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.

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.

Priests may invest in, and improve, their Church. Doing so causes it to attract more parishioners/pilgrims, which also increases its status. This has the following effects:

• The Imperial Civil Service allocates more liao to the operator of the Church for the purposes of religious ceremonies
• The operator of the Church gains more influence in the Synod, which is represented in the Judgement of the Synod (see below).

Note: Synod Membership is dependent on operating a Church in the previous downtime period. Operating a different resource in the prior downtime forfeits membership of the Synod for the coming event.

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 are expected to 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 Citizens who hold Civic Office, such as Senators and Generals.
• 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 UnDedicated Priests and all layfolk.
• 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; some have High Priests and others do not.
• 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 and encouraged.
• 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 tent.
• 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.
• Lottery – 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 each event 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 his 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

• Appointment - The Assembly of Nine 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 layperson may hold the seat for no longer than a year.
• Revocation – Upon the judgement of the Synod, an individual may be deemed unworthy of the position that they hold and be stripped of their Civic Office, such as Senator, General or Cardinal.
• Inquisition - Upon the judgement of the Synod, an individual, or group, may be required to come to the Synod to face Inquisition by members of the Assembly on charges of Idolatry, Blasphemy or Heresy. As Imperial Law applies to, but is not enforced in, the Synod Tent, the Inquisition has latitude in its methods, but will answer for any crimes it commits as part of the Inquisition. Refusing to face Inquisition is a serious crime under Imperial Law. The duration that a person can be subject to Inquisition is set by the Judiciary based on evidence presented by the Synod.
• Excommunication – Upon the judgement of the Synod, a priest of the Synod is empowered to lay a specific curse that excommunicates a target or targets. 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, they are stripped of assets being untrustworthy to operate them well. Spiritually, it is understood that they are severed from their past lives and, upon death, are condemned to wander the Labyrinth of Ages never again to be reborn. Only the Empress or Assembly of Nine may reverse excommunication.
• Recognition – Virtue Assemblies may judge an individual to be an Exemplar of their Virtue Path. The Assembly of Nine or the General Assembly may recognise an Exemplar as the reincarnation of the Paragon of that Virtue. Recognition can take place post-mortem.
• Doctrine – Only the General Assembly can create, remove or amend one of the Doctrines of the Faith.

The Veto

• The Synod 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 the majority of the Synod members at the event to enter the Senate and declare the veto.

The Judgement of the Synod

When a Priest calls for his 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, six 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
• A judgement made by an Assembly is considered binding on all whom the Assembly has authority

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.

Resources

The following are Campaign Resources that the Synod possesses:

• The Grand Cathedrals – A Grand Cathedral was built for each of the Virtues and one for The Way as a whole. These are allocated to the Cardinal of each Virtue Assembly, and to the Cardinal of the Assembly of the Way. These gather large congregations and attract tithes, as well as being allocated significant quantities of liao for religious purposes.
• Tombs of the Paragons – Each of the Paragons has a Tomb wherein relics of the various incarnations are laid. It is the responsibility of each Cardinal to name one of their Virtue Assembly to be Custodian of the Tomb.
• Master Archivist of the Scriptorium - The Scriptorium holds all Synodical records dating back to the Founding of the Empire, and some of the older texts from before that. The records cover past members of the Synod, noted Exemplars, historical records, commentary and results of experimental theology. The position of Master Archivist is selected from the Synod by the Cardinal of the Assembly of the Way.
• Steward of the Harvest – The Steward of the Harvest manages a significant number of estates on behalf of the Imperial Throne until a new Empress is selected. This position is selected by Lottery from members of the Synod each event.
• Commander of the Imperial Guard – The Empress possessed a small military force dedicated to her protection that was not subordinate to any Nation. Although this unit was slain with her, there is still provision for it in Imperial Policy. As a consequence, the position of Commander sits with the Synod until a new Empress is identified or the Senate dissolves the unit. The position of Commander is selected from the Synod members by Lottery each event.
• The Seer’s Tower – The Seer’s Tower is the primary facility for experimental theology in the Empire. It is where much of the liao that the Functionaries distribute to the Synod is grown and possessed of a number of artefacts intended to help further knowledge of the nature of Creation.

Children and the Synod

Amongst the Civil Service staff that work to help raise the next generation of Imperial Citizens, there is also at least one that reports directly to the Synod. The reason for this is so that the Synod can be made aware of any child that displays a particular aptitude or inclination toward one of the Imperial Virtues and which might indicate that they are the reincarnation of a legendary Exemplar, or even the Paragon of the Virtue.

To help with the identification of such young people, the Synod has – in the past – asked the Civil Service to set a number of tests relating to the Imperial Virtues. Whilst these can also serve to enhance a child or young person’s spiritual education, the Synod eagerly awaits the reincarnation of one of the Paragons.