Imperial Synod

Overview

The Synod is the Imperial Institution that brings together the Priests of The Way from all across The Empire. The Synod was created at the founding of The Empire by the First Empress and its existence, along with some of its powers, is enshrined in the Imperial Constitution. It's role is to ensure that the Empire and its citizens remain virtuous.

Role within the Empire

The Imperial Synod's primary role is to safeguard the soul of the Empire, to keep it safe from dangers and corrupting influences without - such as Foriegners, Barbarians and Eternals - and within. It provides a balance on the power of the Imperial Senate and The Throne and punishes the unvirtuous by removing them from office.

The Synod also acts to promote virtue and refining the understanding of the Labyrinth of Ages and the Seven Virtues, helping humanity to attain its manifest destiny. In this role it controls the supply of Pure Liao which grants access to past life visions.

Entry requirements

Only Priests who minister to a significant congregation of Citizens are eligible to be members of the Synod. This is represented by operating a Church as a downtime resource.

Note: Although the term Church is used throughout, it can represent any holy site where Citizens may go to seeking spiritual guidance, including abbey, graveyard, tomb, pilgrimage site.

History

The Synod's orgins lie within the nation of Highguard. Following the civil war, Highguard instituted the Assembly of the Virtuous, a collection of religious and spiritual leaders, to guide their nation. This was the first National Assembly.

For some time after this, Highguard maintained a monopoly on Pure Liao and access to past life visions. Consequently pilgrims from across the lands would travel to Highguard to learn of The Way and their Past Lives. At this time, some of the Highguard Chapters - most famously the Winds of Virtue - went amongst the other Nations to teach them of The Way.

In the time of the First Empress, The Way was already spreading, yet there was dissatisfaction with the control that Highguard exerted through access to Pure Liao. As part of embracing The Way as the religion of the Empire, the First Empress instituted the Synod, in which the Highguard Assembly of the Virtuous became one of equal array of National Assemblies within the Synod. The Synod, supported by the Imperial Civil Service, assumed responsibility for the distribution of Liao, both pure and refined.

Throughout the life of the Empire, the Synod has undergone changes as it has sought to refine the doctrines of the Imperial Theology and has seen its powers wax and wane within the scope of Imperial Law.

Structure and dynamics

The Synod is divided into Assemblies who are made up of members of the Synod. These are:

• The General Assembly – The General Assembly consists of all members of the Synod. The authority of the General Assembly extends to the whole Empire, including the Empress.
• The Virtue Assemblies – The Virtue Assemblies consist of all members of the Synod who are Dedicated to the same Virtue. Therefore, there are Seven Virtue Assemblies. The Virtue Assemblies select one of their number to be Cardinal of the Assembly. The authority of a Virtue Assembly extends to all Dedicated Priests and Pilgrims of that Virtue, and in policing the actions and judgements of their Cardinal.
• The Assembly of The Way – The Assembly of the Way consists of all members of the Synod who are not Dedicated to a specific Virtue. The Assembly of the Way is expected to select one of its number to be Cardinal of the Assembly. The authority of the Assembly of the Way extends to all priests are who are not dedicated to a Virtue, and in policing the actions and judgements of their Cardinal.
• The National Assemblies – The National Assemblies consist of all members of the Synod from the same Nation. Therefore, there are nine National Assemblies. Each National Assembly is charged with the spiritual wellbeing of the Nation it is responsible for. Its authority extends only to individuals and groups within that nation. The nature of each National Assembly is defined by its nation of origin; for example the Highborn Assembly is a key leadership body in Highguard, whereas the Freeborn Sutannir have no formal structure.
• The Assembly of Nine – The Assembly of Nine consists of the Seven Cardinals of the Virtue Assemblies, the Cardinal of the Assembly of the Way, and the Empress. The Empress held no authority in the Assembly save the ability to break ties on any issue that had the support of four Cardinals apiece. The authority of the Assembly of Nine extends to the whole Empire, excluding the Empress.

