The term Orthodox Churches refers to the traditional religious institutions on the Northern Continent. It represents a conservative and traditionalist adherence to established doctrines, practices, and teachings of a particular faith. It symbolizes a dedication to preserving the original teachings and resisting significant changes or reinterpretations.
In the series, the phrase "Seven Orthodox Churches" specifically refers to the seven churches that were founded during the Third Epoch and the Fourth Epoch. These churches include the Church of the Evernight Goddess, the Church of the Lord of Storms, the Church of the Earth Mother, the Church of the God of Combat, the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun, and the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery.
In year 1352 of the Fifth Epoch, the Church of the Fool was founded, and had received acknowledgement by all other Orthodox Churches some time before year 1358.
In late Summer 1360 after The Apocalypse, the Church of the Ruler of Calamity and the Church of the Eternal Darkness were founded.
Founded in the Third Epoch[]
Church of the Evernight Goddess[]
Officially founded after the Cataclysm at the end of the Third Epoch, but had existed earlier as one of the earliest Secret Organizations.[1][2] After The Apocalypse, merged with the Church of the God of Combat and the Church of the Death to form the Church of the Eternal Darkness.
| Also Called | Church of Evernight | 
|
|---|---|---|
| God Worshipped | Evernight Goddess | |
| Pathways |
| |
| Domain(s) | Loen Kingdom, East Balam | |
| Clergy Attire | Black color and red/silver marks. Red was discarded after "She" was no longer the "Lady of Crimson". | |
| Beyonder Team(s) | Nighthawks and Red Gloves |
Church of the God of Combat[]
Officially founded after the Cataclysm at the end of the Third Epoch, but had likely existed earlier as one of the earliest Secret Organizations.[1] After The Apocalypse, merged with the Church of the Evernight Goddess and the Church of the Death to form the Church of the Eternal Darkness.
| Also Called | Church of Combat | 
|
|---|---|---|
| God Worshipped | God of Combat (Later taken by the Church of the Evernight Goddess[3]) | |
| Pathways |
| |
| Domain(s) | Feysac Empire, Sonia Island, Gargas Archipelago, East Balam, West Balam (Limited) | |
| Clergy Attire | Black color and white marks, but a square hat for the Chief Shepherd | |
| Beyonder Team(s) | ∅
|
Church of the Earth Mother[]
Officially founded after the Cataclysm at the end of the Third Epoch, but had likely existed earlier as a Secret Organization.[1] After The Apocalypse, became a secondary religious choice with limited influence.
| Also Called | Church of Earth | 
|
|---|---|---|
| God Worshipped | Earth Mother (Former) | |
| Pathways |
| |
| Domain(s) | Feynapotter Kingdom, Loen Kingdom (Limited) | |
| Clergy Attire | Brown color and green marks | |
| Beyonder Team(s) | Fertility Order |
Founded in the Fourth Epoch[]
Church of the Lord of Storms[]
Founded after the Cataclysm at the end of the Third Epoch. Claimed to be one of the earliest Orthodox Churches. After The Apocalypse, became a secondary religious choice with limited influence.
| Also Called | Church of Storms, Tyrant's Church | 
|
|---|---|---|
| God Worshipped | Lord of Storms (Former) | |
| Pathways |
| |
| Domain(s) | Loen Kingdom, East Balam, Rorsted Archipelago, Sonia Sea | |
| Clergy Attire | Dark blue color and white marks | |
| Beyonder Team(s) | Mandated Punishers |
Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom[]
Founded after the Cataclysm at the end of the Third Epoch. Claimed to be one of the earliest Orthodox Churches. After The Apocalypse, became a secondary religious choice with limited influence.
| Also Called | Church of Knowledge | 
|
|---|---|---|
| God Worshipped | God of Knowledge and Wisdom | |
| Pathways |
| |
| Domain(s) | Lenburg, Segar, Masin | |
| Clergy Attire | ∅
| |
| Beyonder Team(s) | ∅
|
Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun[]
Founded after the Cataclysm at the end of the Third Epoch. Claimed to be one of the earliest Orthodox Churches. After The Apocalypse, became a secondary religious choice with limited influence.
