Courtesy GM Sparrowhawk

Doctrine

The priesthood are the defenders of Telgard, of not only all that is holy, but all that lives and breathes. They are the first and last line of defence against the evil that once nearly destroyed everyone.
Priests should maintain order between the kingdoms where all others would fail. The priest will find those that have been hurt, perhaps by their own leadership, and seek to give them strength and correct the wrongdoings. They are the bastion of hope, the backbone of strength, the armour of protection, and the sword of righteousness. That is why the priesthood exists.

Many centuries ago, the Wyrm escaped. The Dark Enemy ran free. Only the strength of the Church unified the forces to act together to banish the Enemy. Only the faith of the Church has protected the people from the threat of the Wyrm. Only the vigilance of the Church has protected the Four Seals from those that would be foolish enough to unleash the Wyrm in body again.

One of your most important missions is the vigilant protection of the Seals. That requires a watch of a form that many of the Church feel is our most necessary power.

Priests will also watch for users of Magic.

The Four Seals cannot be shattered by any sword or mace. They can only be released through the use of magic. To protect these Seals, to protect the world and everyone in it, you must be ever vigilant for users of magic.

There are some enclaves of magic-users that feel as the church does, and adhere to the same doctrines. Even these users of magic, however, are not to be trusted, and it is the Mission of the Church to either bring them to the True Faith, or eliminate them for their heresy. Without the Shield of Faith that only the Church Doctrine can provide, these Enclaves are victim to the effects of the Wyrm, and may become deluded by its servants into once again releasing the Dark Enemy onto the world. I'm sure you can see, it is necessary for the Church to control all magic in Telgard.

Guidelines for the Priesthood

A priest should live at, or close by a place of worship unless he or she has taken the vow of solitude and must never seen in the company of others.
Though there is no vow of poverty taken for the priesthood, a priest must personally own little of anything, whether clothing, or food, or drink, let it be at the command of the senior and at his disposal, for it is not befitting a priest to have any distinction of property within the church. Any priest should not abuse his position of authority for material gain except for the good of the church. Any and all possessions revert to the church when a priest dies.
Whatever their habitation should become as a fortress as ones body and soul is against evil and it should have but one door.

Thy should seek other priests on days of solemnity and festival to converse with them of the Gods and the doctrine. One should preach and hold services where there is a no senior, where there is a senior one should spend part of the day gathering the worshippers for worship and then attending that worship.

Any person who talks with thee and seeks to lead one astray in matters of the world and its temptation should be given thy benediction. If he or she persists in this or seeks to lead one astray in matters of doctrine he should be declared heretic and be brought to trial.

Let thy servant be a discreet, religious, not a tale-telling man, who is to attend continually on thee, with moderate labour of course, but always ready.

Yield submission to every rule that is of devotion.

A mind prepared for red martyrdom [that is death for the faith].

A mind fortified and steadfast for white martyrdom. [that is ascetic practices].

Constant prayers for those who trouble thee, so that they may see to true way and not enter into heresy and be corrupted by the wyrm.

Fervour in singing to Grytl for the dead, as if every faithful dead was a particular friend of thine.

Let thy vigils be constant from eve to eve, under the direction of another person. Let thy vigils have clear purpose for there is much work to be done.

Three labours in the day, viz., prayers, work and preaching or reading.
The work to be divided into three parts, viz., thine own work, the work of thy place, as regards its real wants; secondly, thy share of the religious work, by instruction or writing, or sewing garments, or whatever labour they may be in want of.

Everything in its proper order; Nemo enim coronabitur nisi qui legitime certaverit. [For no one is crowned except he who has striven lawfully.]

Take not of food till thou art hungry. Do not indulge oneself to gluttony for that is a waste of Faeterna's gifts. Do not over drink for that leads to loose tongue and the wyrm will trick thy tongue into speaking heresy.

Sleep not till thou feelest desire.

Thy measure of prayer shall be until thy tears come;
Or thy measure of work of labour till thy tears come;
Or thy measure of thy work of labour, or of thy genuflexions, until thy perspiration often comes, if thy tears are not free.

Vengeance is a device of the wyrm and should be avoided, justice should be invoked to resolve disputes.

Monastic Orders of the church

Order of Bewresha's Daughters

There are several orders who dedicate their lives to Bewresha amongst them, and possibly the most respected is Bewresha's daughters. This is a highly regarded order and is open to all females of any race who wish to dedicate their lives to Bewresha's service. Novices must spend their first year cloistered and no men are allowed inside their sanctuaries. After they take their full vows, a year after they chose to become Novices they are allowed a single visit a year. This can be from anyone in the outside world, the visiting chamber has two halves, one inside the religious grounds and another outside it. Often separated by a wall with a grill, though sometimes greater contact is allowed. The order takes the vows of obedience, humility, poverty, celibacy, and isolation.

