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--- mythology:path_of_radiance:great_illumination:start [2024/01/18 12:30] – shyriath
+++ mythology:path_of_radiance:great_illumination:start [2024/01/25 10:12] (current) – shyriath
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 ====== Great Illumination ======
-The **Great Illumination** is the second-largest, and fastest-growing, of the three main denominations of the faith known as the [[mythology:path_of_radiance:]]. Though concentrated in the southeastern [[avishraa:geography:sekhaa:region:brightness]], it is an enthusiastically proselytizing church and has many missions established outside its core areas.
+The **Great Illumination** is the second-largest, and fastest-growing, of the three main denominations of the faith known as the [[mythology:Path of Radiance:]]. Though concentrated in the southeastern [[geography:sekhaa:region:Brightness]], it is an enthusiastically proselytizing church and has many missions established outside its core areas.
 ===== Belief =====
 ==== Deities ====
-As with the other denominations of the Path of Radiance, the Great Illumination is monotheistic, worshipping the goddess [[mythology:path_of_radiance:lalidh]], Lamp of Creation, from whom all things emanate. Her eternal foe and opposite - not considered a deity in usual sense, and not to be worshipped or admired, but operating at a similar level of being - is [[mythology:path_of_radiance:vom]], the Primal Darkness, the personification of negation, absence, and emptiness.
+As with the other denominations of the Path of Radiance, the Great Illumination is monotheistic, worshipping the goddess [[mythology:path_of_radiance:Lalidh]], Lamp of Creation, from whom all things emanate. Her eternal foe and opposite - not considered a deity in usual sense, and not to be worshipped or admired, but operating at a similar level of being - is [[mythology:path_of_radiance:Vom]], the Primal Darkness, the personification of negation, absence, and emptiness.
 ==== Mythology ====
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 ==== Cosmology ====
-Lalidh is the ultimate source of all things and sits at the heart of creation in contemplation, Her light illuminating all things. The celestial lights are reflections of Her radiance: Habren, Ferlen, and the stars, which watch over countless other worlds. The lights to be found on [[Avishraa:]], such as fires, the glow of lava, and bioluminescence, are yet other manifestations, albeit mundane and imperfect. (It is held that physical matter and its properties exists as a kind of housing or host for Lalidh's light, whether physical or metaphorical; but because it does not itself shine, it is susceptible to being influenced by darkness.)
+Lalidh is the ultimate source of all things and sits at the heart of creation in contemplation, Her light illuminating all things. The celestial lights are reflections of Her radiance: Habren, Ferlen, and the stars, which watch over countless other worlds. The lights to be found on [[universe:mikurmiya:Avishraa]], such as fires, the glow of lava, and bioluminescence, are yet other manifestations, albeit mundane and imperfect. (It is held that physical matter and its properties exists as a kind of housing or host for Lalidh's light, whether physical or metaphorical; but because it does not itself shine, it is susceptible to being influenced by darkness.)
 Beneath and behind creation lies the darkness, representing that which Lalidh has not touched with Her light, and which hates it yet hungers for it. Lalidh's act of creation was intended as setting in motion the process of banishing the darkness and bringing light - in both the literal and metaphorical sense - to all corners of existence, and the Path of Radiance, at its core, is about reminding the world of the knowledge of this purpose and rousing it to action against the darkness.
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 The member churches of the Great Illumination are autocephalous: they choose their own leaders, generally known as Flamekeepers and generally by election by and from the Brights, and for the most part are free to fine-tune their teachings and practices without interference.
-Each church is intended to serve a particular area or group. Those with a territorial base usually serve an important settlement and its hinterlands, corresponding to the relevant political boundaries, though there are also churches responsible for wide swathes of land where adherents are spread thinly (such as the Eastern Church, which covers nearly all of [[avishraa:geography:sekhaa:region:Karrod]] except for the territories of [[geopolitical:Ǣdyihòzh:]]). Community-focused churches tend to be smaller in membership and to serve the less sedentary populations of the faithful: migratory males, [[xtauh:]] bands, and so on. It is the responsibility of each church to ensure that [[mythology:path_of_radiance:bright|Brights]], priestly teachers, are trained and assigned in such a way that spiritual guidance is available for those places and people who need it, to organize missions within its scope, and to direct community assistance to those most in need.
+Each church is intended to serve a particular area or group. Those with a territorial base usually serve an important settlement and its hinterlands, corresponding to the relevant political boundaries, though there are also churches responsible for wide swathes of land where adherents are spread thinly (such as the Eastern Church, which covers nearly all of [[geography:sekhaa:region:Karrod]] except for the territories of [[geopolitical:Ǣdyihòzh:]]). Community-focused churches tend to be smaller in membership and to serve the less sedentary populations of the faithful: migratory males, [[xtauh:]] bands, and so on. It is the responsibility of each church to ensure that [[mythology:path_of_radiance:bright|Brights]], priestly teachers, are trained and assigned in such a way that spiritual guidance is available for those places and people who need it, to organize missions within its scope, and to direct community assistance to those most in need.
 On a higher level, the Great Illumination is less of an overarching church than it is a communion of churches. To be eligible for recognition, a church must:
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 <blockquote>We were told that the Radiant Ones were the lens through which Lalidh's light shone onto the world; we were told that their [[mythology:path_of_radiance:bright|Brights]] reflected it into dark places. And what has happened? They claim to hoard the Light for themselves! Is that Lalidh's command? The Light belongs to the world! The Light shines through us all! The Radiant Ones, in coveting the Light, have themselves fallen to darkness! <cite>the Sermon at Kulet</cite></blockquote>
-The leadership of the local church of the Lamp of the Heart had encouraged its supporters to attend the sermon, and upon hearing their church denounced, interrupted the proceedings. In the midst of the ensuing riot, Scintillating-Glory was captured and beaten severely before being rescued by a mob of Illuminator supporters. The duchess of Kulet, blaming the Illuminators for the riot, banished them from the city; they, and Scintillating-Glory, reestablished themselves in Pakhwe, on the coast of the [[avishraa:geography:sekhaa:marine:Windward Sea]], where many other Illuminators lived.
+The leadership of the local church of the Lamp of the Heart had encouraged its supporters to attend the sermon, and upon hearing their church denounced, interrupted the proceedings. In the midst of the ensuing riot, Scintillating-Glory was captured and beaten severely before being rescued by a mob of Illuminator supporters. The duchess of Kulet, blaming the Illuminators for the riot, banished them from the city; they, and Scintillating-Glory, reestablished themselves in Pakhwe, on the coast of the [[geography:sekhaa:marine:Windward Sea]], where many other Illuminators lived.
 Upon her recovery, Scintillating-Glory, now a heroine of the movement, called a meeting of prominent Illuminator figures in Pakhwe regarding the establishment of a new church, officially breaking away from the old ones. There was talk of proclaiming her Radiant One, but more decentralizing elements of the movement saw no attraction in doing so, and Scintillating-Glory herself largely agreed with them.