Aevonian Church of Angelic Revelation

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The Church of Angelic Revelation is a rapidly-growing sect of the Aevonian faith founded two centuries ago by the temples to Aevo in and around the city-state of Liminal. The tenets and practices of this faith are highly influenced by the words of the angelic figures in service to Aevo directly. These archons form the upper echelons of this sect's faith, and they are well-known to favor the devas who make up a high population of the district of Empyros and the Empyrean Court.

The Angelic Revelants (as the adherents to the sect are called) are often considered heretics by many of the other sects of Aevonian worship, who believe that the authority of the angelic host of Aevo extends only to direct service to the god, and not to leading the mortal faith of the Lord of the Skies.

Theology

The concept of "direct transmission" is an important concept to the Church of Angelic Revelation. Its adherents teach that it is no longer needful to have mortal servants of Aevo translate and debate the meaning of church liturgy and function when they possess the ability to confer directly with the servants of the First of All Lords.

The Revelant church also teaches that archons are the direct servants of Aevo, and thus best-suited for service in its upper echelons. Although it does not directly state a preference for them, the church's preference for deva is also based on a church teaching: that since the deva do not pass to an afterlife, their service is more pure. After all, it is service loyally given without hope of a reward after death.

Rituals & Observances

X

• Day of Division (Holiday): X
• Feast of Revelation (Holiday): X
• Admission Unto the Faith (Sacrament): X
• Marriage Rites (Sacrament): X
• Vigil of Three Lights (Sacrament): X

Hierarchy

At the top of the church's hierarchy are the Archons of Aevo. The exact organization among the archons is not only not know, but is forbidden to be inquired about: how Aevo organizes his first servants is of no business to mortal minds. It is sufficient that they come among the upper echelons of the church with holy word and command.

The furthest up the hierarchy anyone can truly claim to understand starts with the Council of Revelation, those holy servitors of Aevo to whom the archons appear regularly. Four representatives of the church sit on this council, usually made up of a priest or priestess of the Church (usually the Holy Mother or Father of the Temple of the Blessed Skies), the Knight-General of the Seraldanai, a monk to represent the monastic orders of the church and a lay brother or sister to represent the laity of the Church. The Council of Revelation not only act as go-betweens from the Archons, they also run the Palace of the Blesses Skies, in Liminals' Empyros district, where all priests of the Revelant Church are trained.

Beneath the Council are the Curia of Kings, a name taken from the Ancient and Orthodox sect. The Curia are high priests and priestesses charged with overseeing geographical areas. Unlike in the Orthodox Aevonian Church, the Curia are not the actual deans of seminaries, but bureaucratic heads. Each is usually in charge of a temple themselves, which is referred to as a Curidence, not only providing local services, but also acting as a bureaucratic center for the Church's functions in the area.

Each subordinate temple and monastery are under the control of a since Curidence. Each temple has its Holy Mother or Holy Father, the high priestess or priest of that temple, and each cloister has its Abbess or Abbot, who governs that cloister. The Holy Mother or Holy Father of a temple also are responsible for the laity who volunteer at their churches, although in practice an underpriest is usually assigned to organize and assist their efforts.

Orders

• The Seraldanai: Knightly Order. The foremost order of knights and paladins among the Angelic Revelants, the Seraldanai are mostly humans and deva. They take vows of poverty and chastity, dedicating the whole of their lives to the service of the Church as a whole, acting as bodyguards to its important non-angelic members and defenders of its temples and holy places.