Divine Sanctum

The Divine Sanctum, though also referred to by its shorter name The Sanctum, The Faith, or The Faith of Eight, is an organized, semi-polytheistic religion which is native to Avanor, though has followers on all five of the world's continents. One of the major world religions, it is the second largest faith in the world behind only Kainism in amount of adherents, according to estimates from the Union of Nations.

The faith of the Sanctum revolves around the worship of "The Divine" as the true spiritual being and creator of the universe. It is believed that, while The Divine is one being, he makes his will known by exercising his power through eight aspects, which collectively are referred to as "The Eight". Despite the Divine being one god in most religious schools, the faith is oftentimes mistaken as being polytheistic. The faith follows the teachings of The Divine by practicing the teachings laid out in the Book of the Divine, which lays out the "path of the divine" which followers are meant to follow, with the most central of these beliefs being the Eight Philosophies. These teachings are believed to have been handed down by the Divine and given to mortals by the prophet known as Gabriel the Blessed, who was burned at the stake during the times of the Avanor Imperium. The main symbol of the faith is the Star of the Faith, which is usually depicted as an eight pointed star, or eight crystals arranged in the shape of a star, which Octiums (priests of the faith) traditionally wearing a necklace of the eight pointed star about their necks in the tradition of Gabriel the Blessed.

The Sanctum is highly organized, and historically was an important social, humanitarian, and political institution in Avanor as the High Octium wielded mighty influence over kingdoms and monarchs in the middle ages. The faith today is decoupled from government and politics in most countries, though it still is influential through its effect on the morality of modern society and culture.

Gabriel and his Fellowship of Eight
The faith we refer to as the Divine Sanctum today truly had its beginnings when a lowly shepherd in the foothills of Paravantir was working in his fields when, according to Sanctumite tradition, The Elder came to Gabriel in a vision and gave to him the word of the Divine - claiming that humans must follow the "one true path", and called on Gabriel to share the Eight Teachings with the world.

Gabriel amassed a following as he was given the keys to the underworld, one in gold to symbolize the key to the gates of paradise, and one of onyx to symbolize the gates to purgatory, where the non-faithful dwell for eternity. Gabriel amassed a retinue of eight followers, who cast aside their mortal names and became known only as the "eight fellows", who spread Gabriel's teachings - and became known as the Fellowship of Eight. It was them that wrote the text of the Book of the Divine in the ancient Paravantene language, and teaching the words of the divine

The God of Eight
The Divine,

The Book of the Divine
The Book of the Divine is split into eight chapters

Foundations
According to Sanctumite tradition, the Divine, also referred to in religious texts as the God of Eight, made itself known to the universe in the earliest points of existence. The faith is divided, with some branches of the faith: most notably the Traditional Sanctum, believes that The Divine was always in existence, and created the universe in an expression of its infinite wisdom, while the Reformed Sanctum believes that, with the birth of the Divine at the beginning of time, the universe itself was created.

The main source of Sanctumite beliefs on the beginning of the universe and its creation comes from the chapter "Foundations", which t

The Eight Teachings
The Sanctum outlines the “8 Teachings” for every follower of the faith to follow:
 * 1) Be truthful to the divines and to your fellow man. Followers must not partake in lying or deceit, and must not take false promises or give false testimony against another.
 * 2) Selflessness and charity are required. One must never partake in a selfish or greedy act at the expense of another. The theft of possessions from another is sin.
 * 3) Do no harm to your fellow man, one must show kindness and mercy wherever you go. However, do not allow evil to prevail, as one must always stand for the good.
 * 4) Every individual is the master of their own destiny, and is answerable in their actions in the end to the gods. No mortal may pass judgement on the soul of another, not act as master over another.
 * 5) Care for the poor and needy. One must always give to one that is less fortunate, and taking advantage of the needy is a sin.
 * 6) Focus on family and loved ones. A holy person cares for their family members, upholding their relationships with spouse and children. These relationships are holy in the eyes of the divines.
 * 7) One must admit when they have sinned or acted wrongly, and seek the forgiveness and mercy of the gods. Only a soul truthful to the gods and themselves of their shortcomings will make their way to a peaceful afterlife.
 * 8) One must worship the divines and their mercy. Upon death, a soul either goes to one of the eight levels of the afterlife, depending on the pureness of their souls.

High Octium
The High Octium is the leader of the faith, and is considered by the traditional sanctum to be the administrator of the Divine's will on the mortal world. The position of the High Octium came about largely with the decree of Decletian the Great in the 800s CE with his reconquering of Augustine from the barbarian tribals - though despite this being the first official recognition of the position in written historical records, it is clear the position had existed for some time before its official recognition.

