CASPER'S GUIDE TO THE CotB AND ITS DENOMINATIONS:
The Church of the Brothers is the dominant Faith on Remnant, with well over three quarters of all people on the planet being an adherent of one of its many Denominations. It is ditheistic in nature, with one Brother-God representing Light and Creation and the other representing Darkness and Destruction.
The relationship between the two is usually believed to be a mix of confrontational and cyclical in nature, rather than an outright 'Good vs. Evil' relationship, although more than one sect believes Good and Evil to be additional aspects of the Gods. Indeed, it is the latter view that is held by the adherents of the 'Unified Church'.
The holy symbol of the Church of the Brothers is the Caduceus, a pair of Dragons entwining around a staff adorned with a pair of wings. One wing is feathered, representing the Elder Brother, whilst the other is more bat-like, representing the Younger Brother. The origin of this most holy of symbols is unknown, as it has appeared in ruins that long predate the founding of Imperial Mistral.
More often than not, the Elder Brother, oftentimes also called the God of Creation and sometimes historically referred to by the name 'Yaghoub', is viewed as the main 'good' Deity of the pair, with some denominations outright viewing him as the only Deity, with the Younger Brother play a more devilish role.
It should be noted however that the Younger Brother, oftentimes also called the God of Destruction and sometimes historically referred to by the name 'Walaam', is not universally viewed as an evil entity.
Places of Worship are called Temples, with the 'Prime' Temple for each denomination having the distinction of being a 'Grand Temple'.
The Church is more philosophical and contemplative in nature than sermonic. Rituals and ceremonies do exist, but these are typically reserved for the festival days, weddings and funerals.
Monasteries do exist, but since the Great War have become far fewer in number (the latest estimates put the number at less than a tenth of what it was prior to the Great War.). They often serve as overnight stops for Huntsfolk and are typically non-denominational with regards to worship. They are veritable fortresses, and perfectly capable of holding out against Grimm by themselves.
Following the Great War, Oswald the Last formed a new 'Unified' denomination, to give a single version of the Church to the world as he had a single version of Government and a single currency.
The 'Unified Church' is officially led by a Conclave of four Priests, one from each branch of the denomination (Sanusian, Solitasii, Animite and Mengerian), with a Grand Temple on the island of Vytal.
The success of this attempt has been mixed, with only the Kingdom of Vale and the southern half of Mistral fully converting. Solitas has remained staunchly devoted to their Old Ritualist ways, and as the Vacuans can barely agree on the weather on any given day trying to unify them through faith was doomed to fail, especially a faith forced upon them by a foreigner. And the less said about the Menagerian branch, the better.
What follows is not a complete list of the various denominations of the Church, but instead a list of the most notable and/or important ones across the continents and how they differ from the 'Unified Church'. And, it is only fair to point out that, as an adherent of the 'Old Ritualist Church of Solitas', there may be some unintentional bias on my part.
Anima:
Mistral:
Unified Animite Church of the Brothers
One of the Four 'Unified Churches' created by Oswald the Last.
It is notable for having the largest Temple in the world amongst its number. Built during the Gens Juluo, it was once the Grand Temple of the Imperial Church. However following the Great War it was reconsecrated into the new 'Unified Church' despite major protests at the time. The Temple is now famous for its televised Reaping Day and Year's End prayers.
Imperial Church of the Brothers
The Imperial Church is a semi-defunct denomination of the Church whose sole addition to the 'Universal Doctrines' was the so-called Purple-Gold Covenant, granting supreme authority over the then Animite Church to the reigning Imperator or Imperatrix Mistralli.
It was originally Old Ritualist in nature, but centuries of courtly tradition and ritual and the various Gens' trying to put their own mark on the faith turned it into something uniquely Mistralli. Indeed, it would be the Church that even named the Old Ritualists as such, and persecuted them multiple times to the point that nearly every adherent of the old ways would move first to the Pellan States, and then onto the infant Kingdom of Mantle.
Even after the fall of the Imperial Gens' and the loss of its traditional Religious Head, the Imperial Church kept their name and practices the same. Although their influence and primacy on Anima has since practically been overtaken by the Unified Animite Church, the Imperial Church does still exist in the northern provinces of Mistral.
Reformed Pellan Church
Even before their conquest by the Gens Sima, the Pellan Church had undergone a number of transformations and reformations. Often, this was in an effort to bring their practices in line with those in Imperial Mistral, the Domremeer Republic and the High Kingdom of Vale.
