Author Topic: Discussion: Anuirean clerical titles in RoE  (Read 4240 times)

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Offline X-Medoere & RCS/KE (Thorsten)

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Discussion: Anuirean clerical titles in RoE
« on: January 15, 2009, 08:58:46 PM »
And this is the list of Clerical Ranks. This too would probably need tweaking, but as we have highly active temples, it might be a nice thing to have?:

Title:
The Pontiff of the Imperial Temple of Haelyn

Form of Address:
Your Imperial Holiness or Most Holy Father

Title:
ArchPrelate

Form of Address:
Your Holiness

Title:
Prelate

Form of Address:
Your Eminence

Title:
Curate
Priest
Father/ Mother

Form of Address:
Father /Mother
OR
Reverend Father /Reverend Mother

Title:
Brother /Sister

Form of Address:
Brother /Sister

Title:
Lord Commander

Form of Address:
Your Holiness

Notes:
Oversees the Faith’s armies

Title:
Lord Captain

Form of Address:
Your Eminence

Notes:
Oversees the Realm’s armies

Title:
Knight-commander
Knight-captain
Knight-priest

Form of Address:
His/ Her Honor
Sir

Notes:
Treat them as knights.

Other Titles:
Title:
Patriarch

Form of Address:
Your Eminence

Notes:
This really only applies to the Patriarch of Elinie, although a highly ranked Paladin within a temple could be called a Patriarch as well.
« Last Edit: March 18, 2010, 11:58:58 AM by DM Bjørn »

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Anuirean clerical titles in RoE
« Reply #1 on: January 16, 2009, 09:02:24 AM »
The clerical titles are wholly inaccurate for RoE.
DM Bjørn

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Anuirean clerical titles in RoE
« Reply #2 on: January 16, 2009, 05:36:46 PM »
Also, the forms of address from the other PBEM do not differentiate between a sovereign baron or count and a vassal of a duke/king which is a very important difference (what Bjorn described as barones imperium and which was referred to in the Holy Roman Empire as being "reichsunmittelbar" or directly tied to the crown). Thus, whereas "your excellency" might be suitable for the baron of Rivien or the baron of South Hold it would be an insult to "Baron Tael" (if he were still with us :)) or Baron Roesone.
Arvour Raemel, by the Grace of Haelyn Baron of Roesone etc, Champion of Cuiraecen

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Anuirean clerical titles in RoE
« Reply #3 on: January 17, 2009, 10:42:33 AM »
Yes, great! See... already you talk of a breach of etiquette, which would insult someone. I know, that when we write, it's assumed that our characters know at least some manner of etiquette or knowledge (Nob/royalties), but still it galls me somewhat when (using my pope example above) people refer to the Pontiff by his title all the time. If you get my drift.  ;D It's a minor thing, but it might add just a hint of flavour to the equation.
Now, I'm not saying that it's something we should fix overnight, but it migth be nice with a list giving the propper from of adress, when contacting realms, speaking face to face and such.

The above example was just that. Something completely different could be made from scratch, or we could add to that one.

- Thorsten

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Re: Anuirean clerical titles in RoE
« Reply #4 on: February 11, 2009, 12:26:18 PM »
FroM SR 41

“The Imperial temple evolved over several centuries and not before the 4th or 5th century HC had it solidified into the uniform structure most commonly associated with it. Claiming to be the holder of the truth, the core of Imperial Temple dogma was that no one written work (read the Book of Laws) held the will of Haelyn, but rather that the Temple as an institution is the means through which Haelyn makes his will known on Aebrynis.

The head of the Imperial Temple was known as the Pontiff, and he was chosen from among the ranks of the clergy of the Imperial Temple, by the Cardinals of the Conclave. In theory anyone could be chosen, but in practice only senior cardinals, or very rarely powerful bishops, were chosen. The Pontiff ruled for life or until he abdicated (only happened thrice in the history of the Temple). As the direct representative of Haelyn on Aebrynis, the Pontiff was the supreme religious authority in Cerilia.

The title of Cardinal was bestowed by the Pontiff on respected bishops, and as such the Pontiff had a certain degree of influence on who would succeed him, especially if he ruled a long time and got to make many cardinals. During the election of Pontiff Taeman III in 846 HC, a total of 89 cardinals out of 101 made their way to Imperial City to participate in the Conclave.

Below the Pontiff in rank were the Bishops. Each bishop was tasked with the administration of the Temple’s affairs within a defined area known as a diocese, which almost always corresponds to a specific province. Some bishops reported directly to the Pontiff, but the majority of dioceses eventually came to report through an Archbishop.

Certain bishops, because they were personally powerful, held a specific position within the church hierarchy or because their diocese was very important, were given the title of Archbishop – literally first among bishops. A good example of this was the Maester of the Holy Orders of the Inquisition, which was always an archbishop.

The next lower rank was that of Priest. A priest was either responsible for a parish, a smaller area within a diocese, or held a position within the temple that gave him that rank. Missionaries are a good example of this – they were recognized a priests even though they had no parish to call their own. Priests were sometimes referred to as pastors if they had a congregation, as to differentiate them from other priests.

The most common member of the clergy was the Deacon – full members of the clergy who were too junior or otherwise not fit to bear the rank of priest. They had, as they do today, a specific place in liturgy and sacraments, and were generally permitted to do many of the tasks a full first did. The Imperial Temple was special in that deacon reported directly to a bishop, and not to the priest to whom they had been dispatched to.

Acolytes made up the lowest part of the rank hierarchy within the Imperial Temple. Acolytes were mostly youngsters sent to the Temple to train to become priests, but sometime people would join at a later stage in their life. Not all acolytes became deacons, for upon being judge worthy each acolyte was given the choice of dedicating his life to Haelyn or returning to the mundane world. A large number chose the later option, and it was indeed a common practice to send young boys to the temple to train as acolytes as a means of giving them an education and a moral upbringing.

- from “Servants of Heaven, The Imperial Temple and its descendants”


« Last Edit: February 11, 2009, 12:28:53 PM by DM Bjørn »
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Re: Anuirean clerical titles in RoE
« Reply #5 on: February 11, 2009, 12:39:44 PM »
Obviously these titles were more uniform during the days of the Imperial Temple, but for most Anuirean temples this system (or a variant of it) is used even toady.

Until the resurgence of the Conclave there was no Pontiff or Cardinals - and the way these titles are bestowed are quite different now than was the case in the past.

All temples have a 'high priest' of some sort as regent; the regent is a step above bishops and archbishops (somewhere between them and the Pontiff, since each temple is autonomous these days). The title varies quite a bit - the OIT called their regent 'cardinal', the HA High Marshal (testament to their military heritage), LPA had a Hierophant etc.

But below the regent the titles change but little - and if they changed at all it was just cosmetic changes.
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Re: Anuirean clerical titles in RoE
« Reply #6 on: March 09, 2009, 01:38:21 PM »
Woops, just saw this now. Great! Thanks a bunch! I'm blessing ya for this one!  :D