Church of Mark: Difference between revisions
| Revision as of 17:01, 28 October 2026 Ledgerwright (talk | contribs) (Created canon article) | Revision as of 17:19, 28 October 2026 Ledgerwright (talk | contribs) (Created canon article) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| The '''Church of Mark''' is a religion founded on the teaching that its leader, [[Mark]], has lived for a thousand years in the service of the Hallowed Coast, and that he will at last lead the faithful to retake it. It is the state church of [[Santa Berllium]], a theocracy on [[Rendorlin]], and claims tens of millions of adherents across the continent. The Church is known for three things: its Millennial Crusade, which has been about to depart since 2049; the Letters of Remission, sold under a published Tariff of Sins; and the Clerical Dispensation, a doctrine that permits plural marriage to the clergy alone, in a number proportioned to their rank. The Church holds that the year 2061, the thousandth of Mark's life, is the Millennium, on which the Crusade will depart.[1] | The '''Church of Mark''' is a religion founded on the teaching that its leader, [[Mark]], has lived for a thousand years in the service of the Hallowed Coast, and that he will at last lead the faithful to retake it. It is the state church of [[Santa Berllium]], a theocracy on [[Rendorlin]], and claims tens of millions of adherents across the continent. The Church is known for three things: its Millennial Crusade, which has been about to depart since 2049; the Letters of Remission, sold under a published Tariff of Sins; and the Clerical Dispensation, a doctrine that permits plural marriage to the clergy alone, in a number proportioned to their rank. The Church holds that the year 2061, the thousandth of Mark's life, is the Millennium, on which the Crusade will depart.[1] | ||
| ⋯ | |||
| == Enemies == The Church recognises two enemies, and teaches that they are equally to be hated. The first is the Ulmarkan Empire, which holds the Coast as part of the Ulmarkan Protectorates and sells entry permits to pilgrims. The second is the [[Cult of Landon]], whose members, banned by the Empire and persecuted in the [[Hand Trials]], have made pilgrimages to Anselmar for decades and pray at its shrines. The Church regards the Landonites as the more serious offence, since they pray where the Church may not, and describes their presence as "the unbelievers' tenancy". | == Enemies == The Church recognises two enemies, and teaches that they are equally to be hated. The first is the Ulmarkan Empire, which holds the Coast as part of the Ulmarkan Protectorates and sells entry permits to pilgrims. The second is the [[Cult of Landon]], whose members, banned by the Empire and persecuted in the [[Hand Trials]], have made pilgrimages to Anselmar for decades and pray at its shrines. The Church regards the Landonites as the more serious offence, since they pray where the Church may not, and describes their presence as "the unbelievers' tenancy". | ||
| + | == The attendants == The wives' chapels, the choir of the [[Marcodome]] and the scouting companies of the [[███████████████]] are staffed by "attendants", bought abroad under the [[███████████████████]] of 2056, a supply arrangement with a company in Cenora Major whose terms the Church has never published. The Treasury of the Banner lists it as its second-largest expense after the palace. The Church teaches that the attendants are "gentle, tireless and not our concern before God", and regards them as outside its marriage law and its mercy alike. | ||
| == Institutions == The Church's holy sites and offices include [[Anselmar]], the shrine-city of the [[Hallowed Coast]]; the Patriarchal Palace at [[Montespera]]; the [[███████████████]], its army; the [[Ministry of Households]], which registers clerical marriages; the [[Treasury of the Banner]], which holds the Crusade's funds; the [[Ministry of Remissions]], which prints the [[Letters of Remission]] and revises the [[Tariff of Sins]]; and the [[Patriarchal Archive]], which keeps the [[Book of Years]]. The doctrine that permits plural marriage to the clergy is known as the [[Clerical Dispensation]]; the body of the Patriarch's wives, as the [[Chorus of Wives]]. | == Institutions == The Church's holy sites and offices include [[Anselmar]], the shrine-city of the [[Hallowed Coast]]; the Patriarchal Palace at [[Montespera]]; the [[███████████████]], its army; the [[Ministry of Households]], which registers clerical marriages; the [[Treasury of the Banner]], which holds the Crusade's funds; the [[Ministry of Remissions]], which prints the [[Letters of Remission]] and revises the [[Tariff of Sins]]; and the [[Patriarchal Archive]], which keeps the [[Book of Years]]. The doctrine that permits plural marriage to the clergy is known as the [[Clerical Dispensation]]; the body of the Patriarch's wives, as the [[Chorus of Wives]]. | ||
| ⋯ | |||
| == Criticism == Critics, including a number of the Church's own former bishops, accuse it of selling salvation to fund a palace. In 2059 a defecting archivist, Teodor Ravel, published findings from the Patriarchal Archive arguing that the thousand years of Mark's life are an invention of 1874 and that "Mark" is the title of a succession of men. The Church rejects the findings and has made it a sin, remissible by a fee, to repeat them.[4] | == Criticism == Critics, including a number of the Church's own former bishops, accuse it of selling salvation to fund a palace. In 2059 a defecting archivist, Teodor Ravel, published findings from the Patriarchal Archive arguing that the thousand years of Mark's life are an invention of 1874 and that "Mark" is the title of a succession of men. The Church rejects the findings and has made it a sin, remissible by a fee, to repeat them.[4] | ||
| Church of Mark | |
|---|---|
 Emblem | |
 Pilgrims climbing to Montespera for the Millennium, as depicted in an official painting of 2060 | |
| Type | Religion |
| Founded | 1873 (church tradition: c. 1061) |
| Leader | Mark, Patriarch-Sovereign |
| Headquarters | Montespera, Santa Berllium |
| Adherents | c. 11 million (church claim: 60 million) |
| Scriptures | The Book of Years; the Tariff of Sins |