Following the Great War, the Pellan Church underwent its latest reformation, adopting some of the Unified Church's practices but remaining distinct enough to be listed here. They are headed by a Conclave of five Priests (one from each Pellan City).
Solitas:
Atlas:
Unified Solitasii Church of the Brothers
One of the Four 'Unified Churches' created by Oswald the Last.
It only really has a foothold in the City of Mantle, with less than ten percent of Solitasii citizens being adherents. Prior to Mantle's transformation into Atlas, Solitasii Unified Churches often suffered from vandalism, a very unusual trend for the Solitasii known for their general tolerance for different faiths and denominations.
Old Ritualist Church of Solitas
The primary branch of the Church followed in Solitas is an Old Ritualist denomination, and is the only remaining Old Ritualist denomination on Remnant. It is uniquely aniconic in nature, harbouring a deep disdain of the use of Deific representation in its worship, preferring instead to have vast, airy Temples of White Marble walls and ceilings and Black Marble floors and pews with huge windows of the highest quality glass to serve as their places of worship.
Old Ritualist practices are relatively small in their differences to their mainline counterparts. As an example, the Unified Church posits that when in Contemplation, an adherent must ball one's left hand into a fist and clasp it with their right palm. Old Ritualist practices hold that one must interlink one's fingers together. Another example is that Old Ritualists also burn more floral incense, as opposed to the Unified Church's preference for myrrh and (on holy days) frankincense.
Whilst it calls itself 'Old Ritualist', it has actually evolved over the centuries to adapt to its new, snowier homeland. As such, they are the only denomination that prefers to cremate their dead rather than bury them, allowing their loved ones the chance to live warmly in the afterlife.
Sanus:
Vale:
Unified Sanusian Church of the Brothers
One of the Four 'Unified Churches' created by Oswald the Last, and the only one that has truly taken deep roots (and even then, only in Vale). As a result, it is the only officially recognised Church in the Valean borders.
Vacuo:
The Kingdom of Vacuo is home to the most denominations of the Church, so for obvious reasons I will not be listing them all here.
Many of the additions the Vacuan denominations have are rooted in Tribal and Nomadic custom, with the concept of 'Sacred Hospitality' particularly prevalent. In addition to this, many of the Vacuan denominations tend to shy away from the concept of good and evil, preferring a more cyclical ideal of Creation leading to destruction leading back to creation and so on.
Church of Sacred Destruction
An oddity, even amongst the Vacuan faithful. They view the Younger Brother as the 'good' deity, sincerely believing that the Elder Brother's creed of creation and peace to truly be one of divine control and never changing stagnation. As a result, and unsurprisingly given their name, they view destruction and the clearing of the old for the new to be not only just but fundamentally a good thing.
This is not to say they view creation as evil. Adherents of Sacred Destruction simply do not view creation as anything special, merely as something that happens. They build settlements, memorials and walls the same as any other people. But when the time comes to abandon a settlement, they view burning it down as the most, if not the only, respectful way to do so. Destruction is not something they engage in wantonly, it is undertaken with an almost reverent attitude.
They are the only denomination that practises 'Sacred Excarnation', whereby an adherents Remnant-bound remains are left to decompose or be fed upon in the wild.
Church of Ephemeral Temples
One of the more widespread denominations found in Vacuo, and primarily found in the deep desert. It espouses the belief that no Temple of the Brothers should ever be built to be permanent. Whilst some of the nomadic groups that dwell there designate a Yurt as their Temple and put it up each day at dawn and take it down each day at dusk (or in the case of the Branwen Tribe, it is the first tent to go up upon making a new camp and the last to come down before departure), the Vacuan City of Gossan has a unique take on things.
On the first day of the year, they burn down their current Temple and build a new one on its site, consecrating it by painting its doors with the ashes of the old. Whether or not this Gossaner take on things constitutes a different denomination in and of itself is not for me to decide. They themselves consider themselves to be, so that is why they are mentioned here.
Menagerie:
Menagerie:
Unified Menagerian Church of the Brothers
One of the Four 'Unified Churches' created by Oswald the Last, and the smallest of the four. Aside from a few of the more obscure of the Vacuan Churches, it is likely the smallest extant Church on Remnant, with only around one hundred adherents.