The Holy Church of Mankind's Redemption

Introduction

The Holy Church of Mankind’s Redemption is the religion that arose out of the turbulent aftermath of the Fall. It holds that there are Sins Inherent in Mankind, and that these sins empowered the Adversary to corrupt the Fallen One, leading him to rise up against his brothers and sisters; and that the gods will not return until all of Mankind abjures and repents of these sins. The Church has come to wield considerable ecclesiastical and political power throughout “civilised” Mondlokk: the Inner Realms, as well as a number of outlying realms.

Organisation

The Church has a strict hierarchy.
The head of the church, and its chief ecclesiastical authority, is the High Magister. He holds his seat on behalf of the Hierophant, who is not incarnate, but occulted, and who shall one day return. Beneath him are the Conclave of Magisters, who are high-ranking Magisters from various regions around the continent. Beneath these are the Magisters Ordinary, and beneath these in turn is the Priesthood.
Subordinate to the Conclave of Magisters are various monastic orders, including a number of militant monastic orders such as the Knights of the Silver Hand.
Subordinate only to the High Magister is the Inquisition.

History

The Rise of the Hierophant

In the year 300 after the Fall there arose a man in the then new-built city of Three Sisters who, according to the Church’s own histories, meditated upon the Fall until there spoke to him an Emanation of Mælareèdh, the Maker, and he was commanded to speak to all of Mankind, in every language, to deliver this message: It is the Sins Inherent to Mannhr, those of pride, and of greed, that tempted the Mannhr to use magick and sorcery; and it was the appeal to the Bringer of Magick which empowered him, and made him believe he was more powerful than the Maker; and to rise up against the Maker, and the other Gods of Old. The Maker smote down the Bringer of Magick, bringing about the Fall. And in punishment for Mankind’s role in this, he brought down upon the world the Long Winter. Mankind must abjure and repent of the Sins Inherent, and Atone in Abject Submission; and only then, when all men and all women have done so, will the Maker smile once more upon his favoured race.
This message remains the core foundational belief that moves the Church today. The Hierophant gathered about him twenty learned scholars, to whom he made plain the above truth, and eight priests of the Gods of Old – who were forlorn, for the grace of these gods had been withdrawn from them. The Hierophant commanded the High Priest of the Fallen One, the Bringer, to be the first to atone, and to abjure the Sins Inherent. But the High Priest of the Fallen One, whose name is forgotten, refused. And so the Hierophant commanded that the remaining High Priests to slay the Bringer’s High Priest, and to tear him asunder. They obeyed, and recognised the Hierophant’s authority that had been placed over them. The Hierophant journeyed far and wide, erecting churches and places of learning from which to proclaim the Path to Mankind’s Redemption, and to teach of the evils of the Sins Inherent. He also built three Temple Cities. The first temple city was one of the cities that coalesced to form Three Sisters; it is there that the Twenty Scholars were assembled. The second temple city was built on a promontory by the sea far to the southeast; it was on this site that the High Priests had convened at an observatory, to query the stars for answers to their questions. The third temple city was built in Zarathenis, which was the site of the Eightfold Sanctuary of the Principal Divinities; it was here that the Hierophant proclaimed the foundation of the Church of Mankind’s Redemption. For many years he resided at Zarathenis, preaching and teaching. The Twenty Scholars, and the Seven High Priests, in time became his Magisters. These in turn also were commanded to travel to all the corners of Mondlokk, gathering knowledge, and preaching unto the ignorant and the sinful about the Sins Inherent, and the Virtues Atonement in Abject Submission. He charted the stars, and calculated the precise moment of the Fall, from which derives the calendar of the Hierophant’s Reckoning.

The Occultation of the Hierophant

It came to pass, in the year 360 after the Fall by the Hierophant’s Reckoning, that the Hierophant had taught His Magisters everything that they could learn. He gathered them together in Zarathenis, and gave them his last commandments:

• That they should keep the faith, and propagate the faith;
• That they should nominate successors for themselves, for all that lives beyond Mankind’s death are the Sins Inherent;
• That they should nominate one not from among them, to be their leader;
• That they should abide in faith until his return at the Right Hand of Mælareèdh Himself;
• That they should be just, and fear not.

It is then that the Hierophant became hidden from their view. The Magisters spent one year in meditation and prayer, until finally they nominated the first High Magister, not from among their number, to be their leader.

