Order of Prelates

The Most Ancient and Honourable Order of Prelates is the most senior order of the national priesthood of the Northern States. A status known in priestly custom since the 400s and accepted by federal charter in 793, the Order of Prelates consists of the guardians of sacred sites which maintain or claim to maintain an unbroken material and doctrinal connection to priestly establishments in the Epic period, which ended in the 3rd century BCE with the expulsion of the Northians from their historic homeland in Shalum and Silua.

The defining duty of a prelate is to maintain the continuity of materials, rituals, and doctrines entrusted to their care. For example, the Prelacy of Mimakiš has the care of sacred water from the Apiš, or the sacred rivers whose location is now lost; this water is regenerated by continual dilution with local water, but it is regarded as the original water of the Apiš with any minute portion of it remaining. This regeneration process is accompanied by special rituals and prayers. The prelate does not necessarily perform these rituals personally, but it is their duty to ensure that this process which maintains a connection to pre-expulsion Northian ritual materials is performed correctly.

A Northian prelate must, by definition, first be a member of the Sacred Order of Priests. In virtually all cases, the prelate will attain the rank of plenary priest, by which they are authorized to perform all rites known to the Northian canon without restriction or supervision. Usually, a plenary priest cannot be consecrated as a prelate until they have served at least 12 years.