Notes:

• There is no conflict in a Synod member being a member of more than one Assembly. In fact, it is inevitable that a priest will be part of their National Assembly, the General Assembly and either a Virtue Assembly or the Assembly of the Way.
• Despite their names, there is no requirement for the Assemblies to meet in one place at the same time. Exercising the authority of an Assembly is done through individual, personal judgement.

Powers and functions

The Synod possesses a range of powers that are enshrined in either the Constitution or Imperial Law. Some are available to all members of the Synod, whilst others require the decision of an Assembly to enact.

The following are powers that extend to all individual members of the Synod:

• The Synod – At each event, the Synod establishes a formal location that is the hub of the Imperial Religion. Imperial Law applies to, but is not enforced within, this location.
• Sanctuary – A fugitive from the law may seek Sanctuary within any consecrated ground or the Synod. Once on consecrated ground, the fugitive has the turn of an hourglass in which they can confess their crimes, or gather proof of their innocence, prior to facing the Judiciary.
• Confession – Any member of the Synod may take the confession of a fugitive from the law. A Synod member who has taken confession may accompany the fugitive to their trial to plead for Clemency. The seniority of the Synod member is borne in mind when the Judiciary consider their verdict.
• Witness – The Synod is responsible for the spiritual wellbeing of the Empire and is empowered by the Constitution to witness or observe all aspects of its function. Any member of the Synod is to be granted access to all common areas, in order to observe and witness, provided they remain quiet, respectful and do not directly interfere. The power of Witness includes the Senate and the Generals' Tent.
• Guide - When the Gatekeepers have distributed the Pure Liao, it is possible for a single Synod Priest who knows the correct ceremonial skill to share in the vision the recipient has. Traditionally, the one who has received the Pure Liao may name the Synod Priest they wish to have as their guide through the Labyrinth of Ages.
• Steward – Any member of the Synod may put their name forward for one of the Stewardship positions within the Synod. The Synod administers a number of resources that were once the responsibility of the Empress until such time as a new Empress is identified. The steward of each such resource is chosen at random to ensure the resource is not managed by any one Nation or Assembly.
• Calling – Once per event, a Synod Priest can call on their peers to pass judgement on an issue. This puts a motion before an Assembly that the Priest is a member of for them to vote upon and may involve the Assembly exercising one of its powers (see also: Judgement of the Synod below)

