Religious Crimes
Religious Crimes
The Imperial constitution charges the Synod with the responsibility for the spiritual welfare of the Empire. The Imperial bureaucracy has interpreted this, in part, as a remit for the Synod to investigate religious and spiritual crimes.
Central to this responsibility is that the Imperial faith does not undermine, or in any way supplant, Imperial law. Consequently, whilst the priests of the Synod may investigate religious crimes, they must present their case to the judiciary, who will then rule on the guilt of the identified person or persons, and determine their punishment.
The Synod powers relevant to this process are inquisition and condemnation.
Further information on the relation to Imperial Law can be found here.
The current list of religious crimes includes Idolatry, Blasphemy, Heresy, Abuse of Powers and Desecration.
Idolatry
The crime of idolatry is defined as: Subsuming human will and destiny to any inhuman entity or force. This includes the worship, veneration or exaltation of any such being or power.
This crime incorporates the worship of "gods", Eternals and other supernatural beings, though some priests have considered applying it in a political context as well.
Blasphemy
The crime of blasphemy is defined as: The denigration of the Paragons and the Paths of Virtue. This includes promoting False Virtues and the teachings, or example, of False Exemplars or False Paragons.
The Feast of the Broken Wheel practiced by the Freeborn is contentious and some priests in other nations have accused it of being blasphemous, though, to date, no attempted condemnation of any participant has been successful.
Heresy
The crime of heresy is defined as: The willful rejection, or perversion of, the Orthodox Doctrines of the Faith as laid down by the Imperial Synod, or actively teaching and promoting false doctrines.
The Synod does permit the discussion, and debate, of the doctrines, and potential variations thereof, as part of theological investigation and learning. The criminal act is the teaching of “truth” that has not been recognised as such by the Synod. Virtuous priests will first seek to change Doctrine in the Synod, rather than undermine it.
Abuse of Powers
The crime of abuse of powers is defined as: The misuse, or abuse, of the powers of a priest. This includes the powers of the Synod, as well as liao ceremonies.
The Synod is charged with ensuring the proper conduct of all priestly Imperial citizens, whether they are Synod members or not. Abuse of Synod powers may include looking to use confession and clemency to pervert the law, rather than promote virtue. Abuse of priest ceremonies may include use of the excommunication ceremony on an Imperial citizen without them having first been excommunicated by the Synod.
Desecration
The crime of desecration is defined as: The removal of spontaneously created auras such as legacies of ascendance to paragonhood. This includes such auras arising on areas, objects and people.
The Senate passed this into law in Autumn 377. The Magistrates' interpretation is that in order for this law to accord with constitutional principles it must be tried as a religious crime. The reference to paragonhood in the example makes it is clear that this law deals with complex issues around virtue and doctrines of the faith and accordingly any prosecution requires condemnation by the appropriate synod assembly.