| Also Called | Church of Sun | 
|
|---|---|---|
| God Worshipped | Eternal Blazing Sun (Later taken by Adam[4]) | |
| Pathways |
| |
| Domain(s) | Intis Republic, West Balam | |
| Clergy Attire | White/brown color and gold marks | |
| Beyonder Team(s) | Inquisition |
Church of the God of Steam and Machinery[]
Officially founded in the late Fourth Epoch,[5] but had existed earlier as a Secret Organization.[6] Maintained its former influence post-Apocalypse.
| Also Called | Church of Steam | 
|
|---|---|---|
| God Worshipped | God of Steam and Machinery | |
| Pathways |
| |
| Domain(s) | Loen Kingdom (Limited), Intis Republic | |
| Clergy Attire | White color and beige marks | |
| Beyonder Team(s) | Machinery Hivemind |
Founded in the Fifth Epoch[]
Church of the Fool[]
Founded in year 1352 of the Fifth Epoch and had received acknowledgement by all other Orthodox Churches.
| Also Called | The Fool's Church | 
|
|---|---|---|
| God Worshipped | The Fool | |
| Pathways |
| |
| Domain(s) | Rorsted Archipelago, Southern Continent, Loen Kingdom, Intis Republic (Limited) | |
| Clergy Attire | Loen gentleman's black formal suit (a finely tailored black trench coat and a half top hat) | |
| Beyonder Team(s) | ∅
|
Church of the Eternal Darkness[]
Founded in year 1360 of the Fifth Epoch, created from the merger of three Eternal Darkness group pathways' organizations: Evernight, God of Combat and the Death.
| Also Called | ∅
|
|---|---|
| God Worshipped | Eternal Darkness |
| Pathways | |
| Domain(s) | Loen Kingdom (Main) |
| Clergy Attire | ∅
|
| Beyonder Team(s) | ∅
|
Church of the Ruler of Calamity[]
Founded in year 1360 of the Fifth Epoch, created from the merger of the Sick Church and Demoness Sect.
| Also Called | ∅
|
|---|---|
| God Worshipped | Ruler of Calamity |
| Pathways | |
| Domain(s) | Intis Republic (Main) |
| Clergy Attire | ∅
|
| Beyonder Team(s) | ∅
|
Relationship between Churches[]
The relationships between the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun, the Church of the Lord of Storms, and the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom are poor. They see each other as enemies. The Church of the Evernight Goddess is at odds with the Church of the God of Combat from the Feysac Empire.
The enmity between Orthodox Churches is driven by the Above the Sequence in-group rivalry. As the fall of all adjacent pathways' gods is necessary for the rise of a Great Old One, every god in a group sees the other as a enemy.
In the Loen Kingdom that featured polytheism, the principle of jurisdiction over Beyonder events was first to divide them according to the beliefs of the victims. If they involved the followers of multiple deities, then it would be decided according to who held jurisdiction over the area.[7]
| Church | Enforcement Division (Beyonder Team) |
|---|---|
| Evernight | Nighthawks and Red Gloves |
| Earth | Fertility Order |
| Combat | Unknown |
| Storms | Mandated Punishers |
| Sun | Inquisition |
| Knowledge | Unknown |
| Steam | Machinery Hivemind |
| Fool | Unknown |
Gender Roles Perspectives[8][]
- The Church of the Earth Mother is like the Church of the Evernight Goddess. They believe that women should have the same standing in society as men. However, they place more emphasis on reproduction, treating it as the holiest matter.
- The Church of the Lord of Storms and the Church of the God of Combat are the most biased towards men.
- The Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun is next but they have high-ranking women, and at least one female Angel.
- The Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom is different from the other Churches. They discriminate based on intelligence.
- The Church of the God of Steam and Machinery is neutral and has even worked with the Church of the Evernight Goddess to encourage women to head out for work due to the need for more labor in the development of industry.
Powers[]
The Seven Orthodox Churches formed a uniform naming convention for Sealed Artifacts. They will exchange information regarding Grade 0 and Grade 1, telling each other which ones they possess. Therefore, Grade 0 and Grade 1 code names won’t be repeated. Grade 2 and Grade 3 are arranged by their respective churches, so different churches might have the same code name.[9] Grade 0 correspond to Angels level, Grade 1 to Saints, Grade 2 to Mid-Sequences and Grade 3 to Low-Sequences.
