The Ronan Church

The Ronan Church is the official church of the Thamorian dominated pantheon of gods, called the Ronan Pantheon.

The church works in tandem with The Knights of Thamor and other such religious orders. The Church serves as a central point for the faith. The High Lord of the Holy Crown is considered the head of the church, but is served by many high priests who then maintain the clergy beneath them. Knights are not part of the clergy and thus the lines of leadership are often skewed when the two orders are placed together.

This is a basic structure of the faith:

Ronan Church Knights of Thamor Order of Wrath
High Lord of the Holy Crown High Lord of the Holy Crown High Lord of the Holy Crown
High Priest Lord-General of the Holy Crown High Priest/Lord-General of the Holy Crown
Archbishop Lord-Marshall of the Holy Crown Grand Master
Bishop Lord-Captain of the Holy Crown Master de Commandery
Vicar Knight-Captain of the Holy Crown Commander
Priest Knight-Captain of the Holy Sword/Lance/Shield Temple-Knight
Minister Knight Minister
Acolyte Squire Squire
Altarboy Page Altarboy

High Priest: Second only to the High Lord of the Holy Crown, administers the entire church.

Archbishop: Answering only to the High Lord of the Holy Crown, the High Priest and, in times of war to the Lord-Generals, the Archbishops have dominion over all diocese within their see. Sometimes called a "Primate" if required to oversee the duties of other Archbishops.

Bishop: A priest put in charge of an entire diocese, which includes many parishes. Sometimes called a "Prelate" if the region hasn't yet converted to the faith.

Vicar: The assistant to a Bishop, not much higher in rank than a Priest, but no longer having only one church to serve. The Vicars are usually next in line for the position of Bishop. Sometimes also called a "Dean", especially when associated with a school, or an "Archpriest." If there are many Vicars, sometimes one is made "Vicar General" as a higher ranking position. A Vicar put in charge of a particular area of the church, or other such specific duty, may also be called a "Chancellor." Vicar is the highest rank a missionary can attain without an established parish existing over which he can hold dominion.

Priest: The highest authority in an individual church. Each church has an associated Parish, which is the body of possible followers in that area who the priest is responsible for. Each parish is a part of a diocese. There may be many churches within a diocese. Sometimes also called a "Parish Priest" or a "Pastor." When in reference to an Abbey, this position is called an Abbot. The common vernacular title is "Father".

Minister: A priest in training, who is recognized to have attained a basic knowledge of the faith to allow that person to minister to the souls of the lost. These are most commonly the ranks given to missionaries. When placed in charge of a particular aspect within a church, such as overseeing Chapel ministry, a minister may be called a "Chaplain".

Acolyte: A young man (or sometimes a woman) in training to become a Minister of the faith. Some but not all will complete the training.

Altarboy: A duty within the church granting a young boy (sometimes a young girl) a job to do and a means to learn the basics of the job.

Divine Sects

Within the church are select Sects of priests who serve particular duties. Often times these are specially trained men and women given particular clemency to act on behalf of the church in usual ways.

Cavaliers

There are some cavalier orders who pay service to the Ronan Church, rather than a particular liege or King.

The Order of Wrath

The church often has gone to war, and though the Knights of Thamor are the primary military force of the church, this particular sect serves as the military force of the clergy. They are clerics, but with military training and hence refer to themselves as a Knightly Order. They serve as the ministers of the soldiers during war, sometimes even lead them into battle, and generally serve all other functions of the church in the field. Members of the Order, when not at war, often roam the country performing various duties for the Order. The Order of Divine Wrath forbids any women to join and only accepts pure humans as members. They have strict rules of behavior and There are four ranks within this order:

Grand Master
A life-long commitment, the Grand Master is in charge of the entire Order. Once appointed a Grand Master can only retire from this position with the permission of the High Lord of the Holy Crown himself. The Grand Master is considered of equal rank to a Lord-Marshal of the Holy Crown.

Master de Commandery
Master is the title granted to the priest in charge of each commandery (see below). The Master has complete command of his stronghold and command over his stronghold and in the field his men answer directly to him.

