Church of the Redeeming Flame
The Church of the Redeeming Flame is one of the two churches that give worship to (LINK) Flæmr. The Church of the Redeeming Flame is based in Azantium with its largest and most heavily staffed chapel being close to the centre of Azantium, near The Throne of Sand, if the imperial palace is the centre of the city, then the Church of the Redeeming Flame is directly opposite from the Church of the Cleansing Flame.
Public Agenda
The Church of the Redeeming Flame, despite its ethically questionable method of redeeming sin, is not necessarily an evil organisation. The Church pays fair taxes, keeps an open, publicly available record of all their received donations and where those donations were sent and how they were used, and re-donates almost every sent of their received donations that they don’t need to continue running. Despite this surprisingly open and giving way with money, the Church is one the richest and most influential organisations in the Mortal Plains, contested only by their twin, and the Azantium Empire itself. This is because a portion of all transactions undertaken by the church is funnelled into a separate account that they say is under the control of Flæmr themself. The church say that this is yet another way of giving worship to Flæmr, for only when Flæmr is a part of all things, can you be judged fairly.
This money cannot be accessed without Flæmr’s explicit permission, which has happened before, recently in fact, when Flæmr commanded that the entirety of the account be used to fund the Xern Troop's expedition North.
Ethics
The Church of the Redeeming Flame believes in redemption from your sins. Flæmr as a God of freedom does not prevent you from doing any action, but freedom to act does not protect you from the consequences of your actions, or even your inactions, and the Church of the Redeeming Flame believes that these consequences of your actions and inactions build up overtime as physical sin. The Adherents of the Church believe that one’s sins can be wiped away, giving one a fresh start in the eyes of their peers, and in the eyes of Flæmr themself. Naturally, being a church worshipping a God of fire, the Adherents of the Redeeming Flame believe in burning away the sin. Seeing someone with a hand-shaped brand on their faces is a sure sign of them having run across an adherent of the Church of the Redeeming Flame and having been found wanting.
Worship
When an Adherent of the Redeeming Flame reaches the stage of Bishop(LINK) in the Twin Church Hierarchy(LINK), they undergo a ritual known as The Searing (LINK) during which the eyes are removed and the facial flesh around the eyes are seared with a magically heated hand. This process symbolises their vow to lay down judgement upon their followers not based on form, but on action alone. Adherents ranked Bishop and above for this reason wear a red cloth veil, showing that they have undertaken and withstood this trial of faith successfully. Those who failed this ritual are forbidden from wearing the veil and their scars must be displayed openly.
Allied
The Church’s relations with the common people are much more tense, with the common person seeing the Church of the Redeeming Flame as somewhat barbaric in their intensity, though a lesser threat then their twin. This is not to say that the Church’s beliefs are disparaged, Flæmr is one of the most widely worshipped gods, but the lengths that the churches go to fulfill Their edicts is considered excessive by most.
Allied
POV Redeeming Flame:
The Church of the Redeeming Flame has tense, but peaceful relations with it’s twin the Church of the Cleansing Flame, this ideological divide occurred early on in the formation of the church, when two clear interpretations of Flæmr’s word could be seen. The Redeeming Flame stated that the redemption of sin did not necessarily need to be complete, and that the scars one carries on their body can be adequate reminders of one’s Freedom and its consequences, The Cleansing Flame on the other hand stated that the cleansing of sin required a complete wipe, and that it required a death by fire. - This belief is explored in more detail in the Church of the Cleansing Flame’s page – Naturally this drastic difference in operation caused some tension between the adherents of the two churches, but the overall similarity of their mission has prevent any overt conflict between the two.
POV Cleaning Flame:
The Church of the Cleansing Flame has tense, but peaceful relations with its twin the Church of the Redeeming Flame of the Redeeming Flame, this ideological divide occurred early on in the formation of the church, when two clear interpretations of Flæmr’s word could be seen. The Cleansing Flame stated that the cleansing of sin, by necessity needed to be complete, and that the complete, albeit temporary removal one’s Freedom by death, and it’s return with reincarnation can be adequate demonstration of the consequences of Freedom, The Redeeming Flame on the other hand stated that the redemption of sin did not necessarily need to be complete, and that the scars one carries on their body can be adequate reminders of one’s Freedom and its consequences - This belief is explored in more detail in the Church of the Cleansing Flame’s page – Naturally this drastic difference in operation caused some tension between the adherents of the two churches, but the overall similarity of their mission has prevent any overt conflict between the two.
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