The Western Church

There is seldom a better icon for a faith than its place of worship and Western churches vary hugely in their elaboration, size, and shape. Invariably, the culture of its builders will influence how a church looks once finished, but there are a few common factors that will distinguish a Western church from another denomination.

The first is their decoration. Unlike those dedicated to Saints, Western churches will not contain any depictions of sentient life. While the style of their buildings is in keeping with others, elaborate stonework, decorated patterns on the walls and ornate timber carvings, these will never show any discernable humanoid figure. The main reason for this is to avoid conflict. As a multi-racial faith, it would become problematic to depict the Great Lord as associated with a particular group, as such, he will often be represented by a depiction of a great crescent, which should be made from a precious material, gold, silver, or gemstones. Other symbols that feature frequently are floral patterns, signifying the beauty of the natural world, crowns, to highlight the divinity of rulership, diamonds, an adopted symbol that is normally associated with the Papacy. Inscriptions in Laurum are made based on the works of calligraphers.

In terms of layout, were possible churches and cathedrals will be rectangular, sometimes with a semicircular wing running between two towers, one in the east and one on the western side. There is usually a central tower or courtyard at the heart of the building that will contain a sun dial, sand timer, or water clock, to facilitate time keeping duties. Dates and calenders are scrupulously kept and announced at dawn each day while the time is kept by the ringing of a bell. Morning bells are rung from the eastern tower and evening bells from the west. In many parts, it is common practice to have the bells pitched slightly differently to allow for clearer timekeeping, and the bells will stop at the stroke of evening, to avoid disturbance, unless it is a special occasion. The towers are joined by a central range which is the main nave and aisle. An altar will be positioned behind this and a pulpit usually overlooks the rows of pews. The range will also contain a kitchen, vestry, prayer room, bathing room, and for residential churches, a dormitory for the occupants.

There are three ranks of service within the Western Church, the lowest, a servant, denotes that one holds a transient role within the Church and will often be a secondary profession for the individual. The other two, priests and sacerdi, are fully fledged professions and require training and dedication to achieve. The first step for any aspirant however, is committal.

Committal

Committal is the process by which one becomes a servant of the Church, it is a power retained by those ranking of sacerdos and higher. Although becoming a servant necessarily an occupation, it requires a continual relationship with the Western Church. The demonstration of this continuity can be simple, a candlelighter can be rewarded for years of work, honoured as a servant on the Lord at their retirement, or complex, as an initiate takes their first steps towards a clerical career. The common factor of the two is the demonstration of faith sincerely held and culminates in the Lord’s Pledge, a prayer to hold part or whole of ones life to the Lord’s will.

Committal is a private ceremony held before a priest or sacerdos and for those choose to make a full pledge, (to dedicate one’s whole life), they will be presented with their clerical vestments at the end. Full pledges traditionally involve a celebration with the local clergy as well as the family and friends of the servant, whereas partial pledges are usually commemorated with a blessing, often in the bestowing of a crescent ring or brooch to the newly committed.

Being a servant grants no entitlements in of itself, but a record must exist of every committal that is made. The functions similarly to the hierarchy of the Western Church and it is the responsibility of the priest to report this to their cardinal. This message is passed in a letter to the cardinal of the area and in turn reported back to the Papacy and is recorded on the Papal Register.

Earning Robes

After becoming a servant, some choose to make faith an occupation, in such cases there is a ritual known as ‘earning robes’ which must be completed. The practice is named as one might expect, due to it being the time when one is presented with their clerical vestments. These servants are taken as an apprentice by a priest, or rarely a higher ranking clergyman in order to learn the trade of a full time theologian.

During this period they are expected to live as a priest, staying in the dormitories, hearing confessions, scribing, even saying a prayer during service. They will also be made to undertake a course of theological education, which has the added bonus for many that they will come into contact with the young nobility at Church run schools. Careful note is taken by the priest of the servant’s ability to ingratiate themselves with those of influential standing, although whether this may harm or hinder one’s progress is also a point of contention. There has always been a separation between Church and nobility, and while both rely on each other to an extent, many in the Church believe it is a debasement of faith to create such ties with an end to financial or political support.