The powers of the assemblies

• Gatekeepers - The Cardinals of the seven Virtue Assemblies each appoints a member of their Assembly to be Gatekeeper. The Cardinal may not appoint themself. Traditionally, it has been frowned upon to name a Gatekeeper from the same nation as the Cardinal, but this is not forbidden. The Gatekeepers control access to the Labyrinth of Ages by dint of overseeing distribution of the Pure Liao prepared by the Civil Service.
• Conscience of the Senate - The Cardinal of the Assembly of The Way may appoint a layperson of virtue who is not a member of the Synod to a specially designated seat in the Senate created by the First Empress to serve as the Senate's conscience. The Cardinal may not appoint themself. Traditionally, it has been frowned upon to name a Conscience from the same nation as the Cardinal, but this is not forbidden. The layperson may hold the seat for no longer than a year.
• Veto - Once per event, the General Assembly may Veto a Senate motion that is deemed to be in conflict with the Imperial Virtues. This is not done as a vote, but requires a majority of the General Assembly to enter the Senate and declare the veto.
• Bestowing - The Civil Service harvests the Pure Liao for the Gatekeepers to distribute to those deemed worthy, or otherwise ready to experience a vision from one of their past lives. Tradition has it that the Empress is given the first portion to use, or gift to another, as she deems fitting. Traditionally, the second portion is given to the Citizen who demonstrates their Prosperity by pledging the greatest value gift to the Synod. Other preparations are distributed by collective decision of the Gatekeepers as they deem most fitting.
• Reward – Upon the judgement of the General Assembly, a portion of any gift pledged to the Synod as part of distribution of Pure Liao may be given to an individual or group whose virtuous acts are worthy or recognition and reward.
• Revocation – Upon the judgement of the Assembly of Nine or the General Assembly, an individual may be deemed unworthy of the position that they hold, on the grounds of poor moral character, and be stripped of their Imperial Office. Imperial Offices include such roles as Senator, General and Cardinal. The General Assembly has the power to bid the Empress to step down.
• Inquisition - Upon the judgement of a National Assembly, the Assembly of Nine or the General Assembly, an individual, or group, may be required to come to the Synod to face inquisition by members of the Synod on charges of Idolatry, Blasphemy or Heresy. As Imperial Law applies to, but is not enforced in, the Synod Tent, the Synod members have latitude in their questioning methods, but will answer for any crimes they commits as part of the inquisition. Refusal to respond to inquisition is a serious crime under Imperial Law. The duration that a person can be subject to inquisition is usually the turn of an hourglass, but additional time can be granted by the Judiciary if they are presented with sufficient grounds or evidence.
• Excommunication – Upon the judgement of a National Assembly, the Assembly of Nine or the General Assembly, a priest of the Synod is empowered to deliver a writ of Excommunication upon a Citizen or Citizens who are deemed to be of utterly corrupt and virtueless character. Socially, an excommunicated individual may not hold a Civic Office, such as General or Senator and is stripped of any such office if they do hold it. Additionally, their assets are seized by the Synod on the grounds that they cannot be untrusted to operate them soundly. Spiritually, an excommunicated person may be subjected to further Ceremonial Rites which will effectively severe them from their past lives and, upon death, condemning them to wander the Labyrinth of Ages never again to be reborn. The Empress, Assembly of Nine, or General Assembly may reverse an excommunication.
• Recognition – Virtue Assemblies may judge an individual to be an Exemplar of their Virtue Path. Additionally, the General Assembly can weigh the evidence that an individual has met the majority of the Signs of the Paragon and formally declare that an individual was indeed a Paragon. Recognition can take place post-mortem and, in the case of Paragons, this is a requirement.
• Doctrine – Only the General Assembly can create, remove or amend one of the Doctrines of the Faith.

The judgement of the Synod

When a Priest calls for their peers to pass judgement on an issue, this is done in the following way:

• The Priest approaches the Functionary attached to the Synod to call for judgement on a topic.
• The Functionary records the matter raised and makes it visible in the Synod along with whose judgement applies to the matter (i.e. which Assembly's judgement applies) and sets a deadline by which time judgements should be rendered (for example, four waking hours after the issue has been listed for judgement).
• The purpose of the deadline is so that Priests who are engaged on vital missions for the Empire are not excluded from being able to offer their judgement on the matter raised.
• Priests of the Synod eligible to offer their judgement are expected to check in at the Synod at regular intervals to see if they have been called on to pass judgement.
• To pass judgement, a Priest speaks with a Functionary attached to the Synod who records the judgement of the Priest.
• A Priest’s weight of judgement is influenced by the size of their congregation (i.e. the status of the Church).
• When the time limit has expired, the Functionaries consider the judgements passed by the Priests and record whether the issue has sufficient support of the Assembly to be binding. In the case of the Virtue and National Assemblies, the outcome is decided purely by the judgements-for versus the judgements-against with abstentions being ignored. For the Assembly of Nine and General Assembly, the outcome is determined by majority of total membership.
• A judgement made by an Assembly is considered binding on all whom the Assembly has authority, but may not contradict the Imperial Law or Senate.

There is no requirement for Synod members to meet and debate as their Senate contemporaries do, though it is known for Priests of the Synod to consult with one another to ensure they have the support of their Assembly before raising an issue.

Note: In special cases, Assembly powers – such as Inquisition or Excommunication - may be expedited by a clear majority of an Assembly coming to the Functionaries at the Synod Tent directly to demonstrate the support of the Assembly for the action.