The High Octium took up residence in the Gabrialine Palace in central Augustine historically, and the palace remains the home of the High Octium to this day. The High Octium was tasked with heading the Council of Eight, the council of the faith's most devout and spiritual members. According to tradition, the High Octium is generally the longest serving member on the Council of Eight, though there have been times when this was not the case.

Temples
A temple is a building where followers of the Divine Sanctum worship, and can be in towns, villages, urban settlements and Octrys. Temples generally have two manner's of construction: the traditional fashion being a eight sided building with benches arranged in a octagonal shape around an open floor, where it would be common for the temple's Octium to give sermons and lead worship, while on the eight walls of the temple, stain glass windows depict stories of the eight aspects from the Book of the Divine. Newer constructions of temples generally no longer follow the eight wall design, and instead use four walls in a rectangular fashion, though the layout of eight benches with an open floor in the middle is still common even in modern constructions.

Temples normally have two rooms: the main worship room, called the Common Room, which is open to all members of the public to partake in worship. There is also the anointment room, where special ceremonies such as the consecration of the dead before burial, atonements of the guilty, or the anointment of marriages - though this room is only open to anointed members of the faith, and closed to outsiders. Many modern temples also have several rooms for temple events, such as public games for the congregations, rooms for feats for holidays of the gods, rooms for members to donate to the faith, along with other activities related to the faith.

It is common for the faithful to gather in Temples every Monday evening.

Octrys
An Octry is a monastic community of the Divine Sanctum, similar to a monastery. Members live in penitence, quiet contemplation, and prayer at Octrys, often taking a vow of silence and chastity. The leader of the community bears the title of Elder Octrium, and is assisted by proctors. Despite the vow of chastity, the faith houses women and men in Octrys together.

Birth
When a child is born to parents who count themselves amongst the faithful, the child is usually taken to a sanctum by their family. There, a priest usually takes blessed holy oils and draws an eight pointed star on the forehead between the eyes on the baby, and anoints them as "born in the light of the gods". In old times, it was believed that babies who did not go through their anointment would go to the lower levels of the afterlife. Nowadays that belief has mellowed, and while the anointment is still widely practiced and undertaken by followers, it is not a requirement, nor is it believed that it has any effect on one's place in the afterlife.

Marriage
A marriage in the faith is considered a sacred bond between those who love one another. Unlike other religions, the faith has no laws on homosexuality, and anoints these unions - however marriages that involve children, incest, or polygamy are seen as an affront to the gods. Normally the two spouses enter their union at a wedding ceremony held in a sanctum. The two make silent prayers to each of the divines for their union's happiness and wellbeing, then promise to "love, defend, and protect" one another, and anoint the other spouse with holy oil on the forehead before the priest ties one of their hands to the other spouse with a white ribbon, and drapes a shroud over the couple - proclaiming them as one in the light of the gods. The pair then walk from the alter to the door of the Sanctum and, when approaching the threshold of the door, untie the ribbon and walk out holding the other's hand, signaling their union before the gods. This ceremony can be altered somewhat depending on person: in the modern day some will forsake the cloak, or will not tie their hands together, just hold hands. However most people partake in the formal ceremony.

Death
In death, the faithful are normally placed in the center of the sanctum while the priest anoints their bodies with holy oils and those gathered for the funeral ceremony recite a prayer with the priest in the Sanctum to wish the dead peace in the afterlife. The final resting place of the body is normally a burial ground or crypt. The dead wrapped in white cloth and placed in a plain wooden box - then buried in a cemetery. The burial has no religious connotations to it, the main religious aspect of the burial is the prayer of the family in the Sanctum.

General Beliefs
The Divine Sanctum chiefly believes in the existence of the god referred to as "The God of Eight" or "The Divine" and its eight aspects. It is believed that the Divine itself created the universe and is a being incomprehensible to the mortal person. They revealed themselves to their prophet, Gabriel, in the time of the Augustine Imperium, and ordered him to convert the masses to the true faith. He spent his life in service to the gods, walking across the land barefoot and in tattered robes, with an eight pointed star necklace about his neck he preached the word of the faith and challenged the divinity of any mortal - questioning the Emperor's authority. As such he was burned at the stake for his crimes and became a martyr. He is remembered today as Gabriel the Blessed.

The faithful grew in number, and Octriums sprouted in every village and city. The Octums (m) and Octas (f) of the faith preached the book of the Divine to the peasants. The people were taught to revel in the eight great truths, to be humble, and to accept the mercy of the gods into their lives and to spread it to others.

The faith believes all these aspects are different faces of the same god, though many who worship the faith regard them as almost separate entities. The Book of the Divine is the main text of the faith: originally written by the followers of Gabriel the Blessed, the receiver of the divine’s teachings who converted millions, who was then burned at the stake. Faithful gather in Sanctums on Sundays to pray and hear sermons from the Octio or Octia. Additionally followers of the faith gather on holy days, such as the feast days of each divine.