One of the great world religions and the state faith of the vast nation Orror.

History

The principles, laws and structure of the Mother Church were written by the Great Prophet, laid down at the founding of the Mother State of Orror in Year 1 of the Mother Church (3151 HM). Missions and enclaves exist outside of Holy Orror, where they are termed "Therists", after the holy name of the Prophet, Tomega Therion. Therist communities outside of Orror are viewed with great prejudice and suspicion, believed to be agents of the Church-State.

The principles of the Church were written down by the Prophet, "through divine inspiration at his Temple Tower in the holy hills at Foratuna". Little is known about the early life of the Prophet, but he founded the Mother Army of the Mordant State in 22 BMC (Before Mother Calendar, 3128 HM). The Army unified the old tribal states, cross the mountains to conquer Siltorn, and laid siege to and finally broke the old Empire of Dor-enn-Sann, gaining followers and troops along the way. Twenty-two years later, after he had conquered much of the Empire and laid the foundations for the Mother State of Orror, the Prophet left the leadership of the Army to his followers. He built his Temple Tower at the ancient site of Foratuna, in order to meditate and commune with the Mother, and formulate the laws and structure of the State. Twenty years later the Prophet left to "Retreat", his body preserved in the arms of the Mother while their minds communed in spirit.

The Mother State of Orror continues to be ruled, administered and defended according to His Holy Principles.

Principles

1. All earth is sacred, the Mother of all: it is She who gives all things life, and to whom we return at the end.
2. All life is sacred, the creation of the Mother.
3. The Mother is the One True Deity. There are no gods but Her. [There are spirits in the world, but they are base, mindless creatures, lower than animals, that tricksters enslave to use in false illusions. ]
4. The only true miracles are the works of the Mother through Her Church.
5. The Mother set one race of creatures, Humanity, above the others. She created Man as Her steward and companion, to respect and nurture the Mother-Land, as she nurtures us in return.
6. Only false gods and prophets demand worship through statues and images. The Mother needs no icons: her glory is the beauty of Her creation, for all to see.
7. Therion is Her One True Prophet, and these are Her Revelations through His Communion with Her.

1. The Prophet is mortal, He is Man, not God. He has retreated from the waking world to join with Her, and will return when the Mother Church has brought His Word to the world. [ This latter was added after His Retreat ]
   

Personal Morality

• Respect the Mother and the Word of Her Prophet.

• Pray and meditate daily. Give thanks to for Her bounty.

• Put Community before Self. Sins of selfishness must be paid for by contribution to the Community, through isolation, labour and prayer.

• Excess and indulgence are acts of selfishness. Wealth is a mark of success, but it opens the gate to the path of sin.

• The body is the divine gift of the Mother, it must not be abused. Good health through moderation and exercise is the duty of all.

Principles of the Holy State

• All people of good character, man and woman of every race, are free and equal before the Mother.

• The Mother may not be possessed. Land may not be owned, but humanity must nurture the bounty of the Mother to provide the basic needs of all: food, clothing and shelter.

• The surplus must be used to glorify the Mother, to enrich the world with all the skills and arts She has bestowed upon humanity.

• The world must be enriched through learning and teaching, to spread civilisation, culture and enlightenment.

• Wealth and power are corrupting. Leaders must be simple, wise, humble and strong.

• It is the duty of the state to protect the poor and heal the sick.

• The Community must punish crime according to its severity. There are three crimes:

1. Selfishness against the Community (including theft)
2. Crimes against the Mother: perversion of the Word [heresy], desecration of the Mother [violation of holy sites, illegal exploitation of resources, corruption, environmental damage], Betrayal of the Holy Church [treason].
3. Crimes of Inhumanity. The Mother created Man as rational beings, her Stewards and Companions. Those who act with savagery are less than human and should be treated as such. [This includes crimes of violence and murder. Those 'dehumanised' by their acts are considered no longer part of the Goddess, worse than animals, and may be killed or worked to death.]

• It is the duty of the Holy State to make such laws for the times, according to the guiding principles of the Prophet.

