The Church and Teachings of Our Divine Matron

The Church of the Divine Matron  The Church and Teachings of Our Divine Matron, also known as The Church of the Divine Matron, or simply as The Church, is a monotheistic faith practised throughout the Vieurais Empire and, to a lesser extent, some neighbouring states.

Deity
Followers of the Church believe in the existence of a single deity who is variously known as the Mother, Matron, Divine Matron, or the Goddess. The Goddess is believed to be the origin and creator of the world and the humans that walk upon it.

Organisation
There is no formalised central, international organisation for the Church, though the national heads of the Church often correspond on theological and political matters so as to promote a unified face and belief system for the organisation.

Leadership
The Church's leadership peaks at the national level, where a High Priest oversees the running of all the Church operations in the country. Beneath the High Priest, large areas such as counties are overseen by Cardinals. Individual towns and cities are regarded as bishoprics. If the city has a cathedral, the bishop in charge is regarded as a arch-bishop, and typically has an impressive home close to the cathedral grounds.

Lower ranks
The remaining ranks of the religion are made up of three major groups: Ordained priests, confessors, and the monks, both ordained and unordained. Each of these will be dealt with in turn.

Ordained priests
The ordained priests of the Church have a number of duties. Typically, at the local level, they will not be literate folk. Most often, they are someone picked out by the Church for their ability to advise and to remember and recite scripture. These local priests will typically live in a small house built onto the side of their church, or even within the house of worship itself. These priests serve a number of purposes in their local community. The obvious primary duty is the spreading of the faith, but they also perform marital and funerary rites. Other, less common duties, include the witnessing of oaths and agreements so as to bind the participants to their word. Some are also involved in the healing of the sick. The post of the ordained priest is typically a hereditary title once it is established. The priest will pass the position to his first born son upon his death or in the event that he should become too old to discharge his duties.

Confessors
Confessors are a class of travelling priest who move from town to town carrying letters of merit from the High Priest. These letters state their authority, and also name some particular cause that the High Priest has authorised them to collect funds for. Locals may then donate to this cause as an indulgence for some sin or wrongdoing they have committed. Some confessors require that they hear the sin first so they can decide a suitable sum to grant the individual absolution for their guilt, whilst others do not hold to this methodology and simply name a sum to be given to the cause. As a priestly title, the role of the confessor is hereditary.

Ordained monk
The ordained monks are the first of the two monastic groups of the Church. Both men and women may join the monastic orders. A monk first comes to a monastery as a postulant to determine whether or not they are suited to the role before taking their vows. After taking their vows, the monk becomes a novice. After some years, the monk takes a permanent vow, becoming a brother or sister of the order for life.

Life as an ordained monk differs from that of an unordained monk in many respects. An ordained monk is a highly literate and religiously learned individual, and their duties to the monastery reflect this. It is the ordained monks who sing the rituals and rites, and it is the ordained monks who are involved in the healing of the sick who come to the monastery seeking aid, and copying of valuable manuscripts. As ordained monks, they are also permitted to carry out ceremonies such as marriages.

Unordained monk
Unordained monks follow the same path as an ordained monk in terms of joining a monastery. The primary difference between the two groups is that the unordained monk is typically either illiterate, or not literate to the required standard, and thus cannot be considered suitable for ordination. These monks typically live along side ordained monks and serve as the providers for the community by maintaining the buildings, growing the good, and preparing meals, as well as making candles and copying less valuable texts.

Core beliefs
The core of the teachings of the Divine Matron is the worship of the deity herself. This involves pursuing the 8 virtues and avoidance of the 8 vices so that one might escape the cycle of reincarnation and ascend to paradise. These 8 opposites are represented in the octagram that is the faith's holy symbol. More devout believers hold that the most righteous path involves the following of the four sacred sacraments, which help to teach many of the virtues.

Sacraments
Sacrament of servitude

The sacrament of servitude is a vow sworn before the clergy to give one's life is service of some noble or worthy cause. Most commonly, this vow is sworn by priests as they are ordained, or by those entering a monastic order after their period served as a postulant, and again upon confirmation of their sister/brotherhood within the order. The other common incidence of the sacrament of servitude is amongst the Vieurais nobility, who take this vow upon inheriting their title of nobility. In this case, the vow to defend the imperial domain and to serve it in life, or by death, and to uphold the holy virtues within the noble's lands. Some nobles may also swear this vow in earlier life, before they have been appointed a title. Those who refuse to swear the vow at the ceremonial appointment of their title will be refused the position.

