The Church of Elyon

Church of Elyon
Holy Symbol of Elyon
Leadership
Messenger of The Lord God Elyon - Manfred Altenhar
First ViceRegent	n/a
Second ViceRegent	n/a
First Praefect	n/a
Second Praefect	n/a
Third Praefect	n/a
The Faith
Continent	Dwilight
Realms of Faith	Caerwyn
Holy City	n/a
Number of Followers	n/a
Number of Temples	n/a
Number of Shrines	n/a
Number of Ministers	n/a

The Church of Elyon, the Life Giver

History

Elyonism is a religion formed after the collapse of the leadership of Verdis Elementum (VE), the old religion of the Caerwyn Republic. It was formed in the despair of lost faith, and takes much of the wisdom of Classical Caerwyn, and adapts it to a more sophisticated monotheistic framework. The Elyonites see themselves as the light of the world, against the encroaching darkness or barbarism and ignorance; hence a Crossed Sun Disc is their symbol. The sun is also used to emphasize Elyon’s Life Giving Attributes, and the Light he casts upon Mankind.

Their Founder, Manfred Altenhar, believed that he was visited by a spiritual being or angel named Arriel during his meditations, and that through the power of “The Enlightened Spirit” Arriel revealed special knowledge to him about the truth of God. He used this knowledge to write “The Names of Elyon” a book which outlines the core beliefs and methodology of Elyonism, and an outline of the core attributes of God. He organised the Priesthood into the Church of Elyon, and built the first temple in his estate of Demyansk.

Core Beliefs

Elyon Life Giver

The Chief God of VE and the One True God. The word Elyon and God are synonymous. The Other Gods of VE are relegated to the status of Angels and Archangels.

• Elyon is a Just, Compassionate, and Merciful god. People who live a good life will be rewarded in this life and the life after death. Similarly evil doers will be punished in this life and the life after death.

• In this life the pious person will find inner peace and his prayers will be answered by Elyon, albeit Elyon is All-wise and his justice is not always obvious. The evil person can expect only frustration and disappointment in his life, although on the surface he may appear to prosper.

• Because justice in this world is not perfect, Elyon will resurrect each soul after death, and give it a new spiritual body. The good will go to heaven, while evil doers will go to hell where they will be punished until they truly reform and are fit for heaven. In the end, all will be saved.

• Elyonism rejects polytheism and states that there must be a single unifying God, called Elyon, who has created the world. It is also opposed to investing any material object or any other being with a godlike nature, and states that other religions that do so are mistaken, although they may have glimpsed some portion of the truth.

• Elyonism states, that man only imperfectly understands God and should properly spend his life seeking knowledge about God and living his life according to his precepts. They believe that by Prayer, Meditation, and discussion among holy people, they can be blessed by “The Enlightened Spirit” and come to a better and better understanding of God.

Surt

The Archangel of Rebellion, leading Mankind astray. Surt is described by various names such as “The Fiery”, “The Rebellious”, “The Obstacle”, “The Deceiver”. He is described as having a fiery and rebellious nature.

Radenem

The Archangel of Courage. Tall and Strong, he carries a Granite tower shield and a large spiked axe. He gives courage to the people at crucial moments by sounding a horn made out of dragon bone. He is always in the midst of battles, wearing silver armour that shines bright under sunlight. It is said that his horn will usher in the day of reckoning, the end of the world.

Arriel

The Archangel of Revelation. He carries the truth from Elyon to mankind. He appears as a simple traveller, with robe and staff. He is strongly built and has dark knowing eyes. From him, no secrets are hidden.

Religious organisation and Ranks

Rank	Number	Form of Address	Description
ViceRegent	2	His Holiness	Top Ranking Priests
Praefect	3	Praefect	Very High Ranking Priests
Elder	Any	Elder	High Ranking Priests
Minister	Any	Minister	Common Priests
Believers	Any	Brother/Sister	Lay people in the faith

• In Elyonism, each person has a direct link with God. The function of the priesthood is to teach and spread the faith rather than to act as an intermediary between man and God.

• The Praefect Council is the ruling body of the church and consists of the Two ViceRegents and Three Praefects. The function of the Praefect Council is to organise the priesthood and spread and maintain the faith. The Council can also issue Church Edicts to clarify matters of faith, condemn particular behaviour by believers, etc. Priests of Elyon come under it’s direct authority, but the ordinary Lay Believers do not. However, in practice, Lay believers will have enormous moral pressure upon them to follow the line of the Council. As a last resort the Council can excommunicate a follower from the church.

• Some explanation is necessary for the rank of ViceRegent. This term means those who represent the Supreme Regent (Elyon) in the world. Thus there are always two ViceRegents appointed, in order not to infringe upon Elyon’s Supreme position.

Attitudes of the Elyonism

General Attitudes

Doing Good works, helping the downtrodden, giving alms, behaving honourably, speaking the truth, keeping the peace, and all normal forms of morality are encouraged.

Attitudes to Other Religions and Evangelism

Elyonism is an Evangelising Religion. That is, it considers its version of God to be uniquely correct and works actively to convert people to the faith. It is the duty of all believers to preach the word of Elyon and so conduct their daily lives that they become a living testament to the religion.

However Elyonism does not allow conversion by force, rather it advocates preaching and personal example as the means to gain conversions. If the case arises that a people are conquered by force for political reasons, then it is permitted for preaching to be done to them; but even in that case conversions must be voluntary.

Religious tolerance is absolute, with personal religion being a matter of conscience. No person can be persecuted for their religious faith or prevented from privately worshipping in their own fashion, providing it is within the bounds of legal behaviour. However, Temples of a religion or publicly preaching a religion can be excluded from a realm if they engage in behaviour obviously harmful to individuals or the state. For example if they engage in illegal activities, or are deemed to be an attempt at infiltration by a foreign power.

Attitudes to War and Punishment

Although Elyonism is a peaceful religion, it does allow punishment for crimes and allows war in self defence. However, even in these situations it places limits.

So a punishment should be proportionate to the crime, and mercy is a preferable option if it will bring about reform.

Similarly, war cannot be indiscriminate. It should be limited to combatants as much as possible. The decencies should be observed, and the aim should be to bring about a just and equitable peace. Treaties must be strictly observed.

Attitudes to Authority and the State

The religion considers rebellion against those in Authority to be a harmful activity. A Good Elyonite should always be loyal to his Master or Country, unless they are Unjust. In that case he can object and seek to change their behaviour peacefully. If necessary he should leave an evil master or a country that is unjust. Rebellion is the least favoured option and is only allowed when the Master or Country has left no reasonable peaceful option.

Attitudes to Marriage and Sexuality

The religion considers sex to be a natural function of mankind and is considered a blessing from the Lord. It is not in any way dirty or sinful. However, the emotions generated by sexuality can be strong and harmful if not regulated. So Sex outside marriage is discouraged as potentially harmful to society, whereas sex within marriage is considered moral and good.

Divorce is also not a sin; although it is considered harmful, especially to children. The religion believes in a non fault divorce ie no reason needs to be given, and either party can ask for divorce. However there should first be an attempt at reconciliation and then a mandatory cooling off period of three months in which the parties cannot remarry or have sex. During this period they can rescind their decision and any possible issue of the marriage can become apparent.