The Holy Light and the Priesthood

[twilightfae]

Hey there! I know that when it comes to Priests and things like that, there can be some confusion as to how to play them. I know I've come into some conflicts and things in the past when RPing Priests. So, I've decided to sit down and sort of reflect on Priests and things related to them within WoW. While I do discuss the Holy Light and the Church of the Holy Light, I do so only in order to discuss Priests better or more accurately. And please keep in mind that when I say "Priests," for the purpose of this guide, I mean Holy Priests or those that follow the Holy Light. Yes, I'm aware that there are nigh countless other types of Priests, but that's not what I'm going to be focusing on. I also know that there is "more than one way to skin a cat," so to speak, and that not everyone will follow or even want to follow the information I've presented (especially in my last section). I'm not saying that my way to RP Priests is the "right" or "better" way, but merely how I've tended to do things. I hope this'll help some of you or at least be interesting to read. Aaaaanyway, I'll just go ahead and start.

WoW as a game is pretty open--perhaps vague is a better term--in terms of religious practices, especially when it comes to the Church of the Holy Light. Granted the WowWiki and other pages have information that discusses the Church's tenets, history, and other aspects of the religion (or philosophy, as I've heard the Holy Light described), they don't really go into detail about how the members conduct themselves, very vaguely discuss the structure of the Church, and other things related to that. So, I've sat down and sort of come up with how I understand the Church to be structured, how its members conduct themselves, and other things related to this subject. In terms of the Church structure, rankings, and things like that, I've tried to stay as close to the WoW canon as possible. I've used WoWWiki/WowPedia for a lot of information as well as (I've tried, anyway) in-game content and have given links and appropriate credits when necessary. When it comes to individual codes of conduct, practices, etc., keep in mind that most of that is how I personally do things--they're not necessarily WoW-canon or possibly even correct. You're free to debate and discuss this, if you like. I'm always open to opinions.

Table of Contents

(CTRL+F is your friend, in case you get lost. Just type in the number next to whatever section header you want to read and it should bring you right there!)

[1.0] Light versus Shadow
[2.0] The Church of the Holy Light
[3.0] The Church's Organization
[4.0] The Priesthood

This post gets a little long and a bit reading-intensive, as a warning. Anyway, let's get started!

[1.0] Light versus Shadow

(Just to not confuse everyone, I'll try to refer to Light and Shadow as "philosophies" or "doctrines.")

In terms of a Priesthood, there are typically two philosophies, which encompass different types of magic and different beliefs: Light and Shadow. I'm not really going to focus on specialty cases where there are other types of religions--Night Elves with Elune, Troll voodoo, etc.--only because that's not my main focus for this... er, article, I suppose. I'll also only really be focusing on the Holy Light itself. Even though there are Shadow Priests and things, they are less of an overarching organization than the Holy Priesthood.

Lots of work has been done in describing the differences between the doctrines of Light and Shadow. Scout, for example, has done a wonderful job in describing the differences in their post, Shadow and Light: A Guide. Essentially, the difference between the two philosophies is your own self in relation to others. The Light is based on Altruism, in that you put the whole above your individual benefits and the Shadow is based on Egoism, where your individual gains outweigh the whole's benefits. Scout goes into more detail on this, as do the WoWWiki pages, which I'll link to at the end of this section.

The Holy Light is almost an Alliance-exclusive philosophy. This is probably due to the fact that Humans were the first known race to organize themselves around worshiping and following the Light. Other notable races are Dwarves and Draenei. High Elves notably also followed the Light, though their numbers seem to have diminished severely. Blood Elves also are known to follow the Light, as they were once High Elves who worshiped the Light. In terms of different organizations surrounding the Light, there are three notable ones: The Church of the Holy Light, the Argent Crusade, and the Scarlet Crusade. The Argent Crusade and the Scarlet Crusade are considered to be more extreme doctrines than the Church of the Holy Light. The Argent Crusade, while more favorable to the Church than the Scarlet Crusade, believes that the Church's old teachings and doctrines aren't enough to vanquish the ever-changing and growing evils in the world. The Scarlet Crusade is mostly comprised of members from the former Paladins of the Silver Hand who have become maddened, overzealous people bent on eliminating the Scourge, sometimes even attacking non-infected people "just to be safe." They consider all non-members to be potentially evil and harmful.

