Imperial Church

The Imperial Church, formally the Imperial Church of the Nine Divines, is the official religious organisation of the Third Empire.

Status
By decree of Emperor Pelagius Septim I, all temples and shrines dedicated to one or all of the Nine Divines in the Imperial Province of Cyrodiil fall under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Church. Whilst this mandatory jurisdiction does not extend beyond the borders of Cyrodiil, a great many temples throughout the rest of the Empire (specifically in those provinces where the Nine Divines are worshipped) are subject to the Church's authority.

Given the unique legal status and privileges of the Imperial Church, it could be considered the closest thing the Empire has to a state religion.

Beliefs
The Imperial Church is dedicated to the worship of the Nine Divines – the Imperial Pantheon:

Doctrine
The beliefs of the Imperial Church are enshrined in the Ten Commandments of the Nine Divines – tenets believed to have been imparted unto mankind by Akatosh himself:
 * 1) Stendarr says: Be kind and generous to the people of Tamriel. Protect the weak, heal the sick, and give to the needy.
 * 1) Arkay says: Honour the earth, its creatures, and the spirits, living and dead. Guard and tend the bounties of the mortal world, and do not profane the spirits of the dead.
 * 1) Mara says: Live soberly and peacefully. Honour your parents, and preserve the peace and security of home and family.
 * 1) Zenithar says: Work hard, and you will be rewarded. Spend wisely, and you will be comfortable. Never steal, or you will be punished.
 * 1) Talos says: Be strong for war. Be bold against enemies and evil, and defend the people of Tamriel.
 * 1) Kynareth says: Use Nature's gifts wisely. Respect her power, and fear her fury.
 * 1) Dibella says: Open your heart to the noble secrets of art and love. Treasure the gifts of friendship. Seek joy and inspiration in the mysteries of love.
 * 1) Julianos says: Know the truth. Observe the law. When in doubt, seek wisdom from the wise.
 * 1) Akatosh says: Serve and obey your Emperor. Study the Covenants. Worship the Nine, do your duty, and heed the commands of the saints and priests.
 * 1) The Nine say: Above all else, be good to one another.

The Imperial Church teaches that to be a good and pious citizens of the Empire is to obey these Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are conspicuously favourable and endearing to imperial rule. In addition to explicitly commending loyalty to the Emperor, they also promote the virtues of chairty, sobriety, peace, diligence, honesty, courage, love and wisdom – the very foundations of a well-ordered society.

Divine Interaction
The Imperial Church holds that the Nine Divines, though transcendent, are capable of worldly interaction.

It is sceptical (if not contemptuous) towards claims that the Divines can – and have – manifested physically in the world. This suspicion is largely due to the challenge such manifestations pose to the Imperial Church's claim to intercession between the Divines and mankind.

Instead, the Imperial Church teaches that the Nine Divines interact with the world obliquely through blessings – via priests and shrines. It is also held that the Divines can communicate to mankind through visions and dreams (as demonstrated by Saint Alessia). The Imperial Church is, however, mistrusting of such experiences among the laity.

Divine interaction – described as the Aetherial Presence – is regarded as benevolent and positive. For example, Talos's blessing may strengthen a warrior's sword arm, but it will not wither his opponent's. The displeasure and censure of the Divines, the Imperial Church teaches, is expressed through their indifference and inaction.

Sainthood
The Imperial Church, in addition to worshipping the Nine Divines, venerates saints. The Imperial Church defines a saint as a mortal who has received communication or interaction from the gods. Generally, this religious experience amounts to a dream or vision wherein one or more of the Nine Divines impart guidance, revelation or inspiration to the saint.

It is taught that, since one must be worthy of the gods to have received their words or blessing, saints are exemplars for the faithful to emulate. Whereas the Divines, in their transcendence, cannot be fully perceived or comprehended by mankind, saints provide a more grounded and attainable ideal for worshippers to echo. A plethora of hagiographies of saints' lives and deeds have been produced and promoted by the Imperial Church.

The most important saint of the Imperial Church is Saint Alessia – regarded as the proto-saint of mankind.

Services
The Imperial Church offers a plethora of services to citizens of the Empire to ensure ubiquitous reverence for the Nine Divines.

Most popular – yet most enigmatic – of these services is blessings. According to the doctrine of the Imperial Church, a blessing is the bequest of divine favour upon a supplicant. The nature of a divine blessing is multifarious, but it is generally understood as being the positive enhancement of a person's life (such as strength, fertility or fortune). Blessings, according to the Imperial Church, may be received by praying at a shrine or altar, and from the invocation of a priest or priestess.

Whereas blessings may be received from all deities of the Imperial Pantheon, other services provided by the Imperial Church are peculiar to individual Divines. For example, marriage ceremonies are administered by the priesthood of Mara, whilst funerals and burials are administered by the priesthood of Arkay.

All services provided by the Imperial Church, however, are requisite to customary charges – masqued as offerings and donations. A controversial – and not entirely orthodox – teaching of the Imperial Church is that liberality in such offerings increases the efficacy of prayers and blessings.

