The Church of Raya

Unlike the Matriarchy, there is no central governing body for the Church of the Light. Instead, the Church governs itself through consensus between various leaders.   In the Church, there are non-ordained positions that can be held by common folk that assist with ceremonies. These people are called deacons. They generally help set up and maintain the church building for ceremonies, collect tithes, bake suncakes for weekly communion and other similar tasks.   The lowest ranked ordained priests and priestesses are called Acolytes. They can perform all normal religious ceremonies of the faith. Generally, a church will have at least one Acolyte serving, who can lead the faithful in prayer or song, and helps teach children in smaller communities. Acolytes will also visit the sick and needy, providing prayers to those who cannot travel to the church itself for holy ceremonies.   A bishop is the leader of a specific church of Raya. All priests and priestesses that work and preach at that church report to the bishop. In many small churches, where there is only one priest or priestess, that person is also the bishop. Bishops have the power to ordain new priests of Raya. Bishops will lead the weekly ceremonies and give the weekly sermon during religious ceremonies. They will often visit with leaders of a locality to discuss matters of import to the church. Bishops may also conscript Knights Solar, the paladins dedicated to Raya, for specific missions to help their local community.   Above the bishop is a prelate who usually administers to a region or a large city. A prelate can elevate someone to bishop in their area. Prelates act in a more administrative capacity, ensuring that each individual church is properly staffed, monies are spent to aid those in greatest need, and churchs remain in good repair. Prelates will often act as spiritual advisors for important leaders, landed nobility and influential people. While prelates can lead religious ceremonies (and often do on special holy days to Raya), they generally leave weekly and regular prayers to acolytes and bishops. Prelates are the highest official ranking in the Church of Raya, but seniority and competency count for a great deal. Prelates will often nominate one from their number to head the Church for a large area, such as a country, who will act as “first among equals” and call meetings of the prelates as needed. This person is traditionally called the High Prelate.

As noted, the Church of Raya is one of the oldest religions in the world, having been first founded during the First Age during the time of the first emperor of the Chromatic Empire. While its structure and organization has evolved over the Ages, its core set of beliefs has not.   During the Second Age after the Cataclysm, the faith of Raya splintered into regional factions.  Every church of Raya evolved independently from the others, create wide disparity in the faith and worship of the Lady of Light.  While there were attempts to standardize the church, these efforts frequently failed and there was no widespread consistent worship of Raya until the end of the Second Age.   During the Third Age, a sect of the church rose to prominence.  The Matriarchy, a sect of the church that worshiped Raya as a war goddess (Raya Invicta) and practiced monotheism, became the mainstream religion of Raya in the northern half of the Lands of Legend through the expansion of the Kingdom of Rosalind.   However, the rise of the Matriarchy created significant backlash, especially after the disastrous Crusade against the desert nation of Aurulant.  In the aftermath, many churches repudiated the orthodoxy of the Matriarchy and created the present hierarchy and system of faith.  The Church of Raya, as it now exists in the Fourth Age, claims it has returned to the "correct" worship of the Lady of Light; unsurpisingly, the Matriarchy claims the same.

The Church of Raya teaches that Raya and her sister Metra created the world and its flora and fauna.  Eoa, only child of Raya, descended from the heavens to pierce his father's storm and allow life the flourish.  In gratitude, Raya gave her son an artifact, a crustal prism wand, from which Eoa created the High Races that once populated the Lands of Legend.   The Church preaches that Raya still watched over her creation and the descendants of her son's people.  Whle the goddess is a goddess of justice, mercy, and honor, she does not automatically protect the faithful.  Instead, the faithful must demonstrate both devotion to the Lady of LIght through their prayers, and worthiness of her love, through good deeds.

The core tenets of Raya's faith can be found in the oldest of her holy texts, the Alithea. It is said that the Alithea was a poem venerating the goddess Raya written by Clea during her travels. The Alithea spells out what the faithful believe about Raya and her place in the universe, and what she stands for. The true Alithea is written in Aurinyth, the language of the Chromatic Empire. All priests and priestesses learn the words of this text by heart.   However, over the Ages, the words and tenets of Raya's faith were translated into the current language spoken by her faithful. This translated form of the Alithea also included specific prayers for various holy days that were established over the span of centuries, as well as the traditional prayers for specific ceremonies such as weddings, funerals, ordination of members of the clergy and the like. This text became known as the Misilea, or Missail as it is now called in the Common Tongue. This is now the standard holy text of the Church of Raya, and the one most likely to be found in the hands of the faithful.   Along with the Missail, the Church publishes two other main holy texts that are universally known and owned by the faithful. The first, the Ligera Hymnal, is a collection of songs that venerate and celebrate Raya and her faithful. While there is some effort to keep this collection consistent across the continent, songs are being added regularly and regional variations abound. The second is the Commentus, a history of the church and its leaders, saints, heroes, and martyrs and the things they have done. The Commentus is the most modern of the holy books, having been first widely published during the Third Age. It is also inconsistent across the continent.

The faithful gather for religious services weekly, on Sunday, prior to dawn.  This weekly ceremony heralds the dawn with song and prayer, and celebrates the return of the Lady of Light with a sharing of a special food, called a suncake, usually served with tea.

Priests and priestesses of Raya begin by studying the tenets of the faith and memorizing the Alithea.  During this period, aspirants to the clergy will study under the mentorship of a bishop.  When they are ready, they are tested by a bishop that did not mentor them.  In larger cities, it is not unusual that a group of bishops, or even a prelate, might participate in the testing.   These tests include reciting the Alithea from memory, then defending an aspect of the goddess or tenet of faith in theological debate.  If successful, the aspirant will be ordained as an acolyte, the lowest rank of clergy.   As an ordained priest or priestess, acolytes are permitted to marry and have children.  However, acolytes cannot own property or a business.  Whle not a vow of poverty per se, the clergy of Raya are forbidden from possession of material things.  Most clergy get around this by having their spouse own property and work instead.     Priests and priestesses wear long-sleeved robes made from white linen or sun-bleached wool, layered with with a sleeveless over-robe of sky blue, trimmed in gold braid.  Over this, acolytes will wear during holy ceremonies a yellow stola - a narrow strip of cloth that is draped around the back of the neck and hangs loose in front.  Stolas will often be embroidered with images of martyrs and church leaders, or illustrations of stories from the history of the faith.  Acolytes will finally wear the holy symbol of the goddess - a sun with Raya's face upon it - on a chain around their neck hanging mid-chest.  For acolytes, this symbol is made of bronze.   Bishops also wear the white robes and sky blue over robe, for religious ceremonies they will wear a semicircular long cloak made from gold cloth, often silk, and typically heavily embroidered.  Bishops also wear a headdress and carry a staff topped with a sunburst symbol as part of their ceremonial regalia.  Their holy symbol is made from gold.   Prelates wear robes of white with an orange over robe and a red cloak, symbolizing the setting of the sun and acknowledging the seniority of these priests and priestesses.

While most clergy of Raya are simply normal people who lead the faithful, Raya does bestow on a rare number of her priests and priestesses a divine power.  This power typically takes one of two forms, stemming from one of Raya's main aspects and holy domains.    

• Divine Light: once per encounter, the cleric can unleash sacred light, which can blind an enemy for 1-6 rounds, or dispel darkness.
• Holy Voice: once per encounter, the cleric can speak in Raya's voice, commanding foes to cease their attack and sheath their weapons.