Monday, July 06, 2009

Gifts and Practices

Clerics of the Church of St.Kosz of Astergow and of the various venerations

Most clerics serve in one town or village for most of their lives. Whether their saint is St Vanaslasz or St Nar. Whether they venerate the Archangel Gabriel or Vala Orome.

Brotherhoods and Orders each have their own Rule, but all agree that clerics should exhibit one or more of the following 'outward gifts': Healing, Prophesy, Teaching, Preaching and Exhortation.

The practices of each branch of mother church include Prayer, Blessing, Abstinence and Scripture. Laity and clerics alike are encouraged to devote time to these practices but in the Brotherhoods and Orders the hours of each day spent in these disciplines is set out. Those who break the Rule must answer to their superiors.

Those miracle workers and militant defenders who move about the Realm must of needs practice their Rule whilst also carrying out their allotted mission. The book of Bapu Bazacs recently circulated in the houses of the Michaelines, is the first to try to offer practical advice to active clerics in their sojourns.

"Every aspect of the true church has a distorted counterpart in the cults that seek to supplant her. Curses replace blessings. Desecration and false prophesy are practiced instead of the truth. Only one type of practices are used in both true-church and cult. A few Clerics are practitioners of Binding and Warding against evil. All cult priests can do this too. They however need it to gain power and defend themselves from their own kind!"

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