Urth Orthodox is the Mirror of Faith. They are the core of the Universal Church of the Celestial Sun, seeking to hold people to the sanctified truths of the Prophet Zebulon. As the largest sect, it is the Orthodoxy that most people associate with the Church. Its priests can be found on all worlds from the ostentatious bishops of the capital cities to the more humble parish priests in the most poverty-stricken fiefs.
Established by Palamedes Alecto after the Prophet's Martyrdom the Church was able to rally Humanity against the Ukar in the Human-Ukar war. This established the powerbased that continued through the Second Republic, where at the verge of its collapse was declared the official religion of the Second Republic in an attempt to stave off collapse. This gave extreme political power to the Church as it now meant all other religions were illegal. Since then it has grudgingly shared its power with other groups, ceding them spiritual authority in areas they had little interest or resources.
While the Orthodoxy has gained a reputation for its cunning political manoeuvres, most priests know little of such things, being entirely too busy protecting the souls of the simple faithful. Of all churches the Orthodoxy is the most in touch with the populace as they share in their every day lives and their complaints. With their political prestige they are often one of the only groups who protect the interests of serfs from the nobility and league. While many may spurn the Orthodoxy for its martial role in the Emperor Wars, when tragedy strikes, it is the Orthodoxy to which they turn to.
The Urth Orthodox has always been the regular hierarchy of the Universal Church of the Celestial Sun, and Church Patriarchs, except for the rare Amalthean, have always been Orthodox.
The Orthodox clergy is divided into Red and White prieshoods, with the Red clerics under an oath of celibacy, while White clerics can marry. Most Orthodox clerics above the rank of priest are from the Red priesthood.
The Orthodoxy is also divided into Hinayana (conservative/right-wing) and Mahayana (middle-of-the-road to liberal/left-wing) philosophical wings.
Most Church bishops and archbishops are Urth Orthodox, as well as most of the Universal Church's rank-and-file clergy (novitiates, canons, deacons, and priests.
The Mahayana wing of the Urth Orthodoxy actually is partially descended from liberal, non-Orthodox sects of the Universal Church from the Diaspora and Second republic eras. After the fall of the Republic (4000), the more conservative and fundamentalist Church leaders among the Orthodoxy, Inquisition, and Temple Avesti persecuted the liberal Church sects for heresy and their clergy absorbed into the Orthodoxy or forced to join Hesychast Monasteries.
Tenents[]
Church offers solace to a populace suffering beneath the dying suns. Every Restday, billions of the faithful hear the Prophet’s words retold by a representative of the faith. Some critics charge that the self-serving dogma of a hundred patriarchs has long ago buried the Prophet’s true words. Orthodox doctrine is not totally unquestioned or uniform, however. The Orthodoxy hotly debates various theological issues and how to implement the Pancreator’s words in an imperfect universe.
The Church involves itself with three areas of concern:[]
1. The right ordering of the soul-[]
The Prophet taught in a time of constantly expanding boundaries, when the universe still beckoned to an outwardly searching humanity. The Prophet taught in a time of constantly expanding boundaries, when the universe still beckoned to an outwardly searching humanity. The universe seemed huge and frightening but challenging as well. The Prophet spoke of preparing the soul to face the new challenges ahead. Nowhere is this more clear than in the Prophet’s call toward a questing spirit, where the intention was to prepare the soul for the challenges ahead. The Orthodoxy acknowledges this, but simply states that now is a different time. What was fitting at the beginning of the passion play is no longer appropriate at the end of all things. The modern Church teaches that the individual must order his soul readiness for divine judgment.
2. The right ordering of society-[]
The individual may forge an intimate relationship with the divine, but only with the Church as intercessor. The Orthodoxy fervently believes that these are dangerous times. Those who spurn Orthodox teachings may harm the souls of others; the wicked few can damn the entire species. Church sermons often describe the path toward salvation as a narrow precipice with spiritual and physical dangers at every turn. Dark presences, aliens and tainted humans alike try to lead the faithful astray, deceiving them with base temptations and false theologies. As the Pancreator’s chosen emissaries, only the Orthodoxy can lead the great flock down the narrow path toward salvation.
3. Protecting its flock from the “dark between the stars-[]
Dark alien presences, genetic monstrosities and the dead walk openly beneath the fading suns. No longer relegated to the realms of myth or the subconscious, these monstrous presences have left a deep and lasting scar on the human psyche. Even in the “safe” places, where there is light and life and music, the darkness is never far away. To most people, the Church is the only light that holds the darkness at bay. The Church openly professes the reality of these dangers but does not tell all that it knows. The Orthodoxy leadership is all too aware of the black tidal wave crashing down on the huddled masses of humanity, and it knows that prayer alone is not always enough.