Communal church derive their authority as a direct channel to Andor from a combination of closely guarded knowledge and secret rituals. This knowledge is passed on from senior clergy members to junior ones at their ordination. Rituals are also performed to confirm that Andor accepts this person as a channel from him to the laypeople. Whenever a clergy member is promoted, further knowledge is revealed and more rituals are performed. Therefore those with the highest ranks are also thought to be the closest to Andor. There is a single book in existence that records this knowledge and the rituals. In theory this is a precaution against loss of knowledge, but it's mostly used to settle theological debates. The original volume has been destroyed at least once in the past and they had to rewrite it. Settling the issue of which people would rewrite it was a source of major strife at the time. The risk of only having a single volume is considered acceptable because it emphasises the idea that only a priest can make another priest and it therefore preserves the authority of the Communal church. Due to this position as the channel to Andor and therefore to people's souls and their access to a good afterlife (as opposed to a cold and dark one), the Communal church wields enormous power over their followers individually. Combined with how many followers they have and that these followers include the leaders of nations, this adds up to an immense collective power. Through this the Communal church had also obtained vast material wealth, with all the power that carries with it. Therefore they had a great need to retain their power over secular leaders so that their goals would remain aligned with those of the Communal church. Eventually with the rise of Declarism, both the material wealth and their control over secular leaders began to wane until it was no longer the dominant force. They are still an extremely powerful and wealthy church however and as the largest denomination in the Andor religion they wield more influence than is sometimes recognised.
Before the various Declarant movements really gained power of their own, it was extraordinarily dangerous to disagree with the Communal church. Any such efforts were considered both a risk to their followers' souls and an attack on the influence and power of the Communal church. Spiritual, economical and military means were not eschewed when attempting to suppress heresy, sects or schisms. Thus the sects that arose were often extreme in some aspect - the people who joined usually did so from a strong conviction that the Communal church was leading them all to damnation and splitting was the only way to still have a chance at a good afterlife. Some of these sects leaned heavily towards the conviction that mankind was almost irredeemably tarnished whereas others differed little from the Communals except for a strong pacifism. It usually made little difference, the Communal church pursued most as heresy with whatever means necessary. When various forms of Declarism gained great popularity and power of their own, some smaller denominations managed to form and live in relative peace although they generally try to stay under the radar of both the Communals and the larger Declarant denominations.
Goals of the Communal church
The Communal church teaches that it is the channel to communication with Andor . Their clergy members can communicate with Andor and intercede on the layperson's behalf. Therefore an important goal of the Communal church is to guide the followers of Andor and interpret the messages of Andor to them, as well as to pray for their followers to Andor. Another of the main goals of the Communal church is to determine what is proper to the faith - what is doctrine and what is heresy. The extreme importance given to this is due to the believed risks of practising or even associating with heresy. In the view of the Communal church, just because someone believes their actions are right doesn't mean they cannot be heretical and thereby put the soul at risk. Because the Communal church also considers itself the channel from Andor to the laypeople this could put their entire following at risk of damnation. They also seek to convert more people to the faith of Andor and especially the Communal church. This is considered an extremely worthwhile duty for two reasons. Firstly the faith of Andor holds that all those who do not revere Andor as he displayed himself during the Revelation and name him as their one and only deity are condemned to an afterlife of eternal darkness and cold. Furthermore to seek out those the Communcal church calls "heathens" with the intention of converting them is a fairly risky undertaking. This willingness to put your life on the line combined with the physical effort of the journey and the mental effort of the process of conversion is considered a act of great devotion. Such devotion is held to considerably increase one's chances of being accepted by Andor into a good afterlife.
Power
The clergy of the Communal church derive their authority as a direct channel to Andor from a combination of closely guarded knowledge and secret rituals. This knowledge is passed on from senior clergy members to junior ones at their ordination. Rituals are also performed to confirm that Andor accepts this person as a channel from him to the laypeople. Whenever a clergy member is promoted, further knowledge is revealed and more rituals are performed. Therefore those with the highest ranks are also thought to be the closest to Andor. There is a single book in existence that records this knowledge and the rituals. In theory this is a precaution against loss of knowledge, but it's mostly used to settle theological debates. The original volume has been destroyed at least once in the past and they had to rewrite it. Settling the issue of which people would rewrite it was a source of major strife at the time. The risk of only having a single volume is considered acceptable because it emphasises the idea that only a priest can make another priest and it therefore preserves the authority of the Communal church. Due to this position as the channel to Andor and therefore to people's souls and their access to a good afterlife (as opposed to a cold and dark one), the Communal church wields enormous power over their followers individually. Combined with how many followers they have and that these followers include the leaders of nations, this adds up to an immense collective power. Through this the Communal church had also obtained vast material wealth, with all the power that carries with it. Therefore they had a great need to retain their power over secular leaders so that their goals would remain aligned with those of the Communal church. Eventually with the rise of Declarism, both the material wealth and their control over secular leaders began to wane until it was no longer the dominant force. They are still an extremely powerful and wealthy church however and as the largest denomination in the Andor religion they wield more influence than is sometimes recognised.
Sects and Schisms
Before the various Declarant movements really gained power of their own, it was extraordinarily dangerous to disagree with the Communal church. Any such efforts were considered both a risk to their followers' souls and an attack on the influence and power of the Communal church. Spiritual, economical and military means were not eschewed when attempting to suppress heresy, sects or schisms. Thus the sects that arose were often extreme in some aspect - the people who joined usually did so from a strong conviction that the Communal church was leading them all to damnation and splitting was the only way to still have a chance at a good afterlife. Some of these sects leaned heavily towards the conviction that mankind was almost irredeemably tarnished whereas others differed little from the Communals except for a strong pacifism. It usually made little difference, the Communal church pursued most as heresy with whatever means necessary. When various forms of Declarism gained great popularity and power of their own, some smaller denominations managed to form and live in relative peace although they generally try to stay under the radar of both the Communals and the larger Declarant denominations.
"I was born into the Communal Church and took it completely for granted during the first few years of my life. Not that I was overly concerned with following the tenets of my religion. But since then I have seen many many faces of the Communal Church throughout history. They are not as united as they present themselves, but possibly more powerful than even they realise."Artur
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