Much like many real world ancient civilizations, Sarcasca’s religious system is polytheistic. Each deity has a system of temples throughout the continent. There are currently 22 major deities in the pantheon and dozens of minor deities. There are also several gods who are not part of the pantheon, but are recognized by the pantheon as not not being a threat, as well as deities who have been banished and imprisoned within a prison realm. Worship of these has been outlawed and their followers are considered cults. While there are differences in methods and rituals, the hierarchies remain much the same even among deities who are not part of the pantheon.
Initiates
At the bottom of the hierarchy are the initiates. These are often children and teenagers who have joined the temple (either given to them by parents or found as orphans), but some are adults who decided to join later in life. Initiates are the trainees of the temple.
Priests and Monks
Next on the hierarchy are priests and monks., roughly equivalent in rank, but with different tasks. Monks are tasked with scribing sacred texts as well as maintaining the relic collection (as well as finding more to add). Priests oversee the everyday activities of the temple, including ceremonies.
High Priest
Next is the high priest, who is the head of an individual temple. The high priest’s duties are mostly the same as the priests’, but with more bureaucratic and behind the scenes tasks added. For most cults and minor deities, this is a high in the hierarchy as a priest can get.
Greater Priest
The greater priest is in charge of the system of temples of a single kingdom, often overseeing a larger and more ornate temple themselves. While most kingdoms have only one greater priest, larger ones may have two or more (the Necrotian Empire, for example, has four). In this case, the Greater Priests are overseen by a High Greater Priest, but they are too rare to be considered an official part of the hierarchy. The greater priest’s duties are much the same as a high priest’s, but on a larger scale. Many minor deities do no have a greater priest. Only a few have enough worshipers to merit the rank.
Grand Priest
Next up is the grand priest, who is in charge of one deity’s entire system of temples throughout the Sarcascan continent. In addition to the duties of a greater priest, they must also send edicts to the temples under their commands. Only major deities have a grand priest in their hierarchy. Minor deities are not considered influential enough to have a say on the council.
The Archpriest
The Archpriest resides over the grand priests and is in charge of all 22 temple systems throughout the continent. His or her duties are much more demanding than any of the others. While priests of all levels have magical powers granted by their deities, including healing powers, the Archpriest gets their powers from the entire pantheon rather than a single deity and is the only person who can bring the dead back to life without expending his or her own life force in the process. Of course, the archpriest must be convinced that someone is worthy of coming back and that there is a very good reason to do so