According to Alger, the Orthodox Churches own 5 to 8 Grade 0 Sealed Artifacts, and there are fewer than 4 grounded Angels in each church. When it comes to Grade 1 Sealed Artifacts and Saints (especially the latter), the orthodox Churches has no advantage in numbers when compared to the Church of the Fool in the year 1352 of the Fifth Epoch, which has the following forces:
- City of Silver: A Sequence 3 saint, three Sequence 4 saints, and nearly ten Grade 1 Sealed Artifacts, as well as a few demigod Beyonder characteristics that can temporarily be used as Grade 1 Sealed Artifacts.
- Moon City: Three demigods, five Grade 1 Sealed Artifacts.
All of them combined was equivalent to a quarter of the Church of Storms. In particular, after an all-out war, with the brass increasing the number of Saints by nurturing them, the Church of Storms has around 20 Saints.[10]
Hierarchy in the Churches[]
Note that the position title may differ slightly depending on each church.
| Position | Detail | |
|---|---|---|
| Patriarch | Leader of the Church.
| |
| Cardinals | Advisers to the Patriarch and electors of the next Patriarch | |
| Archbishops | Responsible for overseeing multiple dioceses | |
| Bishops | Responsible for overseeing a single diocese
| |
| Priests | Serve as spiritual leaders of individual parishes | |
| Deacons | Assist priests in their duties
| |
| High-ranking Deacons | Sequence 4 and higher Beyonders loyal to the Church
| |
| Laity | Believers | All members of the Church who are not ordained |
The Holy See[]
The Holy See is an upper echelon group of churches representing the highest echelon within the religious hierarchy. It serves as the ecclesiastical jurisdiction and diplomatic entity that represents the Pope and his respective Church's headquarters. It is essentially the core seat of power for the Church.[11]
| Organization | Headquarters | Upper Echelon |
|---|---|---|
| Church of the Evernight Goddess | Cathedral of Serenity of Winter County of the Loen Kingdom | Thirteen Archbishops and Nine High-ranking Deacons |
| Church of the Lord of Storms | Chasm of Storms Cathedral of Pasu Island (formerly Backlund) of the Sonia Sea | Council of Cardinals |
| Church of the God of Steam and Machinery | Divine Council | |
| Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom | ||
| Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun | ||
| Church of the God of Combat | Great Twilight Hall near Saint Millom of the Feysac Empire (The Midseashire) | |
| Church of the Earth Mother | ||
| Church of the Fool | The Fool's Cathedral of New City of Silver (formerly Bayam) of the Rorsted Archipelago |
Trivia[]
- In the various Churches, if a demigod at the angel level walked the land, there was a need to address them as “Your Eminence” as a show of respect. Likewise, towards the pontiff, pope, and chief shepherd - representatives of the deities - one had to use “Your Holiness.”[12]
- Formerly, the Rose School of Thought was an orthodox organization in the Southern Continent. It ruled the Paz Valley and Star Highlands, where the government and the church were one.[13]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lord of Mysteries, Chapter 94
- ↑ Lord of Mysteries, Chapter 1064
- ↑ Lord of Mysteries, Chapter 1274
- ↑ Circle of Inevitability, Chapter 1116
- ↑ Lord of Mysteries, Chapter 961
- ↑ Lord of Mysteries, Chapter 1348
- ↑ Lord of Mysteries, Chapter 437
- ↑ Lord of Mysteries, Chapter 651
- ↑ Lord of Mysteries, Chapter 257
- ↑ Lord of Mysteries, Chapter 1311
- ↑ Lord of Mysteries, Chapter 1030
- ↑ Lord of Mysteries, Chapter 992
- ↑ Circle of Inevitability, Chapter 298
[]
| Loen Kingdom | |
|---|---|
| Intis Republic | |
| Feysac Empire | |
| Feynapotter Kingdom | |
| Lenburg · Masin · Segar | |
| Rorsted Archipelago | |
| Others | |