Arêndron Religious Buildings

Shrines

Shrines in Arêndron religion are small buildings or, even more frequently, designated areas within a building. The only truly essential feature of a shrine is a single wall, which the worshipper sits facing; indeed, many outdoor shrines are nothing more than a short wall, although, depending on how much the shrine's owner is willing to pay and how necessary it is to protect it from the elements, many also have side walls and a roof or even a fully enclosed space.

Most shrines are dedicated to a particular god, and the wall of the shrine is decorated with an image of that god. Rich houses generally have shrines for each of the six Artûlan separately, but poorer households may have a single combined shrine. Below the image is a shelf, on which worshippers may place devotional objects such as candles or flowers. Another frequent feature is two rows of pillars extending backwards from the wall and enclosing the space in which worshippers sit; these may have fires lit on top of them at times of particularly solemn worship.

The main purpose of shrines is as a place of private worship for those who do not have the opportunity to take part in the public service at the temple. In rural areas the temples are often spread out, so a person might live within walking distance of a temple of one or two gods but not the others; really isolated farms may well not be within walking distance of a temple at all. And even in the cities where nearly everyone could walk to a temple for any of the six gods, most people simply do not take their religion seriously enough to attend a temple service every day.

The Arêndron minor gods also have shrines. Indeed, those that are children of the Artûlan, such as Onair and Kêsha and the Three Sisters, have only shrines and not temples, because they do not have their own priesthoods. Some of the Arêndron minor gods are imported from the religions of cultures conquered by the Arêndrons, and these generally still have a cult following, with their own priesthoods and temples.

Temples

Temples are the centre of Arêndron religious practice, as they host all public services and all festivals and ceremonies. They also serve as houses for the Arêndron clergy. Each temple is dedicated to a particular god and houses priests of that god.

Temples are fairly large buildings, a similar size to most private houses. They are always built on the same plan: a central area with the other rooms arranged around it in a circle. One of these rooms is the entrance hall and communicates with the outside. The room directly opposite the entrance hall is the inner sanctum, which is reserved for certain private ceremonies (different for each god), and which is also a place a person can go to to speak to a priest in confidence. The other rooms are the priests' living quarters.

The central area is the most important room, where the congregation gather for the services and ceremonies. The altar is right in the centre, and the congregation sit in a circle around it. The central area always has beautiful architecture, with ornate pillars and an intricately carved ceiling; the walls are hung with tapestries emphasising the colour associated with that god. In addition, the temples usually have a particular decorative feature that reminds worshippers of the particular nature and gifts of that god: small trees for Glaud, white stone reflecting the sunlight for Amma, a floor mosaic based around mathematical patterns and mystical symbols for Loreish, animal skins for Sheubâr, and (at the right time of year) offerings of fruit for Thantor. Kailya's temples are the most sombre, emphasising plainness rather than decoration; but her altars are always carved from beautiful black stone.

The biggest difference between the temples of the six gods is their gardens: a temple always has a large garden (although not as large in the cities where space is harder to find), and each god's temples have gardens in a distinctive style. Kailya's are less a garden than a small wood, carefully arranged with clearings for the people to gather. Glaud is especially associated with plant life, and his temples have beautiful flowerbeds separated by tall hedges, which serve the second purpose of providing privacy for activities during his Festival. Amma's gardens are based around stone patios on which people can sit and enjoy the sunlight, but there will also be trees to provide shade for hot weather. Loreish's gardens have as their special feature small hedges arranged in a maze; Sheubâr's temples have, instead of a garden, wide open fields for the Sports Festival, with hedges to mark the boundaries. Thantor's gardens are based around water features, with a large pool for people to bathe in in warm weather. The gardens are a place for people to meet and socialise before and after the temple services, and are also where most of the activity goes on during the festivals, if the weather is fine.

Cathedrals

Each ecclestiastical province has just one cathedral – usually in the capital city, for the provinces that still coincide with political entities. The cathedral is a very large temple containing separate worship areas for all six gods; to accommodate all the rooms needed, many cathedrals have the priests' living quarters on an upstairs floor. The cathedral also contains, at its centre, meeting rooms where the priests of the different gods can meet on netural territory. This is used for social purposes, for big public ceremonies such as coronations, and also for the election of the prelate.

The cathedral is surrounded on all sides by a vast garden separated into six sections for each of the six gods; each temple within the cathedral has its own entrance hall with an entrance from that god's particular garden.

Ecclesiastical schools

Ecclestiastical schools are the institutions at which priests receive their initial training. They are always in the cities, because the priests who teach at the school have to be close to the temples for their other duties. Each school does, however, elect a hierophant who is devoted solely to the school and retires from temple duties. The school is a united institution, without separate branches for the six gods. The teachers must always include at least one priest of each god, and the students are taught together, even though they already know which god they will end up as priests of, as this is determined by their birthdate. (See the page on the clergy for details.)

Training at the school normally lasts for two to four years, after which time the student is ready to begin the last stage of his or her training by being assigned to a temple as an apprentice priest. It is during this stage that the student learns the duties specific to being a priest of that god; although the school does teach the students how to perform all the ceremonies (except those of a sexual nature), for emergency situations when the priests who would normally perform a particular ceremony are unavailable.