Evangelism

Vrathos is the father of evangelism, and the father patron of reality. His realm is heaven, were angels dwell. His symbol is the laurel crown of wings.

History
Evangelism is a religion founded in what is now known as Galecia. Before modern times Galecians practiced a modified version of Shamanism- an institutionalized ancestor worship that included several other notable figures. When the elf gates spontaneously opened in Galecia, the realm of thoughts spilled into the material plane, spreading chaos and destruction. When the gates were finally closed with the aid of several other countries, Galecia was left in tatters. This is where the founding of the religion starts. A shaman left in grief in his burning town had a visit from the being that caused the event. An angel came to him and said it was a punishment from the true god, for forgetting the true path. They worshiped false idols, who did not save them when they needed them. He warned the shaman that in 100 years the gates would open again if the whole country did not convert their religion. The purpose, the angel described was to punish His favored children so that they could learn, and so that Galecia could become the first holy land under divine providence. If Galecia could spread the word of His return, and convert the world then he would spare the earth from destruction. The shaman created a prophecy of a young savior who would free the people of their sins, and cast of the shackles of the old ways. The messiah took the throne upon the final year of the 100 year prophecy, and the country converted to Evangelism, and began to spread the word to the rest of the world.

Evangelion Church
Evangelists believe that their god created man, beast, and the universe. They have a church system which is considered a second monarch of the country that handles matters of the supernatural. The king, a mortal man, governs the natural world in accordance to the will of god, spoken to them by the speaker, who is born a speaker. Priests are said to be selected at birth, and given a piece of the divine soul so that they may lead accordingly. Each speaker is considered to be a descendant of the messiah, and the messiah lives on through them staying with man until the divine plan is complete.

Worshipers
The followers of the evangelist church seek to purify and atone themselves. They believe that the accumulation of sin gathered by man will reach a threshold and allow forces of evil to breach the realm. Therefore, it is the duty of each and every person to atone and abolish their sins, and to police others so that they do the same. Doing these things ensures that upon death, they will reach the promised heaven where they will become servants of God, and failing to remain pure will cause them to be lost to whatever demon or chaos monster gets to them first. Since it is a state instituted religion, all Galecian citizens are followers of the religion, and that includes many races, although they have a different purpose within the clergy.

Worshipers are often highly xenophobic because of the religious doctrine that bars magic, and condemns it as evil and impure. Many non-liggen races are naturally magical, such as the elves, dwarves and orcs. These races are often taken into the temple to become serfs to atone the atrocities of their races, while all others are condemned. naturally, this makes other races and worshipers of this religion natural enemies.

As pious and devout as most followers are, allowing emotions to override faith is a sin, therefore violence, aggression etc are often considered crimes, unless of course one is a Templar or inquisitor working under the powers of god.

Clergy
The structure is divided into several portions. Templar's, Inquisitors, Priests, and Serfs who themselves have several categories. The purpose of each branch is to spread the word of God, destroy the forces of evil, and root out evil wherever it hides, and to support the functions of the other branches. The clergy love to use masks during rituals. The masks bear the faces of the saints and angels in which they want to guide them. Templar's will often wear masks of war heroes, and priests often the faces of ancient saints. They perform most of their duties in churches and cathedrals where they venerate the word of God.

Holy Text
The Lexicon Mortalis is a huge collection of religious doctrines that is updated nearly yearly. It contains the history of the religion, and the story of the creation events as well as the anthologies of the previous messiahs.

Temples and Shrines
Although the god of evangelists must be venerated in every aspect of life, they visit temples and churches centrally located in cities and towns to learn more the word of god, and to absolve their sins with the priests. They are grand constructions (often designed by dwarves) and even the smallest priories are designed with the most complex designs and grandest materials.

Holy Days
There are 3 holy days in the Evangeline religion. And there is a holy day once a week, on the final dawn, in which all citizens are to visit a religious center to repent and hear the decree of god. The four religious days are near the soltices and equinoxes. The first, near the equinox of spring, is a day of forgiveness, purification, and the preparation for a new year. The second, near the summer, is a day of celebration to celebrate the day of speaking, when the shaman Admant was converted, the fall solstice a day of prayer to bless the crops and purify the lands so that they will not be blighted by evil, and finally near the winter solstice is the day to celebrate the birth of the first messiah.

Servants
Angels are the servant of Vrathos. Angels are followers that died pure, and were accepted into his divine realm. Saints are held in high regard, often the direct servants of the true god.

Relationships
The god Vrathos has no relationships, save for those of enemies. Other gods are considered false idols, and are targets for the inquision. They exist soley through their worshipers, therefore destroying or steeling the worshipers away will destroy the ideas of false gods. However, to gain favor with other countries in which they wish to make union with, they will often included figures from their pantheon as saints in their divine scheme. For example, they considered Arden Farea, and some of the Cardinal Lords to be saints, as they were once human who ascended to great power.