Structure of the Church State

The Church is both religion and organ of state. There is no separation of powers between the military, the priesthood and the civil administration. However, within the church there are a number of Arms , or organisations with particular responsibilities. (In early times the church was represented as a woman with many arms, but the image was declared heretical.):

Priests-Militant

Priests-militant are the backbone of the church-state. Both men and women join the Priesthood, but women are in the minority in higher ranks of government. A Priest-militant's role is to be:

• leader of the local Community

• personal and spiritual adviser

• judge in cases of petty crimes

• superviser of education of the young

• officiant at public ceremonies

• leader in matters of defence and law enforcement

• chairman of debates about local public policy

• facilitator of health care

• provider of succour for the dying

In villages communities there is typically a chief priest and priestess, who are usually married and share the responsibilities. Larger communities are administered and ministered to by a number of other priests-militant with different local responsibilities, usually with a single Prelate in a supervisory role.

Priests are educated from childhood, often apprenticed to a local priest and then sent to a seminary in a larger town for further education. They then either return to being a low-ranking community priest, or if they are more able, they are put forward to join one of the greater Arms of the Church.

The Nine (Executive Government)

Qualifying Priests-Militant are apprenticed to an elder PM, in a civic or administrative capacity. They continuing their training for a number of years, usually taking on and learning many different roles. After several years, sponsors put forward the most gifted apprentices for candidacy in the Church's national executive body, called the Nine.

The Nine are the executive Arm of the church-state, both in administrative policy and military affairs. Members of the Nine are all quite young, usually under 30, and though they are basically responsible for governing the church-state, their powers are severely limited.

They have no power to introduce legislation or make major policy decisions, although they may express an opinion. All policy decisions are made by the Fathers , the legislative body, except in specific emergencies where the Nine may be given temporary power of Dictatorship. Individual members of the Nine may each take emergency measures within their department, but they are bound by collective responsibility and may be dismissed (or even summarily executed in extreme cases) if they exceed their powers.

The Nine are divided into three levels of seniority, forming three Triumvirates. Each Rank has three Seats. Each Seat represents a different area of government, for which the holder is responsible for carrying out State policy.

Appointment is by annual election amongst senior Priests-Militant, by secret ballot at a series of regional conventions. The Third Rank of the Nine, the lowest, are usually chosen from a list of new candidates. The Second and First Ranks are usually elevated from the Rank beneath, although it is possible for all members of the Nine to be dismissed from office if they are incompetent or lose the confidence of voting Priests-Militant. In such cases the new Nine often allocate their seats informally amongst themselves, as an emergency government, and then have these positions confirmed by an emergency ballot.

Progression within the Nine requires a candidate to prove him or herself at the lowest rank, and if they are proficient, they may be voted to higher rank.

New candidates for election to the lowest rank of the Nine tend to be relatively young, usually in their late twenties, but they must show all the qualities of piety, intellect and strength of character. Unlike any other Arm of the church they are also required to be chaste during their candidacy and tenure. Strict sexual abstinence is not required, the point is that they must not be married, or be otherwise hampered by emotional entanglements that might interfere with their duties.

Members of the Nine hold a Seat for one year. At the end of each year, they may chose to be elected to a different position in the same rank, or to be raised to the next. Therefore the maximum time one person may be part of the executive is nine years, if he holds every seat, but that is an arduous task.

All former members of the Nine join the Fathers , though their subsequent seniority depends on their reputation and executive experience.

After election, the Nine go through the Investiture ceremony, in the High Sanctum at Foratuna, officiated by the Meisinn . At the ceremony, each of the Nine are given a device, imprinted so it only may be used by them for one year. All devices allow the Nine to communicate with each other wherever they may be. They also each have particular properties, according to the Seat the member holds.

The Fathers

The Fathers , or rather 'Parents' in Orroran for they may be of either sex, are the prime law- and policy-making body of the Church. They are all former members of the Nine. Membership of the Nine is therefore a kind of testing ground for membership of the legislature, for their subsequent seniority depends on how many positions they have held within the Nine, and the reputation they achieved whilst in office. All get one legislative vote, but only a good reputation guarantees a good position thereafter.

As well as legislators, Fathers are still Priests-Militant and become the heads of large temple communities, city and provincial administrators, judicial officials and high-ranking members of the various Arms of the Church. They meet in Conclave several times a year, but they often have smaller regional gatherings deciding policy. 'Declarations of the Fathers' - laws and public policy documents - can only be over-ruled by a majority decision of the Meissin , and only in matters of theological conflict. In reality the Meissin only very rarely intervene in temporal affairs.

