Glory of Genesis
While all religions pay homage to Enas, the Creator, only the Glory of Genesis declares them as the central figure of worship. This sets their beliefs apart from the other religions who can have direct contact with the gods. Accordingly, the tenets of Genesis are uniquely mortal, born from study and meditation before being transmitted through believers over the centuries. Until the founding of the Unified Genesisian Reformation, the religion was a disorganized collection of contradictory beliefs.
Temples of Glory can be found in any major city, where they provide healing and restoration to all beings after paying a small tithe, enduring a few questions, and sitting through a short sermon after services rendered. In many temples, adventurers are their main source of income.
Central Tenets
As a religion that styles themselves as worshipers of the progenitor of all things, Genesisians hold all of creation to be sacred. This belief leads to their oaths of pacifism and veganism--plants, animals, and all sentient beings were created by the gods. The strength of this commitment is admirable, as Genesisians refuse to engage in violence--even against wild animals--on behalf of self-preservation. Accordingly, many of their saints are martyrs. Exceptions to this oath are made, however, when people commit particularly heinous evils. This designation is left to individual worshipers, with the central church seldom issuing statements condoning the use of violence. Some, but not all Genesisians, hold this assumption of innate sacredness to be true for races created by the Nether Gods. This schism in belief has led to two sects of Genesisians: the so-called Apologists and Refusists. Apologists hold that even though Enas took the form of The Destroyer, they were still the same god that created all other things. Accordingly, these Nether races innately contain goodness born of Enas, and that spark should be protected. Refusists, on the other hand, firmly believe that the corruption of Enas was total; creations associated with The Destroyer do not deserve the same protections. However, both sects of Genesis work together to accomplish the ultimate goal of the Glory: evangelicalism. Early Genesisians reasoned that a concentrated effort by mortals can somehow resurrect Enas as the Creator, despite their consumption by the Nether after the birth of the Nether gods. Spreading the Glory is the first step towards this restoration.Modern Centralization
Recognizing the need for a central church, the largest Temples of Glory (where?) founded the Unified Genesisian Reformation. Dedicated to centralizing and codifying the beliefs of Genesis, this organization functions as a center of theological scholarship and political representation for Genesisians. Their first effort was to produce a centralized doctrine of belief, bringing together millennia of contradictory belief into a coherent doctrine. Since then, the Reformation has served as the de facto voice of the Genesisian followers. This decision was not without controversy, with some temples and followers refusing to follow the Reformation. Many believe that striving for organization will bring about unnecessary conflict, threatening to bring followers into open conflict with others.Response to Recent Events
Agonian Cataclysm
The Cataclysm was the first (and only) event to trigger suspension of non-violence by the Reformation. Believing the attempted resurrection of Enas, the Destroyer, to be an apocalyptic event, many Genesisians in the Agon Desert joined arms against the forces of evil. Since the conflict, the increasing migration of Nether races from the Underdark has emphasized the schism between Apologists and Refusists.Iris Rebellion
Following the rebellion within the Kingdom of Vern and the subsequent revelations concerning Thadrys Penumbrel, the Reformation issued a statement that condoned the use of violence by Cornelius Aberator while recognizing the need for an end of the previous administration. Since then, the Reformation has maintained a positive relationship with the Kingdom.
Type
Religious, Organised Religion
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