If you want to know more information about the Holy Light, the Shadow, or any of the organizations that worship the Light, here are some links courtesy of WoWWiki.

The Light
The Shadow
"Heretics of the Holy Light" (Information on the Argent Crusade and Scarlet Crusade)
The Argent Dawn
The Scarlet Crusade

[2.0] The Church of the Holy Light

This section will focus mostly on the tenets specific to the Church, its history, and its tenets. The Church's history stems mainly from Humans from before the First War. Before the First War, there were three major locations of the Church: the Northshire Abbey in Elwynn Forest, the Cathedral of the Holy Light in Stormwind City, and the Temple of Light in Stratholme. Led by Archbishop Alonsus Faol, the Church and its followers at the time were more defensive and focused on healing than they are today. When the Horde invaded during the First War, the clerics of the Northshire Abbey aided the kingdom of Azeroth, but were unprepared for the war and suffered heavy losses. The Archbishop and his apprentice, Uther Lightbringer, thus formed the Paladins of the Silver Hand, who would take an active role in defending the people from the threat of the Horde. The Paladins of the Silver Hand allied themselves with the people of Lordaeron, helping to defend the kingdom against the Horde in the Second War. The Northshire Abbey--which was destroyed during the Second War and later rebuilt--grew, but has become a mere outpost to the Cathedral of the Holy Light. The Temple of Light fell with the rest of Stratholme during the Scourge invasion. Only the Cathedral of the Holy Light remains, becoming the Church's headquarters, led by Archbishop Benedictus.

The Church's doctrines are based on the Three Virtues--respect, tenacity, and compassion--and are designed around a central principle or lesson.

Respect

Verb. To hold in esteem or honor; to show regard or consideration for; to refrain from interfering with or intruding upon.

As this philosophy is centered around Altruism, it makes sense that one of its main tenets is respect. Disrespecting someone else, thereby causing someone else unhappiness, doesn't benefit the group's well-being, so it doesn't benefit your own, either. Of course, that doesn't mean that the followers of the Church are naive, either; they understand that conflict and suffering do occur. They ultimately strive to make the world a better place for everyone in spite of these problems.

Tenacity

(Tenacious) Adjective. Holding fast or firm; to be highly retentive; being persistent; holding together.

This Virtue is harder to attain and often weeds out the unfaithful from the Church. Many novice acolytes turn from the Church's doctrines when they learn that it takes a lifetime to serve the philosophy and the Church to the fullest, but commitment to the Church is a lifetime deal. Changing and making the world a better place takes a long time and requires more than just one person to do so. So tenacity as a Virtue becomes essential in order for the follower to benefit the world.

Compassion

Noun. A deep feeling of sympathy for and desire to help someone else who has been struck by misfortune.

Helping someone else in need is perhaps one of the strongest abilities a follower of the Light has. It allows a follower to heal someone when they are sick and aid allies in the heat of battle. The more a follower of the Light helps others, the more he himself benefits. While compassion is incredibly strong it can also be incredibly harmful to others. Having too much compassion, or being compassionate when it is not needed (or wanted, in some cases) can lead to a decrease in others' happiness or growth and therefore decrease the growth of the whole. Followers of the Light must learn to be wise with their compassion and not rush into things without thinking them through; if an ally is being attacked by enemies, for example, a follower might rush in to assist them but might also draw too much attention from the attackers and end up needing to be saved by the ally they themselves were trying to assist. Even if the follower wants to help someone, they need to think if their actions will benefit other people before doing something. Compassion, therefore, is taught last to a follower as it is the most difficult to master.

For more information on the Church of the Holy Light specifically, here's a link to the WoWWiki page on it.

[3.0] The Church's Organization and Becoming a Priest

The Cathedral of the Holy Light is overseen by Archbishop Benedictus. He has a council of Bishops who typically reside in their own local churches or monasteries, where they oversee other priests. Depending on the population of the area, a Bishop might oversee a city or an entire region. Typically there are High Priests (or head priests) who work under the Bishop in a specific monastery or church. Underneath the High Priest are ordained Priests, who have maintained their faith and seem suitable for life within the church during several trials. Lay priests are the next rank, who are more priests-in-training; they know the Church's history, principles, and activities, and are waiting to become ordained. They typically teach acolytes--those new to the Church--through lessons and instructions. Those that remain spiritual and faithful, distinguishing themselves through their service to the Church, can rise through the ranks and potentially become a Bishop themselves.