Order of the Divine Reverence

A Monastic order also known as the Order of Dargotten's Journey. Often orphans are sent to this monastery to be brought up in the ways of the order, initiated young. The order enforces celibacy, humility, obedience and poverty. Both sexes are permitted to join the order.
A monk's day began with the ringing of bells, some time between midnight and two a.m., signalling the first prayers of the day. After a short nap, prayers were again held at sunrise, and then at three-hour intervals throughout the day. Communal prayers average about five hours per day, while private prayer and contemplation could take up to four more hours. Meals are served once a day in winter, twice in summer, with meat forbidden except in case of illness. In some monasteries Monks are required to be silent while eating, and developed a sign language to communicate. At least three hours per day were spent in manual labour, with remaining hours not spent in prayer devoted to study, sacred reading and writing of illuminations.

Order of the Grey Friars

This is not a large order and can normally only be found in Maston in any number as the friars wander throughout Korresh. They are true believers of the church, though some priests have their doubts. The will hold services in remote locations if there are no Brantars present and they are always respected. However they also follow Grytl. Within Maston they are known as the keepers of the scrolls and there are always at least two senior friars in attendance, as well as apprentices. Those brothers who roam the land, often seek out the terminally ill, or areas of plague where they seek to help those who are about to die make their peace with Grytl and the gods before they depart this world. They take the vows of obedience (to their order rather than the church), poverty and celibacy. The celibacy vow is strictly enforced as Grytl does not look kindly on those who create life within his order. Some of the male members sometimes undergo voluntary castration and are made eunuchs in order to ensure that they cannot create life. This order is composed mainly of men, though women are not unknown.

Order of the lost path

The members of this order wander Telgard and promote the worship of the church. They are evangelists and seekers. The doctrine of the order lays down that they should wander Telgard in a similar way to Dargottens journey. The monks seek to do good in the name of the gods, helping others and promoting the worship fo the church and Dargotten. They believe that in doing this they are aiding Dargotten in his journey. Monks of the order take the vow of journey, poverty and chastity. The vow of journey is that the monk may not spend more than one month in a given location before travelling on. There are exceptions to this, notably if the monk is ill. Acolytes are accepted by individual monks and are trained whilst on the journey that he undertakes until he is ready for a parting of ways. It is rare to find a monk without an acolyte, perhaps strangely for an order of Dargotten many women also take the vows of this order.

Order of creative wonder

This order was virtually destroyed by the creation of the Children of Faeterna and subsequent schisms within the ranks which led to further members joining that sect. Originally this order was set up to promote the worship of Faeterna the creator and her part in the overall scheme of things. In recent times however the doctrine of the order has become bitter and more fanatical. The order now sees itself as the true champions of the church when it comes to the eradication of heresy. Heretics are those that have strayed from the way of the gods and have become flawed in the eyes of Faeterna (in their opinion). This includes any who do not strictly adhere to the doctrine of the church. The order now accepts acolytes at a very young age so that they can indoctrinate them fully into the order and its beliefs. There are still a few who manage to escape and for some reason normally find their way to the Children of Faeterna rather than back into the mainstream church.

Order of the hidden way

This is a very secretive order that only invites whom it deems worthy into its ranks. It is the only part of the church that maintains active worship of Wrythanistan. The purpose for its existence is to look for adept magic users, either to bring into its ranks as they become powerful or to eliminate as possible enemies of the church. It is a secretive order with no known base.

Martyrdom and Sainthood.

Red Martyrdom

Martyrs, especially red Martyrs are actually quite common. There are, however some that are better known than others. A Red Martyr is an individual who has given his life for the church. In most cases this will be in warfare against religious enemies, in a few cases it is Brantars who have been killed on duty. The Traphar may declare anyone so killed, who believes in the church doctrine, a red martyr. However, being a red martyr indicates no real status. When crusades are launched one of the benefits is that if an individual dies on the journey then that person will be declared a Red Martyr.

White Martyrdom

White martyrdom is often seen as a precursor to sainthood, any individual who shows dedication to the church and its teaching above all else may be granted white martyrhood. Very rarely this is granted whilst the individual is still alive, they are then revered for the rest of their days. Only the high Traphar may declare within a kingdom who is to become a white martyr. The Matr may also declare that a Traphar is to be declared a martyr, this rarely occurs and only does so near the end of the Traphars life. In the early years of the churches history most of the Traphars were declared white martyrs, and it was sometimes used as a reward by the Matr for the eradication of heresy or signs of the wyrm.

Sainthood

Only Martyrs can be declared Saints and only the Matr can declare a saint officially. There are however common saints as well as official saints, though normally the common saints are eventually declared official.
Basically saints are declared if a miracle has occurred in their name. The claims are rigorously tested as it is perceived that magic can often be used to trick the unwary into believing they saw something that never happened.
Often it is the peasantry who start the process for an individual to reach sainthood. They will set up a specific shrine and many people will make the pilgrimage. Over a period of time this shrine will come to the attention of the hierarchy, who may even at that point take steps to replacing it.