Commanders
The Commanders are Temple-Knights who have attained some rank under the Master de Commandery. Each Commander is served by two Temple-Knights, as well as their own retinue. There are six commander titles: Seneschal, Turcoplier, Chaplain, Marshal, Under-Marshal, and Confanonier.

Seneschal
The Seneschal is the devoted agent of the Master, serving as both secretary and sword-arm. The Seneschal administers the lands belonging to the Master. In war, he directs the movement of the men, pack trains, and all other logistics of war.

Captain
Third in line behind the Seneschal, the Captain commands the light cavalry and the Sergeant brothers. The Turcopolier is otherwise identical to all other Commanders.

Chaplain
The Chaplain serves as the spiritual leader within each commandery. He has the power to take confessions and grant absolution. What makes them unique is that they are not answerable to other local clerics or bishops; only to their own authorities within the order or to the High Lord of the Holy Crown.

Marshal
The Marshal is the master-of-arms and horse-master. The priest holding this position often the man with most direct knowledge of what is occurring in the field. The Master usually consults with his Marshall before making any tactical decisions.

Under-Marshal
The Under-Marshal is in charge of procurement, distribution and movement of supplies such as bridles, padding for saddles, food, and barrels of water. In battle he leads the force by holding a flag, called the piebald banner, that rises above all others. This flag helps to keep their force together, creating a rallying point.

Confanonier
The Confanonier is the Orders' Standard Bearer. He is in charge of the Squires and their paymaster, disciplinarian, and overseer. He oversees their work of keeping the knight-priests’ horses and weapons in good order. He does not bear an actual standard in battle, but marches in front of the banner and leads his marching column.

Temple-Knights
A Temple-Knight is a cleric trained for war, particularly as a light cavalryman. A priest must have seen battle to attain this rank, but had to be granted the title by a Marshall or higher ranking member of the Order. They are required to keep their hair cut short and maintain a short cropped beard, meant to indicate their maturity next to less experienced soldiers on the field. Temple-Knights dress in a white tunic with a red ????

Retinue
Each Temple-Knight (including Commanders) is served by his own personal retinue. This usually consists of one Sergeant, one Minister, two acolytes (who serve as squires), two foot soldiers, and one scribe. He is granted four horses and one palfrey (riding horse).

Sergeant
The highest rank a priest can attain without being made a Temple-Knight by a Marshall. The Sergeant is a light cavalry officer and the chief supporting officer for the Temple-Knight. Sergeants are expected to keep their hair short, but cannot grow a beard (though a mustache is common). They dress in a black tunic and a black or brown mantle, often with a red ????.

Commandery:
These formidable strongholds are equal parts church and fortress, and are often built with secret passages and vaults. They also have secret rooms for special rituals of the order. Each is manned by a Master, a Seneschal, a Captain, a Chaplain, a Marshall, an Under-Marshall, a Confanonier, their Temple Knights (usually 14) and their retinues. Thus, not including the Master and six commanders, there would be 14 Temple Knights, 21 Sergeants, 21 Ministers, 42 acolytes, 42 foot-soldiers, and 21 scribes. There would also be a host of other lay-persons working within the stronghold to support them. The Commandery is in itself a castle, and thus it is often surrounded by those services it most often needs (masons, blacksmiths, carpenters, etc…), and thus can be the center of a town.

Lay-Persons:
There are a number of duties within the Commandery that can be performed by lay-persons. These are:
Treasurer (keeps the books), Draper (in charge of clothing, linens, and proper dress attire), Squires (acolytes in service to the order), alter boys, and many other servants (cooks, maids, launders, etc…).

Temple-masons

This is the only sect of the church in which a lay-person can attain membership and rank. The Temple-masons are responsible for the construction of the Temples, Churches, and other important structures such as the commanderies. Because of the secret such structures hold, members of this sect are required to undergo a special ritual that binds them to the secret, causing an agonizing pain to overcome them if they attempt to reveal a secret specifically told to them to keep by a higher ranking authority of the church.

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