Church of Rolv

The church of Rolv is a Conjungites Protestant branch with little relation to other protestants (except Caergwynn?). It is focused on centering the faith on the king over the pope, seeing the church as corrupt in a very Lutheran way. It is however mainly focused on interpreting the bible for the purpose of maintaining old Vithinjan customs mainly related to fighting and some kinds of sinful behaviour.

The symbol of the Church of Rolv is a cross made out of a straight wooden pole and a flowing wavy wood crossbar in the vague shape of wings. This symbol represents Jesus sacrifice, angels and valkyries, or warriors ascending to heaven upon their deaths.

The Church of Rolv is a Conjungites Protestant branch with relatively little in common with most other protestants. It is focused on centering the faith on the king over the pope, seeing the church as corrupt in a very Lutheran way. It is however mainly focused on interpreting the bible for the purpose of maintaining old Vithinjan customs mainly related to fighting and some kinds of sinful behaviour.

The symbol of the Church of Rolv is a cross made out of a straight wooden pole and a flowing wavy wood crossbar in the vague shape of wings. This symbol represents Jesus sacrifice, angels and valkyries, or warriors ascending to heaven upon their deaths.

Doctrine
The Church of Rolv is compared to other protestant branches...

Divine Determinism...

Rolvites have attempted to distance themselves from claims of being syncretic towards none-christian faiths.

Saints help bridge the gap between the heavenly and the earthly.

Among the most common virtues to be taught by Rolvite priest is the idea of long-term moderation. This concept is focused on the idea that excess in a single area can be balanced with temperance in another, as long as the excess you revel in is temporary. In extreme cases this view is applied to violence by followers, enabling them to battle with a clear conscious. Most who follow this path and survive commonly swear of violence for the rest of their life after their campaign.

Practises
Sermons Sermons are normally held in the local language of the area. It is common in many churches for sermons to be directed towards a specific or a small group of saints, giving thanks more directly to them. This is however strictly done together with the acknowledgement that they served only as guiding instruments for gods will.

Thanking your Guide During most ceremonies such as weddings, birthing, good harvests and other significant events it is expected of participating Rolvites to thank the Patron saint of the host, as it is thanks to their guidance that they can now celebrate this great vocation. These thanks tend to be longwinded prayers but also often includes the host or some of the guests who follow the same saint passing out icons of their patron to help spread their guidance to their guests.

People of the Sea As god has clearly guided the peoples of Noborea to be seafarers most celebrations take place at least partially on water. It is common especially among priests to have abodes touching the ocean, if not floating upon it. As such most weddings take place on water.

Radical Branch - Warriors of Heaven One of the fundamental concepts within the church is the belief that the peoples of Noborea (or just the Ruthans according to some) were directed to live in the harsh northern lands for a purpose. These lands turned them into great warriors, their roles as such were then tested with the invasions of the Northern crusades. After proving themselves, they now serve the lord as his chosen warrior people. Where the peoples of distant latin lands were given the task to spread the word of God, the peoples of Noborea have been given the task to be his executioners.

Structure
Polity - Something reminiscent of Presbyterian structure.

The rolvite church is separated between Clergic moot, which is a local gathering for clergy where anyone attending can speak freely at least once, although most speech is left to the leading priest. When needed for larger decisions the moot choses a representative who is sent to the session, which is a gathering of important church officials and the chosen from the moots. This is where regional decisions by the church are made and the main contact point between local priests and regional deacons. Finally, deciding over all of these was the royal session, where the most important representatives of the church within the nation would either meet with the king or one of his royal representatives. (who always carry royal blood) They would make large-scale decisions for the entire faith. This system has very few hard-set ranks, and rather relies on consensus to determine leadership. This is however only partly true, as administrative roles such as deacons at the lower levels and ministers at the higher levels are nearly universally granted titles. After the monarchy slowly started to lose power the Supreme Spiritual Session was established to enable decisions to be made in the absence of a royal representative, instead allowing any descendant of a saint to lead the session. When the royal family was ousted the supreme session became the sole ruling power of the church, reducing the monarch to a figure head.

Unlike most other christian denominations Rolvites allow female priestesses to rise in the ranks of the faith. This is not only allowed but required, as the church is split in two between the male and female side. Although both groups take part in the clerics moot, they are not allowed to interact directly. Instead, most decisions are left to the sex which holds domain over an issue. In the case that there is a disagreement, all their members on each side who believe they have domain of the issue must declare such. Whichever group holds more declarations gain domain of the issue. If both sides equally claim it still it is left to the highest session to decide. Communication between these sessions is taken care of by the 'Pöjke', (the boy), who is by tradition a prepubescent orphan boy who has yet to be introduced to the male priesthood.

Although the faith has roughly equal numbers for each gender within the faith, priestesses far outnumber their male counterparts in most sessions as

Supreme Spiritual Session Custodians of the faiths primary directive.

Monarchic Symbol The Vithinjan monarch serves as the symbolic head of the faith. Despite this position of influence and power after the monarchy was forced into exile the Supreme Session reduced the monarchs role within the church to be nothing more than a figurehead. After the reinstatement of the royal family some of their old powers were reclaimed, but the Supreme Session still holds the majority of the power over the church.

Allows catholics and other christian denominations to continue working as normal while trying to convert them. Rolvites tend to hold a harmonious view towards other christians.

Symbols
Saintly Runestones Although most runestones were made by pagans and heathens, a few of the earliest saints in noborean history had their stories, virtues and likeness written in the old way. Many of these are seen as some of the more vicious among the recognized saints of the Rolvite Chruch. Most of them are most commonly venerated by more radical members of the faith, such as the Warriors of Heaven.

Oaks and other noble trees Although their exact meaning within the faith is debated, large old trees such as oaks are often seen as important pillars to god, especially if they happen to resemble a cross shape in some way. Many saints of the region had oaks planted on their graves, which further strengthened the traditions of prayer towards the trees. Some within the faith oppose this and most of the clergy would make clear that the trees are not holy in of themselves, but rather a conduit to help direct the people. In the 1700's there was an attempt to ban these tree focused prayers, but it was never able to make any real difference and was soon repealed.

Historic Development
The Church of Rolv was born from the ashes of the final northern crusade. A few philosophers happened to find themselves the new advisors to a young warlord who just claimed the title of king.

Cultural Impact
The Church of Rolv has been the primary force in shaping Vithinja into the culture and society it is today.

Activism and Controversies
It has become a common complaint directed at the faithful that their beliefs directly help to encourage pointless violence and even deadly zealotry. In the modern day the Supreme Session has made clear statements that it is against doctrine to follow the teachings of groups such as the Warriors of Heaven. Despite this little actual actions beyond reactive condemnations have been made by the church to exclude or dismantle such radical groups.


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