Tenets of Faith

The core beliefs of the Church are defined in a series of holy texts, accompanied by Learned Commentary and Magisterial Proclamations. They encompass, among other things, the following:

• Mankind has Sins Inherent – those of hubris and avarice – which in the Time Before the Fall did lead Mankind into false worship and idolatry, which empowered the Adversary to tempt the Fallen One to rise up against his Brothers and Sisters; and that it was Mælareèdh who smote down the Fallen One, who was once his Brother; and that the Fall brought about the Long Winter of Sorrow, as punishment for the Sins Inherent.
• The Gods of Old turned from Mankind in horror and hatred. Only Mælareèdh did not turn away, but instead, through the Hierophant, revealed the Path to Redemption through Abject Submission and Atonement.
• The Hierophant learned that only when all of Mankind abjures and repents of the Sins Inherent through Abject Submission and Atonement.
• Abject Submission entails obedience the Church’s teachings and its commandments.
• Atonement entails prayer and contemplation of one’s own Sins Inherent and how they are responsible for keeping Mankind from Redemption, and it entails action to castigate oneself for these Sins Inherent.
• The Holy Church of Mankind’s Redemption is the only path; all other beliefs and acts of worship are in error. Those Mannhr who worship in error – or not at all – are preventing Redemption, and must either be corrected, or rendered unto the Fires of Mælareèdh’s Forge for Judgement. Heresies which pervert the teachings of the Church itself are particularly abhorrent.
• The Holy Church of Mankind’s Redemption is headed by the High Magister, who holds his Chair in readiness for the Return of the Hierophant at the Right Hand of Mælareèdh

Worship

Ceremonies

Birth Children born to those of the faith are dedicated into the faith 317 hours after their birth, each hour symbolising one year between the Fall and the Rise of the Hierophant. In this ceremony, supervised by a priest, the father recites the Sins Inherent to the child from a scroll – thus formally making the child aware of their culpability, and their responsibility to abjure and repent of sin through Abject Submission. Coming of Age Boys come of age at 16, and girls at 14. It is the age as of which families may arrange betrothal, and the age as of which boys can be called upon by their Lord to take up arms. In both the Illuminated Empire and the Magisterial Domain, it is also the age at which boys become obliged to pay tithes and taxes. In the Hanseatic Confederation, as well as in its allied city-states Marriage In the marriage ceremony, the man symbolically assumes culpability for his wife’s Sins Inherent, and with it authority over her. In the ceremony itself, the groom ritually offers a cup of water to the bride, and they both drink from it. In ancient tradition, this water was a mild dose of poison, but this practice faded many centuries ago. Weekly Observance On a day of rest set aside for the purpose once per week, the Catechism of the Sins Inherent is recited in a church. If no church is available, the eldest man is expected to lead the recital. Death Death does not absolve a soul of its culpability for its Sins Inherent. Funeral ceremonies command the soul to join the Chorus of Lamentation

Repent of your Sins Inherent through Abject Submission and Atonement

Founding Date

361

Type

Religious, Organised Religion

Alternative Names

The Church

Leader Title

High Magister

Subsidiary Organizations

• Brethren of the Silver Hand
• Most Holy Society for the Preservation of Sacred Knowledge

Permeated Organizations

• Barony of Tausend-Thal
• Eisenthor, City of
• Gispary
• Grand Duchy of Lhünen / Forstmark
• Illuminated Empire of the Mòvadhi
• Imperial Capital City of Sarimovad
• Imperial Heartland
• Nordmark
• Rhèvensfurth, Free Imperial City of
• Südmark
• The Barony of Passwarth
• The Duchy of Brenthen
• The Duchy of Hornkranz
• The Duchy of Hoszmèzovàsàr
• The Duchy of Khersken
• The Duchy of Lhünenquell
• The Duchy of Oradevàsàr
• The Duchy of Orkhenwall
• The Duchy of Upper Mòvadhia
• The Duchy of Warthenstein
• The Grand Barony of Achtenfall
• The Grand Barony of Hohlbehr
• The Grand Duchy of Koszvolòi
• The Great Barony of Grevensteyn
• The Marches of Bànat
• The Principality of Brandenheim
• The Principality of Eisenthor
• The Principality of Hevelland
• The Principality of Niederlhünen

Official Languages

• Zaratheni / Church / Mercantile Drogasian

Controlled Territories

• The Hierophant's First Temple
• The High Magisterium of the Hierophant