Conclaves are held in person, but they are also held remotely using the Fathers' secret gift: a device that projects their presence into the Hall of the Holy Fathers in Tororr, wherever they may be.

The Arms of Foratuna

As well as priests-militant, there is a separate order of priesthood which resides exclusively at the site of the Sacred Heart of the Mother, at Foratuna in the Maresh Hills, south of Seqal. Their role is exclusively spiritual, but they are very powerful. They administer the site of pilgrimage, and take care of the Temple and Tower in preparation for the Prophet's return. They do occasionally advise the civil executive - The Fathers and The Nine - officiate at Investiture ceremonies, and have theoretical powers of veto although they are rarely used.

The Mesekk ( Iniates of the Inner Circle ) - The Mesekk are the priests and priestesses of the Mother at Foratuna. They administer and officiate at the temple, and perform the rituals and holy dances. They are also responsible for manufacturing religious devices, objects of holy magic that are given power by the highest order of priesthood, the Meisinn . Mesekk are all raised at Foratuna from childhood, either as the offspring of temple priests, or given to the temple as orphans. They go through a series of physical, spiritual and intellectual tests throughout their life, ascending through a strict internal hierarchy. Only once they reach a qualifying rank are they seen outside the temple enclosures, where they are addressed as Holy One, even by high-ranking priests militant. Middle and low ranking Mesekk are required to be sexually celibate for most of the year, and live in gender-separated cloisters. Their sexual energy is released during rituals of fertility, performed privately in the Temple enclosure. Most Mesekk are the children of such holy sexual unions. The most senior know something about direct communication with the Goddess, and may choose to become candidates for the Meisinn . Those who have passed the highest (very dangerous) tests are automatically placed in line for appointment to the Meissin, according to their time of passing the test. To ascend they must pass a final, and most dangerous, test of initiation, although many waive this and remain at the highest rank of Mesekk. There is seen to be no shame in not taking the final test.

The Meisinn - or 'The Twelve', are the twelve hierarchs at Foratuna who are in supreme, direct communion with the Mother. The Meisinn are the source of supreme religious authority in the land. They are addressed as "Most Holy" and are appointed for life after passing a dangerous trial of initiation, involving spiritual devotion, courage, knowledge and faith. They are the ultimate point of appeal in religious trials, and may veto laws passed by the Fathers, although in practice these powers are very seldom used. In truth they are theosophists: theo-sorcerors with knowledge of the true nature of magick and deity. Each of them has a 'Chorus' - a host of Mother-bound sylphs who are pre-educated with a set of ritual responses, as well as being able to carry out 'sequents', complex chains of commands. The Mesekk make all the miraculous devices used by the church - amulets, charms, weapons and so on - but it is the Twelve give the devices power, in rituals performed in the Tower. The Twelve are responsible for the ritual of the Investiture of the Nine , an annual ceremony held in the High Sanctum, the highest formal chamber of the Tower. The Nine, as well as being the supreme civil executive of the Church-State, are the holders of the keys to the nine seals, between the Goddess-stone and the sky. This is a deliberate separation of powers enshrined in tradition by the Prophept: the Meisinn cannot access the full power of the Goddess without the agreement of the Nine who hold the keys, and vice versa.

Mothers of the Inner Temple

One of the Arms of the church, they are all women specialising in healing, herbalism and promoting programmes of exercise and healthy eating. Most towns and villages have formal members of this Arm, who organise and encourage the women of the community.

Brotherhood of the Holy Shield

One of the Military Arms of the church, the Brotherhood is an elite division trained by the Mesekk in using special magickal devices. Their training allows them to aid regular troops during battle.

The Kourvay

This is a system of medicine by healthy eating. It is based on a pre-Therionic tradition that was adopted and widened in the light of the Prophet's encouragement of personal health and fitness. The system classifies foods according to the four elements, and encourages a person to eat a diet which balances the four. Illnesses are caused by imbalance in the body, and the system prescribes particular foods and herbs to counteract the imbalance.

Another part of the Kourvay, as practiced by the Mothers of the Inner Temple, are physical and breathing exercises. Exercise maintains the body, and particular exercise regimens are also prescribed as a method of counteracting illness. These are particularly effective in muscular strains and recovery from injuries.