Jaronism

The church of Jaron is the official faith of the nations of the Fringe. In Jaronism, the creator-divh is the font of all good, and none of the world's evil originates from him. Thus, in Jaronism good and evil have distinct sources, with evil, not embodied by a divh, but by evil men, trying to destroy the creation of the creator-divh, and good men with the aid of the divine trying to sustain it. Jaron himself is held as the paragon of such good men, and his grandchildren arr seen as the examples of those corrupted by evil. While the creator-divh is not immanent in the world, his creation is represented by Jaron, and the host of other doma (good/holy men), through whom the works of the creator divh are evident to mankind, and through whom worship of the creator-divh is ultimately directed. The most important texts of the religion were Jaron's tablets, of which a significant portion has been lost in the Cult's purges, and mostly only the liturgies of which have survived in the memories and reproductions of surviving fray. The lost portions are known as the 'Forgotten Wisdoms'.

Jaron


Jaronites believe that there is one universal creator-dvhi, with two attributes: meaning and knowing. Jaronism keeps the two attributes separate as two different concepts, and compare them to the division of body and soul. Two things, distinct from one another, but without either one there is no whole, though they do not usually go so far to directly equate one as physical and the other ephemeral. Some Jaronites claim that it is to the uncreated and unnamed Creator to whom all worship is ultimately directed, through the more knowable paragons such as Jaron,thereby formulating a panentheistic faith with a transcendent divinity of wise and good men who followed Jaron, and could easily receive worship in his stead. Other Jaronite fray argue that since Jaron's divinity so outstrips his predecessors, only he can truly worship the creator-divh, a force unknowable, and completely without personality, it is better seen as a belief in an immanent self-creating universe with consciousness, but not intelligence. Thereby depicting Jaron as something more than a man - a disciple embodying good and wisdom in an inherently moral universe.

The Jaronite fray states that active participation in life through good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos and evil at bay. This active participation is a central element in the Jaronite concept of free will, and Jaronism rejects all forms of cult or other exclusive forms of worship. It is certain that Jaron will ultimately prevail over the evil, at which point the world will undergo a realignment, and the world will begin anew. In the new world even those given over to evil will be redeemed, and given the opportunity to again make their choice, returning to life. At the end of time, a saviour, Jaron made flesh again, will bring about a final age of the world, in which all of those turned from Jaron's light will be redeemed, and no soul will choose evil.

The Clergy


The Jaronite clergy takes the form of Jaronit fray, simple men of learning who serve as scribes, scholars, judges and spiritual advisors to their communities. These fraternities live in large monastic orders close to major settlements, and send brothers out into the world to tour the lands that are the order's province, offering their services as and where they are required. Many wealthy settlements actively fund brotherhoods to found near or in their settlement, so as to have perpetual access to their ministrations and skills. Women are never inducted into these orders, because celibacy is one of the key strictures of a Jaronite fray, for the flesh is considered a distraction from the spirit. A Jaronite brother is expected to forgo the dual existence of most mortal men, in favour of one solely lived in the spirit, so as to avoid the more base temptations of the path of mistruth and evil. Thus he can have no possessions of his own, no wife, no family beyond his own brothers. He forgoes his siblings and parents when he enters the order, and Jaron becomes his new surrogate father, and his fellow fray his brothers.

Vestments

Jaronite fray are easily recognized. They always wear a full beard, and go nearly everywhere in the robes of their order. This includes a long grey sticharion, with an ornate red phelonion worn over the top, and a high, flat-topped grey mitre with a veil covering the back of the head and neck. The epitrachil is always of a design unique to the order, though it is usually in fire tones (orange, red, yellow etc.). Generally it is frowned upon for non-fray to wear red cloth (though dyed cloth of any kind is the province of the nobility). Within their fraternity houses brothers often forgo their ceremonial vestments for comfortable gowns.

Of course, it goes without saying that since the domination of the Cult, and the crushing of the Jaronite faith that wearing, or even obtaining such garments has become impossible, and punishable with immediate death, or more likely dooms the wearer to be a bloody sacrifice. People have foregone red altogether for fear of being labelled priests and heretics, and for the fray in hiding amongst the enslaved and downtrodden populace, the last colour they would seek to wear is the traditional red. Most official vestments have been captured and destroyed, by the Cult or their previous owners.

Laity


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Teachings and Scripture


In Jaronism, water and fire are both elements of ritual purity, and various ceremonies of purification are considered the basis of ritual life. In Jaronism, water and fire are the two elements from which life sprang, and the two gifts given to man by the creator-divh. Both water and fire are considered life-sustaining, and both water and fire are represented within Jaronite temples and places of worship. Jaronites usually pray in the presence of some form of fire (usually a lighted prayer candle), and culminate their rite by dousing the flame in a bowl of water. Fire is considered a medium through which spiritual insight and wisdom is gained, and water is considered the source of that wisdom.

In Jaronite tradition, life is a temporary state in which man is expected to actively participate in the continuing battle between truth and falsehood, or good and evil. Prior to being born, the soul is still united with its own personal guardian spirit, forces given the duty of setting the unborn soul upon a path of enlightenment. But life, the spirit is set to watch over the soul, to make sure they see the right way, but never to interfere in their choice of life's path. Six days after any individual's death, the soul is reunited with its guardian, and its success in choosing the right path is judged. If it is found to be wanting it is sent to wait to return in the next world, but if its life was a good and worthy one it is allowed to remain. For the most part, Jaronites do not not have a notion of reincarnation, but in the next world all previous lives are irrelevant, and those lacking can try again.

In Jaronite scripture and tradition, a corpse is a host for moral decay, for no man can judge another's innermost thoughts. Consequently, scripture demands that the dead be properly disposed of so as not to risk a taint affecting those still choosing their path. Because fire is purity, as is water, and deciding the purity or impurity of the dead soul is not the province of the living, scripture instead calls for the dead to be left for the wind and the scavengers in the wilderness away from bodies of water. Circles of standing stones, or sometimes pillars, are left in the wild places for leaving the dead, and these places have a reputation for evil spirits trying to turn the spirits of mortal men to wickedness.

The Power of Prayer

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The Apocatastasis


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Holy Days


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