Less commonly, people will take the sacrament of servitude for other reasons. A stonemason may, for example, vow to give his life to the church to assist in the construction of new temples within the realm. Equally, someone may vow to travel the world over, proselytising people from far-flung lands where the faith has yet to gain a hold.

This sacrament is said to teach a person diligence and humility, as they give their life to a cause far larger than any one person.

Sacrament of healing

The sacrament of healing is a practice most ordinarily followed by those who have first observed the sacrament of servitude, but this is not always the case. It is a holy vow taken before a priest of the faith, in which one swears to attend to the sick and use the fullest extent of one's ability to restore them to health. This may involve prayer vigils, and the anointing of the afflicted with holy oils, as well as administering such medical aid as is plausible. The use of prayer and holy oils is not a requirement. A physician may simply leave the spiritual aspect of healing to priests and others better suited to it, preferring instead to focus his efforts on direct treatment of the symptoms.

It is said that this sacrament teaches compassion, diligence and charity to those who take it. Surrendering one's time and resources, as well as the potential of infection, is considered a charitable act. Applying one's acumen in the healing process is an act of diligence. The restoration of another's health is a simple and obvious act of compassion.

As an organisation of Vieurais origin, the Physician's Guild makes the sacrament of healing a requirement for all members, though it does not mandate that this service be provided free of charge. This has led to some debate about the validity of the oaths sworn by those who do not render their services without expectation of payment.

Vow of devotion

The vow of devotion is a sacrament that is typically taken only once in a person's life. It is a vow taken upon coming of age, in which one swears their allegiance to following the faith. In return, (s)he is anointed with holy oil in eight places (the forehead, the heart, both shoulders, both hands, and both feet) and blessed by a priest. It is considered a special incidence of the sacrament of servitude, but one that is an absolute requirement of being a believer.

Vow of matrimony

The vow of matrimony is a sacred vow taken by two parties, to join for life. This sacrament serves the purpose of bringing parties together to grow the church through reproduction. This union, and the resulting spreading of the faith, is considered a noble and holy act that teaches the parties about humility, compassion, diligence, charity and, often, of tolerance.

Creation
Followers of the faith believe that the world and universe were created from chaos by the Matron. Humans were created as two families of five. These two families were each made from the fingers of one of the Goddess' hands. In each case, the person made from the thumb was different and often caused problems within their own family as a way for the goddess to teach heir newly-created humans about tolerance and kindness. Ultimately, these two people were married off to one another, which forms the basis of the practice known as the elegant solution in modern Vieurais culture.

Worship
For the layperson, worship in the Church is largely a communal affair, involving congregating in a church for prayers and recitations led by a priest. Members of monastic orders also practice these acts of worship, but more regularly. Additionally, they are expected to worship through chants and rituals, and through the faithful reproduction of holy texts and scrolls.

Living according to the eight virtues and taking the sacraments are also considered acts of worship in their own rights.

Marriage
Marriage is almost an expected part of the life of one who follows the faith. Though same-sex relationships are considered acceptable, marriage is required to be between a man and woman so that the faith can be spread by the production of children, as per the teachings surrounding the sacrament of matrimony.

The ceremony itself occurs in a church, overseen by a priest and a second member of the church staff (often the son set to inherit the position of priest in later life), who act as witnesses of the union for the Matron. Family members are also present to act as witnesses for society.

Death
The dead are most-often disposed of via burial. The deceased is wrapped in a white cloth and placed onto a wooden board to lower them into their grave. Nobles are typically wrapped in a far more ornate cloth, and buried beneath the floor of the cathedral closest to their estate. The burial is preceded by several blessings of the body.

It is believed that if a person has lived a sufficiently virtuous life, they will ascend to paradise. Those who have failed to live virtuously will be returned to life to try again. The more sinfully one lived in their prior life, the more disadvantaged they will be in the next.

Notable individuals

 * High Priest of Mechandre - Jean Foulaisson