The Declaration of Convocation

In 1493, the faithful of northern Elbid rose in rebellion against the Church in the North, attacking ecclesiastical palaces and militant orders, and forcing the Hierarch to flee the region. This uprising was sparked by decades of growing discontent over corruption within the Church, and by the recent violent suppression of reformers who had sought to work within Church structures to root out its abuses. It marked the beginning of the Church Wars - a series of conflicts that would transform Elbid over the next three centuries.

As the Church in the North lost power and influence, several new sects devoted to the worship of God in Heaven emerged, each exploring their newly won theological freedom. Over time, the five largest of these sects came to represent the majority of the faithful in northern Elbid, while those who remained within the fold of the old Church became a small and often persecuted minority.

This new plurality of religions also created space for the rise of cults - sects devoted to eldritch beings from Beyond - who often masqueraded as just another denomination, concealing their true and sinister allegiances. While all of these cults were eventually (or so it is believed) exposed and eliminated, their existence deeply unsettled many. For the Church in the North, they became a key argument against allowing the freedom to form independent religions.

This concern reached its height when the Cult of the Leviathan seized control of the nation of Carovingia in western Elbid, igniting the Dragon Wars - a brutal conflict in which they sought to subjugate the entire continent to the worship of Leviathan. The Cult conducted vast rituals that demanded the sacrifice of entire towns, leaving western and northern Elbid in ruins. Though the Cult was narrowly defeated in 1815, the fear that another such horror might be hiding among the many religions of the North continued to haunt the region.

These concerns led directly to the formation of the Convocation of the North - formally titled The Convocation of the Northern Free Churches, in Pursuit of Unity and Freedom of Worship, as determined by committee. In 1820, the leaders of the major denominations of northern Elbid met and resolved to establish the Convocation, with several key goals in mind. First, they sought to preserve the freedom to worship as they had for the past several centuries. Second, they aimed to prevent the rise of new cults by creating a shared structure for the examination and mutual accountability of sects - so that any hiding a nest of cultists might be identified and rooted out. Finally, and most controversially, they proposed a reunion with The Church in Pallama - but only under a number of significant provisions regarding autonomy and governance. In this way, the Convocation hoped to prevent future religious wars while containing the continuing threat of eldritch corruption.

They drafted the Declaration of Convocation to lay out the principles of their organization and to serve as their formal proposal of reunion with The Church.

The Declaration Itself

The Declaration of Convocation was modeled on the foundational document that had established the Triumvirate of Hierarchs during the Council of Alo in 86 ID. It proposed a reformation of the Church in the North to mirror the decentralized structure of The Church in the East, in which each sect would function as the equivalent of an eastern eparhiya - though without a fixed geographical domain. Under this model, a Northern Synod would be formed, comprising the head of each accepted denomination. The existing Hierarch of the North would be permitted to join the Synod as a peer, but would be required to relinquish the title and authority of Hierarch. In their place, a new Hierarch would be chosen by a two-thirds vote of the Northern Synod.

It went on to define the authority and responsibilities of both the Synod and the Hierarch, with particular emphasis on the boundaries and limitations of their power. The Declaration affirmed that the shared tenets established at the Council of Alo - those that had historically united the three branches of The Church - would continue to apply to all sects permitted to join the Convocation. The Synod was empowered to examine its member sects for adherence to these core tenets and to investigate signs of eldritch infiltration. However, the Declaration explicitly restricted the Synod's authority: it could not dictate the specifics of theological belief or ritual practice beyond the common tenets, except in cases involving the worship of entities from Beyond. The Hierarch's position was to lead the Synod as the first among equals, and to represent it in the Triumvirate in Pallama.

The Declaration of Convocation was put to a vote by the assembled sects, who approved it and formally established the Convocation of the North. The document was presented to the Triumvirate later that same year, in 1820, but was rejected. While the Hierarch of the East expressed support for the proposed reforms, both the Hierarchs of the North and West rejected it outright. Undaunted, the Convocation has continued to operate according to the structure of the Northern Synod as outlined in the Declaration, without the participation of those who remain loyal to the Old Church. It remains the Convocation's stated hope that The Church in Pallama will one day reconsider its position - though few believe this likely unless one of the objecting Hierarchs should die and be replaced.