The Church of Mark is a religion founded on the teaching that its leader, Mark, has lived for a thousand years in the service of the Hallowed Coast, and that he will at last lead the faithful to retake it. It is the state church of Santa Berllium, a theocracy on Rendorlin, and claims tens of millions of adherents across the continent. The Church is known for three things: its Millennial Crusade, which has been about to depart since 2049; the Letters of Remission, sold under a published Tariff of Sins; and the Clerical Dispensation, a doctrine that permits plural marriage to the clergy alone, in a number proportioned to their rank. The Church holds that the year 2061, the thousandth of Mark's life, is the Millennium, on which the Crusade will depart.[1]
Beliefs
[edit]The central doctrine is the Hallowed Coast, a stretch of the Rendorlin shoreline around the shrine-city of Anselmar, held to be the place where the first Mark received the Banner. The faithful believe that the Coast was taken from them by unbelievers and that its recovery is the purpose of the world. They believe also that Mark is deathless for as long as the Crusade is unfinished, and that his suffering at its delay is the suffering of every believer.The Church teaches that a sin can be remitted, in part or in whole, by a contribution to the Crusade, and that a remission can be bought for another person, living or dead.[2]
Hierarchy and the Clerical Dispensation
[edit]The Church is governed by a Patriarch-Sovereign, a College of Bishops and the Ministry of Households. Under the Clerical Dispensation of 1881, the clergy alone may take more than one spouse: a priest may marry three, a bishop thirty and the Patriarch-Sovereign five hundred. Lay Markans are strictly monogamous, and the Church punishes plural marriage among the laity as a grave sin, remissible by a fine. Each clerical marriage is registered with the Ministry, which treats it as an alliance between households, and the dowries paid on it form one of the Church's largest sources of income.[3]
Letters of Remission
[edit]The Letters of Remission are certificates, printed on the Church's own paper, that record the remission of a named sin. They are sold according to the Tariff of Sins, which lists some four hundred offences and their prices, with a discount for sins committed on the Hallowed Coast and a surcharge for sins committed against the Church. A Letter for a sin not on the Tariff may be applied for, and the Church will assess a price. The sale of Letters accounts for about thirty-eight per cent of the Church's revenue.[2]
The Millennial Crusade
[edit]The Crusade was proclaimed in 2049, to depart "when the Banner is ready", and has been postponed in 2053, 2057 and 2060. Its funds are held in the Treasury of the Banner, from which, according to the 2059 audit, about two-thirds has been spent on the Marcodome. The Church's army, the ███████████████, fought in the Protectorate Wars as part of the coalition of Rendorlin states and lost the Hallowed Coast to the Ulmarkan Empire in 2041.
Enemies
[edit]The Church recognises two enemies, and teaches that they are equally to be hated. The first is the Ulmarkan Empire, which holds the Coast as part of the Ulmarkan Protectorates and sells entry permits to pilgrims. The second is the Cult of Landon, whose members, banned by the Empire and persecuted in the Hand Trials, have made pilgrimages to Anselmar for decades and pray at its shrines. The Church regards the Landonites as the more serious offence, since they pray where the Church may not, and describes their presence as "the unbelievers' tenancy".
The attendants
[edit]The wives' chapels, the choir of the Marcodome and the scouting companies of the ███████████████ are staffed by "attendants", bought abroad under the ███████████████████ of 2056, a supply arrangement with a company in Cenora Major whose terms the Church has never published. The Treasury of the Banner lists it as its second-largest expense after the palace. The Church teaches that the attendants are "gentle, tireless and not our concern before God", and regards them as outside its marriage law and its mercy alike.
Institutions
[edit]The Church's holy sites and offices include Anselmar, the shrine-city of the Hallowed Coast; the Patriarchal Palace at Montespera; the ███████████████, its army; the Ministry of Households, which registers clerical marriages; the Treasury of the Banner, which holds the Crusade's funds; the Ministry of Remissions, which prints the Letters of Remission and revises the Tariff of Sins; and the Patriarchal Archive, which keeps the Book of Years. The doctrine that permits plural marriage to the clergy is known as the Clerical Dispensation; the body of the Patriarch's wives, as the Chorus of Wives.
Notable members
[edit]Notable figures of the Church include the Cardinal-Treasurer Ottavio Brell, keeper of the Treasury of the Banner; the Mother of the Chorus, Ysaure Fenn, senior wife of the Patriarch-Sovereign; General Dario Quill, commander of the ███████████████; Bishop Aldric Montoya-Vane, leader of the reform party that wishes to abolish the Tariff, under house arrest since 2059; █████████████, the Hermit of Anselmar, who stayed behind in the occupied city in 2041 and is said to be its last Markan resident; and the exiled archivist Teodor Ravel.
Events
[edit]The Church's recent history includes the Siege of Anselmar (2039 to 2041), the Remission Riots of 2056, the 2058 Marcodome tower collapse, the Chorus Walkout of 2060 and the proclamation of the Millennium.
Criticism
[edit]Critics, including a number of the Church's own former bishops, accuse it of selling salvation to fund a palace. In 2059 a defecting archivist, Teodor Ravel, published findings from the Patriarchal Archive arguing that the thousand years of Mark's life are an invention of 1874 and that "Mark" is the title of a succession of men. The Church rejects the findings and has made it a sin, remissible by a fee, to repeat them.[4]
See also
References
- ^ The Book of Years (1874). Montespera: Patriarchal Press.
- ^ The Tariff of Sins (revised 2058). Montespera: Ministry of Remissions.
- ^ Ministry of Households (2060). Register of Clerical Marriages. Montespera.
- ^ Ravel, T. (2059). The Nine Marks: Notes from the Patriarchal Archive. Exile Press, Sylvaris.