Orthodoxy

The modern orthodox religion is relatively new, though its roots go back into ancient history. Having the fastest growing religion for some time, it is one of the few “world religions” of the 8th Age.

Orthodox worship a monotheistic God (who goes by many names), and eschew almost all of pantheistic gods of ancient times as simply non-existent. The pantheistic gods who are believed to exist are not considered divine, however. They are often called “Holy Words” and considered simple spirits granted authority by the Deity, more akin to an archangel than a god.

The God of orthodoxy created all that is from absolute nothing; is omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, and is considered to be the source of all Goodness. Orthodox doctrine varies between sects, but the vast majority also believe in the pan-personage of the Creator, in other words the Divine is only one being, but can be present in multiple persons. How this differs from pantheism is a point of debate among theologians, but to the common adherent it is simply left as a mystery for the Deity to understand. Three persons are normally acknowledged: the Creator, the Savior, and the Wind.

The ultimate commandment in orthodoxy is to love God with all your being, and to love your neighbor perfectly. God's grace and forgiveness are central to believers' lives in that all will break this commandment in various ways. Many sects consider it a worshiper's duty, however, to follow a strict moral code in order to make an attempt to follow this command.

Beyond ethical or moral considerations, all vocations are considered virtuous in orthodoxy - whether they be artistic, technological, domestic, intellectual or unskilled. Differences between sects exist on the issue of augmentation, but the majority believe there are no specific limitations around the use of cybernetics.

Most orthodox believe in a corrupted being usually referred to as “The Enemy.” Evil is usually considered the absence of God's goodness, rather than a diametrically opposed force, but some sects dissent from that view. This great evil, however arranged theologically, is seen as the chief bringer of lies and temptations, and the (most times indirect) source of suffering in the world. He is also sometimes called “The Void” or “The Evil One.”

The largest orthodox church-body - Universal Orthodoxy is truly global in scale and spans multiple continents.

Officially part of and fully in adherence with the teachings of Universal Orthodoxy, the arthenian church has notable autonomy and is considered a distinct sect by some. Arthenian orthodox consider God to be all-good, but add another aspect that states that God is also the ultimate source of free will in the universe. It was this belief that is credited with allowing Agathos to swiftly convert to orthodoxy from their ancient Eleytherian religion.

A separate church-body from Universal Orthodoxy, but in concord on all important matters, Anthegalian Orthodoxy claims it is in fact older than its global counterpart - anthegals consider the church's lineage to be continuous all the way to the founding of the nation (the 3rd Age). Headed by the King of Anthegalia, it focuses on anthegal concerns and does little evangelizing.

A sect considered heretical by the UO, aspectists follow an old monotheistic belief that the pantheistic gods of good were merely aspects of a single Deity. The similarly believe that evil gods were aspects of The Void.