Anyone can become a member of the Church, though the majority of its members are Humans (there are notable numbers of Dwarves and High Elves, however.) Working to become a Priest is a long and arduous process. Acolytes can expect to train for years. They first learn the Church's history, tenets, and activities, working with a lay priest. Once their mentoring priest thinks they're ready, they move onto the next phase, where they are instructed personally with a priest, learning devotions, rituals, prayers, and other activities. This can take several years to master and many acolytes become lay priests while they study. Once they are ready, they have an audience with their Bishop and then will stay at a monastery, away from the world except for other faithfuls. Typically, it is during this point that Priests will commune with the Light for the first time. After this period of time, the monastery's head priest will sponsor them for ordination. Once ordained, the Priest's life belongs to the Church entirely; they typically receive instruction from the council of Bishops, who will decide if they teach others, work on farms, or do other activities, telling them where to go and what to do. Typically, a Priest will stay with the Church until they die, but there have been cases where Priests forsake their vows and break off from the Church.

[4.0] The Priesthood

This is definitely my more opinion-based, not-necessarily-entirely-lore-accurate part of the article. I'll discuss how I think Priests should behave, their code of conduct, and other things, if they follow the Church. Keep in mind that this is how I do things; there are definitely other role-players who follow different "paths" or "styles" of Priesthoods, and that's perfectly okay.

Sometimes conflicts between Priests do emerge in regards to personal codes of behavior.

For example:
Priest A: "Hey, I do X!"
Priest B: "Hey, I do Y!"
Priest A: "You can't 'cause that's not how the Church does things!"
-fight ensues-

Typically, I'd treat the Church as the modern Christianity-- there are different "sects" or "branches" (or other terminology, take your pick!). This way, there isn't some twenty minute philosophical discussion about who's right or wrong. Like I said this is how I interpret being a Priest when I RP and I'm not sayin' that my way's right or better or anything like that. Just an interpretation.

In terms of the Priesthood, I typically portray my Priests in more of a medieval/Middle Ages-esque manner. My Priests are celibate, swear off alcohol and other earthly pleasures so that they may be of untainted mind and spirit, thereby being able to commune with the Light better and more properly and serve others with a clear mind. They are expected to be extremely pious and chaste, refraining from swearing, lewd behavior and other indecent things. Usually my Priests will expect others to behave the same and will sometimes ask that they refrain from indecent behavior, but sometimes they will also just leave the situation if someone does behave in a way that is not appropriate. My Priests also believe that what they own, the Church technically owns. They usually do not carry much--if any--money on them and they have few possessions of their own, usually a holy book and perhaps some small personal mementos. Everything they own should be able to fit on their person, essentially, in one form or another. All clothes and things that distinguish them as Priests are provided by the Church; typically, the lower ranking the follower, the more plain and simple their clothing and weapon (usually, they're given a staff but sometimes will have maces. Maces to me, though, are more Paladin-esque so I typically stay with a staff). Priests are often very selfless and will give money or whatever they can to those in need, as it benefits the whole, thereby benefiting themselves. However, they're less inclined to give up the things that the Church has provided them, unless a situation demands it.

In almost all cases, Priests are normally forbidden to marry or have children and mine are no exception. I have seen exceptions be made but typically the people requesting permission would have to speak to their Bishop, if not the council of Bishops or the Archbishop himself. Regardless of their personal feelings, my Priests almost always follow the Church's decisions and rarely act otherwise. Typically, if they do, they are harshly punished, depending on the action itself. If the action is severe enough, the Priest might be excommunicated from the Church or lose their holy powers. Similar to Paladins, I believe that Priests will lose their powers if they commit evil acts or act against the Church.

I think that's everything that I have to cover Priests and the Church. Hopefully this'll help some of you. I at least hope it's been entertaining and/or informative to read. Like I said, if you want to discuss or debate any of this, feel free. I'm aware that some of the things I've posted might be inaccurate, in which case, feel free to point that out (I'm not the most well-versed in WoW lore, really...).