This being said, education is a minor part of earning robes, it having a much heavier focus on the vocational, not scholastic side of things. There is no exam in earning robes, a priest will adjudge when the time is right and when one may be presented with the vestments of a priest. These include a stole, a long strip of cloth draped around the neck, a tippet, a shawl over the shoulders, and a pair of maniples, bands of hanging cloth worn on each wrist. Depending on the location other vestments may also be included, but the above are universal for Western priest. Becoming a priest grants various rights and duties that are not held by servants.

Revelation

Sacerdi are a special group of priests. The term sacerdos roughly translates to ‘sacred one’ and the rank carries far greater prestige than a mere priest, despite there being no difference in duties. One becomes a sacerdos through revelation, a great act of faith that can be attributed to them that shows favour of the Great Lord. A sacerdos can only be recognised by other sacerdi, as only their connection can be pure enough to adjudge. While there can be many hundreds of priests in a nation, revelation is far rarer and so the numbers of sacerdi will be far lower.

Although revelation carries no specials privilege in life, it is key to being recognised as a saint later on in life. Sacerdi are also recognised within the Church of Saints, however there it is not a denotation of rank, instead being an honorific.

Prayers and Reflection

Cathirians rarely expect their deity, the Great Lord, to speak to them directly, however communication and openness with him is essential for the faithful. Praying and reflection are the two ways in which one can become closer to the Lord and both involve the extension of one’s soul to his mercy and wisdom.

While faith may be private, prayer is a public affair aimed at bringing the community together and uniting them. Congregation occurs at a local church, be it a modest chapel or grand cathedral, and the faithful are lead by their local priest. Prayers will often be prefaced by a historical parable regarding a well known saint to highlight the importance of faith and virtue. Members of the community will then volunteer topics of prayer. For private prayers, those which may be embarrassing or deeply personal, members will write their prayers upon white sheets of paper or cloth. These are taken to be soaked in incense and burned as the priest reads them out, protecting the identity of the faithful, but allowing the community to offer their support.

The greater honesty and openness one shows, the brighter the beacon of their soul will shine and the more likely it is the Lord will hear their prayer. Priests are charged with helping their flocks do this, and it is a point of great pride if one can lead prayers unaided, able to draw on their own knowledge of the community. On the rarest of occasions, the Great Lord himself shall pass the prayers to the priest to espouse, with such happenings a cause for celebration in of themselves. Churches will have a candelabra positioned in front of the pulpit with each candle marking the Lord’s prayers. In the oldest of cathedrals, these can number in the hundreds.

The Right of Foundation

Under Papal law, church land and property is owned by the Papacy as its own divine entity, a trustee on behalf of the Great Lord himself. Under strict interpretation therefore, it would be impossible for anyone bar the Pope to exercise anyone control over land destined to be used for a religious purpose. The right of foundation allows this power to be delegated to an agent of faith, and is awarded upon entering the priesthood.

In practice, few priests will ever have to use this privilege in any meaningful manner, however it is key to allow the use of Papal property for any of the aforementioned or forthwith mentioned rituals. Historically the right was also used extensively by missionaries to establish new churches in frontiers of faith and it one of the oldest rights held by a priest.

Confession

Alongside prayer and reflection, there is often the need to unburden the sole. Confession is the method to do so, where a priest will hear, without judgement, the truth of an individual. By practice, nothing in confession can be disclosed under Papal law, with harsh punishments for priests deemed to breach this confidence. The one exception to this rule is should a priest come to learn that a confession is false. Judgement is withheld by a priest only in the presence of truth as these event will be judged by the Great Lord in the Beyond, as will dishonesty, but a lie in of itself is fair game. Of course such an accusation will seldom be made as it will always result in the priest being punished or making a strong enemy, but there have been a few notable and fiery situations were the sacred seal of the confession has been broken.

Faith Tithe

Faith is seldom free and while simony has been forbidden for generations, donations to the Church are readily accepted and even encouraged. Handling the currency of the realm requires a certain level of trust, and so priests are charged with gathering these donations. This however, is not a faith tithe. The tithe instead refers to a Papal tax levied on any the earnings of any Western Church. The tithe applies only to priests who head their respective institutions and is gathered by their cardinal once per year. From there funds are transported back to the Papal vaults.