Priest

A priest is a regular member of an order dedicated to the propitation of a divinity and often functions as an intermediary between the divinity through the performance of rites or ceremonies, typically at a sacred site such as a temple. The office of a priest is inherently involved with the pertinent religion of his devotion. A priest differs from a mere devotee who is not required to be a member of an order or to serve other practitioners of the respective cult.

Priests and priestly orders have been of great importance in the history of Asdar. Priests historically functioned as judges, officiators, and record-keepers. Priests of major or state religions have a high status in their societies and typically do not suffer the mistrust given to wizards and other magic-practitioners.

Temple Orders

See also: List of Temple Orders

A given priesthood is associated with a given temple order which may consist of one temple or temple complex or of several temples of the same order. An order can be limited to a spcific god, related gods, or the particular mission of a specific god. The Temple of Arathrax is an example of an ancient and widely practiced temple order.

Hieratics

Main article: Hieratics

Priests in the World of Asdar often have access to supernatural powers called 'hieratic powers.' These are not well understood by most arcanists, but are thought to rely completely or to a large extent on pan. Priests who have bothered to explain or write about hieratics describe them as drawing upon the favors of an other-realmly power to precipitate manifestations of magical power in the immediate world. Thus hieratics function superficially like arcanism. The means by which divine powers manipulate the magical realm in our universe are not understood and probably not amenable to rigorous study.

See Also

• Hieratics
• Religions