Orthodox Atovism
The Orthodox Atovist Church is a denomination of Atovism with traditional ritualistic beliefs in conformance with The Gateway Summit. It is the largest denomination of Atovism, dwarfing Renewist Atovism and The Church of Penance combined.
The Orthodox Atovist Church is internally referred to as The Church of Atovism, as they believe themselves to be the only true atovist church and reject the validity of all other denominations.
History
Before the The Gateway Summit caused a fracture in the atovist church's unity, all atovist priests and practitioners would have been considered orthodox. Orthodox atovists hold to the decisions made at the gateway summit, and thus can be considered a throughline of the original movement, tracing their origins all the way back to the beginning days of the age of work. Orthodox priesthood have always had a dominant hold over Estarian culture, save for the brief period following the Renewist Upheaval when King Saul of Hedgewall took the Estarian throne.Structure
Orthodox Atovism is organized into a higharchy resembling most organized religions of a similar size. Local churches (parishes) are staffed by one to three priests with groups of parishes under the administration of at least one bishop (male) and Sage Mother (female). High ranking bishops make up the church's ultimate governing body, the Solgrad Assembly, which is, of course, based in the Estarian city of Solgrad.Differences in Philosophy from other Atovists
Orthodox Atovists maintain a strict interpretation of The Eulogy, believing it to be the last text written under the gods' influence, and thus the final word on religious purity.Unique Rituals from other Atovists
Sixth Turning
Atovist communities in the Orthodox tradtion have a special celebration for a child's twelfth birthday called a Sixth Turning Festival. The name comes from the Atovist idea that every two years is a distinct unit of time called a turning, because that is (roughly) how long it takes for Vildrel's moon to make a full phase cycle. Due to the Atovist belief in the Law of Six, the twelfth birthday (and thus the sixth turning) is seen as an important step toward adulthood.Unique Laws from other Atovists
Orthodox Atovist have the most restrictive laws regarding sex and sexuality out of any other denominations of atovism, with bans against sodomy, adulatory, and premarital sex (however, this has not stopped atovists from loosely interpreting these rules and carving out exceptions for bathhouses and various loopholes in their sodomy code).
Type
Religious, Organised Religion
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