Church of Xathos

This page (or section) is a work in progress by its author(s) and should not be considered final.

Hierarchy of the Church of Xathos

The following list is a list of positions and ranks that form the Clergy of Xathos. The highest of these is the Archbishop and the lowest official rank is Pastor. The following list is the Canonical hierarchy.

Archbishop

The Archbishop is the head of the Church. They are the final authority on doctrine, Theology, and the government of Eternatus Island. The current Archbishop is Archbishop Rhea III. The position is elected from the Council of Elders upon the death or retirement of the previous Archbishop. While provisions exist for the retirement of an Archbishop, no Archbishop has retired from the office.

Arch Elder

An Arch Elder is the second in command for the Church of Xathos. They are the head of the Council of Elders. They are elected to an 8 year term. The current Arch Elder is [PLACEHOLDER]

Pastor

The following list are titles that show up within older versions of the Doctrine of the Tomes, but are no longer used in the modern Church

• Head Bishop
• Head Elder
• Bishop-in-waiting
• Head Shaman
• Elder Pastor

Branches of Church of Xathos

Alkari Church

Le Main branch of Xathosi. Directly lead by the Archbishop in Eternatus, Eternatus Island, Alksearia.

Ursine Church

In 1988, the Ursine Church split from the Central Church over disagreements over the Archbishopric. In a controversial move, the College of Elders voted to deny the writ of nomination from King Eldras V, allowing the College to elect a member themselves. Two candidates eventually came to be: the now-Archbishop Rhea III and High Elder Vorg’rath Tel’kum. After an unprecedented 10 rounds of voting, Archbishop Rhea was named the new Archbishop. The Balistrian Church took offense as High Elder Tel’kum had been around for longer, and had served on the previous Archbishop’s council. The Ursine Church declared itself sovereign from the Alksearian Church, and instituted their own Archbishop. The Ursine Church only has a following within Balistria, however, recent tensions between Balistria and Alksearia have resulted in the Ursine Church starting to decline.

In late 2019, the Ursine College of Bishops voted on a resolution to bring themselves back into full communion with the Alksearian Church. The vote failed 88-89, with the Archbishop casting his first vote within the college. A similar resolution was brought up in August 2020, however, the resolution was never brought for a full vote as the College was placed on an indefinite hiatus due to recent political events in Balistria. The Ursine Church is expected to return to session on January 1st, 2021, but may come back earlier.