The Pantheon Of The Goddess
We exist only to seek beauty, everything else is but a distraction
"I know you see no value in their ritual and superstition, but you would be a foolish prince to dismiss the Arch-Bishop completely. The people are sworn to us by law, which means we have their bodies and labour, but their hearts belong to the church - whether you think its worthy of their loyalty or not. All it would take would be a word from the Arch-bishop and every priest and priestess in our land would speak openly and boldly to our vassals that we are unfit to rule in The Goddess' eyes. The people's hard earned affections would turn against us within a week and we would likely have our heads on pike and our rivals in my throne before the year is out." - A Wise Warning from a King to a Prince
Structure
Ruled by an elected member of the priesthood who remains in power for life, the Most Holy Pontificate is one arguably the most powerful and influential humans in all of Alwaus. He or she commands the entirety of the Eastern and Western branches of the Pantheon, wielding a level of power rivaled only by the immortal Alvain and Kinderstärke. As such, the Pontificate is granted a level of respect from these races not given to most humans - largely in fact that their influence through the pontificate has helped ensure stability in The Thirteen Kingdoms since the formation of The Eternal Empire . The Pontificate is said the be The Goddess' chosen representative on alwaus, and as such orders that originate from the Pontificate are expected to be acted on as if they had come from The Goddess herself.
Beneath the Pontificate are the two Grand-Cardinals of the Eastern & Western Pantheon, and the Grand-Imam of the Southern Pantheon. The three are the direct servants and representatives for The Pontificate in their respective reasons and any likely successor for The Pontficate is likely to come from within their ranks.
Each of The Thirteen Kingdoms then in turn has a Lord-Cardinal who serves beside the kingdom's ruler, to leader the pantheon in that nation and ensure it's royal family is leading with the will and guidance of the pantheon at their side.
Each of The Thirteen Kingdoms is then split into smaller regional territories which are governed by the Arch-Bishops of each respective area. The Arch-Bishops are the lowest ranking of the ruling-class members of The Pantheon but ironically have the most impact on the average citizens day to day and representation within the Pantheon.
Beneath the Arch-Bishops are the various Bishops and Priests and Priestesses who interact directly with the members of the Pantheon ("The Choir") and deliver immediate religious services to the common people.
Culture
The Pantheon is formed on the concept of "The Holy Trinity of Creation", which is the religious philosophy that The Godess forms life with three primary sources of power: Soul Spirit, and Body. The pantheon canon decrees that the goddess formed the celestials of beings of pure Soul before finding them unworthy, the Faire'e as beings of Spirit before finding them unsubstantial, and then the dragons of pure Body before finding them devoid of love and life.
In the end The Goddess chose to create two new races: The Alvain as creatures of Body and Spirit, and Kinderstärke as beings of Body and Soul. Pleased with the success these combinations provided The Goddess then sung out in triumph as she proclaimed her intent to create another species - one that combines all three: Soul, Spirit, and Body. The combination of these three sources of power is called "The Holy Trinity of Creation" and The Pantheon believes The Goddess combined these three elements to create her chosen species: humans.
As The Goddess of Beauty the Pantheon upholds the value of beauty in all its forms - even the unconventional. The church's focus on humans as the "chosen" race has raised ire with many of the other races, (especially given the rhetoric used by The East Pantheon during The Inheritance War), however The Eternal Empire continues to find use for The Pantheon provided they continue to remind humanity that their elder races were placed here by The Goddess to warden, guide, and protect them. Services that the empire is more than happy to provide at the end of a musket.
Public Agenda
The public agenda of the church is rather nebulous, something that has allowed a variety of ill intended individuals to leverage to their own benefit. As the church's doctrine can be loosely summarized as "serve the goddess and do not destroy beauty" it can be easily manipulated to serve one's goals - something that has undoubtly occurred many times in the ancient organization's past.
Assets
The wealthiest and most powerful of all human created organizations, The Pantheon has grown to rival even The Collegiate Arcane in it's influence and indirect power. Tithes colllected from low and high born human only grow more as the population and economies of these nations recover after the end of the The Inheritance War and every year more elegant and grand cathedrals are erected in cities across Alwaus.
The military arms of The Pantheon has existed almost since its inception, with the mighty Paladins serving as a stalwart example of what a high trained, supplied, and specialized combat unit can do. Financially, only the largest corporations of Stolzetürm can rival the church's economic power, often putting the interests of the capitalists and the clergy against one another.
History
The organization now refered to as The Western Pantheon was the original branch of the church's founding, however as cultural differences between the humans of east and western Alwaus grew a large section of the eastern Grand-Cardinals recused themselves from their positions and membership of The Choir of The Pantheon Of The Goddess, claiming that the appointment of the new Pontificate was organized through treachery and not reflective of the beautiful will of The Goddess. They instead formed what they called "The True Pantheon of The Goddess" before appointing their own Pontificate, thus creating the "Eastern Pantheon of The God" and igniting a war between The Thirteen Kingdoms that would go unrivaled until The Inheritance War.
After the end of the war the two sects were joined together by the will of The Empress and the [The Thirteen Kingdoms were served by a single organization once again.
"Beauty In The Creation"
Founding Date
13,015 AoA
Type
Religious, Organised Religion
Alternative Names
The Pantheon. The Church, The Religion
Successor Organizations
Demonym
Choir
Leader
Leader Title
Government System
Theocracy
Currency
Parent Organization
Subsidiary Organizations
Deities
Divines
Location
Official Languages
Notable Members
Related Myths
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