Council of the Nine
The Council of the Nine is the governing body of the Imperial Church. As its name suggests, the council consists of nine high priests and priestesses who each head one of the Church's nine orders. By virtue of their headship of an order, members of the Council of the Nine are titled Primate. For this reason the council is sometimes referred to as the Council of Primates. The theoretical head of the Imperial Church is the Emperor himself, although the Council of the Nine is considered its true supreme authority.

As a college the Council of the Nine determines the general doctrine of the Imperial Church, distinguishing orthodoxy from heresy. The canonisation of saints is also the prerogative of the Council.

High Priesthood
In the Imperial Church, high priesthood is synonymous with the headship of a temple. Many of Cyrodiil's temples predate the establishment of the Imperial Church (in some cases by thousands of years) and thus there is little uniformity in their organisation. Abbeys, cathedrals, chantries, chapels, monasteries, nunneries, priories and more abound the province; their high priests and priestesses are equally eclectic.

The head of a temple is generally elected by that temple's clergy. This is not to say, however, that such elections are always free. Outside influences, such as a Primate or lay patron, may nominate or impose a candidate as head of a temple.

Nine Orders
The Imperial Church venerates a pantheon of nine gods and goddesses, with the worship of each regulated by an Order. The head of each order is titled Primate of [Deity].

Affairs of the faith, both spiritual and temporal, pertaining to a particular Divine are within a purview of its Order. Whilst all clergy of the Imperial Church must abide by the general doctrines as prescribed by the Council of the Nine, each Order maintains its own canons. Indeed, what is permissible in the Order of Dibella is not necessarily permissible in the Order of Mara. Discipline and orthodoxy among the clergy are the principal concerns of each Order; disobedient or heretical priests and priestesses invite the wrath of the Church's ecclesiastical courts.

Significantly, each Order maintains its own treasury into which every temple under its jurisdiction submits one-ninth of its annual income. These funds are ostensibly directed towards the proliferation of the faith, such as the building of new temples and missionary work.

Priesthood
A person may commit their life to the Nine Divines by entering the priesthood of the Imperial Church. Upon taking the vow of priesthood, an individual generally forsakes their family name and simply becomes Brother or Sister.

Priesthood is a spiritual and legal status. Priests and priestesses of the Imperial Church forsake all worldly possessions – including titles and lands – and cannot marry (thus bastardising any illicit priestly issue). This separation from secular life, however, is not entirely exacting. In Imperial law, priests and priestesses enjoy legal privileges which exempts them from the secular judiciary; criminal members of the priesthood are judged and punished in ecclesiastical courts. In cases of serious crime, a guilty priest or priestess is handed over to the secular authorities for punishment.

The vows of priesthood are indissoluble; priestly status cannot be disavowed.

Vow of Priesthood
The vow of priesthood, whereby an individual becomes a priest or priestess of the Imperial Church, may be sworn at the age of twenty. The oath, which is sworn before witnesses, is as follows:

''I commend my body and soul to the Nine Divines, And pledge my mortal and immortal being to Their service.''

''I forsake all worldy repute and riches, And embrace the repute and riches of poverty.''

I forsake the pleasures of the body, And embrace the pleasures of chastity.

''I forsake my brothers and sisters in blood, And embrace my Brothers and Sisters in faith.''

''By Akatosh, I will be true, By Arkay, I will be reverent, By Dibella, I will be loving, By Julianos, I will be wise, By Kynareth, I will be ? By Mara, I will be peaceable, By Stendarr, I will be merciful, By Talos, I will be courageous, By Zenithar I will be diligent.''

By the Nine, I will be pious.

''I commend my body and soul to the Nine Divines, And pledge my mortal and immortal being to Their service.''

Vestments
Priests and priestesses of the Imperial Church are identified by their distinctive vestments. This traditionally consists of a robe covering the entirety of the body, including a hood. The quality and adornment of these vestments varies considerably throughout the Imperial Church, ranging from homespun to gold cloth.

The nine Orders of the Imperial Church are associated with particular colours, which is reflected in the vestments of their priesthood:


 * Akatosh — Red
 * Arkay — Black
 * Dibella — Purple
 * Julianos — Blue
 * Kynareth — Green
 * Mara — White
 * Stendarr — Brown
 * Talos — Grey
 * Zenithar — Yellow

Temples
Hundreds of temples dedicated to one or all of the Nine Divines [word] the province of Cyrodiil, all under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Church. Many of these foundations predate the establishment of the Church by millennia, enjoying autonomy prior to the decree of Emperor Pelagius Septim I at the beginning of the Third Era.

Thus the temples of Cyrodiil, whilst spiritually homogeneous, have little temporal uniformity. The province's abbeys, cathedrals, chantries, chapels, monasteries, nunneries and priories each [word] their own leadership, organisation structure, and rituals. Respect for ancient tradition – to say nothing of expediency – has precluded the Church from imposing uniformity. [Church Scholar] wrote that  'conformity, not uniformity, is the way of our Church'.

   

Within each of the nine Orders there is a recognised  'father'  or  'mother' temple, the focal point of the Order's faith and traditional residence of its Primate.